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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0a06e4c --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #52648 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/52648) diff --git a/old/52648-0.txt b/old/52648-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 08e68d9..0000000 --- a/old/52648-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7901 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Fundamental Doctrines of the Christian -faith, by R. A. Torrey - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Fundamental Doctrines of the Christian faith - -Author: R. A. Torrey - -Release Date: July 25, 2016 [EBook #52648] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FUNDAMENTAL DOCTRINES--CHRISTIAN FAITH *** - - - - -Produced by Heiko Evermann, Lisa Reigel, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -book was produced from scanned images of public domain -material from the Google Books project.) - - - - - - - -Transcriber's Notes: Words in italics in the original are surrounded by -_underscores_. Words in bold in the original are surrounded by +plus -signs+. A complete list of corrections as well as other notes follows -the text. - - - - - _THE FUNDAMENTAL DOCTRINES - OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH_ - - - - - THE - FUNDAMENTAL DOCTRINES - OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH - - BY - - R. A. TORREY - - Author of - "How to Bring Men to Christ," - "What the Bible Teaches," etc., etc. - - - NEW YORK - GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY - - - - - _Copyright, 1918, - By R. A. Torrey_ - - - _Printed in the United States of America_ - - - - -PREFACE - - -The author of these sermons has had a feeling for a long time that the -great need in our churches in this day is systematic indoctrination. -He put his theory into practice last winter in his own church, and -these sermons are the result. We were having a great many accessions -to our church. In the two years of the church's history we had had -something like six hundred accessions to the church, and every month -considerable numbers of new members were being added. While many -of these came by letter from other churches, many of them were new -converts and had had practically no systematic instruction in the -fundamental truths of the Christian faith, so we announced a series -of sermons on The Fundamental Doctrines of the Christian Faith. There -was immediately a large increase in the attendance at the services -where these addresses were given, and this increase has kept up until -on the last Lord's Day we had much the largest attendance we have ever -had, excepting on Easter Sunday. Many have testified to the blessing -received from these sermons, and there has been a great demand that -the sermons be printed for general circulation. This request has come -from ministers of various denominations, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, -Methodists, Baptists, and others. It is hoped that this volume will -be useful to other pastors in suggesting lines of teaching in their -regular pastoral work, and also that it may be used widely by pastors -and others for circulation among Christians. We live in a day in which -many of our church members are all at sea as to what they believe on -the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith. These sermons have -already helped many through their delivery. It is hoped they will reach -and help far more in the printed form. - - R. A. TORREY. - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER PAGE - I INSPIRATION, OR TO WHAT EXTENT IS THE BIBLE INSPIRED OF - GOD? 11 - - II THE CHRISTIAN CONCEPTION OF GOD, OR THE GOD OF THE BIBLE - AS DISTINGUISHED FROM THE GOD OF CHRISTIAN SCIENCE AND THE - GOD OF MODERN PHILOSOPHY 38 - - III THE CHRISTIAN CONCEPTION OF GOD—THE INFINITE PERFECTION - AND UNITY OF GOD 56 - - IV THE DEITY OF JESUS CHRIST 73 - - V JESUS CHRIST A REAL MAN 93 - - VI THE PERSONALITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT 112 - - VII THE DEITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN - THE FATHER, SON AND HOLY SPIRIT 144 - - VIII THE ATONEMENT: GOD'S DOCTRINE OF THE ATONEMENT VS. - UNITARIAN AND CHRISTIAN SCIENCE DOCTRINES OF THE - ATONEMENT 162 - - IX THE DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINE OF PROTESTANTISM: JUSTIFICATION - BY FAITH 186 - - X THE NEW BIRTH 206 - - XI SANCTIFICATION 225 - - XII THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY OF JESUS AND OF OUR - BODIES 245 - - XIII THE DEVIL 263 - - XIV IS THERE A LITERAL HELL? 284 - - XV IS FUTURE PUNISHMENT EVERLASTING? 303 - - - - - - _THE FUNDAMENTAL DOCTRINES - OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH_ - - - - - THE - FUNDAMENTAL DOCTRINES - OF THE - CHRISTIAN FAITH - - - - -I - -INSPIRATION, OR TO WHAT EXTENT IS THE BIBLE INSPIRED OF GOD? - - "For no prophecy ever came by the will of man, but men spake - from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit."—2 Pet. 1:21. - - "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, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."—2 Tim. - 3:16, 17. - - -Our subject this morning is "The Inspiration of the Bible, or to What -Extent Is the Bible Inspired of God?" The subject is of vital and -fundamental importance. If we can make it clear that the writers of -the various books of the Bible were inspired of God in a sense that -no other men were ever inspired of God, that they were so gifted and -taught and led and governed by the Holy Spirit in their utterances as -recorded in the Bible, that they taught the truth and nothing but -the truth, that their teachings were absolutely without error,—then -we have in the Bible a court of final appeal and of infallible wisdom -to which we can go to settle every question of doctrine or duty. But -if the writers of the Bible were "inspired" only in the vague and -uncertain sense that Shakespeare, Browning and many other men of genius -were inspired, only inspired to the extent that their minds were made -more keen to see the truth than ordinary men, but still only in such a -way that they made mistakes, or chose the wrong word to express their -thought, so that we must recast their thought by discovering, if we -may, what the inspired thought back of the uninspired words was, then -we are all at sea, in hopeless confusion, so that each generation -must settle for itself what the Holy Spirit meant to say through the -blundering reporters; and it is absolutely certain that no generation -can determine with anything approximating accuracy what the Spirit -meant, and so no generation can arrive at the truth, but simply -promulgate blunders for the next and wiser generation to correct, to -be corrected in turn by the next generation that follows it. Thank -God that this latter subtle but popular doctrine can be proven to be -utterly untrue! - -There is great need of crystal clear teaching on this subject, -because our colleges and seminaries and pulpits and Sunday schools -and religious papers are full of teaching that is vague, inaccurate, -misleading, un-Scriptural, and oftentimes grossly false. There are -many in these days who say "I believe that the Bible is inspired" when -by "inspired" they do not mean at all what you understand or what the -mighty men of faith in the past meant by "inspired." They often say -that they "believe the Bible is the Word of God," when at the same time -they believe it is full of errors. - -Now the Bible is as clear as crystal in its teachings and claims -regarding itself, and either those claims are true, or else the Bible -is the biggest fraud in all the literature of the human race. The -position held by so many to-day, that the Bible is a good book, perhaps -the best book in the world, but at the same time it is full of errors -that must be corrected by the higher wisdom of our day, is utterly -illogical and absolutely ridiculous. If the Bible is not what it claims -to be, it is a fraud—an outrageous fraud. - -What does the Bible teach and claim concerning itself? What does it -teach and claim regarding the fact and extent of its own inspiration? - - -I. THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN APOSTLES AND PROPHETS DIFFERENT IN -CHARACTER FROM HIS WORK IN ALL OTHER PERSONS - -The first thing that the Bible teaches on this point and claims for -itself is, _that the work of the Holy Spirit in apostles and prophets, -in the various human authors of the different books of the Bible, -differs from His work in other men, even in other believers in Christ_. -It teaches that the Holy Spirit imparts to apostles and prophets an -especial gift for an especial purpose. We find this clearly taught in 1 -Cor. 12:4, 8-11, 28, 29, where we read, "+Now there are diversities -of gifts, but the same Spirit. . . . (8) for to one is given through -the Spirit the word of wisdom; and to another the word of knowledge, -according to the same Spirit; (9) to another faith, in the same Spirit; -and to another gifts of healing, in the same Spirit; (10) and to -another workings of miracles (powers); and to another prophecy; and -to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues, -and to another the interpretation of tongues; (11) but all these -worketh the one and the same Spirit, dividing to each one severally -even as He will. . . . (28) And God hath set some in the church, first -apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers, then miracles, then -gifts of healings, helps, governments, divers kinds of tongues. (29) -Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers -of miracles?+" This chapter is the fullest and clearest chapter in -the Bible on the subject of the various gifts of the Holy Spirit. It -is the classical chapter on the whole subject, and the teaching of -these verses is as plain as language can make it, and it states in -terms, the meaning of which is unmistakable, that the gift bestowed -on apostles and prophets _differed in kind_ from the gifts bestowed -on other believers, even though those believers were filled with the -Holy Spirit. Not only did the work of the Holy Spirit in the apostles -and prophets differ from His work in men of genius, but even from His -work in other believers. These verses make it as plain as day that -the doctrine which has become so common and so popular in our day, -that the work of the Holy Spirit in preachers and teachers and in -ordinary believers, illuminating them and guiding them into the truth -and into the understanding of the Word of God, is the same in kind and -differs only in degree from the work of the Holy Spirit in Apostles -and Prophets is thoroughly unscriptural and untrue. This doctrine -overlooks what is here so clearly stated and so carefully elucidated, -that while there is +"the same Spirit" "there are diversities of -gifts" "diversities of ministrations," "diversities of workings" (1 -Cor. 12:406 R. V.) and that not all are Prophets or Apostles. (1 Cor. -12:29.)+ - -Those who desire to minimise the difference between the work of the -Holy Spirit in Apostles and Prophets, and His work in other men, -often refer to the fact that the Bible itself says that Bezaleel, the -architect of the tabernacle, was to be +"filled with the Spirit of -God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all -manner of workmanship," "to devise the work of the tabernacle"+ -(Ex. 31:1-11), as a proof that the inspiration of the Prophet does not -differ in kind from the inspiration of the artist or the architect. -This argument at first glance seems plausible, but when we bear in mind -the facts about the tabernacle, especially the fact that the tabernacle -was to be built after the pattern shown to Moses in the mount (Ex. -25:8, 9, 40) and that therefore it was itself a revelation from God, a -prophecy, a setting forth of the truth of God, the argument loses all -its force. The tabernacle was the Word of God done into wood, gold, -silver, brass, cloth, skin, etc., just as truly the Word of God and the -revealing of God's truth as if the truth were printed on a page. So, -of course, Bezaleel needed to be inspired, he was a prophet, a prophet -who uttered his prophecies in the details of the tabernacle. There is -much reasoning about inspiration to-day that appear at first sight very -learned, but that will not bear much scrutiny or candid comparison with -the teachings of the Word of God. There is nothing in the Bible more -inspired than the tabernacle, and if the destructive critics would -study the tabernacle more carefully and thoroughly they would be led -to give up their ingenious but untenable theories, not only about the -construction of the tabernacle, but about many other things as well. I -have never heard or known of a single destructive critic who had ever -given a thorough study to the real meaning of the tabernacle in all -its parts, or who had any considerable understanding of the types of -Scripture. I have challenged the critics in the University centres of -England, Ireland and Scotland to name one single destructive critic -who had ever made any thorough study of the types, and no one has ever -attempted to even suggest one. - - -II. TRUTH HIDDEN FROM MEN FOR AGES, AND WHICH THEY HAD NOT DISCOVERED -AND COULD NOT DISCOVER, BY THE UNAIDED PROCESSES OF HUMAN REASONING, -HAS BEEN REVEALED TO APOSTLES AND PROPHETS IN THE SPIRIT - -The second thing taught in the Bible regarding the inspiration of -the Apostles and Prophets, the inspiration of the various authors of -the books of the Bible, is that _truth hidden from men for ages, and -which they had not discovered, and could not discover, by the unaided -processes of human reasoning, even human reasoning at its very best -and highest, has been revealed to Apostles and Prophets in the Holy -Spirit_. We find this very clearly taught in Eph. 3:2-5: +"If so be -that ye have heard of the dispensation of that grace of God which was -given me to you-ward; (3) how that by revelation was made known unto -me the mystery, as I wrote before in few words, (4) whereby when ye -read, ye can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ; (5) -which in other generations was not made known unto the sons of men, -as it hath now been revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets in -the Spirit."+ The meaning of these words is unmistakable. Paul here -declares in words the meaning of which is perfectly plain, that God -"in the Spirit" had revealed "unto His holy apostles and prophets" -"the mystery of Christ" which in former generations had not been made -known unto the sons of men, which they had not discovered and could not -discover except by revelation from God; Paul and the other apostles -and prophets knew it by direct revelation from God himself through the -Holy Ghost. The teaching is inescapable that the Bible contains truth -that men never had discovered and never could have discovered if left -to themselves, but truth which the Father in great grace has revealed -to His children through His servants the prophets and apostles. We see -in this the folly, a folly so common in our day, of seeking to test -the statements of Scripture by the conclusions of human reasoning, or -by the intuitions of the "Christian consciousness." The revelation -of God transcends human reasoning, and therefore human reasoning -cannot be its test. Furthermore, a consciousness that is truly and -fully Christian is _the product_ of the study and absorption of Bible -truth. It is not _the test_ of the truth of the Bible,—it is _the -product_ of meditation on the Bible. If our "consciousness" differs -from the statements of the Bible, it is not as yet a fully "_Christian_ -consciousness," and the thing for us to do is not to try to pull God's -revelation down to the level of our consciousness but to tone our -consciousness up to the level of God's Word. - - -III. THE REVELATION MADE TO THE PROPHETS BY THE HOLY SPIRIT WAS -INDEPENDENT OF THEIR OWN THINKING - -The third thing that the Bible makes perfectly clear as to the -inspiration of the Prophets and Apostles is, that _the revelation made -by God through His Holy Spirit to the Prophets was independent of the -Prophets' own thinking, that it was made to them by the Spirit of -Christ which was in them, and that they themselves oftentimes did not -thoroughly understand the full meaning of what the Spirit was saying -through them, and that what they said was a subject of diligent search -and inquiry to their own mind as to its meaning_. This comes out very -plainly in 1 Pet. 1:10-12, +"Concerning which salvation the prophets -sought and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should -come to you; searching what time, or what manner of time the Spirit of -Christ which was in them did point unto, when it testified beforehand -the sufferings of Christ and the glories that should follow them. Unto -whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto you, did they -minister these things which now have been announced unto you through -them that preached the Gospel unto you by the Holy Spirit sent forth -from Heaven; which things angels desire to look into."+ Here again -the meaning is as clear as day and inescapable. We are told that the -prophets had a revelation made to them by the Holy Spirit, the meaning -of which they did not thoroughly comprehend, and that they themselves -"sought and searched diligently" as to the meaning of this revelation -which was made to them and which they recorded. The Spirit, through -them testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ (e.g. in Isa. 53:3, -Ps. 22) and the glories that should follow them. They recorded what the -Spirit testified, but what it meant they did not thoroughly understand. -It was not merely that their minds were made keen to see things -which they would not otherwise see, and which they therefore more or -less accurately recorded. No, there was a very definite revelation, -arising _not from their own minds at all_, but from the Spirit of God -Who made the revelation to them and this they recorded, but it was -not of themselves to that extent that they themselves wondered as to -what its meaning might be. What they recorded was not at all their -own thought, it was the thought of the Holy Spirit who spoke through -them. How utterly different this conception is from that which is so -persistently taught in many of our colleges and theological seminaries -and pulpits,—how utterly different it is from the conception that was -taught a week ago to-day in one of the pulpits of our own city. - - -IV. NO PROPHETIC UTTERANCE WAS OF THE PROPHET'S OWN WILL, BUT THE -PROPHET SPOKE FROM GOD AND THE PROPHET WAS CARRIED ALONG BY THE HOLY -SPIRIT AND NOT BY HIS OWN IMPULSE OR REASONING IN WHAT HE SAID - -The fourth thing that the Bible makes perfectly clear is, that _not -one single prophetic utterance was of the prophet's own will (i.e., -it was not in any sense merely what he wished to say), but in every -instance the Prophet spoke from God, and the Prophet was carried along -in the prophetic utterance by the Holy Spirit, regardless of his own -will or thought_. We find this stated practically in so many words in -2 Pet. 1:21 where we read: +"For no prophecy+ (literally, _not a -prophecy_) +ever came+ (literally, was brought) +by the will -of man; but men spake from God being moved+ (literally, carried -along, or borne) +by the Holy Spirit."+ There can be no honest -mistaking of the meaning of this language. The Prophet never thought -that there was something that needed to be said and therefore said it, -but God took possession of the prophet, _carried him along_ in his -utterance, by the power of the Holy Spirit, and he spake, not from his -own consciousness, and not from his own reasoning, nor from his own -intuition, but "_from God_." As God's messenger he spoke what God told -him to say. - - -V. THE HOLY SPIRIT WAS THE REAL SPEAKER WHO SPOKE IN THE PROPHETIC -UTTERANCES - -The fifth thing that the Bible teaches regarding the Inspiration of -the Prophets and the Apostles and their utterances, is that _the Holy -Spirit was the real speaker in the prophetic utterances, that what was -said or written was the Holy Spirit's Word that was upon the Apostle's -tongue, and not the word of the Prophet or Apostle_. This is said in -the Bible in so many words, over and over again. For example, in Heb. -3:7 we read: +"Wherefore, even as the Holy Spirit saith, To-day if ye -shall hear His voice, harden not your hearts, etc."+ The author of -the epistle to the Hebrews is quoting Ps. 95:7, 8 and says that what -the Psalmist is recorded as saying "_the Holy Spirit saith_." Again in -Heb. 10:15, 16, we read: +"And the Holy Spirit also beareth witness -to us; for after He had said, This is the covenant that I will make -with them after those days, saith the Lord: I will put my laws on their -heart, and upon their mind also will I write them."+ Now the author -of the Epistle to the Hebrews is quoting Jer. 31:33, and he does not -hesitate to say that the testimony that Jeremiah there bore is _the -testimony of the Holy Ghost_, that the Holy Ghost was the real speaker. - -Again we read in Acts 28:25, 26 that Paul said, +"Well spake the Holy -Spirit through Isaiah the prophet, unto your fathers, (26) saying, Go -thou unto this people and say, By hearing ye shall hear and shall -in no wise understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall in no wise -perceive, etc."+ Here Paul is quoting Isaiah's words as recorded in -the 6th chapter of Isaiah, the 9th and 10th verses, and he distinctly -says that the real speaker was not Isaiah, but "the Holy Spirit" who -spoke "through Isaiah the prophet." - -Turning now to the old Testament we read in 2 Sam. 23:2 this assertion -by David regarding the things that he said and wrote: +"The Spirit of -Jehovah spake by me, and his word was upon my tongue."+ There can -be no mistaking the meaning of these words on the part of any one who -goes to the Bible to find out what it really claims and teaches. The -Holy Spirit was the real speaker in the prophetic utterance. It was the -Holy Spirit's utterance that was upon the prophet's tongue. The prophet -was simply the mouth by which the Holy Spirit spoke. Merely as a man, -except as the Holy Spirit taught him and used him, the prophet was -fallible as other men are fallible, but when the Spirit was upon him, -when he was taken up and borne along by the Holy Spirit, then he became -infallible in his teachings; for his teachings were not his, but the -teachings of the Holy Spirit. It was God who was then speaking, not the -Prophet. For example, Paul merely as a man, even as a Christian man, -doubtless had many mistaken notions on many things, and was more or -less subject to the ideas and opinions of his time, but when he taught -as an Apostle, under the power of the Holy Spirit he was infallible, -or rather the Spirit who taught through him was infallible, and the -teachings that resulted from the Spirit's teaching through him, were -infallible, as infallible as God. Common sense demands of us that we -carefully distinguish between what Paul _may have_ thought as a man, -and what he _actually taught_ as an apostle. In the Bible we have the -record of what he taught as an Apostle. Some one may cite as a possible -exception to this statement 1 Cor. 7:6, 25, where he says: +"But -this I say by way of concession, not of commandment. . . . Now concerning -virgins, I have no commandment of the Lord, but I give my judgment, as -one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be trustworthy."+ There -are those who think that Paul does not seem to have been sure here that -he had the word of the Lord in this particular matter, but that is not -the meaning of the passage. The meaning of v. 6 is that his teaching -which he had just given was _by way of concession_ to their weakness, -and not a commandment as to what they must do. And the teaching of v. -25 is that the Lord, during His earthly life, had given no commandment -on this subject, but that Paul was giving his judgment; but he says -distinctly that he was giving it _as one who had obtained mercy of the -Lord to be trustworthy_ and _furthermore, in the 40th verse of the -chapter he distinctly says that in his judgment he had the Spirit of -God_. But even allowing that the other interpretation of this passage -is the correct one, and that Paul was not absolutely sure in this case -that he had the Word of the Lord and the mind of the Lord, that would -only show that where Paul was not absolutely sure that he was teaching -in the Holy Ghost he was careful to note the fact, and this would only -give additional certainty to all other passages that he wrote. - -It is sometimes said that Paul taught in his earlier epistles that -the Lord would return during his lifetime, and that in this matter he -certainly was mistaken. But Paul never taught in his earlier epistles, -or any other epistles, he never taught anywhere, that the Lord would -return during his lifetime. This assertion is contrary to fact. He does -say in 1 Thess. which was his first epistle, the 4th chapter and 17th -verse: +"Then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with -them+ (i.e., the believers who had already fallen asleep) +be -caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we -ever be with the Lord."+ He does here put himself in the same class -with those who were still alive when he wrote the words. He naturally -and necessarily did not include himself with those who had already -fallen asleep. In speaking of the Lord's return he does not say nor -hint that he will be still alive when the Lord returns. It is quite -probable that Paul did believe at this time that he might be alive -when the Lord returned _but he never taught that he would be alive_. -The attitude of expectancy is the true attitude in all ages for every -believer. This was the attitude that Paul took until it was distinctly -revealed to him that he would depart before the Lord came. I think -it very probable that Paul in the earlier part of his ministry was -inclined to believe that he would live until the coming of the Lord, -but the Holy Ghost kept him from so teaching, and also kept him from -all other errors in his teachings. - - -VI. THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE APOSTLES GAVE NOT ONLY THE THOUGHT, BUT THE -WORDS IN WHICH THE THOUGHT WAS TO BE EXPRESSED - -The 6th thing that the Bible makes clear as to the inspiration of the -apostle and prophets is that, _the Holy Spirit in the Prophets and -Apostles gave not only the thought but also gave the words in which -the thought was to be expressed_. We find this very clearly stated -in 1 Cor. 2:13: +"Which things also we speak, not in words which -man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Spirit teacheth; combining -spiritual things with spiritual words."+ One of the most popular -of the false theories of Inspiration in our day is that the Holy -Spirit was the author of the thought, but that the Apostles were -left to their own choice of words in the expression of the thought, -and that therefore in studying the Bible we cannot emphasise the -exact meaning of the words, but must try to find the thought of God -that was back of the words, and which the writer has more or less -inaccurately expressed. There are many teachers in our theological -seminaries to-day, and in our pulpits, who speak very sneeringly and -superciliously of those who believe in Verbal Inspiration,—i.e., those -who believe that the Holy Spirit chose the very words in which the -thought he was teaching was to be expressed, but however sneeringly -they may speak of those who believe in Verbal Inspiration, certainly -the Bible claims that it was verbally inspired. The passage which I -have just read makes it as plain as language can possibly make it -that the "_words_" in which the Apostle spoke were not "_words_ which -man's wisdom teacheth, but _which the Spirit teacheth_." Now if this -is not the fact, if only the _thought_ that was given to Paul was the -thought of God, and he clothed the thought in his own words, then Paul -was a thoroughly deceived man on a fundamental point, in which case -no dependence at all can be placed in his teachings on any point, or -else he was a deliberate fraud, in which case the quicker we burn up -his books the better for us and all concerned. There is no possibility -of finding any middle ground, and the attempts to find a middle ground -have landed those who have tried it in all kinds of absurdities. If -you have an exact and logical mind, you must take your choice between -Verbal Inspiration and bald infidelity. _Paul distinctly states that -the words in which he conveyed to others the truth that was revealed -to him were the words which the Holy Spirit taught him._ The Holy -Spirit himself has anticipated all these modern ingenious, but wholly -unbiblical and utterly illogical and entirely false theories regarding -his own work in the Apostles. The theory that "the concept" was -inspired but the words in which the concept was expressed were not, was -anticipated by the Holy Spirit Himself and exploded 1800 years before -our supposedly wise 19th century theological teachers conceived it, -and attempted to foist it upon an unsuspecting public. It was exploded -eighteen centuries before it was exploited. Furthermore, the theory -is absurd in itself. As the only way in which thought can be conveyed -from one mind to another, from one man's mind to another man's mind, -or from the mind of God to the mind of man is by words, therefore -if the words are imperfect the thought expressed in those words is -necessarily imperfect. The theory is an absurdity on its very face, and -it is difficult to see how intelligent men could have ever deceived -themselves into believing such a thoroughly illogical theory. If the -words are not inspired the Bible is not inspired. Let us not deceive -ourselves; let us face facts. - -Furthermore, the more carefully and minutely one studies the _wording_ -of the statements of this wonderful book—the Bible—the more he will -become convinced of the marvellous accuracy of _the very words_ used to -express the thought. To a superficial thinker the doctrine of Verbal -Inspiration may appear questionable or even absurd, but any regenerate -and Spirit-taught man who _ponders the words_ of the Scripture day -by day, and year after year, will become thoroughly and immovably -convinced that the wisdom of God is in _the very words_ used as well -as in the thought which is expressed in the words. It is a significant -and deeply impressive fact that our difficulties with the Bible rapidly -disappear as we note _the precise language_ used. The changing of a -word or letter, or of a tense, case or number, would oftentimes land us -in contradiction or untruth, but taking the _words exactly as written_, -difficulties disappear and truth shines forth. Countless times people -have come to me with apparent difficulties and supposed contradictions -in the Bible and asked a solution, and I have pointed them to the exact -words used and the solution was found in taking the words exactly -as written. It was because they changed in a slight degree the very -words that God spoke that a difficulty had seemed to arise. The Divine -origin of nature shines forth more and more clearly the more closely we -examine it under the microscope. As by the use of a powerful microscope -we see the perfection of form and the adaptation of means to end in -the minutest particles of matter, we are overwhelmingly convinced that -God, a God of infinite wisdom and power, a wisdom extending down to -the minutest parts of matter, is the author of the material universe: -so likewise the divine origin of the Bible shines forth more and more -clearly under the microscope. The more minutely we study the Bible the -more we note the perfection with which the turn of a word reveals the -absolute thought of God. - -An important question, and a question that has puzzled many writers at -this point, is: If the Holy Spirit is the author of the very words of -Scripture how do we account for the variations in style and diction? -How is it, for example, that Paul always used Pauline language, -and John used Johannean language, and Peter used language that was -characteristic of himself? The answer to this question is very simple -and is two-fold: First, even though we could not account at all for -this fact, it would have little weight against the explicit statement -of God's Word with any one who is humble enough and wise enough to -recognise that there are a great many things which he cannot account -for at all which could be easily accounted for if he knew a little -more. It is only the man who has such amazing and stupendous conceit -that he thinks he knows as much as God, in other words, that he is -infinite in wisdom, who will give up an explicit statement of God's -Word simply because he sees a difficulty in the way of the acceptance -of that statement, which he in his limited knowledge cannot solve. But -there is a second answer, and an all-sufficient one, and that is this: -these variations in style and diction are easily accounted for. The -Holy Spirit is infinitely wise. He Himself is the Creator of Man, and -of man's power of speech, and therefore he is quite wise enough and has -quite enough facility in the use of language in revealing truth to and -through any individual to use words, phrases and forms of expression -that are in that person's ordinary vocabulary and forms of thought, -and He is also quite wise enough to make use of that person's peculiar -individuality in revealing the truth through him. It is one of the -marks of the Divine wisdom of this book that the same Divine truth -is expressed with absolute accuracy in such widely variant forms of -expression. - - -VII. ALL SCRIPTURE IS INSPIRED OF GOD - -The seventh thing that the Bible makes plain regarding the work of -the Holy Spirit in the various writers of Scripture, is that _all -Scripture, that is everything contained in all the books of the Old -and New Testament, is inspired of God_. We are distinctly taught this -in 2 Tim. 3:16, 17. Here we read, "+All Scripture+ (more exactly, -every Scripture) +is given by inspiration of God+ (more literally, -_God-breathed_), +and is profitable for doctrine+, (or teaching), -+for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness+ -(rather, instruction which is in righteousness), +that the man of -God may be perfect+ (rather, complete) +thoroughly furnished+ -(better, furnished completely) +unto all good works+ (rather, -every good work)." An attempt has been made to obscure the full force -of these words by a revised translation given in both the English -Revision and American Standard Version. In this revised translation, -the words are rendered as follows: "Every Scripture inspired of -God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, -for instruction which is in righteousness; that the man of God may -be complete, furnished completely unto every good work." There is -absolutely no warrant in the Greek text for changing "Every Scripture -is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, etc.," -into "Every Scripture inspired of God _is also_ profitable for -teaching, etc." "Every" is in the Greek. There is no "_is_" in the -Greek. It must be supplied, as is often the case in translating from -Greek into English. "Is" must be supplied somewhere, either before -"given by inspiration" (or God-breathed), or else supplied after it, -in the latter case necessitating the change of "and" into "also" (a -change which is possible, but very uncommon); and there is not a single -instance in the New Testament outside of this in which two adjectives -coupled by the simplest copulative "and (kai)" are ripped apart and the -"is" placed between them and an "and" changed into "also." The other -construction, that of the Authorised Version, is not at all uncommon. -The translation of the Revisers does violence to all customary usage -of the Greek language. But we do not need to dwell upon that, for, -even accepting the changes given in the Revision, the thought is -not essentially changed; for if Paul had said what the revisers make -him say that "Every Scripture inspired of God is also profitable for -teaching, etc.," there can be no question but by "every scripture -inspired of God" he referred to every Scripture contained in the Old -Testament. Here, then, taking whichever translation you will, we -have the plain teaching that every Scripture of the Old Testament is -"God-breathed" or "inspired of God." Certainly if we can believe this -about the Old Testament there is no difficulty in believing it about -the New, and there can be no question that Paul claimed for his own -teaching an equal authority with the O. T. teaching. This we shall see -clearly under the next head. And not only did Paul so claim, but the -Apostle Peter also classes the teaching of Paul with the O. T. teaching -as being "Scripture." Peter says in 2 Pet. 3:15, 16, +"Even as our -beloved brother Paul also, according to the wisdom given unto him, -wrote unto you; (16) as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of -these things, wherein are some things hard to be understood, which the -ignorant and unstedfast wrest, as they do also the other Scriptures, -unto their own destruction."+ Here Peter clearly speaks of Paul's -epistles as being "Scripture." - - -VIII. THE BIBLE IS THE WORD OF GOD - -The eighth thing that the Bible teaches concerning the extent of the -inspiration of its writings is that _because of this inspiration of -Prophets and Apostles, the writers of the Bible, the whole Bible as -originally given becomes the absolutely inerrant Word of God_. In the -O. T. David says of his own writings, in 2 Sam. 23:2, a passage already -referred to, +"The Spirit of Jehovah spake by me, and His Word was -upon my tongue."+ In Mark 7:13 Our Lord Jesus Himself calls the law -of Moses "the Word of God." He says +"making void the Word of God by -your tradition, which ye have delivered."+ In the verses immediately -preceding, He has been drawing a contrast between the teachings of -the Mosaic law (not merely the teachings of the Ten Commandments, -but other parts of the Mosaic law as well) and the traditions of the -Scribes and Pharisees, and has shown how the traditions of the Scribes -and Pharisees flatly contradicted the requirements of the law as given -through Moses, and in summing up the matter he says in the verse -just quoted, that the Scribes and Pharisees made void "_the Word of -God_" by their traditions, thus calling the law of Moses "_the Word -of God._" When I was in England a high dignitary and scholar in the -Church of England in a private correspondence tried to call me down -by saying that the Bible nowhere claimed to be "the Word of God," but -I replied to him by showing him that not only did the Bible claim -it, but that the Lord Jesus Himself said in so many words that the -law given through Moses was "_the Word of God_." In 1 Thess. 2:13 the -Apostle Paul claims that his own epistles and teachings are "_the Word -of God_." He says: +"And for this cause we also thank God without -ceasing, that when ye received from us the word of the message, even -the word of God, ye accepted it not as the word of men, but as it is in -truth, the word of God, which also worketh in you that believe."+ -Here the Apostle Paul claims for his own teaching in the most absolute -way that the message that he gave was "_the Word of God_." When we -read the words that Jeremiah wrote and Isaiah wrote and Paul wrote and -John wrote and James wrote and Jude wrote and the other Bible writers -wrote, we are reading what God says. We are not listening to the voice -of man, but we are listening to the voice of God. "The Word of God" -which we have in the Old and New Testaments, as originally given, is -absolutely inerrant down to the smallest word and smallest letter -or part of a letter. Our Lord Jesus Himself says of the Pentateuch -in Matt. 5:18: +"For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth -pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass away from the -law till all things be accomplished."+ Now a "jot" is the Hebrew -character "yodh," the smallest character in the Hebrew alphabet, less -than half the size of any other letter in the Hebrew alphabet, and a -"tittle" is a part of a letter, the little horn put on some of the -Hebrew consonants, less than the cross we put on a "t," and here our -Lord says that the law given through Moses was absolutely inerrant, -down to its smallest letter or part of a letter. That certainly is -verbal inspiration with a vengeance. Again he said, as recorded in John -10:35, after having quoted from the 82nd Psalm and the 6th verse, as -conclusive proof of a point, "The Scripture CANNOT BE BROKEN," thus -asserting the absolute irrefragability or inerrancy and finality of -the Scriptures. If the Scriptures as originally given were not the -inerrant Word of God, then not only is the Bible a fraud, but Jesus -Christ Himself was utterly misled and is therefore utterly unreliable -as a teacher. I have said that the Scriptures of the Old and New -Testaments _as originally given_ were absolutely inerrant, and the -question of course arises to what extent is the Authorized Version, or -the Revised Version, the inerrant Word of God. The answer is simple; -they are the inerrant Word of God just to that extent that they are an -accurate rendering of the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as -originally given, and to all practical intents and purposes they are -a thoroughly accurate rendering of the Scriptures of the Old and New -Testaments as originally given. There are, it is true, many variations -in the many manuscripts we possess, thousands of variations, but by -a careful study of these very variations, we are able to find with -marvellous accuracy what the original manuscripts said. A very large -share of the variations are of no value whatever, as it is evident -from a comparison of different manuscripts that they are mistakes of -a transcriber. Many other variations simply concern the order of the -words used, and in translating into English, in which the order of -words is often different from what it is in the Greek, the variation is -not translatable. Many other variations are of small Greek particles, -many of which are not translatable into English any way. When all the -variations of any significance have been reduced to the minimum to -which it is possible to reduce them by a careful study of manuscripts, -there is not one single variation left that affects any doctrine held -by the evangelical churches, and the Scriptures as we have them to-day -translated into our English language, either in the A. V. or R. V., are -to all practical intents and purposes the inerrant Word of God. - - - - -II - -THE CHRISTIAN CONCEPTION OF GOD, OR THE GOD OF THE BIBLE AS -DISTINGUISHED FROM THE GOD OF CHRISTIAN SCIENCE AND THE GOD OF MODERN -PHILOSOPHY - - "God is Spirit."—John 4:24. - - "God is Light."—1 John 1:5. - - "God is Love."—1 John 4:8, 16. - - -Our subject this morning is "The Christian Conception of God, or The -God of the Bible as Distinguished from the God of Christian Science -and the God of Modern Philosophy." I have three texts: John 4:24: -+"God is Spirit."+ 1 John 1:5: +"God is Light."+ 1 John 4:8, -16: +"God is Love."+ These three texts give three of the most -remarkable statements that were ever uttered and set before us in the -clearest possible way the Christian conception of God as distinguished -from every other conception of God. The Christian Scientists constantly -quote one of our texts: +"God is Love."+ In fact they quote it -more than almost any other passage in the Bible, but they do not -mean at all by +"God is Love"+ what 1 John 4:8 or 1 John 4:16 -evidently mean when taken in their connection. By "love" the Christian -Scientists do not mean a personal attribute of God, but an impersonal -abstraction which is itself God. Mrs. Eddy frankly and flatly denies -the personality of God. The Christian Scientists not only say, "God -is love," but they also say, "Love is God." They not only say, "God -is good," but they also say, "Good is God." To say "Love is God" is -an utterly different statement from saying, "God is love." You might -just as well say "Spirit is God," because God says, "God is spirit," -but all spirit is not God. Or you might as well say, "Light is God," -because "God is light," but light is not God and love is not God, -though God is love and God is light and God is spirit. What is meant by -"love" in the inspired statement, +"God is Love"+? What is meant -by the statement, +"God is Love,"+ is shown by the definition -or description of love given in the context and in the immediately -preceding chapter—1 John 3:13-18. These verses clearly show that by -the statement in 1 John 4:8 and 1 John 4:16, +"God is Love"+ -is not meant that God is an abstract quality, "love," and that the -abstract quality of love is God, but what is meant is that God is a -person whose whole being and conduct are dominated by the quality of -love, that is, by a desire for and delight in the highest welfare of -others. This will be evident to you if I read from the immediately -preceding chapter (1 John 3:13-17): +"Marvel not, brethren, if the -world hateth you. (14) We know that we have passed out of death into -life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not abideth in -death. (15) Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know -that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. (16) Hereby know we -love, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down -our lives for the brethren. (17) But whoso hath the world's goods, and -beholdeth his brother in need, and shutteth up his compassion from him, -how doth the love of God abide in him? (18) My little children, let us -not love in word, neither with the tongue; but in deed and truth."+ -And from this chapter (1 John 4:7-17): +"Beloved, let us love one -another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is begotten of -God, and knoweth God. (8) He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God -is love. (9) Herein was the love of God manifested in us, that God hath -sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through -him. (10) Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, -and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. (11) Beloved, if -God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. (12) No man hath -beheld God at any time: If we love one another, God abideth in us, -and his love is perfected in us: (13) Hereby we know that we abide in -him and he in us, because he hath given us of his spirit. (14) And we -have beheld and bear witness that the father hath sent the Son to be -the Saviour of the world. (15) Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is -the son of God, God abideth in him, and he in God. (16) And we know -and have believed the love which God hath in us. God is Love; and he -that hath abideth in love abideth in God, and God abideth in him. (17) -Herein is love made perfect with us, that we may have boldness in the -day of judgment; because as he is, even so are we in this world."+ - -The God of what is called "Modern Philosophy" is "The Absolute," and -by "The Absolute" is generally meant a cold abstraction and not a -clear, definite and warm personality Who loves, grieves, suffers, and -Who works intelligently for others. And oftentimes the God of modern -philosophy is not only "_in_ all things" but _is_ all things and all -things are God. Such a God is no God at all. Whereas the God of the -Bible, as we shall see as we proceed, is a Divine Person who exists -apart from the world which He has created and Who existed before the -world He created, Who bears definite relations to the world He has -made and Who works along definite and clearly revealed lines. So we -come face to face with the question, What sort of a Being is the God -of the Bible, the real God, the one true God, the God of Christianity, -the only God Whom we should worship and love and obey? The Kaiser also -talks much about God and his followers are fond of saying, "Gott mit -uns," but if any one will carefully study the Kaiser's utterances it -becomes plain that he does not mean by God the God of the Bible, the -Christian God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. - - -I. GOD IS SPIRIT - -First of all +"God is Spirit."+ This we read in our first -text: John 4:24, +"God is Spirit."+ You will note that in your -Bible, both the Authorised and Revised Versions, you read, +"God -is a Spirit."+ But there is no indefinite article in the Greek -language, and wherever it is necessary in the English translation to -fit the English idiom, it has to be supplied, and it is supplied, in -this case. But there is really no reason for supplying it here any -more than there is for supplying it in 1 John 4:8 and translating, -+"God is a Love,"+ or in 1 John 1:5 and translating +"God -is a Light."+ The preferable translation is as I have given it: -+"God is Spirit."+ This is a definition of the essential nature -of God. What does it mean? Our Lord Jesus Himself has defined what -is meant by "spirit" in Luke 24:39, where He is recorded as saying -after His resurrection: +"See My hands and My feet, that it is I -Myself; handle Me, and see, for a spirit not flesh and blood, as ye -behold Me having."+ It is evident from these words of our Lord that -_spirit_ is that which is contrasted to body. That is to say, spirit -is incorporeal, invisible reality. To say, "God is Spirit" is to say -that God is essentially incorporeal and invisible (cf. 1 Tim. 6:16), -that God in His essential nature is not material but immaterial and -invisible, but none the less real. This thought is also found in the -very heart of that revelation of Himself which God made to Moses in -the first division of the Old Testament. For example, we read in Deut. -4:15-18: +"Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no -manner of form on the day that Jehovah spake unto you in Horeb out of -the midst of the fire; (16) lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a -graven image in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, -(17) the likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness -of any winged bird that flieth in the Heavens. (18) The likeness of -anything that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is -in the water under the earth."+ This is a plain declaration way back -fifteen centuries before Christ, of the _spirituality_ of God in His -essential nature. God is essentially invisible spirit. - -But it is also clearly revealed in the Word of God that "spirit" may be -manifested in visible, bodily form. We read in John 1:32 these words -of John the Baptist speaking about what his own eyes had seen: +"And -John bore witness, saying, I have beheld the Spirit descending as a -dove out of heaven; and it abode upon him."+ Here, then, we see Him -who was essentially spirit manifesting Himself in a bodily, visible -form. - -Furthermore in the Bible we are told that God has manifested Himself -in visible form. We read in Ex. 24:9, 10: +"Then went up Moses, and -Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: (10) and -they saw the God of Israel; and there was under his feet as it were -a paved work of sapphire stone, and as it were the very heaven for -clearness."+ - -What they saw was not God in His essential nature as Spiritual Being. -Indeed, what we see when we see one another is not our essential self, -but the house we live in, and so John could say, as he does say in -John 1:18: +"No man hath seen God at any time."+ And so I could -say to you now that you do not see me. Nevertheless, it was a real -manifestation of God Himself that they saw, and so it could also be -said, and said truthfully, that they had seen God, as it could be -truthfully said, "you see me." - -Furthermore still, though God is essentially spirit, God has a visible -form. This is taught in the most unmistakable terms in Phil. 2:6, where -we are told of our Lord Jesus that He existed originally "in the _form_ -of God." The Greek word which is translated "form" in this passage -means "visible form," "the form by which a person or thing strikes the -vision," "the external appearance." It cannot mean anything else. This -is the definition given in the best Greek-English lexicon of the New -Testament, of the word here translated "form." Now as Jesus existed -originally "in the form of God," it is evident that God Himself must -have a form, this form in which our Lord Jesus is said to have existed -originally. - -That God in His external form, though not in His invisible essence, is -_seeable_, is also clear from Acts 7:55, 56, where we read: +"But -he+ (i.e., Stephen), +being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up -steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing -on the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens open, and -the Son of man standing on the right hand of God."+ Now if God has -not a form that can be seen, then, of course, the Lord Jesus could not -be seen standing upon the right hand of God. God is, as we shall see -later, everywhere; but God is not everywhere in the same sense. There -is a locality where God is visibly and manifestly present in a way in -which He is not present anywhere else. There is a place where He is -present visibly and manifests Himself as He does not elsewhere. The -place of God's visible presence and full manifestation of Himself is -Heaven, though in His spiritual presence He pervades the universe. This -is evident from many passages in the Scriptures. For example, it is -clear from the prayer that our Lord taught us—a portion of Scripture -that many accept who reject most of the Bible. Our Lord began the -prayer that He taught His disciples with these words "Our Father _Which -Art in Heaven_." If these words mean anything, they certainly mean that -God, our Father, is in heaven in a way in which He is not elsewhere. -That was where God was when Jesus was addressing Him. We read again -in Matt. 3:17: +"Lo, a voice out of the heavens, saying, this is -my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."+ If these words mean -anything, they mean that God was in heaven and that His voice came out -of the heavens to the Lord Jesus who was here on earth. Again in John -14:28 Jesus is recorded as saying: - -+"Ye heard how I said to you, I go away and I come again unto you. -If ye loved me, ye would have rejoiced, because I go unto the Father: -for the Father is greater than I."+ If these words mean anything, -taken in the light of the events that were to follow on the next day -and the days following, they mean that Jesus was going away from the -place where He then was—earth—to another place where He was not -when He spoke, i.e., heaven—and that in going to heaven he was going -to where God was, from earth where God was not in the sense in which -He was in heaven. Again we read in Acts 11:9: +"A voice answered -the second time out of heaven, What God hath cleansed make not thou -common."+ Here again God is represented as speaking from heaven -where He was. Again our Lord Jesus Christ is recorded in John 20:17 -as saying to Mary Magdalene after His resurrection: +"Touch me not; -for I am not yet ascended unto the Father: but go unto my brethren -and say to them, I ascend unto my father and to your father and my -God and your God,"+ from which it is unmistakably evident that in -the conception of our Lord Jesus after His resurrection there was a -place where God was and to which He was going, and that place was up -in heaven. There is no possibility of explaining this away by saying -it is a figure of speech, the whole passage loses its meaning by any -such interpretation, and to attempt to so explain it is a trick and -a subterfuge that will not bear close examination. Again the Apostle -Paul tells us regarding our Lord Jesus Christ that God the Father -+"raised Him from the dead, and made Him to sit at His right hand -in the heavenly places"+ (Eph. 1:20) which makes it as clear as -language can make anything that there is a place, heaven, where God -is in a sense that He is nowhere else, and where one can be placed at -His right hand. The same thing is evident from the verses that we have -already quoted in another connection, Acts 7:55, 56, where we are told -that Stephen +"being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly -into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right -hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens open, and the Son of -man standing on the right hand of God."+ The meaning of these words -to anybody who wishes to know what words are intended to convey and not -merely to distort them to fit his own conception, is that God is in -heaven locally present. There is no escaping this by any fair, honest -interpretation. Men who are skilful in the art of discrediting truth by -giving it bad names, and names that sound very scholarly, may call this -"anthropomorphism," and that sounds very learned. Nevertheless, be it -"anthropomorphism" or what not, this is the clear teaching of the Word -of God in spite of this or any other frightful terms used to scare -immature college boys and immature college girls. There is no mistaking -that this is the teaching of the Bible, and we have already proven -that the Bible is God's Word, and is to be taken at its face value in -spite of all the attempts that men, who "counting themselves wise, have -become fools," make to explain it away. - - -II. GOD IS A PERSON - -The next thing that the Bible teaches about God is that _God is a -person_. That is to say He is a being who knows, feels, loves, hears -prayer, speaks, acts, a being who acts intelligently upon us and upon -whom we can act. - -While God is in all things, He is a personality distinct from the -persons and things in which He is, which He has created. The Bible, -both in the Old and New Testaments is full of this vital conception -of "a _living_ God" as distinguished from the mere cold abstraction -of "The Absolute," or "The Infinite," or "The Supreme Being," or "The -Great First Cause" of which "Modern Philosophy" loves to prate. For -example, we read in Jer. 10:10-16: +"But Jehovah is the true God; -he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth -trembleth, and the nations are not able to abide his indignation. (11) -Thus shall ye say unto them, the gods that have not made the heaven -and the earth, these shall perish from the earth, and from under the -heavens. (12) He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established -the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding hath he stretched -out the heavens. (13) When he uttereth his voice, there is a tumult -of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from -the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain, and bringeth -forth the wind out of his treasuries. (14) Every man is become brutish -and is without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his graven -image; for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in -them. (15) They are vanity, a work of delusion; in the time of their -visitation they shall perish. (16) The portion of Jacob is not like -these; for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the tribe of -his inheritance: Jehovah of hosts is his name."+ In this passage God -is distinguished from idols which are things and not persons, things -which "speak not" "cannot act," "cannot do good neither is it in them -to do evil"; and we are told that Jehovah is _wiser_ than "all the wise -men." Is "the living God," "an everlasting King," a being who hath -"wrath and indignation," separate from His creatures—"at His wrath the -earth trembleth and the nations are not able to abide His indignation." - -In Acts 14:15 we read: +"Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are -men of like passions with you, and bring you good tidings, that ye -should turn from these things unto the living God, who made heaven and -earth and sea, and all that in them is."+ Here also we have the -representation of _God as a personal being distinct from His created -work_, and also to be clearly distinguished from the idols which are -not living gods. In 1 Thess. 1:9, the converts at Thessalonica are -represented as turning from dead gods, "idols, to serve the _living_ -and true God." - -In 2 Chron. 16:9 we are told that +"The eyes of Jehovah run to and -fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf -of them whose heart is perfect toward him,"+ and in Ps. 94:9, 10 we -read: +"He that planteth the ear, shall he not hear? He that formed -the eye, shall he not see? He that punisheth nations, shall not he -correct? Even he that teacheth men knowledge?"+ This is clearly -the representation of a personal God and not a mere abstraction like -"The Absolute," or "The Infinite," or "The Supreme Being." The clear -distinction between God, who is immanent in all things, and dwells in -believers, and the beings and persons in whom He dwells, is brought -out very clearly by our Lord Himself in John 14:10: +"Believest thou -not that I am in the Father and the Father in me? The words that I say -unto you I speak not from myself: But the Father abiding in me doeth -his work."+ And again in the 24th verse of the same chapter where -our Lord Jesus distinguishes between His own personality and that of -the Father, who dwelt in Him, in these words: +"He that loveth me not -keepeth not my words: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the -Father's who sent me."+ This conception of God pervades the entire -Bible. The view of God presented in the Bible is utterly different -from the conception of Pantheism and Buddhism and Theosophy and -Christian Science. This conception is found in the opening words of the -Bible, Gen. 1:1: +"In the beginning God created the heaven and the -earth."+ Here the God of the Bible is clearly differentiated from -the so-called God of Pantheism, and the God of Christian Science. And -this same conception of God is found in the last chapter of the Bible, -and it is found in every chapter of the Bible between the first and the -last. The God of the Bible is a Personal Being Who, while He created -all things and is in all things, is a distinct personality separate -from the persons and things He has created. - - -III. GOD'S PRESENT RELATION TO THE WORLD AND TO MEN - -We turn now to a consideration of the present relation of this Personal -God presented to us in the Bible, to the world He has created and to -the men whom He has created. - -1. In the first place we find that _God sustains, governs and cares -for the world He has created. He shapes the whole present history of -the world._ This comes out again and again. A few illustrations must -suffice. We read in Ps. 104:27-30: +"These wait all for thee, that -thou mayest give them their food in due season. (28) Thou givest unto -them, they gather; thou openest thy hand, they are satisfied with -good. (29) Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled; thou takest away -their breath, they die, and return to their dust. (30) Thou sendest -forth thy spirit, they are created; and thou renewest the face of the -ground."+ And again in Ps. 75:6, 7: +"For neither from the east, -nor from the west, nor yet from the south, cometh lifting up. (7) But -God is the judge: he putteth down one, and lifteth up another."+ -All these passages and others that could be cited, set forth the same -conception of God's present relation to the world which He has created. -They show, as we have said, that God sustains, governs and cares for -the work He has created; that He shapes the whole present history of -the world. - -2. Now let us look at His relation to the affairs of men. We will find -that _God has a present, personal interest and an active hand in the -affairs of men; that He makes a path for His people and leads them; -that He delivers, saves and punishes_. Here four illustrations from -the Bible must suffice. First of all Joshua 3:10: +"And Joshua said, -Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will -without fail drive out from before you the Canaanite, and the Hittite, -and the Hivite, and the Perizzite, and the Girgashite, and the Amorite, -and the Jebusite."+ Now turn to Dan. 6:20-22, 26, 27. +"And when -he came near unto the den to Daniel, he cried with a lamentable voice: -the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, -is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from -the lions? (21) Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever. -(22) My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, and -they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in -me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt." . . . "(26) I -make a decree, that in all the dominion of my kingdom men tremble and -fear before the God of Daniel; for he is the living God, and stedfast -for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed and his -dominion shall be even unto the end. (27) He delivereth and rescueth, -and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath -delivered Daniel from the power of the lions."+ Now turn to 1 Tim. -4:10: +"For to this end we labour and strive, because we have our -hope set on the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially -of them that believe,"+ and now turn to Heb. 10:28-31: +"A man -that hath set at nought Moses' law dieth without compassion on the word -of two or three witnesses: (29) Of how much sorer punishment, think -ye, shall he be judged worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son -of God? and hath counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was -sanctified an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of -grace? (30) For we know him that said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I -will recompense. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. (31) It is -a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."+ In all -of these passages we have this same conception of God in His relation -to man, viz., that God has a personal interest and an active hand in -the affairs of men; that He makes a path for His people and leads them; -that He delivers, saves and punishes them. - -The God of the Bible is to be clearly distinguished not merely from the -God of the Pantheists who has no existence separate from His creation, -but also from the God of the Deists who has created the world and put -into it all the necessary powers of self-government and development and -set it going and left it to go of itself. The God of the Bible is a God -who is personally and actively present in the affairs of the universe -to-day. He sustains, governs, cares for the world He has created, -He shapes the whole present history of the world. He has a present -personal interest and an active hand in the affairs of men and He it -is that is back of all the events that are occurring to-day. He reigns -and makes even the wrath of men to praise Him, and the remainder of -wrath doth He restrain. The Kaiser may rage, armies may clash, force -and violence and outrage may seem triumphant for the passing hour, but -God stands back of all; and through all the confusion and the discord -and the turmoil and the agony and the ruin, through all the outrageous -atrocities that are making men's hearts stand still with horror, He -is carrying out His own purposes of love and making all things work -together for good to those who love Him. - - - - -III - -THE CHRISTIAN CONCEPTION OF GOD—THE INFINITE PERFECTION AND UNITY -OF GOD - - "God is Light."—1 John 1:5. - - "God is Love."—1 John 4:8, 16. - - "With God All Things are Possible."—Matt. 19:26. - - "His Understanding is Infinite."—Ps. 147:5. - - -We are to consider again to-day the Christian conception of God. We -saw a week ago to-day that God is Spirit, that God is a person and -that God has a personal interest and an active hand in the affairs of -men to-day, that He sustains, governs and cares for the world He has -created and that He shapes the whole present history of the world. - - -I. THE INFINITE PERFECTION OF GOD - -The next thing to be noted about the Christian conception of God is, -that _God is perfect and infinite in all His intellectual and moral -attributes and in power_. - -1. First of all, fix your attention upon our first text: +"God -is Light"+ (1 John 1:5). These three words form a marvellously -beautiful and overwhelmingly impressive statement of the truth. They -set forth the Absolute Holiness and Perfect Wisdom of God. The words -need rather to be meditated upon than to be expounded. +"In Him is -no darkness at all."+ That is to say, in Him is no darkness of -error, no darkness of ignorance, no darkness of sin, no darkness of -moral imperfection or intellectual imperfection of any kind. The three -words, "God is Light," form one of the most beautiful, one of the most -striking and one of the most stupendous statements of truth that was -ever penned. - -2. To come to things more specific, _the God of the Bible is -omnipotent_. This great truth comes out again and again in the Word -of God. One direct statement of this great truth especially striking -because of the connection in which it is found, occurs in Jer. 32:17, -27: +"Ah Lord Jehovah! Behold, thou hast made the heavens and the -earth by thy great power and by thine outstretched arm: there is -nothing too hard for thee."+ Here it is Jeremiah who makes the -statement, but in the 27th verse it is Jehovah Himself who says: -+"Behold, I am Jehovah, the God of all flesh: is there anything too -hard for me?"+ - -In Job 42:2 we read these words of Job, when at last he has been -brought to see and to recognise the true nature of Jehovah: +"I -know that thou canst do all things and that no purpose of thine can -be restrained."+ In Matt. 19:26 our Lord Jesus says: +"With God -all things are possible."+ Taking these passages together, we are -plainly taught by our Lord Himself and by others that _God can do all -things, that nothing is too hard for Him, that all things are possible -with Him. In a word, that God is omnipotent._ A very impressive passage -in the book of Psalms setting forth this same great truth is Ps. -33:6-9: +"By the word of Jehovah were the heavens made, and all the -host of them by the breath of his mouth. (7) He gathereth the waters of -the sea together as a heap: he layeth up the deeps in storehouses. (8) -Let all the earth fear Jehovah: let all the inhabitants of the world -stand in awe of him. (9) For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, -and it stood fast."+ Here we see God by the mere utterance of His -voice bringing to pass anything that He desires to be brought to pass. -We find this same lofty conception of God in the very first chapter -of the Bible, that chapter that so many people who imagine themselves -scholarly are telling us is outgrown and not up to date, and yet which -contains some of the sublimest utterances that were ever written, -unmatched by anything that any philosopher or scientist or platform -orator is saying to-day. The very first words of that chapter read: -+"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth"+ (Gen. -1:1), a description of the origin of things that has never been matched -for simplicity, sublimity and profundity; and two verses further down, -in the third verse, we read: +"And God said, Let there be light: and -light was."+ These words need no comment. There is here a sublimity -of thought in the setting forth of the omnipotence of God's mere word -before which any truly intelligent and alert soul will stand in wonder -and awe. There is nothing in poetry or in philosophical dissertation, -ancient or modern, that can for one moment be put in comparison with -these sublime words. Over and over again the thought is brought out -in the Word of God that all nature is absolutely subject to God's -will and word. We see this, for example, in Ps. 107:25-29: +"For he -commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves -thereof. (26) They mount up to the heavens, they go down again to the -depths: their soul melteth away because of trouble. (27) They reel to -and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end. -(28) Then they cry unto Jehovah in their trouble, and he bringeth them -out of their distresses. (29) He maketh the storm a calm, so that -the waves thereof are still."+ Another description of a similar -character is found in Nahum 1:3-6: +"Jehovah is slow to anger, and -great in power, and will by no means clear the guilty: Jehovah hath his -way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of -his feet. (4) He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all -the rivers: Bashan languisheth, and Carmel and the flower of Lebanon -languisheth. (5) The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt; and -the earth is upheaved at his presence, yea, the world, and all that -dwell therein. (6) Who can stand before his indignation? and who can -abide in the fierceness of his anger? His wrath is poured out like -fire, and the rocks are broken asunder by him."+ What a picture we -have here of the omnipotence and awful majesty of God! - -Not only is nature represented as being absolutely subject to God's -will and word, but men also are represented as being absolutely subject -to His will and word. For example, we read in Jas. 4:12-15: +"One -only is the lawgiver and judge, even he who is able to save and to -destroy: But who art thou that judgest thy neighbour? (13) Come now, -ye that say, to-day or to-morrow we will go into this city, and spend -a year there, and trade, and get gain: (14) Whereas ye know not what -shall be on the morrow. What is your life? For ye are a vapour that -appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. (15) For that -ye ought to say, if the Lord will, we shall both live, and do this or -that."+ - -Happy is the man who voluntarily subjects himself to God's will and -word, but whether we voluntarily subject ourselves to God's will and -word or not, we are subject to His will and word whether or no. The -angels also are subject to His will and word (Heb. 1:13, 14) and even -Satan himself is, although entirely against his own will, absolutely -subject to the will and word of God, as is evident from Job 1:12 and -Job 2:6. - -_The exercise of God's omnipotence is limited by His own wise and holy -and loving will._ God _can do_ anything, but _will do_ only that which -infinite wisdom and holiness and love dictate. This comes out, for -example, in Isa. 59:1, 2: +"Behold, Jehovah's hand is not shortened, -that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: (2) -But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your -sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear."+ - -3. _The God of the Bible is also omniscient._ In 1 John 3:20 we read: -+"God knoweth all things."+ Turning to the Old Testament, in -Ps. 147:5, we read: +"Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; his -understanding is infinite."+ The literal translation of the last -clause of this passage is "Of his understanding there is no number." In -these passages it is plainly declared that "God knoweth all things" and -that "His understanding is infinite." In Job 37:16 Elihu the messenger -of God is represented as saying that Jehovah is "perfect in knowledge." -Along the same line, in Acts 15:18 we read: +"Known unto God are all -his works from the beginning of the world."+ The Revised Version -makes a change in the translation of this verse but this change does -not alter the sense of the truth here set forth that God knows all His -works and all things from the beginning of the world. _Known to Him is -everything from the most vast to the most minute detail._ In Ps. 147:4 -we are told that, +"He telleth the number of the stars; he knoweth -them all by name."+ While in Matt. 10:29 we are told that _not a -sparrow_ falleth to the ground without Him. The stars in all their -stupendous magnitude and the sparrows in all their insignificance are -all equally in His mind. - -We are further told that everything has a part in His purpose and -plan. In Acts 3:17, 18, the Apostle Peter says of the crucifixion -of our Lord, the wickedest act in all the history of the human -race: +"And now, brethren, I wot that in ignorance ye did it, as -did also your rulers. But the things which God foreshowed by the -mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ should suffer, he thus -fulfilled."+ In Acts 2:23 Peter declared on the day of Pentecost -(although the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus was the wickedest act in -all history) that nevertheless the Lord Jesus was +"Delivered up by -the determinate council and foreknowledge of God."+ According to -the Psalmist (Ps. 76:10) God takes the acts of the wickedest men into -His plans and makes the wrath of men to praise Him, and the remainder -of wrath doth He restrain. Even the present war with all its horrors, -with all its atrocities, with all its abominations and all its nameless -wickednesses, was foreknown of God and taken into His own gracious plan -of the ages; and He will make every event in this present war, even the -most shocking things, designed by the vilest conspiracy of unprincipled -men, utterly unhuman and beastly men and Devil inspired men, work -together for good to those who love God, for those who are the called -according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28). - -_The whole plan of the ages, not merely of the centuries, but of -the immeasurable ages of God, and every man's part in it, has been -known to God from all eternity._ This is made very clear in Eph. -1:9-12, where we read: +"Having made known unto us the mystery -of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in -him unto a dispensation of the fullness of the times, to sum up all -things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things upon the -earth; in him, I say, in whom also we were made a heritage, having -been foreordained according to the purpose of him who worketh all -things after the counsel of his will; to the end that we should be to -the praise of his glory, we who before hoped in Christ."+ And in -Eph. 3:4-9, we read: +"Wherefore when ye read, ye can perceive my -understanding in the mystery of Christ; which in other generations was -not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his -holy prophets and apostles in the Spirit; to wit, that the Gentiles are -fellow-heirs, and fellow-members of the body, and fellow-partakers of -the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, whereof I was made a -minister, according to the gift of that grace of God which was given me -according to the working of his power. Unto me, who am less than the -least of all saints, was this grace given, to preach unto the Gentiles -the unsearchable riches of Christ; and to make all men see what is the -dispensation of the mystery which from all ages has been hid in God -who created all things."+ There are no after-thoughts with God. -Everything is seen, known, purposed and planned for from the outset. -Well may we exclaim: +"Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom -and knowledge of God: how unsearchable are his judgments and his ways -past finding out."+ (Rom. 11:33.) God knows from all eternity what -He will do to all eternity. - -4. _God is also absolutely and infinitely holy._ This is a point of -central and fundamental importance in the Bible conception of God. -It comes out in our first text: +"God is light, and in him is no -darkness at all."+ John when he wrote these words gave them as the -summary of +"The message which we have heard from God."+ (1 John -1:5.) In Isa. 6:3 in the vision of Jehovah which was given to Isaiah -in the year that King Uzziah died, the "seraphim," or "burning ones," -burning in their own intense holiness, are represented as standing -before Jehovah with covered faces and covered feet and constantly -crying, "_Holy, holy, holy_, is Jehovah of Hosts." And in 1 Pet. 1:16 -God cries to us, +"Be ye holy, for I am holy."+ - -This thought of the infinite and awe-inspiring holiness of God pervades -the entire Bible. It underlies everything in it. The entire Mosaic -system is built upon and about this fundamental and central truth. Its -system of washings; the divisions of the tabernacle; the divisions -of the people into ordinary Israelites, Levites, Priests and High -Priests, who were permitted different degrees of approach to God under -strictly defined conditions, insistence upon sacrifices of blood as -the necessary medium of approach to God; God's directions to Moses in -Ex. 3:5, to Joshua in Josh. 5:15, the punishment of Uzziah in 2 Chron. -26:16-26, the strict orders to Israel in regard to approaching Sinai -when Jehovah came down upon it; the doom of Korah, Dathan and Abiram in -Num. 16:1-33; and the destruction of Nadab and Abihu in Lev. 10:1-3: -all these were intended to teach, emphasise and burn into the minds -and hearts of the Israelites the fundamental truth that God is holy, -unapproachably holy. _The truth that God is holy is the fundamental -truth of the Bible_, of the Old Testament and the New Testament, of the -Jewish religion and the Christian religion. It is the preëminent factor -in the Christian conception of God. There is no fact in the Christian -Conception of God that needs more to be emphasised in our day than the -fact of the absolute, unqualified and uncompromising holiness of God. -That is the chief note that is lacking in Christian Science, Theosophy, -Occultism, Buddhism, New Thought, the New Theology and all the base but -boasted cults of the day. That great truth underlies those fundamental -doctrines of the Bible,—the Atonement by Shed Blood and Justification -by Faith. _The doctrine of the holiness of God is the keystone in the -arch of Christian truth._ - -5. _God is also love._ This truth is declared in one of our texts. -The words +"God is love"+ are found twice in the same chapter (1 -John 4:8, 16). This truth is essentially the same truth as that +"God -is light"+ and +"God is holy,"+ for the very essence of true -holiness is love, and "light" is "love" and "love" is "light." - -6. Furthermore, God is not only perfect in His intellectual and moral -attributes and in power, _He is also omnipresent_. This thought of God -comes out in both the Old Testament and the New. In Ps. 139:7-10 we -read: +"Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee -from thy presence? (8) If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: If -I make my bed in Sheol, behold thou art there. (9) If I take the wings -of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost part of the sea; (10) Even -there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me."+ -There is no place where one can flee from God's presence, for God is -everywhere. This great truth is set forth in a remarkable way in Jer. -23:23, 24: +"Am I a God at hand, saith Jehovah, and not a God afar -off? (24) Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see -him? saith Jehovah. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith Jehovah."+ - -Last week we saw that God has a local habitation, that there is a place -where He exists and manifests Himself in a way in which He does not -manifest Himself everywhere; but while we insist upon that clearly -revealed truth, we must also never lose sight of the fact that _God is -everywhere_. We find this same truth set forth by Paul in his sermon -to the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers on Mars Hill, Acts 17:24-28: -+"The God that made the world, and all things therein, he, being -Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands: -(25) Neither is served by men's hands as though he needed anything, -seeing he himself giveth to all life and breath and all things. (26) -And he made of one every nation of men who dwell on all the face of -the earth, having determined their appointed seasons, and the bounds -of their habitations. (27) For in him we live, and move, and have our -being; as certain even of your own poets have said, for we are also his -offspring."+ - -From these passages we see that God is everywhere. He is in all parts -of the universe and near each individual. In Him each individual lives -and moves and has his being. He is in every rose and lily and blade of -grass. - -7. There is one other thought in the Christian conception of God that -needs to be placed alongside of His omnipresence and that is His -eternity. _God is eternal. His existence had no beginning and will have -no ending, He always was, always is and always shall be._ God is not -only everywhere present in space, He is everywhere present in time. -This conception of God appears constantly in the Bible. We are told -way back in Gen. 21:33 that Abraham called +"On the name of Jehovah, -the everlasting God."+ In Isa. 40:28 we read this description of -Jehovah: +"Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard? The everlasting -God, Jehovah, the creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, -neither is weary; there is no searching of his understanding."+ -Here again He is called "The Everlasting God." Habakkuk in Hab. 1:12 -sets forth the same conception of God. He says, +"Art not thou from -everlasting, O Jehovah my God, mine holy one?"+ The Psalmist gives -us the same representation of God in Ps. 90:2, 4: +"Before the -mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hast formed the earth and -the world, even from everlasting to everlasting thou art God. (4) For a -thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is passed, and -as a watch in the night."+ We have the same representation of God in -the 102nd Ps., verses 24-27: +"I said, O my God, take me not away in -the midst of my days: Thy years are throughout all generations. (25) -Of old didst thou lay the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are -the work of thy hands. (26) 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; (27) But thou art the same, and -thy years shall have no end."+ - -The very name of God, His covenant name, Jehovah, sets forth His -eternity. He is the eternal "I am," the One who is, was and ever shall -be. (Cf. Ex. 3:14, 15.) - - -II. THERE IS ONE GOD - -One more fact about the Christian conception of God remains to be -mentioned and that is: _There is but one God_. The Unity of God comes -out again and again in both the Old Testament and the New. For example, -we read in Deut. 4:35: +"Jehovah he is God. There is none else -beside him."+ And in Deut. 6:4 we read: +"Hear O Israel: Jehovah -our God is one Jehovah."+ Turning to the New Testament in 1 Tim. -2:5 we read: +"There is one God, one mediator also between God and -man, himself man, Christ Jesus."+ And in Mark 12:29 our Lord Jesus -Himself says: +"Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one."+ - -But we must bear in mind the character of the Divine Unity. It is -clearly revealed in the Bible that in this Divine Unity, in this one -Godhead, there is a multiplicity of persons. This comes out in a -variety of ways. - -1. First of all, _the Hebrew word translated "One" in these various -passages given denotes a compound unity_, not a simple unity. (Cf. 1 -Cor. 3:6-8; 1 Cor. 12:13; John 17:22, 23; Gal. 3:28.) - -2. In the second place, _the Old Testament word most frequently used -for God is a plural noun_. The Hebrew grammarians and lexicographers -tried to explain this by saying that it was the "pluralis majestatis," -but the very simple explanation is that the Hebrews, in spite of their -intense monotheism, used a plural name for God because there is a -plurality of persons in the one Godhead. - -3. More striking yet, as a proof of the plurality of persons in the one -Godhead, is the fact that God Himself uses plural pronouns in speaking -of Himself. For example, in the first chapter of the Bible, Gen. 1:26, -we read that God said: +"Let us make man in our image, after our -likeness."+ And in Gen. 11:7, He is further recorded as saying: -+"Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they -cannot understand one another's speech."+ In Gen. 3:22 we read: -+"And Jehovah God said, Behold, man is become as one of us to know -good and evil."+ And in that wonderful vision to which reference has -already been made, in which Isaiah saw Jehovah, we read this statement -of Isaiah's in Isa. 6:8: +"And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, -Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send -me."+ - -4. Another illustration of the plurality of persons in the one Godhead -in the Old Testament conception of God is found in Zech. 2:10, 11; -where Jehovah speaks of Himself _as sent by Jehovah_ in these words: -+"Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion; for, lo, I come, and I will -dwell in the midst of thee, saith Jehovah. (11) And many nations shall -join themselves to Jehovah in that day, and shall be my people and I -will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that Jehovah of -hosts hath sent me unto thee."+ Here Jehovah clearly speaks of -himself as _sent by Jehovah_, thus clearly indicating two persons in -the Deity. - -5. Another indication of the plurality of persons in the Godhead in the -Old Testament conception of God is found in the fact that "The Angel of -Jehovah" in the Old Testament is at the same time distinguished from -and identified with Jehovah. - -6. This same thought of the plurality of persons in the one Godhead -is brought out in John 1:1, where we reach the very climax of this -thought. Here we are told in so many words: +"In the beginning was -the word and the word was with God and the word was God."+ We -shall see later, when we come to study the Deity of Christ and the -Personality and Deity of the Holy Spirit, that the Lord Jesus and the -Holy Spirit are clearly designated as divine beings and at the same -time distinguished from one another, and from God the Father. So it is -clear that in the Christian conception of God while there is but one -God there is a multiplicity of persons in the one Godhead. - -In these two sermons on "The Christian Conception of God" we have -very inadequately stated that conception. This conception of God -runs through the whole Bible from the first chapter of the book of -Genesis to the last chapter of Revelation, and this is one of the -many marvellous illustrations of the divine unity of the Book. How -wonderful is that Book, in that there is this unity of thought on -this very profound doctrine pervading the whole book! It is a clear -indication that the Bible is the Word of God. There is in the Bible a -profounder philosophy than is found in any human philosophy, ancient or -modern, and the only way to account for it is that God Himself is the -author of this incomparable philosophy. What a wondrous God we have! -How we ought to meditate upon His person! With what awe and at the same -time with what delight we should come into His presence and bow before -Him in adoring contemplation of the wonder and beauty and majesty and -glory of His being! - - - - -IV - -THE DEITY OF JESUS CHRIST - - "Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked - them a question, saying, What think ye of the Christ? whose son - is He?"—Matt. 22:41, 42. - - -The question that our Lord Jesus here puts to the Pharisees is the -most fundamental question concerning Christian thought and faith that -can be put to anybody in any age. Jesus Christ Himself is the centre -of Christianity, so the most fundamental questions of faith are those -that concern the person of Christ. If a man really holds right views -concerning the person of Jesus Christ he will sooner or later get right -views on every other question. If he holds a wrong view concerning -the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, he is pretty sure to go wrong on -everything else sooner or later. +What think ye of Christ?+ That -is the great central question, that is the vital question. - -And the most fundamental question concerning the person of Christ -is, is Jesus Christ really God? Not merely is He Divine, but is He -actually God? When I was a boy, to say you believed in the Divinity -of Christ, meant that you believed in the real Deity of Christ, that -you believed that Jesus was actually a Divine person, that He was God. -It no longer means that. The Devil is wise, shrewd, subtle, and he -knows that the most effectual way to instil error into the minds of -the inexpert and unwary is to use old and precious words and put a new -meaning into them. So when his messengers masquerading as "ministers of -righteousness" seek to lead, if possible, the elect astray, they use -the old precious words but with an entirely new and entirely different -and entirely false meaning. They talk about "the Divinity of Christ," -but they do not mean at all by it what intelligent Christians in -former days meant by it. Just so they talk of "_the atonement_," but -they do not mean at all by the atonement the substitutionary death of -Jesus Christ in our place, by which eternal life is secured for us. -And oftentimes when they talk about Christ they do not mean at all -our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the actual historic Jesus of the -four gospels, they mean an ideal Christ, or a Christ principle. So our -subject this morning is not the Divinity of Christ, but the Deity of -Christ, and our question is not is Jesus Christ Divine, but is Jesus -Christ God? Was that person who was born at Bethlehem nineteen hundred -and twenty-one years ago, and who lived thirty-three or thirty-four -years here upon earth as recorded in the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, -Luke and John, who was crucified on Calvary's cross, who rose from -the dead the third day, and was exalted from earth to heaven, to the -right hand of the Father, was He God manifested in the flesh, was He -God embodied in a human being? Was He and is He a being worthy of our -absolute faith, and supreme love, and our unhesitating obedience, and -our whole-hearted worship, just as God the Father is worthy of our -absolute faith and supreme love and unhesitating obedience and our -whole-hearted worship? Should all men honour Jesus Christ even as they -honour God the Father (John 5:23)? Not merely is He an example that we -can wisely follow, or a Master whom we can wisely serve, but is He a -God Whom we can rightly worship? - -I presume that most of us do believe that He was God manifested in -the flesh, and that He is God to-day at the right hand of the Father, -but why do you believe so? Are you so intelligent in your faith, -and therefore so well grounded in your faith, that no glib talker -or reasoner, no Unitarian or Russellite or Christian Scientist or -Theosophist, or other errorist can confuse you and upset you and lead -you astray? It is important that we be thoroughly sound in our faith -at this point, and thoroughly well-informed, wherever else we may be -in ignorance or error, for we are distinctly told in John 20:31 that -+"These are written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, -the Son of God; and that believing, ye may have life in His name."+ -It is evident from these words of the inspired Apostle John that this -question is not merely a matter of theoretical opinion, that it is a -matter that concerns our salvation. It is to confirm and instruct you -in your blessed faith, your saving faith in Jesus Christ as a Divine -person, that I speak this morning. When I studied the subject of the -Divinity of Christ in the theological seminary I got the impression -that there were a few proof-texts in the Bible that conclusively proved -that He was Divine. Years later I found that there were not merely a -few proof-texts that proved this, but that the Bible in many ways and -in countless passages clearly taught that Jesus Christ was God manifest -in the flesh. Indeed I found that the Doctrine of the Deity of Jesus -Christ formed the very warp and woof of the Bible. - - -I. DIVINE NAMES - -The first line of proof of the absolute Deity of our Lord Jesus is -that _many names and titles clearly implying Deity are used of Jesus -Christ in the Bible, some of them over and over again, the total number -of passages reaching far into the hundreds_. Of course, I can give -you only a few illustrations. Turn with me first of all to Rev. 1:17, -+"And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as one dead. And he laid his -right hand upon me saying, Fear not; I am the first and the last."+ -The context shows clearly that our Lord Jesus was the speaker, and here -our Lord Jesus distinctly calls Himself "_the First and the Last_." -Now this beyond a question is a Divine name, for in Isa. 44:6 we read, -+"Thus sayeth Jehovah, the king of Israel, and his redeemer, Jehovah -of hosts: I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no -God."+ In Rev. 22:12, 13, our Lord Jesus says that He is the Alpha -and Omega. His words are, +"Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is -with me, to render to each man according as his work is. I am Alpha -and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."+ -Now in this same book in the first chapter and the eighth verse _the -Lord God_ declares that He is the Alpha and the Omega. His words are, -+"I am the Alpha, and the Omega, saith the Lord God, which is and -which was and which is to come, the Almighty."+ In 1 Cor. 2:8, -the Apostle Paul speaks of our crucified Lord Jesus as "_the Lord of -glory_." His exact words are, +"Which none of the princes of this -world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the -Lord of glory."+ There can be no question that "the Lord of glory" -is Jehovah God, for we read in Ps. 24:8-10, +"Who is this king of -glory? Jehovah strong and mighty, Jehovah mighty in battle. Lift up -your heads, O ye gates; yea lift them up, ye everlasting doors, and the -king of glory will come in. Who is the king of glory? Jehovah of hosts. -He is the king of glory."+ And we are told in the passage already -referred to that our crucified Lord Jesus was the King of Glory, -therefore He must be Jehovah. In John 20:28 Thomas addressed the -Lord Jesus as his Lord and his God, +"And Thomas answered and said -unto him, My Lord and my God."+ Unitarians have endeavoured to get -around the force of this utterance of Thomas by saying that Thomas was -excited and that he was not addressing the Lord Jesus, but was saying -"my Lord and my God" as an ejaculation of astonishment, just in the way -that profane people sometimes use these exclamations to-day, but this -interpretation is impossible, and shows to what desperate straits the -Unitarians are driven; for Jesus Himself commended Thomas for seeing -it and saying it. Our Lord Jesus' words immediately following those -of Thomas are, +"Because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: -blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed"+ (John -20:29). In the correct translation of Titus 2:13, the translation -given in the English revision, not in the American Standard Revision, -our Lord Jesus is spoken of as, "_our great God_ and Saviour Jesus -Christ." In Rom. 9:5, Paul tells us that +"Christ is over all, God -blessed forever."+ The Unitarians have made desperate efforts to -overcome the force of these words, but the only fair translation -and interpretation of the words that Paul wrote in Greek are the -translation and interpretation found in both our Authorised and Revised -Versions. There can be no honest doubt to one who goes to the Bible to -find out what it actually teaches, and not to read his own thought into -it, that _Jesus is spoken of by various names and titles that beyond -a question imply Deity_, and that He in so many words is called God. -In Heb. 1:8 it is said in so many words, of the Son, +"But unto the -Son he saith, thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever; a sceptre of -righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom."+ If we should go no -further it is evidently the clear and often repeated teaching of the -Bible that Jesus Christ was really God. - - -II. DIVINE ATTRIBUTES - -But there is a second line of proof that Jesus Christ was God, a proof -equally convincing, and that is, _all the five distinctively Divine -attributes are ascribed to Jesus Christ, and "all the fulness of the -Godhead" is said to dwell in Him_. There are five distinctively Divine -attributes, that is five attributes that God alone possesses. These are -Omnipotence, Omniscience, Omnipresence, Eternity, and Immutability. -Each one of these distinctively Divine attributes are ascribed to -Jesus Christ. First of all, omnipotence is ascribed to Jesus Christ. -Not only are we taught that Jesus had power over disease and death -and winds and sea and demons, that they were all subject to His word, -and that He is far above all principality, and power, and might, -and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world -but also in the world to come (Eph. 1:20-23), but in Heb. 1:3 it is -said in so many words that He +"Upholds all things by the word of -his power."+ Omniscience is also ascribed to Him. We are taught -in the Bible that Jesus knew men's lives, even their secret history -(John 4:16, 19), that He knew the secret thoughts of men, knew all -men, knew what was in man (Mark 2:8; Luke 5:22; John 2:24, 25) which -knowledge we are distinctly told in 2 Chron. 6:30 and Jer. 17:9, 10, -God only possesses, but we are told in so many words in John 16:30 -that Jesus knew "all things," and in Col. 2:3 we are told that in Him -"are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." Omnipresence is -also ascribed to Him. We are told in Matt. 18:20 that where two or -three are gathered together in His name, that He is in the midst of -them, and in Matt. 28:20 that wherever His obedient disciples should -go He would be with them, even unto the end of the age, and in John -14:20 and 2 Cor. 13:5 we are told that He dwells in each believer, -in all the millions of believers scattered over the earth. In Eph. -1:23 we are told in so many words that He "_filleth all in all_." -Eternity is also ascribed to Him. We are told in John 1:1 that "_in -the beginning_ was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word -was God." In John 8:57 Jesus Himself said, +"Verily, verily, I say -unto you, before Abraham was, I am."+ Note that the Lord Jesus did -not merely say that "before Abraham was _I was_," but that "before -Abraham was, I AM," thus declaring Himself to be the eternal -"I AM." Even in the Old Testament we have a declaration of -the eternity of the Christ who was to be born in Bethlehem. In Micah -5:2 we read, +"But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little -among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth -unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been -from of old, from everlasting."+ And in Isa. 9:6 we are told of -the child that is to be born, +"For unto us a child is born, unto -us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and -his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the -Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace."+ And in Heb. 13:8 we are -told that +"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and to-day, and for -ever."+ His immutability is also taught in the passage just quoted -from Hebrews, and in the first chapter of the same book, the twelfth -verse we are told that while even the heavens change, the Lord Jesus -does not change. The exact words are, +"They shall perish, but thou -remainest: They all shall wax old as doth a garment; and as a mantle -shalt thou roll them up, as a garment, and they shall be changed: but -thou art the same. And thy years shall not fail."+ So we see that -each one of the five distinctly Divine attributes were ascribed to our -Lord Jesus Christ. And in Col. 2:9 we are told in so many words, +"In -him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily"+ (i.e., in a -bodily form). Here again we might rest our case, for what has been said -under this head, even if taken alone, clearly proves the absolute Deity -of our Lord Jesus Christ. It shows that He possessed every perfection -of nature and character that God the Father possesses. - - -III. DIVINE OFFICES - -But we do not need to rest the case here. There is a third unanswerable -line of proof that Jesus Christ is God, namely, _all the distinctively -Divine offices are predicated of Jesus Christ_. There are seven -distinctively Divine offices. That is to say, there are seven things -that God alone can do, and each one of these seven distinctively Divine -offices are ascribed to Jesus Christ. The seven distinctively Divine -offices are: Creation, Preservation, Forgiveness of Sin, the Raising of -the Dead, the Transformation of Bodies, Judgment, and the Bestowal of -Eternal Life, and each of these is ascribed to Jesus Christ. Creation -is ascribed to Him. In Heb. 1:10 these words are spoken to our Lord: -+"And thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the -earth; and the heavens are the works of thy hands."+ The context -clearly shows that the Lord addressed is the Lord Jesus. In John 1:3 -we are told that +"All things were made through him; and without him -was not anything made that was made."+ Preservation of the universe -and of everything is also ascribed to Him in Heb. 1:3 where it is said -of the Lord Jesus, +"Who being the brightness of his glory, and the -express image of his+ (i.e., God's) +substance and upholding -all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged -our sins, sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high."+ -The forgiveness of sin is ascribed to Him. He Himself says in Mark -2:5-10 when His power to forgive sins was questioned, because that was -recognised as a Divine power, +"That ye may know that the Son of -man hath power on earth to forgive sins."+ The future raising of -the dead is distinctly ascribed to Him in John 6:39, 44, +"And this -is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which He hath -given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last -day. No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw -him: and I will raise him up at the last day."+ The transformation -of our bodies is ascribed to Him in Phil. 3:21, R. V. In 2 Tim. 4:1 -judgment is ascribed to Him: we are told that He shall "judge the quick -and the dead." Jesus Himself declared that He would be the judge of -all mankind, and emphasised the fact of the Divine character of that -office. In John 5:22, 23 He said, +"For neither doth the Father judge -any man, but He hath given all judgment unto the Son, that all men may -honour the Son, even as they honour the Father."+ The bestowal of -eternal life is ascribed to Him time and time again. In John 10:28 He -Himself says, +"And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall -never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand."+ And -in John 17:1, 2, He says, +"Father, the hour is come; glorify thy -Son, that the Son may glorify thee: even as thou gavest Him authority -over all flesh, that to all whom thou hast given him, He should give -eternal life."+ Here then we have the seven distinctively Divine -offices all predicated of Jesus Christ. This alone would prove that -He is God, and we might rest the case here, but there are still other -proofs of His absolute Deity. - - -IV. STATEMENTS WHICH IN THE OLD TESTAMENT ARE MADE DISTINCTLY OF -JEHOVAH, GOD, TAKEN IN THE NEW TESTAMENT TO REFER TO JESUS CHRIST - -The fourth line of proof of the absolute Deity of Jesus Christ is found -in the fact that _over and over again statements which in the Old -Testament are made distinctly of Jehovah, God, are taken in the New -Testament to refer to Jesus Christ_. We have not time to illustrate -this at length, but will give but one illustration where many might be -given. In Jer. 11:20 the prophet says, +"But, O Lord of hosts, that -judgest righteously, that triest the reins and the heart, let me see -thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I revealed my cause."+ -Here the prophet distinctly says that it is Jehovah of Hosts who -_judgest_ and _triest the reins and the heart_. And in the 17th chapter -and the tenth verse Jeremiah represents Jehovah Himself as saying the -same thing in these words, +"I, Jehovah, search the heart, I try -the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, according to -the fruit of his doings."+ But in the New Testament in Rev. 2:23 -_the Lord Jesus_ says, +"I am he which searcheth the reins and -the hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your -works."+ We are distinctly told in the context that it is "The Son -of God" who is speaking here. So Jesus claims for Himself in the N. T. -what Jehovah in the O. T. says is true of Himself and of Himself alone, -and in very many other instances statements which in the Old Testament -are made distinctly of Jehovah, God, are taken in the N. T. to refer -to Jesus Christ. This is to say, in New Testament thought and doctrine -Jesus Christ occupies the place that Jehovah occupies in Old Testament -thought and doctrine. - - -V. THE WAY IN WHICH THE NAME OF GOD THE FATHER AND JESUS CHRIST THE SON -ARE COUPLED TOGETHER - -The fifth line of proof of the absolute Deity of our Lord is found -_in the way in which the name of Jesus Christ is coupled with that -of God the Father. In numerous passages His name is coupled with the -name of God the Father in a way in which it would be impossible to -couple the name of any finite being with that of the Deity._ We have -time for but a few of the many illustrations that might be given. A -striking instance is in the words of our Lord Himself in John 14:23 -where we read, +"Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, -he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and he will come -unto him, and make our abode with him."+ Here our Lord Jesus does -not hesitate to couple Himself with the Father in such a way as to say -"_we_," i.e., _God the Father and I_ will come and make our abode with -him. In John 14:1 He says, +"Let not your heart be troubled: Believe -in God, believe also in me."+ If Jesus Christ was not God this -is shocking blasphemy. There is absolutely no middle ground between -admitting the Deity of Jesus Christ and charging Christ with the most -daring and appalling blasphemy of which any man in all history was ever -guilty. - - -VI. DIVINE WORSHIP TO BE GIVEN TO JESUS CHRIST - -There is a sixth line of proof of the absolute Deity of our Lord -Jesus. Those already given have been decisive, each one of the five -has been decisive, but this, if possible, is the most decisive of -them all, and that is, that _we are taught in so many words that -Jesus Christ should be worshipped as God, both by angels and men_. In -numerous places in the gospels we see Jesus Christ accepting without -hesitation a worship which good men and angels declined with fear, -and which He Himself taught should be rendered only to God (Matt. -28:9; Luke 24:52; Mark 14:33; cf. Acts 10:25, 26; Rev. 22:8, 9, R. V.; -Matt. 4:9, 10). A curious and very misleading comment is made in the -margin of the American Standard Revision upon the meaning of the word -translated "worship" in these passages, and that is that "the Greek -word translated worship denotes an act of reverence, _whether paid to -a creature_ or to the Creator." Now this is true, but it is utterly -misleading; for while this word is used to denote "an act of reverence -paid to a creature" _by idolators_, our Lord Jesus Himself distinctly -says, using exactly the same Greek word, +"Thou shalt worship the -Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve,"+ and on the other hand -He says in John 5:23 that +"All men should honour the Son even as -they honour the Father."+ And in Rev. 5:8, 9, 12, 13 the four living -creatures and the four and twenty elders are represented as falling -down before the Lamb and offering worship to Him just as worship is -offered to Him that sitteth upon the throne, i.e., God the Father. In -Heb. 1:6 we are told in so many words, +"And again, when he bringeth -in the first begotten into the world, he saith, and let all the angels -of God worship him."+ One night in the inquiry room in Chicago I -stepped up to an intelligent looking man at the back of the room and -said to him, "Are you a Christian?" He replied, "I do not suppose you -would consider me a Christian." I said, "Why not?" He said, "I am a -Unitarian." I said, "What you mean then is that you do not think that -Jesus Christ is a person who should be worshipped." He replied, "That -is exactly what I think," and added, "the Bible nowhere says we ought -to worship Him." I said, "Who told you that?" He replied, "My pastor," -mentioning a prominent Unitarian minister in the City of Boston. I -said, "Let me show you something," and I opened my Bible to Heb. 1:6 -and read, +"And again, when he bringeth in the first begotten into -the world, he saith, and let all the angels of God worship him,"+ -and he said, "Does it say that?" I handed him the Bible and said, "Read -it for yourself," and he read it and said, "I did not know that was in -the Bible." I said, "Well it is there, isn't it?" "Yes it is there." -Language could not make it plainer. _The Bible clearly teaches that -Jesus, the Son of God, is to be worshipped as God by angels and men, -even as God the Father is worshipped._ - - -VII. INCIDENTAL PROOFS OF THE DEITY OF JESUS CHRIST - -The six lines of proof of the Deity of Jesus Christ which I have given -you leave no possibility of doubting that Jesus Christ is God, that -Jesus of Nazareth is God manifest in a human person, that He is a being -to be worshipped, even as God the Father is worshipped; but there are -also incidental proofs of His absolute Deity which, if possible, are in -some ways even more convincing than the direct assertions of His Deity. - -1. Our Lord Jesus says in Matt. 11:28, +"Come unto me, all ye that -labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."+ Now any one -that makes a promise like that must either be God, or a lunatic, or an -impostor. No one can give rest to all who labour and are heavy laden -who come to him unless he is God, and yet Jesus Christ offers to do it. -If He offers to do it and fails to do it when men come to Him, then He -is either a lunatic or an impostor. If He actually does it, then beyond -a question He is God. And thousands can testify that He really does it. -Thousands and tens of thousands who have laboured and were heavy laden -and crushed, and for whom there was no help in man, have come to Jesus -Christ and _He actually has given them rest_. Surely then He is not -merely a great man, He is God. - -2. Again in John 14:1 _Jesus Christ demands that we put the same faith -in Him that we put in God the Father_, and promises that in such faith -we will find a cure for all trouble and anxiety of heart. His words -are, +"Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also -in me."+ It is clear that He demands that the same absolute faith -be put in Himself that is to be put in God Almighty. Now in Jer. 17:5, -scripture with which our Lord Jesus was perfectly familiar, we read -+"Thus saith Jehovah: Cursed is the man that trusteth in man,"+ -and yet with this clear curse pronounced upon all who trust in man, -Jesus Christ demands that we put trust in Him just as we put trust in -God. It is the strongest possible assertion of Deity on His part. No -one but God has a right to make such a demand, and Jesus Christ, when -He makes this demand, must either be God or an impostor, but thousands -and tens of thousands have found that when they did believe in Him just -as they believe in God, their hearts were delivered from trouble no -matter what their bereavement or circumstances might be. - -3. Again, _the Lord Jesus demanded supreme and absolute love for -Himself_. It is clear as day that no one but God has a right to demand -such a love, but there can be no question that Jesus did demand it. -In Matt. 10:37 He said to His disciples, +"He that loveth father or -mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or -daughter more than me is not worthy of me."+ And in Luke 14:26, 33, -He says, +"If any man cometh unto me, and hateth not his own father, -and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, -and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. . . . So therefore -whosoever he be of you that renounceth not all that he hath, he cannot -be my disciple."+ There can be no question that this is a demand on -Jesus' part of supreme and absolute love to Himself, a love that puts -even the dearest relations of life in an entirely secondary place. No -one but God has a right to make any such demand, but our Lord Jesus -made it, and, therefore, He must be God. - -4. In John 10:30 the Lord Jesus claimed absolute equality with the -Father. He said, +"I and the Father are one."+ - -5. In John 14:9 our Lord Jesus went so far as to say, +"He that hath -seen me, hath seen the Father."+ He claims here to be so absolutely -God that to see Him is to see the Father Who dwelleth in Him. - -6. In John 17:3 He says, +"And this is eternal life, to know -thee, the only true God, and him whom thou didst send, even Jesus -Christ."+ In other words, _he claims that the knowledge of Himself -is as essential a part of eternal life as knowledge of God the Father_. - -Conclusion: There is no room left to doubt the absolute Deity of Jesus -Christ. It is a glorious truth. The Saviour in whom we believe is God, -a Saviour for whom nothing is too hard, a Saviour who can save from the -uttermost and save to the uttermost. Oh, how we should rejoice that we -have no merely human Saviour, but a Saviour that is absolutely God. On -the other hand, how black is the guilt of rejecting such a Saviour as -this! Whoever refuses to accept Jesus as his Divine Saviour and Lord is -guilty of the enormous sin of rejecting a Saviour Who is God. Many a -man thinks he is good because he never stole, or committed murder, or -cheated. "Of what great sin am I guilty?" he complacently asks. Have -you ever accepted Jesus Christ? "No." Well, then _you are guilty of -the awful and damning sin of rejecting a Saviour Who is God_. "But," -you answer, "I do not believe that He is God." That does not change -the fact nor lessen your guilt. Questioning a fact or denying a fact -never changes it, regardless of what Mary Baker Eddy may say to the -contrary. Suppose a man had a wife who was one of the noblest, purest, -truest women that ever lived, would her husband's questioning her -purity and nobility change the fact? It would not. It would simply make -that husband guilty of awful slander, it would simply prove that man to -be an outrageous scoundrel. So denying the Deity of Jesus Christ, does -not make his Deity any less a fact, but it does make the denier of His -Deity guilty of awful, incredible, blasphemous slander. It does prove -you who deny His Deity to be——. I leave your own conscience to finish -the sentence. - - - - -V - -JESUS CHRIST A REAL MAN - - "And the word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld - his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father), full - of grace and truth."—John 1:14. - - "Who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an - equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, - taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of - man; and being found in fashion as man, he emptied himself, - becoming obedient even unto death, yea the death of the - cross."—Phil. 2:6-8. - - "There is one God, one mediator also between God and men, - himself man, Christ Jesus."—1 Tim. 2:5. - - -Our subject in this chapter is "Jesus Christ a Real Man." I have three -texts, and the substance of all that I shall say is these three texts. -The first text is John 1:14: +"And the word became flesh, and dwelt -among us (and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from -the Father), full of grace and truth."+ The second text is Phil. -2:6-8: +"Who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on -an equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking -the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of man; and being -found in fashion as a man, he emptied himself, becoming obedient even -unto death, yea the death of the cross."+ And the third text is 1 -Tim. 2:5: +"There is one God, one mediator also between God and man, -himself man, Christ Jesus."+ - -We saw in the preceding chapter that Jesus Christ was God, that in -Him dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, that He possessed -all the distinctively divine attributes, that He exercised all the -distinctively divine functions, that He occupied the position in New -Testament thought that Jehovah occupied in Old Testament thought, -that He was a being worthy of our absolute faith, our supreme love, -our unhesitating obedience, and our whole-hearted worship, that He -was God and is God. But in the passages which we have taken for our -texts to-day, we are told that this Divine One, who had existed from -all eternity with God, the Father, and who was God, _became a man_. In -becoming a man, He did not cease to be God; but the Word, the Eternal -Word, which was with God and was God, took human nature upon Himself. -While He was very God of very God, He was real man, as truly and -completely a man as any man who ever walked on this earth. The doctrine -of the real humanity of Christ is as essential a part of the Christian -faith as the doctrine of His real Deity. There is one very large class -of people who do not see the real Deity of Jesus Christ. They are in -fundamental error. There is another large class of people who see only -His Deity, and who do not see the reality of His manhood. They also are -in error. A doctrine of a Saviour who is only man is false doctrine; -and a doctrine of a Saviour who is only God is equally false doctrine. -The doctrine of the Bible is that, One Who from all eternity was God in -the person of Jesus of Nazareth _became man_. There are many passages -in the Bible which set forth the Deity of our Lord Jesus in a way that -is unmistakable and inescapable. There are many other passages in -the Bible which set forth the complete humanity of our Lord Jesus in -a way which is equally unmistakable and inescapable. It is with the -doctrine of His real humanity, i.e., that He was a real man, that we -are concerned this morning. - - -I. THE HUMAN PARENTAGE OF JESUS CHRIST - -First of all, _the Bible teaches us that Jesus Christ had a human -parentage_. We read in Luke 2:7, +"And she+ (i.e., Mary) -+brought forth her first born Son; and she wrapped him in swaddling -clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them -in the inn."+ Here we are told that our Lord Jesus Christ, though -supernaturally conceived, _was Mary's Son_. Mary was as truly His -mother as God was His Father. He had a human parentage as truly as He -had a divine parentage. In the first chapter of this same Gospel of -Luke, in the 35th verse, we read, +"And the angel answered and said -unto her+ (i.e., Mary), +the Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and -the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee: wherefore also the -holy thing, which is begotten shall be called the Son of God."+ He -was called the Son of God because He was begotten directly by the power -of the Holy Spirit; but the Holy Spirit came upon Mary and she became -the mother of this One who was to be called the "Son of God." Not only -was He descended from Mary and in that way of human parentage, we are -clearly told also in Rom. 1:3 that God's Son +"Was born of the seed -of David according to the flesh."+ And in Acts 2:30 we are told that -He was +"The fruit of his+ (i.e., David's) +loins, according -to the flesh."+ And in Hebrews 7:14, we are told that +"Our Lord -sprang out of Judah."+ While we are told in Gal. 4:4 that +"When -the fulness of the time came, God sent forth His Son,"+ we are also -told with equal plainness in the same verse that this Son of God was -"_Born of a woman_." The human parentage of our Lord and Saviour Jesus -Christ was just as real and just as essential a part of His personality -as His divine parentage. - - -II. THE HUMAN PHYSICAL NATURE OF JESUS CHRIST - -But not only did Jesus Christ have a human parentage, He had a human -physical nature, a human body. This comes out in the first of our -texts, +"The Word Became Flesh,"+ and in Hebrews 2:14 we are -taught +"Since then the children are sharers in flesh and blood, he -also+ (i.e., our Lord Jesus also) +himself in like manner partook -of the same; that through death he might bring to naught him that -had the power of death, that is, the devil."+ Words could not make -it plainer that our Lord Jesus _had a real human body_, a real human -physical nature. Indeed, the Apostle John teaches us in 1 John 4:2, 3, -that not to believe in the actuality of His human body, is a mark of -the Anti-Christ. He says, +"Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: every -spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of -God: and every spirit that confesseth not Jesus is not of God: and this -is the spirit of the anti-Christ, whereof ye have heard that it cometh; -and now it is in the world already."+ There were those in John's -day who denied the reality of Jesus' human nature, who asserted that -His body was only a seeming or apparent body, that it was an illusion, -or as the Christian Scientists now put it, "mortal thought," and John, -speaking in the wisdom and power of the Holy Ghost, asserts that this -doctrine is a mark of the Anti-Christ. It is the one supreme mark -to-day, that "Christian Science" is of the Anti-Christ. - -Jesus Christ not only had a human body during His life here upon earth, -but after His resurrection He still had a human body. The Millennial -Dawnists (Pastor-Russellites) teach us that this is not so; that, -whereas before His incarnation He was wholly a spiritual being, that -at His incarnation He became wholly a human being, and that since His -death and resurrection He is wholly a divine being: all of which is -not Scriptural, and therefore is not true. He himself said after His -resurrection, +"See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle -me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye behold me -have. And when he said this, he showed them his hands and his feet"+ -(Luke 24:39, 40). And to Thomas in John 20:27, after Thomas had -doubted the reality of His resurrection, He said, +"Reach hither thy -finger, and see my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and put it into -my side: and be not faithless but believing."+ Not only after His -resurrection while still here on earth did He have a real human body, -but He still has a human body in the glory. In that wonderful view into -heaven that was given to Stephen at the time he was stoned and killed -we read in Acts 7:55, 56, +"But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, -looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus -standing on the right hand of God, and said, Behold I see the heavens -opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God."+ And -when He comes again to take His rightful authority on this earth, He -shall come with a human body, coming as "the Son of Man." He Himself -said to the High Priest when He stood before him on trial, in Matt. -26:64, +"Nevertheless I say unto you, henceforth ye shall see the son -of man standing at the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of -heaven."+ In this utterance of our Lord we have a declaration of His -Deity, but an equally clear declaration that He was a real man, and -that He will come again _as a man_ with a human, though glorified body. -Indeed, we are told in Phil. 1:20, 21 that when He does thus come, He -is going to transform these our present human bodies, the bodies of our -present humiliation, into the likeness of His own glorious body, His -glorified human body. - - -III. SUBJECT TO HUMAN LIMITATIONS - -But the reality and completeness of our Lord's human nature comes out -not only in the fact that He had a human parentage and a human body: -we are also clearly taught that, while as God he possessed all the -attributes and exercised all the offices of Deity, as a man He was -subject to human limitations. - -1. _He was subject to the physical limitations which are essential to -humanity._ In John 4:6 we read that Jesus Christ _was weary_. The words -are +"Jesus, therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on -the well: and it was about the sixth hour."+ But God is never weary. -We read explicitly in Isa. 40:28 +"Hast thou not known? Hast thou not -heard? The everlasting God, Jehovah, the creator of the ends of the -earth, fainteth not, neither is weary."+ - -We are told in Matt. 8:24 that _Jesus Christ slept_. But God never -sleeps. We read in Ps. 121:4, 5, +"Behold he that keepeth Israel -shall neither slumber nor sleep. Jehovah is thy keeper: Jehovah is thy -shade upon thy right hand."+ By comparison of these two verses, we -see distinctly that Jehovah never sleeps. Yet Jesus did sleep, so while -He was Jehovah, He was not Jehovah only. He was man as truly as He was -God. - -In Matt. 21:18 we read that _Jesus Christ hungered_; in John 19:28 we -read that _Jesus Christ thirsted_; in Luke 22:44 we read that Jesus -Christ _suffered physical agony_, His agony was so great that He was -on the point of dying with agony; and in 1 Cor. 15:3 we read that -"_Christ died_," that His death is an essential part of the Gospel. -Paul says in this passage, +"For I delivered unto you first of all -that which I received, how that Christ died for our sins according to -the scriptures."+ It was no merely apparent death, it was a real -death. It was no "illusion." Our salvation depends on the reality of -His death. "Christian Science" cuts the very heart out of the Gospel. -We are oftentimes asked was it the human nature of Jesus Christ that -died or was it the divine nature that died. It was neither the one nor -the other, natures do not die, a person dies. It was _Jesus_ who died, -the Person who was at once God and man. We are told in so many words in -1 Cor. 2:8, that they +"Crucified the Lord of glory,"+ and we saw -in the last chapter that the "Lord of Glory" is unquestionably a divine -title. It was the one Person Jesus who was at once human and divine, -who died upon the cross of Calvary. - -2. _He was also, as a man subject to intellectual and moral -limitations._ - -We read in Luke 2:52, +"Jesus advanced in wisdom and stature and -in favour with God and man."+ As we are told here that He grew in -wisdom, He must have been more perfect in wisdom after He grew than -He was before He grew, and as He grew in favour with God and man, He -must have attained to a higher type of moral perfection when He grew -than He had attained to before He grew. While in the Babe of Bethlehem -God was incarnate, nevertheless He was a real babe and grew not only -in stature, but in wisdom and in favour with God and man. _As a man_ -He was limited in knowledge, He Himself says in Mark 13:32, +"But -of that day and that hour+ (i.e., the day and the hour of His own -return) +knoweth no man; no, not the angels which are in heaven, -neither the Son but the Father."+ Of course, His knowledge was -_self-limited_: to set an example for you and me to follow in His -steps, He voluntarily _as man_ put away His knowledge of the time of -His own return. - -Furthermore still, we are definitely and explicitly taught in Heb. 4:15 -that Jesus Christ was +"In all points tempted like as we are."+ -But in bearing this in mind as being clear and complete proof of the -reality of His humanity, not only physical but mental and moral, we -should also bear in mind what is stated in the same verse, that He was -tempted "Apart from Sin," i.e., that there was not the slightest taint -or tinge of sin in His temptation, not one moment's yielding to it in -thought or desire or act. Nevertheless, He was tempted and overcame -temptation in the same way that we may overcome it, by the Word of God -and prayer. He Himself voluntarily placed Himself under the essential -moral limitations that man is under in order to redeem man. - -3. _He was also, as a man, subject to limitations in the way in which -He obtained power and in which He exercised power._ Jesus Christ -obtained the power for the Divine work that He did while here upon -earth, not by His incarnate Deity, but by prayer. We read in Mark -1:35, +"And in the morning, a great while before day, he rose up and -went out, and departed unto a desert place, and there prayed."+ And -we read also that before He raised Lazarus from the dead, called him -forth from the tomb by His Word, that He lifted up His eyes to God and -said, +"Father, I thank thee that thou heardest me,"+ showing -conclusively that the power by which He raised Lazarus from the dead -was not His inherent, inborn, Divine power, but was power obtained -by prayer. It is mentioned not less than twenty-five times that He -prayed. He obtained power for work and for moral victory as other -men do, by prayer. He was subject to human conditions for obtaining -what He desired. He obtained power for the divine works and miracles -which he wrought by the anointing of the Holy Spirit. We read in Acts -10:38, that +"God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost -and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were -oppressed of the devil; for God was with him."+ And we are taught, -furthermore, that He was subject during the days of His humiliation to -limitations in the exercise of power. He himself said just before His -crucifixion and subsequent glorification, in John 14:12, +"Verily, -verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do -shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; for I go -unto my Father,"+ the evident meaning of which is, that during the -days of His flesh there was a limitation to His exercise of power, but -after His glorification, when He was glorified with the Father with -the glory which He had with Him since the world was, there would be no -limitations to the exercise of His power, and therefore, that we, being -united, not to our Lord Jesus in His humiliation, but in His exaltation -and restoration to His divine glory, will do greater works than he did -during the days of His humiliation. - - -IV. THE HUMAN RELATION OF JESUS CHRIST TO GOD - -The completeness of the humanity of Jesus Christ comes out in still -another matter, and that is, the relation that He bore to God as a man -was the relation of a man, so that God was His God. He himself says to -Mary in John 20:17, +"Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended unto -the father: but go unto my brethren, and say to them, I ascend unto -my Father and your Father, and my God and your God."+ The evident -meaning of this is that Jesus Christ's relation to God, the Father, -was the relation of man. He speaks of God the Father as "My God." -Though possessed of all the attributes and exercising all the functions -of Deity, Jesus Christ the Son was subordinate to the Father. This -explains utterances of our Lord which have puzzled many who believe in -His Deity, such utterances, for example, as that in John 14:28, where -Jesus says, +"Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come -again unto you. If ye loved me ye would rejoice, because I said, I go -unto the Father: For my Father is greater than I."+ The question is -often asked, "If Jesus Christ is God, how could the Father be greater -than He?" The very simple answer to which is; that He, _as the Son_, -was subordinate to the Father, equal to the Father in the possession of -all the distinctively Divine attributes and exercising all the Divine -offices, and as an object of our wholehearted worship, but subordinate -to the Father in His office. Jesus Christ's relation to the Father is -like the relation of the wife to the husband in this respect, that -the wife may be fully the equal of the husband, but nevertheless, the -"Head of the Woman is the Man," she is subordinate to the man, just as -we are told in the same verse (1 Cor. 11:12) +"The head of Christ is -God,"+ i.e., Jesus Christ the Son is subordinate to the Father. - -It is evident from what we have read from God's Word, that Jesus Christ -in every respect was a true man, a real man, a complete man. He was -made +"In all things"+ +"like unto his brethren"+ (cf. Heb. -2:17). He was subject to all the physical, mental and moral conditions -of existence essential to human nature. He was in every respect a real -man. He became so voluntarily in order to redeem men. From all eternity -He had existed "in the form of God" and could have remained "in the -form of God," but if He had so remained, we would have been lost. -Therefore, out of love to us, the fallen race, as we are taught in one -of our texts (Phil. 2:5-8), He +"Counted not the being on an equality -with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form -of a servant, being made in the likeness of man; and being found in -fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto -death, yea, the death of the cross."+ Oh, wondrous love! that out of -love to us He should take our nature upon Him, turning His back upon -the glory that had been His from all eternity and taking upon Himself -all the shame and suffering that was involved in our redemption, and -becoming one of us that He might die for us and redeem us! Oh, how -wondrous the +"Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was -rich yet for our sakes He became poor, that we through his poverty -might become rich."+ (2 Cor. 8:9.) He partook of human nature -that we might become partakers of the Divine nature. The philosophy -of the divine and human natures of Christ, the philosophy of the -New Testament, is a most wonderful philosophy, the most wonderful -philosophy the world ever heard, and thank God it is a true philosophy. - -But some one may ask, "How shall we reconcile the Bible doctrine of -the true Deity of Jesus Christ with the Bible doctrine of the real -human nature of Jesus Christ, the doctrine that He was real God with -the doctrine that He was equally truly man?" The answer to this is -very simple. Reconciling doctrines is not our main business. Our first -business is to find out what the various passages in the Bible mean, -taken in their natural, grammatical interpretation. Then, if we can -reconcile them, well and good; if not, we should still believe them -both and leave the reconciliation of the two apparently conflicting -doctrines to our increasing knowledge as we go on communing with God -and studying His Word. It is an utterly foolish and vicious principle -of Biblical interpretation that we must interpret every passage of the -Bible so that we can readily reconcile it with every other passage. It -is this principle of interpretation that gives rise to a one-sided, and -therefore untrue, theology. One man, for example, takes the Calvinistic -passages in the Bible and believes them and twists and distorts the -other passages; that teach the freedom of man, to make them fit with -those that teach the sovereignty of God, and he becomes a one-sided -Calvinist. Another man sees only those passages that clearly teach -man's power of self-determination and seeks to twist all that teach the -sovereignty of God and the foreordaining wisdom and will of God to fit -into his ideas, and he becomes a one-sided Arminian, and so on through -the whole gamut of doctrine. It is utter foolishness, to say nothing of -presumption, to thus handle the Word of God deceitfully. Our business -is to find out the plainly intended sense of a passage that we are -studying, as determined by the usage of words, grammatical construction -and context; and when we have found out the plainly intended meaning, -believe it whether we can reconcile it with something else that we have -found out and believe, or not. We should always remember that in many -cases two truths, both clearly true, that at one time seemed utterly -irreconcilable or flatly contradictory to one another, are now, with -our increased knowledge seen to beautifully harmonise. So we should -have no difficulty in recognising the fact that truths that still seem -to us to be contradictory, do now perfectly harmonise in the infinite -wisdom of God, and will some day perfectly harmonise to our minds -when we approach more nearly to God's omniscience. The Bible, in the -most fearless way, puts the absolute Deity of Jesus Christ in closest -juxtaposition with the real manhood of Jesus Christ. For example, we -read in Matt. 8:24, +"And behold, there arose a great tempest in the -sea, insomuch that the boat was covered with the waves; but He+ -(Jesus) +was asleep."+ Here we have a plain statement of the real -manhood of our Lord, but two verses later, in the 26th verse, we read, -+"And He saith unto them, why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? -Then He arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great -calm."+ Here we have a clear shining forth of His Deity, even the -winds and the waves subject to His word. No wonder the disciples asked -one another, +"What manner of man is this that even the winds and the -sea obey him?"+ (Matt. 8:27). The answer is plain: a Divine Man. - -Again we read in Luke 3:21, +"Now it came to pass, when all the -people were baptised, that Jesus also having been baptised, and -praying, . . ."+ Here we see Jesus in His humanity, _baptised_ and -_praying_. Surely this is a man. But in the remainder of the verse -and in the next verse we read, +"And the heaven was opened, and the -Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form, as a dove, upon him, and a -voice came out of heaven, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well -pleased."+ Here God with an audible voice declares Him to be Divine, -to be His Son. Again in John 11:38 we read, +"Jesus, therefore, again -groaning in himself cometh to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone -laid against it."+ Here we see Jesus in His humanity, but four -verses further down, the 43rd and 44th verses, we read, +"And when He -had thus spoken, He cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And -he that was dead came forth."+ Here again his Deity shines forth. - -In Luke 9:28 we read, +"And it came to pass about eight days after -these sayings, that he took with him Peter and John and James, and -went up into the mountain to pray."+ Here we very clearly see His -humanity, His limitation, His dependence upon God; but in the very -next verse, the 29th verse, we read, +"And as He was praying the -fashion of his countenance was altered and His raiment became white -and glistering."+ Here we see His Divinity shining forth, and then -again in the 35th verse, we read of the voice coming out of the cloud, -saying, +"This is my son, my chosen; hear ye him."+ Here His Deity -unmistakably is seen again. - -In Matt. 16:16, 17, we read, +"And Simon Peter answered and said, -thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. And Jesus answered and -said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: for flesh and blood -hath not revealed it unto thee, but my father who is in heaven."+ -Here is a clear declaration by Jesus Himself of His Deity. But four -verses further down in the chapter, the 24th verse, we read, +"From -that time began Jesus to show unto his disciples that he must go up -unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests -and scribes, and be killed, and the third day rise from the dead."+ -Here we have the clearest declaration of the reality and completeness -of His humanity. - -In Heb. 1:6, we read of our Lord Jesus, +"And when He+ (i.e., God -the Father) +again bringeth in the first-begotten into the world he -saith, and let all the angels of God worship him."+ Here is a most -unmistakable and inescapable declaration that Jesus Christ is a Divine -Person, to be worshipped as God by angels as well as men, and two -verses further down we read this further declaration of His absolute -Deity, +"But of the son he saith, Thy throne O God, is for ever and -ever."+ Here again the Son is declared in so many words to be God, -He is called God. But in the very next chapter, Heb. 2:18, we read, -+"For in that He himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to -succor them that are tempted."+ Here we have the clearest possible -declaration of the reality of His human nature. - -In Heb. 4:14 we read, +"Having then a great high priest, who hath -passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our -profession."+ Here we have a plain declaration of His Deity; but in -the very next verse, we read, +"For we have not an high priest that -cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but one that -hath been in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin."+ -One of the plainest declarations of the fullness and completeness of -His humanity to be found in the Bible. - -The doctrine of the Deity of Jesus Christ and the doctrine that Jesus -Christ was a real man, go hand in hand in the Bible. What kind of a -Saviour, what kind of a Lord Jesus, do you believe in? Do you believe -in a Saviour that is a man and man only? Then you do not believe in -the Saviour that is presented in the Bible. On the other hand, do you -believe in a Saviour that is God and God only? Then you do not believe -in the Saviour of the Bible. The Lord Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, -presented to us in the Bible, is very God of very God and at the same -time He is our brother, our fellowman, and is not ashamed to call us -brethren. Oh, I thank God that I have a Saviour that is God, possessed -of all the attributes and powers of Deity, all the perfections of -Deity, a Saviour for whom nothing is too hard. I thank God that my -Saviour is One who made the heavens and the earth, and who holds all -the powers of nature and of history in His control; but I equally -thank God that my Saviour is my brother man, One who was tempted in -all points like as I am, One who is in a position to bear my sins, on -the one hand because He is God, on the other hand because He is man. -A merely divine Saviour could not be a Saviour for me. A merely human -Saviour could not be a Saviour for me. But a Saviour in whom Deity -and humanity meet; a Saviour who is at once God and man, is just the -Saviour I need, and the Saviour that you need, a Saviour that is able -to save to the uttermost all that come unto God through Him. - - - - -VI - -THE PERSONALITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT - - "The Communion of the Holy Ghost."—2 Cor. 13:14. - - -Our subject this morning is "The Personality of the Holy Spirit." No -series of sermons upon the Fundamentals of our Christian faith would -be complete without a sermon on the Personality and Deity of the Holy -Spirit. The doctrine of the Personality of the Holy Spirit is both -fundamental and vital. Any one who does not know the Holy Spirit as -a person has not attained to a complete and well-rounded Christian -experience. Any one who knows God the Father and God the Son, but who -does not know God the Holy Spirit has not attained unto the Christian -conception of God, nor to a fully Christian experience. It may seem -to you at first thought as if the doctrine of the Personality of -the Holy Spirit were a purely technical and apparently impractical -doctrine, but it is not so. As we shall see shortly, the doctrine of -the Personality of the Holy Spirit is a doctrine of the very first -practical importance. - - -I. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE DOCTRINE OF THE PERSONALITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT - -1. _The Doctrine of the Personality of the Holy Spirit is of the -highest importance from the standpoint of worship._ If the Holy Spirit -is a person and a Divine Person, and He is, and if we do not know Him -as such, if we think of the Holy Spirit only as an impersonal influence -or power, then we are robbing a Divine Person of the worship which -is His due, and the love which is His due, and the confidence and -surrender and obedience which are His due. And may I stop at this point -to ask each one of you, "Do you worship the Holy Spirit?" Theoretically -we all do, every time we sing the long metre Doxology, - - "Praise God from whom all blessings flow, - Praise Him all creatures here below. - Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts, - Praise Father, Son _and Holy Ghost_." - -Theoretically we all do every time we sing the Gloria Patri: "Glory be -to the Father and to the Son and _to the Holy Ghost_. As it was in the -beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen." But -it is one thing to do a thing theoretically and quite another thing -to actually do it. It is one thing to sing words, quite another thing -to realise the meaning and the force of the words that you sing. I -had a striking illustration of this some years ago. I was going to a -Bible Conference in New York State. I had to pass through a city four -miles from the grounds where the Conference was held. I had a relative -living in that city and on the way to the Conference stopped to call -upon my relative, who went with me to the Conference. This relative -was a Christian, she was much older than I, had been a Christian much -longer than I, a member of the Presbyterian Church, brought up on the -Shorter Catechism, and thoroughly orthodox. I spoke that morning at the -Conference on the Personality of the Holy Spirit. When the address was -over, we were waiting on the veranda of the hotel for the trolley to -take us back to the city. My relative turned to me and said, "Archie, I -never thought of _it_ before as a person." Well, I had never thought of -_it_ as a person, but thank God I had come to know _Him_ as a person. - -2. In the second place, _it is of the highest importance from a -practical standpoint that we know the Holy Spirit as a person_. If -you think of the Holy Spirit, as so many even among Christian people -do, as a mere influence or power, then your thought will be, "How -can I get hold of the Holy Spirit and use it." But if you think of -Him in the Biblical way as a Divine person, your thought will be, -"How can the Holy Spirit get hold of me and use me?" Is there no -difference between the thought of man, the worm, using God to thresh -the mountain, or God using man, the worm, to thresh the mountain? The -former conception is heathenish, it does not differ essentially from -the conception of the African fetich worshipper who uses his god. The -latter conception, of God the Holy Ghost getting hold of and using -us, is lofty and Christian. If you think of the Holy Spirit merely -as an influence or power, your thought will be, "How can I get more -of the Holy Spirit?" But if you think of Him in the Biblical way as -a person, your thought will be, "How can the Holy Spirit get more -of me?" The former conception, the conception of the Holy Spirit as -a mere influence or power, inevitably leads to self-confidence, to -self-exaltation, to the parade of self. If you think of the Holy Spirit -as an influence or power and then fancy that you have received the Holy -Spirit, the inevitable result will be that you will strut around as -if you belonged to a superior order of Christians. I remember a woman -who came to me one afternoon at the Northfield Bible Conference at the -close of an address and said to me, "Brother Torrey, I want to ask you -a question; but before I do, I want you to understand that I am a Holy -Ghost woman." It made me shudder. It did not sound like it. But on the -other hand, if you think of the Holy Spirit in the Biblical way as a -Divine Person of infinite majesty, who comes to dwell in our hearts -and take possession of us and use us, it leads to self-renunciation, -self-abnegation, self-humiliation. I know of no thought that is more -calculated to put one in the dust and keep one in the dust than this -great Biblical truth of the Holy Ghost as a Divine Person coming to -take up His dwelling in our hearts, and to take possession of our lives -and to use us. - -3. _The doctrine of the personality of the Holy Spirit is of the -highest importance from the standpoint of experience._ Thousands and -tens of thousands of Christian men and women can testify to an entire -transformation of their experience through coming to know the Holy -Spirit as a person. In fact, this address upon the Personality of the -Holy Spirit which, for substance, I have given in almost every city -in which I have ever held a series of meetings, is in some respects -apparently the most abstruse and technical subject that I ever -attempted to handle before a popular audience, and yet, notwithstanding -that fact, more men and women have come to me at the close of the -address and more have written to me, testifying of personal blessing -received, than of any other address which God has permitted me to give. - - -II. FOUR LINES OF PROOF OF THE PERSONALITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT - -There are four separate and distinct lines of proof of the Personality -of the Holy Spirit. - -1. The first line of proof of the Personality of the Holy Spirit is -that all the distinctive marks or characteristics of personality are -ascribed to the Holy Spirit in the Bible. What are the distinctive -characteristics of personality? Knowledge, feeling and will. Any being -who knows and feels and wills is a person. Oftentimes when you say -that the Holy Spirit is a person, people understand you to mean that -the Holy Spirit has hands and feet and fingers and toes and eyes and -ears and nose and mouth, and so on. But these are not the marks of -personality, these are the marks of corporeity. Any being who knows, -thinks and wills is a person whether he have a body or not. Now all -these characteristics of personality are ascribed to the Holy Spirit in -the Bible. - -(1) Turn in your Bibles to 1 Cor. 2:11. +"For what man knoweth the -things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? Even so -the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God."+ _Here -knowledge is ascribed to the Holy Spirit._ The Holy Spirit in other -words, is not a mere illumination that comes to your mind and mine -whereby our minds are cleared and strengthened to see truth that they -would not otherwise discover. The Holy Spirit is a Person who Himself -knows the things of God and reveals to us what He Himself knows. - -(2) Now turn to 1 Cor. 12:11: +"But all these worketh that one and -the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as He will."+ -Here _will_ is ascribed to the Holy Spirit. The thought clearly is -that the Holy Spirit is not a divine power that we get hold of and -use according to our will, but that the Holy Spirit is a person who -gets hold of us and uses us according to His will. This is one of the -most fundamental facts in regard to the Holy Spirit that we must bear -in mind if we are to get into right relations to Him. More people are -going astray at this point than almost any other. They are trying to -get hold of some divine power which they can use according to their -will. I do thank God that there is no divine power that I can get hold -of and use according to my will. What could I, in my foolishness and -ignorance, do with a divine power, what evil I might work! But on the -other hand, I am still more glad that while there is no divine power -that I can get hold of and use according to my foolish will, there is -a Divine Person who can get hold of me and use me according to His -infinitely wise and loving will. - -(3) Turn now to Rom. 8:27. +"And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth -what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the -saints according to the will of God."+ What I wish you to notice -here is expression, "_the mind_ of the Spirit." The Greek word here -translated "mind" is a comprehensive word that has in it the ideas of -both thought and purpose. It is the same word which is used in the 7th -verse of the chapter where we read, +"The mind of the flesh is enmity -against God,"+ where the thought is that not merely the thought of -the flesh is against God, but the whole moral and intellectual life of -the flesh is enmity against God. - -(4) We now turn to a most remarkable passage—Rom. 15:30. +"Now I -beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the -love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to -God for me."+ What I wish you to notice in this verse are the words -"_The love of the Spirit_." It is a wonderful thought. It teaches us -that the Holy Spirit is not a mere blind influence or power, no matter -how beneficent, that comes into our hearts and lives, but that He is -a Divine Person, loving us with the tenderest love. I wonder how many -of us have ever thought much regarding "the love of the Spirit." I -wonder how many of us ministers who are here to-day have ever preached -a sermon on the love of the Spirit. I wonder how many of you have ever -heard a sermon on the love of the Spirit. Every day of your life you -kneel down before God the Father, at least I hope you do, and say, -"Heavenly Father, I thank thee for thy great love that led thee to give -thy Son to come down to this world and die upon the cross of Calvary in -my place." Every day of your life you kneel down and look up into the -face of Jesus Christ the Son and say, "Thou blessed Son of God, I thank -thee for that great love of thine that led thee to come down to this -world in obedience to the Father and die in my place upon the cross of -Calvary." But did you ever kneel down and look up to the Holy Spirit -and say to him, "Holy Spirit, I thank thee for that great love of -thine"? And yet we owe our salvation as truly to the love of the Holy -Spirit as we do to the love of the Father and the love of the Son. If -it had not been for the love of God the Father to me, looking down upon -me in my lost estate, yes, anticipating my fall and ruin and sending -His Son down to this world to die upon the cross, to die in my place, -I would have been in hell to-day. If it had not been for the love of -Jesus Christ, the Son, coming down to this world in obedience to the -Father to lay down His life, a perfect atoning sacrifice on the cross -of Cavalry in my stead, I would have been in hell to-day. But if it had -not been for the love of the Holy Spirit to me, coming down to this -world in obedience to the Father and the Son, seeking me out in my lost -condition, following me day after day, and week after week, and month -after month, and year after year, when I would not listen to Him, when -I deliberately turned my back upon Him, when I insulted Him, following -me into places where it must have been agony for One so holy to go, -following me day after day, week after week, month after month, year -after year, until at last He succeeded in bringing me to my senses and -bringing me to realise my utterly lost condition and revealed the Lord -Jesus to me as just the Saviour I needed and induced me and enabled me -to receive the Lord Jesus as my Saviour and my Lord; if it had not been -for this patient, long-suffering, never-wearying love of the Spirit of -God to me, I would have been in hell to-day. - -(5) Turn now to a passage in the Old Testament. Neh. 9:20. +"Thou -gavest also thy good Spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not thy -manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst."+ -Here both intelligence and goodness are ascribed to the Holy Spirit. -This passage does not add anything to the thought that we have already -had: I brought it in simply because it is from the Old Testament. -There are those who say that the doctrine of the Personality of the -Holy Spirit is in the New Testament, but is not in the Old Testament; -but here we find it as clearly in the Old Testament as in the New. Of -course, we do not find it as frequently in the Old Testament as in the -New, for this is the dispensation of the Holy Spirit: but the doctrine -of the Personality of the Holy Spirit is there in the Old Testament. -There are many who say that the doctrine of the Trinity is not in the -Old Testament, that while it is in the New, it is not in the Old. But -it is in the Old, in the very first chapter of the Bible. In Gen. 1:26 -we read, +"And God said, let us make man in our image, after our -likeness."+ Here the plurality of the persons in the Godhead comes -out clearly. God did not say, "_I_ will" or "Let _me_ make man in -_my_ image." He said, "Let _us_ make man in _our_ image, after _our_ -likeness." The three persons of the Trinity are found in the first -three verses of the Bible: +"In the beginning God created the heaven -and the earth."+ There you have God the Father. +"And the earth -was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. -And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."+ There you -have the Holy Spirit. +"And God said,"+ there you have the Word, -+"Let there be light: and there was light."+ Here we have the -three persons of the Trinity in the first three verses of the Bible. In -fact the doctrine of the Trinity is found hundreds of times in the Old -Testament. In the Hebrew Bible it occurs in every place where you find -the word God in your English Bible, for the Hebrew word for God is a -plural noun. Literally translated, it would be "Gods" and not God. In -the very passage to which the Unitarians and the Jews, who reject the -Deity of Christ, refer so often as proving conclusively that the Deity -of Christ cannot be true, namely Deut. 6:4, the very doctrine that they -are seeking to disprove is found; for Deut. 6:4 literally translated -would read +"Hear, O Israel: Jehovah our Gods is one Jehovah."+ -Why did the Hebrews with their intense monotheism, use a plural name -for God? This was the question that puzzled the Hebrew grammarians and -lexicographers, and the best explanation they could arrive at was that -the plural for God here used was the pluralis majestatis, the plural -of majesty. The explanation is entirely inadequate, to say nothing of -the fact that the pluralis majestatis in the Old Testament is a figure -of very doubtful validity. There is another explanation far nearer at -hand, and far more adequate and satisfactory, and that is that the -Hebrew inspired writers use a plural name for God in spite of their -intense monotheism, because there is a plurality of persons in the one -Godhead. - -(6) Now turn to Eph. 4:30. +"And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, -whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption."+ Here grief is -ascribed to the Holy Spirit. In other words, the Holy Spirit is not a -mere blind impersonal influence or power that comes to dwell in your -heart and mine, but a person, a person who loves us, a person who is -holy and intensely sensitive against sin, a person who recoils from sin -in what we call its slightest forms as the holiest woman of earth never -recoiled from sin in its grossest and most repulsive forms. And He sees -whatever we do, He hears whatever we say, He sees our very thoughts, -not a vagrant fancy is allowed a moment's lodgment in our mind but what -He sees it. And if there is anything impure, unholy, immodest, untrue, -false, censorious, or unChristlike in any way, He is grieved beyond -expression. This is a wonderful thought and it is to me the mightiest -incentive that I know to a Christian walk. How many a young man is kept -back from doing things that he would otherwise do, by the thought that, -if he did do that, his mother might hear of it and it would grieve her -beyond expression. How many a young man has come to the great city -and in some hour of temptation has been about to go into a place that -no self-respecting man ought ever to enter, but just as his hand is on -the doorknob and he is about to open the door, the thought comes to -him, "If I should enter there mother might hear of it, and if she did, -it would nearly kill her," and he has turned away without entering; -but there is One holier than the holiest mother that any of us ever -knew, One who loves us with a tenderer love than our own mother loves -us, and Who sees everything we do, not only in the daylight but under -the cover of night; Who hears every word we utter, every careless word -that escapes our lips; Who sees every thought we entertain, yes, Who -sees every fleeting fancy that we allow a moment's lodgment in our -mind; and if there is anything unholy, impure, immodest, indecorous, -unkind, harsh, censorious or unchristlike in any way in act or word or -thought, He sees it and is grieved beyond expression. Oh, how often -there has come into my mind some thought or imagination, I know not -from what source, but that I ought not to entertain, and just as I was -about to give it lodgment, the thought has come, "The Holy Spirit sees -that and will be grieved by it," and the thought has gone. Bearing -this thought of the Holy Spirit in our mind will help us to solve all -the questions that perplex the young believer to-day. For example, the -question, "Ought I as a Christian go to the theatre or the movies?" -Well, if you go the Holy Spirit will go; for He dwells in the heart of -every believer and goes wherever the believer goes. Were you ever at -a theatre or at a moving picture show in your life where you thought -the atmosphere of the place would be congenial to the _Holy_ Spirit? -If not, don't go. Ought I as a Christian go to the dance? Well, here -again, if you go, the Holy Spirit will surely go. Were you ever at a -dance in your life where you believed the atmosphere of the place would -be congenial to the Holy Spirit? Shall I as a Christian play cards? -Were you ever at a card party in all your life, even the most select -little neighbourhood gathering, or even a home gathering to play cards, -where you thought the atmosphere of the place would be congenial to the -Holy Spirit? If not, don't play. So with all the questions that come up -and that some of us find so hard to settle, this thought of the Holy -Spirit will help you to settle them all, and to settle them right, if -you really desire to settle them right and not merely to do the thing -that pleases yourself. - -2. The second line of proof of the personality of the Holy Spirit is -that, many actions are ascribed to the Holy Spirit that only a person -can perform. There are many illustrations of this in the Bible; but I -will limit our consideration this morning to three instances. - -(1) Turn again to the 2nd chapter of 1 Corinthians. In the 10th verse, -we read, +"But unto us, God revealed them through the Spirit: for -the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God."+ Here -the Holy Spirit is represented as searching the deep things of God. In -other words, as we said under our previous heading, the Holy Spirit is -not a mere illumination whereby our minds are made clear and strong to -apprehend truth that they would not otherwise discover, but the Holy -Spirit is a person Who Himself searches into the deep things of God and -reveals to us the things which He discovers. Such words could only be -spoken of a person. - -(2) Now turn to Rom. 8:26 +"And in like manner the Spirit also -helpeth our infirmity: for we know not how to pray as we ought but the -spirit himself maketh intercession for us with groanings that cannot be -uttered."+ Here the Holy Spirit is represented as doing what only a -person can do, praying. The Holy Spirit is not a mere influence that -comes to impel us to prayer, and not a mere guidance to us in offering -our prayers. _He is a person who Himself prays._ Every believer in -Christ has two Divine Persons praying for Him. First, the Son, our -Advocate with the Father, who ever liveth to make intercession for us -up yonder at the right hand of God in the place of power (John 2:1 and -Heb. 7:25). Second, the Holy Spirit who prays through us down here. Oh, -what a wonderful thought, that we have these two divine persons praying -for us every day. What a sense it gives us of our security. - -(3) Now turn to two other closely related passages. John 14:26. +"But -the comforter, even the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my -name, he shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all -that I have said unto you."+ Here the Holy Spirit is represented as -doing what only a person could do, namely, teaching. We have the same -thought in John 16:12-14. +"I have yet many things to say unto you, -but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when He, the Spirit of Truth, is -come, He shall guide you into all the truth: for He shall not speak -from Himself; but what things soever He shall hear, these shall He -speak: and He shall declare unto you the things that are to come. He -shall glorify me; for He shall take of mine, and shall declare it -unto you."+ Here again the Holy Spirit is represented as a living -personal teacher. It is our privilege to have the Holy Spirit as a -living person to-day as our teacher. Every time we study our Bibles, it -is possible for us to have this Divine Person the author of the Book, -to interpret it to us and to teach us its meaning. It is a precious -thought. How many of us have often thought when we heard some great -human teacher whom God has especially blessed to us, "Oh, if I could -only hear that man every day, then I might make some progress in my -Christian life," but we can have a teacher more competent by far than -the greatest human teacher that ever spoke for our teacher every day, -the Holy Spirit. - -3. The third line of proof of the personality of the Holy Spirit is -that _an office is predicated of the Holy Spirit that could only be -predicated of a person_. Look for example at John 14:16, 17. Here we -read, +"And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another -Comforter, that He may abide with you forever, even the Spirit of -truth: whom the world cannot receive; for it seeth him not. Neither -knoweth him: ye know him; for He abideth with you, and shall be in -you."+ Here the Holy Spirit is represented as _another Comforter_ -who is coming to take the place of our Lord Jesus. Up to this time our -Lord Jesus had been the friend always at hand to help them in every -emergency that arose. But now He was going and their hearts were filled -with consternation, and He tells them that while He is going, another -is coming to take His place. Can you imagine our Lord Jesus saying this -if the other that was coming to take His place was a mere impersonal -influence or power? Can you imagine our Lord Jesus saying what He says -in John 16:7, +"Nevertheless I tell you the truth, it is expedient -for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not -come unto you; but if I go, I will send him unto you,"+ if that -which was coming to take His place was not another person but a mere -influence or power. In that case, is it for a moment conceivable that -our Lord could say that it was expedient for Him, a Divine Person, -to go and a mere influence or power, no matter how divine, come to -take His place? No! No! What our Lord said was that He, one Divine -Person, was going, but that another Person, just as Divine, was coming -to take His place. This promise is to me one of the most precious -promises in the whole Word of God for this present dispensation, the -thought that during the absence of my Lord, until that glad day when -He shall come back again, another Person, just as divine as He, is by -my side, yes, dwells in my heart every moment to commune with me and -to help me in every emergency that can possibly arise. I suppose you -know that the Greek word translated Comforter in these verses means -more than Comforter. It means Comforter plus a whole lot beside. The -Greek word so translated is _parakletos_. This word is a compound word, -compounded of the word _para_ which means alongside, and _kletos_, -one called, "One called to stand alongside another" to take his part -and help him in every emergency that arises. It is the same word that -is translated "advocate" in 1 John 2:1, +"If any man sin, we have -an advocate+ (_parakleton_) +with the Father, Jesus Christ the -righteous."+ But the word "Advocate" does not give the full force of -the word. Etymologically it means about the same. Advocate is a Latin -word transliterated into the English. The word is compounded of two -words, _ad_, meaning to, and _vocatus_, one called, that is to say, one -called to another to take his part, or to help him. But in our English -usage it has obtained a restricted sense. The Greek word, as already -said, means "one called alongside another," and the thought is of a -helper always at hand with his counsel and his strength and any form -of help needed. Up to this time the Lord Jesus Himself had been their -Paraclete, or friend always at hand to help. Whenever they got into -any trouble they simply turned to Him. For example, on one occasion -they were perplexed on the subject of prayer and they said to the -Lord, "Lord teach us to pray." And He taught them to pray. On another -occasion when Jesus was coming to them walking on the water, when their -first fear was over and He had said, "It is I, be not afraid," then -Peter said to Him, "Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee upon the -water." And the Lord said, "Come." Then Peter clambered over the side -of the fishing smack and commenced to go to Jesus walking on the water. -Seemingly he turned around, took his eyes off the Lord and looked at -the fishing smack to see if the other disciples, John and James, and -the rest, were noticing how well he was getting on, but no sooner had -he got his eyes off the Lord than he began to sink, and he cried out -saying, "Lord, save me," and Jesus reached out His hand and held him -up. Just so, when they got into any other emergency they turned to the -Lord and He delivered them. But now He was going, and consternation -filled their hearts, and the Lord said to them, "Yes, I am going but -another just as divine, just as able to help, is coming to take my -place," and this other Paraclete is with us wherever we go, every hour -of the day or night. He is always by our side. If this thought gets -into your heart and stays there, you will never have another moment of -fear no matter how long you live. How can we fear in any circumstances, -if He is by our side? You may be surrounded by a howling mob. But what -of it if He walks between you and the mob? That thought will banish all -fear. I had a striking illustration of this in my own experience some -years ago. I was speaking at a Bible Conference on Lake Kenka in New -York State. I had a cousin who had a cottage four miles up the lake and -I went up there and spent my rest day with him. The next day he brought -me down in his steam launch to the pier where the Conference was held. -As I stepped off the launch onto the pier he said to me, "Come back -again to-night and spend the night with us," and I promised him that -I would; but I did not realise what I was promising. That night, when -the address was over as I went out of the hotel and started on my walk, -I found that I had undertaken a large contract. The cottage was four -miles away, but a four mile walk or an eight mile walk was nothing -under ordinary circumstances, but a storm was coming up, the whole -heaven was overcast. The path led along a bluff bordering the lake, the -path was near the edge of the bluff. Sometimes the lake was perhaps -not more than ten or twelve feet below, at other times some thirty or -forty feet below. I had never gone over the path before and as there -was no starlight, I couldn't see the path at all. Furthermore, there -had already been a storm that had gulleyed out deep ditches across -the path into which one might fall and break his leg. I couldn't see -these ditches except when there would be a sudden flash of lightning, -and then I would see one and then it would be darker and I blinder -than ever. As I walked along this path, so near the edge of the bluff -with all the furrows cut through it, I felt it was perilous to take -the walk and thought of going back; and then the thought came to me, -"You promised that you would come to-night and they may be sitting up -waiting for you." So I felt that I must go on. But it seemed creepy -and uncanny to walk along the edge of that bluff on such an uncertain -path that I couldn't see, and could only hear the sobbing and wailing -and the moaning of the lake at the foot of the bluff as it rose in the -fast approaching storm. Then the thought came to me, what was it you -told the people there at the conference about the Holy Spirit being -a Person always by our side? And I at once realised that the Holy -Spirit walked between me and the edge of the bluff; and that four miles -through the dark was four miles without a fear, a gladsome instead of a -fearsome walk. I once threw this thought out in the Royal Albert Hall -in London, one dark dismal February afternoon. There was a young lady -in the audience who was very much afraid of the dark. It simply seemed -impossible for her to go into a dark room alone. After the meeting was -over she hurried home and rushed in to the room where her mother was -sitting and cried, "O mother, I have heard the most wonderful address -this afternoon about the Holy Spirit always being by our side as our -ever-present helper and protector. I shall never be afraid of the dark -again." Her mother was a practical English woman and said to her, -"Well, let us see how real that is. Now go upstairs to the top floor, -into the dark room, and shut the door and stay in there alone in the -dark." The daughter went bounding up the stairs, went into the dark -room, closed the door and it was pitch dark, and "Oh," she wrote me -the next day, "it was dark, utterly dark, but that room was bright and -glorious with the presence of the Holy Spirit." - -In this thought is also the cure for insomnia. Did any of you ever -have insomnia? I did. For two dark, awful years. Night after night, -I would go to bed, almost dead, as it seemed to me, for sleep, and I -thought I would certainly sleep as I could scarcely keep awake; but -scarcely had my head touched the pillow when I knew I wouldn't sleep -and I would hear the clock strike twelve, one, two, three, four, five, -six, and then it was time to get up. It seemed as though I didn't sleep -at all, though I have no doubt I did: for I believe that people who -suffer from insomnia sleep more than they think they do, else we would -die: but it seemed as if I didn't sleep at all, and this went on for -two whole years, until I thought that if I couldn't get sleep I would -lose my mind. And then I got deliverance. For years I would retire -and fall asleep about as soon as my head touched the pillow. But one -night I went to bed in the Bible Institute in Chicago where I was then -stopping. I expected to fall asleep almost immediately, as had become -my custom, but scarcely had my head touched the pillow when I knew I -was not going to sleep. Insomnia was back. If you have ever had him -you will always recognise him. It seemed as if Insomnia was sitting -on the footboard looking like an imp, grinning at me and saying "I am -back for two more years." "Oh," I thought, "two more years of this -awful insomnia." But that very morning I had been teaching the students -in the lecture room on the floor below on the Personality of the Holy -Spirit, and the thought came to me almost immediately, "What was that -you were telling the students down stairs this morning about the Holy -Spirit being always with us?" And I said, "Why don't you practice what -you preach?" And I looked up and said, "O thou blessed Holy Spirit of -God, thou art here, if thou hast anything to say to me, I will listen." -And He opened to me some of the sweet and precious things about Jesus -Christ, filling my soul with calm and peace and joy, and the next thing -I knew I was asleep and the next thing I knew it was to-morrow morning; -and whenever Insomnia has come around since and sat on my footboard, I -have done the same thing and it has never failed. - -In this thought also is a cure for all loneliness. If the thought of -the Holy Spirit as an Ever-present Friend always at hand, once enters -your heart and stays there, you will never have another lonely moment -as long as you live. My life for the larger part of the last sixteen -years has been a lonely life. I have often been separated from all my -family for months at a time. I have not seen my wife sometimes for two -or three months at a time and for eighteen months I did not see any -member of my family but my wife. One night I was walking the deck of -a steamer in the South Seas between New Zealand and Tasmania. It was -a stormy night. Most of the other passengers were below sick, none of -the officers nor sailors could walk with me for they had their hands -full looking after the boat. I had to walk the deck alone. Four of the -five other members of my family were on the other side of the globe, -seventeen thousand miles away by the nearest route that I could get to -them, and the one member of my family who was nearer was not with me -that night. As I walked the deck alone I got to thinking of the four -children seventeen thousand miles away and was about to get lonesome, -when the thought came to me of the Holy Spirit by my side, and that -as I walked He took every step with me, and all loneliness was gone. -I gave expression to this thought some years ago in the city of St. -Paul, and at the close of the address a physician came to me and said, -"I wish to thank you for that thought. I am often called at night to go -out alone through darkness and storm far into the country, and I have -been very lonely, but I will never be lonely again, for I will know -that every step of the way the Holy Spirit is beside me in my doctor's -gig." - -In this same precious truth there is a cure for a broken heart. Oh, how -many broken-hearted people there are in the world to-day, especially in -these days of war and bloodshed and death! Many of us here have lost -loved ones. Many more of us in all probability will during the months -that are just ahead of us. But we need not have a moment's heartache -if we only know the communion of the Holy Ghost. There is perhaps -here to-day some woman who a year ago, or a few months ago, or a few -weeks ago, or a few days ago, had by her side a man whom she dearly -loved, a man so strong and wise that she was freed from all sense -of responsibility and care; for all the burdens were upon him, and -how bright and happy life was in his companionship! But the dark day -came when that loved one was taken away, and how lonely and empty and -barren, and full of burden and care, life is to-day! Listen! There is -One who walks right by your side, wiser and stronger and more loving -than the wisest and strongest and most loving husband that ever lived, -ready to bear all the burdens and responsibilities of life, yes, ready -to do far more: to come in and dwell in your heart and fill every nook -and corner of your empty, aching heart, and thus banish all loneliness -and heartache forever. I said this one afternoon in Saint Andrews Hall -in Glasgow. At the close of the address, when I passed out into the -reception room, a lady who had hurried along to meet me, approached -me. She wore a widow's bonnet, her face bore the marks of deep sorrow, -but now there was a happy look in her face. She hurried to me and -said, "Doctor Torrey, this is the anniversary of my dear husband's -death" (her husband was one of the most highly esteemed Christian men -in Glasgow) "and I came to Saint Andrews Hall to-day saying to myself, -'Doctor Torrey will have something to say that will help me.' Oh," she -continued, "you have said just the right word! I will never be lonesome -again, never have a heartache again. I will let the Holy Spirit come -in and fill every aching corner of my heart." Eighteen months passed; -I was in Scotland again, taking a short vacation on the lochs of the -Clyde on the private yacht of a friend. One day we stopped off a point, -a little boat put off from the point and came alongside the steam -yacht. The first one who clambered up the side of the yacht and onto -the deck was this widow. Seeing me standing on the deck, she hurried -across and took my hand in both of hers and with a radiant smile on her -face she said, "Oh, Doctor Torrey, the thought you gave me in Saint -Andrews Hall that afternoon stays with me still and I have not had a -lonely or sad hour from that day to this." - -But it is in our Christian work that the thought comes to us with -greatest power and helpfulness. Take my own experience. I became a -minister simply because I had to, or be forever lost. I do not mean -that I am saved by preaching the Gospel; I am saved simply on the -ground of Christ's atoning blood and that alone; but my becoming a -Christian and accepting Him as my Saviour turned upon my preaching the -Gospel. For six years I refused to come out as a Christian because I -was unwilling to preach, and I felt that if I became a Christian I must -preach. The night that I was converted I did not say, "I will accept -Christ" or "I will give up my sins"; I said, "I will preach." But if -there was ever a man who by natural temperament was unfitted to preach, -it was I. I was one of these abnormally bashful boys. A stranger could -scarcely speak to me without my blushing to the roots of my hair. Of -all the tortures I endured at school there was none so great as that of -reciting a piece. To stand up on the platform and have all the scholars -looking at me, I could scarcely endure it, and when I had to recite and -my own mother and father asked me to recite the piece before I went to -school, I simply could not recite it before my own father and mother. -Think of a man like that going into the ministry. Even after I was in -Yale College, when I would go home on a vacation and my mother would -have callers and send for me to come in and meet them, I couldn't say -a word. After they were gone my mother would say to me, "Archie, why -didn't you say something to Mrs. S. or Mrs. D.?" and I would say, "Why, -mother, I did!" and she would reply, "You didn't utter a sound." I -thought I did, but it would come no further than my throat and there be -smothered. I was so bashful that I never even spoke in a church prayer -meeting until after I entered the theological seminary. Then I thought, -if I was to be a preacher I must at least be able to speak in my own -church prayer meeting. I made up my mind I would. I learned a piece by -heart. I remember some of it now. I think I forgot some of it when I -got up to speak that night. As soon as the meeting was thrown open I -grasped the back of the settee in front of me and pulled myself up to -my feet and held on to it lest I should fall. One Niagara went rushing -up one side and another down the other, and I tremblingly repeated -as much of my little piece as I could remember and then dropped back -into the seat. At the close of the meeting a dear old maid, a lovely -Christian woman, came to me and cheeringly said, "Oh, Mr. Torrey, I -want to thank you for what you said to-night. It did me so much good. -You spoke with so much feeling." Feeling! The only feeling I had was -that I was scared nearly to death. Think of a man like that going into -the ministry. My first years in the ministry were torture. I preached -three times a day. I committed my sermons to memory and then I stood up -and twisted the top button of my coat until I had twisted the sermon -out and then when the third sermon was preached and finished, I dropped -back into the haircloth settee back of the pulpit with a great sense of -relief that that was over for another week. And then the thought would -take possession of me, Well you have to begin to-morrow morning to get -ready for next Sunday! But a glad day came when the thought I am trying -to teach you this morning took possession of me, viz., that when I -stood up to preach, that, though people saw me, that there was Another -who stood by my side whom they did not see, but upon whom was all the -responsibility for the meeting, and all that I had to do was to get as -far back out of sight as possible and let Him do the preaching. From -that day preaching has been the joy of my life. I would rather preach -than eat. Sometimes when I rise to preach, before I have uttered a -word, the thought of Him, standing beside me, able and willing to take -charge of the whole meeting and do whatever needs to be done, has so -filled my heart with exultant joy that I have felt like shouting. Just -so in your Sunday School teaching. Some of you worry about your Sunday -School classes for fear that you will say something that ought not to -be said, or leave unsaid something that ought to be said, and the -thought of the burden and responsibility almost crushes you. Listen! -Always remember this as you sit there teaching your class: there is One -right beside you Who knows just what ought to be said and just what -ought to be done. Instead of carrying the responsibility of the class, -let Him carry it, let Him do the teaching. One Monday morning I met -one of the most faithful laymen I ever knew and a very gifted Bible -teacher. He was deep in the blues, over his failure with his class the -day before—at least, what he regarded as failure. He unburdened his -heart to me. I said to him, "Mr. Dyer, did you not ask God to give you -wisdom as you went before that class?" He said, "I did." I said, "Did -you not expect Him to give it?" He said, "I did." Then I said, "What -right have you to doubt that He did?" He replied, "I never thought -of that before. I will never worry about my class again." Just so in -personal work. When I or some one else urges you at the close of the -meeting to go and speak to some one else, oh, how many of you want to -go, but you don't stir. You think to yourself, "I might say the wrong -thing." You will, if you say it. You will certainly say the wrong -thing; but trust the Holy Spirit, He will say the right thing. Let Him -have your lips to speak through. It may not appear the right thing at -the time, but some time you will find out that it was just the right -thing. One night in Launceston, Tasmania, as Mrs. Torrey and I came -away from the meeting, my wife said to me, "Archie, I wasted my whole -evening. I have been talking to the most frivolous girl. I don't think -that she has a serious thought in her head." I replied, "Clara, how do -you know? Did you not trust God to guide you?" "Yes." "Well, leave it -with Him." The very next night at the close of the meeting the same -seemingly utterly frivolous young woman came up to Mrs. Torrey, leading -her mother by the hand, and said, "Mrs. Torrey, won't you speak to my -mother? You led me to Christ last night, now please lead my mother to -Christ." - -4. But I must close. There is another line of proof of the personality -of the Holy Spirit, but we have no time to dwell upon it. This line of -proof is that a treatment is predicated of the Holy Spirit that could -only be predicated of a person. In Isa. 63:10 we are taught that the -Holy Spirit is rebelled against and grieved. You cannot rebel against -or grieve a mere influence or power. Only a person can be rebelled -against and grieved. In Heb. 10:29 we are taught that the Holy Spirit -is "done despite unto," or "treated with contumely," insulted. You -cannot treat an influence or power with contumely; only a person. In -Acts 5:3 we are taught that the Holy Spirit is lied to. You can only -lie to a person. In Matt. 12:31 we are taught that the Holy Spirit is -blasphemed against. We are told that the blasphemy against the Holy -Ghost is more serious than the blasphemy against the Lord Jesus, and -this certainly could only be said of a person and a Divine Person. - -To sum it all up, the Holy Spirit is a Person. Theoretically we -probably all believed this before, but do we in our real thought of -Him, in our practical attitude toward Him, treat Him as a person? Do we -really regard Him as real a person as Jesus Christ is, as loving, as -wise, as strong, as worthy of our confidence and love, and surrender -as He? A Divine Person always by our side? The Holy Spirit came -into this world to be to the disciples of our Lord after our Lord's -own departure, and to be to us, what Jesus Christ had been to them -during the days of His personal companionship with them. Is He that -to you to-day? Do you know the "communion of the Holy Spirit?" the -companionship of the Holy Spirit, the partnership of the Holy Spirit, -the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, the comradeship of the Holy Spirit? -To put it into a single word, the whole object of this address this -morning, I say it reverently, is to introduce you to my Friend, the -Holy Spirit. - - - - -VII - -THE DEITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE -FATHER, SON AND HOLY SPIRIT - - -I spoke in a previous chapter on the personality of the Holy Spirit. -We saw clearly that the Holy Spirit was a person. Incidentally I -referred to His Deity in passing, but did not dwell upon it, so the -question remains, Is the Holy Spirit a Divine person? and still another -question, If the Holy Spirit is a Divine person, is He a separate and -distinct personality from the Father and the Son? We shall consider -this morning what the Bible teaches upon these points. - - -I. THE DEITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT - -We take up first the question of the Deity of the Holy Spirit. The fact -that the Holy Spirit is a person does not prove that He is divine. -There are spirits who are persons but who are not God. There are five -distinct lines of proof of the Deity of the Holy Spirit, that the Holy -Spirit is God. - -1. The first line of proof of the Deity of the Holy Spirit is that -_each of the four distinctively Divine attributes are ascribed to -the Holy Spirit in the Bible_. There are four distinctively divine -attributes; that is to say, there are four attributes which God alone -possesses, and any person who has these attributes must therefore -be God. The four distinctively divine attributes are omnipotence, -omniscience, omnipresence and eternity. - -(1) First of all, _omnipotence is ascribed to the Holy Spirit_, for -example, in Luke 1:35: +"And the angel answered and said unto her, -the Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the most high -shall overshadow thee: wherefore also that which is to be born shall be -called holy, the Son of God."+ This passage plainly declares that -the Holy Spirit has the power of the Most High, that He is omnipotent. - -(2) In the next place, _omniscience is ascribed to the Holy Spirit_. -This is done, for example, in I Corinthians 2:10, 11: +"But unto us -God revealed them through the Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all -things, yea, the deep things of God. For who among men knoweth the -things of a man, save the Spirit of the man, which is in him? Even so -the things of God none knoweth, save the Spirit of God."+ Here we -are distinctly told that _the Holy Spirit searcheth all things and -knoweth all things_, even the deep things of God. We find the same -thought again in John 14:26: +"But the Comforter, even the Holy -Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all -things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said unto you."+ -Here we are distinctly told that the Holy Spirit teaches all things, -and therefore must know all things. This is stated even more explicitly -in John 16:12-13: +"I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye -cannot bear them now. Howbeit when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He -shall guide you into all the truth."+ In all these passages it is -either directly declared or unmistakably implied that the Holy Spirit -knows all things, that He is omniscient. - -(3) In the third place, _omnipresence is ascribed to the Holy Spirit_. -We find this in Psalms 139:7-10: +"Whither shall I go from thy -Spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up -into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, thou -art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the -uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy -right hand shall hold me."+ Here we are told in the most explicit -and unmistakable way that the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, is -everywhere; that there is no place in heaven, earth or hades whither we -can go from His presence. - -(4) _Eternity is also ascribed to the Holy Spirit._ This we find in -Hebrews 9:14, where we read: +"How much more shall the blood of -Christ, who through the Eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish -unto God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living -God?"+ Here we find the words "the Eternal Spirit" just as elsewhere -we find the words "the Eternal God" (e.g., Deut. 33:27): Putting these -different passages together, we see clearly that each of the four -distinctively divine attributes, the four attributes that no one but -God possesses, are ascribed to the Holy Spirit. - -2. The second line of proof of the true Deity of the Holy Spirit is -found in the fact that _three distinctively divine works are ascribed -to the Holy Spirit—that is to say, the Holy Spirit is said to do three -things which God alone can do_. - -(1) The first of these distinctively divine works that are ascribed -to the Holy Spirit is _the work which we always think of first when -we think of God and His work—that is to say, the work of creation. -We find creation ascribed to the Holy Spirit in Job 33:4_: +"The -Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty giveth me -life."+ We find the same thing implied in Psalms 104:30: +"Thou -sendest forth thy Spirit, they are created; and thou renewest the -face of the ground."+ In these two passages creation, the most -distinctively divine of all works, is ascribed to the Holy Spirit. - -(2) The _impartation of life is ascribed to the Holy Spirit_. This we -find, for example, in John 6:63: +"It is the Spirit that quickeneth; -the flesh profiteth nothing."+ We find the same thing again in -Romans 8:11: +"But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the -dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also -quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you."+ In -this passage we have not merely impartation of life to the spirit of -man, but the impartation of life to the body in the resurrection of the -body ascribed to the Holy Spirit. Man's creation and the impartation -of life to man are ascribed to the operation of the Holy Spirit in -the first book in the Bible, where we read in Genesis 2:7: +"And -Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his -nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."+ Here we -are told that man was created and became a living soul through God's -breathing into him the breath of life. This clearly implies that it was -through the instrumentality of the Holy Spirit; for the Holy Spirit is -the breath of God going out in a personal way. - -(3) _The third divine work ascribed to the Holy Spirit is the -authorship of divine prophecies._ We find this, for example, in II -Peter 1:21: +"For no prophecy ever came by the will of man: but -men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit."+ Here we are -distinctly told that it was through the operation of the Holy Spirit -that men were made the mouthpiece of God and uttered God's truth. We -find this same thought also in the Old Testament in II Samuel 23:2, -3: +"The Spirit of Jehovah spake by me, and His word was upon my -tongue. The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me."+ -In this passage, also, the authorship of God's prophecies is ascribed -to the Holy Spirit. Taking these passages together, we see that three -distinctively divine works are ascribed to the Holy Spirit. - -3. The third line of proof of the Deity of the Holy Spirit is found in -the fact that _passages which refer to Jehovah in the Old Testament -are taken to refer to the Holy Spirit in the New Testament_. There are -numerous instances of this, not as numerous as in the case of Jesus -Christ, the Son, and yet enough to make it perfectly clear that the -Holy Spirit occupies the same place in New Testament thought which -Jehovah occupies in Old Testament thought. - -(1) A striking illustration of this is found in Isaiah 6:8-10; cf. -Acts 28:25-27. In Isaiah 6:8-10, we read: +"And I heard the voice of -the Lord, saying, whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I -said, here am I; send me. And he said, go, and tell this people, hear -ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. -Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut -their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, -and understand with their heart, and turn again, and be healed."+ -Here we are distinctly told it is the "Lord," and the context shows -that the Lord is the Lord Jehovah who is speaking, but when we turn -to Acts 28:25-27, we read these words: +"And when they agreed not -among themselves, they departed after that Paul had spoken one word, -well spake the Holy Spirit through Isaiah the prophet unto your -fathers"+ (notice that in the passage in Isaiah we are told it is -the Lord Jehovah who spoke, and here we are told by Paul that it is the -Holy Spirit who spake through the prophet), +"saying, go thou unto -this people, and say, by hearing ye shall hear, and shall in no wise -understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall in no wise perceive: for -this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, -and their eyes they have closed; lest haply they should perceive with -their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, -and should turn again, and I should heal them."+ In the one place, -the place in the Old Testament, we are told that the Lord Jehovah is -the speaker; in the other place, in the New Testament, we are told -that the Holy Spirit is the speaker; that is to say, the Holy Spirit -occupies the place in New Testament thought that the Lord Jehovah -occupies in Old Testament thought. It is noticeable that this same -passage in another place is applied to Jesus Christ (John 12:39-41). -May it not be that in the _threefold_ "Holy" in the seraphic cry -recorded in this chapter in Isaiah (Isaiah 6:3) we have a hint of the -tri-personality of Jehovah of Hosts, and hence the propriety of the -threefold application of the vision? - -(2) Another illustration of a statement, which in the Old Testament is -given as referring to Jehovah, being applied to the Holy Spirit in the -New Testament, is found by a comparison of Exodus 16:7 with Hebrews -3:7-9. In Exodus 16:7 we read: +"And in the morning, then shall ye -see the glory of Jehovah; for that he heareth your murmurings against -Jehovah: and what are we, that ye murmur against us?"+ Here we are -told that the murmuring and provocation of the children of Israel in -the wilderness were against Jehovah, but in Hebrews 3:7-9, we read: -+"Wherefore, even as the Holy Spirit saith, to-day if ye shall hear -his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, like as in -the day of the trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tried me by -proving me, and saw my works forty years."+ In this New Testament -passage we are told that it was the Holy Spirit that they provoked in -the wilderness, making it clear that the Holy Spirit occupies here in -New Testament thought the position Jehovah occupied in Old Testament -thought in Exodus 16:7. - -To sum up the passages under this head, we see that statements which in -the Old Testament distinctly name the Lord, God or Jehovah, as their -subject, are applied to the Holy Spirit in the New Testament. That is -to say, the Holy Spirit occupies the position of Deity in New Testament -thought. - -4. The fourth way in which the Deity of the Holy Spirit is clearly -taught in the New Testament is that the _name of the Holy Spirit -is coupled with that of God the Father in a way that it would be -impossible for a reverent and thoughtful mind to couple the name of any -finite being with that of Deity_. There are numerous illustrations of -this. Three will answer for our present purpose. - -(1) We read, for example, in I Corinthians 12:4-6: +"Now there are -diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are diversities -of ministrations, and the same Lord. And there are diversities of -workings, but the same God, who worketh all things in all."+ In this -passage we see the name of the Holy Spirit coupled with that of God and -of the Lord in a way in which it would be impossible for an intelligent -worshipper of God to couple the name of any finite being with that of -the Deity. - -(2) We see the same thing again in Matthew 28:19: +"Go ye therefore, -and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them into the name -of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."+ If the Holy -Spirit is not God, it would be shocking to couple His name in this way -with that of God, the Father, and of the Lord Jesus, His Son. - -(3) Another striking illustration of this is found in II Corinthians -13:14: +"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, -and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all."+ Here the -name of the Holy Spirit is coupled on a ground of equality with that -of the Father and of the Son. In all these passages, the name of the -Holy Spirit is coupled with that of God in a way in which it would be -impossible for a reverent, thoughtful mind to couple the name of any -finite being with that of Deity. - -5. _The fifth_ and last, and, if possible, more decisive way _in which -the Deity of the Holy Spirit is taught in the Bible is that the Holy -Spirit in so many words is called God_. This we find in Acts 5:3, 4: -+"But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thy heart to lie to -the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land? While -it remained, did it not remain thine own? And after it was sold, was -it not in thy power? How is it that thou hast conceived this thing in -thy heart? Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God."+ In the third -verse we are distinctly told that it was to the Holy Spirit to Whom -Ananias lied, and in the fourth verse we are told that it was to God -that Ananias lied. Putting the two statements together, it is evident -that the Holy Spirit is God. - -To sum up all that we have said under the head of the Deity of the -Holy Spirit, we see that _by the ascription of all the distinctively -divine attributes, and several distinctively divine works, by referring -statements which in the Old Testament distinctly named Jehovah, the -Lord or God, as their subject, to the Holy Spirit in the New Testament, -by coupling the name of the Holy Spirit with that of God in a way in -which it would be impossible to couple the name of any finite being -with that of Deity, by calling the Holy Spirit "God," in all these -unmistakable ways God in His Word distinctly proclaims that the Holy -Spirit is a Divine Person_. It is absolutely impossible for any one to -go to the Bible to find out what it actually teaches, and not merely -to twist and distort it to fit into his own preconceived notions, and -come to any other conclusion but that the Holy Spirit is a Divine -Person, that He is God. - - -II. THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE FATHER, THE SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT - -But now we come to the question, Is the Holy Spirit a distinct -personality from the Father and from the Son? He might be a person, as -we have clearly seen that He is, and He might be a divine person, as -we have just seen that He is, and at the same time He might be only -the same person who manifested Himself at times as the Father and at -other times as the Son, and in that case there would not be three -divine Persons in the Godhead, but one divine Person, who variously -manifested Himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. So the question that -now confronts us is, Is the Holy Spirit a distinct personality separate -and distinct from the Father and from the Son? This question is plainly -answered in various passages in the New Testament. - -1. _We find this question answered in the first place in John 14:26 -and John 15:26._ In John 14:26 we read: +"But the Comforter, even -the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach -you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said unto -you."+ In John 15:26 we read: +"But when the Comforter is come, -whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth, -which proceedeth from the Father, he shall bear witness of me."+ In -both of these passages we are told that the Holy Spirit is an entirely -distinct personality from the Father and the Son, that He is sent from -the Father by the Son. We are elsewhere taught that Jesus Christ was -sent by the Father (John 6:29; 8:29, 42). It is as clear as language -can make it in these passages that Father, Son and Holy Spirit are not -one and the same Person manifesting Himself in three different forms, -but that they are three distinct personalities. - -2. _We find clear proof that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are three -distinct personalities_ in John 16:13, where we read: +"Howbeit when -He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, he shall guide you into all the -truth: for He shall not speak from Himself; but what things soever He -shall hear, these shall He speak: and He shall declare unto you the -things that are to come."+ In this passage the clearest possible -distinction is drawn between the Holy Spirit who speaks and the One -from whom He speaks, and we are told in so many words that this One -from whom He speaks is _not Himself, but another_. - -3. In the next verse the same thought is brought out in still another -way. In this verse, John 16:14, we read: +"He shall glorify me: for -He shall take of mine, and shall declare it unto you."+ Here the -clearest distinction is drawn between _He_, the Holy Spirit, and _Me_, -Jesus Christ. It is the work of the Holy Spirit not to glorify Himself, -but another, and this Other is Jesus Christ, and He takes what belongs -to another; that is, to Christ, and declares it unto believers. It -would be impossible to express in human language a distinction between -two personalities more plainly than the distinction between the Son and -the Holy Ghost is expressed in this verse. - -4. The distinction between the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit -is very clearly brought out in Luke 3:21, 22: +"Now it came to -pass, when all the people were baptised, that, Jesus also having been -baptised, and praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit -descended in a bodily form, as a dove, upon him, and a voice came out -of heaven, thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased."+ -Here _a clear distinction is drawn between Jesus Christ who was on the -earth, and the Father who spake to Him from heaven, and the Holy Spirit -who descended in bodily form as a dove from the Father upon the Son_. - -5. Still another striking illustration is found in Matthew 28:19: -+"Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptising -them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy -Spirit."+ _Here a clear distinction is drawn between the name "of -the Father," and the name "of the Son," and the name "of the Holy -Spirit."_ - -6. A very striking setting forth of a clear distinction between the -Father, Son and Holy Spirit is found in John 14:16, 17: +"And I will -pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter that He may be -with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth."+ Here _the clearest -possible distinction is drawn between the Son who prays, and the Father -to whom He prays_, and _"another Comforter," who is given in answer to -His prayer_. Nothing could possibly be plainer than the distinction -that Jesus Christ draws in this passage between Himself and the Father -and the Holy Spirit. - -7. We find the same thing again in John 16:7: +"Nevertheless I tell -you the truth: it is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go -not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I go, I will -send Him unto you."+ _Here the Lord Jesus Himself draws a clear -distinction between Himself, who is about to go away, and the Holy -Spirit, the other Comforter who is coming to take His place after He -has gone away._ - -8. The same thing is brought out again in Peter's sermon on the day of -Pentecost in Acts 2:33, where Peter is recorded as saying: +"Being -therefore by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the -Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He hath poured forth this, which -ye see and hear."+ _Here a clear distinction is drawn between the -Son exalted to the right hand of the Father, and the Father Himself, -and the Holy Spirit whom the Son receives from the Father, and sheds -upon the Church. To sum up all under this head: again and again the -Bible draws the clearest possible distinction between the Holy Spirit, -and the Father, and the Son. They are three separate personalities, -having mutual relations to one another, acting upon one another, -speaking of or to one another, applying the pronouns of the second and -third persons to one another._ - -We have seen that the Bible makes it plain that the Holy Spirit is a -Divine Person and that He is an entirely separate personality from -the Father and from the Son. In other words, that _there are three -divine Persons in the Godhead_. It has oftentimes been said that the -doctrine of the Trinity is not taught in the Bible. It is true that the -doctrine of the Trinity is not directly taught in the Bible in so many -words, but the doctrine of the Trinity is simply the putting together -of truths that are clearly and unmistakably taught in the Bible. It -is clearly taught in the Bible that there is but one God (Deuteronomy -6:4). But it is taught with equal clearness, as we have seen to-day, -that there are three Divine Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy -Ghost; and the doctrine of the Trinity is the putting together of these -truths which are taught with equal plainness. - -But, some one may ask, How can God be three and one at the same time? -The answer to this question is very simple and easily understandable. -He cannot be three in one in the same sense, nor does the Bible teach -that He is. But in what sense can He be one and three? A perfectly -satisfactory answer to this question is manifestly impossible from -the very nature of the case—first, because God is Spirit and numbers -belong primarily to the physical world, and _difficulty must always -arise when we attempt to conceive of spiritual being in the forms -of physical thought_. In the second place, a perfectly satisfactory -answer to the question is impossible because God is infinite and we are -finite. "God dwells in the light that no man can approach unto," and -_our attempts at a philosophical explanation of the Trinity of God is -an attempt to put the facts of infinite being into the forms of finite -thought, and of necessity such an attempt can at the very best be only -partially successful_. This much we know, that God is essentially one, -and also that there are three Persons in this one Godhead. _There -is but one God, but this one God makes Himself known to us as three -distinct Persons—Father, Son and Holy Spirit._ There is one God, -eternally existing, and manifesting Himself in three Persons—Father, -Son and Holy Spirit. If we were to go into the realm of philosophy, -it could be shown that from the very necessities of the case, that if -God were to be God, there must be in the eternal Godhead before the -creation of finite beings a multiplicity of persons; for otherwise -God could not love, for there would be no one to love, and therefore -God could not be God. The ease with which one can grasp the Unitarian -conception of God is not in its favour but against it. Any god who -could be thoroughly comprehended by a finite mind would not be an -infinite God. It would be impossible for a thoroughly intelligent mind -to really worship a god whom he could thoroughly understand. If God is -to be really God, He must be beyond our complete understanding. - -The doctrine of the Trinity is not merely a speculative doctrine. It -is a doctrine of tremendous daily practical importance. It enters -into the very warp and woof of our experience, if our experience is a -truly Christian experience. For example, in our prayer we need God, -the Father, to Whom we pray, we need God, the Son, through Whom we -pray, and we need God, the Holy Spirit, in Whom we pray. So also in -our worship we need God, the Father, the very centre of our worship, -we need the Son, through Whom we approach Him in our worship, and we -need to worship by the Holy Spirit. But all three—Father, Son and Holy -Spirit—are the objects of our worship. The long metre doxology is -thoroughly Christian in its worship when it sings: - - "Praise God from whom all blessings flow, - Praise Him all creatures here below, - Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts, - Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost." - -And so, also, is the Gloria Patri, the words of which we so often sing, -but the thought of which we so seldom grasp: - -Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it -was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end, -Amen. - - - - -VIII - -THE ATONEMENT: GOD'S DOCTRINE OF THE ATONEMENT VS. UNITARIAN AND -CHRISTIAN SCIENCE DOCTRINES OF THE ATONEMENT - - "Apart from the shedding of blood there is no remission."—Hebrews - 9:22. - - -Our subject in this chapter is "God's Doctrine of the Atonement vs. the -Unitarian and Christian Science Doctrines of the Atonement." One of the -most fundamental, central and vital doctrines of the Christian faith -is the Christian doctrine of the Atonement. Without the Bible Doctrine -of the Atonement you have no Christianity, but the Devil's substitute -for Christianity. Without the Bible Doctrine of the Atonement you have -no real gospel, but an utterly false and soul-destroying philosophy. -In speaking on the doctrine of the Deity of Christ I said: "If a man -really holds to right views concerning the person of Jesus Christ he -will sooner or later get right views on every other question, but if -he holds a wrong view concerning the person of the Lord Jesus Christ -he is pretty sure to go wrong on everything else sooner or later." -The same is true regarding the doctrine of the Atonement: If a man -really holds to right views concerning the Atonement made by our Lord -and Saviour Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary, he will sooner or -later get right on every other question; but if he holds a wrong view -regarding the Atonement made by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, he -is pretty sure to go wrong on everything else sooner or later. There is -a great need in this day of teaching on this subject that is definite, -clear, accurate, exact, complete; because not only in Unitarian and -Christian Science circles, but also in circles that are nominally -orthodox, in professedly Christian colleges, seminaries, pulpits, -Sunday School classes, and religious papers, magazines, pamphlets, -books, there is much teaching to-day that is vague, inaccurate, -misleading, unscriptural, and oftentimes utterly false and devilish, -teaching that is essentially Unitarian or Eddyistic. Men and women -use the old words with a new meaning; so as to deceive, if it were -possible, the very elect. Even the Christian Scientist will tell you -he believes in the Atonement, and that Mrs. Eddy taught the Atonement. -But when you begin to ask direct and pointed questions regarding his -belief and teaching you will find that by Atonement he meant, and -that Mrs. Eddy meant, something utterly different from what you mean -and what the Bible teaches. Paul tells us that the Devil camouflages -as an angel of light (II Cor. 11:14), but never has he done it more -successfully and dangerously than in the teaching regarding the -Atonement which he has inspired in Mrs. Eddy and in Unitarian teachers, -and also in the teachers in many supposedly orthodox pulpits, in many -Congregational pulpits, in some Methodist pulpits, in many Baptist -pulpits, and even in some Presbyterian pulpits. Some years ago in -teaching a Bible class in Minneapolis, attended by people from all the -churches, I remarked incidentally that Christian Science denied the -doctrine of the Atonement through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. A -very intelligent lady, a lady perfect in her manners, came to me at the -close of the class and said: "Mr. Torrey, you ought not to have said -what you said to-day about Christian Science; for you do not understand -its teachings. They do teach the Atonement." I replied: "I said that -Christian Science denies the Doctrine of the Atonement _through the -shed blood of Jesus Christ_. Do you believe that Jesus Christ bore your -sins in His own body on the cross?" She answered: "I think Christian -Science is a beautiful system of teaching." I said: "That is not what -I asked you. Do you believe that Jesus Christ bore your sins in His -own body on the cross?" She replied: "Christian Science has done me a -great deal of good." "That is not what I asked you. Do you believe that -Jesus Christ bore your sins in His own body on the cross?" "I think -that Jesus Christ's life was the most beautiful life ever lived here -on earth." "That is not what I asked you. Do you believe Jesus Christ -bore your sins in His own body on the cross?" "The Christian Scientists -are lovely people." "That is not what I asked you. Do you believe that -Jesus Christ bore your sins in His own body on the cross?" "I believe -in following the Lord Jesus Christ." "Do you believe that Jesus Christ -bore your sins in His own body on the cross?" "Oh," she said, "that is -a doctrinal question." "Now," I said, "you are yourself an illustration -of the truth of the very thing I said. You do not believe in the -_Atonement through the shed blood of Jesus Christ_." The Christian -Scientist uses the word "atonement," but he means something entirely -different from what the Bible teaches regarding the atoning death -of Jesus Christ. So does the Unitarian. So do many of the ministers -supposedly of orthodox denominations. The pastor of a Congregational -church in this city said recently: "I have my own kind of religion; it -answers for me, but I hope I have sense enough to see that it would not -answer for everybody. I imagine the Salvation Army captain preaching my -kind of religious doctrine, without a devil, without a hell, without an -_atonement of blood_ and recompense, without an infallible Bible—and -I see his audience melting away like snow in the rain. Is his doctrine -truer than mine, or is mine truer than his? Why, neither; his is true -for him and mine for me—that is all—each after his own kind." Now -this may sound tolerant and lovely, but it is utter nonsense. Any -doctrine which is not true for everybody is not for anybody true, and -any doctrine which is true is true for everybody. If a doctrine that -leaves out "_an atonement of blood_" is not true for the Salvation -Army—and it certainly is not—it is not _true_ for anybody else. Truth -is not relative; it is absolute. What is true is true, and what is -false is false. So we come face to face with the question, What does -the Bible teach on this great fundamental doctrine? - - -I. THE NECESSITY AND IMPORTANCE OF HIS DEATH - -The first thing that the Bible plainly teaches on this question is -_the absolute necessity and fundamental importance of the death of -Jesus Christ, the absolute necessity and fundamental importance of the -shedding of His blood_. The tendency of our day in Unitarian circles, -and in orthodox circles that have been leavened by the corrupting -leaven of Unitarianism, is to minimise the importance of the death of -our Lord Jesus Christ. The tendency is to make His life and character, -His teaching and leadership, the main thing. Christian Science even -goes so far as to deny the fact of His death. To them His supposed -death is "an illusion," it is "only mortal thought," but the Bible puts -the emphasis upon His atoning death. - -1. _The death of Jesus Christ is mentioned directly more than 175 times -in the New Testament. Besides this there are very many prophetic and -typical references to the death of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament._ -When Mr. Alexander and I were holding our meetings in the Royal Albert -Hall in London, some one took away one of our hymn books and went -through it and cut out every reference to the blood, and then sent it -back to me through the mail, saying, "I have gone through your hymn -book and cut out every reference to the blood. These references to the -blood are foolish. Now sing your hymns with the blood left out and -there will be some sense in them." If any of you should take your Bible -and go through it in that way and cut out of the New Testament and the -Old Testament every passage that referred to the death of Christ, or -to His atoning blood, you would have only a sadly torn and tattered -Bible left, a Bible without a heart and a Gospel without saving power. -If I were a member of a church where the pastor said that he preached -a system of "religious doctrine, without a devil, without a hell, -_without an atonement of blood_ and recompense, without an infallible -Bible," to use his own language, he would see his audience "melting -away like snow in the rain" as far as I was concerned. I would either -take my hat and get out of that church, or else the pastor would take -his hat and get out of the pulpit; for I should know that he was -not preaching God's pure, saving gospel, but the Devil's poisonous -substitute for the gospel. - -2. Not only are the references to the death of Christ so numerous -in Old Testament and New Testament, but we are taught distinctly in -Hebrews 2:14 that _Jesus Christ became a man for the specific purpose -of dying_, that He became a partaker of flesh and blood _in order that -He might die_. In this passage we read, +"For as much as the children -are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of -the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power -of death, that is the Devil"+ (Heb. 2:14). The meaning of these -words is as plain as day. They tell us that the incarnation was for the -purpose of the death. They tell us that Jesus Christ's death was not -a mere accident or incident of His human life (as many would have us -believe), but that _it was the supreme purpose of it_. He became man -_in order that He might die_ as man and for man. This is the doctrine -of the Bible, and it is true for anybody and for everybody. - -3. Furthermore, _He died_ for a specific purpose, _as a ransom for us_. -He Himself said so. In Matt. 20:28 He says, +"The Son of man came not -to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom -for many."+ - -4. One of the most remarkable scenes recorded in the New Testament is -that of the transfiguration, when Moses and Elijah came back from the -other world to commune with Jesus. And what did they talk about in that -great moment of human history? Luke tells us in the 9th chapter of his -Gospel, the 30th and 31st verses, +"And behold, there talked with -Him+ (i.e., with Jesus) +two men, which were Moses and Elijah: -who appeared in glory, and spake of His decease which He was about to -accomplish at Jerusalem."+ His atoning death was the one subject -that engrossed the attention of these two who came back from the glory -world. We are also told in I Peter 1:10-12 that _the death of Jesus -Christ_ is a subject of intensest interest and earnest inquiry on the -part of the angels. - -5. _The death of Christ is the central theme of heaven's song._ Rev. -5:8-12 gives us a picture of heaven with its wonderful choir of ten -thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands, and this is -the description of the song they sing: +"And when he had taken the -book, the four living creatures and the four and twenty elders fell -down before the Lamb, having each one a harp, and golden bowls full of -incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sing a new song, -saying, Worthy art thou to take the book and to open the seals thereof: -for thou wast slain, and didst purchase unto God with thy blood men of -every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, and madest them to -be unto our God a kingdom and priests; and they reign upon the earth. -And I saw, and I heard a voice of many angels round about the throne -and the living creatures and elders; and the number of them was ten -thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; saying with a -great voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive the power, -and riches, and wisdom, and might, and honour, and glory, and blessing. -And every created thing which is in the heaven, and on the earth, and -under the earth, and on the sea, and all things that are in them, heard -I saying, Unto him that sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb, be -the blessing, and the honour, and the glory, and the dominion, for ever -and ever"+ (Rev. 5:8-12). So it is evident that the great central -theme of heaven's song is the atoning death of Jesus Christ, and the -shed "_blood_" by which He redeemed "men of every tribe, and tongue, -and nation." If the Unitarian or the Christian Scientist or the New -Theologian should get to heaven they would have no song to sing. The -glorious song of that wondrous choir would sound to him like a song "of -the shambles." He would be very lonesome and feel that he had got into -the wrong pew. - - -II. THE PURPOSE OF THE DEATH OF JESUS CHRIST - -So much for the fundamental and central importance of His death, or of -_the shedding of His blood_. But what was the purpose of the shedding -of His blood? - -1. First of all, the Bible distinctly and repeatedly tells us by direct -statement, and by countless typical reference in the Old Testament, -that _He died as a vicarious offering for sin; that is, that He, an -absolutely perfect, righteous one, who deserved to live, died in the -place of unjust men who deserved to die_. For example, we read in Isa. -53:5, +"But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for -our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with -His stripes we are healed."+ And in the eighth verse we read, +"By -oppression and judgment He was taken away; and as for His generation, -who among them considered that He was cut off out of the land of the -living for the transgression of my people to whom the stroke was -due?"+ And in the 11th and 12th verses we read, +"He shall see -of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied: by the knowledge -of Himself shall my righteous servant justify many; and He shall bear -their iniquities. Therefore will I divide Him a portion with the great, -and He shall divide the spoil with the strong; because He poured out -His soul unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors: yet He -bare the sin of many. And made intercession for the transgressors."+ -In I Peter, 3:18 we read, +"Christ also suffered for sins once, the -righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God; being -put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit."+ And in -1 Peter 2:24 we read, +"Who His own self bare our sins in His own -body upon the tree, that we, having died unto sins, might live unto -righteousness; by whose stripes ye were healed."+ Now the meaning -of these verses and many other verses, is inescapable. They teach in -language the meaning of which no one can misunderstand (unless he is -determined not to see) that the death of Jesus Christ was a vicarious -atonement, that is, a just one, who deserved to live, dying in the -place of unjust ones who deserved to die. It was, to use the language -of the Los Angeles minister who denied his belief in it, "an atonement -of blood and recompense." This is God's doctrine of the Atonement -versus the Unitarian and Christian Science doctrine of the Atonement. - -2. But this is not all. We are further taught that _He died as a -ransom, that is, His death was the price paid to redeem others from -death_. He Himself says so. His own words are, +"The Son of man came -not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a -ransom for many."+ If His life was not a ransom, that is to say, if -He did not redeem others from death by dying in their place, then He -was the greatest fool in the whole history of this universe. Was He a -fool or was He a ransom? No one who in any real sense can be said to -believe on the Lord Jesus Christ can hesitate as to his answer. - -3. But even this is not all. The Bible distinctly tells us that _He -died as a sin offering, i.e., it was on the ground of His death, and -on this ground alone, that forgiveness of sin is made possible for -and offered to sinners_. This we are told in the 53rd chapter of -Isaiah, to which reference has already been made. In the 10th verse it -is written, +"Yet it pleased Jehovah to bruise him; He+ (i.e., -Jehovah) +hath put him to grief+ (literally, made him sick): -+when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his -seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of Jehovah shall -prosper in his hand."+ Now the meaning of "_offering for sin_" is -unquestionable to any one who has studied the Old Testament offerings. -An "offering for sin" or a "guilt offering," which is the exact force -of the Hebrew word translated "an offering for sin," was a death of -a sacrificial victim on the ground of which pardon was offered to -sinners (Lev. 6:6-10, R. V.). The Holy Spirit says expressly in Heb. -9:22, in words the meaning of which is unmistakable, and the force -of which is inescapable, "_Apart from shedding of blood_ there is no -remission," and the whole context in which the passage is found shows -that the blood, to which all the blood of the Old Testament types as -sacrifices pointed forward, was the blood of Jesus Christ. So then -the Word of God declares that apart from the shedding of the blood of -Jesus Christ there is absolutely no pardon for sin. There is absolutely -no forgiveness outside the atoning blood of Christ. Without Christ's -atoning blood every member of the human race must have perished forever. - -4. Fourth and further yet, the Bible teaches that _Jesus Christ died -as a propitiation for our sins_. God the Father gave Christ the Son -to be a propitiation by His blood. That is to say that _Jesus Christ, -through the shedding of His blood, is that by which God's holy wrath -at sin is appeased_. We read in 1 John 4:10, +"Herein is love, not -that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the -propitiation for our sins."+ And we read in Rom. 3:25, 26, +"Whom -God set forth to be a propitiation, through faith, in His blood, to -show His righteousness because of the passing over of the sins done -aforetime, in the forbearance of God; (26) for the showing, I say, -of His righteousness at this present season: that He might Himself -be just, and the justifier of Him that hath faith in Jesus."+ The -meaning of these words also is as plain as day. The two Greek words -in these two passages are not exactly the same words (_hilasmos_ and -_hilasterion_) but are from the same root. The word used in 1 John 4:10 -is _hilasmos_ and the word used in Rom. 3:25 is _hilasterion_. The -definition given of the first in Thayer's Dictionary of New Testament -Greek, the standard work, is "a means of appeasing." The definition -given in the same lexicon of the second word is "an expiatory -sacrifice." So the thought that is in both passages is that the death -of Jesus Christ was a "propitiation," "an expiatory sacrifice," the -"means of appeasing" God's holy wrath at sin, or in other words, -that _Jesus, through the shedding of His blood, is that by which the -wrath of God against us as sinners is appeased_. God's holiness and -consequent hatred of sin, like every other attribute of His character, -is real and must manifest itself. His wrath at sin must strike -somewhere, either on the sinner himself or upon a lawful substitute. -It struck upon Jesus Christ, a lawful substitute. As we read in Isa. -53:6, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to -his own way; and Jehovah _hath laid on Him_ the iniquity of us all." -The word translated "hath laid," according to the margin of the Revised -Version, means literally, "hath made to _light_." More literally still -it means, "hath made to _strike_." Reading it this way, what God says -is, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to -his own way; and Jehovah _hath made to strike on him_ (i.e., on the -Lord Jesus) _the iniquity of us all_." And in the eighth verse of the -same chapter we are taught that "the stroke due" to others fell upon -Him, and He was consequently "cut off out of the land of the living." -The death of Jesus Christ has its first cause in the demands of God's -holiness. This is the Bible doctrine versus the Unitarian and Christian -Science doctrine of atonement. The doctrine is often misrepresented -and caricatured as being that "God, a holy first person, took the sins -of man, the guilty second person, and put them on Jesus Christ, an -innocent third person," and it is objected that this would not be just. -No; this would not be just, and it is not for a moment the doctrine of -the Bible, for the Bible clearly teaches that Jesus Christ was not "a -third person," but was Himself God, and that He was Himself man, so He -is not a third person at all, but both the first person and the second -person, and the doctrine is that God Himself, the offended first -person, substitutes His atoning action whereby He expresses His hatred -against sin, for His punitive action whereby He would express the same -thing; that God, instead of visiting the sins of the sinner upon the -sinner, takes the punishment upon Himself. This certainly is something -more than just, it is wondrous love. - -5. Further yet, the Bible teaches us that _Jesus Christ died to redeem -us from the curse of the law by bearing that curse Himself_. We read -in Gal. 3:10, +"As many as are of the works of the law are under a -curse, for it is written: Cursed is every one who continueth not in -all things that are written in the Book of the Law, to do them."+ -So then, every one of us is under the curse of the broken law, for not -one of us has continued +"in all things that are written in the book -of the law, to do them."+ But we read in the 13th verse, +"Christ -redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us+ -(literally, _in our behalf_): +for it is written, Cursed is every one -that hangeth on a tree."+ _By His death by crucifixion He redeemed -us from the curse which we deserved by taking that curse upon Himself._ -This certainly is "an atonement of blood and recompense." - -6. The Bible puts essentially the same truth in still another form, -viz., that _Jesus Christ died as our Passover sacrifice—that is, that -His shed blood might serve as a ground upon which God would pass over -and spare us_. We read in 1 Cor. 5:7, +"For our passover also hath -been sacrificed, even Christ."+ Now what a passover sacrifice was -and signified we learn from Ex. 12:12, 13, where our Lord told the -children of Israel at the inauguration of the passover, +"For I will -go through the land of Egypt in that night, and will smite all the -firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all -the Gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am Jehovah, and the blood -shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I -see the blood, I will pass over you, and there shall be no plague upon -you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt."+ And again we -read in the 23rd verse of the same chapter, +"For Jehovah will pass -through to smite the Egyptians; and when He seeth the blood upon the -lintel, and on the two side-posts, Jehovah will pass over the door, -and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite -you."+ Paul wrote his words with all this in mind, and in saying -that Christ is our Passover sacrifice beyond a question he meant that -_the shed blood of Jesus Christ serves as a ground, and the only -ground, upon which God passes over and spares us_. - - -III. THE RESULTS OF THE ATONING DEATH - -We have seen then the gracious and glorious purposes of the Atoning -Death of Jesus Christ. What are the results of that death? They are -even more glorious. I can speak of them this morning only in part. - -1. The first result of the atoning death of Jesus Christ is that _a -propitiation is provided for the whole world_. We read in 1 John 2:2, -+"He is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but -also for the whole world."+ This plainly means that _by the death -of Jesus Christ a basis is provided upon which God can deal in mercy -and does deal in mercy with the whole world_. All of God's dealings in -mercy with any man are on the ground of Christ's death. Only on the -ground of Christ's death could God deal in mercy with any man. God's -dealings in mercy with the rankest blasphemer or the most blatant -atheist is on the ground of the atoning death of Jesus Christ. - -2. In the second place through _the atoning death of Jesus Christ all -men obtain resurrection from the dead_. We read in Rom. 5:18, +"So -then as through one trespass+ (i.e., the trespass of Adam) +the -judgment came unto all men to condemnation; even so through one act -of righteousness+ (i.e., through Christ's righteous act in dying -on the cross in obedience to the will of God) +the free gift came -unto all men to justification of life."+ And we are told in 1 Cor. -15:22, +"As in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made -alive."+ The Apostle Paul in the whole chapter is speaking about -_the resurrection of the body_, not about eternal life, and he here -distinctly teaches that as every child of Adam loses life (physical -life—see Gen. 3:19) in the first Adam, so also in Jesus Christ, the -second Adam, he obtains resurrection from the dead, through the atoning -death of Jesus Christ. Every man, the rankest infidel as well as the -most devout believer, will some day be raised from the dead because -Christ died in his place. Whether the resurrection which he obtains -through the death of Jesus Christ shall be a "resurrection of life" -or a "resurrection of condemnation," "shame and everlasting contempt" -(John 5:28, 29; Dan. 12:2) depends entirely upon what attitude the -individual takes toward the Christ in whom he gets the resurrection. - -3. _By the atoning death of Jesus Christ all believers in Jesus Christ -have forgiveness of all their sins._ We read in Eph. 1:7, +"In -whom+ (i.e., in Jesus Christ) +we have our redemption through His -blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of -His grace."+ Because Jesus Christ died as a full satisfaction for -our sins, forgiveness of sin is not something which believers are to do -something to secure, it is something which the blood of Jesus Christ -has already secured and which our faith has already appropriated to -ourselves; "we _have_ forgiveness," we _are_ forgiven. Every believer -in Jesus Christ is forgiven every sin he ever committed or ever shall -commit, because Jesus Christ shed His blood in his place. Through -Christ's atoning death all believers in Him, although they once "were -_enemies_," are _now_ "_reconciled_ to God by the death of His Son." -As we read in Rom. 5:10, +"While we were enemies, we were reconciled -to God through the death of His Son."+ That is to say, the enmity -between God and the sinner is done away with, or, as Paul puts it in -Col. 1:20, Christ has "made peace through the blood of His cross," -or, as he puts it in the next verse but one, Col. 1:22, Christ "_hath -reconciled_" believers "in the body of His flesh through death." The -story is told of a faithful vicar in England who was told that one of -his parishioners was dying. She was a good woman, but he hurried to her -side to talk with her. As he sat down by the side of the dying woman -he said to her very gently but solemnly, "They tell me you have not -long to live." "No," she replied, "I know I have not." "They tell me -you will probably not live through the night." "No," she replied, "I -do not expect to live through the night." Then he said very earnestly, -"Have you made your peace with God?" She replied, "No, I have not." -"And are you not afraid to meet God without having made your peace -with Him?" "No, not at all," she calmly replied. Again he said to her, -"Do you understand what I am saying? Do you realise that you are at -the point of death?" "Yes." "Do you realise you will probably not live -through the night?" "Yes." "And you have not made your peace with God?" -"No." "And you are not afraid to meet God?" "No, not at all." There -was something about the woman's manner that made him feel there was -something back of her words, and he said to her, "What do you mean?" -She replied, "I know I am dying. I know I am very near death. I know I -shall not live through the night. I know I must soon meet God, and I am -not at all disturbed, for I know that I did not need to make my peace -with God, because Jesus Christ made peace with God for me more than -eighteen hundred years ago by His death on the cross of Calvary, and I -am resting in the peace that Jesus Christ has already made." The woman -was right: no man needs to make his peace with God, Jesus Christ has -already made peace by His atoning death, and all we have to do is to -enter into the peace which Jesus Christ has made for us, and we enter -into that peace by simply believing in the One who made peace by His -death upon the cross. Jesus Christ's work was a complete and perfect -work. There is nothing to be added to it. We cannot add anything to it, -and we do not need to add anything to it. Jesus Christ has "made peace -through the blood of His cross." - -4. The fourth result of the atoning death of Jesus Christ is that -_because of the atoning death of Jesus Christ all believers in Him -are justified_. We read in Rom. 5:9, +"Being now justified by His -blood."+ Justification is more than forgiveness. Forgiveness is -negative, the putting away of our sins, manifested in God's treating us -as if we never had sinned. Justification is positive, the reckoning of -us positively righteous, the imputing to us the perfect righteousness -of God in Jesus Christ, not merely the treating us as if we had never -sinned, but the reckoning us clothed upon with perfect righteousness. -By reason of Jesus Christ's atoning death there is an absolute -interchange of position between Jesus Christ and His people. In His -death upon the cross Jesus Christ took our place of condemnation before -God, and the moment we accept Him we step into His place of perfect -acceptance before God. As Paul puts it in 2 Cor. 5:21, +"Him who -knew no sin He made to be sin on our behalf; that we might become the -righteousness of God in Him."+ Jesus Christ stepped into our place -in the curse and rejection, and the moment we accept Him we step into -His place of perfect acceptance, or as it has been expressed by another: - - "Near, so very near to God, - Nearer I cannot be; - For in the person of His Son, - I'm just as near as He. - - Dear, so very dear to God, - Dearer I cannot be; - For in the person of His Son, - I'm just as dear as He." - -5. Furthermore, _because of the full atonement that Jesus Christ has -made by the shedding of His blood, by His atoning death on the cross, -every believer in Him can enter boldly into the holy place, into the -very presence of God_. As it is put in Heb. 10:19, 20, +"Having -therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holy place+ (i.e., -into the very presence of God) +by the blood of Jesus, by the way -which He dedicated for us, a new and living way, through the veil, that -is to say, His flesh; and having a great priest over the house of God; -let us draw near with a true heart in fullness of faith."+ Oh, how -some of us hesitate to come into the presence of God when we think of -the greatness and the number of our sins, and when we think how holy -God is, how the very seraphim (the "burning ones," burning in their -own intense holiness) veil their faces and feet in His presence and -unceasingly cry "Holy, holy, holy, is Jehovah of Hosts" (Isa. 6:2, 3). -"God is Holy," we think. "Yes." "And I am a sinner." "Yes." But by the -wondrous offering of Christ "once for all" I am "perfected forever," -and on the ground of that blood so precious and so sufficient unto God, -I can march boldly into the very presence of God, look up with unveiled -face into His face and call Him "Father," and pour out before Him every -desire of my heart. Oh, wondrous blood! - -6. But this is not all. _Because of the atoning death of Jesus Christ -those who believe in Him shall ever live with Him._ How plainly Paul -puts it in 1 Thess. 5:10, +"Who died for us, that, whether we wake -or sleep,+ (i.e., at His coming), +we should live together with -Him."+ - -7. Further yet, _because of the atoning death of Jesus Christ, -all those who believe on Him receive the promise of the eternal -inheritance_. This is what we are told in Heb. 9:15, +"And for this -cause He is the mediator of a new covenant, that a death having taken -place for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the -first covenant, they that have been called may receive the promise of -the eternal inheritance."+ I wish I had time to dwell upon that. - -8. There are other results of the atoning death of Jesus Christ as -regards the Devil and his angels, into which we have no time to go. -Just one more thing as regards the results of the atoning death of -Jesus Christ as it relates to the material universe. God teaches us -that _through the death of Jesus Christ the material universe_—"all -things, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven"—_is -reconciled unto God_. These are His words, +"For it was the good -pleasure of the Father that in Him+ (i.e., in Jesus Christ) -+should all the fullness dwell and, having made peace through the -blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself; by -Him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in Heaven"+ -(Col. 1:19, 20). These are wonderful words. They tell us that the -death of Jesus Christ has a relation to the material universe, to -things on earth and to things in heaven, as well as to us and our -sins. The material universe has fallen away from God in connection -with sin (Rom. 8:20, R. V.; Gen. 3:18). Not only earth but heaven has -been invaded and polluted by sin (Eph. 6:12, R. V.; Heb. 9:23, 24). -Through the death of Jesus Christ this pollution is put away. Just -as the blood of the Old Testament sacrifice was taken into the most -holy place, the type of heaven, so Christ has taken the blood of the -better sacrifice into heaven itself and cleansed it. +"All things -. . . whether they be things in earth or things in heaven"+ are now -reconciled to God. +"The creation itself also shall be delivered from -the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children -of God"+ (Rom. 8:21). +"We look for new heavens and a new earth, -wherein dwelleth righteousness"+ (2 Peter 3:13). The atonement of -Jesus Christ has an immense sweep—far beyond the reach of our human -philosophies. We have just begun to understand what the blood that -was spilled on Calvary means. Sin is a far more awful, ruinous, and -far-reaching evil than we have been wont to think, but the blood of -Christ has a power and efficiency, the fullness of which only eternity -will disclose. - - - - -IX - -THE DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINE OF PROTESTANTISM: JUSTIFICATION BY -FAITH - - "Be it known unto you therefore, brethren, that through this - man is proclaimed unto you, remission of sins: and by him every - one that believeth is justified from all things, from which he - could not be justified by the law of Moses."—Acts 13:38, 39. - - "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him - that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reckoned for - righteousness."—Rom. 4:5. - - -These are two remarkable passages and this chapter will be occupied -with an exposition of them. Our subject this morning is, The -Distinctive Doctrine of Protestantism: Justification by Faith. The -doctrine of Justification by Faith was the doctrine that made the -Reformation. It is to-day one of the cardinal doctrines of the -Evangelical Faith. This doctrine, though first fully expounded and -constantly emphasised by Paul, runs throughout the entire Bible from -Genesis to Revelation. It is in the first book of the Bible, the book -of Genesis, that we read, +"Abraham believed in the Lord; and he -counted it to him for righteousness."+ (Gen. 15:6.) In these words -in the very first book in the Bible we have the germ of the whole -gracious and precious doctrine of Justification by Faith. - - -I. WHAT IS JUSTIFICATION? - -The first thing for us to understand clearly is just what justification -is. It is at this point that many go astray in their study of this -great truth. There are two fundamentally different definitions of the -meaning of the words "justify" and "justification." The one definition -of Justify is, _to make righteous_, and of Justification, _the being -made righteous_. The other definition of "justify" is, _to reckon, -declare, or show to be righteous_, and of "justification," _the being -declared or reckoned righteous_. On these two different definitions -two different schools of thought depart from one another. Which is -the true definition? The way to settle the meaning of any word in the -Bible is by an examination of all the passages in which that word and -its derivatives is found. If any one will go through the Bible, the -Old Testament and the New, and carefully study all the passages in -which the word "justify" and its derivatives is found, he will discover -that _beyond a question, in Biblical usage, to "justify" means, not -to make righteous, but to reckon righteousness, declare righteous, or -show to be righteous. A man is justified before God when God reckons -him righteous._ This appears, for example, in the fourth chapter of -Romans, 2nd to 8th verses, R. V. +"For if Abraham was justified by -works, he hath whereof to glory; but not toward God. For what saith -the scripture? And Abraham believed God and it was reckoned unto -him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh, the reward is not -reckoned as of grace, but as of debt. But to him that worketh not, but -believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reckoned for -righteousness even as David also pronounced blessing upon the man unto -whom God reckoneth righteousness apart from works, saying, blessed are -they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered, blessed -is the man to whom the Lord will not reckon sin."+ It is plain from -this passage, as from many other passages, that a man is justified when -God reckons him righteous, no matter what his principles of character -and of conduct may have been. We shall see later that justification -means more than mere forgiveness. - - -II. HOW ARE MEN JUSTIFIED? - -We come now to the second question, and the all-important question, -How are men justified? In general there are two opposing views of -justification: one that men are justified by their own works, i.e., -on the ground of something which they do themselves. This view may be -variously expressed. The good works that men speak of as a ground of -their justification may be their good moral conduct, or their keeping -the Golden Rule, or something of that sort. Or they may be works of -religion, such as doing penance, saying prayers, joining the church, -going to church, being baptised, or partaking of the Lord's Supper, or -the performance of some other religious duties. But these all amount -to the same thing: it is something that we ourselves do that brings -justification, some works of our own, some works that we do, are taken -as the ground of our justification. The other view of justification is -that we are justified, not by our own works in any sense, but entirely -by the work of another, i.e., by the atoning death of Jesus Christ on -the cross of Calvary, that our own works have nothing to do with our -justification, but that we are justified entirely by Christ's finished -and complete work of atonement, by His death for us on the Cross, -and that all that we have to do with our justification is merely to -appropriate it to ourselves by simply trusting in Him who made the -atonement. Which is the correct view? We shall go directly to the Bible -for the answer to this all-important question. - -1. The first part of the answer we will find in Rom. 3:20, -+"Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified -in his sight: for through the law cometh the knowledge of sin."+ It -is here very plainly stated that we are not justified by keeping the -law of God, either the Mosaic law or any other law, and that the law is -given, not to bring us justification, but to bring us a knowledge of -sin, i.e., to bring us to the realisation of our need of justification -by grace. It is plainly stated here that _no man is justified by works -of the law_. The same great truth is found in Gal. 2:16: +"Knowing -that a man is not justified by the works of the law, save through faith -in Jesus Christ, even we believed on Christ Jesus, that we might be -justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by -the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."+ Justification -by any works of our own is an impossibility. It is an impossibility -because to be justified by works of the law, or by anything we can -do, we must perfectly keep the law of God. The law demands perfect -obedience as a ground of justification. It says, +"Cursed is every -one that continueth not in all things that are written in the book of -the law to do them."+ (Gal. 3:10.). But not one of us has perfectly -kept the law of God, and the moment we break the law of God at any -point, justification by works becomes an absolute impossibility. So -as far as the law of God is concerned, every one of us is "under the -curse," and if we are justified at all we must find some other way of -justification than by keeping the law of God. God did not give man the -law with the expectation or intention that he would keep it and be -justified thereby. He gave them the law to produce conviction of sin, -to stop men's mouths, and to lead them to Christ. Or, as Paul puts -it in Rom. 3:19, 20, +"Now ye know that what things soever the law -saith, it speaketh to them that are under the law; that every mouth -may be stopped, and all the world may be brought under the judgment of -God: because by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified in his -sight: for through the law cometh the knowledge of sin."+ As plain -as these words of God are, strangely enough there are many to-day who -are preaching the law as a way of salvation. But when they so preach -they are preaching another way of salvation than that laid down in -God's own word. - -2. The second part of the answer to the question as to how we are -justified we find in Rom. 3:24. +"Being justified freely by his -grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."+ The word -translated "freely" in this passage means, _as a free gift_, and the -verse tells us that men are justified _as a free gift_ by God's grace -(i.e., God's unmerited favour) through (i.e., on the ground of) the -redemption that is in Christ Jesus. In other words, justification is -not on the ground of any desert there is in us, not on the ground of -anything that we have done, we are not justified by our own doing nor -by our own character. _Justification is a free gift that God bestows -absolutely without pay._ The channel through which this free gift is -bestowed is the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. We shall see later -that this means through the purchase price that Christ paid for our -redemption, i.e., the shedding of His blood on the cross of Calvary. - -3. This leads us to the third part of the answer to the question, how -men are justified. We find this third part of the answer in Rom. 5:9, -+"Much more then, being now justified by his blood, shall we be -saved from the wrath of God through Him."+ Here we are told in so -many words that we are justified, or counted righteous "by," or more -literally, "in," _Christ's blood_, i.e., on the ground of Christ's -propitiatory death. We were all under the curse of the broken law of -God, for we had all broken it, but by dying in our stead on the cross -of Calvary our Lord Jesus +"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the -law, having become a curse for us; for it is written, cursed is every -one that hangeth on a tree."+ (Gal. 3:13.) Or, as Peter puts it in -1 Pet. 2:24, +"Who his own self bare our sins in his own body upon -the tree."+ Or as Paul puts it again in 2 Cor. 5:21, +"Him who -knew no sin he (God) made to be sin on our behalf; that we might become -the righteousness of God in Him."+ We shall have occasion to come -back to this passage later. All that I wish you to notice in it at this -time is that it is on the ground of Jesus Christ becoming a substitute -for us, on the ground of His taking the place we deserved; on the -cross, that we are reckoned righteous. THE ONE AND ONLY GROUND OF -JUSTIFICATION IS THE SHED BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST. Of course, this -doctrine is entirely different from the teaching of Christian Science, -and entirely different from the teaching of much that is called New -Theology, and entirely different from the teaching of New Thought and -Theosophy, and entirely different from the teaching of Unitarianism, -but it is the teaching of the Word of God. We find this same teaching -clearly given by the prophet Isaiah seven hundred years before our Lord -was born, in Isaiah 53:6, where he says, +"All we like sheep have -gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way, and the Lord hath -laid+ (literally, made to strike) +on him+ (i.e., on the Lord -Jesus) +the iniquity of us all."+ Get this point clearly settled -in your mind, that the _sole but all-sufficient ground upon which men -are justified before God is the shed blood of Jesus Christ, offered by -Jesus Christ as an atonement for our sins_ and _accepted by God the -Father as an all-sufficient atonement_. - -4. The fourth part of the answer to the question how men are justified -we find in Rom. 3:26, +"For the showing, I say, of his+ (i.e., -God's) +righteousness at this present season: that he+ (i.e., -God) +might himself be just, and the justifier of him that hath -faith in Jesus."+ Here we are taught that _men are justified on the -condition of faith in Jesus_. If possible, Rom. 4:5 makes this even -more plain, +"But to him that worketh not but believeth on him that -justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reckoned for righteousness."+ -Here the Holy Spirit, speaking through the Apostle Paul, tells us that -to those who believe in Jesus their faith is counted for righteousness. -In other words, _faith makes ours the shed blood which is the ground -of justification, and we are justified when we believe_. All men -are _potentially_ justified by the death of Christ on the cross, but -believers are _actually_ justified by appropriating to themselves what -there is of justifying value in the shed blood of Christ by simple -faith in Him. In other words, the shed blood of Christ is the sole and -all-sufficient ground of justification: simple faith in Jesus Christ -who shed the blood is the sole condition of justification. _God asks -nothing else of the sinner than that he should believe on His Son, -Jesus Christ, and when he does thus believe he is justified._ When we -believe we are justified, whether we have any works to offer or not; -or, as Paul puts it in Rom. 3:28, +"We reckon therefore that a man is -justified by faith apart from works of the law."+ Or, as it is put -in the verse already quoted, Rom. 4:5, +"But to him that worketh not, -but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reckoned -for righteousness."+ A man is justified entirely apart from works -of the law, i.e., he is justified on condition that he believes on -Jesus Christ, even though he has no works to offer as the ground upon -which to claim justification. When we cease to work for justification -and simply "_believe_ on Him who _justifieth the ungodly_," that faith -is reckoned to us for righteousness, and therefore we are counted -righteous. The question then is not, have you any works to offer, but -do you believe on Him who justifies the ungodly. Works have nothing to -do with justification except to hinder it when we trust in them. The -blood of Jesus Christ secures it, faith in Jesus Christ appropriates -it. We are justified _not by our_ works, _but by His work_. We are -justified upon the simple and single ground of His shed blood and upon -the simple and single condition of our faith in Him Who shed the blood. -So great is the pride of the natural heart that it is exceedingly -difficult to hold men to this doctrine of justification by faith alone -apart from works of law. We are constantly seeking to bring in our -works somewhere. - -5. But we have not as yet completely answered the question of how men -are justified. There is another side to the truth and if our doctrine -of justification is to be complete and well-balanced, we must look at -that other side. You will find part of this other side in Rom. 10:8, -10, +"If thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, and shalt -believe in thy heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be -saved; for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with -the mouth confession is made unto salvation."+ God here tells us -that the faith that appropriates justification is a faith with the -heart, i.e., a faith that is not a mere notion, or opinion, but a faith -that leads to action along the line of that faith, and it is therefore -a faith that leads to open confession with the mouth, of Jesus as our -Lord. If some one has some kind of faith, or what he calls faith, that -does not lead him to an open confession of Christ, he has a faith that -does not justify; for it is not a faith with the heart. Our Lord Jesus -Christ Himself tells us that heart faith leads to open confession; for -He says in Matt. 12:34, +"Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth -speaketh."+ Faith in Jesus Christ in the heart leads inevitably -to a confession of Jesus as Lord with the mouth, and if you are not -confessing Jesus as your Lord with your mouth you have not justifying -faith and you are not justified. - -6. The rest of the other side of the truth about being justified by -faith, you will find in Jas. 2:14, 18-24, R. V. +"What doth it -profit, my brethren, if a man say he hath faith but have not works? -Can that faith save him?"+ We see here that a faith that a man -merely says he has, but that does not lead to works along the line of -that which he claims to believe, cannot justify, but to go on, verses -18-24, +"Yea, a man will say, thou hast faith, and I have works, -show me thy faith apart from thy works, and I by my works will show -thee my faith. Thou believest that God is one; thou doest well: the -devils also believe and shudder. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that -faith apart from works is barren? Was not Abraham our father justified -by works, in that he offered up Isaac his son, upon the altar? Thou -seest that faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made -perfect+ (i.e., in the works to which Abraham's faith led, faith -had its perfect manifestation); +and the scripture was fulfilled -which saith, and Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him -for righteousness; and he was called the friend of God. Ye see that -by works a man is justified, and not only by faith."+ Some see in -these words a contradiction between the teaching of James and the -teaching of Paul, but there is no contradiction whatever. But James -here teaches us an important truth, namely, that _the faith that one -says he has, but which does not manifest itself in action along the -line of the faith professed, will not justify. The faith that justifies -is real faith that leads to action accordant with the truth we profess -to believe._ It is true that we are justified simply upon faith apart -from the works of the law, _but it must be a real faith_, otherwise it -does not justify. As some one has put it, "We are justified by faith -without works, but we are not justified by a faith that is without -works." The faith which God sees and upon which He justifies, leads -inevitably to works which men can see. God saw the faith of Abraham the -moment Abraham believed, and before there was any opportunity to work, -and counted that faith to Abraham for righteousness. But the faith that -God saw was a real faith and led Abraham to works that all could see, -and these works proved the reality of his faith. The proof to us of -the faith is the works, and we know that he that does not work has not -justifying faith. - -We must not lose sight on the one side of the truth which Paul -emphasises against legalism, namely, that we are justified on the -single and simple condition of a real faith in Christ; but on the -other side we must not lose sight of the truth which James emphasises -against antinomianism, namely, that it is only a real faith that proves -its genuineness by works, that justifies. To the legalist who is -seeking to _do_ something to merit justification we must say, +"Stop -working and believe on Him that justifieth the ungodly"+ (Rom. 4:5). -To the antinomian, i.e., to the one who thinks he can live a lawless, -careless, unseparated, sinful life and still be justified, the one who -boasts that he has faith and is justified by it, but who does not show -his faith by his works, we must say, "What doth it profit, if a man -_say_ he have faith, but have not works? Can _that_ faith save him?" -(Jas. 2:14, R. V.) We are justified by faith alone, but we are not -justified by a faith that is alone, but a faith that is accompanied by -works. - - -III. THE EXTENT OF JUSTIFICATION - -I think we have made it plain just how one is justified, and now we -come to another question and that is, the extent of justification. -To what extent is a man who believes in the Lord Jesus justified? -This question is very plainly answered and wonderfully answered, -and gloriously answered in Acts 13:38, 39, +"Be it known unto you -therefore, brethren, that through this man is proclaimed unto you -remission of sins: and by him every one that believeth is justified -from all things, from which he could not be justified by the law of -Moses."+ These words very plainly declare to us that every believer -in Jesus Christ is justified "_from all things_." In other words, -the old account against the believer is all wiped out. No matter how -bad and how black the account is, the moment a man believes in Jesus -Christ, the account is wiped out. God has absolutely nothing which -He reckons against the one who believes in Jesus Christ. Even though -he is still a very imperfect believer, a very young man and immature -Christian, he is perfectly justified. As Paul puts it in Rom. 8:1, -+"There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ -Jesus."+ Or, as he puts it further down in the chapter, verses 33, -34, +"Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is -God that justifieth; who is he that shall condemn? It is Christ Jesus -that died, yea rather, that was raised from the dead, who is at the -right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us."+ If the -vilest murderer or sinner of any kind on earth should come in here -this morning and right here now, hearing the gospel of God's grace, -should believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, put confidence in Him as his -Saviour, and accept Him as such, surrendering to Him and confessing Him -as His Lord, the moment he did it every sin he ever committed would be -blotted out and his record would be as white in God's sight as that of -the purest angel in heaven. God has absolutely nothing that He reckons -against the believer in Jesus Christ. But even that is not all. Paul -goes even beyond this in 2 Cor. 5:21, +"He who knew no sin he (God) -made to be sin on our behalf; that we might become the righteousness of -God in him."+ Here we are explicitly told that the believer in Jesus -Christ is made the righteousness of God in Christ. In Phil. 3:9, R. V. -we are told that when one is in Christ he has a righteousness not of -his own, but a "_righteousness which is of God upon faith_." In other -words, there is an absolute interchange of positions between Christ and -the justified believer. Christ took our place, the place of the curse -on the cross (Gal. 3:13). He was "made to be sin on our behalf" (2 -Cor. 5:21). God reckoned Him a sinner and dealt with Him as a sinner, -so that in the sinner's place, as He died, He cried, +"My God, my -God, why hast thou forsaken me?"+ And when we are justified we step -into His place, the place of perfect acceptance before God, or to use -the exact words of Scripture, we +"Become the righteousness of God -in him."+ To be justified is more than to be forgiven! Forgiveness -is negative, the putting away of sin; Justification is positive, the -reckoning of positive and perfect righteousness to the one justified. -Jesus Christ is so united to the believer in Him that God reckons our -sins to Him. The believer, on the other hand, is so united to Christ -that God reckons His righteousness to us. God sees us, not as we are in -ourselves, but as we are in Him and reckons us as righteous as He is. -When Christ's work _in_ us is completed we shall be in actual fact what -we are already in God's reckoning, but _the moment one believes_, as -far as God's reckoning is concerned, he is as absolutely perfect as he -ever shall be. Our present standing before God is absolutely perfect, -though our present state may be very imperfect. To use again the -familiar couplet: - - "Near, so very near to God, - Nearer I cannot be; - For in the person of His Son, - I am just as near as He. - - Dear, so very dear to God, - Dearer I cannot be; - For in the person of His Son, - I am just as dear as He." - - -IV. THE TIME OF JUSTIFICATION - -There remains one question still to consider, though we have really -answered it in what has already been said, and that is, the time of -justification, or when a believer is justified. When is a believer -justified? This question is answered plainly in one of our texts, Acts -13:39, +"And by him every one that believeth is justified from all -things, from which he could not be justified by the law of Moses."+ -What I wish you to notice particularly now in this verse is the word -_Is_, "Everyone that believeth _is_ justified from all things." This -answers plainly the question as to when a believer is justified. In -Christ Jesus every believer in Him is justified from all things _the -moment he believes_. The moment a man believes in Jesus Christ that -moment he becomes united to Christ, and that moment God reckons the -righteousness of God to him. I repeat again, if the vilest murderer -or sinner of any kind in the world should come into this room this -morning while I am preaching and should here and now believe in the -Lord Jesus Christ, the moment that he did it, not only would every sin -he ever committed be blotted out, but all the perfect righteousness -of God in Christ would be put to his account, and his standing before -God would be as perfect as it will be when he has been in heaven ten -million years. Let me repeat to you again the incident I told you one -Sunday night some weeks ago. I was preaching one Sunday morning in the -Moody church in Chicago on Rom. 8:1, +"There is therefore now no -condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus,"+ and in the course -of my preaching I said, "If the vilest woman there is in Chicago should -come into the Chicago Avenue church this morning, and should here and -now accept Jesus Christ as her Saviour, the moment she did it every -sin she ever committed would be blotted out and her record would be as -white in God's sight as that of the purest woman in the room." Unknown -to me, one of the members of my congregation that very morning had gone -down into a low den of iniquity near the river and had invited a woman -who was an outcast to come and hear me preach. The woman replied, "I -never go to church. Church is not for the likes of me. I would not be -welcome at the church if I did go." The woman who was a saint replied, -"You would be welcome at our church," which, thank God, was true. But, -"No," the woman urged, "it would not do for me to go to church, church -is not for the likes of me." But the woman who was a saint urged the -woman who was a sinner to go. She offered to accompany her to the -church, but the other said, "No, that would never do. The policemen -know me and the boys on the street know me and sometimes throw stones -at me, and if they saw you going up the street with me they would think -you such as I am." But the woman who was a saint had the Spirit of -the Master and said, "I don't care what they think of me. If you will -accompany me to hear Mr. Torrey preach I will go along with you." The -other woman refused. But the saved woman was so insistent that the -woman who was an outcast finally said, "If you will go up the street a -few steps ahead I will follow you up the street." So up La Salle Avenue -they came, the woman who was a saint a few steps ahead and the woman -who was a sinner a few steps behind. Block after block they came until -they reached the corner of La Salle and Chicago Avenues. The woman who -was a saint entered the tower door at the corner, went up the steps, -entered the church, and the woman who was a sinner followed her. On -reaching the door the woman who was a sinner looked in, saw a vacant -seat under the gallery in the very last row at the back, and slipped -into it, and scarcely had she taken the seat when I made the remark -that I just quoted, "If the vilest woman there is in Chicago should -come into the Chicago Avenue church this morning and should here and -now accept Jesus Christ as her personal Saviour, the moment she did it -every sin she ever committed would be blotted out and her record would -be as white in God's sight as that of the purest woman in the room." My -words went floating down over the audience and dropped into the heart -of the woman who was a sinner. She believed it, she believed that Jesus -died for her, she believed that by the shedding of His blood she could -be saved, she believed, and found pardon and peace and justification -then and there. And when the meeting was over she came up the aisle -to the front as I stepped down from the pulpit, tears streaming down -her face, and thanked me for the blessing that she had received. And I -repeat it here this morning, not knowing who may be here, not knowing -what may be the secret life of any one of you who is here, not knowing -what may be the sins that may be hidden in your heart, if the vilest -man or woman on earth should come into the Church of the Open Door this -morning and should here and now put their trust in Jesus Christ, the -moment you did it every sin you ever committed would be blotted out and -in an instant your record would be as white in God's sight, not only as -that of the purest woman in the room, but as that of the purest angel -in heaven, and not only that, but all the perfect righteousness of God -that clothed our Lord Jesus Christ would be put to your account and you -would be just as near and just as dear to God as the Lord Jesus Christ -Himself is. That is the doctrine of justification by faith. Wondrous -doctrine! Glorious doctrine! - - - - -X - -THE NEW BIRTH - - "Jesus answered and said unto him, verily, verily, I say unto - thee, except a man be born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of - God. . . . Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, - except a man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter - into the kingdom of God."—John 3:3, 5. - - -Our subject in this chapter is Regeneration, or the New Birth. I spoke -on this subject a year or so ago, but I am going to treat it in an -entirely different way in this chapter and furthermore no course of -sermons on the Fundamental Doctrines of the Christian Faith would be -complete without a sermon on the New Birth. What we have to say in this -chapter will come under four heads: I. What Is the New Birth? II. The -Results of the New Birth, III. The Necessity of the New Birth, IV. How -One Is Born Again. - - -I. WHAT IS THE NEW BIRTH? - -The first question that confronts us is, _What is the New Birth?_ -Many speak of the New Birth or of Regeneration without any definite -conception of just what the New Birth is, and so are never sure -whether they themselves have been born again or not. - -As plain and clear a definition of the New Birth as we can find in -the Word of God is given in 2 Pet. 1:4, +"Whereby he hath granted -unto us his precious and exceeding great promises; that through these -ye may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the -corruption that is in the world by lust."+ From these words of -Peter it is evident that the New Birth is the impartation to the one -who is born again, of a new nature, God's own nature. By being born -again we become actual partakers of the Divine nature. We are all born -into this world with a corrupted intellectual and moral nature. The -natural man, or unregenerate man, is intellectually blind, blind to -the truth of God, "the things of the Spirit" he cannot see or receive. -+"They are foolishness unto him, and he cannot know them"+ (1 Cor. -2:14). His affections are corrupt, he loves the things he ought to -hate and hates the things he ought to love. A definite description of -the affections and tastes and desires of the unregenerate man is found -in Gal. 5:19, 20, 21. He is also perverse in his will, as Paul puts -it in Rom. 8:7, +"The mind of the flesh is enmity against God; for -it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be."+ This -state of intellectual spiritual blindness and moral corruption is the -condition of every unregenerate man. No matter how cultured or refined -or moral he may be outwardly, his inner life is radically wrong. In -the New Birth God imparts to the one who is born again His own wise and -holy nature, a nature that thinks as God thinks (+"He is renewed in -knowledge after the image of him that created him"+—Col. 3:10); he -feels as God feels, loves the things that God loves, hates the things -that God hates, wills as God wills (1 John 3:14; 4:7, 8). It is evident -then that regeneration is a deep thorough-going change in the deepest -springs of thought, feeling and action. A change so thorough-going that -Paul says in 2 Cor. 5:17, +"If any man is in Christ, he is a new -creature+ (more exactly, Creation): +the old things are passed -away; behold they are become new."+ To use the inspired language of -the Apostle John, regeneration is a passing "out of death into life." -John says in 1 John 3:14, +"We know that we have passed out of death -into life."+ _Until we are thus born again we are in a condition of -moral and spiritual death._ When we are born again we are "quickened" -(or made alive), we who "were dead through our trespasses and sins." -(Eph. 2:1). There is a profound contrast between regeneration and mere -conversion. Conversion is an outward thing, a turning around. One is -faced the wrong way, faced away from God; he turns around and faces -toward God. That is conversion. But regeneration is not a mere outward -change, but a thorough-going change in the deepest depths of one's -being, that leads to a genuine conversion or genuine outward change. -Many an apparently thorough conversion is a temporary thing because -it did not go deep enough, but regeneration is a permanent thing. When -God imparts His nature to a man, that nature abides in the man. When he -is born again he cannot be unborn, or as John puts it in 1 John 3:9, -+"Whosoever is begotten of God doth no sin, because his (God's) seed -abideth in him."+ A man may be converted a thousand times, he can be -regenerated but once. - - -II. RESULTS OF THE NEW BIRTH - -We now come to the second question, closely related to the first, and -it will help us to understand even more clearly what the New Birth is. -_What are the results that follow when one is born again?_ They are -numerous. - -1. The first of these results is found in 1 Cor. 6:19, where we read: -+"Know ye not that your body is a temple of the Holy Ghost which -is in you, which ye have from God?"+ These words were spoken to -believers, to regenerated men, and they plainly tell us that _when one -is born again, the Holy Spirit comes to take up His permanent dwelling -in the man and that the man who is born again thus becomes a temple of -the Holy Spirit_. It is true that we may not always be conscious of -this indwelling of the Holy Spirit, nevertheless He dwells in us. - -2. The second result of the New Birth is found in Rom. 8:2-4, where we -read: +"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me -free from the law of sin and of death. For what the law could not do, -in that it was weak through the flesh, God, sending his own Son in the -likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, condemned sin in -the flesh: that the ordinance of the law might be fulfilled in us, who -walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."+ In the 7th chapter -of Romans, we have a picture of the man who is awakened by the law of -God which he approves after the inward man, which he sees "is holy and -just and good," which he tries to keep in his own strength, but utterly -fails to keep, until at last he comes to an end of himself and is -filled with despair of ever being able to keep the law of God outside -of him, because of the law of sin and death inside him, which law of -sin and death says, "the good which you would do you cannot do, and the -evil which you hate and would not do, you must keep on doing." When a -man is thus brought to a consciousness of his own utter helplessness -and turns to God and accepts Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus -Christ gives to him who dwells in him, sets him free from this law -of sin and death so that by the power of the indwelling Spirit he is -enabled to obey the law of God and to get the victory over the evil -things that he would not do and to do the things which he would do. -Whereas in a man merely awakened by the law of God, "the law of sin and -death" gets a perpetual victory, in a regenerate man, the "law of the -Spirit of life in Christ Jesus" gets the perpetual victory. Doubtless -many of you here to-day are still struggling to keep the law of God and -utterly failing in your attempt to do so. What you need is to be born -again, and thus have the Holy Spirit come to dwell in you, and then to -walk by the Spirit, and by the power of this indwelling Spirit to get -victory every day and hour over the law of sin and death that wars in -your members against the law of God. - -3. The third result of the New Birth is found in Rom. 12:2, where we -read, +"And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye -transformed by the renewing of your mind."+ From this it appears -that _the third result of the New Birth is in outward transformation -of our lives by the inward renewing of our minds so that we no longer -are fashioned according to this world_. Of course the regenerated man -does not at once manifest perfectly that of which he has the germ in -himself. He begins the new life just as we begin our natural lives, -as a babe, and he must grow. As Peter puts it in 1 Pet. 2:2, we must -+"As new born babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that we -may grow thereby."+ This new life must be fed and developed. It is -irrational, and unwarranted by the Word of God, to expect one who has -just been born again, and who is consequently a babe in Christ, to -be as perfect in character as one who was born years ago and who has -grown to maturity. But the moment we are born again we receive in germ -all the moral perfection that is to be ours when this germ is fully -developed within us and comes to its perfect manifestation. - -4. The fourth result of the New Birth we find in 1 John 5:1, -+"Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is begotten of -God."+ _The fourth result of being born again is that the -regenerated man believes that Jesus is the Christ._ Of course this -faith that comes from the New Birth is a _real faith_. The faith that -John here speaks of is not a faith that is a mere opinion, but that -real faith that Jesus is the anointed of God that leads us to enthrone -Jesus as King in our lives. If you are not making Jesus King in your -heart and life you have not been born again. But if you are making -Jesus King in your heart and life and absolute ruler of your thoughts -and conduct, then you are born again, for +"Whosoever believeth that -Jesus is Christ is begotten of God."+ - -5. The fifth result of being born again we find three verses further -down in this same chapter, 1 John 5:4: +"For whatsoever is begotten -of God overcometh the world."+ The _fifth result of being born of -God is that the one thus born again overcomes the world_. The world is -at variance with God, +"The whole world lieth in the Evil One"+ -(1 John 5:19). It is under the dominion of the Evil One, ruled by -his ambitions and ideas. The world is at variance with God in its -commercial life, social life, domestic life, and all the phases of -intellectual life and educational life, and is constantly exercising a -power over each of us to draw us into disobedience to God (see 1 John -5:3); but the one born of God by the power of the faith that comes -through being born again, gets the victory over the world. He gets the -victory over the world's ideas, purposes, plans, ambitions. He gets the -victory over the world in his personal life, domestic life, commercial -life, political life, intellectual life every day. - -6. The sixth result of being born of God is found in 1 John 3:9, R. -V., +"Whosoever is begotten of God doeth no sin; because his+ -(i.e., God's) +seed abideth in him: and he cannot sin+ (rather, -cannot be sinning), +because he is begotten of God."+ _The sixth -result, then, of being born of God is that in the one born of God the -seed of God remains; and, therefore, the one born of God is not making -a practice of sin._ Some one will ask, just what does this mean? It -means exactly what it says, if we look carefully at the exact force of -the words used and give due emphasis to the tense of the verbs used. -First of all, let us look at the exact force of the word translated -"Sin." What does sin mean? John himself has been careful to define it -in the verse itself and in the context in which our verse is found. -The first thing that is evident from 1 John 3:9 is that sin is _a -something done_, not merely a something left undone, and not merely -sinful thoughts and desires. What kind of a something done it is -defined five verses back in verse 4. +"Everyone that doeth sin doeth -also lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness."+ Sin here by John's own -definition (and we have no right to bring the definition of any one -else into the verse we are studying) is "_lawlessness_," i.e., such -acts as reveal conscious disregard for the will of God as revealed -in His word. So we see that _sin, as used here, means, a conscious -intentional violation of the law of God. The regenerate man will not be -doing that which he knows to be contrary to the will of God._ He may do -that which is contrary to God's will, but which he does not know to be -contrary to God's will. It is not therefore "lawlessness." Perhaps he -ought to have known that it was contrary to God's will and when he is -led to see that it is, he will confess his guilt to God. Furthermore, -we should note the tense of the verb used in this verse. It is the -_present tense which denotes progressive or continuous action_. A -literal translation of the passage would be, "Everyone begotten out of -God, _sin is not doing_, because His (God's) seed in him is remaining; -and he cannot be sinning, because out of God he is begotten." It is -not taught here that one born of God never sins in a single act, but -it is taught that he is not going on sinning, not making a practice of -sin. Of what he is making a practice appears in 1 John 2:29, +"If -ye know that he is righteous, ye know that everyone also that doeth -righteousness is begotten of him."+ _The result, then, of being born -again is that the one begotten again does not go on consciously day -after day doing that which he knows to be contrary to the will of God, -but he does make a practice of "doing righteousness," i.e., doing that -which is conformed to the will of God as revealed in His Word._ The new -nature imparted in regeneration renders the continuous practice of sin -impossible and renders the practice of righteousness inevitable. - -7. The seventh result of the New Birth is found in 1 John 3:14, R. -V., +"We know that we have passed out of death into life, because -we love the brethren. He that loveth not abideth in death."+ _The -seventh result of being born again is that we love the brethren._ We -should note carefully what the thought of "love" is as brought out in -the context. It is not love as a mere sentiment. It is love in that -higher and deeper sense of a desire for and delight in the welfare of -others, the sort of love that leads us to make sacrifices for those we -love, or as we read further down in this same chapter, verses 16-18, -+"Hereby know we the love of God, because he laid down his life for -us and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath -this world's goods, and behold his brother in need, and shutteth up his -compassion from him, how doth the love of God abide in him? My little -children, let us not love in word neither with the tongue; but in deed -and truth."+ This makes it very evident that what the Holy Spirit -here means by love is not a mere affection or fondness for others, -not a mere delight in their society; it means that deep and genuine -interest in their welfare that leads us to go down into our pockets -when they are in need and supply their need; it leads us to sacrifice -our own interest for the sake of their interests even to the point of -laying down our lives for them. _The objects of this love are "the -brethren,"_ i.e., all those who are begotten of God, as we read in 1 -John 5:1, +"Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is begotten -of God: and whosoever loveth him that begat loveth him also that is -begotten of him."+ _Any man who is born again will love every other -man who is begotten of God._ The other one who is begotten of God -may be an American or a German, or an Englishman, or a negro, or a -Chinaman, or an Indian. He may be educated or uneducated; but he is a -child of God and a brother, and as such if you are born of God, he will -be the object of your love. This is a searching test of whether or not -one is born of God. - -8. The final result of being born of God that we will consider this -morning is found in 2 Cor. 5:17, R. V., +"Wherefore if any man is -in Christ, he is a new creature (creation): the old things are passed -away, behold, they are become new."+ _The ninth result of being born -again_, including all the other results that we have been considering, -_is that in the regenerate man, old things are passed away, they are -become new. In the place of the old ideas, old affection, old purposes, -old choices, are new ideas, new affections, new purposes, new choices._ - - -III. THE NECESSITY OF THE NEW BIRTH - -For just a few moments let us look at the necessity of the New Birth. -This is set forth in one of our texts and in the verses following, 1 -John 3:5, 6: +"Verily, Verily, I say unto you, except a man be born -of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That -which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the -Spirit is Spirit."+ We see here that the New Birth is a universal -necessity, and we see why it is a necessity. The words translated, -"Except a man be born," etc. more literally translated would be, "_If -any man_ be not born out of water and Spirit, he cannot enter into the -kingdom of God." And why he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God the -following verse says, and that is because all that one gets by natural -generation is "Flesh" and _the Kingdom of God is spiritual_, and, -therefore, to enter it one must be born of the Spirit. No matter how -refined and intelligent our ancestry, no matter how godly our fathers -and mothers may have been, we do not get the Holy Spirit from them. All -we get is "flesh." It may be refined flesh, moral flesh, upright and -very attractive flesh, but it is flesh; and "they that are in the flesh -cannot please God," nor "inherit the kingdom of God." The flesh is -incapable of improvement. No more "can the Ethiopian change his skin, -or the leopard his spots" than can a man who is unregenerate attain to -a life pleasing to God. (See Jer. 13:23.) He must be born again. _The -necessity is also absolute and imperative_, so absolute and imperative -that Jesus said to Nicodemus, though he was a man of most exemplary -morality, a man of high moral and spiritual education, a teacher of -Israel, a leader in the religious life of Israel, +"You must be born -again."+ (John 3:7.) Nothing else will take the place of the New -Birth. Men are trying to substitute education, morality, religion, -orthodoxy, baptism, outward reform, "new thought," "theosophy" or the -knowledge of God, and other such things, for the New Birth; but none -of these, or all of them together, are sufficient, you _must_ be born -again. There is absolutely no exception to this rule. As Jesus says in -John 3:3, +"Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except any man be born -from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God."+ - - -IV. HOW CAN ONE BE BORN AGAIN? - -The question, therefore, confronts each one of you, Have you been born -again? There is no more important question that you could possibly -face. Face it in these pages and don't dodge it. And that brings us to -the immediately practical question, How are men born again, or what -must any one here to-day, who is not born again, do in order to be born -again right here this morning? This question also is plainly answered -in the Word of God; and I can give you the answer in a very few -minutes and give it so that any one here can understand it. There are -three parts to the answer. - -1. The first part of the answer you will find in Titus 3:4, +"Not -by works done in righteousness, which we did ourselves, but according -to his mercy, he+ (i.e., God) +saved us through the washing of -regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost."+ These words tell -us very plainly that _it is God who regenerates and that He does it -through the power of His Holy Spirit_. The same thought is found in -our text, John 3:5, 6: +"Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto -thee, except a man be born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into -the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that -which is born of the Spirit is Spirit."+ _Regeneration is God's -work; wrought by Him by the power of His Holy Spirit working in the -mind, feelings and will of the one born again_, in your heart and mine. - -2. Some one might infer from the fact that regeneration is God's work, -which He works in our hearts by His Holy Spirit, that all we have to do -is to wait until God sees fit to work; but we see plainly from other -passages in the Word that this is not true. We are taught the second -thing about how regeneration is wrought in James 1:18, +"Of His own -will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a -kind of first fruits of His creatures."+ _Here we are taught that -the Word of Truth, the Word of God, is the instrument that God uses -in regeneration._ The same thought is found in 1 Pet. 1:23, +"Having -been begotten again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, -through the word of God, which liveth and abideth."+ And Paul gives -voice to the same great thought in 1 Cor. 4:15, where he says: +"For -though ye should have ten thousand tutors in Christ, yet have ye not -many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I begat you through the gospel."+ -From these passages it is evident that _the New Birth is wrought by -God through the instrumentality of His Word_. It is God who works it -through the power of His Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit works through -the Word, and thus God begets men anew by "The Word of Truth," or the -"Word of God," i.e., the Word which is preached by "the Gospel." So -then, if you or I wish to be born again we should get in contact with -the Word of God by studying the Bible and asking God that the Holy -Spirit may make that Word which we are studying a living thing in our -own hearts. We should get in contact especially with that part of God's -Word which is found in the Gospel of John, for John tells us in John -20:31 that +"These+ (i.e., these things in the Gospel of John) -+are written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of -God; and that believing ye may have life in his name."+ If we wish -to see others born again we should bring the Word of God to bear upon -their minds and hearts either by preaching the Word, or by teaching -it, or in personal work; and we should look to the Holy Spirit to -quicken that Word in the hearts of men as we sow it in their hearts, -and in this way the New Birth will result. - -3. The third and last and decisive truth as to how we are born again -is found in Gal. 3:26 and John 1:12, 13. In Gal. 3:26 we read, +"For -ye are all sons of God, through faith, in Christ Jesus."+ This -tells us plainly that _we become born again through putting our faith -in Christ Jesus_. This is even more explicitly stated in John 1:12, -13: +"But as many as received him+ (i.e. the Lord Jesus), +to -them gave He the right to become children of God, even to them that -believe on His name: which were born not of blood, nor of the will -of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."+ Here we are -told that _the decisive thing in our becoming children of God is that -we believe in, or receive, Jesus Christ_. Any one who receives Jesus -Christ as his personal Saviour and trusts God to forgive him because -Jesus Christ died in his place and receives him as his Lord and King, -and surrenders his thoughts to His absolute control as his Lord and his -life to His absolute control as his King and confesses Jesus Christ -as Lord before the world, such a one immediately becomes a child of -God, is immediately born again, is immediately made a partaker of the -Divine nature. The same thought is illustrated by Jesus Himself in John -3:14, 15, where our Lord Jesus is recorded as saying, +"And as Moses -lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be -lifted up; that whosoever believeth in Him may have eternal life."+ -The reference is to the story of the Israelites in the Old Testament -when they were bitten by fiery serpents. As the dying Israelite with -the poison of the fiery serpent coursing through his veins, was saved -by simply looking at the brazen serpent on the pole, a serpent made -in the likeness of the one that had bitten him, and had new life -coursing through his veins as soon as he looked, so we dying men, with -the poison of sin coursing through our veins, are saved by looking at -Jesus Christ "Made in the likeness of sinful flesh," lifted up on the -cross, and have new life coursing through our veins the moment we look. -All we have to do with our regeneration is to receive Christ as He is -presented to us in the Word, by which we are born again. Therefore, -+"If any man be in Christ he is a new creature (creation). The old -things are passed away, behold all things are become new."+ - -In the New Birth the Word of God is the seed; the human heart is the -soil; the preacher of the Word is the sower, and drops the seed of the -Word of God into the soil of the human heart; God by His Spirit opens -the heart to receive the seed (Acts 16:14); the hearer believes; the -Spirit quickens the seed into life in the receptive heart; the heart -closes around the seed by faith; the new nature, the Divine Nature -springs up out of the Divine Word; the believer is "born again," -"created anew," "made alive," "passed out of death into life." - -Conclusion. - -Have you been born again? I put this question to every man and woman -here. I do not ask you whether you are a church member. I do not ask -if you have been baptised. I do not ask, have you gone regularly to -the communion. I do not ask, have you turned over a new leaf. I do -not ask, are you an amiable, cultured, intelligent, moral, socially -delightful gentleman or lady. I _ask you, have you been born again_? -If not, you are outside of the Kingdom of God and you are bound for an -everlasting hell unless you are born again. But if you are not already -born again you may be born again to-day, you may be born again before -you leave this building, you may be born again right now; for the Word -of God says, +"As many as received him, to them gave he the right to -become children of God, even to them that believe on his name: which -were born, not of blood, nor of flesh, nor of the will of man, but of -God."+ And it says again in Rom. 10:9, 10, +"If thou shalt confess -with thy mouth Jesus as Lord and shalt believe in thy heart that God -raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved: for with the heart man -believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made -unto salvation."+ These verses make it plain as day just what you -must do right here and now to become a child of God. It is up to you to -say whether or not you will do it. - - - - -XI - -SANCTIFICATION - - "And the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly; and may your - spirit and soul and body be preserved entire, without blame at - the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."—1 Thess. 5:23. - - -Our subject now before us is Sanctification. The subject is one of -great importance. Not only is there much ignorance and error and -misconception about the subject, but there is, strange to say, most -bitter controversy over the subject. So bitter is the controversy -over the subject that some years ago there were two rival "holiness -conventions" held at the same time in Chicago at different hours of -the day, in the same church, and the animosity between these two -companies of "holiness brethren" was so intense that on one occasion -they came near to having blows at the altar of the church. The -subject of Sanctification has given rise to such bitterness and such -extravagances in some quarters that many even dread the use of the word -"Sanctification." But the word is not only a Bible word, but a deeply -significant word, a word full of precious meaning; and it would not be -the part of wisdom on our part to give up this good Bible word simply -because the word is so often abused. On one occasion a man said to me -in the Bible Institute of Chicago, "Are you not afraid of holiness?" Of -course what the man meant was, was I not afraid of certain phases of -"holiness doctrine" so-called. I replied that I was not nearly as much -afraid of holiness as I was of unholiness. The teaching of the Bible on -the subject is very plain and very precious. What we have to say this -morning will come under three headings. First, What Sanctification Is: -2. How to be Sanctified; 3. When Sanctification Takes Place. - - -I. WHAT SANCTIFICATION IS - -First, then, let us consider what Sanctification is. - -1. In the first place let me make it clear that, _Sanctification is not -the "Baptism with the Holy Spirit."_ The two are constantly confused. -There is an intimate relation between the two, but they are not at -all one and the same thing; and only confusion and misconception can -arise from confounding two experiences which God keeps separate. -That Sanctification is not the baptism with the Holy Spirit and that -the baptism with the Holy Spirit is not Sanctification, will become -clear as we proceed and find out from a study of the Bible just what -Sanctification is. - -2. In the second place, let me say that _Sanctification is not the -eradication of the carnal nature_. We will see this when we come to -examine God's definition of Sanctification; for God has very clearly -defined what Sanctification is and when it takes place. Those who -teach "the eradication of the carnal nature" are grasping after a -great and precious truth, but they have expressed that truth in a very -inaccurate, unfortunate, and unscriptural way, and this way of stating -it leads to grave misapprehensions and errors and abuses. The whole -controversy about "the eradication of the carnal nature" arises from -a misapprehension and from using terms for which there is no warrant -in the Bible. The Bible nowhere speaks about "the carnal nature," and -so certainly not about "the eradication of the carnal nature." There -is such a thing as a carnal nature, but it is not a material thing, -not a substance, not a something that can be eradicated as you pull a -tooth or remove the vermiform appendix. "A carnal nature" is a nature -controlled by the flesh. Certainly it is a believer's privilege not to -have his nature governed by the flesh. Our nature should be and may -be under the control of the Holy Spirit, and then it is not a carnal -nature; but one nature has not been eradicated and another nature put -in its place, but our nature is taken out from under the control of -the flesh and put under the control of the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, -while it is our privilege to have our nature under the control of the -Holy Spirit and delivered from the control of the flesh, _we still -have "the flesh,"_ and shall have the flesh as long as we are in this -body. But if we "walk by the Spirit" we do not "fulfil the lusts of -the flesh" (Gal. 5:16). The 8th chapter of Romans describes the life -of victory, just as the 7th chapter, 9-24 verse describes the life of -defeat, when men are "_carnal_, sold under sin," but it is in the 8th -chapter where life "in the Spirit" is described (Rom. 8:9) that we are -told that we _still have_ the flesh, _but that it is our privilege not_ -to "live _after the flesh_," but "by the Spirit," to "put to death the -deeds of the body." So we see that the body is there, but in the power -of the Spirit we do, day by day and (if we live up to our privilege) -every day and every hour and every minute, continuously "put to death -the deeds of the body." - -3. So much as to what Sanctification is not. We will see exactly what -it is if we look at God's definition of Sanctification. We shall find -that the word Sanctification is used in the Bible in a two-fold sense. - -(1) The first meaning of Sanctification we will find in Lev. 8:10-12, -+"And Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and -all that was therein, and sanctified them. And he sprinkled thereof -upon the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all its -vessels, and the laver and its base, to sanctify them. And he poured -of the anointing oil upon Aaron's head and anointed him to sanctify -him."+ Now it is perfectly clear in this passage that to _sanctify -means to separate or set apart for God, and that Sanctification is -the process of setting apart or state of being set apart for God_. -The word Sanctify is used in this sense over and over again. Another -illustration is Lev. 27:14, 17. +"And when a man shall sanctify his -house to be holy unto God, then the priest shall estimate it, whether -it be good or bad: as the priest shall estimate it, so shall it stand -. . . and if a man shall sanctify unto Jehovah part of a field of his -possession, then the estimation shall be according to the sowing -thereof."+ Here again it is plain that to sanctify means to separate -or set apart for God, and that Sanctification is the process of setting -apart or state of being set apart for God. Still another illustration -of this same use of the word sanctify is found in Num. 8:17, +"For -all the firstborn among the children of Israel are mine, both man and -beast: on the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt -I sanctified them for myself."+ This, of course, does not mean that -God, at the time that He smote the firstborn in Egypt, eradicated the -carnal nature from the first-born of Israel. It does mean that _He -set apart all the first-born to be peculiarly His own_. Another very -suggestive illustration of the same usage of the word is found in the -case of Jeremiah as stated by himself in Jer. 1:4, 5, +"Now the word -of Jehovah came unto me saying, before I formed thee in the belly I -knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified -thee: I have appointed thee a prophet unto the nations."+ This -plainly means that before his birth God _set Jeremiah apart for -Himself_. There would still be much imperfection and infirmity in -him, but he was set apart for God. Another suggestive illustration -of the same use of the word Sanctify is found in Matt. 23:27, in the -words of our Lord Jesus Himself: +"Ye fools and blind; for which is -greater, the gold, or the temple that hath sanctified the gold?"+ -But perhaps the most striking illustration of all is in what our Lord -says about His own sanctification in John 17:19, +"And for their -sakes I sanctify myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in -truth."+ Here the plain meaning is that our Lord Jesus set Himself -apart for this work for God and He did it in order that believers might -be set apart for God "in truth," or "in the truth." This is the most -frequent use of the word sanctify. There are numerous illustrations of -it in the Bible. So _to sanctify means to separate or set apart for -God; and Sanctification is the process of setting apart or the state of -being set apart for God_. This is the primary meaning of the words. - -(2) But the word as used in the Bible has also a secondary -signification closely related to this primary meaning. An illustration -of this secondary meaning will be found in II Chron. 29:5, +"Hear me, -ye Levites; now sanctify yourselves, and sanctify the house of Jehovah, -the God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the -holy place."+ Bearing in mind the "parallelism" which is the chief -characteristic of Hebrew poetry, it is plain that to sanctify here is -synonymous with the +"Carry forth the filthiness out of the holy -places"+ found in the last part of the verse. So _to sanctify_ here -_means to separate from ceremonial or moral defilement, to cleanse; -and Sanctification is the process of separating, or state of being -separated from ceremonial or moral defilement_. The same use of the -word is found in Lev. 11:44, +"For I am Jehovah thy God: sanctify -yourselves therefore, and be ye holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye -defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that moveth upon -the earth."+ Here again it is clear that "sanctify yourselves" is -synonymous with "be ye holy" and is contrasted with "defile yourselves" -and means to separate from ceremonial or moral defilement, to cleanse; -and Sanctification is the process of separating or state of being -separated from ceremonial or moral defilement. The same meaning of -sanctification is found in the New Testament in I Thess. 5:23, +"And -the God of Peace, Himself sanctify you wholly and may your Spirit and -soul and body be preserved entire, without blame at the coming of -our Lord Jesus Christ."+ Here we see the close relation between -entire sanctification and _preserving wholly, without blame_, and to -sanctify here clearly means to separate from moral defilement, and -sanctification here again is the process of separating or state of -being separated from moral defilement. The same thing is evident from -the 4th chapter of this same epistle in the 7th verse (I Thess. 4:7), -+"For God called us not for uncleanness, but in sanctification."+ -Our "Sanctification" is here set in direct contrast with "uncleanness," -and hence it is evident that sanctification here means the state of -being separated from all moral defilement. The same thing is evident -from the 3rd verse of this same chapter, +"For this is the will of -God, even your sanctification, that ye abstain from fornication."+ -Here again it is evident that Sanctification means separation from -impurity or moral defilement. The two meanings, then, of Sanctification -are: the process of separating or setting apart, or state of being -separated or set apart, for God; and the process of separating or state -of being separated from ceremonial or moral defilement. These two -meanings of the word are closely allied—one cannot be truly separated -to God without being separated from sin. - - -II. HOW MEN ARE SANCTIFIED - -We come now to the second question, _How are men sanctified?_ There are -several parts to the complete answer of this question. - -1. The first part of the answer is found in our text of this chapter, -I Thess. 5:23, +"And the God of Peace himself sanctify you wholly -and may your Spirit and soul and body be preserved entire, without -blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."+ It appears from -this verse that _God sanctifies men, and Sanctification is God's work_. -Both the separation of men from sin and their separation unto God, -is God's work. As it was God who in the old dispensation set apart -the first-born of Israel unto Himself, so it is God who in the new -dispensation sets apart the believer unto Himself and separates him -from sin. Sanctification is primarily not our work but God's. - -2. The second part of the answer is found in Eph. 5:25, 26, -+"Husbands love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, -and gave himself up for it; that he might sanctify it, having cleansed -it by the washing of water by the word."+ Here we are taught that -_Christ sanctifies the church_ and that _Sanctification is Christ's -work_. The question, of course, arises, in what sense does Christ -sanctify the church. The answer is found in Heb. 10:10, +"By which -will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus -Christ once for all."+ Here it appears that Jesus Christ sanctifies -the church by giving Himself up a sacrifice for it. By thus giving -Himself up for it as a sacrifice Christ sets the Church apart for God. -Just as the blood of the Passover Lamb in the 11th and 12th chapters -of Exodus set a difference between Israel and the Egyptians, so our -Lord Jesus by the offering of His own body has forever put a difference -between the believer in Himself and the world, and has forever set -every believer apart for God. The Cross of Christ stands between the -believer and the world. The shed blood of Christ separates the believer -from the world, purchases him to God and thus makes him to belong to -God. - -3. The third part of the answer to the question, how men are -sanctified, is found in 2 Thess. 2:13 and in other passages, +"But we -are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the -Lord, for that God chose you from the beginning unto salvation through -sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth."+ It appears -from this passage, as from other passages in the Bible, that _it is -the Holy Spirit who sanctifies the believer_, and that _Sanctification -is the Holy Spirit's work_. Here the question arises, In what sense -does the Holy Spirit sanctify the believer? In this sense, just as in -the Old Testament type, tabernacle, altar and priest were set apart -for God by the anointing oil (Lev. 8:10-12), so in the New Testament -anti-type, the believer, who is both tabernacle and priest, is set -apart for God by the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Further than that, -it is the Holy Spirit's work in the heart that overcomes the flesh and -its defilements, and thus separates the believer from sin and clothes -him with divine graces of character, and makes him fit to be God's own. -As Paul puts it in Gal. 5:22, 23, +"But the fruit of the Spirit is -love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, -self-control."+ In opposition to this work of the Holy Spirit, we -read in the immediately preceding verses what "the works of the flesh" -are, an awful catalogue of vileness and sin, and we are told in the -16th verse, +"Walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfil the lust of -the flesh."+ - -4. The fourth part of the answer to the question how we are sanctified -is found in Heb. 13:12, +"Wherefore, Jesus also, that he might -sanctify the people through his own blood suffered without the -gate."+ It is plain from this passage that _believers are sanctified -through the blood of Jesus Christ_. Here the question arises, In what -sense does the blood of Jesus sanctify? The answer is plain: _The -blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all the guilt of sin_, and thus -separates us from the mass of men under the curse of the broken law, -and sets us apart for God (cf. 1 John 1:7, 9). In the Old Testament -dispensation the blood of the sacrifice cleansed the Israelites from -the _guilt_ of ceremonial offenses and set them apart for God; in the -New Testament anti-type the blood of Christ cleanseth the believer from -the _guilt_ of moral offenses and sets him apart for God. - -5. The fifth part of the answer to the question, how men are -sanctified, is found in John 17:17, +"Sanctify them in the truth: thy -word is truth."+ Here our Lord Jesus in His prayer indicates that we -are _sanctified in the truth, and that the truth is the Word of God_. -In what sense does the Word of God sanctify? This question is plainly -answered in different parts of the Word of God, where we are taught -that the Word of God cleanses from the presence of sin, and thus -separates us from it and sets us apart to God. (Ps. 119:9, 11; John -15:3.) As we bring our lives into daily contact with the Word, the sins -and imperfections of our lives and hearts are disclosed and put away, -and thus we are more and more separated from sin unto God. (cf. John -13:10.) - -6. The sixth part of the answer to the question, how men are -sanctified, is found in 1 Cor. 1:30, +"But of Him are ye in Christ -Jesus, who was made unto us wisdom from God, and righteousness, and -sanctification, and redemption."+ In this passage we are taught that -_Jesus Christ was made unto us from God sanctification_. Just what -does that mean? Simply this: that separation from sin and separation -to God are provided for us in Christ Jesus and by the appropriation -of Jesus Christ we obtain this sanctification thus provided. The more -completely we appropriate Christ the more completely are we sanctified. -But perfect sanctification is provided for us in Him, just as perfect -wisdom is provided in Him (Col. 2:3). We appropriate either wisdom or -sanctification or anything else that is provided for us in Christ in -ever-increasing measure. Through the indwelling Christ presented to us -by the Spirit in the Word, we are made Christlike and bear fruit. - -7. The seventh part of the answer to the question of how men are -sanctified is found in Heb. 12:14, +"Follow after peace with all men, -and the sanctification without which no man shall see the Lord."+ -Here we are taught that we have our own part in sanctification, and -that if we are to be sanctified in the fullest sense, _sanctification -is something that we must pursue, or seek earnestly, if we are to -obtain it_. While sanctification is God's work, we have our part in it, -viz., to make it the object of our earnest desire and eager pursuit. - -8. The eighth part of the answer to the question of how we are -sanctified is found in Rom. 6:19, 22, +"As ye presented your -members as servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity, -even so present your members as servants to righteousness unto -sanctification. . . . But now being made free from sin, and become -servants to God, ye have your fruit unto sanctification."+ The -meaning of these words is plain, and the teaching important and -practical. We are here taught that _we attain unto sanctification -through presenting our members as servants (bondservants, or slaves) -to righteousness and becoming ourselves bondservants unto God_. In -other words, if we wish to attain unto sanctification we should present -our whole body and every member of it to God, to be His servants, -belonging wholly unto Him, and we should present ourselves to God as -His servants, to be His absolute property. This is the practical method -of attaining unto sanctification, a method that is open to each one of -us here to-day, no matter how weak we are in ourselves. - -9. The ninth and final part of the answer to the question of how we are -sanctified, is found in Acts 26:18, +"To open their eyes, that they -may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God, -that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among them -that are sanctified by faith in Me."+ Here we are told that we are -_sanctified by faith in Christ_. Sanctification, just as justification, -regeneration, and adoption, is conditioned upon faith. Faith is the -hand that appropriates to ourselves the blessing of sanctification that -God has provided for us through His Son Jesus Christ by His death on -the cross, and through the power of the Holy Spirit working in us. And -we claim sanctification by simple faith in Him who shed His blood and -by surrendering ourselves to the control of the Holy Spirit, Whom Jesus -Christ gives. - - -III. WHEN DOES SANCTIFICATION TAKE PLACE - -We now come to the question about which there has been the most -discussion, the most differences of opinion, the most controversy. When -does sanctification take place? If we will go to our Bibles to get the -answer to the question there need be no difference of opinion. There -are three parts to the answer. - -1. The first part of the answer is found in I Cor. 1:2, +"Unto the -Church of God, which is at Corinth, even them that are sanctified in -Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that call upon the name of -our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, their Lord and ours."+ Here -the Holy Spirit speaking through the Apostle Paul, plainly declares -that _all the members of the church of God are already sanctified in -Christ Jesus_. Sanctification in this sense is not something that -we are to look for in the future, it is something that has already -taken place. The moment any one becomes a member of the Church of God -by simple faith in Christ Jesus, for all who have faith in Christ -Jesus are members of the Church of God, that moment that person _is_ -sanctified. Every saved man and woman in this building this morning, -every one who has living faith in Jesus Christ, _is_ sanctified. Our -sanctification is involved in our salvation. But in what sense are we, -that is, all believers, already sanctified? The answer to this question -is found in a passage of Scripture to which we have already referred, -Heb. 10:10, 14, +"By which will we have been sanctified through -the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. . . . For by one -offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified."+ The -meaning is plain. By the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once -for all on the Cross of Calvary as a perfect atonement for sin, every -believer is cleansed forever from the guilt of sin. We are _"perfected -forever" as far as our standing before God is concerned_, and are set -apart for God. The sacrifice of Christ does not need to be repeated -as were the Jewish sacrifices (V. I). The work is done once for all, -sin is put away, and forever put away (Heb. 9:26; cf. Gal. 3:13), and -we are set apart forever as God's peculiar and eternal possession. If -any one asks you if you are sanctified; if you are a believer in Jesus -Christ, i.e., if you have a living faith, in Jesus Christ, you have a -right to say, "I am." _Every believer in Christ is a saint_, a saint -not in the sense in which that word is oftentimes used in modern usage, -but in the Bible sense, as being set apart for God and belonging to -God and being God's peculiar property. But there is another sense in -which every believer may be fully sanctified to-day. This is found in -Rom. 12:1, +"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of -God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to -God, which is your spiritual service."+ In this passage we see that -_it is the believer's present and blessed privilege, and important and -solemn duty, to present his body to God a living sacrifice—not some -part or parts of the body, but the whole body with its every member -and every faculty. And when we do thus present our whole body to God a -living sacrifice, then we are wholly sanctified._ Such an offering is -well-pleasing to God. As God in the Old Testament showed His pleasure -in the offering by sending down fire to take it to Himself, so when the -whole body is thus offered to God, God will send down fire again, the -fire of the Holy Ghost, and take to Himself what is thus presented. The -moment a believer does thus present himself a living sacrifice to God, -then, so far as his will, the governing purpose of his life, the very -centre of his being, is concerned, he is wholly God's, or "_perfectly_ -sanctified." He may still, and will still, daily discover, as he -studies the Word of God and is illumined by the Holy Spirit, acts of -his, habits of life, forms of feeling, speech and action, that are not -in conformity with this central purpose of his will, and these must be -confessed to God as blameworthy and put away, and this department of -his being and life brought, by God's Spirit and the indwelling Christ, -into conformity with God's will as revealed in His Word. The victory -in this newly discovered and unclaimed territory may be instantaneous. -For example, I may discover in myself an irritability of temper that is -manifestly displeasing to God. I can go to God, confess it, renounce -it and then instantly, not by my own strength, but by looking to Jesus -and claiming His patience and gentleness, overcome it and never have -another failure in that direction. And so it is with every other sin -and weakness in my life that I am brought to see is displeasing to God. - -2. But this is not the whole answer to the question of when we are -sanctified. The second part of the answer is found in I Thess. 3:12, -+"And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward -another, and toward all men, even as we also do towards you."+ -And the 4th chapter of this same epistle, the 1st and 10th verses, -+"Finally then, brethren, we beseech you and exhort you in the Lord -Jesus, that as you received of us how ye ought to walk and to please -God, even as ye do walk, that ye abound more and more. . . . For indeed -ye do it toward all the brethren that are in all Macedonia. But we -exhort you, brethren, that ye abound more and more."+ And in II Pet. -3:18, +"Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus -Christ."+ And II Cor. 3:18, R. V., +"But we all, with unveiled -face reflecting as a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed -into the same image from glory to glory, and even as from the Lord the -Spirit."+ And in Eph. 4:15, 16, +"But speaking truth in love, may -grow up in all things unto him, who is the head, even Christ; from -whom all the body fitly framed and knit together through that which -every joint supplieth, according to the working in due measure of each -several part, maketh the increase of the body unto the building up -of itself in love."+ From these passages we see that _there is a -progressive work of Sanctification, an increasing in love, an abounding -more and more in a godly walk and in pleasing God, a growing in the -grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, a being -transformed into the image of our Lord from glory unto glory_, each new -gaze at Him making us more like Him; a _growing up_ into Christ in all -things, until we attain unto a full-grown man, unto the measure of the -stature of the fullness of Christ. Here we see there is a progressive -work of Sanctification. - -3. But we have not found the whole answer to the question of When -Men are Sanctified, even yet. We find the remainder of the answer to -the question in our text, 1 Thess. 5:23 accurately translated as it -is in the Revised Version, +"And the God of peace himself sanctify -you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved entire, -without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."+ Here we are -plainly told that _the complete sanctification of believers, complete -in the fullest sense, is something to be sought for in prayer and that -is to be accomplished by God in the future and perfected at the coming -of our Lord Jesus Christ_. The same thought is found in this same book, -the 3rd chapter and 12th and 13th verses, +"And the Lord make you to -increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, -even as we do toward you, to the end that he may establish your hearts -unblamable in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our -Lord Jesus with his saints."+ It is "at the coming of our Lord Jesus -with all His saints" that He is to establish our hearts unblamable in -holiness before our God and Father and that our spirit and soul and -body are to be preserved entire without blame. The same thought is -found in I John 3:2, +"Beloved, now are we children of God, it is -not yet made manifest what we shall be. We know that, if he shall be -manifested, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is."+ -_It is not in the life that now is, and it is not at death, that we -are entirely sanctified, spirit, soul, and body. It is at the coming -of our Lord Jesus Christ._ This is one of the many reasons why the -well-instructed believer constantly cries, "_Even so, come, Lord Jesus. -Come quickly._" - - - - -XII - -THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY OF JESUS AND OF OUR BODIES - - "Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David, was raised - from the dead, according to my gospel."—2 Tim. 2:8. - - "For I delivered unto you first of all that which also I - received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the - scriptures; and that he was buried; and that _he hath been - raised_ on the third day according to the scriptures."—1 Cor. - 15:3, 4. - - "Now, if Christ is preached that he hath been raised from the - dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of - the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, neither - hath Christ been raised: and if Christ hath not been raised, - then is our preaching vain, your faith also is vain. Yea, and - we are found false witnesses of God, because we witnessed of - God that he hath raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if - so be that he did not rise. But if the dead are not raised; - neither hath Christ been raised: and if Christ hath not been - raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they - also that are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in - this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most - pitiable."—1 Cor. 15:12-19. - - -We commemorate to-day the resurrection of Christ from the dead. We -shall see that the resurrection of Christ was a resurrection of the -body of Christ, that it was not merely the indwelling Spirit of Jesus -Christ, clothed upon with a new and entirely different body, that -appeared to the disciples on the first resurrection day, but that it -was the body that was buried, raised again, and that this involves -for us not merely the immortality of our souls, but the resurrection -and eternal continuance of our bodies. Yet there are many who call -themselves Christians and who say that they believe in the Bible, and -who consider themselves perfectly orthodox Christians, who do not -believe in the Resurrection of the Body, they merely believe in the -immortality of the soul. - - -I. THE FACT OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY OF CHRIST AND OF OUR BODIES - -We shall consider first _the fact of the resurrection of the body of -Jesus Christ and of our bodies_. - -1. Turn first, please, to II Tim. 2:8, +"Remember that Jesus -Christ of the seed of David, was raised from the dead, according to -my gospel."+ Here Paul explicitly declares that Jesus Christ was -raised from the dead according to the gospel which he preached. Now -what was raised? Certainly not His soul. That did not die. Turning to -Acts 2:27-31, we find that the soul of the Lord Jesus went into Hades, -the abode of the dead. These are Peter's words, spoken on the day of -Pentecost, there recorded, +"Because thou wilt not leave my soul -unto Hades, neither wilt thou give thy holy one to see corruption+ -(i.e., in His body). +Thou madest known unto me the ways of life; -thou shalt make me full of gladness with thy countenance. Brethren, I -may say unto you freely of the patriarch David, that he both died and -was buried, and his tomb is with us unto this day. Being therefore -a prophet, and knowing that God has sworn with an oath to him that -of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise -up Christ to sit on his throne; he foreseeing this spake of the -resurrection of Christ, that neither was he left unto Hades, nor did -his flesh see corruption. This Jesus did God raise up, whereof we all -are witnesses."+ Peter here declares that the soul of Jesus went -to Hades and that it was "His flesh," i.e., His body, that was kept -from corruption and afterwards raised. Turning now to I Cor. 15:3, -4, we read these words of Paul: +"For we delivered unto you first -of all that which also I received, how that Christ died for our sins -according to the scriptures; and that he was buried; and that he hath -been raised on the third day according to the scriptures."+ Paul -here declares that Jesus Christ died and was buried and was raised. -What was raised? Paul says, that _that which "was buried"_ was raised. -But what was buried? _Not the soul_ of the Lord Jesus, _but His -body_. Peter makes this even plainer, if possible, in I Pet. 3:18-20: -+"Because Christ also suffered for our sins once, the righteous for -the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God; being put to death -in the flesh, but quickened in the spirit; in which also he went and -preached to the spirits in prison; which aforetime were disobedient, -when the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah."+ These -words clearly mean that it was the body of Jesus that was put to death, -but that the spirit still lived and went into Hades; so it was _the -body_ that was raised and to which the spirit that had not died or -become unconscious came back. I Cor. 15:12-19 removes all possibility -of doubt on this point on the part of any man who goes to the Bible -to find out what it actually teaches and not merely to see how he can -twist and distort it to fit it into his own preconceived opinions. -Paul's Spirit-given words here read, +"Now if Christ be preached -that he hath been raised from the dead, how say some among you that -there is no resurrection of the dead?+ (Mark, not _no immortality of -the soul_, but _no resurrection_ of the dead.) +But if there is no -resurrection of the dead neither hath Christ been raised: and if Christ -hath not been raised, then is our preaching vain, your faith also is -vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we witness -of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up if so be that -the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised neither hath -Christ been raised: and if Christ hath not been raised, your faith is -vain, ye are yet in your sins. Then they also that have fallen asleep -in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, -we are of all men most pitiable."+ There is no honest mistaking the -plain meaning of these words: by the "resurrection of the dead" Paul -plainly means _a resurrection of the body_; and in the whole chapter, -beyond an honest doubt, he is not talking about the immortality of -the soul, but the resurrection of the body. The whole argument turns -on that, and Paul here clearly says _if the body of Jesus was not -raised_, then the whole Christian system is a sham and our faith vain -and that we Christians of all men are most to be pitied. For if the -body of Jesus was not raised, and if our bodies are not to be raised, -then we Christians are making tremendous sacrifices for a lie. Paul -says further that _if our bodies_ are not to be raised, then Christ's -body has not been raised and Christianity is a humbug. Christianity as -taught in the New Testament stands or falls with the resurrection of -the body of Jesus and the resurrection of our bodies. There is no room -in this argument of Paul's for "Pastor" Russell's doctrine, that the -resurrection of Jesus Christ was not a resurrection of the body that -was laid in the grave, the body that was crucified, and that the body -of Jesus Christ, the body that was laid in the sepulchre, was carried -away and preserved somewhere, or else dissolved into gases. Paul says -here, _if the body that was laid in the sepulchre was not raised, "then -is our preaching vain" and your "faith also is vain."_ - -In Luke 24:5, 6, the angels at the tomb from which the body of Jesus -had disappeared are recorded as saying to the women who were seeking -the body of Jesus to embalm it, +"Why seek ye the living among -the dead? He is not here but is risen."+ Now what were the women -seeking? The body of Jesus to embalm it, and the angels say that -what they were seeking was not there but was risen, had been raised. -Furthermore, in the remainder of the 6th verse and verse 7, they say: -+"Remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, saying -that the Son of Man must be delivered up into the hands of sinful men, -and be crucified, and the third day rise again."+ Here they told the -women plainly that what was crucified, which of course was the body -of Jesus, was raised. If the actual, literal body of Jesus had not -been raised, then these angels were liars. Do you believe that? These -are only a few of the very many passages in which it is very clearly -taught that the very body of Jesus was raised from the dead. The body -of Jesus was raised from the dead and our bodies shall be raised from -the dead, else Christianity is a lie from start to finish. But Christ -was raised from the dead and we shall be raised. Or, as Paul puts it -in the 20th verse of this same chapter, "+But now hath Christ been -raised from the dead, the first fruits of them that are asleep."+ -Our resurrection, the resurrection of our bodies, will be _the harvest_ -that follows the resurrection of the body of Christ, which was "_the -first fruits_." - - -II. THE CHARACTER OF OUR RESURRECTION BODIES - -Having clearly settled the fact of the resurrection _of the body_ of -Jesus Christ and of our bodies, let us next consider the character of -our resurrection bodies. - -1. First of all, we know that _the body which is raised will not be -exactly the same body that it was when it was laid in the grave_. This -appears from I Cor. 15:35-38: +"But some will say, how are the dead -raised? And with what manner of body do they come? Thou foolish one, -that which thou thyself sowest is not quickened, except it die: and -that which thou sowest, thou sowest not in the body that shall be, but -a bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other kind; but God -giveth it a body even as it pleased him, and to each seed a body of its -own."+ Here we are told that our bodies when they are raised will -not be exactly the same as our bodies when they are buried, any more -than the wheat that springs from the kernel of wheat that is planted is -the same as the kernel that was planted. But just as what grows from -the seed comes from the seed and bears the most intimate relation to -the seed, so our resurrection bodies come from the body that is buried -and bear the most intimate relation to it. The resurrection body is the -outcome of the body that is buried. It is the old body quickened and -transformed; or, as Paul puts it in Phil. 3:20, 21: +"Jesus Christ -. . . shall fashion anew the body of our humiliation, that it may be -conformed to the body of his glory, according to the working whereby he -is able even to subject all things unto himself."+ - -2. The next thing that the Bible teaches about _our resurrection -bodies_ is that _they are like the glorified body of Jesus Christ_. -This appears from the verses just quoted, Phil. 3:20, 21: +"The -Lord Jesus Christ . . . shall fashion anew the body of our humiliation, -that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, according to the -work whereby he is able even to subject all things unto himself."+ -Christ's resurrection body was not the same body that was laid in the -sepulchre. It was the old body _transformed_ and delivered from the -limitations of the body that He had while living here among men, and -new qualities imparted to it, and our bodies will also be transformed -into the likeness of this glorious body of Christ and thus delivered -from the limitations to which they are subjected now, and new qualities -imparted to them. It will be a transformed body; the character of its -transformation is indicated by the transformation that took place in -the body of Jesus Christ. Some suggestion as to what that transformed -body of Jesus Christ was like is found in that anticipation of His -resurrection which was seen by Peter, James and John on the mount of -transfiguration. Matthew in his description of the appearance of Jesus -at His transfiguration, tells us that +"His face did shine as the -sun, and his garments became white as the light"+ (Matt. 17:2). -Luke tells us that +"the fashion of his countenance was altered and -His raiment became white and dazzling"+ (Luke 9:29). Mark tells -us that +"He was transfigured before them: and his garments became -glistering, exceeding white; so as no fuller on earth can whiten -them"+ (Mark 9:2, 3). - -3. The next thing that we are told about _our resurrection bodies_ is -that they _will not be flesh and blood_. In I Cor. 15:50, 51 we read, -+"Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit -the kingdom of God."+ Paul is here talking about our resurrection -bodies. It is in the resurrection chapter he says this, and he -distinctly tells us that our resurrection bodies will not be "_flesh -and blood_." - -4. But while _our resurrection bodies_ will not be "flesh and blood," -they _will have "flesh and bones."_ This appears from what our Lord -Himself says about His own resurrection body in Luke 24:39. Here we -read that Jesus said: +"See my hands and my feet, that it is I -myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye -behold me having."+ As our resurrection bodies are to be transformed -into the likeness of His, we also must have "flesh and bones" in our -resurrection bodies. Some have fancied that they saw a contradiction -between what our Lord says here and what Paul says in the passage -quoted above (I Cor. 15:50, 51), but there is no contradiction. "Flesh" -we shall have, but not "flesh _and blood_," i.e., not flesh, the -animating principle of which is blood. The question arises, What takes -the place of the blood in our resurrection bodies? The answer seems to -be that in the present life, "blood is the life" of the natural body, -but in the life to come our bodies are to be, as we are told elsewhere -in this same chapter, "_spiritual_ bodies," i.e., bodies, the animating -principle of which is the Spirit of God, not our own blood. Our not -having "_blood_" in our resurrection bodies involves many great and -glorious possibilities, upon which we cannot dwell now. - -5. In the fifth place (and closely connected with 3 and 4), _our -resurrection bodies will be incorruptible_. We read in I Cor. -15:42: +"So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in -corruption; it is raised in incorruption."+ The thought of this -word "incorruption" is that the body is not subject to decay, it is -imperishable. Our present bodies are decaying all the time. We are -perishing every day and every minute. My present body is disintegrating -while I talk to you. But the bodies that we shall receive in the -resurrection will be absolutely free from the liability to corruption -or decay. They _cannot_ disintegrate or suffer decay or deterioration -of any kind. - -6. The next thing that we are taught about _the resurrection body_ -is that it _is a glorious body_. This comes out in the first part of -the following verse, I Cor. 15:43, +"It is sown in dishonour; it is -raised in glory."+ Some idea of the glory, the glorious beauty, -of that body is suggested by the representation of our glorified Lord -that we have in Rev. 1:13-17: +"And in the midst of the candlesticks -one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot -and girt about the breasts with a golden girdle. And his head and his -hair were white as white wool, white as snow, and his eyes were as a -flame of fire and his feet like unto burnished brass, as if it had been -refined in a furnace, and his voice as the voice of many waters. And -he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth proceeded a -sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in -his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as one dead, and -he laid his right hand upon me saying, Fear not; I am the first and the -last."+ Our resurrection bodies will be like that. - -7. Furthermore, _our resurrection bodies will be powerful_, or as we -read in the last half of this same verse (1 Cor. 15:43), +"It is -sown in weakness, it is raised in power."+ Then all our weariness -and weakness will be forever at an end. In our present bodies our -bodies are oftentimes a hindrance to our highest aspirations, they -thwart the carrying out of our loftiest purposes, we cannot put into -execution our loftiest purposes, +"the spirit is willing but the -flesh is weak."+ But in our resurrection bodies the body will be -able to accomplish all that the spirit purposes. The redeemed body will -be a perfect counterpart of the redeemed spirit that inhabits it. No -deafness, dimsightedness nor blindness, no tired hands and feet, no -maimed soldier boys coming home from the war. - -8. _It will be a heavenly body._ This appears from the 47th to the 49th -verses of this same chapter. +"The first man is of+ (literally, -_out of_) +the earth, earthy: the second man is of+ (literally, -_out of_) +heaven: as is the earth, such are they also that are -earthy: and as is the heavenly such are they also that are heavenly. -And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the -image of the heavenly."+ The thought plainly is that our present -bodies are of an earthly origin and an earthly character, but that the -transformed body will be of a heavenly character. Paul explains it -at length in 2 Cor. 5:1-4 where he says, +"For we know that if the -earthly house of our tabernacle be dissolved, we have a building from -God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens. For verily -in this+ (i.e., in this present earthly house, earthy body) +we -groan, longing to be clothed upon with our habitation which is from -heaven+ (i.e., our heavenly body): +if so be that being clothed we -shall not be found naked. For indeed we that are in this tabernacle+ -(i.e., in the present earthy body) +groan, being burdened; not for -that we would be unclothed, but that we would be clothed upon+ -(i.e., with our heavenly body), +that what is mortal may be swallowed -up of life."+ - -9. _Our transformed bodies will be luminous, shining, dazzling, bright -like the sun._ This is seen in many passages. For example, Matt. 13:43, -+"Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom -of their Father."+ This is to be taken literally for it is in the -_interpretation_ of the parable and not in the parable. This suggests -what we have already seen about the transfigured body of Jesus in Matt. -17:2, where we are told that +"His face did shine as the sun, and his -garments became white as the light."+ We have the same thought also -in the Old Testament in Dan. 12:3, where we are told, +"And they that -are wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that -turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever."+ They -shall shine literally as well as figuratively. Some suggestion of what -the luminous glory of our faces and forms in our resurrection bodies -will be is seen in the light that Paul tells us that he saw beaming -from the person of Jesus when the glorified Jesus met him on the -Damascus road. In Paul's description of what he saw on that occasion, -as given in Acts 26:12, 13, we read, +"Whereupon as I journeyed -to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, -at midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, above the -brightness of the sun, shining around about me and them that journeyed -with me."+ The light that Saul saw, as is evident from the whole -account, was the light that shone from the person of our glorified -Lord, and in our resurrection bodies we shall be like Him. - -10. _Three interesting facts regarding our resurrection bodies_ are -stated in Matt. 22:30 and Luke 20:35, 36. In Matt. 22:30 we read: -+"For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in -marriage, but are as angels in heaven."+ In Luke 20:35, 36 we read: -+"But they that are counted worthy to attain to that world, and the -resurrection of the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: for -neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and -are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection."+ Taking these two -passages together, we learn that our resurrection bodies are like the -angels, that we do not marry in our resurrection bodies and that these -bodies cannot die any more. - -11. _Though all these resurrection bodies are glorious, they differ -from one another, each one having its own peculiar glory._ This appears -from 1 Cor. 15:41, 42: +"There is one glory of the sun, and another -glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star -differeth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection from -the dead."+ Glorious as all our bodies shall be, there will be no -tiresome uniformity even of glory in the world of resurrection bodies. -Each body will have its own peculiar glory. - -12. Let us say finally in regard to the character of our resurrection -body, that _the resurrection of our body will be the consummation of -our adoption_, i.e., of our placing as sons, our manifestations as -sons of God. In Rom. 8:23 we read: +"We, which have the first fruits -of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for -our adoption+ (i.e., our placing as sons), +to wit, the redemption -of our body."+ The resurrection body will be the consummation of our -placing as sons, i.e., in the resurrection body it will be outwardly -manifested that we are sons of God. Before His incarnation Christ was -"_in the form_ of God." (Phil. 2:6), i.e., in the visible appearance of -God. So shall we also be in the resurrection, for our bodies shall be -like His. This throws light upon what Paul meant when he said in Col. -3:4: +"When Christ, who is our life, shall be manifested, then shall -we also with him be manifested in glory."+ And also it throws light -on what John meant when he says in I John 3:2, R. V.: +"Beloved, now -are we the children of God, and it is not yet made manifest what we -shall be. We know that, if he shall be manifested, we shall be like -him; for we shall see him as he is."+ - - -III. WHEN WILL THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY TAKE PLACE? - -There remains but one question to be considered and we can deal with -that very briefly. That question is, when will the resurrection of -the body take place? This question is plainly answered time and -again in the Bible. For example, it is answered in Phil. 3:20, 21: -+"For our citizenship is in heaven; from whence also we wait for a -Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall fashion anew the body of -our humiliation, that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, -according to the working whereby he is able even to subject all things -unto himself."+ Here it is plainly declared that _the transformation -of our bodies into the likeness of the glorious body of Christ will -take place when the Lord Jesus whom we are awaiting shall appear from -heaven_. The same thought is given in I Thess. 4:16, 17: +"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, that are left, shall together with -them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so -shall we ever be with the Lord."+ The question will arise in some of -our minds, what about us in the meantime if we chance to die before the -coming of the Lord? This question also is plainly answered in II Cor. -5:1-8: +"For we know that if the earthly house of our tabernacle+ -(our present bodies) +be dissolved+ (die and decay) +we have a -building from God, a house not made with hands+ (our resurrection -body that we are to get at the coming of the Lord), +eternal, in the -heavens. For verily in this+ (i.e., while living in this present -body) +we groan, longing to be clothed upon with our habitation which -is from heaven+ (our resurrection body) +if so be that being -clothed we shall not be found naked. For indeed we that are in this -tabernacle+ (this present earthy body) +do groan, being burdened; -not for that we would be unclothed+ (i.e., not that we would merely -get rid of our present bodies), +but that we would be clothed -upon+ (i.e., that we would receive our resurrection bodies) +that -what is mortal may be swallowed up of life. Now he that wrought us for -this very thing is God, who gave unto us the earnest of the Spirit+ -(i.e., the Holy Ghost, whom we have received as the earnest of the -full redemption in our resurrection bodies which are to be obtained -at the coming of the Lord). +Being therefore always of good courage -and knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body+ (i.e., while -we are still in our earthly life in this present earthly body) +we -are absent from the Lord (for we walk by faith not by sight); we are -of good courage, I say, and are willing rather to be absent from the -body+ (i.e., to have our present earthly body die even before we -get our resurrection bodies, which we shall not get until the return -of the Lord), +and to be at home with the Lord."+ The teaching -of this plainly is that if we die before the return of the Lord and -therefore before we obtain our resurrection body, our spirits are -unclothed, i.e., they are unclothed from this present body and not yet -clothed upon with the resurrection body, but that we are "at home with -the Lord" in conscious blessedness, in a condition that is far better -than that that we are in in this present life (see Phil. 1:23, R. V.), -but not so perfect as that condition which shall be when our redeemed -spirits are clothed upon with our resurrection bodies. _It will be at -the return of the Lord Jesus that we get our full redemption._ That is -one reason why "we wait" (literally, assiduously wait) for Him (Phil. -3:20, 21, see Greek). That is one reason why we long for the return -of the Lord. There are many reasons why we long for the return of our -Lord. All the great problems that are confronting us at this present -time in national and international life, in social, commercial and -political life, will be solved when He comes, and will never be solved -until He comes; and for these reasons we long for Him. But we long for -Him also because while this present body serves many a useful purpose -for the redeemed spirit that inhabits it, it is often a hindrance. It -is often subject to aches and pains, to frailties, and it is a constant -temptation to folly. But when our Lord Jesus comes again He will -transform this present body of our humiliation into the likeness of His -own glorious body and at that time we shall know what "full salvation" -means, when we shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of our -Father. - - - - -XIII - -THE DEVIL - - "The Devil. . . .is."—John 8:44. - - "The Devil Sinneth."—1 John 3:8. - - -INTRODUCTION - -Our subject in this chapter is The Devil. I have two texts—John 8:44: -+"The Devil. . . .is."+ - -The second text is 1 John 3:8: +"The Devil Sinneth."+ The Bible -doctrine concerning the Devil, his Existence, Nature, Character, Work -and Destiny is a fundamental doctrine of the Christian faith, and is -of vital importance. The teaching of the Bible on this subject is not -a mere matter of theory or dogma. It is a matter of most practical -every day importance. Experience shows that if men are in error in -regard to this subject, they are pretty sure to be in error on other -questions that are fundamental. When men and women begin to question -the existence of a personal Devil it is pretty sure that before long -they will be questioning a good many other things regarding which a -true child of God should have no questions. Doubt of the existence of -a personal Devil is widespread to-day. Many preachers in supposedly -orthodox pulpits do not hesitate to say, "I do not believe in the -existence of a personal Devil." Denial of the existence of a personal -Devil is one of the main points in the system which is so widespread -to-day, and which is doing so much evil, that with considerable reason -it has been called "The Devil's Masterpiece"—Christian Science. A -well-known and popular pastor in this city some months ago proclaimed -to his people that he was going to preach to them a gospel "without -an atonement of blood, without an infallible Bible, without hell, -and without a personal Devil." If he does preach to them a system of -doctrine without any of these he will preach some other system of -doctrine than that which is contained in the book, which our Lord Jesus -Christ has endorsed as the Word of God, i.e., the Bible. - - -I. THERE IS A DEVIL - -The first point to make clear is that _there is a Devil_. This is -plain from our first text, John 8:44: +"The Devil. . . .is."+ The -whole verse reads: +"Ye are of your father, the devil, and the lusts -of your father it is your will to do: He was a murderer from the -beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in -him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, -and the father thereof."+ These are the words of Jesus Christ. With -any one who has any right to call himself a Christian, the words of -Jesus Christ have infinitely more weight than the words of Mrs. Mary -Baker Eddy or any one else, or all others together, and Jesus here -says, +"The Devil. . . .is."+ But this is not the only passage by -any means in which our Lord Jesus asserts in the most emphatic and most -unmistakable terms the existence of the Devil. Turn to Matt. 13:19, -and you will read these words: +"When any one heareth the word of -God, and understandeth it not, then cometh the evil one and snatcheth -away that which has been sown in his heart."+ These words are found -in the interpretation of a parable—the Parable of the Sower. It is -impossible to say that these words are figurative. In parables we have -figures, in the explanation of the parables we have the literal facts -that the figures symbolise, and these words are not taken from the -parable, but from our Lord's own explanation of the parable, and here -we are distinctly told that there is _a person_, who is here called -"The Evil One," whose business it is to snatch away the Word of God -when it has been sown in hearts that do not understand and heed it. If -evil is only impersonal and our Lord had only referred to impersonal -influences, or human influences, as taking away the Word out of the -hearts where it had been sown, these words of His would be utterly -without meaning. That Jesus Christ believed that there was a person -of whom He here speaks as "The Evil One" and of whom He elsewhere -speaks, as we shall see directly, as "The Devil," admits of no doubt if -we grant that the Lord Jesus was an honest man. _We must_, therefore, -_if we believe in the Lord Jesus, believe that there is a Devil. We -can deny his existence only by questioning either the honesty or -the intelligence of our Lord._ He certainly taught that there was a -Devil. It would be easy to show from the teachings of Peter (1 Pet. -5:8, 9; Acts 5:3) and from the teachings of John (John 13:2) and from -the teachings of Paul (Eph. 6:10-12) also that there is a Devil; but -that is unnecessary for any one who has any right to call himself a -Christian, for if the Lord says so, that settles it, and the Lord Jesus -does say +"The devil. . . .is."+ If there is no Devil, then our Lord -Jesus was either a fool or a fraud. The question of believing in the -personality of the Devil involves the honour of our Lord Jesus. If His -teaching is not to be trusted on this point, it is not to be trusted -on any other point, and the denial of a personal Devil involves the -trustworthiness of the Lord Jesus as a Teacher and a Saviour at every -point. So we see that the question of the existence of the Devil is -fundamental and of vital importance. - - -II. THE NATURE OF THE DEVIL - -Having settled it that there is a Devil, we now face the question as to -the nature of the Devil. - -1. First of all, the Bible teaches us that the _Devil is a person_. -This comes out in our second text, 1 John 3:8: +"The devil -sinneth."+ Only a person can sin. When we say that the Devil is -a person we do not mean that necessarily he has a body, certainly -not such a body as he is pictured as having in various paintings and -engravings that are supposed to represent the Devil. A person is any -being who knows and feels and wills. When we say that the Devil is -a person we mean that he is a being who has intelligence, feeling -and will, that he is not a mere principle of evil. The personality -of the Devil is taught over and over again in the Bible. Just a few -illustrations in addition to our texts. Turn again to Matt. 13:19: -+"When any one heareth the word of God, and understandeth it not, -then cometh the evil one, and snatcheth away that which hath been -sown in his heart."+ The representation of this passage is the -representation of a person. He is called "The Evil One," not merely -"evil," but "The Evil One," which of course is the representation of a -person. If evil is only impersonal, or if it only works through human -beings, these words of our Lord Jesus would be without meaning. The -personality of the Devil comes out again very clearly and very forcibly -in Eph. 6:10-12: +"Finally, brethren, be strong in the Lord and the -strength of his might. (11) Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may -be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (12) For our wrestling -is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, -against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against -the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."+ Here -Paul distinctly tells us that the great reason why we need to be strong -in the Lord and in the strength of His might and why we need to put on -the whole armour of God, is because there is a being of great cunning, -subtlety and power, a person named "The Devil," and that this being -has under him a multitude of other personalities of such dignity and -power as to be called by the titles: "principalities," "powers," "world -rulers," "spiritual hosts of wickedness." Beyond a question our Lord -Jesus, and the Apostle Peter and the Apostle John and the Apostle Paul -believed in and taught the existence of a personal Devil. If there is -not a personal Devil we may as well give up our Bible, for in that -case it is a book that is full of folly and of fraud. If there is not -a personal Devil we must give up our belief in the inspired authority -of the Apostle Paul, the Apostle Peter, the Apostle John, and we must -give up our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. No intelligent student of -the Bible can retain his faith in the inspiration and authority of that -Book, or his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, if he gives up belief in -the existence of a personal Devil. As intelligent men and women, we -must take our choice between believing in the existence of a personal -Devil or giving up our faith in Jesus Christ and Christianity. _Any -system of doctrine that denies the existence of a personal Devil is -radically unchristian whatever name it may arrogate to itself._ - -2. The second thing that the Bible teaches as to the nature of -the Devil, is that, _the Devil is a being of very great power and -authority_. This comes out in the verses we have just read, Eph. -6:10, 11: +"Finally be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his -might. (11) Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to -stand against the wiles of the devil."+ These words make it clear -that the Devil is so mighty that the people of God cannot resist his -cunning wiles without having on the whole armour of God, and it is also -evident from the 10th verse that we cannot resist his power unless -we are strengthened with the strength of God. And this is not all: -in the 12th verse we read: +(12) "For our wrestling is not against -flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, -against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual -hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."+ These are tremendous -words. If they mean anything, they certainly mean that there are -beings of great authority and dignity who are under the leadership of -the one supreme being of evil, the Devil. The conflict that we have -on hand as believers in Christ is terrific. The conflict that the -Allies have on hand with the mighty military forces of the Kaiser is -nothing to the battle we have on hand with the Devil and his hosts. -We are fools if we underestimate the battle. On the other hand, we -must not over-estimate it. While our conflict is with the Devil, and -while our wrestling is against "the principalities," against "the -powers," against "the world-rulers," against "the spiritual hosts of -wickedness," nevertheless He that is for us is far mightier than they. -The Devil is mighty but our Saviour is almighty. It is quite possible -for one to become morbid over this subject of the Devil, and to become -utterly discouraged and even deranged. That is entirely unnecessary and -unwarranted. While our conflict is with the Devil and his mighty hosts, -God has provided for us a strength and an armour whereby we may "be -able to quench all the fiery darts of the Evil One" and to "withstand -in the evil day, and having done all to stand" (v. 13). - -3. The third thing that the Bible teaches us as to the Nature of the -Devil is that, _the Devil is a being of great majesty and dignity of -position_. Turn to Jude 8, 9: +"Yet in like manner these also in -their dreamings defile the flesh, and set at nought dominion, and rail -at dignities+ (the literal translation of the Greek word rendered -dignities is "_glories_"). +(9) But Michael the Archangel, when -contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst -not bring against him a railing judgment, but said, The Lord rebuke -thee."+ From these words it is evident that _the position of the -Devil was so exalted that even Michael the archangel did not dare to -bring a railing judgment against him_. The context seems to imply that -the position of the Devil was more exalted than that of Michael the -archangel himself. The Devil of the Bible is not at all the Devil of -common thought. He is not a being hideous in appearance, with hoofs and -horns and tail. He is not even the being pictured by Milton or Bunyan. -He is a being of very great original majesty and dignity, a being of -great wisdom and power. When people talk lightly and contemptuously -about the Devil they display gross ignorance of what the Bible teaches -about him. It is true that he is evil in character and therefore -called "The Evil One" (John 5:19, R. V.). It is true he is a liar and -a murderer (John 8:44), it is true that he is full of malignity (II -Cor. 4:4): but he is a being of great dignity and majesty, so that even -Michael the archangel durst not bring against him a railing accusation. - -4. The Bible teaches furthermore that _the Devil is "the prince of -this world."_ Our Lord Jesus Himself taught this. He says in John -12:31: +"Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the prince of -this world be cast out."+ The Greek word translated "world" in this -passage is _kosmos_, and the thought is of the present world order, and -our Lord's teaching is that the Devil is the prince of this present -world order. We have the same teaching of our Lord in John 14:30, where -we read: +"I will no more speak much with you, for the prince of -the world cometh: and he hath nothing in me."+ These words of our -Lord are found in what many regard as the most precious chapter in -the Bible, the 14th chapter of John, and if we give up this teaching -of our Lord regarding Satan we must give up, not merely the Bible as a -whole, but this most precious chapter in the Bible. We find the Lord -teaching the same thing again on that same night, the night before His -crucifixion, in John 16:11 where he says: +"The prince of this world -is judged"+—the evident reference being to Satan. - -How the Devil came to be Prince of this world it may be impossible -for us to say, but that he is so admits of no question, if we are to -accept the teaching of Jesus Christ, and any one who will study the -ruling principles of commercial life, of political life, of social -life, and above all of international relations, to such an one it will -become perfectly evident that the Devil is the one who is master of -the present order of things. If we ever doubted before that there was -a Devil, and just such a Devil as the Bible pictures, we can scarcely -doubt it now, when we consider the action of the rulers of the earth in -this present mad world war. How could beings so intelligent in matters -of science and philosophy and economics as the present rulers of -Germany are, ever be guilty of plunging the nations of the earth into -this mad war? There is but one reasonable answer: because there is a -Devil who rules the present Kosmos, or world order, and he controls the -Kaisers and the Reichstags of the world and will until the true Prince -comes, the Prince of Peace, our Lord Jesus Christ. - - -III. THE CHARACTER OF THE DEVIL - -1. _As to the character of the Devil, the Bible teaches us that he is -a being absolutely wicked._ In Matt. 13:19 he is called, "_The Wicked -One_." That is to say, he is one who is the personal embodiment of -absolute wickedness. In I John 5:19 R. V. also he is called "The Wicked -One." God is "The Holy One," that is to say the One who is the personal -embodiment of perfect holiness. The Devil is just His opposite, the -personal embodiment of consummate wickedness. - -2. The Devil is to evil what God is to good. In I John 3:8, we read: -+"He that doeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the -beginning. To this end was the son of God manifested, that he might -destroy the works of the devil."+ This does not mean that the Devil -sinned from the very origin of all things and that he was created -sinful, for we learn from Ezek. 28:15 that the Devil was created -upright. The verse does mean, however, that _Satan is the original -sinner_. The expression "from the beginning" is characteristic of the -epistle from which these words are taken and does not necessarily mean -from the origin of things (see for example verse 11). In a similar -way we are told in one of our texts—John 8:44—that the Devil was a -murderer from the beginning and that he is "A liar and the father of -it." There is absolutely "no truth in him." So much for the nature and -character of the Devil. - - -IV. THE WORK OF THE DEVIL - -We come now to the question of the Work of the Devil, or How the Devil -Manifests Himself, and What He Does. - -1. In the first place we are taught that _the Devil tempts men to sin_. -We have a most striking illustration of this in his temptation of our -Lord. We have in the Bible three accounts of this temptation. We will -look at Matthew's account. Matt. 4:1-9: +"Then was Jesus led up of -the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. (2) And when -he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he afterward hungered. (3) -And the tempter came and said unto him, If thou art the son of God, -command that these stones become bread. (4) But he answered and said, -It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word -that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. (5) Then the devil taketh him -into the Holy City; and he set him on the pinnacle of the temple. (6) -And saith unto Him, If thou art the Son of God, cast thyself down: -for it is written, he shall give his angels charge concerning thee: -and, on their hands they shall bear thee up, lest haply thou dash thy -foot against a stone. (7) Jesus said unto him, Again it is written, -thou shalt not make trial of the Lord thy God. (8) Again, the devil -taketh him unto an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the -kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; (9) And He said unto him, -All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship -me."+ Of course we have not time this morning to go into the whole -question of our Lord's temptation, but this much is certainly plain, -that the Devil is represented as the tempter, tempting our Lord. _If -there is no personal Devil, as so many would have us believe_, or -_if he is not the tempter, there would be absolutely no reason for -bringing him into this account_. As the Devil tempted our Lord, so he -tempts us to-day. And it is to be noticed that he does not tempt us -merely to gross animal lusts and vile sins, but with subtle spiritual -temptations, and above all he tempts us to doubt God's Word. It was -with this form of temptation that he first assaulted our Lord. God had -just said to the Lord Jesus at His baptism, +"Thou art my beloved -Son; in thee I am well pleased"+ (Luke 3:22), and Satan came -insinuating doubt of God's Word by beginning his temptation with these -words: +"If thou art the Son of God,"+ and again further down in -the temptation, he repeats the doubt, saying to the Lord Jesus again: -+"If thou art the Son of God."+ In just the same way Satan began -his assault upon Eve in the Garden of Eden, by insinuating a doubt of -God's Word and of God's goodness. He began by saying: +"Yea, hath -God said. . . .?"+ (Gen. 3:2), and further on when Eve stated exactly -what God had said, the Devil flatly contradicted and said: +"Ye shall -not surely die"+ (literally, Dying, _thou shalt not_ die) when God -had said: +"Thou shalt surely die"+ (_Dying, thou shalt_ die). -This is Satan's favourite method of attack to-day. He gets us to doubt -God's Word. Satan's most effective mode of work is by leading men -into doubt and into error on fundamental points. The saloons and the -gambling hells and the brothels are not the chief spheres of Satan's -activities, but the schools and colleges and theological seminaries -where he is inducing men and women, and callow youths and maidens, to -doubt the truth of God's Word, and to reject the fundamental truths of -God's word and accept Satan's errors in their place. Satan knows well; -that, if he can get men to doubting God's Word, it is easy to lead them -into the vilest sins. False doctrine has been a more prolific source of -the vilest sins than even the saloons. - -2. But Satan not merely tempts men to sin by insinuating doubts of -God's Word, he also _has his_ +synagogues and ministers among men to -do his work.+ Turn to Rev. 3:9: +"Behold, I give of the synagogue -of Satan, of them that say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; -behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to -know that I have loved thee."+ What I wish you to notice here are -the words, "The synagogue of Satan." In this case it was a Jewish -synagogue, but now-a-days, it is often a so-called Christian church. In -II Cor. 11:14, 15 we have an even more remarkable passage: +"For even -Satan fashioneth himself into an angel of light. (15) It is no great -thing therefore if his ministers also fashion themselves as ministers -of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works."+ -Here we are told that Satan has his ministers. They do not advertise -themselves as ministers of Satan, oftentimes they are not even -conscious that they are; but they put themselves forward as "ministers -of righteousness." They advocate "_ethical culture_," a system of -salvation without atoning blood. They are frequently men of very -attractive personality and great intellectual brilliance and ability, -but they are doing the Devil's work. Satan is never so dangerous as -when he "Fashioneth himself into an angel of light," and no other -ministers of his are so dangerous as the men and women of attractive -personality and brilliant intellectual gifts who are undermining the -faith of God's children, or who are teaching various forms of seductive -and alluring error, "Christian Science," "New Thought," "Theosophy," -"Occultism" (Spiritualism), and all that species of cults. - -3. We have not time to speak here of Satan's work as the author of -sickness (Acts 10:38; Luke 13:16), and as the one who has the power of -death (Heb. 2:14). - -4. But we must also speak of another work of the Devil. It is set forth -in II Cor. 4:3, 4, R. V.: +"And even if our gospel is veiled, it is -veiled in them that perish: (4) In whom the god of this world hath -blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the gospel -of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God should not dawn upon -them."+ We read here that it is the work of Satan to blind the -minds of unbelievers in order +"That the light of the gospel of -the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn upon -them."+ It is evident then that _the Devil is the author of false -views, especially false views of the person of Christ_. He is the -author of Unitarianism, and the denial of the Deity of our Lord in all -its forms. He so blinds the minds of men who submit to his blinding -that the Divine "Glory of Christ," "who is the very image of God," is -hidden from them. This explains why it is that Unitarianism in all its -various forms persists even after its folly has been so often exposed. -Satan's work along this line is to culminate at the appearing of the -Anti-Christ, +"Even he, whose coming is according to the working of -Satan with all power, and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceit -of unrighteousness for them that perish; because they received not the -love of the truth, that they might be saved."+ (II Thess. 2:9, 10, -R. V.) - - -V. THE DEVIL'S DESTINY - -We come now to the fifth general division of our subject—_The Devil's -Destiny_. - -1. Turn in the first place to Rev. 20:1-3: +"And I saw an angel -coming down out of heaven, having the keys of the abyss and a great -chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the old serpent, -which is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and -cast him into the abyss, and shut it, and sealed it over him, that he -should deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years should -be finished: After this he must be loosed for a little time."+ We -are here taught that _at the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ -Satan shall be bound with a great chain and cast into the abyss for a -thousand years_. The abyss, or as it is translated in the Authorised -Version, "bottomless pit," does not mean hell. Satan, as we shall see -further on, shall be cast into hell later. - -2. Turn now to Rev. 20:7, 8: +"And when the thousand years are -finished, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall come forth -to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog -and Magog, to gather them together to the war: The number of whom is -as the sand of the sea."+ We are here taught that _at the end of -the Millennium, the thousand years, Satan shall be loosed for a little -season from the abyss into which he has been cast chained, and that he -shall come forth to deceive the nations_. But the time of his power -then will be very brief. - -3. In Rev. 20:10 we find the ultimate destiny of the Devil: +"And -the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and -brimstone, where are also the beast and the false prophet; and they -shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever."+ Here is -one of the points at which the theories of the "Reconciliation" -people and "Universalists" generally break down. The argument of the -Reconciliationists and Universalists, by which they attempt to prove -that all men must ultimately be saved, carried to its logical issue, if -it proved anything, would prove the salvation of Satan also, and this -many of them do teach. They say plainly that the Devil will ultimately -be brought to repentance and saved. Indeed that is what I believed -and taught in my early ministry. But this passage which we have just -read shows the impossibility of this being true. "The lake of fire" -was "prepared for the Devil and his angels." Our Lord Himself says in -Matt. 25:41 that when He comes back to judge this world He will say to -those on His left hand: +"Depart from me, ye cursed into the eternal -fire, which is prepared for the devil and his angels."+ Hell was not -prepared for men, but for the Devil and his angels. If any man goes -there it will be because he has chosen to cast in his lot with the -Devil rather than with God. Therefore they go where the Devil goes. -Every one who rejects Jesus Christ is throwing in his lot with the -Devil. - - -VI. HOW TO GET VICTORY OVER THE DEVIL - -Now just for a few moments let me show you from the Word of God, _how, -in practical every day life, to get the victory over the Devil_. There -are four things to be borne in mind. - -1. Read first, James 4:7, +"Be subject therefore unto God: but resist -the devil, and he will flee from you."+ This teaches us that, _we -are first of all to surrender to God and then to resist the Devil and -that, if we do resist him, for all his cunning and power, he will flee -from us_. Although the Devil is strong, it is ours in God's strength to -withstand him and overcome him. - -2. Now turn to I John 2:14: +"I have written unto you, fathers, -because ye know him which is from the beginning. I have written unto -you young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in -you, and ye have overcome the evil one."+ This passage teaches us -that, _it is when we feed upon the Word of God and store the Word of -God in our hearts, thus having it abiding in us, that we shall be able -to overcome the Devil_. If we neglect the study of the Bible for a -single day, we leave an open door for the Devil to enter. I have been -a Christian for forty-three years, but I would not dare to neglect the -study of God's word for one single day. Why not? Because there is a -Devil; and, if I neglect the study of the Word of God for a single day, -I leave a window open for him to enter and leave myself too weak to -cope with him and conquer him. But if we will feed upon the Word of God -daily, and trust in God, we can resist the devil at every point. Though -the Devil is cunning and strong, God is stronger, and _God imparts His -strength to us through His written word_. - -3. Turn now to Eph. 6:11: +"Put on the whole armour of God, that -ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."+ Here we -are taught that, _in order_ +"to stand against the wiles of the -Devil"+ _we must_ +"Put on the whole armour of God."+ What that -armour is, is found in the verses that immediately follow. This armour, -this whole armour, this "panoply of God," is at our disposal. The fact -that there is a Devil, that he is a being of such majesty, dignity, -cunning, and power, that he is so incessantly plotting our ruin and to -undermine our faith, is no reason for fear or discouragement. By taking -"the shield of faith" we shall be "able to quench all the fiery darts -of the evil one," by taking "the helmet of salvation," and the "sword -of the Spirit which is the Word of God," and by "praying always with -all prayer and supplication in the Spirit," it is our privilege to have -victory over the Devil every day of our lives, every hour of the day, -and every minute of the hour. - -4. The final step in the way to get victory over Satan is found in -Eph. 6:10: +"Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of -his might."+ _The way to get victory over Satan is to give up all -confidence in our own strength and believe in the almighty strength -of Jesus Christ and claim that strength for ourselves._ It is in the -strength of Jesus Christ's might that we shall get the victory over -"the evil one." In the strength of His might, as we have already said, -it is our privilege to have victory over the Devil every day of our -lives, every hour of the day and every minute in the hour. Hallelujah! - - - - -XIV - -IS THERE A LITERAL HELL? - - "In danger of the hell of fire."—Matt. 5:22. - - -My subject is "Is There a Literal Hell?" I wish that the things that I -am going to preach to you were not true. God wishes so, too, +"The -Lord is longsuffering to usward, not wishing that any should perish, -but that all should come to repentance"+ (2 Peter 3:9). But God has -made us in His own image, with a moral nature, with a capacity for -self-determination, with a power of choice; and men can if they will -choose darkness instead of light. They can choose to trample God's -saving love under foot. They can choose to reject the One who was -wounded for their transgressions and bruised for their iniquities, and -upon whom the chastisement of their peace was laid; and some will so -choose. I am sorry that they will. I would be willing to die to save -them. The Lord Jesus did die to save them. But they spurn Him. So these -things that I am to speak to-night are true and I am going to preach -them in order that you may know them, and in order that you may be sure -of them. I am going to preach about hell to keep as many of you as -possible from going there. - -Is There a Literal Hell? Almost all intelligent people who believe that -there is a future life at all, believe that men and women who sin in -the present life and who die impenitent and unsaved will be punished -to some extent at least in the life that is to come. They believe that -whoever sins must suffer, and that the suffering which sin causes will -not be limited to this present life. But, while almost all intelligent -people who believe in a future life at all believe that there is some -kind of future punishment, there are many that do not believe in a -literal hell, that is, in a place of awful and unutterable torment. Is -there a hell? Is there a place to which impenitent men and women will -go some time after death and suffer agonies far beyond those that any -one suffers here on earth? Some say, "yes," there is a hell. Many, -even including not a few supposedly orthodox preachers, say, "No, the -only hell is the inward hell in a man's heart." How are we to settle -this question? How are we to determine who is right? We cannot settle -it as some are trying to settle it by "counting noses." Majorities are -not always right. Especially is it true that majorities are not always -right in science and in philosophy and in theology. What the majority -of scientists firmly believed a century ago the majority of scientists -laugh at to-day. What the majority of philosophers once believed, the -majority of philosophers to-day regard as ridiculous. So majorities -cannot always be right. And, therefore, we cannot settle this question -by asking what the majority believe. - -We cannot settle the question by reasoning as to what such a being -as God must do, for how can finite and foolish man judge what an -infinitely holy and infinitely wise God would do? Man never appears -more foolish than when he tries to reason out what an infinite God -_must_ do. All these arguments about hell by reasoning as to what -God must, or must not, do are stupid. A child of seven cannot reason -infallibly as to what a wise and good man of fifty will do, much less -can puny creatures of the dust (such as you and I are, such as the most -learned philosophers and theologians are) reason infallibly as to what -an infinitely wise and infinitely holy God must do. It is, however, far -easier to believe in a literal hell, and an everlasting hell, from the -standpoint of pure reasoning to-day than it was three years and a half -ago. Nevertheless, we cannot settle the question as to whether there is -a literal hell by reasoning even to-day as to what such a being as God -must do. - -There is only one way to settle this question right, that is by going -to the Bible and finding out what it says, and taking our stand firmly -and unhesitatingly upon that. We have seen the last three Sunday nights -that the Bible is beyond an honest question God's word, so whatever the -Bible says on this subject, or any other subject, is true and is sure. -Especially is it true that we must go to the Bible and find what it -says in the matter of future punishment and future blessedness. All we -know about the future is what the Bible tells us. All reasoning about -the future outside of what the Bible tells us is pure guessing, it is -a waste of time. We know nothing about heaven but what the Bible tells -us, and we know nothing about hell but what the Bible tells us. On a -subject like this one ounce of God's revelation is worth a thousand -tons of man's speculation. The whole question is what does the Bible -say about Hell? But while we are dependent entirely upon the Bible, -the Bible clearly reveals all that we need to know. The Bible tells us -a great deal about heaven, and it tells us still more about hell, and -it is an interesting fact that the Lord Jesus Himself, whose authority -many are ready to accept who do not accept the authority of the rest of -the Bible, is the One Who tells us the most about hell, and the most -clearly about hell. Indeed, all that I am going to show you is what -_the Lord Jesus Himself says_ on this subject. - - -I. HELL AND HADES ARE NOT THE SAME - -First of all, in order to clear the way for the study of what Jesus -says on this subject, let me call your attention to the fact that -Hell and Hades are not the same. There are numerous places in the -Authorised Version where we find the word "Hell" but where that word -does not occur in the Revised Version, and where the word "Hades" is -substituted for the word "Hell." The Revised Version is right at that -point, as every Greek scholar knows. Hades is not Hell. "Hades" is -the Greek equivalent of the Old Testament Hebrew word "Sheol." This -Hebrew word "Sheol" is frequently translated in the Authorised Version -of the Old Testament by the English word "Grave." It ought never to -be so translated, as it never means "Grave." I have taken the pains -to look up every passage where this Hebrew word is used and in not a -single instance does it mean "Grave." There is an entirely different -Hebrew word which can properly be translated in that way. "Sheol," or -New Testament "Hades," means the place of departed spirits. Sheol (or -Hades) before the coming, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of -our Lord, was _the place where all the spirits of the dead, good and -bad, went_. Before the ascension of Christ, in Hades was Paradise, the -place of the blessed dead, and Tartaros, the place of the wicked dead. -At His ascension Christ emptied the Paradise of Hades, and took it up -to Heaven with Him, as we read in Eph. 4:8, +"When he ascended on -high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men."+ Before -Christ ascended Paradise was down, now it is up. Christ said to the -repentant thief on the cross, +"Verily I say unto thee, to-day shalt -thou be with me in Paradise,"+ and Jesus Himself taught us He went -down into +"the heart of the earth"+ (Luke 12:40) and the dying -thief went down with Him into this subterranean Paradise. I think Jesus -Himself went also into that part of Hades where the lost spirits were -(1 Peter 3:18-20), but that is another story that we will consider -later. All that is important now is that the repentant, dying thief -went _down_ into Paradise, but after the ascension of the Lord, when -Paul went to Paradise, he was +"caught up even to the third heaven -into Paradise"+ (II Cor. 12:2-4). No blessed dead are now left in -Hades, and ultimately "death" and "Hades," i.e., all that are dead who -have not yet been raised, or caught up into the Celestial Paradise, all -who are still in Hades, shall be +"cast into the lake of fire"+ -(Rev. 20:14). This +"lake of fire"+ into which death and Hades are -to be cast, is the true and ultimate Hell. - - -II. THERE IS TO BE A LITERAL HELL - -Having cleared the way by removing the misapprehension so common in the -minds of people to-day, that Hades and Hell are the same, now let us -say next that _there is to be a Hell_. The Bible says so, Jesus says -in Matt. 5:22, +"but I say unto you, that every one who is angry -with his brother, shall be in danger of the judgment; and whosoever -shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council; -and whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of the hell -of fire."+ In the 29th verse of the same chapter the Lord Jesus -says: +"And if thy right eye causeth thee to stumble pluck it out, -and cast it from thee; for it is profitable for thee that one of thy -members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast -into hell."+ And in the 30th verse He says: +"And if thy right -hand causeth thee to stumble, cut it off, and cast it from thee; for -it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, -and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell."+ We read -again what our Lord Jesus said in Mark 9:45-48, +"and if thy foot -causeth thee to stumble, cut it off; it is good for thee to enter -into life halt, rather than having thy two feet to be cast into hell. -And if thine eye causeth thee to stumble, cast it out; it is good -for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than -having two eyes to be cast into hell; where their worm dieth not, and -the fire is not quenched."+ Some one may say that these words of -our Lord are figurative. There is not the slightest suggestion that -they are figurative. The whole context is against their being taken -figuratively. It is indeed wrong to interpret figurative language as -if it were literal, but it is just as unwarranted and just as wrong to -interpret literal language as if it were figurative. Of course, the -word "Gehenna," which is translated "Hell" is derived from the valley -of Hinnom, where in ancient times human sacrifices were offered, but -the _use_ of the word is literal throughout the New Testament, though -its _derivation_ is figurative. Many words that are figurative in -their derivation are literal in their use, and the meaning of words -is never determined by derivation, but by usage. For example, our -word "eclipse" is a figure of speech. According to the figure it is a -leaving or failing or fainting of the moon or sun, whichever it may be -that is eclipsed. But though it is figurative in its derivation, the -ordinary usage of it is literal. The universal use in the New Testament -of "Gehenna" or "Hell" is literal. The word here translated "Hell" is -found twelve times in the New Testament, eleven of these twelve times -it is used by our Lord Jesus Himself, and He uniformly uses it, as in -the passages which I have just read, of a literal hell. If there is -no literal hell, then our Lord Jesus was either a fool or a fraud. -He certainly meant to convey the impression that there was a literal -hell. There can be no doubt of that, if we go to His words to find out -what is the natural meaning of them. If there is no literal hell then -either Jesus thought there was one when there was not, in which case He -was a fool; or else He knew that there was not, but tried to make men -think that there was, in which case He was a fraud. There is no other -alternative but either to believe that there is a literal hell or else -to believe that Jesus of Nazareth, our Lord and Saviour, was a fool or -a fraud. I know that Jesus was not a fool. I know that He was the only -begotten Son of God, that in Him dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead -bodily, that He and the Father are one, that all men should honour the -Son even as they honour the Father. I know that He spoke the very words -of God, therefore I know that there is a literal hell, for He said so. -It is worthy of note, furthermore, that most of these words about hell -that I have read you to-night are taken from the Sermon on the Mount, -the one part of the Bible that pretty much all men claim to believe. -There are many who say they do not know about the Bible as a whole, but -they do accept the Sermon on the Mount. Well, these passages are for -the most part from the Sermon on the Mount. Either accept this part of -the Sermon on the Mount or else throw the whole thing overboard as the -utterance of a fool or a fraud. There is no other ground possible for -any man who is willing to think things through. - - -III. IS THE FIRE OF HELL LITERAL FIRE? - -The next question that confronts us is, Is the fire of hell mentioned -in some of the passages we have read, literal fire? This is not -so vital a question as the question, is there a literal hell, but -nevertheless it is an important question, and I believe the question -is plainly answered in the Bible, and plainly answered by Jesus Christ -Himself. To turn again to the passage already referred to, Matt. 5:22, -we read: +"But I say unto you, that every one who is angry with his -brother shall be in danger of the judgment; and whosoever shall say to -his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council; and whosoever -shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of the hell of fire."+ -These are Christ's own words. He not only speaks of hell, but a "_hell -of fire_," and this too is from the Sermon on the Mount. In Matt. 18:9 -the Lord Jesus says again, +"And if thine eye cause thee to stumble, -pluck it out, and cast it from thee; it is good for thee to enter into -life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the -hell of fire."+ And again in Mark 9:43-49, the passage read a few -moments ago, we read, +"And if thy hand cause thee to stumble, cut -it off; it is good for thee to enter into life maimed, rather than -having thy two hands to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire. And -if thy foot cause thee to stumble, cut it off; it is good for thee to -enter into life halt, rather than having thy two feet to be cast into -hell. And if thine eye cause thee to stumble, cast it out; it is good -for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than -having two eyes to be cast into hell, where the worm dieth not, and -the fire is not quenched."+ Here again some may say the fire is -figurative. Turn to Matt. 13:30, 41, 42, we read these words: +"Let -both grow together until the harvest; and in the time of harvest I -will say to the reapers, gather up first the tares, and bind them in -bundles to barn them; but gather the wheat into my barn."+ Now here -is a parable and we have figures and there would be warrant, if this -were all that we had, for saying that the fire was figurative, as other -things in the verse are figurative; but in the 41st and 42nd verses -of the same chapter we read, +"The Son of man shall send forth his -angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that cause -stumbling, and they that do iniquity, and shall cast them into the -furnace of fire; there shall be the weeping and gnashing of teeth."+ -Here we have _the interpretation_ of the parable. Now in parables, as -already said, we have figures, but in the interpretation of parables we -have the literal facts which the figures represent, but we see clearly -that here _in the interpretation as well as in the parable_, we have -_fire_. Everything else in the parable is explained, every item in the -parable except the fire, but that remains fire in the interpretation of -the parable as well as in the parable itself. We find the same thing in -another parable in verses 47 to 50, the parable of the net cast into -the sea. Here, also, in the interpretation of the parable as well as in -the parable itself we have _fire_. Every other figure of the parable -is explained by the literal fact that it represents, but _in the -interpretation_ of the parable we have "_fire_." In the light of these -facts we cannot deny the literal fire of hell without doing violence -to every reasonable law of interpretation. Furthermore still, we read -in Rev. 20:15 that at the judgment of the great white throne, +"and -if any was not found written in the Book of Life, he was cast into the -lake of fire."+ There is nothing in the whole context that suggests -a figure. And in the 21st chapter and the 8th verse we read: +"But -for the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and -fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolators, and all liars, their part -shall be in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the -second death."+ - -Remember furthermore that the wicked in the eternal world are not mere -disembodied spirits. This is plain both from the Old Testament and the -New. We read in Dan. 12:2: +"And many of them that sleep in the dust -of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame -and everlasting contempt."+ Now this says "them that sleep in the -dust of the earth." The soul departs into Hades. It is _the body_ that -crumbles into dust, and it is the body that is to be raised. In the New -Testament, in John 5:28, 29, our Lord is recorded as saying: +"Marvel -not at this; for the hour cometh, in which all that are in the tombs -shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, -unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the -resurrection of judgment."+ Now it is not the souls of men that are -in the tombs, it is the bodies of men, and this passage teaches the -resurrection of the bodies, both of the good and of the wicked. In I -Cor. 15:22 we read, +"For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ -shall all be made alive."+ What Paul is talking about in this entire -chapter is the resurrection _of the body_, not merely the immortality -of the soul, and we are here distinctly told that every child of Adam -gets resurrection of his body in Christ. - -Furthermore, in Matt. 5:30 Jesus says: +"If thy right hand causeth -thee to stumble, cut it off, and cast it from thee; for it is -profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not thy -whole body go into hell."+ Here in the plainest possible terms the -body is spoken of as going into hell, and in a similar way in Matt. -10:28, the Lord Jesus says: +"Be not afraid of them that kill the -body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him who is -able to destroy both soul and body in hell."+ From these plain and -definite words of our Lord it is plain as day that in the future life -we are to have bodies, and that the bodies of the lost are to have a -place in a literal physical hell of fire. While the bodily torments -of hell fire are not the most appalling feature of hell, while the -mental agony, the agony of remorse, the agony of shame, and the agony -of despair, is worse, immeasurably worse; nevertheless, physical -suffering, a physical suffering to which no pain on earth is anything -in comparison, is a feature of hell. - - -IV. IS THE LAKE OF FIRE A PLACE OF CONSCIOUS TORMENT, OR IS IT A PLACE -OF ANNIHILATION, I.E., A PLACE OF NON-EXISTENCE OR IS IT A PLACE OF -NON-CONSCIOUS EXISTENCE? - -There is one other question that remains to be answered, and that is, -_is the lake of fire a place of conscious torment, or is it a place -of annihilation, i.e., a place of non-existence, or is it a place of -non-conscious existence_? There are those who believe in a literal -hell, but they do not believe that those who are consigned to it will -consciously suffer there for any great length of time. They hold -either that those who are sent to hell are annihilated, or else that -they exist there in a non-conscious state. Of course, this would be -an everlasting hell, and everlasting punishment, but is it the hell -that is taught in the Bible? Is the lake of fire a place of continued -conscious torment, or is it a place of non-conscious existence? In -answer to this question let me call your attention to the fact that the -punishment of the wicked is spoken of in the Bible most frequently as -"Death" and "Destruction." What do these words mean in biblical usage? - -1. Let us look first at the biblical usage of the word "Death." Many -tell us, time and time again, that death means non-existence, or at -least non-conscious existence, and therefore that is what it must -mean in the passages where it is spoken of as the future punishment -of the impenitent. But does "death" _as used in the Bible_ mean -either non-conscious existence, or annihilation? Look first at 1 Tim. -5:6; here we read, "She that liveth in pleasure is _dead_ while she -liveth." Death here certainly does not mean either non-existence, or -non-conscious existence. The woman that lives in pleasure still exists, -and she certainly exists consciously, but she is "_dead_." Death means -wrong existence rather than non-existence. It is just the opposite of -life, and life in the New Testament usage does not mean mere existence, -it means right existence. God-like existence, holy existence. It -means the ennoblement and glorification and deification of existence; -and death means just the opposite, it means wrong existence, debased -existence, the ruin, the shame, and the ignominy and the despair of -existence. In a similar way we are told in Eph. 2:1, that men until -they are quickened, or made alive, by the power of God are "_Dead in -trespasses and sins_." It is perfectly clear then that death does not -mean either non-existence, or non-conscious existence. But even more -decisive than this is the fact that God Himself has defined death -very accurately and very fully in Rev. 21:8: +"But the fearful and -unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and -sorcerers, and idolators, and all liars, shall have their part in -the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second -death."+ Here we are told in so many words that the "death" which -is the final outcome of persistent sin and unbelief is a portion in -the place of torment, the lake of fire. That this lake of fire is a -place of conscious suffering is made clear in the preceding chapter, -Rev. 20:10, where we are told that "the devil that deceived them was -cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false -prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." -The beast and false prophet had already been there a thousand years -when the devil was cast into the lake of fire, and they were tormented -consciously, without rest. - -2. Now let us look at what "_Destruction_" means in the New Testament. -We are told by a certain school of religious thought that "destruction" -means destruction. Yes, "destruction" means destruction, but what does -destruction mean? They say it means annihilation, or ceasing to be, -but the Greek word so translated never means that in the Bible, nor -even out of the Bible. In the best Greek-English lexicon of the New -Testament extant, Thayer's translation of Grimm's great work, we are -told that when a thing is said to "perish" (and the verb from which -the noun commonly translated "destruction" and "perdition" is derived, -is the one translated "to perish") it is not meant that it ceases to -be, but that it is "so ruined that it no longer subserves the use for -which it was designed." Furthermore, here again God has been careful to -define His terms. He Himself has given us in the Bible a definition -of "destruction." We read in Rev. 17:8, 11: +"The beast that thou -sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, -and go into perdition; and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder -. . . and the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is -of the seven, and goeth into perdition."+ Here we are told that -the beast goes into "perdition." The word here translated "perdition" -is precisely the same word that is elsewhere translated "destruction" -and should be so translated here; or else in the other instances it -should be translated, as here, "perdition." Now if we can find what -the beast goes into, then we shall know exactly what "destruction" -means, for we are told that he goeth "into destruction." In the 19th -chapter of Revelation, the 20th verse, we are told exactly where -the beast goes: +"And the beast was taken, and with him the false -prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them -that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his -image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with -brimstone."+ Now looking forward to the next chapter, the 10th -verse, which I have already quoted, we read: +"And the devil that -deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where are -also the beast and the false prophet, and they shall be tormented day -and night for ever and ever."+ Putting these passages together -we see that the beast goeth into "destruction," and the destruction -into which he goes is a place in the lake which burneth with fire -and brimstone, where for a thousand years he is in conscious torment, -and where after the thousand years are over he is still there and is -still tormented. So then "destruction" is clearly defined in the New -Testament in the same way in which "death" is defined, as the condition -of beings in a place of conscious torment. - -Again in Rev. 14:10, 11, we read regarding those who worship the beast -and his image and receive his mark in their foreheads or in their -hands: +"The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which -is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he -shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy -angels, and in the presence of the Lamb; and the smoke of their torment -ascendeth for ever and ever; and they have no rest day nor night, who -worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of -his name."+ The Bible makes it clear as language can make it that -the lake of fire to which "whoever is not written in the Lamb's book of -life" is consigned, is a place of continued, conscious torment. There -is no escaping the clear teaching of the Word of God unless we throw -our Bibles away and discredit the teaching of the Apostles and the -teaching of Jesus Christ Himself. - -Next Sunday night we will take up the question, Is the Punishment -of the Wicked Everlasting, but we must stop at this point to-night. -Sherman said, "War is hell." Of course, in the way in which Sherman -meant it, this is true. It is far more true of war to-day than it was -in the worst and most inexcusable phases of our Civil War—Libby and -Andersonville, for example, on the part of the South, and the march -through Georgia on the part of the North. But even war to-day as -carried on by Germany in all its appalling frightfulness, is not hell. -Hell is incomparably more awful than the war now raging in Europe, and -this awful hell of which we have been studying to-night is the destiny -of some of you here in this room, unless you soon repent and accept -the Lord Jesus Christ. Other appalling facts about hell we will take -up next Sunday night, but we have already seen enough to make any true -Christian determine to work with all his might to save others from this -awful hell. And we have seen enough to make every honest and sensible -person here to-night determine to escape this awful hell at any cost. - - - - -XV - -IS FUTURE PUNISHMENT EVERLASTING? - - -Jesus Christ plainly taught that there was to be a literal hell and -that this hell would be a place of conscious suffering, suffering far -beyond that experienced by any one here in this present life, but we -are faced by another question of great importance, Is this future, -conscious suffering of the impenitent to be _endless_? There are many -who believe in future punishment of a very severe and awful character, -and who indeed believe in a literal hell of awful, conscious suffering, -but they deny, or at least doubt, that this future hell will be a place -of _endless_, conscious suffering. Many of them admit and teach that -the suffering may go on for a long time, and perhaps for thousands of -years, but they hold that it will end at last and that all men will -ultimately come to repentance, accept Jesus Christ, and be saved. What -is the exact truth about the matter? We cannot decide this by asking -what the majority of supposedly reliable theologians believe, for -majorities are often wrong and minorities are often right. Neither -can we decide it by reasoning as to what such a being as God is must -do. It is impossible for finite and foolish men such as we are, and -such as the wisest philosophers and theologians are, to judge what an -Infinitely wise and Infinitely holy God must do. All reasonings by -finite men as to what an Infinitely wise God must do are utterly futile -and an utter waste of time. _All we know about the future is what God -has been pleased to tell us in His Word._ The Bible, as we have seen, -is beyond a question the Word of God, and therefore what it has to say -on this subject, or any other subject, is true and absolutely sure, and -in a question of this character one ounce of God's revelation is worth -more than a thousand tons of man's speculation. The whole question then -is, what does the Bible teach in regard to this matter? - - -I. WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES REGARDING THE ENDLESSNESS OF FUTURE PUNISHMENT - -1. To find out exactly what the Bible teaches as to the endlessness of -future punishment let us turn first of all to the words of our Lord -Jesus Himself in Matt. 25:46 (R. V.), +"And these shall go away into -eternal punishment: but the righteous into eternal life."+ The first -question that confronts us in studying this passage is what the word -_aionios_ (_aionion_) which is here translated "_eternal_" means. The -best Greek-English dictionary of the New Testament is Thayer's. In this -dictionary Thayer after a careful study of the word, its derivation -and its usage, gives these three definitions of the word, and these -three only: (1) "Without beginning or end, that which always has been -and always will be." (2) "Without beginning." (3) "Without end, never -to cease, everlasting." It is frequently said that the word _aionios_ -according to its derivation means _age-lasting_, and therefore may -refer to a limited period. Even admitting this to be true, we should -bear in mind that the meaning of words is not determined by their -derivation but by their usage, and the most important question is -not what the derivation of this word may be, but as to how it is -used in the New Testament. It is used 72 times in the New Testament. -Forty-four of these 72 times it is used in the phrase "eternal life," -or as it is sometimes rendered, "everlasting life." No one questions -that everlasting life is endless and that in connection with the word -"life" "age lasting" (if that be its proper derivation of the word) -means _lasting through all ages, never ending_. Once it is used in -connection with the word "habitations," referring to the habitations -which the blessed are to have in the world to come, and, of course, -these also are never-ending. Once it is used of the "weight of glory" -that in the world to come awaits the believer in Jesus Christ who -endures affliction for Christ in the life that now is. In this case -again, of course, by universal consent it means endless. Once it is -used of the "house not made with hands" that believers in Christ are -to receive at the coming of the Lord Jesus (II Cor. 5:1-8). Of course, -this "house not made with hands" is everlasting. In fact the very point -that is being brought forward in this passage is the contrast between -our present bodies which are but for a brief time and our resurrection -bodies which are to exist throughout all eternity. Once it is used of -the future unseen things that never end, contrasted with the present -seen things that are for a season (II Cor. 4:18). Of course, these -are never-ending. That is the very point that is being brought out in -the contrast. Once it is used of the everlasting "comfort" (R. V.) or -"consolation" (A. V.) that "our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God -our Father" give us, and that is certainly never ending. Twice it is -used of the "glory" that those in Christ obtain (II Tim. 2:10). That, -of course, by universal consent is endless. Once it is used of the -"salvation" Christ brings, which is beyond question never ending. Once -(Heb. 9:12) it is used of the "redemption" that Jesus Christ secures -for us by His blood. This redemption is never ending. In fact, the -chief point of contrast in the context in this case is between the -temporary redemption secured by the _constantly repeated_ sacrifices -of the Mosaic ritual and the never ending redemption secured by the -perfect sacrifice of Christ made _once for all_. Once it is used of -the "inheritance" that those who are in Christ receive (Heb. 9:15). -Here again beyond a question it is never ending. Once it is used of -the "_everlasting_ covenant" through Christ's blood contrasted with -the _temporary_ covenant, based on the blood of bulls and goats, -given through Moses. Here again it necessarily and emphatically means -never ending. That is the very point at issue. Once it is used of the -"everlasting kingdom" of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (II Peter -1:11), and we are told in Luke 1:33, "of His kingdom there shall be no -end." Once it is used of "everlasting gospel" (or good news) and that, -of course, also never ends. Once it is used of the "everlasting God" -(Rom. 16:26) and He certainly endures not merely through long ages, -but without end. Once it is used of the Holy Spirit who is called "the -eternal (or everlasting) Spirit," and He certainly endures, not merely -through long ages, but throughout an absolutely endless eternity. This -covers fifty-nine of the seventy-two times it is used, and in these -fifty-nine instances the thought of endlessness is absolutely necessary -to the sense, and in not a single one of the thirteen remaining times -where it is used is it used of anything that is known to end. If usage -can determine the meaning of any word then certainly the New Testament -use of this word determines it to mean _never ending_, or, as Thayer -defines it, "_without end, never to cease_, everlasting." - -Nor is this all, God Himself determines it to mean _never ending_: He -defines it to mean never-ending by specifically using it in contrast -with that which does end. For example, in 2 Cor. 4:18 we read, -+"While we look not on the things which are seen, but the things -which are unseen: for the things which are seen are temporal+ -(literally, for a season); +but the things which are not seen are -eternal."+ Here the whole point is that the unseen things in -distinction from the seen which are _for a season_ are for a _never -ending duration_. - -But even allowing that the word according to its usage could be used -of that which, though it last throughout an age, or ages, has an end; -even if that were true (which it is not), then the meaning of the word -in any given instance would have to be determined by the context in -which it is found. Now what is the context in the passage which we -are studying? Let us read it again, +"And these shall go away into -eternal punishment: but the righteous into eternal life."+ The -same Greek adjective is used in connection with "punishment" and with -"life." (In the Authorised Version it is differently rendered, but in -the Greek and in the Revised Version it is exactly the same.) Certainly -this qualifying adjective must mean the same in the one half of the -sentence that it means in the other half of the sentence. We must at -least admit that Jesus Christ was an honest man, and He certainly was -too honest to juggle with words: He would not use a word to mean one -thing in one half of a sentence and something utterly different in -the other half. _He evidently sought to convey the impression that -the punishment of the unsaved was of the same duration as the life -of the saved._ No one questions that the life is endless. It would be -the destruction of all our hopes if it were not endless. Therefore, -if we are to deal honestly with our Lord's words, He taught that the -punishment of the unsaved was to be endless. We have exactly the same -reason in God's Word for believing in endless punishment that we have -for believing in endless life. If you give up the one you must give up -the other, or else deal dishonestly with the words of Jesus Christ. - -2. We might rest the case here and call it proven, but let us turn to -another passage, Rev. 14:9-11, +"And another angel, a third, followed -them, saying with a great voice, If any man worshipeth the beast and -his image and receiveth a mark on his forehead, or upon his hand, he -also shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is prepared -unmixed in the cup of His anger; and he shall be tormented with fire -and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence -of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment goeth up for ever and ever; -and they have no rest day and night, they that worship the beast and -his image, and whoso receiveth the mark of his name."+ Here we have -another expression for the duration of the punishment and suffering of -the impenitent, the expression rendered _for ever and ever_. There are -in the Greek two slightly differing forms of expression that are so -translated. The one form of expression literally rendered is "unto the -ages of the ages," the other form is "unto ages of ages." What thought -do these expressions convey. It has been said by those who seek to -escape the force of these words as referring to absolute endlessness, -that the expression "is a Hebraism for the supreme one of its class," -and as an illustration of the same alleged Hebraism the expressions, -"Lord of Lords" and "Holy of Holies" are cited. But this is not so. -In the first place, the form of neither of the two expressions is -the same; and, in the second place, that is not the meaning of the -expression "The Lord of Lords" or the meaning of the expression "The -Holy of Holies." The expression "Lord of Lords" does not mean merely -_the supreme_ Lord, but one who is Himself Lord of all other Lords, -and this expression "unto the ages of the ages" never means merely -the ages which are the supreme ages in distinction from other ages -(nor as another puts it, the ages which _come out of_ the other ages, -i.e., the closing ages before eternity). The expression according -to its form means ages which are themselves _composed of ages_. It -represents not years tumbling upon years, nor centuries tumbling upon -centuries, but ages tumbling upon ages in endless procession. It is -the strongest possible form of expression for absolute endlessness. -Furthermore, the way to determine conclusively what the expression -means is by considering its usage. Usage is always the decisive thing -in determining the meaning of words and phrases. What is the usage of -these expressions in the book from which we have taken our passage? -These expressions are used twelve times in this book. In eight of the -twelve times they refer to the duration of the existence, or reign, -or glory of God and His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Of course, in -these instances it must stand not merely for the supreme ages, or any -individual ages, it must refer to absolute eternity and endlessness. -Once it is used of the duration of the blessed reign of the righteous, -and, of course, here again it refers to an endless eternity: and -in the three remaining instances it is used of the duration of the -torment of the Devil, the Beast, the False Prophet, and the finally -impenitent. It is urged by those who would deny that the expression -means an absolutely endless eternity, that it is used in Rev. 11:15, -where we are told that "the kingdom of the world is become the kingdom -of our Lord, and of His Christ: and He shall reign for ever and ever -(unto the ages of the ages)," and that we are told in 1 Cor. 15:24 that -Christ "shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father"; and -that therefore His kingdom must come to an end, and consequently "for -ever and ever" in this passage cannot mean without end. There are two -answers to this objection, either of which is sufficient. The first is -that the "he" in "he shall reign for ever and ever" in Rev. 11:15, does -not necessarily refer to the Christ, but rather to the Lord Jehovah, -in which case the argument falls to the ground. The second answer is -that while we are taught in I Cor. 15:24, etc., that Jesus Christ -will deliver up His _mediatorial_ kingdom to the Father, nevertheless -we are distinctly taught that He shall rule with the Father, and we -are told in so many words in Luke 1:33 that "of His kingdom _there -shall be no end_," so that even if the "he" in Rev. 11:15 referred -to the Christ and not to the Lord Jehovah, still the statement would -be exactly correct that He, the Christ, was to reign for ever and -ever, i.e., without end. _There is not a single passage in the whole -book in which this expression is used of anything but that which is -absolutely endless._ So the question is answered again and answered -decisively that the conscious suffering of the persistently impenitent -is absolutely endless. - -3. Now let us look at another passage, II Thess. 1:7-9: +"The Lord -Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming -fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the -gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting -destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His -power."+ Here we are told that the punishment of those that know not -God and obey not the gospel is "everlasting _destruction_." - -What does "everlasting destruction" mean? In Rev. 17:8, 11 we are told -that the beast goeth into "destruction," so if we can find out where -the beast goes, or into what he goes, we shall know what "destruction" -means in the Bible usage. In Rev. 19:20 we are told that +"the beast -was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought the signs in -his sight, wherewith he deceived them that had received the mark of -the beast and them that worshipped his image: they two were cast -alive into the lake of fire that burneth with brimstone,"+ so we -see that "_destruction_" is a portion in the lake of fire. And in the -next chapter, Rev. 20:10, we are told that +"The devil that deceived -them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where are also the -beast and the false prophet+ (after having already been there for -one thousand years, see context); +and they shall be tormented day -and night for ever and ever."+ So we see that destruction means -a portion in the lake of fire where its inhabitants are consciously -suffering without cessation _for ever and ever_. It is clear then, from -a comparison of II Thess. 1:7-9 with these passages, that those who -know not God and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ shall be -punished with never-ending, conscious suffering. - -4. Let us look at one more passage, Matt. 25:41 (these again are the -words of the Lord Jesus Himself): +"Then shall he say also unto them -on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire -which is prepared for the devil and his angels."+ What I wish you -to notice here is that the punishment into which the impenitent are -sent is the "eternal fire" which is "_prepared for the devil and his -angels_." We have an exact description of just what the eternal fire -prepared for the devil and his angels is in the passage read a few -moments ago, Rev. 20:10: +"And the devil that deceived them was cast -into the lake of fire and brimstone where are also the beast and the -false prophet; and they shall be tormented day and night for ever and -ever."+ By a comparison of these two statements we have another -explicit declaration of our Lord that the punishment of the impenitent -is to be a conscious agony, where they are punished without rest day -and night for ever and ever. - -From any one of these passages and especially from all taken together, -it is clear that the Scriptures make it as plain as language can make -it that THE FUTURE PUNISHMENT OF THE PERSISTENTLY IMPENITENT IS -ABSOLUTELY ENDLESS. - - -II. OBJECTIONS - -There are several passages of Scripture which those who believe that -all men will ultimately repent and be brought to accept Christ and thus -saved, urge against what seems to be the plain teaching of the passages -we have been studying. - -1. The first of these is 1 Peter 3:18-20: +"Because Christ also -suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he -might bring us to God; being put to death in the flesh, but made alive -in the spirit; in which also he went and preached unto the spirits in -prison, that aforetime were disobedient, when the longsuffering of God -waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, -that is, eight souls, were saved through water."+ It is urged that -as Christ went and preached to the spirits in prison there will be -another chance after men have died. But this the passage in question -does not assert or imply in any way. - -(1) First of all there is no proof that "the spirits in prison" refers -to the departed spirits of men who once lived here on earth. In the -Bible departed spirits of men are not spoken of in this way. These -words are used of other spirits, but not of human spirits disembodied, -and there is every reason for supposing that these "spirits in prison" -were not the sinful men that were on earth when the ark was preparing, -but the angels who sinned at that time, just as we are told in Gen. -6:1, 2 that they did sin (cf. Jude 6, 7). - -(2) Furthermore, even if "the spirits in prison" here spoken of were -the spirits of men who were disobedient in the time of Noah, there is -not a hint in the passage that they were saved through the preaching of -Christ to them, or that they had another chance. There are two words -commonly used in the New Testament for preaching, one is _kerusso_ -and the other is _euaggelizo_. The first of these means _to herald_, -as to herald a king, or to herald the kingdom. It may, however, be -used of preaching a message, the gospel message or some other message. -The second word _euaggelizo_, means to preach _the gospel_. In the -passage that we are studying it is the first word that is used, and -there is not a hint that Christ preached _the gospel_ to these spirits -in prison. He simply heralded the triumph of the kingdom. It was not -a saving message. So there is nothing in this passage to put up even -inferentially against the plain, direct statements regarding the -destiny of the wicked found in the passages we have been studying. - -2. The second passage that is appealed to by those who deny the -endlessness of future punishment is Phil. 2:9-11: +"Wherefore also -God highly exalted Him, and gave unto Him the name which is above -every name; that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things -in heaven and things on earth and things under the earth, and that -every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory -of God the Father."+ Here it is said, we are told, that all those -"under the earth" as well as in heaven and on earth should bow the -knee in the name of Jesus and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, and -that this implies that they are saved. But it does not imply that they -are saved. Every knee of lost men and of the devil and his angels too -will be forced some day to bow in the name of Jesus and every tongue -forced to confess that He is Lord. If any one does that in the present -life of his own free choice, he will be saved, but otherwise he will -do it by compulsion in the age to come and every one has his choice -between doing it now willingly and gladly and being saved, or doing it -by compulsion hereafter and being lost. There is absolutely nothing -in this passage to teach universal salvation or to militate even -inferentially against the plain statements we have been studying. - -3. The third passage that is appealed to is Acts 3:19-21: +"Repent -ye therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that -so there may come seasons of refreshing from the presence of the Lord; -and that He may send the Christ who hath been appointed for you, even -Jesus: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restoration of -all things whereof God spake by the mouth of His holy prophets that -have been from of old."+ Here we are told of a coming "restoration -_of all things_" and those who contend for the doctrine of universal -salvation hold that this means the restoration to righteousness of all -persons. But that is not what it says, and that is not what it refers -to. We are taught in Old Testament prophecy and also in the book of -Romans, that in connection with the return of our Lord Jesus there is -to be a _restoration of all nature_, of the whole physical universe, -from its fallen state. For example, in Rom. 8:19-21 we read: +"For -the earnest expectation of the creation waiteth for the revealing of -the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to vanity, not of -its own will, but by reason of him who subjected it, in hope that the -creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption -into the liberty of the glory of the children of God."+ And in Isa. -55:13 we read: +"Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir-tree; -and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle-tree: and it shall -be to Jehovah for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be -cut off."+ And in Isa. 65:25 we are told: +"The wolf and the lamb -shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and dust -shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my -holy mountain, saith Jehovah,"+ and in Isa. 32:15, we are told that -+"until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness -become a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be esteemed as a -forest."+ It is to this restoration of the physical universe, here -plainly predicted in Rom. 8:19-21 and these Old Testament prophecies, -that the "restoration of all things" spoken of in Acts 3:21 refers. -There is not a hint, not the slightest suggestion, of a restoration of -impenitent sinners. - -4. Still another passage that is urged is Eph. 1:9, 10, where we read: -+"Having made known unto us the mystery of His will according to -His good pleasure which He purposed in Him unto a dispensation of -the fulness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things -in the heavens, and the things upon the earth."+ Here it is urged -that things in heaven and things in earth are to be summed up in -Christ. This is true, but it should be noticed that the Holy Spirit -has specifically omitted here the phrase that is found in Phil. 2:10, -the "_things under the earth_," that is the abode of the lost, so this -passage, so far from suggesting that the lost ones in hell will be -restored, suggests exactly the opposite thing. There is then certainly -nothing in this passage to militate even inferentially against the -plain statements we have been studying. - -5. One more passage that is urged against the doctrine we have been -studying remains to be considered, that is 1 Cor. 15:22. Here we read, -+"For as in Adam all died, so also in Christ shall all be made -alive."+ It is urged in connection with this passage that we are -distinctly told here that all who die in Adam, that is every human -being, shall be made alive in Christ, and that "made alive" means -"obtain eternal life," or "be saved." For years I thought that this -was the true interpretation of this passage, and for that reason in -part, I held and preached at that time that all men ultimately, some -time, somewhere, somehow, would be brought to accept Jesus Christ and -be saved; but when I came to study the passage more carefully I saw -that this was a misinterpretation of the passage. Every passage in -the Bible, or in any other book, must be interpreted in its context. -The whole subject that Paul is talking about in this chapter is not -eternal life, not the immortality of the soul, but _the resurrection of -the body_, and all this passage declares is that as all lose physical -life in Adam, so also all will obtain a resurrection of the body in -Christ. Whether that resurrection of the body is a resurrection to -everlasting life or a resurrection to shame and everlasting contempt -(Dan. 12:2) depends entirely upon what men do with the Christ in whom -they get it. There is absolutely nothing here to teach universal -salvation. It only teaches a universal resurrection, resurrection of -the wicked as well as of the righteous. - -To sum up the teaching of all these passages that are so often urged to -prove universal salvation, there is nothing in any one of the passages, -nor in all of them together, to teach that all men will ultimately be -saved, and there is nothing in them to in any way conflict with what -we have seen to be the honest meaning of the passages studied above, -namely, that the future punishment of sin is absolutely endless. There -is not a passage to be found in the Bible that teaches universal -salvation, or that all men will ultimately come to repentance and be -saved. I wish that there were, but there is not. I have been searching -diligently for such a passage for nearly forty years and I have not -found it, and it cannot be found. - - -III. WHERE ARE THE ISSUES OF ETERNITY SETTLED? - -There remains one other important question; and that is, where are -the issues of eternity settled. There are those who believe that the -punishment of the persistently impenitent is everlasting, that it has -no end, but they also believe that the issues of eternity are not -settled in the life that now is, but that with many they are settled -after death and that when men die impenitent they will have another -chance. Believing in endless punishment does not necessarily involve -believing that there is no chance after death. There are many who -believe that there will be a chance after death, and that many will -accept it, who also believe that some will not accept it and will -therefore be punished for ever and ever. Now what is the teaching of -the Word of God on this point? Let me call your attention to four -passages, any one of which settles the question, and taken together -they leave no possible room for doubt for any candid man who is willing -to take the Bible as meaning what it says, any man who is really trying -to find out what the Bible teaches and not merely trying to support a -theory. - -1. The first passage in 2 Cor. 5:10: +"For we must all be made -manifest before the judgment seat of Christ; that each one may receive -the things done in the body, according to what he hath done, whether -it be good or bad."+ In this passage we are plainly told that the -basis of judgment in the world to come is "the things done _in the -body_," i.e., the things done this side the grave, the things done -before we shuffle off this mortal coil, the things done before the -spirit leaves the body. Of course, this particular passage has to do -primarily with the judgment of the believer, but it shows what the -basis of future judgment is, viz., the things done this side of the -grave. - -2. The second passage is Heb. 9:27: +"It is appointed unto men once -to die, and after this cometh judgment."+ Here we are distinctly -told that "_after death_" there is to be, not an opportunity to prepare -for judgment, but "judgment," and that, therefore, our destiny is -settled _at death_, and that there is no chance of salvation "after -death." - -3. The third passage is John 5:28, 29: +"Marvel not at this: for the -hour cometh, in which all that are in the tombs shall hear His voice, -and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection -of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of -judgment."+ Here also it is clearly implied that the resurrection of -good and bad is for the purpose of judgment _regarding the things done -before their bodies were laid in their graves_. - -4. A fourth passage, if possible more decisive than any of these, gives -our Lord's words, John 8:21: +"He said therefore again unto them; I -go away, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sin, whither I -go, ye cannot come."+ Here our Lord distinctly declares that the -question whether men shall come to be with Him or not depends upon what -they do _before they die_, that if they die impenitent, if they "_die -in their sins_," that whither He goes they cannot come. To sum up the -teaching of all these passages, the issues of eternity, the issues of -eternal life or eternal destruction, the issues of eternal blessedness -and glory, or eternal agony and shame, are settled in the life that now -is. - - -IV. CONCLUSION - -The future state of those who reject in the life that now is the -redemption offered to them in Christ Jesus is plainly declared in the -Word of God to be a state of conscious, unutterable, endless torment -and anguish. This conception is an appalling one, but it is the -Scriptural conception. It is the unmistakable, inescapable teaching of -God's own word. - -I wish that all men would repent and accept Christ. If any one could -show me one single passage in the Bible that clearly taught that all -men would ultimately repent, accept Christ and be saved, it would be -the happiest day of my life, but it cannot be found. I once thought -it could, and I so believed and taught. These ideas so widely noised -about to-day as something new, these theories of "Pastor" Russell, -formerly of Pittsburg, Mr. Gelesnoff of this city, and Dr. Mabie of -Long Beach, and Mr. Pridgeon of Pittsburg, and many others, are not at -all new to me. I held and taught substantially the same views regarding -ultimate universal salvation years before these men were heard of, -indeed nearly forty years ago. I was familiar with the arguments that -they now urge, and other arguments which they do not seem to know, but -which were to me more decisive than those that they urge. But the time -came, as I studied the Bible more carefully, when I could not reconcile -my teaching with what I found to be the unmistakable teaching of God's -Word. I had to do one of three things: I had to either give up my -belief that the Bible was the Word of God, or else I must twist the -words of Jesus (and others in the New Testament) to mean something else -than what they clearly appeared to teach, or else I must give up my -doctrine of ultimate universal restoration and salvation. I could not -give up my faith that the Bible was the Word of God, for I had found -absolutely overwhelming proof that it was God's Word. I could not twist -the words of Jesus and of others to mean something else than what was -clearly their intended meaning, for I was an honest man. There was only -one thing left to do and that was to give up my doctrine of universal -restoration and salvation. I gave it up with great reluctance, but -I was compelled to give it up or be untrue to my own reason and -conscience. It is the inescapable teaching of the Word of God that all -who go out of this world without having accepted Jesus Christ, will -spend eternity in hell, in a hell of unutterable, conscious anguish. - -This Bible conception is also a reasonable one when we come to see the -appalling nature of sin, and especially the appalling nature of the sin -of trampling under foot God's mercy toward sinners, and rejecting God's -glorious Son, Whom in His love He has provided as a Saviour. - -Shallow views of sin and of God's holiness and of the glory of -Jesus Christ lie at the bottom of weak theories of the doom of the -impenitent. When we see Sin in all its hideousness and enormity, the -Holiness of God in all its perfection, and the Glory of Jesus Christ in -all its infinity, nothing but a doctrine that those who persist in the -choice of sin, who love darkness rather than light, and who persist in -the rejection of the Son of God, shall endure everlasting anguish, will -satisfy the demands of our own moral intuitions. Nothing but the fact -that we dread suffering more than we loathe sin, and more than we love -the glory of Jesus Christ, makes us repudiate the thought that beings -who eternally choose sin should eternally suffer, or that men who -despise God's mercy and spurn His Son should be given over to endless -anguish. - -If, after men have sinned and God still offers them mercy, and makes -the tremendous sacrifice of His Son to save them—if they still -despise that mercy and trample God's Son under foot, if then they are -consigned to everlasting torment, I cannot but say, "Amen! Hallelujah! -True and righteous are thy judgments, O Lord!" - -At all events the doctrine of conscious, eternal torment for impenitent -men is clearly revealed in the Word of God, and whether we can defend -it on philosophical grounds or not, it is our business to believe -it; and leave it to the clearer light of eternity to explain what we -cannot now understand, realising that God may have many infinitely -wise reasons for doing things for which we in our ignorance can see -no sufficient reason at all. It is the most ludicrous conceit for -beings so limited and foolish as the wisest of men are, to attempt to -dogmatise how a God of infinite wisdom must act. All we know as to how -God is to act is what God has seen fit to tell us. - -In conclusion, two things are certain. First, the more closely men -walk with God and the more devoted they become in His service, the -more likely they are to believe this doctrine. Many there are who tell -us they love their fellow men too much to believe this doctrine; but -the men who show their love in more practical ways than by sentimental -protestations about it, the men who show their love for their fellow -men as Jesus Christ showed His, by laying down their lives for them, -they believe this doctrine, even as Jesus Christ Himself believed it. - -As Christians become worldly and easy-going they grow loose in their -doctrine concerning the doom of the impenitent. The fact that loose -doctrines are spreading so rapidly and widely in our day is nothing -for them, but against them, for worldliness is also spreading in the -church (1 Tim. 4:1; 2 Tim. 3:1; 4:2, 3). Increasing laxity of life and -increasing laxity of doctrine go arm in arm. - -Second, men who accept a loose doctrine regarding the ultimate penalty -of sin, be it Universalism, Restorationism, or Annihilationism, or -that fantastic combination, or conglomeration, of them all, Millennial -Dawnism, lose their power for God. I have seen this proven over and -over again. These men may be and are very clever at argument, and very -zealous in proselyting, but they are seldom found beseeching men to -be reconciled to God. They are far more likely to be found trying to -upset the faith of those already won by the efforts of those who do -believe in everlasting punishment than trying to win men who have no -faith at all. If you really believe the doctrine of the endless torment -of the impenitent, if the doctrine really gets hold of you, you will -work as you never worked before for the salvation of the lost. If you -in any wise abate the doctrine, it will abate your zeal. Time and time -again I have come up to this awful doctrine and tried to find some way -of escape from it, but when I have failed, as I always have failed at -last, when I have determined to be honest with the Bible and myself, -I have returned to my work with an increased burden for souls and an -intensified determination to spend and be spent for their salvation. - -Eternal, conscious suffering, suffering without the least ray of -hope of relief, awaits every one of you here to-night who goes on -persistently rejecting Jesus Christ, as you are rejecting Him to-night, -and who shall pass out of this world having rejected Him. In that world -of never ending gloom there will be no possibility of repentance. As -you look out into the future there will not be one single ray of hope. -"Forever and ever" will be the unceasing wail of that restless sea of -fire. After you have been there ten million years and look out toward -the future you will see eternity still stretching on and on and on and -on, with no hope. Oh, men and women out of Christ, why will you risk -such a doom for a single year, or a month, or a week, or a day? Hell -is too awful to risk for five minutes the chance of going there. There -is but one rational thing for you to do, that is to accept Christ and -accept Him _right now_ as your Saviour, surrender to Him as your Lord -and Master, confess Him as such before the world, and strive from this -time on to please Him in everything day by day. Any other course is -utter madness. - - - - -TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES - - -When a book of the Bible has multiple volumes, the volume is sometimes -referenced with a number and sometimes with a Roman numeral. These -references remain as in the original. - -The abbreviations "i.e." and "e.g." were both spaced and unspaced in -the original. Spelling has been made consistent throughout the text. - -Variations in spelling and hyphenation remain as in the original. - -Ellipses match the original. - -The following corrections have been made to the original text: - - Page iv: By R. A.[period missing in original] Torrey - - Page 15: (1 Cor. 12:406 R. V.[original has "RV"]) - - Page 48: make to explain it away.[period missing in original] - - Page 48: nations are not able to abide his - indignation.[original has extraneous quotation mark] - - Page 51: conception of Pantheism and Buddhism[original has - "Bhuddhism"] - - Page 69: Gal. 3:28[original has "328"] - - Page 70: In Gen. 3:22[original has a period instead of a colon] - we read - - Page 81: the thousands of Judah, yet[original has "Judah? Yet"] - - Page 82: shows that[original has "that that"] the Lord addressed - - Page 90: demand on Jesus'[apostrophe missing in original] part - - Page 123: He is grieved beyond[original has "beyong"] expression - - Page 127: "[quotation mark missing in original]I have yet many - things to say - - Page 133: you ever have insomnia[original has "insomia"] - - Page 142: Spirit is "[original has single quote]done despite - unto," - - Page 180: at the point of death?[question mark missing in - original] - - Page 188: means more than mere forgiveness.[period missing in - original] - - Page 192: literally, "in," _Christ's blood_,[original has - extraneous quotation mark] - - Page 198: Can _that_ faith save him?"[quotation mark missing in - original] - - Page 208: "[quotation mark missing in original]He is renewed in - knowledge - - Page 214: _sin is not doing_,[original has a period] because - His (God's) seed - - Page 219: _Regeneration is God's work; wrought by Him by the - power of His Holy Spirit working in the mind, feelings and will - of[italics ended here in the original] the one born again_ - - Page 236: sin unto God. (cf.[original has "c."] John 13:10.) - - Page 239: every place, their Lord and ours."[quotation mark - missing in original] - - Page 251: "[quotation mark missing in original]But some will say - - Page 264: our first text, John[original has "Jno."] 8:44 - - Page 267: our second text, 1 John[original has "Jno."] 3:8 - - Page 277: "New[original has extraneous quotation mark] - Thought," "Theosophy," "Occultism" - - Page 295: judgment of the great white throne[original has - "thorn"] - - Page 296: I Cor. 15:22[original has a period instead of a colon] - - Page 314: 1 Peter 3:18-20[original has "3:18:20"] - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Fundamental Doctrines of the -Christian faith, by R. A. 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- margin-right: 10%; - margin-top: 5%; - margin-bottom: 5%; - padding: 1em; - border: solid black .1em; - } - - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Fundamental Doctrines of the Christian -faith, by R. A. Torrey - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Fundamental Doctrines of the Christian faith - -Author: R. A. Torrey - -Release Date: July 25, 2016 [EBook #52648] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FUNDAMENTAL DOCTRINES--CHRISTIAN FAITH *** - - - - -Produced by Heiko Evermann, Lisa Reigel, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -book was produced from scanned images of public domain -material from the Google Books project.) - - - - - - -</pre> - - - - - -<p class="firsttitle">THE FUNDAMENTAL DOCTRINES<br /> -OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<div class="title"> -<h1>THE<br /> -FUNDAMENTAL DOCTRINES<br /> -OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH</h1> -</div> - -<p class="tpother">BY</p> - -<p class="tpauthor">R. A. TORREY<br /> - -<small>Author of<br /> -"How to Bring Men to Christ,"<br /> -"What the Bible Teaches," etc., etc.</small></p> - - -<p class="tppublisher">NEW YORK<br /> -GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY</p> -</div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p class="copyright"><i>Copyright, 1918,<br /> -By R. A. Torrey</i></p> - - -<p class="printed"><i>Printed in the United States of America</i></p> -</div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page v --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[v]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE"></a>PREFACE</h2> -</div> - - -<p>The author of these sermons has had a feeling for a long time that the -great need in our churches in this day is systematic indoctrination. -He put his theory into practice last winter in his own church, and -these sermons are the result. We were having a great many accessions -to our church. In the two years of the church's history we had had -something like six hundred accessions to the church, and every month -considerable numbers of new members were being added. While many -of these came by letter from other churches, many of them were new -converts and had had practically no systematic instruction in the -fundamental truths of the Christian faith, so we announced a series -of sermons on The Fundamental Doctrines of the Christian Faith. There -was immediately a large increase in the attendance at the services -where these addresses were given, and this increase has kept up until -on the last Lord's Day we had much the largest attendance we have ever -had, excepting on Easter Sunday. Many have testified to the blessing -received from these sermons, and there has been a great demand that -the sermons be printed for general circulation. This request has come -from ministers of various denominations, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, -Methodists, Baptists, and others. It is hoped that this volume will -be useful to other pastors in suggesting lines of teaching in their -regular pastoral work, and also that it may be used widely by pastors -<!-- Page vi --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[vi]</a></span>and others for circulation among Christians. We live in a day in which -many of our church members are all at sea as to what they believe on -the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith. These sermons have -already helped many through their delivery. It is hoped they will reach -and help far more in the printed form.</p> - -<p class="authorsc">R. A. Torrey.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page vii --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[vii]</a></span></p> -<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS</h2> -</div> - - -<table summary="Table of Contents" border="0"> - <tr> - <th>CHAPTER</th> - <th> </th> - <th>PAGE</th> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdright">I</td> - <td class="tdlefthang"><span class="smcap">Inspiration, or To What Extent is the Bible Inspired of God?</span></td> - <td class="tdpage"><a href="#Page_11">11</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdright">II</td> - <td class="tdlefthang"><span class="smcap">The Christian Conception of God, or the God of the Bible - as Distinguished from the God of Christian Science and the - God of Modern Philosophy</span></td> - <td class="tdpage"><a href="#Page_38">38</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdright">III</td> - <td class="tdlefthang"><span class="smcap">The Christian Conception of God—The Infinite Perfection - and Unity of God</span></td> - <td class="tdpage"><a href="#Page_56">56</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdright">IV</td> - <td class="tdlefthang"><span class="smcap">The Deity of Jesus Christ</span></td> - <td class="tdpage"><a href="#Page_73">73</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdright">V</td> - <td class="tdlefthang"><span class="smcap">Jesus Christ a Real Man</span></td> - <td class="tdpage"><a href="#Page_93">93</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdright">VI</td> - <td class="tdlefthang"><span class="smcap">The Personality of the Holy Spirit</span></td> - <td class="tdpage"><a href="#Page_112">112</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdright">VII</td> - <td class="tdlefthang"><span class="smcap">The Deity of the Holy Spirit and the Distinction Between - the Father, Son and Holy Spirit</span></td> - <td class="tdpage"><a href="#Page_144">144</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdright">VIII</td> - <td class="tdlefthang"><span class="smcap">The Atonement: God's Doctrine of the Atonement vs. - Unitarian and Christian Science Doctrines of the - Atonement</span></td> - <td class="tdpage"><a href="#Page_162">162</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdright">IX</td> - <td class="tdlefthang"><span class="smcap">The Distinctive Doctrine of Protestantism: Justification - by Faith</span></td> - <td class="tdpage"><a href="#Page_186">186</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdright">X</td> - <td class="tdlefthang"><span class="smcap">The New Birth</span></td> - <td class="tdpage"><a href="#Page_206">206</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdright">XI</td> - <td class="tdlefthang"><span class="smcap">Sanctification</span></td> - <td class="tdpage"><a href="#Page_225">225</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdright">XII</td> - <td class="tdlefthang"><span class="smcap">The Resurrection of the Body of Jesus and of Our - Bodies</span></td> - <td class="tdpage"><a href="#Page_245">245</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdright">XIII</td> - <td class="tdlefthang"><span class="smcap">The Devil</span></td> - <td class="tdpage"><a href="#Page_263">263</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdright">XIV</td> - <td class="tdlefthang"><span class="smcap">Is There a Literal Hell?</span></td> - <td class="tdpage"><a href="#Page_284">284</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdright">XV</td> - <td class="tdlefthang"><span class="smcap">Is Future Punishment Everlasting?</span></td> - <td class="tdpage"><a href="#Page_303">303</a></td> - </tr> -</table> -<p><!-- Page viii --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[viii]</a></span></p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page ix --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[ix]</a></span></p> -<p class="firsttitle">THE FUNDAMENTAL DOCTRINES<br /> -OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH</p> -</div> - -<p><!-- Page x --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[x]</a></span></p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page 11 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span></p> -<p class="anothertitle">THE<br /> -FUNDAMENTAL DOCTRINES<br /> -OF THE<br /> -CHRISTIAN FAITH</p> - - - - -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<h2 class="nobreak"><a name="I" id="I"></a>I<br /> - -<small><span class="smcap">Inspiration, or to What Extent Is the Bible Inspired of God</span>?</small></h2> -</div> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>"For no prophecy ever came by the will of man, but men spake -from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit."—<abbr title="Second Peter">2 Pet.</abbr> 1:21.</p> -</div> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>"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, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."—<abbr title="Second Timothy">2 Tim.</abbr> -3:16, 17.</p> -</div> - - -<p>Our subject this morning is "The Inspiration of the Bible, or to What -Extent Is the Bible Inspired of God?" The subject is of vital and -fundamental importance. If we can make it clear that the writers of -the various books of the Bible were inspired of God in a sense that -no other men were ever inspired of God, that they were so gifted and -taught and led and governed by the Holy Spirit in their utterances as -recorded in the Bible, that they taught the truth and nothing <!-- Page 12 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span>but -the truth, that their teachings were absolutely without error,—then -we have in the Bible a court of final appeal and of infallible wisdom -to which we can go to settle every question of doctrine or duty. But -if the writers of the Bible were "inspired" only in the vague and -uncertain sense that Shakespeare, Browning and many other men of genius -were inspired, only inspired to the extent that their minds were made -more keen to see the truth than ordinary men, but still only in such a -way that they made mistakes, or chose the wrong word to express their -thought, so that we must recast their thought by discovering, if we -may, what the inspired thought back of the uninspired words was, then -we are all at sea, in hopeless confusion, so that each generation -must settle for itself what the Holy Spirit meant to say through the -blundering reporters; and it is absolutely certain that no generation -can determine with anything approximating accuracy what the Spirit -meant, and so no generation can arrive at the truth, but simply -promulgate blunders for the next and wiser generation to correct, to -be corrected in turn by the next generation that follows it. Thank -God that this latter subtle but popular doctrine can be proven to be -utterly untrue!</p> - -<p>There is great need of crystal clear teaching on this subject, -because our colleges and seminaries and pulpits and Sunday schools -and religious papers are full of teaching that is vague, <!-- Page 13 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span>inaccurate, -misleading, un-Scriptural, and oftentimes grossly false. There are -many in these days who say "I believe that the Bible is inspired" when -by "inspired" they do not mean at all what you understand or what the -mighty men of faith in the past meant by "inspired." They often say -that they "believe the Bible is the Word of God," when at the same time -they believe it is full of errors.</p> - -<p>Now the Bible is as clear as crystal in its teachings and claims -regarding itself, and either those claims are true, or else the Bible -is the biggest fraud in all the literature of the human race. The -position held by so many to-day, that the Bible is a good book, perhaps -the best book in the world, but at the same time it is full of errors -that must be corrected by the higher wisdom of our day, is utterly -illogical and absolutely ridiculous. If the Bible is not what it claims -to be, it is a fraud—an outrageous fraud.</p> - -<p>What does the Bible teach and claim concerning itself? What does it -teach and claim regarding the fact and extent of its own inspiration?</p> - - -<h3>I. THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN APOSTLES AND PROPHETS -DIFFERENT IN CHARACTER FROM HIS WORK IN ALL OTHER PERSONS</h3> - -<p>The first thing that the Bible teaches on this point and claims for -itself is, <em>that the work of the Holy Spirit in apostles and prophets, -in the various <!-- Page 14 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span>human authors of the different books of the Bible, -differs from His work in other men, even in other believers in Christ</em>. -It teaches that the Holy Spirit imparts to apostles and prophets an -especial gift for an especial purpose. We find this clearly taught in <abbr title="First Corinthians">1 -Cor.</abbr> 12:4, 8-11, 28, 29, where we read, "<b>Now there are diversities -of gifts, but the same Spirit. . . . (8) for to one is given through -the Spirit the word of wisdom; and to another the word of knowledge, -according to the same Spirit; (9) to another faith, in the same Spirit; -and to another gifts of healing, in the same Spirit; (10) and to -another workings of miracles (powers); and to another prophecy; and -to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues, -and to another the interpretation of tongues; (11) but all these -worketh the one and the same Spirit, dividing to each one severally -even as He will. . . . (28) And God hath set some in the church, first -apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers, then miracles, then -gifts of healings, helps, governments, divers kinds of tongues. (29) -Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers -of miracles?</b>" This chapter is the fullest and clearest chapter in -the Bible on the subject of the various gifts of the Holy Spirit. It -is the classical chapter on the whole subject, and the teaching of -these verses is as plain as language can make it, and it states in -terms, the meaning of which is unmistakable, that the gift bestowed -on apostles and prophets <!-- Page 15 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span><em>differed in kind</em> from the gifts bestowed -on other believers, even though those believers were filled with the -Holy Spirit. Not only did the work of the Holy Spirit in the apostles -and prophets differ from His work in men of genius, but even from His -work in other believers. These verses make it as plain as day that -the doctrine which has become so common and so popular in our day, -that the work of the Holy Spirit in preachers and teachers and in -ordinary believers, illuminating them and guiding them into the truth -and into the understanding of the Word of God, is the same in kind and -differs only in degree from the work of the Holy Spirit in Apostles -and Prophets is thoroughly unscriptural and untrue. This doctrine -overlooks what is here so clearly stated and so carefully elucidated, -that while there is <b>"the same Spirit" "there are diversities of -gifts" "diversities of ministrations," "diversities of workings" (<abbr title="First Corinthians">1 -Cor.</abbr> 12:406 <abbr title="Revised Version">R. V.</abbr>) and that not all are Prophets or Apostles. (<abbr title="First Corinthians">1 Cor.</abbr> -12:29.)</b></p> - -<p>Those who desire to minimise the difference between the work of the -Holy Spirit in Apostles and Prophets, and His work in other men, -often refer to the fact that the Bible itself says that Bezaleel, the -architect of the tabernacle, was to be <b>"filled with the Spirit of -God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all -manner of workmanship," "to devise the work of the tabernacle"</b> -(<abbr title="Exodus">Ex.</abbr> 31:1-11), as a proof that the inspiration of the Prophet does not -differ in kind <!-- Page 16 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span>from the inspiration of the artist or the architect. -This argument at first glance seems plausible, but when we bear in mind -the facts about the tabernacle, especially the fact that the tabernacle -was to be built after the pattern shown to Moses in the mount (<abbr title="Exodus">Ex.</abbr> -25:8, 9, 40) and that therefore it was itself a revelation from God, a -prophecy, a setting forth of the truth of God, the argument loses all -its force. The tabernacle was the Word of God done into wood, gold, -silver, brass, cloth, skin, etc., just as truly the Word of God and the -revealing of God's truth as if the truth were printed on a page. So, -of course, Bezaleel needed to be inspired, he was a prophet, a prophet -who uttered his prophecies in the details of the tabernacle. There is -much reasoning about inspiration to-day that appear at first sight very -learned, but that will not bear much scrutiny or candid comparison with -the teachings of the Word of God. There is nothing in the Bible more -inspired than the tabernacle, and if the destructive critics would -study the tabernacle more carefully and thoroughly they would be led -to give up their ingenious but untenable theories, not only about the -construction of the tabernacle, but about many other things as well. I -have never heard or known of a single destructive critic who had ever -given a thorough study to the real meaning of the tabernacle in all -its parts, or who had any considerable understanding of the types of -Scripture. I have challenged the critics in the University centres of -<!-- Page 17 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span>England, Ireland and Scotland to name one single destructive critic -who had ever made any thorough study of the types, and no one has ever -attempted to even suggest one.</p> - - -<h3>II. TRUTH HIDDEN FROM MEN FOR AGES, AND WHICH THEY HAD NOT -DISCOVERED AND COULD NOT DISCOVER, BY THE UNAIDED PROCESSES OF -HUMAN REASONING, HAS BEEN REVEALED TO APOSTLES AND PROPHETS IN -THE SPIRIT</h3> - -<p>The second thing taught in the Bible regarding the inspiration of -the Apostles and Prophets, the inspiration of the various authors of -the books of the Bible, is that <em>truth hidden from men for ages, and -which they had not discovered, and could not discover, by the unaided -processes of human reasoning, even human reasoning at its very best -and highest, has been revealed to Apostles and Prophets in the Holy -Spirit</em>. We find this very clearly taught in <abbr title="Ephesians">Eph.</abbr> 3:2-5: <b>"If so be -that ye have heard of the dispensation of that grace of God which was -given me to you-ward; (3) how that by revelation was made known unto -me the mystery, as I wrote before in few words, (4) whereby when ye -read, ye can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ; (5) -which in other generations was not made known unto the sons of men, -as it hath now been revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets in -the Spirit."</b> The meaning of these words is unmistakable. Paul here -declares in words the <!-- Page 18 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span>meaning of which is perfectly plain, that God -"in the Spirit" had revealed "unto His holy apostles and prophets" -"the mystery of Christ" which in former generations had not been made -known unto the sons of men, which they had not discovered and could not -discover except by revelation from God; Paul and the other apostles -and prophets knew it by direct revelation from God himself through the -Holy Ghost. The teaching is inescapable that the Bible contains truth -that men never had discovered and never could have discovered if left -to themselves, but truth which the Father in great grace has revealed -to His children through His servants the prophets and apostles. We see -in this the folly, a folly so common in our day, of seeking to test -the statements of Scripture by the conclusions of human reasoning, or -by the intuitions of the "Christian consciousness." The revelation -of God transcends human reasoning, and therefore human reasoning -cannot be its test. Furthermore, a consciousness that is truly and -fully Christian is <em>the product</em> of the study and absorption of Bible -truth. It is not <em>the test</em> of the truth of the Bible,—it is <em>the -product</em> of meditation on the Bible. If our "consciousness" differs -from the statements of the Bible, it is not as yet a fully "<em>Christian</em> -consciousness," and the thing for us to do is not to try to pull God's -revelation down to the level of our consciousness but to tone our -consciousness up to the level of God's Word.</p> - - -<p><!-- Page 19 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span></p> -<h3>III. THE REVELATION MADE TO THE PROPHETS BY THE HOLY SPIRIT WAS -INDEPENDENT OF THEIR OWN THINKING</h3> - -<p>The third thing that the Bible makes perfectly clear as to the -inspiration of the Prophets and Apostles is, that <em>the revelation made -by God through His Holy Spirit to the Prophets was independent of the -Prophets' own thinking, that it was made to them by the Spirit of -Christ which was in them, and that they themselves oftentimes did not -thoroughly understand the full meaning of what the Spirit was saying -through them, and that what they said was a subject of diligent search -and inquiry to their own mind as to its meaning</em>. This comes out very -plainly in <abbr title="First Peter">1 Pet.</abbr> 1:10-12, <b>"Concerning which salvation the prophets -sought and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should -come to you; searching what time, or what manner of time the Spirit of -Christ which was in them did point unto, when it testified beforehand -the sufferings of Christ and the glories that should follow them. Unto -whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto you, did they -minister these things which now have been announced unto you through -them that preached the Gospel unto you by the Holy Spirit sent forth -from Heaven; which things angels desire to look into."</b> Here again -the meaning is as clear as day and inescapable. We are told that the -prophets had a revelation made to them by <!-- Page 20 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span>the Holy Spirit, the meaning -of which they did not thoroughly comprehend, and that they themselves -"sought and searched diligently" as to the meaning of this revelation -which was made to them and which they recorded. The Spirit, through -them testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ (e.g. in <abbr title="Isaiah">Isa.</abbr> 53:3, -Ps. 22) and the glories that should follow them. They recorded what the -Spirit testified, but what it meant they did not thoroughly understand. -It was not merely that their minds were made keen to see things -which they would not otherwise see, and which they therefore more or -less accurately recorded. No, there was a very definite revelation, -arising <em>not from their own minds at all</em>, but from the Spirit of God -Who made the revelation to them and this they recorded, but it was -not of themselves to that extent that they themselves wondered as to -what its meaning might be. What they recorded was not at all their -own thought, it was the thought of the Holy Spirit who spoke through -them. How utterly different this conception is from that which is so -persistently taught in many of our colleges and theological seminaries -and pulpits,—how utterly different it is from the conception that was -taught a week ago to-day in one of the pulpits of our own city.</p> - - -<p><!-- Page 21 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span></p> -<h3>IV. NO PROPHETIC UTTERANCE WAS OF THE PROPHET'S OWN WILL, BUT -THE PROPHET SPOKE FROM GOD AND THE PROPHET WAS CARRIED ALONG BY -THE HOLY SPIRIT AND NOT BY HIS OWN IMPULSE OR REASONING IN WHAT -HE SAID</h3> - -<p>The fourth thing that the Bible makes perfectly clear is, that <em>not -one single prophetic utterance was of the prophet's own will (i.e., -it was not in any sense merely what he wished to say), but in every -instance the Prophet spoke from God, and the Prophet was carried along -in the prophetic utterance by the Holy Spirit, regardless of his own -will or thought</em>. We find this stated practically in so many words in -<abbr title="Second Peter">2 Pet.</abbr> 1:21 where we read: <b>"For no prophecy</b> (literally, <em>not a -prophecy</em>) <b>ever came</b> (literally, was brought) <b>by the will -of man; but men spake from God being moved</b> (literally, carried -along, or borne) <b>by the Holy Spirit."</b> There can be no honest -mistaking of the meaning of this language. The Prophet never thought -that there was something that needed to be said and therefore said it, -but God took possession of the prophet, <em>carried him along</em> in his -utterance, by the power of the Holy Spirit, and he spake, not from his -own consciousness, and not from his own reasoning, nor from his own -intuition, but "<em>from God</em>." As God's messenger he spoke what God told -him to say.</p> - - -<p><!-- Page 22 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span></p> -<h3>V. THE HOLY SPIRIT WAS THE REAL SPEAKER WHO SPOKE IN THE -PROPHETIC UTTERANCES</h3> - -<p>The fifth thing that the Bible teaches regarding the Inspiration of -the Prophets and the Apostles and their utterances, is that <em>the Holy -Spirit was the real speaker in the prophetic utterances, that what was -said or written was the Holy Spirit's Word that was upon the Apostle's -tongue, and not the word of the Prophet or Apostle</em>. This is said in -the Bible in so many words, over and over again. For example, in <abbr title="Hebrews">Heb.</abbr> -3:7 we read: <b>"Wherefore, even as the Holy Spirit saith, To-day if ye -shall hear His voice, harden not your hearts, etc."</b> The author of -the epistle to the Hebrews is quoting <abbr title="Psalms">Ps.</abbr> 95:7, 8 and says that what -the Psalmist is recorded as saying "<em>the Holy Spirit saith</em>." Again in -<abbr title="Hebrews">Heb.</abbr> 10:15, 16, we read: <b>"And the Holy Spirit also beareth witness -to us; for after He had said, This is the covenant that I will make -with them after those days, saith the Lord: I will put my laws on their -heart, and upon their mind also will I write them."</b> Now the author -of the Epistle to the Hebrews is quoting <abbr title="Jeremiah">Jer.</abbr> 31:33, and he does not -hesitate to say that the testimony that Jeremiah there bore is <em>the -testimony of the Holy Ghost</em>, that the Holy Ghost was the real speaker.</p> - -<p>Again we read in Acts 28:25, 26 that Paul said, <b>"Well spake the Holy -Spirit through Isaiah the prophet, unto your fathers, (26) saying, Go -thou unto this people and say, By hearing ye shall hear <!-- Page 23 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span>and shall -in no wise understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall in no wise -perceive, etc."</b> Here Paul is quoting Isaiah's words as recorded in -the <abbr title="sixth">6th</abbr> chapter of Isaiah, the <abbr title="ninth">9th</abbr> and <abbr title="tenth">10th</abbr> verses, and he distinctly -says that the real speaker was not Isaiah, but "the Holy Spirit" who -spoke "through Isaiah the prophet."</p> - -<p>Turning now to the old Testament we read in <abbr title="Second Samuel">2 Sam.</abbr> 23:2 this assertion -by David regarding the things that he said and wrote: <b>"The Spirit of -Jehovah spake by me, and his word was upon my tongue."</b> There can -be no mistaking the meaning of these words on the part of any one who -goes to the Bible to find out what it really claims and teaches. The -Holy Spirit was the real speaker in the prophetic utterance. It was the -Holy Spirit's utterance that was upon the prophet's tongue. The prophet -was simply the mouth by which the Holy Spirit spoke. Merely as a man, -except as the Holy Spirit taught him and used him, the prophet was -fallible as other men are fallible, but when the Spirit was upon him, -when he was taken up and borne along by the Holy Spirit, then he became -infallible in his teachings; for his teachings were not his, but the -teachings of the Holy Spirit. It was God who was then speaking, not the -Prophet. For example, Paul merely as a man, even as a Christian man, -doubtless had many mistaken notions on many things, and was more or -less subject to the ideas and opinions of his time, but when he taught -as an <!-- Page 24 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span>Apostle, under the power of the Holy Spirit he was infallible, -or rather the Spirit who taught through him was infallible, and the -teachings that resulted from the Spirit's teaching through him, were -infallible, as infallible as God. Common sense demands of us that we -carefully distinguish between what Paul <em>may have</em> thought as a man, -and what he <em>actually taught</em> as an apostle. In the Bible we have the -record of what he taught as an Apostle. Some one may cite as a possible -exception to this statement <abbr title="First Corinthians">1 Cor.</abbr> 7:6, 25, where he says: <b>"But -this I say by way of concession, not of commandment. . . . Now concerning -virgins, I have no commandment of the Lord, but I give my judgment, as -one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be trustworthy."</b> There -are those who think that Paul does not seem to have been sure here that -he had the word of the Lord in this particular matter, but that is not -the meaning of the passage. The meaning of <abbr title="verse">v.</abbr> 6 is that his teaching -which he had just given was <em>by way of concession</em> to their weakness, -and not a commandment as to what they must do. And the teaching of <abbr title="verse">v.</abbr> -25 is that the Lord, during His earthly life, had given no commandment -on this subject, but that Paul was giving his judgment; but he says -distinctly that he was giving it <em>as one who had obtained mercy of the -Lord to be trustworthy</em> and <em>furthermore, in the <abbr title="fortieth">40th</abbr> verse of the -chapter he distinctly says that in his judgment he had the Spirit of -God</em>. But even allowing that the <!-- Page 25 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span>other interpretation of this passage -is the correct one, and that Paul was not absolutely sure in this case -that he had the Word of the Lord and the mind of the Lord, that would -only show that where Paul was not absolutely sure that he was teaching -in the Holy Ghost he was careful to note the fact, and this would only -give additional certainty to all other passages that he wrote.</p> - -<p>It is sometimes said that Paul taught in his earlier epistles that -the Lord would return during his lifetime, and that in this matter he -certainly was mistaken. But Paul never taught in his earlier epistles, -or any other epistles, he never taught anywhere, that the Lord would -return during his lifetime. This assertion is contrary to fact. He does -say in <abbr title="First Thessalonians">1 Thess.</abbr> which was his first epistle, the <abbr title="fourth">4th</abbr> chapter and <abbr title="seventeenth">17th</abbr> -verse: <b>"Then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with -them</b> (i.e., the believers who had already fallen asleep) <b>be -caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we -ever be with the Lord."</b> He does here put himself in the same class -with those who were still alive when he wrote the words. He naturally -and necessarily did not include himself with those who had already -fallen asleep. In speaking of the Lord's return he does not say nor -hint that he will be still alive when the Lord returns. It is quite -probable that Paul did believe at this time that he might be alive -when the Lord returned <em>but he never taught that he would be alive</em>. -The attitude of expectancy is the <!-- Page 26 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span>true attitude in all ages for every -believer. This was the attitude that Paul took until it was distinctly -revealed to him that he would depart before the Lord came. I think -it very probable that Paul in the earlier part of his ministry was -inclined to believe that he would live until the coming of the Lord, -but the Holy Ghost kept him from so teaching, and also kept him from -all other errors in his teachings.</p> - - -<h3>VI. THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE APOSTLES GAVE NOT ONLY THE THOUGHT, -BUT THE WORDS IN WHICH THE THOUGHT WAS TO BE EXPRESSED</h3> - -<p>The <abbr title="sixth">6th</abbr> thing that the Bible makes clear as to the inspiration of the -apostle and prophets is that, <em>the Holy Spirit in the Prophets and -Apostles gave not only the thought but also gave the words in which -the thought was to be expressed</em>. We find this very clearly stated -in <abbr title="First Corinthians">1 Cor.</abbr> 2:13: <b>"Which things also we speak, not in words which -man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Spirit teacheth; combining -spiritual things with spiritual words."</b> One of the most popular -of the false theories of Inspiration in our day is that the Holy -Spirit was the author of the thought, but that the Apostles were -left to their own choice of words in the expression of the thought, -and that therefore in studying the Bible we cannot emphasise the -exact meaning of the words, but must try to find the thought of God -that was back of the words, <!-- Page 27 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span>and which the writer has more or less -inaccurately expressed. There are many teachers in our theological -seminaries to-day, and in our pulpits, who speak very sneeringly and -superciliously of those who believe in Verbal Inspiration,—i.e., those -who believe that the Holy Spirit chose the very words in which the -thought he was teaching was to be expressed, but however sneeringly -they may speak of those who believe in Verbal Inspiration, certainly -the Bible claims that it was verbally inspired. The passage which I -have just read makes it as plain as language can possibly make it -that the "<em>words</em>" in which the Apostle spoke were not "<em>words</em> which -man's wisdom teacheth, but <em>which the Spirit teacheth</em>." Now if this -is not the fact, if only the <em>thought</em> that was given to Paul was the -thought of God, and he clothed the thought in his own words, then Paul -was a thoroughly deceived man on a fundamental point, in which case -no dependence at all can be placed in his teachings on any point, or -else he was a deliberate fraud, in which case the quicker we burn up -his books the better for us and all concerned. There is no possibility -of finding any middle ground, and the attempts to find a middle ground -have landed those who have tried it in all kinds of absurdities. If -you have an exact and logical mind, you must take your choice between -Verbal Inspiration and bald infidelity. <em>Paul distinctly states that -the words in which he conveyed to others the truth that was revealed -to him were <!-- Page 28 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span>the words which the Holy Spirit taught him.</em> The Holy -Spirit himself has anticipated all these modern ingenious, but wholly -unbiblical and utterly illogical and entirely false theories regarding -his own work in the Apostles. The theory that "the concept" was -inspired but the words in which the concept was expressed were not, was -anticipated by the Holy Spirit Himself and exploded 1800 years before -our supposedly wise <abbr title="nineteenth">19th</abbr> century theological teachers conceived it, -and attempted to foist it upon an unsuspecting public. It was exploded -eighteen centuries before it was exploited. Furthermore, the theory -is absurd in itself. As the only way in which thought can be conveyed -from one mind to another, from one man's mind to another man's mind, -or from the mind of God to the mind of man is by words, therefore -if the words are imperfect the thought expressed in those words is -necessarily imperfect. The theory is an absurdity on its very face, and -it is difficult to see how intelligent men could have ever deceived -themselves into believing such a thoroughly illogical theory. If the -words are not inspired the Bible is not inspired. Let us not deceive -ourselves; let us face facts.</p> - -<p>Furthermore, the more carefully and minutely one studies the <em>wording</em> -of the statements of this wonderful book—the Bible—the more he will -become convinced of the marvellous accuracy of <em>the very words</em> used to -express the thought. To a superficial thinker the doctrine of Verbal -<!-- Page 29 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span>Inspiration may appear questionable or even absurd, but any regenerate -and Spirit-taught man who <em>ponders the words</em> of the Scripture day -by day, and year after year, will become thoroughly and immovably -convinced that the wisdom of God is in <em>the very words</em> used as well -as in the thought which is expressed in the words. It is a significant -and deeply impressive fact that our difficulties with the Bible rapidly -disappear as we note <em>the precise language</em> used. The changing of a -word or letter, or of a tense, case or number, would oftentimes land us -in contradiction or untruth, but taking the <em>words exactly as written</em>, -difficulties disappear and truth shines forth. Countless times people -have come to me with apparent difficulties and supposed contradictions -in the Bible and asked a solution, and I have pointed them to the exact -words used and the solution was found in taking the words exactly -as written. It was because they changed in a slight degree the very -words that God spoke that a difficulty had seemed to arise. The Divine -origin of nature shines forth more and more clearly the more closely we -examine it under the microscope. As by the use of a powerful microscope -we see the perfection of form and the adaptation of means to end in -the minutest particles of matter, we are overwhelmingly convinced that -God, a God of infinite wisdom and power, a wisdom extending down to -the minutest parts of matter, is the author of the material universe: -so likewise the divine origin of <!-- Page 30 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span>the Bible shines forth more and more -clearly under the microscope. The more minutely we study the Bible the -more we note the perfection with which the turn of a word reveals the -absolute thought of God.</p> - -<p>An important question, and a question that has puzzled many writers at -this point, is: If the Holy Spirit is the author of the very words of -Scripture how do we account for the variations in style and diction? -How is it, for example, that Paul always used Pauline language, -and John used Johannean language, and Peter used language that was -characteristic of himself? The answer to this question is very simple -and is two-fold: First, even though we could not account at all for -this fact, it would have little weight against the explicit statement -of God's Word with any one who is humble enough and wise enough to -recognise that there are a great many things which he cannot account -for at all which could be easily accounted for if he knew a little -more. It is only the man who has such amazing and stupendous conceit -that he thinks he knows as much as God, in other words, that he is -infinite in wisdom, who will give up an explicit statement of God's -Word simply because he sees a difficulty in the way of the acceptance -of that statement, which he in his limited knowledge cannot solve. But -there is a second answer, and an all-sufficient one, and that is this: -these variations in style and diction are easily accounted for. The -Holy Spirit is infinitely <!-- Page 31 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span>wise. He Himself is the Creator of Man, and -of man's power of speech, and therefore he is quite wise enough and has -quite enough facility in the use of language in revealing truth to and -through any individual to use words, phrases and forms of expression -that are in that person's ordinary vocabulary and forms of thought, -and He is also quite wise enough to make use of that person's peculiar -individuality in revealing the truth through him. It is one of the -marks of the Divine wisdom of this book that the same Divine truth -is expressed with absolute accuracy in such widely variant forms of -expression.</p> - - -<h3>VII. ALL SCRIPTURE IS INSPIRED OF GOD</h3> - -<p>The seventh thing that the Bible makes plain regarding the work of -the Holy Spirit in the various writers of Scripture, is that <em>all -Scripture, that is everything contained in all the books of the Old -and New Testament, is inspired of God</em>. We are distinctly taught this -in <abbr title="Second Timothy">2 Tim.</abbr> 3:16, 17. Here we read, "<b>All Scripture</b> (more exactly, -every Scripture) <b>is given by inspiration of God</b> (more literally, -<em>God-breathed</em>), <b>and is profitable for doctrine</b>, (or teaching), -<b>for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness</b> -(rather, instruction which is in righteousness), <b>that the man of -God may be perfect</b> (rather, complete) <b>thoroughly furnished</b> -(better, furnished completely) <b>unto all good works</b> (rather, -every good work)." An <!-- Page 32 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span>attempt has been made to obscure the full force -of these words by a revised translation given in both the English -Revision and American Standard Version. In this revised translation, -the words are rendered as follows: "Every Scripture inspired of -God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, -for instruction which is in righteousness; that the man of God may -be complete, furnished completely unto every good work." There is -absolutely no warrant in the Greek text for changing "Every Scripture -is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, etc.," -into "Every Scripture inspired of God <em>is also</em> profitable for -teaching, etc." "Every" is in the Greek. There is no "<em>is</em>" in the -Greek. It must be supplied, as is often the case in translating from -Greek into English. "Is" must be supplied somewhere, either before -"given by inspiration" (or God-breathed), or else supplied after it, -in the latter case necessitating the change of "and" into "also" (a -change which is possible, but very uncommon); and there is not a single -instance in the New Testament outside of this in which two adjectives -coupled by the simplest copulative "and (kai)" are ripped apart and the -"is" placed between them and an "and" changed into "also." The other -construction, that of the Authorised Version, is not at all uncommon. -The translation of the Revisers does violence to all customary usage -of the Greek language. But we do not need to dwell upon that, for, -even accepting <!-- Page 33 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span>the changes given in the Revision, the thought is -not essentially changed; for if Paul had said what the revisers make -him say that "Every Scripture inspired of God is also profitable for -teaching, etc.," there can be no question but by "every scripture -inspired of God" he referred to every Scripture contained in the Old -Testament. Here, then, taking whichever translation you will, we -have the plain teaching that every Scripture of the Old Testament is -"God-breathed" or "inspired of God." Certainly if we can believe this -about the Old Testament there is no difficulty in believing it about -the New, and there can be no question that Paul claimed for his own -teaching an equal authority with the <abbr title="Old Testament">O. T.</abbr> teaching. This we shall see -clearly under the next head. And not only did Paul so claim, but the -Apostle Peter also classes the teaching of Paul with the <abbr title="Old Testament">O. T.</abbr> teaching -as being "Scripture." Peter says in <abbr title="Second Peter">2 Pet.</abbr> 3:15, 16, <b>"Even as our -beloved brother Paul also, according to the wisdom given unto him, -wrote unto you; (16) as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of -these things, wherein are some things hard to be understood, which the -ignorant and unstedfast wrest, as they do also the other Scriptures, -unto their own destruction."</b> Here Peter clearly speaks of Paul's -epistles as being "Scripture."</p> - - -<p><!-- Page 34 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span></p> -<h3>VIII. THE BIBLE IS THE WORD OF GOD</h3> - -<p>The eighth thing that the Bible teaches concerning the extent of the -inspiration of its writings is that <em>because of this inspiration of -Prophets and Apostles, the writers of the Bible, the whole Bible as -originally given becomes the absolutely inerrant Word of God</em>. In the -<abbr title="Old Testament">O. T.</abbr> David says of his own writings, in <abbr title="Second Samuel">2 Sam.</abbr> 23:2, a passage already -referred to, <b>"The Spirit of Jehovah spake by me, and His Word was -upon my tongue."</b> In Mark 7:13 Our Lord Jesus Himself calls the law -of Moses "the Word of God." He says <b>"making void the Word of God by -your tradition, which ye have delivered."</b> In the verses immediately -preceding, He has been drawing a contrast between the teachings of -the Mosaic law (not merely the teachings of the Ten Commandments, -but other parts of the Mosaic law as well) and the traditions of the -Scribes and Pharisees, and has shown how the traditions of the Scribes -and Pharisees flatly contradicted the requirements of the law as given -through Moses, and in summing up the matter he says in the verse -just quoted, that the Scribes and Pharisees made void "<em>the Word of -God</em>" by their traditions, thus calling the law of Moses "<em>the Word -of God.</em>" When I was in England a high dignitary and scholar in the -Church of England in a private correspondence tried to call me down -by saying that the Bible nowhere claimed to be "the Word of God," but -I replied to him by showing <!-- Page 35 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span>him that not only did the Bible claim -it, but that the Lord Jesus Himself said in so many words that the -law given through Moses was "<em>the Word of God</em>." In <abbr title="First Thessalonians">1 Thess.</abbr> 2:13 the -Apostle Paul claims that his own epistles and teachings are "<em>the Word -of God</em>." He says: <b>"And for this cause we also thank God without -ceasing, that when ye received from us the word of the message, even -the word of God, ye accepted it not as the word of men, but as it is in -truth, the word of God, which also worketh in you that believe."</b> -Here the Apostle Paul claims for his own teaching in the most absolute -way that the message that he gave was "<em>the Word of God</em>." When we -read the words that Jeremiah wrote and Isaiah wrote and Paul wrote and -John wrote and James wrote and Jude wrote and the other Bible writers -wrote, we are reading what God says. We are not listening to the voice -of man, but we are listening to the voice of God. "The Word of God" -which we have in the Old and New Testaments, as originally given, is -absolutely inerrant down to the smallest word and smallest letter -or part of a letter. Our Lord Jesus Himself says of the Pentateuch -in <abbr title="Matthew">Matt.</abbr> 5:18: <b>"For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth -pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass away from the -law till all things be accomplished."</b> Now a "jot" is the Hebrew -character "yodh," the smallest character in the Hebrew alphabet, less -than half the size of any other letter in the Hebrew alphabet, and a -"tittle" <!-- Page 36 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span>is a part of a letter, the little horn put on some of the -Hebrew consonants, less than the cross we put on a "t," and here our -Lord says that the law given through Moses was absolutely inerrant, -down to its smallest letter or part of a letter. That certainly is -verbal inspiration with a vengeance. Again he said, as recorded in John -10:35, after having quoted from the <abbr title="eighty-second">82nd</abbr> Psalm and the <abbr title="sixth">6th</abbr> verse, as -conclusive proof of a point, "The Scripture <strong class="allcap">CANNOT BE BROKEN</strong>," -thus asserting the absolute irrefragability or inerrancy and finality -of the Scriptures. If the Scriptures as originally given were not the -inerrant Word of God, then not only is the Bible a fraud, but Jesus -Christ Himself was utterly misled and is therefore utterly unreliable -as a teacher. I have said that the Scriptures of the Old and New -Testaments <em>as originally given</em> were absolutely inerrant, and the -question of course arises to what extent is the Authorized Version, or -the Revised Version, the inerrant Word of God. The answer is simple; -they are the inerrant Word of God just to that extent that they are an -accurate rendering of the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as -originally given, and to all practical intents and purposes they are -a thoroughly accurate rendering of the Scriptures of the Old and New -Testaments as originally given. There are, it is true, many variations -in the many manuscripts we possess, thousands of variations, but by -a careful study of these very variations, we are able to find <!-- Page 37 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span>with -marvellous accuracy what the original manuscripts said. A very large -share of the variations are of no value whatever, as it is evident -from a comparison of different manuscripts that they are mistakes of -a transcriber. Many other variations simply concern the order of the -words used, and in translating into English, in which the order of -words is often different from what it is in the Greek, the variation is -not translatable. Many other variations are of small Greek particles, -many of which are not translatable into English any way. When all the -variations of any significance have been reduced to the minimum to -which it is possible to reduce them by a careful study of manuscripts, -there is not one single variation left that affects any doctrine held -by the evangelical churches, and the Scriptures as we have them to-day -translated into our English language, either in the <abbr title="Authorized Version">A. V.</abbr> or <abbr title="Revised Version">R. V.</abbr>, are -to all practical intents and purposes the inerrant Word of God.</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page 38 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak"><a name="II" id="II"></a>II<br /> - -<small><span class="smcap">The Christian Conception of God, or the God of the Bible as -Distinguished from the God of Christian Science and the God of -Modern Philosophy</span></small></h2> -</div> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>"God is Spirit."—John 4:24.</p> -</div> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>"God is Light."—1 John 1:5.</p> -</div> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>"God is Love."—1 John 4:8, 16.</p> -</div> - - -<p>Our subject this morning is "The Christian Conception of God, or The -God of the Bible as Distinguished from the God of Christian Science -and the God of Modern Philosophy." I have three texts: John 4:24: -<b>"God is Spirit."</b> 1 John 1:5: <b>"God is Light."</b> 1 John 4:8, -16: <b>"God is Love."</b> These three texts give three of the most -remarkable statements that were ever uttered and set before us in the -clearest possible way the Christian conception of God as distinguished -from every other conception of God. The Christian Scientists constantly -quote one of our texts: <b>"God is Love."</b> In fact they quote it -more than almost any other passage in the Bible, but they do not -mean at all by <b>"God is Love"</b> what 1 John 4:8 or 1 John 4:16 -evidently mean when taken in their connection. By "love" the Christian -<!-- Page 39 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span>Scientists do not mean a personal attribute of God, but an impersonal -abstraction which is itself God. Mrs. Eddy frankly and flatly denies -the personality of God. The Christian Scientists not only say, "God -is love," but they also say, "Love is God." They not only say, "God -is good," but they also say, "Good is God." To say "Love is God" is -an utterly different statement from saying, "God is love." You might -just as well say "Spirit is God," because God says, "God is spirit," -but all spirit is not God. Or you might as well say, "Light is God," -because "God is light," but light is not God and love is not God, -though God is love and God is light and God is spirit. What is meant by -"love" in the inspired statement, <b>"God is Love"</b>? What is meant -by the statement, <b>"God is Love,"</b> is shown by the definition -or description of love given in the context and in the immediately -preceding chapter—1 John 3:13-18. These verses clearly show that by -the statement in 1 John 4:8 and 1 John 4:16, <b>"God is Love"</b> -is not meant that God is an abstract quality, "love," and that the -abstract quality of love is God, but what is meant is that God is a -person whose whole being and conduct are dominated by the quality of -love, that is, by a desire for and delight in the highest welfare of -others. This will be evident to you if I read from the immediately -preceding chapter (1 John 3:13-17): <b>"Marvel not, brethren, if the -world hateth you. (14) We know that we have passed out of death into -life, because <!-- Page 40 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span>we love the brethren. He that loveth not abideth in -death. (15) Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know -that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. (16) Hereby know we -love, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down -our lives for the brethren. (17) But whoso hath the world's goods, and -beholdeth his brother in need, and shutteth up his compassion from him, -how doth the love of God abide in him? (18) My little children, let us -not love in word, neither with the tongue; but in deed and truth."</b> -And from this chapter (1 John 4:7-17): <b>"Beloved, let us love one -another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is begotten of -God, and knoweth God. (8) He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God -is love. (9) Herein was the love of God manifested in us, that God hath -sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through -him. (10) Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, -and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. (11) Beloved, if -God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. (12) No man hath -beheld God at any time: If we love one another, God abideth in us, -and his love is perfected in us: (13) Hereby we know that we abide in -him and he in us, because he hath given us of his spirit. (14) And we -have beheld and bear witness that the father hath sent the Son to be -the Saviour of the world. (15) Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is -the son of God, God abideth in him, and he in God. (16) And we know -<!-- Page 41 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span>and have believed the love which God hath in us. God is Love; and he -that hath abideth in love abideth in God, and God abideth in him. (17) -Herein is love made perfect with us, that we may have boldness in the -day of judgment; because as he is, even so are we in this world."</b></p> - -<p>The God of what is called "Modern Philosophy" is "The Absolute," and -by "The Absolute" is generally meant a cold abstraction and not a -clear, definite and warm personality Who loves, grieves, suffers, and -Who works intelligently for others. And oftentimes the God of modern -philosophy is not only "<em>in</em> all things" but <em>is</em> all things and all -things are God. Such a God is no God at all. Whereas the God of the -Bible, as we shall see as we proceed, is a Divine Person who exists -apart from the world which He has created and Who existed before the -world He created, Who bears definite relations to the world He has -made and Who works along definite and clearly revealed lines. So we -come face to face with the question, What sort of a Being is the God -of the Bible, the real God, the one true God, the God of Christianity, -the only God Whom we should worship and love and obey? The Kaiser also -talks much about God and his followers are fond of saying, "Gott mit -uns," but if any one will carefully study the Kaiser's utterances it -becomes plain that he does not mean by God the God of the Bible, the -Christian God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.</p> - - -<p><!-- Page 42 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span></p> -<h3>I. GOD IS SPIRIT</h3> - -<p>First of all <b>"God is Spirit."</b> This we read in our first -text: John 4:24, <b>"God is Spirit."</b> You will note that in your -Bible, both the Authorised and Revised Versions, you read, <b>"God -is a Spirit."</b> But there is no indefinite article in the Greek -language, and wherever it is necessary in the English translation to -fit the English idiom, it has to be supplied, and it is supplied, in -this case. But there is really no reason for supplying it here any -more than there is for supplying it in 1 John 4:8 and translating, -<b>"God is a Love,"</b> or in 1 John 1:5 and translating <b>"God -is a Light."</b> The preferable translation is as I have given it: -<b>"God is Spirit."</b> This is a definition of the essential nature -of God. What does it mean? Our Lord Jesus Himself has defined what -is meant by "spirit" in Luke 24:39, where He is recorded as saying -after His resurrection: <b>"See My hands and My feet, that it is I -Myself; handle Me, and see, for a spirit not flesh and blood, as ye -behold Me having."</b> It is evident from these words of our Lord that -<em>spirit</em> is that which is contrasted to body. That is to say, spirit -is incorporeal, invisible reality. To say, "God is Spirit" is to say -that God is essentially incorporeal and invisible (cf. <abbr title="First Timothy">1 Tim.</abbr> 6:16), -that God in His essential nature is not material but immaterial and -invisible, but none the less real. This thought is also found in the -very heart of that <!-- Page 43 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span>revelation of Himself which God made to Moses in -the first division of the Old Testament. For example, we read in <abbr title="Deuteronomy">Deut.</abbr> -4:15-18: <b>"Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no -manner of form on the day that Jehovah spake unto you in Horeb out of -the midst of the fire; (16) lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a -graven image in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, -(17) the likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness -of any winged bird that flieth in the Heavens. (18) The likeness of -anything that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is -in the water under the earth."</b> This is a plain declaration way back -fifteen centuries before Christ, of the <em>spirituality</em> of God in His -essential nature. God is essentially invisible spirit.</p> - -<p>But it is also clearly revealed in the Word of God that "spirit" may be -manifested in visible, bodily form. We read in John 1:32 these words -of John the Baptist speaking about what his own eyes had seen: <b>"And -John bore witness, saying, I have beheld the Spirit descending as a -dove out of heaven; and it abode upon him."</b> Here, then, we see Him -who was essentially spirit manifesting Himself in a bodily, visible -form.</p> - -<p>Furthermore in the Bible we are told that God has manifested Himself -in visible form. We read in <abbr title="Exodus">Ex.</abbr> 24:9, 10: <b>"Then went up Moses, and -Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: (10) and -they saw the God of Israel; and <!-- Page 44 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span>there was under his feet as it were -a paved work of sapphire stone, and as it were the very heaven for -clearness."</b></p> - -<p>What they saw was not God in His essential nature as Spiritual Being. -Indeed, what we see when we see one another is not our essential self, -but the house we live in, and so John could say, as he does say in -John 1:18: <b>"No man hath seen God at any time."</b> And so I could -say to you now that you do not see me. Nevertheless, it was a real -manifestation of God Himself that they saw, and so it could also be -said, and said truthfully, that they had seen God, as it could be -truthfully said, "you see me."</p> - -<p>Furthermore still, though God is essentially spirit, God has a visible -form. This is taught in the most unmistakable terms in <abbr title="Philippians">Phil.</abbr> 2:6, where -we are told of our Lord Jesus that He existed originally "in the <em>form</em> -of God." The Greek word which is translated "form" in this passage -means "visible form," "the form by which a person or thing strikes the -vision," "the external appearance." It cannot mean anything else. This -is the definition given in the best Greek-English lexicon of the New -Testament, of the word here translated "form." Now as Jesus existed -originally "in the form of God," it is evident that God Himself must -have a form, this form in which our Lord Jesus is said to have existed -originally.</p> - -<p>That God in His external form, though not in His invisible essence, is -<em>seeable</em>, is also clear from <!-- Page 45 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span>Acts 7:55, 56, where we read: <b>"But -he</b> (i.e., Stephen), <b>being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up -steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing -on the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens open, and -the Son of man standing on the right hand of God."</b> Now if God has -not a form that can be seen, then, of course, the Lord Jesus could not -be seen standing upon the right hand of God. God is, as we shall see -later, everywhere; but God is not everywhere in the same sense. There -is a locality where God is visibly and manifestly present in a way in -which He is not present anywhere else. There is a place where He is -present visibly and manifests Himself as He does not elsewhere. The -place of God's visible presence and full manifestation of Himself is -Heaven, though in His spiritual presence He pervades the universe. This -is evident from many passages in the Scriptures. For example, it is -clear from the prayer that our Lord taught us—a portion of Scripture -that many accept who reject most of the Bible. Our Lord began the -prayer that He taught His disciples with these words "Our Father <em>Which -Art in Heaven</em>." If these words mean anything, they certainly mean that -God, our Father, is in heaven in a way in which He is not elsewhere. -That was where God was when Jesus was addressing Him. We read again -in <abbr title="Matthew">Matt.</abbr> 3:17: <b>"Lo, a voice out of the heavens, saying, this is -my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."</b> If these words mean -anything, they <!-- Page 46 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span>mean that God was in heaven and that His voice came out -of the heavens to the Lord Jesus who was here on earth. Again in John -14:28 Jesus is recorded as saying:</p> - -<p><b>"Ye heard how I said to you, I go away and I come again unto you. -If ye loved me, ye would have rejoiced, because I go unto the Father: -for the Father is greater than I."</b> If these words mean anything, -taken in the light of the events that were to follow on the next day -and the days following, they mean that Jesus was going away from the -place where He then was—earth—to another place where He was not -when He spoke, i.e., heaven—and that in going to heaven he was going -to where God was, from earth where God was not in the sense in which -He was in heaven. Again we read in Acts 11:9: <b>"A voice answered -the second time out of heaven, What God hath cleansed make not thou -common."</b> Here again God is represented as speaking from heaven -where He was. Again our Lord Jesus Christ is recorded in John 20:17 -as saying to Mary Magdalene after His resurrection: <b>"Touch me not; -for I am not yet ascended unto the Father: but go unto my brethren -and say to them, I ascend unto my father and to your father and my -God and your God,"</b> from which it is unmistakably evident that in -the conception of our Lord Jesus after His resurrection there was a -place where God was and to which He was going, and that place was up -in heaven. There is no possibility of explaining this away by saying -it is a <!-- Page 47 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span>figure of speech, the whole passage loses its meaning by any -such interpretation, and to attempt to so explain it is a trick and -a subterfuge that will not bear close examination. Again the Apostle -Paul tells us regarding our Lord Jesus Christ that God the Father -<b>"raised Him from the dead, and made Him to sit at His right hand -in the heavenly places"</b> (<abbr title="Ephesians">Eph.</abbr> 1:20) which makes it as clear as -language can make anything that there is a place, heaven, where God -is in a sense that He is nowhere else, and where one can be placed at -His right hand. The same thing is evident from the verses that we have -already quoted in another connection, Acts 7:55, 56, where we are told -that Stephen <b>"being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly -into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right -hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens open, and the Son of -man standing on the right hand of God."</b> The meaning of these words -to anybody who wishes to know what words are intended to convey and not -merely to distort them to fit his own conception, is that God is in -heaven locally present. There is no escaping this by any fair, honest -interpretation. Men who are skilful in the art of discrediting truth by -giving it bad names, and names that sound very scholarly, may call this -"anthropomorphism," and that sounds very learned. Nevertheless, be it -"anthropomorphism" or what not, this is the clear teaching of the Word -of God in spite of this or any other frightful terms used to scare -<!-- Page 48 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span>immature college boys and immature college girls. There is no mistaking -that this is the teaching of the Bible, and we have already proven -that the Bible is God's Word, and is to be taken at its face value in -spite of all the attempts that men, who "counting themselves wise, have -become fools," make to explain it away.</p> - - -<h3>II. GOD IS A PERSON</h3> - -<p>The next thing that the Bible teaches about God is that <em>God is a -person</em>. That is to say He is a being who knows, feels, loves, hears -prayer, speaks, acts, a being who acts intelligently upon us and upon -whom we can act.</p> - -<p>While God is in all things, He is a personality distinct from the -persons and things in which He is, which He has created. The Bible, -both in the Old and New Testaments is full of this vital conception -of "a <em>living</em> God" as distinguished from the mere cold abstraction -of "The Absolute," or "The Infinite," or "The Supreme Being," or "The -Great First Cause" of which "Modern Philosophy" loves to prate. For -example, we read in <abbr title="Jeremiah">Jer.</abbr> 10:10-16: <b>"But Jehovah is the true God; -he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth -trembleth, and the nations are not able to abide his indignation. (11) -Thus shall ye say unto them, the gods that have not made the heaven -and the earth, these shall perish from the earth, and from under the -<!-- Page 49 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span>heavens. (12) He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established -the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding hath he stretched -out the heavens. (13) When he uttereth his voice, there is a tumult -of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from -the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain, and bringeth -forth the wind out of his treasuries. (14) Every man is become brutish -and is without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his graven -image; for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in -them. (15) They are vanity, a work of delusion; in the time of their -visitation they shall perish. (16) The portion of Jacob is not like -these; for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the tribe of -his inheritance: Jehovah of hosts is his name."</b> In this passage God -is distinguished from idols which are things and not persons, things -which "speak not" "cannot act," "cannot do good neither is it in them -to do evil"; and we are told that Jehovah is <em>wiser</em> than "all the wise -men." Is "the living God," "an everlasting King," a being who hath -"wrath and indignation," separate from His creatures—"at His wrath the -earth trembleth and the nations are not able to abide His indignation."</p> - -<p>In Acts 14:15 we read: <b>"Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are -men of like passions with you, and bring you good tidings, that ye -should turn from these things unto the living God, who made heaven and -earth and sea, and all that in <!-- Page 50 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span>them is."</b> Here also we have the -representation of <em>God as a personal being distinct from His created -work</em>, and also to be clearly distinguished from the idols which are -not living gods. In <abbr title="First Thessalonians">1 Thess.</abbr> 1:9, the converts at Thessalonica are -represented as turning from dead gods, "idols, to serve the <em>living</em> -and true God."</p> - -<p>In <abbr title="Second Chronicles">2 Chron.</abbr> 16:9 we are told that <b>"The eyes of Jehovah run to and -fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf -of them whose heart is perfect toward him,"</b> and in <abbr title="Psalms">Ps.</abbr> 94:9, 10 we -read: <b>"He that planteth the ear, shall he not hear? He that formed -the eye, shall he not see? He that punisheth nations, shall not he -correct? Even he that teacheth men knowledge?"</b> This is clearly -the representation of a personal God and not a mere abstraction like -"The Absolute," or "The Infinite," or "The Supreme Being." The clear -distinction between God, who is immanent in all things, and dwells in -believers, and the beings and persons in whom He dwells, is brought -out very clearly by our Lord Himself in John 14:10: <b>"Believest thou -not that I am in the Father and the Father in me? The words that I say -unto you I speak not from myself: But the Father abiding in me doeth -his work."</b> And again in the <abbr title="twenty-fourth">24th</abbr> verse of the same chapter where -our Lord Jesus distinguishes between His own personality and that of -the Father, who dwelt in Him, in these words: <b>"He that loveth me not -keepeth not my words: and the word which ye hear is not <!-- Page 51 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span>mine, but the -Father's who sent me."</b> This conception of God pervades the entire -Bible. The view of God presented in the Bible is utterly different -from the conception of Pantheism and Buddhism and Theosophy and -Christian Science. This conception is found in the opening words of the -Bible, <abbr title="Genesis">Gen.</abbr> 1:1: <b>"In the beginning God created the heaven and the -earth."</b> Here the God of the Bible is clearly differentiated from -the so-called God of Pantheism, and the God of Christian Science. And -this same conception of God is found in the last chapter of the Bible, -and it is found in every chapter of the Bible between the first and the -last. The God of the Bible is a Personal Being Who, while He created -all things and is in all things, is a distinct personality separate -from the persons and things He has created.</p> - - -<h3>III. GOD'S PRESENT RELATION TO THE WORLD AND TO MEN</h3> - -<p>We turn now to a consideration of the present relation of this Personal -God presented to us in the Bible, to the world He has created and to -the men whom He has created.</p> - -<p>1. In the first place we find that <em>God sustains, governs and cares -for the world He has created. He shapes the whole present history of -the world.</em> This comes out again and again. A few illustrations must -suffice. We read in <abbr title="Psalms">Ps.</abbr> 104:27-30: <b>"These wait all for thee, that -thou mayest <!-- Page 52 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span>give them their food in due season. (28) Thou givest unto -them, they gather; thou openest thy hand, they are satisfied with -good. (29) Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled; thou takest away -their breath, they die, and return to their dust. (30) Thou sendest -forth thy spirit, they are created; and thou renewest the face of the -ground."</b> And again in <abbr title="Psalms">Ps.</abbr> 75:6, 7: <b>"For neither from the east, -nor from the west, nor yet from the south, cometh lifting up. (7) But -God is the judge: he putteth down one, and lifteth up another."</b> -All these passages and others that could be cited, set forth the same -conception of God's present relation to the world which He has created. -They show, as we have said, that God sustains, governs and cares for -the work He has created; that He shapes the whole present history of -the world.</p> - -<p>2. Now let us look at His relation to the affairs of men. We will find -that <em>God has a present, personal interest and an active hand in the -affairs of men; that He makes a path for His people and leads them; -that He delivers, saves and punishes</em>. Here four illustrations from -the Bible must suffice. First of all Joshua 3:10: <b>"And Joshua said, -Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will -without fail drive out from before you the Canaanite, and the Hittite, -and the Hivite, and the Perizzite, and the Girgashite, and the Amorite, -and the Jebusite."</b> Now turn to <abbr title="Daniel">Dan.</abbr> 6:20-22, 26, 27. <b>"And when -he came near unto the den to Daniel, he cried with a lamentable voice: -<!-- Page 53 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span>the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, -is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from -the lions? (21) Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever. -(22) My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, and -they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in -me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt." . . . "(26) I -make a decree, that in all the dominion of my kingdom men tremble and -fear before the God of Daniel; for he is the living God, and stedfast -for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed and his -dominion shall be even unto the end. (27) He delivereth and rescueth, -and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath -delivered Daniel from the power of the lions."</b> Now turn to 1 Tim. -4:10: <b>"For to this end we labour and strive, because we have our -hope set on the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially -of them that believe,"</b> and now turn to <abbr title="Hebrews">Heb.</abbr> 10:28-31: <b>"A man -that hath set at nought Moses' law dieth without compassion on the word -of two or three witnesses: (29) Of how much sorer punishment, think -ye, shall he be judged worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son -of God? and hath counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was -sanctified an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of -grace? (30) For we know him that said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I -<!-- Page 54 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span>will recompense. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. (31) It is -a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."</b> In all -of these passages we have this same conception of God in His relation -to man, viz., that God has a personal interest and an active hand in -the affairs of men; that He makes a path for His people and leads them; -that He delivers, saves and punishes them.</p> - -<p>The God of the Bible is to be clearly distinguished not merely from the -God of the Pantheists who has no existence separate from His creation, -but also from the God of the Deists who has created the world and put -into it all the necessary powers of self-government and development and -set it going and left it to go of itself. The God of the Bible is a God -who is personally and actively present in the affairs of the universe -to-day. He sustains, governs, cares for the world He has created, -He shapes the whole present history of the world. He has a present -personal interest and an active hand in the affairs of men and He it -is that is back of all the events that are occurring to-day. He reigns -and makes even the wrath of men to praise Him, and the remainder of -wrath doth He restrain. The Kaiser may rage, armies may clash, force -and violence and outrage may seem triumphant for the passing hour, but -God stands back of all; and through all the confusion and the discord -and the turmoil and the agony and the ruin, through all the outrageous -atrocities that are making <!-- Page 55 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span>men's hearts stand still with horror, He -is carrying out His own purposes of love and making all things work -together for good to those who love Him.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page 56 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak"><a name="III" id="III"></a>III<br /> - -<small><span class="smcap">The Christian Conception of God—The Infinite Perfection and Unity -of God</span></small></h2> -</div> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>"God is Light."—1 John 1:5.</p> -</div> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>"God is Love."—1 John 4:8, 16.</p> -</div> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>"With God All Things are Possible."—<abbr title="Matthew">Matt.</abbr> 19:26.</p> -</div> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>"His Understanding is Infinite."—<abbr title="Psalms">Ps.</abbr> 147:5.</p> -</div> - - -<p>We are to consider again to-day the Christian conception of God. We -saw a week ago to-day that God is Spirit, that God is a person and -that God has a personal interest and an active hand in the affairs of -men to-day, that He sustains, governs and cares for the world He has -created and that He shapes the whole present history of the world.</p> - - -<h3>I. THE INFINITE PERFECTION OF GOD</h3> - -<p>The next thing to be noted about the Christian conception of God is, -that <em>God is perfect and infinite in all His intellectual and moral -attributes and in power</em>.</p> - -<p>1. First of all, fix your attention upon our first text: <b>"God -is Light"</b> (1 John 1:5). These three words form a marvellously -beautiful and overwhelmingly impressive statement of the truth. <!-- Page 57 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span>They -set forth the Absolute Holiness and Perfect Wisdom of God. The words -need rather to be meditated upon than to be expounded. <b>"In Him is -no darkness at all."</b> That is to say, in Him is no darkness of -error, no darkness of ignorance, no darkness of sin, no darkness of -moral imperfection or intellectual imperfection of any kind. The three -words, "God is Light," form one of the most beautiful, one of the most -striking and one of the most stupendous statements of truth that was -ever penned.</p> - -<p>2. To come to things more specific, <em>the God of the Bible is -omnipotent</em>. This great truth comes out again and again in the Word -of God. One direct statement of this great truth especially striking -because of the connection in which it is found, occurs in <abbr title="Jeremiah">Jer.</abbr> 32:17, -27: <b>"Ah Lord Jehovah! Behold, thou hast made the heavens and the -earth by thy great power and by thine outstretched arm: there is -nothing too hard for thee."</b> Here it is Jeremiah who makes the -statement, but in the <abbr title="twenty-seventh">27th</abbr> verse it is Jehovah Himself who says: -<b>"Behold, I am Jehovah, the God of all flesh: is there anything too -hard for me?"</b></p> - -<p>In Job 42:2 we read these words of Job, when at last he has been -brought to see and to recognise the true nature of Jehovah: <b>"I -know that thou canst do all things and that no purpose of thine can -be restrained."</b> In <abbr title="Matthew">Matt.</abbr> 19:26 our Lord Jesus says: <b>"With God -all things are possible."</b> Taking these passages together, we are -plainly taught <!-- Page 58 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span>by our Lord Himself and by others that <em>God can do all -things, that nothing is too hard for Him, that all things are possible -with Him. In a word, that God is omnipotent.</em> A very impressive passage -in the book of Psalms setting forth this same great truth is <abbr title="Psalms">Ps.</abbr> -33:6-9: <b>"By the word of Jehovah were the heavens made, and all the -host of them by the breath of his mouth. (7) He gathereth the waters of -the sea together as a heap: he layeth up the deeps in storehouses. (8) -Let all the earth fear Jehovah: let all the inhabitants of the world -stand in awe of him. (9) For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, -and it stood fast."</b> Here we see God by the mere utterance of His -voice bringing to pass anything that He desires to be brought to pass. -We find this same lofty conception of God in the very first chapter -of the Bible, that chapter that so many people who imagine themselves -scholarly are telling us is outgrown and not up to date, and yet which -contains some of the sublimest utterances that were ever written, -unmatched by anything that any philosopher or scientist or platform -orator is saying to-day. The very first words of that chapter read: -<b>"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth"</b> (<abbr title="Genesis">Gen.</abbr> -1:1), a description of the origin of things that has never been matched -for simplicity, sublimity and profundity; and two verses further down, -in the third verse, we read: <b>"And God said, Let there be light: and -light was."</b> These words need no comment. There is here a <!-- Page 59 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span>sublimity -of thought in the setting forth of the omnipotence of God's mere word -before which any truly intelligent and alert soul will stand in wonder -and awe. There is nothing in poetry or in philosophical dissertation, -ancient or modern, that can for one moment be put in comparison with -these sublime words. Over and over again the thought is brought out -in the Word of God that all nature is absolutely subject to God's -will and word. We see this, for example, in <abbr title="Psalms">Ps.</abbr> 107:25-29: <b>"For he -commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves -thereof. (26) They mount up to the heavens, they go down again to the -depths: their soul melteth away because of trouble. (27) They reel to -and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end. -(28) Then they cry unto Jehovah in their trouble, and he bringeth them -out of their distresses. (29) He maketh the storm a calm, so that -the waves thereof are still."</b> Another description of a similar -character is found in Nahum 1:3-6: <b>"Jehovah is slow to anger, and -great in power, and will by no means clear the guilty: Jehovah hath his -way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of -his feet. (4) He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all -the rivers: Bashan languisheth, and Carmel and the flower of Lebanon -languisheth. (5) The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt; and -the earth is upheaved at his presence, yea, the world, and all that -dwell therein. (6) Who can stand <!-- Page 60 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span>before his indignation? and who can -abide in the fierceness of his anger? His wrath is poured out like -fire, and the rocks are broken asunder by him."</b> What a picture we -have here of the omnipotence and awful majesty of God!</p> - -<p>Not only is nature represented as being absolutely subject to God's -will and word, but men also are represented as being absolutely subject -to His will and word. For example, we read in <abbr title="James">Jas.</abbr> 4:12-15: <b>"One -only is the lawgiver and judge, even he who is able to save and to -destroy: But who art thou that judgest thy neighbour? (13) Come now, -ye that say, to-day or to-morrow we will go into this city, and spend -a year there, and trade, and get gain: (14) Whereas ye know not what -shall be on the morrow. What is your life? For ye are a vapour that -appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. (15) For that -ye ought to say, if the Lord will, we shall both live, and do this or -that."</b></p> - -<p>Happy is the man who voluntarily subjects himself to God's will and -word, but whether we voluntarily subject ourselves to God's will and -word or not, we are subject to His will and word whether or no. The -angels also are subject to His will and word (<abbr title="Hebrews">Heb.</abbr> 1:13, 14) and even -Satan himself is, although entirely against his own will, absolutely -subject to the will and word of God, as is evident from Job 1:12 and -Job 2:6.</p> - -<p><em>The exercise of God's omnipotence is limited by His own wise and holy -and loving will.</em> God <em>can <!-- Page 61 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span>do</em> anything, but <em>will do</em> only that which -infinite wisdom and holiness and love dictate. This comes out, for -example, in <abbr title="Isaiah">Isa.</abbr> 59:1, 2: <b>"Behold, Jehovah's hand is not shortened, -that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: (2) -But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your -sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear."</b></p> - -<p>3. <em>The God of the Bible is also omniscient.</em> In 1 John 3:20 we read: -<b>"God knoweth all things."</b> Turning to the Old Testament, in -<abbr title="Psalms">Ps.</abbr> 147:5, we read: <b>"Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; his -understanding is infinite."</b> The literal translation of the last -clause of this passage is "Of his understanding there is no number." In -these passages it is plainly declared that "God knoweth all things" and -that "His understanding is infinite." In Job 37:16 Elihu the messenger -of God is represented as saying that Jehovah is "perfect in knowledge." -Along the same line, in Acts 15:18 we read: <b>"Known unto God are all -his works from the beginning of the world."</b> The Revised Version -makes a change in the translation of this verse but this change does -not alter the sense of the truth here set forth that God knows all His -works and all things from the beginning of the world. <em>Known to Him is -everything from the most vast to the most minute detail.</em> In <abbr title="Psalms">Ps.</abbr> 147:4 -we are told that, <b>"He telleth the number of the stars; he knoweth -them all by name."</b> While in <abbr title="Matthew">Matt.</abbr> 10:29 we are told that <em>not a -sparrow</em> falleth <!-- Page 62 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span>to the ground without Him. The stars in all their -stupendous magnitude and the sparrows in all their insignificance are -all equally in His mind.</p> - -<p>We are further told that everything has a part in His purpose and -plan. In Acts 3:17, 18, the Apostle Peter says of the crucifixion -of our Lord, the wickedest act in all the history of the human -race: <b>"And now, brethren, I wot that in ignorance ye did it, as -did also your rulers. But the things which God foreshowed by the -mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ should suffer, he thus -fulfilled."</b> In Acts 2:23 Peter declared on the day of Pentecost -(although the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus was the wickedest act in -all history) that nevertheless the Lord Jesus was <b>"Delivered up by -the determinate council and foreknowledge of God."</b> According to -the Psalmist (<abbr title="Psalms">Ps.</abbr> 76:10) God takes the acts of the wickedest men into -His plans and makes the wrath of men to praise Him, and the remainder -of wrath doth He restrain. Even the present war with all its horrors, -with all its atrocities, with all its abominations and all its nameless -wickednesses, was foreknown of God and taken into His own gracious plan -of the ages; and He will make every event in this present war, even the -most shocking things, designed by the vilest conspiracy of unprincipled -men, utterly unhuman and beastly men and Devil inspired men, work -together for good to those who love God, for those who are the called -according to His purpose (<abbr title="Romans">Rom.</abbr> 8:28).</p> - -<p><!-- Page 63 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span><em>The whole plan of the ages, not merely of the centuries, but of -the immeasurable ages of God, and every man's part in it, has been -known to God from all eternity.</em> This is made very clear in <abbr title="Ephesians">Eph.</abbr> -1:9-12, where we read: <b>"Having made known unto us the mystery -of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in -him unto a dispensation of the fullness of the times, to sum up all -things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things upon the -earth; in him, I say, in whom also we were made a heritage, having -been foreordained according to the purpose of him who worketh all -things after the counsel of his will; to the end that we should be to -the praise of his glory, we who before hoped in Christ."</b> And in -<abbr title="Ephesians">Eph.</abbr> 3:4-9, we read: <b>"Wherefore when ye read, ye can perceive my -understanding in the mystery of Christ; which in other generations was -not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his -holy prophets and apostles in the Spirit; to wit, that the Gentiles are -fellow-heirs, and fellow-members of the body, and fellow-partakers of -the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, whereof I was made a -minister, according to the gift of that grace of God which was given me -according to the working of his power. Unto me, who am less than the -least of all saints, was this grace given, to preach unto the Gentiles -the unsearchable riches of Christ; and to make all men see what is the -dispensation of the mystery which from all ages has been hid in God -who <!-- Page 64 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span>created all things."</b> There are no after-thoughts with God. -Everything is seen, known, purposed and planned for from the outset. -Well may we exclaim: <b>"Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom -and knowledge of God: how unsearchable are his judgments and his ways -past finding out."</b> (<abbr title="Romans">Rom.</abbr> 11:33.) God knows from all eternity what -He will do to all eternity.</p> - -<p>4. <em>God is also absolutely and infinitely holy.</em> This is a point of -central and fundamental importance in the Bible conception of God. -It comes out in our first text: <b>"God is light, and in him is no -darkness at all."</b> John when he wrote these words gave them as the -summary of <b>"The message which we have heard from God."</b> (1 John -1:5.) In <abbr title="Isaiah">Isa.</abbr> 6:3 in the vision of Jehovah which was given to Isaiah -in the year that King Uzziah died, the "seraphim," or "burning ones," -burning in their own intense holiness, are represented as standing -before Jehovah with covered faces and covered feet and constantly -crying, "<em>Holy, holy, holy</em>, is Jehovah of Hosts." And in <abbr title="First Peter">1 Pet.</abbr> 1:16 -God cries to us, <b>"Be ye holy, for I am holy."</b></p> - -<p>This thought of the infinite and awe-inspiring holiness of God pervades -the entire Bible. It underlies everything in it. The entire Mosaic -system is built upon and about this fundamental and central truth. Its -system of washings; the divisions of the tabernacle; the divisions -of the people into ordinary Israelites, Levites, Priests and High -Priests, who were permitted different <!-- Page 65 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span>degrees of approach to God under -strictly defined conditions, insistence upon sacrifices of blood as -the necessary medium of approach to God; God's directions to Moses in -<abbr title="Exodus">Ex.</abbr> 3:5, to Joshua in <abbr title="Joshua">Josh.</abbr> 5:15, the punishment of Uzziah in <abbr title="Second Chronicles">2 Chron.</abbr> -26:16-26, the strict orders to Israel in regard to approaching Sinai -when Jehovah came down upon it; the doom of Korah, Dathan and Abiram in -<abbr title="Numbers">Num.</abbr> 16:1-33; and the destruction of Nadab and Abihu in <abbr title="Leviticus">Lev.</abbr> 10:1-3: -all these were intended to teach, emphasise and burn into the minds -and hearts of the Israelites the fundamental truth that God is holy, -unapproachably holy. <em>The truth that God is holy is the fundamental -truth of the Bible</em>, of the Old Testament and the New Testament, of the -Jewish religion and the Christian religion. It is the preëminent factor -in the Christian conception of God. There is no fact in the Christian -Conception of God that needs more to be emphasised in our day than the -fact of the absolute, unqualified and uncompromising holiness of God. -That is the chief note that is lacking in Christian Science, Theosophy, -Occultism, Buddhism, New Thought, the New Theology and all the base but -boasted cults of the day. That great truth underlies those fundamental -doctrines of the Bible,—the Atonement by Shed Blood and Justification -by Faith. <em>The doctrine of the holiness of God is the keystone in the -arch of Christian truth.</em></p> - -<p>5. <em>God is also love.</em> This truth is declared in <!-- Page 66 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span>one of our texts. -The words <b>"God is love"</b> are found twice in the same chapter (1 -John 4:8, 16). This truth is essentially the same truth as that <b>"God -is light"</b> and <b>"God is holy,"</b> for the very essence of true -holiness is love, and "light" is "love" and "love" is "light."</p> - -<p>6. Furthermore, God is not only perfect in His intellectual and moral -attributes and in power, <em>He is also omnipresent</em>. This thought of God -comes out in both the Old Testament and the New. In <abbr title="Psalms">Ps.</abbr> 139:7-10 we -read: <b>"Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee -from thy presence? (8) If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: If -I make my bed in Sheol, behold thou art there. (9) If I take the wings -of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost part of the sea; (10) Even -there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me."</b> -There is no place where one can flee from God's presence, for God is -everywhere. This great truth is set forth in a remarkable way in <abbr title="Jeremiah">Jer.</abbr> -23:23, 24: <b>"Am I a God at hand, saith Jehovah, and not a God afar -off? (24) Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see -him? saith Jehovah. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith Jehovah."</b></p> - -<p>Last week we saw that God has a local habitation, that there is a place -where He exists and manifests Himself in a way in which He does not -manifest Himself everywhere; but while we insist upon that clearly -revealed truth, we must also never lose sight of the fact that <em>God is -everywhere</em>. <!-- Page 67 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span>We find this same truth set forth by Paul in his sermon -to the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers on Mars Hill, Acts 17:24-28: -<b>"The God that made the world, and all things therein, he, being -Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands: -(25) Neither is served by men's hands as though he needed anything, -seeing he himself giveth to all life and breath and all things. (26) -And he made of one every nation of men who dwell on all the face of -the earth, having determined their appointed seasons, and the bounds -of their habitations. (27) For in him we live, and move, and have our -being; as certain even of your own poets have said, for we are also his -offspring."</b></p> - -<p>From these passages we see that God is everywhere. He is in all parts -of the universe and near each individual. In Him each individual lives -and moves and has his being. He is in every rose and lily and blade of -grass.</p> - -<p>7. There is one other thought in the Christian conception of God that -needs to be placed alongside of His omnipresence and that is His -eternity. <em>God is eternal. His existence had no beginning and will have -no ending, He always was, always is and always shall be.</em> God is not -only everywhere present in space, He is everywhere present in time. -This conception of God appears constantly in the Bible. We are told -way back in <abbr title="Genesis">Gen.</abbr> 21:33 that Abraham called <b>"On the name of Jehovah, -the everlasting God."</b> In <abbr title="Isaiah">Isa.</abbr> 40:28 we read this description of -Jehovah: <b>"Hast thou <!-- Page 68 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span>not known? Hast thou not heard? The everlasting -God, Jehovah, the creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, -neither is weary; there is no searching of his understanding."</b> -Here again He is called "The Everlasting God." Habakkuk in <abbr title="Habakkuk">Hab.</abbr> 1:12 -sets forth the same conception of God. He says, <b>"Art not thou from -everlasting, O Jehovah my God, mine holy one?"</b> The Psalmist gives -us the same representation of God in <abbr title="Psalms">Ps.</abbr> 90:2, 4: <b>"Before the -mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hast formed the earth and -the world, even from everlasting to everlasting thou art God. (4) For a -thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is passed, and -as a watch in the night."</b> We have the same representation of God in -the <abbr title="one hundred and second">102nd</abbr> <abbr title="Psalm">Ps.</abbr>, verses 24-27: <b>"I said, O my God, take me not away in -the midst of my days: Thy years are throughout all generations. (25) -Of old didst thou lay the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are -the work of thy hands. (26) 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; (27) But thou art the same, and -thy years shall have no end."</b></p> - -<p>The very name of God, His covenant name, Jehovah, sets forth His -eternity. He is the eternal "I am," the One who is, was and ever shall -be. (Cf. <abbr title="Exodus">Ex.</abbr> 3:14, 15.)</p> - - -<p><!-- Page 69 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span></p> -<h3>II. THERE IS ONE GOD</h3> - -<p>One more fact about the Christian conception of God remains to be -mentioned and that is: <em>There is but one God</em>. The Unity of God comes -out again and again in both the Old Testament and the New. For example, -we read in <abbr title="Deuteronomy">Deut.</abbr> 4:35: <b>"Jehovah he is God. There is none else -beside him."</b> And in Deut. 6:4 we read: <b>"Hear O Israel: Jehovah -our God is one Jehovah."</b> Turning to the New Testament in <abbr title="First Timothy">1 Tim.</abbr> -2:5 we read: <b>"There is one God, one mediator also between God and -man, himself man, Christ Jesus."</b> And in Mark 12:29 our Lord Jesus -Himself says: <b>"Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one."</b></p> - -<p>But we must bear in mind the character of the Divine Unity. It is -clearly revealed in the Bible that in this Divine Unity, in this one -Godhead, there is a multiplicity of persons. This comes out in a -variety of ways.</p> - -<p>1. First of all, <em>the Hebrew word translated "One" in these various -passages given denotes a compound unity</em>, not a simple unity. (Cf. <abbr title="First Corinthians">1 -Cor.</abbr> 3:6-8; <abbr title="First Corinthians">1 Cor.</abbr> 12:13; John 17:22, 23; <abbr title="Galatians">Gal.</abbr> 3:28.)</p> - -<p>2. In the second place, <em>the Old Testament word most frequently used -for God is a plural noun</em>. The Hebrew grammarians and lexicographers -tried to explain this by saying that it was the "<span lang="la" xml:lang="la">pluralis majestatis</span>," -but the very simple explanation is that the Hebrews, in spite of their -<!-- Page 70 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span>intense monotheism, used a plural name for God because there is a -plurality of persons in the one Godhead.</p> - -<p>3. More striking yet, as a proof of the plurality of persons in the one -Godhead, is the fact that God Himself uses plural pronouns in speaking -of Himself. For example, in the first chapter of the Bible, Gen. 1:26, -we read that God said: <b>"Let us make man in our image, after our -likeness."</b> And in <abbr title="Genesis">Gen.</abbr> 11:7, He is further recorded as saying: -<b>"Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they -cannot understand one another's speech."</b> In <abbr title="Genesis">Gen.</abbr> 3:22 we read: -<b>"And Jehovah God said, Behold, man is become as one of us to know -good and evil."</b> And in that wonderful vision to which reference has -already been made, in which Isaiah saw Jehovah, we read this statement -of Isaiah's in <abbr title="Isaiah">Isa.</abbr> 6:8: <b>"And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, -Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send -me."</b></p> - -<p>4. Another illustration of the plurality of persons in the one Godhead -in the Old Testament conception of God is found in <abbr title="Zechariah">Zech.</abbr> 2:10, 11; -where Jehovah speaks of Himself <em>as sent by Jehovah</em> in these words: -<b>"Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion; for, lo, I come, and I will -dwell in the midst of thee, saith Jehovah. (11) And many nations shall -join themselves to Jehovah in that day, and shall be my people and I -will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that Jehovah of -hosts <!-- Page 71 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span>hath sent me unto thee."</b> Here Jehovah clearly speaks of -himself as <em>sent by Jehovah</em>, thus clearly indicating two persons in -the Deity.</p> - -<p>5. Another indication of the plurality of persons in the Godhead in the -Old Testament conception of God is found in the fact that "The Angel of -Jehovah" in the Old Testament is at the same time distinguished from -and identified with Jehovah.</p> - -<p>6. This same thought of the plurality of persons in the one Godhead -is brought out in John 1:1, where we reach the very climax of this -thought. Here we are told in so many words: <b>"In the beginning was -the word and the word was with God and the word was God."</b> We -shall see later, when we come to study the Deity of Christ and the -Personality and Deity of the Holy Spirit, that the Lord Jesus and the -Holy Spirit are clearly designated as divine beings and at the same -time distinguished from one another, and from God the Father. So it is -clear that in the Christian conception of God while there is but one -God there is a multiplicity of persons in the one Godhead.</p> - -<p>In these two sermons on "The Christian Conception of God" we have -very inadequately stated that conception. This conception of God -runs through the whole Bible from the first chapter of the book of -Genesis to the last chapter of Revelation, and this is one of the -many marvellous illustrations of the divine unity of the Book. How -<!-- Page 72 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span>wonderful is that Book, in that there is this unity of thought on -this very profound doctrine pervading the whole book! It is a clear -indication that the Bible is the Word of God. There is in the Bible a -profounder philosophy than is found in any human philosophy, ancient or -modern, and the only way to account for it is that God Himself is the -author of this incomparable philosophy. What a wondrous God we have! -How we ought to meditate upon His person! With what awe and at the same -time with what delight we should come into His presence and bow before -Him in adoring contemplation of the wonder and beauty and majesty and -glory of His being!</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page 73 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak"><a name="IV" id="IV"></a>IV<br /> - -<small><span class="smcap">The Deity of Jesus Christ</span></small></h2> -</div> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>"Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked -them a question, saying, What think ye of the Christ? whose son -is He?"—<abbr title="Matthew">Matt.</abbr> 22:41, 42.</p> -</div> - - -<p>The question that our Lord Jesus here puts to the Pharisees is the -most fundamental question concerning Christian thought and faith that -can be put to anybody in any age. Jesus Christ Himself is the centre -of Christianity, so the most fundamental questions of faith are those -that concern the person of Christ. If a man really holds right views -concerning the person of Jesus Christ he will sooner or later get right -views on every other question. If he holds a wrong view concerning -the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, he is pretty sure to go wrong on -everything else sooner or later. <b>What think ye of Christ?</b> That -is the great central question, that is the vital question.</p> - -<p>And the most fundamental question concerning the person of Christ -is, is Jesus Christ really God? Not merely is He Divine, but is He -actually God? When I was a boy, to say you believed in the Divinity -of Christ, meant that you believed in the <!-- Page 74 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span>real Deity of Christ, that -you believed that Jesus was actually a Divine person, that He was God. -It no longer means that. The Devil is wise, shrewd, subtle, and he -knows that the most effectual way to instil error into the minds of -the inexpert and unwary is to use old and precious words and put a new -meaning into them. So when his messengers masquerading as "ministers of -righteousness" seek to lead, if possible, the elect astray, they use -the old precious words but with an entirely new and entirely different -and entirely false meaning. They talk about "the Divinity of Christ," -but they do not mean at all by it what intelligent Christians in -former days meant by it. Just so they talk of "<em>the atonement</em>," but -they do not mean at all by the atonement the substitutionary death of -Jesus Christ in our place, by which eternal life is secured for us. -And oftentimes when they talk about Christ they do not mean at all -our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the actual historic Jesus of the -four gospels, they mean an ideal Christ, or a Christ principle. So our -subject this morning is not the Divinity of Christ, but the Deity of -Christ, and our question is not is Jesus Christ Divine, but is Jesus -Christ God? Was that person who was born at Bethlehem nineteen hundred -and twenty-one years ago, and who lived thirty-three or thirty-four -years here upon earth as recorded in the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, -Luke and John, who was crucified on Calvary's cross, who rose from -the dead the third <!-- Page 75 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span>day, and was exalted from earth to heaven, to the -right hand of the Father, was He God manifested in the flesh, was He -God embodied in a human being? Was He and is He a being worthy of our -absolute faith, and supreme love, and our unhesitating obedience, and -our whole-hearted worship, just as God the Father is worthy of our -absolute faith and supreme love and unhesitating obedience and our -whole-hearted worship? Should all men honour Jesus Christ even as they -honour God the Father (John 5:23)? Not merely is He an example that we -can wisely follow, or a Master whom we can wisely serve, but is He a -God Whom we can rightly worship?</p> - -<p>I presume that most of us do believe that He was God manifested in -the flesh, and that He is God to-day at the right hand of the Father, -but why do you believe so? Are you so intelligent in your faith, -and therefore so well grounded in your faith, that no glib talker -or reasoner, no Unitarian or Russellite or Christian Scientist or -Theosophist, or other errorist can confuse you and upset you and lead -you astray? It is important that we be thoroughly sound in our faith -at this point, and thoroughly well-informed, wherever else we may be -in ignorance or error, for we are distinctly told in John 20:31 that -<b>"These are written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, -the Son of God; and that believing, ye may have life in His name."</b> -It is evident from these words of the inspired Apostle John that this -question is not <!-- Page 76 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span>merely a matter of theoretical opinion, that it is a -matter that concerns our salvation. It is to confirm and instruct you -in your blessed faith, your saving faith in Jesus Christ as a Divine -person, that I speak this morning. When I studied the subject of the -Divinity of Christ in the theological seminary I got the impression -that there were a few proof-texts in the Bible that conclusively proved -that He was Divine. Years later I found that there were not merely a -few proof-texts that proved this, but that the Bible in many ways and -in countless passages clearly taught that Jesus Christ was God manifest -in the flesh. Indeed I found that the Doctrine of the Deity of Jesus -Christ formed the very warp and woof of the Bible.</p> - - -<h3>I. DIVINE NAMES</h3> - -<p>The first line of proof of the absolute Deity of our Lord Jesus is -that <em>many names and titles clearly implying Deity are used of Jesus -Christ in the Bible, some of them over and over again, the total number -of passages reaching far into the hundreds</em>. Of course, I can give -you only a few illustrations. Turn with me first of all to <abbr title="Revelation">Rev.</abbr> 1:17, -<b>"And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as one dead. And he laid his -right hand upon me saying, Fear not; I am the first and the last."</b> -The context shows clearly that our Lord Jesus was the speaker, and here -our Lord Jesus distinctly calls Himself "<em>the First and the Last</em>." -<!-- Page 77 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span>Now this beyond a question is a Divine name, for in <abbr title="Isaiah">Isa.</abbr> 44:6 we read, -<b>"Thus sayeth Jehovah, the king of Israel, and his redeemer, Jehovah -of hosts: I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no -God."</b> In <abbr title="Revelation">Rev.</abbr> 22:12, 13, our Lord Jesus says that He is the Alpha -and Omega. His words are, <b>"Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is -with me, to render to each man according as his work is. I am Alpha -and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."</b> -Now in this same book in the first chapter and the eighth verse <em>the -Lord God</em> declares that He is the Alpha and the Omega. His words are, -<b>"I am the Alpha, and the Omega, saith the Lord God, which is and -which was and which is to come, the Almighty."</b> In <abbr title="First Corinthians">1 Cor.</abbr> 2:8, -the Apostle Paul speaks of our crucified Lord Jesus as "<em>the Lord of -glory</em>." His exact words are, <b>"Which none of the princes of this -world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the -Lord of glory."</b> There can be no question that "the Lord of glory" -is Jehovah God, for we read in <abbr title="Psalms">Ps.</abbr> 24:8-10, <b>"Who is this king of -glory? Jehovah strong and mighty, Jehovah mighty in battle. Lift up -your heads, O ye gates; yea lift them up, ye everlasting doors, and the -king of glory will come in. Who is the king of glory? Jehovah of hosts. -He is the king of glory."</b> And we are told in the passage already -referred to that our crucified Lord Jesus was the King of Glory, -therefore He must be Jehovah. In John 20:28 Thomas addressed the -<!-- Page 78 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span>Lord Jesus as his Lord and his God, <b>"And Thomas answered and said -unto him, My Lord and my God."</b> Unitarians have endeavoured to get -around the force of this utterance of Thomas by saying that Thomas was -excited and that he was not addressing the Lord Jesus, but was saying -"my Lord and my God" as an ejaculation of astonishment, just in the way -that profane people sometimes use these exclamations to-day, but this -interpretation is impossible, and shows to what desperate straits the -Unitarians are driven; for Jesus Himself commended Thomas for seeing -it and saying it. Our Lord Jesus' words immediately following those -of Thomas are, <b>"Because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: -blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed"</b> (John -20:29). In the correct translation of Titus 2:13, the translation -given in the English revision, not in the American Standard Revision, -our Lord Jesus is spoken of as, "<em>our great God</em> and Saviour Jesus -Christ." In <abbr title="Romans">Rom.</abbr> 9:5, Paul tells us that <b>"Christ is over all, God -blessed forever."</b> The Unitarians have made desperate efforts to -overcome the force of these words, but the only fair translation -and interpretation of the words that Paul wrote in Greek are the -translation and interpretation found in both our Authorised and Revised -Versions. There can be no honest doubt to one who goes to the Bible to -find out what it actually teaches, and not to read his own thought into -it, that <em>Jesus is spoken of by various names <!-- Page 79 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span>and titles that beyond -a question imply Deity</em>, and that He in so many words is called God. -In <abbr title="Hebrews">Heb.</abbr> 1:8 it is said in so many words, of the Son, <b>"But unto the -Son he saith, thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever; a sceptre of -righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom."</b> If we should go no -further it is evidently the clear and often repeated teaching of the -Bible that Jesus Christ was really God.</p> - - -<h3>II. DIVINE ATTRIBUTES</h3> - -<p>But there is a second line of proof that Jesus Christ was God, a proof -equally convincing, and that is, <em>all the five distinctively Divine -attributes are ascribed to Jesus Christ, and "all the fulness of the -Godhead" is said to dwell in Him</em>. There are five distinctively Divine -attributes, that is five attributes that God alone possesses. These are -Omnipotence, Omniscience, Omnipresence, Eternity, and Immutability. -Each one of these distinctively Divine attributes are ascribed to -Jesus Christ. First of all, omnipotence is ascribed to Jesus Christ. -Not only are we taught that Jesus had power over disease and death -and winds and sea and demons, that they were all subject to His word, -and that He is far above all principality, and power, and might, -and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world -but also in the world to come (<abbr title="Ephesians">Eph.</abbr> 1:20-23), but in <abbr title="Hebrews">Heb.</abbr> 1:3 it is -said in so many words that He <b>"Upholds all things by the word of -his power."</b> <!-- Page 80 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span>Omniscience is also ascribed to Him. We are taught -in the Bible that Jesus knew men's lives, even their secret history -(John 4:16, 19), that He knew the secret thoughts of men, knew all -men, knew what was in man (Mark 2:8; Luke 5:22; John 2:24, 25) which -knowledge we are distinctly told in <abbr title="Second Chronicles">2 Chron.</abbr> 6:30 and <abbr title="Jeremiah">Jer.</abbr> 17:9, 10, -God only possesses, but we are told in so many words in John 16:30 -that Jesus knew "all things," and in <abbr title="Colossians">Col.</abbr> 2:3 we are told that in Him -"are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." Omnipresence is -also ascribed to Him. We are told in <abbr title="Matthew">Matt.</abbr> 18:20 that where two or -three are gathered together in His name, that He is in the midst of -them, and in <abbr title="Matthew">Matt.</abbr> 28:20 that wherever His obedient disciples should -go He would be with them, even unto the end of the age, and in John -14:20 and <abbr title="Second Corinthians">2 Cor.</abbr> 13:5 we are told that He dwells in each believer, -in all the millions of believers scattered over the earth. In <abbr title="Ephesians">Eph.</abbr> -1:23 we are told in so many words that He "<em>filleth all in all</em>." -Eternity is also ascribed to Him. We are told in John 1:1 that "<em>in -the beginning</em> was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word -was God." In John 8:57 Jesus Himself said, <b>"Verily, verily, I say -unto you, before Abraham was, I am."</b> Note that the Lord Jesus did -not merely say that "before Abraham was <em>I was</em>," but that "before -Abraham was, <strong>I am</strong>," thus declaring Himself to be the eternal -"<strong>I am</strong>." Even in the Old Testament we have a declaration of -the eternity of the Christ <!-- Page 81 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span>who was to be born in Bethlehem. In Micah -5:2 we read, <b>"But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little -among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth -unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been -from of old, from everlasting."</b> And in <abbr title="Isaiah">Isa.</abbr> 9:6 we are told of -the child that is to be born, <b>"For unto us a child is born, unto -us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and -his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the -Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace."</b> And in <abbr title="Hebrews">Heb.</abbr> 13:8 we are -told that <b>"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and to-day, and for -ever."</b> His immutability is also taught in the passage just quoted -from Hebrews, and in the first chapter of the same book, the twelfth -verse we are told that while even the heavens change, the Lord Jesus -does not change. The exact words are, <b>"They shall perish, but thou -remainest: They all shall wax old as doth a garment; and as a mantle -shalt thou roll them up, as a garment, and they shall be changed: but -thou art the same. And thy years shall not fail."</b> So we see that -each one of the five distinctly Divine attributes were ascribed to our -Lord Jesus Christ. And in <abbr title="Colossians">Col.</abbr> 2:9 we are told in so many words, <b>"In -him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily"</b> (i.e., in a -bodily form). Here again we might rest our case, for what has been said -under this head, even if taken alone, clearly proves the absolute Deity -of our Lord Jesus Christ. It shows <!-- Page 82 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span>that He possessed every perfection -of nature and character that God the Father possesses.</p> - - -<h3>III. DIVINE OFFICES</h3> - -<p>But we do not need to rest the case here. There is a third unanswerable -line of proof that Jesus Christ is God, namely, <em>all the distinctively -Divine offices are predicated of Jesus Christ</em>. There are seven -distinctively Divine offices. That is to say, there are seven things -that God alone can do, and each one of these seven distinctively Divine -offices are ascribed to Jesus Christ. The seven distinctively Divine -offices are: Creation, Preservation, Forgiveness of Sin, the Raising of -the Dead, the Transformation of Bodies, Judgment, and the Bestowal of -Eternal Life, and each of these is ascribed to Jesus Christ. Creation -is ascribed to Him. In <abbr title="Hebrews">Heb.</abbr> 1:10 these words are spoken to our Lord: -<b>"And thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the -earth; and the heavens are the works of thy hands."</b> The context -clearly shows that the Lord addressed is the Lord Jesus. In John 1:3 -we are told that <b>"All things were made through him; and without him -was not anything made that was made."</b> Preservation of the universe -and of everything is also ascribed to Him in <abbr title="Hebrews">Heb.</abbr> 1:3 where it is said -of the Lord Jesus, <b>"Who being the brightness of his glory, and the -express image of his</b> (i.e., God's) <b>substance and upholding -all things by the word of his power, <!-- Page 83 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span>when he had by himself purged -our sins, sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high."</b> -The forgiveness of sin is ascribed to Him. He Himself says in Mark -2:5-10 when His power to forgive sins was questioned, because that was -recognised as a Divine power, <b>"That ye may know that the Son of -man hath power on earth to forgive sins."</b> The future raising of -the dead is distinctly ascribed to Him in John 6:39, 44, <b>"And this -is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which He hath -given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last -day. No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw -him: and I will raise him up at the last day."</b> The transformation -of our bodies is ascribed to Him in <abbr title="Philippians">Phil.</abbr> 3:21, <abbr title="Revised Version">R. V.</abbr> In <abbr title="Second Timothy">2 Tim.</abbr> 4:1 -judgment is ascribed to Him: we are told that He shall "judge the quick -and the dead." Jesus Himself declared that He would be the judge of -all mankind, and emphasised the fact of the Divine character of that -office. In John 5:22, 23 He said, <b>"For neither doth the Father judge -any man, but He hath given all judgment unto the Son, that all men may -honour the Son, even as they honour the Father."</b> The bestowal of -eternal life is ascribed to Him time and time again. In John 10:28 He -Himself says, <b>"And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall -never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand."</b> And -in John 17:1, 2, He says, <b>"Father, the hour is come; glorify thy -Son, that the Son may glorify thee: even as thou gavest Him authority -<!-- Page 84 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span>over all flesh, that to all whom thou hast given him, He should give -eternal life."</b> Here then we have the seven distinctively Divine -offices all predicated of Jesus Christ. This alone would prove that -He is God, and we might rest the case here, but there are still other -proofs of His absolute Deity.</p> - - -<h3>IV. STATEMENTS WHICH IN THE OLD TESTAMENT ARE MADE DISTINCTLY -OF JEHOVAH, GOD, TAKEN IN THE NEW TESTAMENT TO REFER TO JESUS -CHRIST</h3> - -<p>The fourth line of proof of the absolute Deity of Jesus Christ is found -in the fact that <em>over and over again statements which in the Old -Testament are made distinctly of Jehovah, God, are taken in the New -Testament to refer to Jesus Christ</em>. We have not time to illustrate -this at length, but will give but one illustration where many might be -given. In <abbr title="Jeremiah">Jer.</abbr> 11:20 the prophet says, <b>"But, O Lord of hosts, that -judgest righteously, that triest the reins and the heart, let me see -thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I revealed my cause."</b> -Here the prophet distinctly says that it is Jehovah of Hosts who -<em>judgest</em> and <em>triest the reins and the heart</em>. And in the <abbr title="seventeenth">17th</abbr> chapter -and the tenth verse Jeremiah represents Jehovah Himself as saying the -same thing in these words, <b>"I, Jehovah, search the heart, I try -the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, according to -the fruit of his doings."</b> But in the New Testament in <abbr title="Revelation">Rev</abbr>. 2:23 -<em>the Lord Jesus</em> says, <b>"I am he which searcheth <!-- Page 85 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span>the reins and -the hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your -works."</b> We are distinctly told in the context that it is "The Son -of God" who is speaking here. So Jesus claims for Himself in the <abbr title="New Testament">N. T.</abbr> -what Jehovah in the <abbr title="Old Testament">O. T.</abbr> says is true of Himself and of Himself alone, -and in very many other instances statements which in the Old Testament -are made distinctly of Jehovah, God, are taken in the <abbr title="New Testament">N. T.</abbr> to refer -to Jesus Christ. This is to say, in New Testament thought and doctrine -Jesus Christ occupies the place that Jehovah occupies in Old Testament -thought and doctrine.</p> - - -<h3>V. THE WAY IN WHICH THE NAME OF GOD THE FATHER AND JESUS CHRIST -THE SON ARE COUPLED TOGETHER</h3> - -<p>The fifth line of proof of the absolute Deity of our Lord is found -<em>in the way in which the name of Jesus Christ is coupled with that -of God the Father. In numerous passages His name is coupled with the -name of God the Father in a way in which it would be impossible to -couple the name of any finite being with that of the Deity.</em> We have -time for but a few of the many illustrations that might be given. A -striking instance is in the words of our Lord Himself in John 14:23 -where we read, <b>"Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, -he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and he will come -unto him, and make <!-- Page 86 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span>our abode with him."</b> Here our Lord Jesus does -not hesitate to couple Himself with the Father in such a way as to say -"<em>we</em>," i.e., <em>God the Father and I</em> will come and make our abode with -him. In John 14:1 He says, <b>"Let not your heart be troubled: Believe -in God, believe also in me."</b> If Jesus Christ was not God this -is shocking blasphemy. There is absolutely no middle ground between -admitting the Deity of Jesus Christ and charging Christ with the most -daring and appalling blasphemy of which any man in all history was ever -guilty.</p> - - -<h3>VI. DIVINE WORSHIP TO BE GIVEN TO JESUS CHRIST</h3> - -<p>There is a sixth line of proof of the absolute Deity of our Lord -Jesus. Those already given have been decisive, each one of the five -has been decisive, but this, if possible, is the most decisive of -them all, and that is, that <em>we are taught in so many words that -Jesus Christ should be worshipped as God, both by angels and men</em>. In -numerous places in the gospels we see Jesus Christ accepting without -hesitation a worship which good men and angels declined with fear, -and which He Himself taught should be rendered only to God (<abbr title="Matthew">Matt.</abbr> -28:9; Luke 24:52; Mark 14:33; cf. Acts 10:25, 26; <abbr title="Revelation">Rev.</abbr> 22:8, 9, <abbr title="Revised Version">R. V.</abbr>; -Matt. 4:9, 10). A curious and very misleading comment is made in the -margin of the American Standard Revision upon the meaning of the word -translated <!-- Page 87 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span>"worship" in these passages, and that is that "the Greek -word translated worship denotes an act of reverence, <em>whether paid to -a creature</em> or to the Creator." Now this is true, but it is utterly -misleading; for while this word is used to denote "an act of reverence -paid to a creature" <em>by idolators</em>, our Lord Jesus Himself distinctly -says, using exactly the same Greek word, <b>"Thou shalt worship the -Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve,"</b> and on the other hand -He says in John 5:23 that <b>"All men should honour the Son even as -they honour the Father."</b> And in <abbr title="Revelation">Rev.</abbr> 5:8, 9, 12, 13 the four living -creatures and the four and twenty elders are represented as falling -down before the Lamb and offering worship to Him just as worship is -offered to Him that sitteth upon the throne, i.e., God the Father. In -<abbr title="Hebrews">Heb.</abbr> 1:6 we are told in so many words, <b>"And again, when he bringeth -in the first begotten into the world, he saith, and let all the angels -of God worship him."</b> One night in the inquiry room in Chicago I -stepped up to an intelligent looking man at the back of the room and -said to him, "Are you a Christian?" He replied, "I do not suppose you -would consider me a Christian." I said, "Why not?" He said, "I am a -Unitarian." I said, "What you mean then is that you do not think that -Jesus Christ is a person who should be worshipped." He replied, "That -is exactly what I think," and added, "the Bible nowhere says we ought -to worship Him." I said, "Who told you that?" He replied, "My <!-- Page 88 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span>pastor," -mentioning a prominent Unitarian minister in the City of Boston. I -said, "Let me show you something," and I opened my Bible to <abbr title="Hebrews">Heb.</abbr> 1:6 -and read, <b>"And again, when he bringeth in the first begotten into -the world, he saith, and let all the angels of God worship him,"</b> -and he said, "Does it say that?" I handed him the Bible and said, "Read -it for yourself," and he read it and said, "I did not know that was in -the Bible." I said, "Well it is there, isn't it?" "Yes it is there." -Language could not make it plainer. <em>The Bible clearly teaches that -Jesus, the Son of God, is to be worshipped as God by angels and men, -even as God the Father is worshipped.</em></p> - - -<h3>VII. INCIDENTAL PROOFS OF THE DEITY OF JESUS CHRIST</h3> - -<p>The six lines of proof of the Deity of Jesus Christ which I have given -you leave no possibility of doubting that Jesus Christ is God, that -Jesus of Nazareth is God manifest in a human person, that He is a being -to be worshipped, even as God the Father is worshipped; but there are -also incidental proofs of His absolute Deity which, if possible, are in -some ways even more convincing than the direct assertions of His Deity.</p> - -<p>1. Our Lord Jesus says in <abbr title="Matthew">Matt.</abbr> 11:28, <b>"Come unto me, all ye that -labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."</b> Now any one -that makes a promise like that must either be God, or a lunatic, <!-- Page 89 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span>or an -impostor. No one can give rest to all who labour and are heavy laden -who come to him unless he is God, and yet Jesus Christ offers to do it. -If He offers to do it and fails to do it when men come to Him, then He -is either a lunatic or an impostor. If He actually does it, then beyond -a question He is God. And thousands can testify that He really does it. -Thousands and tens of thousands who have laboured and were heavy laden -and crushed, and for whom there was no help in man, have come to Jesus -Christ and <em>He actually has given them rest</em>. Surely then He is not -merely a great man, He is God.</p> - -<p>2. Again in John 14:1 <em>Jesus Christ demands that we put the same faith -in Him that we put in God the Father</em>, and promises that in such faith -we will find a cure for all trouble and anxiety of heart. His words -are, <b>"Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also -in me."</b> It is clear that He demands that the same absolute faith -be put in Himself that is to be put in God Almighty. Now in <abbr title="Jeremiah">Jer.</abbr> 17:5, -scripture with which our Lord Jesus was perfectly familiar, we read -<b>"Thus saith Jehovah: Cursed is the man that trusteth in man,"</b> -and yet with this clear curse pronounced upon all who trust in man, -Jesus Christ demands that we put trust in Him just as we put trust in -God. It is the strongest possible assertion of Deity on His part. No -one but God has a right to make such a demand, and Jesus Christ, when -He makes this demand, must either <!-- Page 90 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span>be God or an impostor, but thousands -and tens of thousands have found that when they did believe in Him just -as they believe in God, their hearts were delivered from trouble no -matter what their bereavement or circumstances might be.</p> - -<p>3. Again, <em>the Lord Jesus demanded supreme and absolute love for -Himself</em>. It is clear as day that no one but God has a right to demand -such a love, but there can be no question that Jesus did demand it. -In <abbr title="Matthew">Matt.</abbr> 10:37 He said to His disciples, <b>"He that loveth father or -mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or -daughter more than me is not worthy of me."</b> And in Luke 14:26, 33, -He says, <b>"If any man cometh unto me, and hateth not his own father, -and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, -and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. . . . So therefore -whosoever he be of you that renounceth not all that he hath, he cannot -be my disciple."</b> There can be no question that this is a demand on -Jesus' part of supreme and absolute love to Himself, a love that puts -even the dearest relations of life in an entirely secondary place. No -one but God has a right to make any such demand, but our Lord Jesus -made it, and, therefore, He must be God.</p> - -<p>4. In John 10:30 the Lord Jesus claimed absolute equality with the -Father. He said, <b>"I and the Father are one."</b></p> - -<p>5. In John 14:9 our Lord Jesus went so far as to say, <b>"He that hath -seen me, hath seen the <!-- Page 91 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span>Father."</b> He claims here to be so absolutely -God that to see Him is to see the Father Who dwelleth in Him.</p> - -<p>6. In John 17:3 He says, <b>"And this is eternal life, to know -thee, the only true God, and him whom thou didst send, even Jesus -Christ."</b> In other words, <em>he claims that the knowledge of Himself -is as essential a part of eternal life as knowledge of God the Father</em>.</p> - -<p>Conclusion: There is no room left to doubt the absolute Deity of Jesus -Christ. It is a glorious truth. The Saviour in whom we believe is God, -a Saviour for whom nothing is too hard, a Saviour who can save from the -uttermost and save to the uttermost. Oh, how we should rejoice that we -have no merely human Saviour, but a Saviour that is absolutely God. On -the other hand, how black is the guilt of rejecting such a Saviour as -this! Whoever refuses to accept Jesus as his Divine Saviour and Lord is -guilty of the enormous sin of rejecting a Saviour Who is God. Many a -man thinks he is good because he never stole, or committed murder, or -cheated. "Of what great sin am I guilty?" he complacently asks. Have -you ever accepted Jesus Christ? "No." Well, then <em>you are guilty of -the awful and damning sin of rejecting a Saviour Who is God</em>. "But," -you answer, "I do not believe that He is God." That does not change -the fact nor lessen your guilt. Questioning a fact or denying a fact -never changes it, regardless of what Mary Baker Eddy may say <!-- Page 92 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span>to the -contrary. Suppose a man had a wife who was one of the noblest, purest, -truest women that ever lived, would her husband's questioning her -purity and nobility change the fact? It would not. It would simply make -that husband guilty of awful slander, it would simply prove that man to -be an outrageous scoundrel. So denying the Deity of Jesus Christ, does -not make his Deity any less a fact, but it does make the denier of His -Deity guilty of awful, incredible, blasphemous slander. It does prove -you who deny His Deity to be——. I leave your own conscience to finish -the sentence.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page 93 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak"><a name="V" id="V"></a>V<br /> - -<small><span class="smcap">Jesus Christ a Real Man</span></small></h2> -</div> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>"And the word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld -his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father), full -of grace and truth."—John 1:14.</p> -</div> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>"Who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an -equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, -taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of -man; and being found in fashion as man, he emptied himself, -becoming obedient even unto death, yea the death of the -cross."—<abbr title="Philippians">Phil.</abbr> 2:6-8.</p> -</div> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>"There is one God, one mediator also between God and men, -himself man, Christ Jesus."—<abbr title="First Timothy">1 Tim.</abbr> 2:5.</p> -</div> - - -<p>Our subject in this chapter is "Jesus Christ a Real Man." I have three -texts, and the substance of all that I shall say is these three texts. -The first text is John 1:14: <b>"And the word became flesh, and dwelt -among us (and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from -the Father), full of grace and truth."</b> The second text is <abbr title="Philippians">Phil.</abbr> -2:6-8: <b>"Who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on -an equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking -the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of man; and being -found in fashion as a man, he emptied himself, becoming obedient even -unto death, yea the death of the cross."</b> And <!-- Page 94 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span>the third text is <abbr title="First Timothy">1 -Tim.</abbr> 2:5: <b>"There is one God, one mediator also between God and man, -himself man, Christ Jesus."</b></p> - -<p>We saw in the preceding chapter that Jesus Christ was God, that in -Him dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, that He possessed -all the distinctively divine attributes, that He exercised all the -distinctively divine functions, that He occupied the position in New -Testament thought that Jehovah occupied in Old Testament thought, -that He was a being worthy of our absolute faith, our supreme love, -our unhesitating obedience, and our whole-hearted worship, that He -was God and is God. But in the passages which we have taken for our -texts to-day, we are told that this Divine One, who had existed from -all eternity with God, the Father, and who was God, <em>became a man</em>. In -becoming a man, He did not cease to be God; but the Word, the Eternal -Word, which was with God and was God, took human nature upon Himself. -While He was very God of very God, He was real man, as truly and -completely a man as any man who ever walked on this earth. The doctrine -of the real humanity of Christ is as essential a part of the Christian -faith as the doctrine of His real Deity. There is one very large class -of people who do not see the real Deity of Jesus Christ. They are in -fundamental error. There is another large class of people who see only -His Deity, and who do not see the reality of His manhood. They also are -in error. A doctrine of a Saviour who is <!-- Page 95 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span>only man is false doctrine; -and a doctrine of a Saviour who is only God is equally false doctrine. -The doctrine of the Bible is that, One Who from all eternity was God in -the person of Jesus of Nazareth <em>became man</em>. There are many passages -in the Bible which set forth the Deity of our Lord Jesus in a way that -is unmistakable and inescapable. There are many other passages in -the Bible which set forth the complete humanity of our Lord Jesus in -a way which is equally unmistakable and inescapable. It is with the -doctrine of His real humanity, i.e., that He was a real man, that we -are concerned this morning.</p> - - -<h3>I. THE HUMAN PARENTAGE OF JESUS CHRIST</h3> - -<p>First of all, <em>the Bible teaches us that Jesus Christ had a human -parentage</em>. We read in Luke 2:7, <b>"And she</b> (i.e., Mary) -<b>brought forth her first born Son; and she wrapped him in swaddling -clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them -in the inn."</b> Here we are told that our Lord Jesus Christ, though -supernaturally conceived, <em>was Mary's Son</em>. Mary was as truly His -mother as God was His Father. He had a human parentage as truly as He -had a divine parentage. In the first chapter of this same Gospel of -Luke, in the <abbr title="thirty-fifth">35th</abbr> verse, we read, <b>"And the angel answered and said -unto her</b> (i.e., Mary), <b>the Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and -the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee: <!-- Page 96 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span>wherefore also the -holy thing, which is begotten shall be called the Son of God."</b> He -was called the Son of God because He was begotten directly by the power -of the Holy Spirit; but the Holy Spirit came upon Mary and she became -the mother of this One who was to be called the "Son of God." Not only -was He descended from Mary and in that way of human parentage, we are -clearly told also in <abbr title="Romans">Rom.</abbr> 1:3 that God's Son <b>"Was born of the seed -of David according to the flesh."</b> And in Acts 2:30 we are told that -He was <b>"The fruit of his</b> (i.e., David's) <b>loins, according -to the flesh."</b> And in Hebrews 7:14, we are told that <b>"Our Lord -sprang out of Judah."</b> While we are told in <abbr title="Galatians">Gal.</abbr> 4:4 that <b>"When -the fulness of the time came, God sent forth His Son,"</b> we are also -told with equal plainness in the same verse that this Son of God was -"<em>Born of a woman</em>." The human parentage of our Lord and Saviour Jesus -Christ was just as real and just as essential a part of His personality -as His divine parentage.</p> - - -<h3>II. THE HUMAN PHYSICAL NATURE OF JESUS CHRIST</h3> - -<p>But not only did Jesus Christ have a human parentage, He had a human -physical nature, a human body. This comes out in the first of our -texts, <b>"The Word Became Flesh,"</b> and in Hebrews 2:14 we are -taught <b>"Since then the children are sharers in flesh and blood, he -also</b> (i.e., our Lord Jesus also) <b>himself in like manner partook -of the <!-- Page 97 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span>same; that through death he might bring to naught him that -had the power of death, that is, the devil."</b> Words could not make -it plainer that our Lord Jesus <em>had a real human body</em>, a real human -physical nature. Indeed, the Apostle John teaches us in 1 John 4:2, 3, -that not to believe in the actuality of His human body, is a mark of -the Anti-Christ. He says, <b>"Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: every -spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of -God: and every spirit that confesseth not Jesus is not of God: and this -is the spirit of the anti-Christ, whereof ye have heard that it cometh; -and now it is in the world already."</b> There were those in John's -day who denied the reality of Jesus' human nature, who asserted that -His body was only a seeming or apparent body, that it was an illusion, -or as the Christian Scientists now put it, "mortal thought," and John, -speaking in the wisdom and power of the Holy Ghost, asserts that this -doctrine is a mark of the Anti-Christ. It is the one supreme mark -to-day, that "Christian Science" is of the Anti-Christ.</p> - -<p>Jesus Christ not only had a human body during His life here upon earth, -but after His resurrection He still had a human body. The Millennial -Dawnists (Pastor-Russellites) teach us that this is not so; that, -whereas before His incarnation He was wholly a spiritual being, that -at His incarnation He became wholly a human being, and that since His -death and resurrection He is wholly a <!-- Page 98 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span>divine being: all of which is -not Scriptural, and therefore is not true. He himself said after His -resurrection, <b>"See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle -me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye behold me -have. And when he said this, he showed them his hands and his feet"</b> -(Luke 24:39, 40). And to Thomas in John 20:27, after Thomas had -doubted the reality of His resurrection, He said, <b>"Reach hither thy -finger, and see my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and put it into -my side: and be not faithless but believing."</b> Not only after His -resurrection while still here on earth did He have a real human body, -but He still has a human body in the glory. In that wonderful view into -heaven that was given to Stephen at the time he was stoned and killed -we read in Acts 7:55, 56, <b>"But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, -looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus -standing on the right hand of God, and said, Behold I see the heavens -opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God."</b> And -when He comes again to take His rightful authority on this earth, He -shall come with a human body, coming as "the Son of Man." He Himself -said to the High Priest when He stood before him on trial, in <abbr title="Matthew">Matt.</abbr> -26:64, <b>"Nevertheless I say unto you, henceforth ye shall see the son -of man standing at the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of -heaven."</b> In this utterance of our Lord we have a declaration of His -Deity, but an equally clear <!-- Page 99 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span>declaration that He was a real man, and -that He will come again <em>as a man</em> with a human, though glorified body. -Indeed, we are told in <abbr title="Philippians">Phil.</abbr> 1:20, 21 that when He does thus come, He -is going to transform these our present human bodies, the bodies of our -present humiliation, into the likeness of His own glorious body, His -glorified human body.</p> - - -<h3>III. SUBJECT TO HUMAN LIMITATIONS</h3> - -<p>But the reality and completeness of our Lord's human nature comes out -not only in the fact that He had a human parentage and a human body: -we are also clearly taught that, while as God he possessed all the -attributes and exercised all the offices of Deity, as a man He was -subject to human limitations.</p> - -<p>1. <em>He was subject to the physical limitations which are essential to -humanity.</em> In John 4:6 we read that Jesus Christ <em>was weary</em>. The words -are <b>"Jesus, therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on -the well: and it was about the sixth hour."</b> But God is never weary. -We read explicitly in <abbr title="Isaiah">Isa.</abbr> 40:28 <b>"Hast thou not known? Hast thou not -heard? The everlasting God, Jehovah, the creator of the ends of the -earth, fainteth not, neither is weary."</b></p> - -<p>We are told in <abbr title="Matthew">Matt.</abbr> 8:24 that <em>Jesus Christ slept</em>. But God never -sleeps. We read in <abbr title="Psalms">Ps.</abbr> 121:4, 5, <b>"Behold he that keepeth Israel -shall <!-- Page 100 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span>neither slumber nor sleep. Jehovah is thy keeper: Jehovah is thy -shade upon thy right hand."</b> By comparison of these two verses, we -see distinctly that Jehovah never sleeps. Yet Jesus did sleep, so while -He was Jehovah, He was not Jehovah only. He was man as truly as He was -God.</p> - -<p>In <abbr title="Matthew">Matt.</abbr> 21:18 we read that <em>Jesus Christ hungered</em>; in John 19:28 we -read that <em>Jesus Christ thirsted</em>; in Luke 22:44 we read that Jesus -Christ <em>suffered physical agony</em>, His agony was so great that He was -on the point of dying with agony; and in <abbr title="First Corinthians">1 Cor.</abbr> 15:3 we read that -"<em>Christ died</em>," that His death is an essential part of the Gospel. -Paul says in this passage, <b>"For I delivered unto you first of all -that which I received, how that Christ died for our sins according to -the scriptures."</b> It was no merely apparent death, it was a real -death. It was no "illusion." Our salvation depends on the reality of -His death. "Christian Science" cuts the very heart out of the Gospel. -We are oftentimes asked was it the human nature of Jesus Christ that -died or was it the divine nature that died. It was neither the one nor -the other, natures do not die, a person dies. It was <em>Jesus</em> who died, -the Person who was at once God and man. We are told in so many words in -<abbr title="First Corinthians">1 Cor.</abbr> 2:8, that they <b>"Crucified the Lord of glory,"</b> and we saw -in the last chapter that the "Lord of Glory" is unquestionably a divine -title. It was the one Person Jesus who was at once human and divine, -who died upon the cross of Calvary.</p> - -<p><!-- Page 101 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span>2. <em>He was also, as a man subject to intellectual and moral -limitations.</em></p> - -<p>We read in Luke 2:52, <b>"Jesus advanced in wisdom and stature and -in favour with God and man."</b> As we are told here that He grew in -wisdom, He must have been more perfect in wisdom after He grew than -He was before He grew, and as He grew in favour with God and man, He -must have attained to a higher type of moral perfection when He grew -than He had attained to before He grew. While in the Babe of Bethlehem -God was incarnate, nevertheless He was a real babe and grew not only -in stature, but in wisdom and in favour with God and man. <em>As a man</em> -He was limited in knowledge, He Himself says in Mark 13:32, <b>"But -of that day and that hour</b> (i.e., the day and the hour of His own -return) <b>knoweth no man; no, not the angels which are in heaven, -neither the Son but the Father."</b> Of course, His knowledge was -<em>self-limited</em>: to set an example for you and me to follow in His -steps, He voluntarily <em>as man</em> put away His knowledge of the time of -His own return.</p> - -<p>Furthermore still, we are definitely and explicitly taught in <abbr title="Hebrews">Heb.</abbr> 4:15 -that Jesus Christ was <b>"In all points tempted like as we are."</b> -But in bearing this in mind as being clear and complete proof of the -reality of His humanity, not only physical but mental and moral, we -should also bear in mind what is stated in the same verse, that He was -tempted "Apart from Sin," i.e., that <!-- Page 102 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span>there was not the slightest taint -or tinge of sin in His temptation, not one moment's yielding to it in -thought or desire or act. Nevertheless, He was tempted and overcame -temptation in the same way that we may overcome it, by the Word of God -and prayer. He Himself voluntarily placed Himself under the essential -moral limitations that man is under in order to redeem man.</p> - -<p>3. <em>He was also, as a man, subject to limitations in the way in which -He obtained power and in which He exercised power.</em> Jesus Christ -obtained the power for the Divine work that He did while here upon -earth, not by His incarnate Deity, but by prayer. We read in Mark -1:35, <b>"And in the morning, a great while before day, he rose up and -went out, and departed unto a desert place, and there prayed."</b> And -we read also that before He raised Lazarus from the dead, called him -forth from the tomb by His Word, that He lifted up His eyes to God and -said, <b>"Father, I thank thee that thou heardest me,"</b> showing -conclusively that the power by which He raised Lazarus from the dead -was not His inherent, inborn, Divine power, but was power obtained -by prayer. It is mentioned not less than twenty-five times that He -prayed. He obtained power for work and for moral victory as other -men do, by prayer. He was subject to human conditions for obtaining -what He desired. He obtained power for the divine works and miracles -which he wrought by the anointing of the Holy Spirit. We read in Acts -10:38, that <b>"God <!-- Page 103 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span>anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost -and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were -oppressed of the devil; for God was with him."</b> And we are taught, -furthermore, that He was subject during the days of His humiliation to -limitations in the exercise of power. He himself said just before His -crucifixion and subsequent glorification, in John 14:12, <b>"Verily, -verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do -shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; for I go -unto my Father,"</b> the evident meaning of which is, that during the -days of His flesh there was a limitation to His exercise of power, but -after His glorification, when He was glorified with the Father with -the glory which He had with Him since the world was, there would be no -limitations to the exercise of His power, and therefore, that we, being -united, not to our Lord Jesus in His humiliation, but in His exaltation -and restoration to His divine glory, will do greater works than he did -during the days of His humiliation.</p> - - -<h3>IV. THE HUMAN RELATION OF JESUS CHRIST TO GOD</h3> - -<p>The completeness of the humanity of Jesus Christ comes out in still -another matter, and that is, the relation that He bore to God as a man -was the relation of a man, so that God was His God. He himself says to -Mary in John 20:17, <b>"Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended unto -the father: <!-- Page 104 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span>but go unto my brethren, and say to them, I ascend unto -my Father and your Father, and my God and your God."</b> The evident -meaning of this is that Jesus Christ's relation to God, the Father, -was the relation of man. He speaks of God the Father as "My God." -Though possessed of all the attributes and exercising all the functions -of Deity, Jesus Christ the Son was subordinate to the Father. This -explains utterances of our Lord which have puzzled many who believe in -His Deity, such utterances, for example, as that in John 14:28, where -Jesus says, <b>"Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come -again unto you. If ye loved me ye would rejoice, because I said, I go -unto the Father: For my Father is greater than I."</b> The question is -often asked, "If Jesus Christ is God, how could the Father be greater -than He?" The very simple answer to which is; that He, <em>as the Son</em>, -was subordinate to the Father, equal to the Father in the possession of -all the distinctively Divine attributes and exercising all the Divine -offices, and as an object of our wholehearted worship, but subordinate -to the Father in His office. Jesus Christ's relation to the Father is -like the relation of the wife to the husband in this respect, that -the wife may be fully the equal of the husband, but nevertheless, the -"Head of the Woman is the Man," she is subordinate to the man, just as -we are told in the same verse (<abbr title="First Corinthians">1 Cor.</abbr> 11:12) <b>"The head of Christ is -God,"</b> i.e., Jesus Christ the Son is subordinate to the Father.</p> - -<p><!-- Page 105 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span>It is evident from what we have read from God's Word, that Jesus Christ -in every respect was a true man, a real man, a complete man. He was -made <b>"In all things"</b> <b>"like unto his brethren"</b> (cf. <abbr title="Hebrews">Heb.</abbr> -2:17). He was subject to all the physical, mental and moral conditions -of existence essential to human nature. He was in every respect a real -man. He became so voluntarily in order to redeem men. From all eternity -He had existed "in the form of God" and could have remained "in the -form of God," but if He had so remained, we would have been lost. -Therefore, out of love to us, the fallen race, as we are taught in one -of our texts (<abbr title="Philippians">Phil.</abbr> 2:5-8), He <b>"Counted not the being on an equality -with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form -of a servant, being made in the likeness of man; and being found in -fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto -death, yea, the death of the cross."</b> Oh, wondrous love! that out of -love to us He should take our nature upon Him, turning His back upon -the glory that had been His from all eternity and taking upon Himself -all the shame and suffering that was involved in our redemption, and -becoming one of us that He might die for us and redeem us! Oh, how -wondrous the <b>"Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was -rich yet for our sakes He became poor, that we through his poverty -might become rich."</b> (<abbr title="2 Corinthians">2 Cor.</abbr> 8:9.) He partook of human nature -that we might become partakers of the Divine nature. The philosophy -<!-- Page 106 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span>of the divine and human natures of Christ, the philosophy of the -New Testament, is a most wonderful philosophy, the most wonderful -philosophy the world ever heard, and thank God it is a true philosophy.</p> - -<p>But some one may ask, "How shall we reconcile the Bible doctrine of -the true Deity of Jesus Christ with the Bible doctrine of the real -human nature of Jesus Christ, the doctrine that He was real God with -the doctrine that He was equally truly man?" The answer to this is -very simple. Reconciling doctrines is not our main business. Our first -business is to find out what the various passages in the Bible mean, -taken in their natural, grammatical interpretation. Then, if we can -reconcile them, well and good; if not, we should still believe them -both and leave the reconciliation of the two apparently conflicting -doctrines to our increasing knowledge as we go on communing with God -and studying His Word. It is an utterly foolish and vicious principle -of Biblical interpretation that we must interpret every passage of the -Bible so that we can readily reconcile it with every other passage. It -is this principle of interpretation that gives rise to a one-sided, and -therefore untrue, theology. One man, for example, takes the Calvinistic -passages in the Bible and believes them and twists and distorts the -other passages; that teach the freedom of man, to make them fit with -those that teach the sovereignty of God, and he becomes a one-sided -Calvinist. Another man <!-- Page 107 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span>sees only those passages that clearly teach -man's power of self-determination and seeks to twist all that teach the -sovereignty of God and the foreordaining wisdom and will of God to fit -into his ideas, and he becomes a one-sided Arminian, and so on through -the whole gamut of doctrine. It is utter foolishness, to say nothing of -presumption, to thus handle the Word of God deceitfully. Our business -is to find out the plainly intended sense of a passage that we are -studying, as determined by the usage of words, grammatical construction -and context; and when we have found out the plainly intended meaning, -believe it whether we can reconcile it with something else that we have -found out and believe, or not. We should always remember that in many -cases two truths, both clearly true, that at one time seemed utterly -irreconcilable or flatly contradictory to one another, are now, with -our increased knowledge seen to beautifully harmonise. So we should -have no difficulty in recognising the fact that truths that still seem -to us to be contradictory, do now perfectly harmonise in the infinite -wisdom of God, and will some day perfectly harmonise to our minds -when we approach more nearly to God's omniscience. The Bible, in the -most fearless way, puts the absolute Deity of Jesus Christ in closest -juxtaposition with the real manhood of Jesus Christ. For example, we -read in <abbr title="Matthew">Matt.</abbr> 8:24, <b>"And behold, there arose a great tempest in the -sea, insomuch that the boat was covered with the waves; but He</b> -<!-- Page 108 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span>(Jesus) <b>was asleep."</b> Here we have a plain statement of the real -manhood of our Lord, but two verses later, in the <abbr title="twenty-sixth">26th</abbr> verse, we read, -<b>"And He saith unto them, why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? -Then He arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great -calm."</b> Here we have a clear shining forth of His Deity, even the -winds and the waves subject to His word. No wonder the disciples asked -one another, <b>"What manner of man is this that even the winds and the -sea obey him?"</b> (<abbr title="Matthew">Matt.</abbr> 8:27). The answer is plain: a Divine Man.</p> - -<p>Again we read in Luke 3:21, <b>"Now it came to pass, when all the -people were baptised, that Jesus also having been baptised, and -praying, . . ."</b> Here we see Jesus in His humanity, <em>baptised</em> and -<em>praying</em>. Surely this is a man. But in the remainder of the verse -and in the next verse we read, <b>"And the heaven was opened, and the -Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form, as a dove, upon him, and a -voice came out of heaven, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well -pleased."</b> Here God with an audible voice declares Him to be Divine, -to be His Son. Again in John 11:38 we read, <b>"Jesus, therefore, again -groaning in himself cometh to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone -laid against it."</b> Here we see Jesus in His humanity, but four -verses further down, the <abbr title="forty-third">43rd</abbr> and <abbr title="forty-fourth">44th</abbr> verses, we read, <b>"And when He -had thus spoken, He cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come <!-- Page 109 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span>forth. And -he that was dead came forth."</b> Here again his Deity shines forth.</p> - -<p>In Luke 9:28 we read, <b>"And it came to pass about eight days after -these sayings, that he took with him Peter and John and James, and -went up into the mountain to pray."</b> Here we very clearly see His -humanity, His limitation, His dependence upon God; but in the very -next verse, the <abbr title="twenty-ninth">29th</abbr> verse, we read, <b>"And as He was praying the -fashion of his countenance was altered and His raiment became white -and glistering."</b> Here we see His Divinity shining forth, and then -again in the <abbr title="thirty-fifth">35th</abbr> verse, we read of the voice coming out of the cloud, -saying, <b>"This is my son, my chosen; hear ye him."</b> Here His Deity -unmistakably is seen again.</p> - -<p>In <abbr title="Matthew">Matt.</abbr> 16:16, 17, we read, <b>"And Simon Peter answered and said, -thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. And Jesus answered and -said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: for flesh and blood -hath not revealed it unto thee, but my father who is in heaven."</b> -Here is a clear declaration by Jesus Himself of His Deity. But four -verses further down in the chapter, the <abbr title="twenty-fourth">24th</abbr> verse, we read, <b>"From -that time began Jesus to show unto his disciples that he must go up -unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests -and scribes, and be killed, and the third day rise from the dead."</b> -Here we have the clearest declaration of the reality and completeness -of His humanity.</p> - -<p><!-- Page 110 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span>In <abbr title="Hebrews">Heb.</abbr> 1:6, we read of our Lord Jesus, <b>"And when He</b> (i.e., God -the Father) <b>again bringeth in the first-begotten into the world he -saith, and let all the angels of God worship him."</b> Here is a most -unmistakable and inescapable declaration that Jesus Christ is a Divine -Person, to be worshipped as God by angels as well as men, and two -verses further down we read this further declaration of His absolute -Deity, <b>"But of the son he saith, Thy throne O God, is for ever and -ever."</b> Here again the Son is declared in so many words to be God, -He is called God. But in the very next chapter, <abbr title="Hebrews">Heb.</abbr> 2:18, we read, -<b>"For in that He himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to -succor them that are tempted."</b> Here we have the clearest possible -declaration of the reality of His human nature.</p> - -<p>In <abbr title="Hebrews">Heb.</abbr> 4:14 we read, <b>"Having then a great high priest, who hath -passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our -profession."</b> Here we have a plain declaration of His Deity; but in -the very next verse, we read, <b>"For we have not an high priest that -cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but one that -hath been in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin."</b> -One of the plainest declarations of the fullness and completeness of -His humanity to be found in the Bible.</p> - -<p>The doctrine of the Deity of Jesus Christ and the doctrine that Jesus -Christ was a real man, go hand in hand in the Bible. What kind of a -<!-- Page 111 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span>Saviour, what kind of a Lord Jesus, do you believe in? Do you believe -in a Saviour that is a man and man only? Then you do not believe in -the Saviour that is presented in the Bible. On the other hand, do you -believe in a Saviour that is God and God only? Then you do not believe -in the Saviour of the Bible. The Lord Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, -presented to us in the Bible, is very God of very God and at the same -time He is our brother, our fellowman, and is not ashamed to call us -brethren. Oh, I thank God that I have a Saviour that is God, possessed -of all the attributes and powers of Deity, all the perfections of -Deity, a Saviour for whom nothing is too hard. I thank God that my -Saviour is One who made the heavens and the earth, and who holds all -the powers of nature and of history in His control; but I equally -thank God that my Saviour is my brother man, One who was tempted in -all points like as I am, One who is in a position to bear my sins, on -the one hand because He is God, on the other hand because He is man. -A merely divine Saviour could not be a Saviour for me. A merely human -Saviour could not be a Saviour for me. But a Saviour in whom Deity -and humanity meet; a Saviour who is at once God and man, is just the -Saviour I need, and the Saviour that you need, a Saviour that is able -to save to the uttermost all that come unto God through Him.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page 112 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak"><a name="VI" id="VI"></a>VI<br /> - -<small><span class="smcap">The Personality of the Holy Spirit</span></small></h2> -</div> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>"The Communion of the Holy Ghost."—<abbr title="Second Corinthians">2 Cor.</abbr> 13:14.</p> -</div> - - -<p>Our subject this morning is "The Personality of the Holy Spirit." No -series of sermons upon the Fundamentals of our Christian faith would -be complete without a sermon on the Personality and Deity of the Holy -Spirit. The doctrine of the Personality of the Holy Spirit is both -fundamental and vital. Any one who does not know the Holy Spirit as -a person has not attained to a complete and well-rounded Christian -experience. Any one who knows God the Father and God the Son, but who -does not know God the Holy Spirit has not attained unto the Christian -conception of God, nor to a fully Christian experience. It may seem -to you at first thought as if the doctrine of the Personality of -the Holy Spirit were a purely technical and apparently impractical -doctrine, but it is not so. As we shall see shortly, the doctrine of -the Personality of the Holy Spirit is a doctrine of the very first -practical importance.</p> - - -<p><!-- Page 113 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span></p> -<h3>I. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE DOCTRINE OF THE PERSONALITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT</h3> - -<p>1. <em>The Doctrine of the Personality of the Holy Spirit is of the -highest importance from the standpoint of worship.</em> If the Holy Spirit -is a person and a Divine Person, and He is, and if we do not know Him -as such, if we think of the Holy Spirit only as an impersonal influence -or power, then we are robbing a Divine Person of the worship which -is His due, and the love which is His due, and the confidence and -surrender and obedience which are His due. And may I stop at this point -to ask each one of you, "Do you worship the Holy Spirit?" Theoretically -we all do, every time we sing the long metre Doxology,</p> - -<div class="poem"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="line">"Praise God from whom all blessings flow,</div> - <div class="line indentq">Praise Him all creatures here below.</div> - <div class="line indentq">Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts,</div> - <div class="line indentq">Praise Father, Son <em>and Holy Ghost</em>."</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent">Theoretically we all do every time we sing the <span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Gloria Patri</span>: "Glory be -to the Father and to the Son and <em>to the Holy Ghost</em>. As it was in the -beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen." But -it is one thing to do a thing theoretically and quite another thing -to actually do it. It is one thing to sing words, quite another thing -to realise the meaning and the force of the words that you sing. I -had a striking <!-- Page 114 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span>illustration of this some years ago. I was going to a -Bible Conference in New York State. I had to pass through a city four -miles from the grounds where the Conference was held. I had a relative -living in that city and on the way to the Conference stopped to call -upon my relative, who went with me to the Conference. This relative -was a Christian, she was much older than I, had been a Christian much -longer than I, a member of the Presbyterian Church, brought up on the -Shorter Catechism, and thoroughly orthodox. I spoke that morning at the -Conference on the Personality of the Holy Spirit. When the address was -over, we were waiting on the veranda of the hotel for the trolley to -take us back to the city. My relative turned to me and said, "Archie, I -never thought of <em>it</em> before as a person." Well, I had never thought of -<em>it</em> as a person, but thank God I had come to know <em>Him</em> as a person.</p> - -<p>2. In the second place, <em>it is of the highest importance from a -practical standpoint that we know the Holy Spirit as a person</em>. If -you think of the Holy Spirit, as so many even among Christian people -do, as a mere influence or power, then your thought will be, "How -can I get hold of the Holy Spirit and use it." But if you think of -Him in the Biblical way as a Divine person, your thought will be, -"How can the Holy Spirit get hold of me and use me?" Is there no -difference between the thought of man, the worm, using God to thresh -the mountain, or God using man, the <!-- Page 115 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span>worm, to thresh the mountain? The -former conception is heathenish, it does not differ essentially from -the conception of the African fetich worshipper who uses his god. The -latter conception, of God the Holy Ghost getting hold of and using -us, is lofty and Christian. If you think of the Holy Spirit merely -as an influence or power, your thought will be, "How can I get more -of the Holy Spirit?" But if you think of Him in the Biblical way as -a person, your thought will be, "How can the Holy Spirit get more -of me?" The former conception, the conception of the Holy Spirit as -a mere influence or power, inevitably leads to self-confidence, to -self-exaltation, to the parade of self. If you think of the Holy Spirit -as an influence or power and then fancy that you have received the Holy -Spirit, the inevitable result will be that you will strut around as -if you belonged to a superior order of Christians. I remember a woman -who came to me one afternoon at the Northfield Bible Conference at the -close of an address and said to me, "Brother Torrey, I want to ask you -a question; but before I do, I want you to understand that I am a Holy -Ghost woman." It made me shudder. It did not sound like it. But on the -other hand, if you think of the Holy Spirit in the Biblical way as a -Divine Person of infinite majesty, who comes to dwell in our hearts -and take possession of us and use us, it leads to self-renunciation, -self-abnegation, self-humiliation. I know of no thought that is more -<!-- Page 116 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span>calculated to put one in the dust and keep one in the dust than this -great Biblical truth of the Holy Ghost as a Divine Person coming to -take up His dwelling in our hearts, and to take possession of our lives -and to use us.</p> - -<p>3. <em>The doctrine of the personality of the Holy Spirit is of the -highest importance from the standpoint of experience.</em> Thousands and -tens of thousands of Christian men and women can testify to an entire -transformation of their experience through coming to know the Holy -Spirit as a person. In fact, this address upon the Personality of the -Holy Spirit which, for substance, I have given in almost every city -in which I have ever held a series of meetings, is in some respects -apparently the most abstruse and technical subject that I ever -attempted to handle before a popular audience, and yet, notwithstanding -that fact, more men and women have come to me at the close of the -address and more have written to me, testifying of personal blessing -received, than of any other address which God has permitted me to give.</p> - - -<h3>II. FOUR LINES OF PROOF OF THE PERSONALITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT</h3> - -<p>There are four separate and distinct lines of proof of the Personality -of the Holy Spirit.</p> - -<p>1. The first line of proof of the Personality of the Holy Spirit is -that all the distinctive marks or characteristics of personality are -ascribed to the <!-- Page 117 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span>Holy Spirit in the Bible. What are the distinctive -characteristics of personality? Knowledge, feeling and will. Any being -who knows and feels and wills is a person. Oftentimes when you say -that the Holy Spirit is a person, people understand you to mean that -the Holy Spirit has hands and feet and fingers and toes and eyes and -ears and nose and mouth, and so on. But these are not the marks of -personality, these are the marks of corporeity. Any being who knows, -thinks and wills is a person whether he have a body or not. Now all -these characteristics of personality are ascribed to the Holy Spirit in -the Bible.</p> - -<p>(1) Turn in your Bibles to <abbr title="First Corinthians">1 Cor.</abbr> 2:11. <b>"For what man knoweth the -things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? Even so -the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God."</b> <em>Here -knowledge is ascribed to the Holy Spirit.</em> The Holy Spirit in other -words, is not a mere illumination that comes to your mind and mine -whereby our minds are cleared and strengthened to see truth that they -would not otherwise discover. The Holy Spirit is a Person who Himself -knows the things of God and reveals to us what He Himself knows.</p> - -<p>(2) Now turn to <abbr title="First Corthinians">1 Cor.</abbr> 12:11: <b>"But all these worketh that one and -the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as He will."</b> -Here <em>will</em> is ascribed to the Holy Spirit. The thought clearly is -that the Holy Spirit is not a divine power that we get hold of and -use according to our will, but <!-- Page 118 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span>that the Holy Spirit is a person who -gets hold of us and uses us according to His will. This is one of the -most fundamental facts in regard to the Holy Spirit that we must bear -in mind if we are to get into right relations to Him. More people are -going astray at this point than almost any other. They are trying to -get hold of some divine power which they can use according to their -will. I do thank God that there is no divine power that I can get hold -of and use according to my will. What could I, in my foolishness and -ignorance, do with a divine power, what evil I might work! But on the -other hand, I am still more glad that while there is no divine power -that I can get hold of and use according to my foolish will, there is -a Divine Person who can get hold of me and use me according to His -infinitely wise and loving will.</p> - -<p>(3) Turn now to <abbr title="Romans">Rom.</abbr> 8:27. <b>"And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth -what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the -saints according to the will of God."</b> What I wish you to notice -here is expression, "<em>the mind</em> of the Spirit." The Greek word here -translated "mind" is a comprehensive word that has in it the ideas of -both thought and purpose. It is the same word which is used in the <abbr title="seventh">7th</abbr> -verse of the chapter where we read, <b>"The mind of the flesh is enmity -against God,"</b> where the thought is that not merely the thought of -the flesh is against God, but the whole <!-- Page 119 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span>moral and intellectual life of -the flesh is enmity against God.</p> - -<p>(4) We now turn to a most remarkable passage—<abbr title="Romans">Rom.</abbr> 15:30. <b>"Now I -beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the -love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to -God for me."</b> What I wish you to notice in this verse are the words -"<em>The love of the Spirit</em>." It is a wonderful thought. It teaches us -that the Holy Spirit is not a mere blind influence or power, no matter -how beneficent, that comes into our hearts and lives, but that He is -a Divine Person, loving us with the tenderest love. I wonder how many -of us have ever thought much regarding "the love of the Spirit." I -wonder how many of us ministers who are here to-day have ever preached -a sermon on the love of the Spirit. I wonder how many of you have ever -heard a sermon on the love of the Spirit. Every day of your life you -kneel down before God the Father, at least I hope you do, and say, -"Heavenly Father, I thank thee for thy great love that led thee to give -thy Son to come down to this world and die upon the cross of Calvary in -my place." Every day of your life you kneel down and look up into the -face of Jesus Christ the Son and say, "Thou blessed Son of God, I thank -thee for that great love of thine that led thee to come down to this -world in obedience to the Father and die in my place upon the cross of -Calvary." But did you ever kneel down and look up to the Holy <!-- Page 120 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span>Spirit -and say to him, "Holy Spirit, I thank thee for that great love of -thine"? And yet we owe our salvation as truly to the love of the Holy -Spirit as we do to the love of the Father and the love of the Son. If -it had not been for the love of God the Father to me, looking down upon -me in my lost estate, yes, anticipating my fall and ruin and sending -His Son down to this world to die upon the cross, to die in my place, -I would have been in hell to-day. If it had not been for the love of -Jesus Christ, the Son, coming down to this world in obedience to the -Father to lay down His life, a perfect atoning sacrifice on the cross -of Cavalry in my stead, I would have been in hell to-day. But if it had -not been for the love of the Holy Spirit to me, coming down to this -world in obedience to the Father and the Son, seeking me out in my lost -condition, following me day after day, and week after week, and month -after month, and year after year, when I would not listen to Him, when -I deliberately turned my back upon Him, when I insulted Him, following -me into places where it must have been agony for One so holy to go, -following me day after day, week after week, month after month, year -after year, until at last He succeeded in bringing me to my senses and -bringing me to realise my utterly lost condition and revealed the Lord -Jesus to me as just the Saviour I needed and induced me and enabled me -to receive the Lord Jesus as my Saviour and my Lord; if it had not been -for this <!-- Page 121 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span>patient, long-suffering, never-wearying love of the Spirit of -God to me, I would have been in hell to-day.</p> - -<p>(5) Turn now to a passage in the Old Testament. <abbr title="Nehemiah">Neh.</abbr> 9:20. <b>"Thou -gavest also thy good Spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not thy -manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst."</b> -Here both intelligence and goodness are ascribed to the Holy Spirit. -This passage does not add anything to the thought that we have already -had: I brought it in simply because it is from the Old Testament. -There are those who say that the doctrine of the Personality of the -Holy Spirit is in the New Testament, but is not in the Old Testament; -but here we find it as clearly in the Old Testament as in the New. Of -course, we do not find it as frequently in the Old Testament as in the -New, for this is the dispensation of the Holy Spirit: but the doctrine -of the Personality of the Holy Spirit is there in the Old Testament. -There are many who say that the doctrine of the Trinity is not in the -Old Testament, that while it is in the New, it is not in the Old. But -it is in the Old, in the very first chapter of the Bible. In <abbr title="Genesis">Gen.</abbr> 1:26 -we read, <b>"And God said, let us make man in our image, after our -likeness."</b> Here the plurality of the persons in the Godhead comes -out clearly. God did not say, "<em>I</em> will" or "Let <em>me</em> make man in -<em>my</em> image." He said, "Let <em>us</em> make man in <em>our</em> image, after <em>our</em> -likeness." The three persons of the Trinity are found <!-- Page 122 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span>in the first -three verses of the Bible: <b>"In the beginning God created the heaven -and the earth."</b> There you have God the Father. <b>"And the earth -was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. -And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."</b> There you -have the Holy Spirit. <b>"And God said,"</b> there you have the Word, -<b>"Let there be light: and there was light."</b> Here we have the -three persons of the Trinity in the first three verses of the Bible. In -fact the doctrine of the Trinity is found hundreds of times in the Old -Testament. In the Hebrew Bible it occurs in every place where you find -the word God in your English Bible, for the Hebrew word for God is a -plural noun. Literally translated, it would be "Gods" and not God. In -the very passage to which the Unitarians and the Jews, who reject the -Deity of Christ, refer so often as proving conclusively that the Deity -of Christ cannot be true, namely <abbr title="Deuteronomy">Deut.</abbr> 6:4, the very doctrine that they -are seeking to disprove is found; for <abbr title="Deuteronomy">Deut.</abbr> 6:4 literally translated -would read <b>"Hear, O Israel: Jehovah our Gods is one Jehovah."</b> -Why did the Hebrews with their intense monotheism, use a plural name -for God? This was the question that puzzled the Hebrew grammarians and -lexicographers, and the best explanation they could arrive at was that -the plural for God here used was the <span lang="la" xml:lang="la">pluralis majestatis</span>, the plural -of majesty. The explanation is entirely inadequate, to say nothing of -the fact that the <!-- Page 123 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">pluralis majestatis</span> in the Old Testament is a figure -of very doubtful validity. There is another explanation far nearer at -hand, and far more adequate and satisfactory, and that is that the -Hebrew inspired writers use a plural name for God in spite of their -intense monotheism, because there is a plurality of persons in the one -Godhead.</p> - -<p>(6) Now turn to <abbr title="Ephesians">Eph.</abbr> 4:30. <b>"And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, -whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption."</b> Here grief is -ascribed to the Holy Spirit. In other words, the Holy Spirit is not a -mere blind impersonal influence or power that comes to dwell in your -heart and mine, but a person, a person who loves us, a person who is -holy and intensely sensitive against sin, a person who recoils from sin -in what we call its slightest forms as the holiest woman of earth never -recoiled from sin in its grossest and most repulsive forms. And He sees -whatever we do, He hears whatever we say, He sees our very thoughts, -not a vagrant fancy is allowed a moment's lodgment in our mind but what -He sees it. And if there is anything impure, unholy, immodest, untrue, -false, censorious, or unChristlike in any way, He is grieved beyond -expression. This is a wonderful thought and it is to me the mightiest -incentive that I know to a Christian walk. How many a young man is kept -back from doing things that he would otherwise do, by the thought that, -if he did do that, his mother might hear of it and it would grieve her -beyond expression. How many <!-- Page 124 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span>a young man has come to the great city -and in some hour of temptation has been about to go into a place that -no self-respecting man ought ever to enter, but just as his hand is on -the doorknob and he is about to open the door, the thought comes to -him, "If I should enter there mother might hear of it, and if she did, -it would nearly kill her," and he has turned away without entering; -but there is One holier than the holiest mother that any of us ever -knew, One who loves us with a tenderer love than our own mother loves -us, and Who sees everything we do, not only in the daylight but under -the cover of night; Who hears every word we utter, every careless word -that escapes our lips; Who sees every thought we entertain, yes, Who -sees every fleeting fancy that we allow a moment's lodgment in our -mind; and if there is anything unholy, impure, immodest, indecorous, -unkind, harsh, censorious or unchristlike in any way in act or word or -thought, He sees it and is grieved beyond expression. Oh, how often -there has come into my mind some thought or imagination, I know not -from what source, but that I ought not to entertain, and just as I was -about to give it lodgment, the thought has come, "The Holy Spirit sees -that and will be grieved by it," and the thought has gone. Bearing -this thought of the Holy Spirit in our mind will help us to solve all -the questions that perplex the young believer to-day. For example, the -question, "Ought I as a Christian go to the theatre or the <!-- Page 125 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span>movies?" -Well, if you go the Holy Spirit will go; for He dwells in the heart of -every believer and goes wherever the believer goes. Were you ever at -a theatre or at a moving picture show in your life where you thought -the atmosphere of the place would be congenial to the <em>Holy</em> Spirit? -If not, don't go. Ought I as a Christian go to the dance? Well, here -again, if you go, the Holy Spirit will surely go. Were you ever at a -dance in your life where you believed the atmosphere of the place would -be congenial to the Holy Spirit? Shall I as a Christian play cards? -Were you ever at a card party in all your life, even the most select -little neighbourhood gathering, or even a home gathering to play cards, -where you thought the atmosphere of the place would be congenial to the -Holy Spirit? If not, don't play. So with all the questions that come up -and that some of us find so hard to settle, this thought of the Holy -Spirit will help you to settle them all, and to settle them right, if -you really desire to settle them right and not merely to do the thing -that pleases yourself.</p> - -<p>2. The second line of proof of the personality of the Holy Spirit is -that, many actions are ascribed to the Holy Spirit that only a person -can perform. There are many illustrations of this in the Bible; but I -will limit our consideration this morning to three instances.</p> - -<p>(1) Turn again to the <abbr title="second">2nd</abbr> chapter of 1 Corinthians. In the <abbr title="tenth">10th</abbr> verse, -we read, <b>"But unto us, <!-- Page 126 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span>God revealed them through the Spirit: for -the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God."</b> Here -the Holy Spirit is represented as searching the deep things of God. In -other words, as we said under our previous heading, the Holy Spirit is -not a mere illumination whereby our minds are made clear and strong to -apprehend truth that they would not otherwise discover, but the Holy -Spirit is a person Who Himself searches into the deep things of God and -reveals to us the things which He discovers. Such words could only be -spoken of a person.</p> - -<p>(2) Now turn to <abbr title="Romans">Rom.</abbr> 8:26 <b>"And in like manner the Spirit also -helpeth our infirmity: for we know not how to pray as we ought but the -spirit himself maketh intercession for us with groanings that cannot be -uttered."</b> Here the Holy Spirit is represented as doing what only a -person can do, praying. The Holy Spirit is not a mere influence that -comes to impel us to prayer, and not a mere guidance to us in offering -our prayers. <em>He is a person who Himself prays.</em> Every believer in -Christ has two Divine Persons praying for Him. First, the Son, our -Advocate with the Father, who ever liveth to make intercession for us -up yonder at the right hand of God in the place of power (John 2:1 and -<abbr title="Hebrews">Heb.</abbr> 7:25). Second, the Holy Spirit who prays through us down here. Oh, -what a wonderful thought, that we have these two divine persons praying -for us every day. What a sense it gives us of our security.</p> - -<p><!-- Page 127 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span>(3) Now turn to two other closely related passages. John 14:26. <b>"But -the comforter, even the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my -name, he shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all -that I have said unto you."</b> Here the Holy Spirit is represented as -doing what only a person could do, namely, teaching. We have the same -thought in John 16:12-14. <b>"I have yet many things to say unto you, -but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when He, the Spirit of Truth, is -come, He shall guide you into all the truth: for He shall not speak -from Himself; but what things soever He shall hear, these shall He -speak: and He shall declare unto you the things that are to come. He -shall glorify me; for He shall take of mine, and shall declare it -unto you."</b> Here again the Holy Spirit is represented as a living -personal teacher. It is our privilege to have the Holy Spirit as a -living person to-day as our teacher. Every time we study our Bibles, it -is possible for us to have this Divine Person the author of the Book, -to interpret it to us and to teach us its meaning. It is a precious -thought. How many of us have often thought when we heard some great -human teacher whom God has especially blessed to us, "Oh, if I could -only hear that man every day, then I might make some progress in my -Christian life," but we can have a teacher more competent by far than -the greatest human teacher that ever spoke for our teacher every day, -the Holy Spirit.</p> - -<p>3. The third line of proof of the personality <!-- Page 128 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span>of the Holy Spirit is -that <em>an office is predicated of the Holy Spirit that could only be -predicated of a person</em>. Look for example at John 14:16, 17. Here we -read, <b>"And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another -Comforter, that He may abide with you forever, even the Spirit of -truth: whom the world cannot receive; for it seeth him not. Neither -knoweth him: ye know him; for He abideth with you, and shall be in -you."</b> Here the Holy Spirit is represented as <em>another Comforter</em> -who is coming to take the place of our Lord Jesus. Up to this time our -Lord Jesus had been the friend always at hand to help them in every -emergency that arose. But now He was going and their hearts were filled -with consternation, and He tells them that while He is going, another -is coming to take His place. Can you imagine our Lord Jesus saying this -if the other that was coming to take His place was a mere impersonal -influence or power? Can you imagine our Lord Jesus saying what He says -in John 16:7, <b>"Nevertheless I tell you the truth, it is expedient -for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not -come unto you; but if I go, I will send him unto you,"</b> if that -which was coming to take His place was not another person but a mere -influence or power. In that case, is it for a moment conceivable that -our Lord could say that it was expedient for Him, a Divine Person, -to go and a mere influence or power, no matter how divine, come to -take His place? No! No! What our Lord said <!-- Page 129 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span>was that He, one Divine -Person, was going, but that another Person, just as Divine, was coming -to take His place. This promise is to me one of the most precious -promises in the whole Word of God for this present dispensation, the -thought that during the absence of my Lord, until that glad day when -He shall come back again, another Person, just as divine as He, is by -my side, yes, dwells in my heart every moment to commune with me and -to help me in every emergency that can possibly arise. I suppose you -know that the Greek word translated Comforter in these verses means -more than Comforter. It means Comforter plus a whole lot beside. The -Greek word so translated is <i>parakletos</i>. This word is a compound word, -compounded of the word <i>para</i> which means alongside, and <i>kletos</i>, -one called, "One called to stand alongside another" to take his part -and help him in every emergency that arises. It is the same word that -is translated "advocate" in 1 John 2:1, <b>"If any man sin, we have -an advocate</b> (<i>parakleton</i>) <b>with the Father, Jesus Christ the -righteous."</b> But the word "Advocate" does not give the full force of -the word. Etymologically it means about the same. Advocate is a Latin -word transliterated into the English. The word is compounded of two -words, <i>ad</i>, meaning to, and <i>vocatus</i>, one called, that is to say, one -called to another to take his part, or to help him. But in our English -usage it has obtained a restricted sense. The Greek word, as already -said, means <!-- Page 130 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span>"one called alongside another," and the thought is of a -helper always at hand with his counsel and his strength and any form -of help needed. Up to this time the Lord Jesus Himself had been their -Paraclete, or friend always at hand to help. Whenever they got into -any trouble they simply turned to Him. For example, on one occasion -they were perplexed on the subject of prayer and they said to the -Lord, "Lord teach us to pray." And He taught them to pray. On another -occasion when Jesus was coming to them walking on the water, when their -first fear was over and He had said, "It is I, be not afraid," then -Peter said to Him, "Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee upon the -water." And the Lord said, "Come." Then Peter clambered over the side -of the fishing smack and commenced to go to Jesus walking on the water. -Seemingly he turned around, took his eyes off the Lord and looked at -the fishing smack to see if the other disciples, John and James, and -the rest, were noticing how well he was getting on, but no sooner had -he got his eyes off the Lord than he began to sink, and he cried out -saying, "Lord, save me," and Jesus reached out His hand and held him -up. Just so, when they got into any other emergency they turned to the -Lord and He delivered them. But now He was going, and consternation -filled their hearts, and the Lord said to them, "Yes, I am going but -another just as divine, just as able to help, is coming to take my -place," and this other Paraclete is with us <!-- Page 131 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span>wherever we go, every hour -of the day or night. He is always by our side. If this thought gets -into your heart and stays there, you will never have another moment of -fear no matter how long you live. How can we fear in any circumstances, -if He is by our side? You may be surrounded by a howling mob. But what -of it if He walks between you and the mob? That thought will banish all -fear. I had a striking illustration of this in my own experience some -years ago. I was speaking at a Bible Conference on Lake Kenka in New -York State. I had a cousin who had a cottage four miles up the lake and -I went up there and spent my rest day with him. The next day he brought -me down in his steam launch to the pier where the Conference was held. -As I stepped off the launch onto the pier he said to me, "Come back -again to-night and spend the night with us," and I promised him that -I would; but I did not realise what I was promising. That night, when -the address was over as I went out of the hotel and started on my walk, -I found that I had undertaken a large contract. The cottage was four -miles away, but a four mile walk or an eight mile walk was nothing -under ordinary circumstances, but a storm was coming up, the whole -heaven was overcast. The path led along a bluff bordering the lake, the -path was near the edge of the bluff. Sometimes the lake was perhaps -not more than ten or twelve feet below, at other times some thirty or -forty feet below. I had never gone over the path before and <!-- Page 132 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span>as there -was no starlight, I couldn't see the path at all. Furthermore, there -had already been a storm that had gulleyed out deep ditches across -the path into which one might fall and break his leg. I couldn't see -these ditches except when there would be a sudden flash of lightning, -and then I would see one and then it would be darker and I blinder -than ever. As I walked along this path, so near the edge of the bluff -with all the furrows cut through it, I felt it was perilous to take -the walk and thought of going back; and then the thought came to me, -"You promised that you would come to-night and they may be sitting up -waiting for you." So I felt that I must go on. But it seemed creepy -and uncanny to walk along the edge of that bluff on such an uncertain -path that I couldn't see, and could only hear the sobbing and wailing -and the moaning of the lake at the foot of the bluff as it rose in the -fast approaching storm. Then the thought came to me, what was it you -told the people there at the conference about the Holy Spirit being -a Person always by our side? And I at once realised that the Holy -Spirit walked between me and the edge of the bluff; and that four miles -through the dark was four miles without a fear, a gladsome instead of a -fearsome walk. I once threw this thought out in the Royal Albert Hall -in London, one dark dismal February afternoon. There was a young lady -in the audience who was very much afraid of the dark. It simply seemed -impossible for her to go into a dark room alone. <!-- Page 133 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span>After the meeting was -over she hurried home and rushed in to the room where her mother was -sitting and cried, "O mother, I have heard the most wonderful address -this afternoon about the Holy Spirit always being by our side as our -ever-present helper and protector. I shall never be afraid of the dark -again." Her mother was a practical English woman and said to her, -"Well, let us see how real that is. Now go upstairs to the top floor, -into the dark room, and shut the door and stay in there alone in the -dark." The daughter went bounding up the stairs, went into the dark -room, closed the door and it was pitch dark, and "Oh," she wrote me -the next day, "it was dark, utterly dark, but that room was bright and -glorious with the presence of the Holy Spirit."</p> - -<p>In this thought is also the cure for insomnia. Did any of you ever -have insomnia? I did. For two dark, awful years. Night after night, -I would go to bed, almost dead, as it seemed to me, for sleep, and I -thought I would certainly sleep as I could scarcely keep awake; but -scarcely had my head touched the pillow when I knew I wouldn't sleep -and I would hear the clock strike twelve, one, two, three, four, five, -six, and then it was time to get up. It seemed as though I didn't sleep -at all, though I have no doubt I did: for I believe that people who -suffer from insomnia sleep more than they think they do, else we would -die: but it seemed as if I didn't sleep at all, and this went on for -two whole years, until I thought that if I <!-- Page 134 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span>couldn't get sleep I would -lose my mind. And then I got deliverance. For years I would retire -and fall asleep about as soon as my head touched the pillow. But one -night I went to bed in the Bible Institute in Chicago where I was then -stopping. I expected to fall asleep almost immediately, as had become -my custom, but scarcely had my head touched the pillow when I knew I -was not going to sleep. Insomnia was back. If you have ever had him -you will always recognise him. It seemed as if Insomnia was sitting -on the footboard looking like an imp, grinning at me and saying "I am -back for two more years." "Oh," I thought, "two more years of this -awful insomnia." But that very morning I had been teaching the students -in the lecture room on the floor below on the Personality of the Holy -Spirit, and the thought came to me almost immediately, "What was that -you were telling the students down stairs this morning about the Holy -Spirit being always with us?" And I said, "Why don't you practice what -you preach?" And I looked up and said, "O thou blessed Holy Spirit of -God, thou art here, if thou hast anything to say to me, I will listen." -And He opened to me some of the sweet and precious things about Jesus -Christ, filling my soul with calm and peace and joy, and the next thing -I knew I was asleep and the next thing I knew it was to-morrow morning; -and whenever Insomnia has come around since and sat on my <!-- Page 135 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span>footboard, I -have done the same thing and it has never failed.</p> - -<p>In this thought also is a cure for all loneliness. If the thought of -the Holy Spirit as an Ever-present Friend always at hand, once enters -your heart and stays there, you will never have another lonely moment -as long as you live. My life for the larger part of the last sixteen -years has been a lonely life. I have often been separated from all my -family for months at a time. I have not seen my wife sometimes for two -or three months at a time and for eighteen months I did not see any -member of my family but my wife. One night I was walking the deck of -a steamer in the South Seas between New Zealand and Tasmania. It was -a stormy night. Most of the other passengers were below sick, none of -the officers nor sailors could walk with me for they had their hands -full looking after the boat. I had to walk the deck alone. Four of the -five other members of my family were on the other side of the globe, -seventeen thousand miles away by the nearest route that I could get to -them, and the one member of my family who was nearer was not with me -that night. As I walked the deck alone I got to thinking of the four -children seventeen thousand miles away and was about to get lonesome, -when the thought came to me of the Holy Spirit by my side, and that -as I walked He took every step with me, and all loneliness was gone. -I gave expression to this thought some years ago in the city of St. -<!-- Page 136 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span>Paul, and at the close of the address a physician came to me and said, -"I wish to thank you for that thought. I am often called at night to go -out alone through darkness and storm far into the country, and I have -been very lonely, but I will never be lonely again, for I will know -that every step of the way the Holy Spirit is beside me in my doctor's -gig."</p> - -<p>In this same precious truth there is a cure for a broken heart. Oh, how -many broken-hearted people there are in the world to-day, especially in -these days of war and bloodshed and death! Many of us here have lost -loved ones. Many more of us in all probability will during the months -that are just ahead of us. But we need not have a moment's heartache -if we only know the communion of the Holy Ghost. There is perhaps -here to-day some woman who a year ago, or a few months ago, or a few -weeks ago, or a few days ago, had by her side a man whom she dearly -loved, a man so strong and wise that she was freed from all sense -of responsibility and care; for all the burdens were upon him, and -how bright and happy life was in his companionship! But the dark day -came when that loved one was taken away, and how lonely and empty and -barren, and full of burden and care, life is to-day! Listen! There is -One who walks right by your side, wiser and stronger and more loving -than the wisest and strongest and most loving husband that ever lived, -ready to bear all the burdens and responsibilities of life, yes, <!-- Page 137 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span>ready -to do far more: to come in and dwell in your heart and fill every nook -and corner of your empty, aching heart, and thus banish all loneliness -and heartache forever. I said this one afternoon in Saint Andrews Hall -in Glasgow. At the close of the address, when I passed out into the -reception room, a lady who had hurried along to meet me, approached -me. She wore a widow's bonnet, her face bore the marks of deep sorrow, -but now there was a happy look in her face. She hurried to me and -said, "Doctor Torrey, this is the anniversary of my dear husband's -death" (her husband was one of the most highly esteemed Christian men -in Glasgow) "and I came to Saint Andrews Hall to-day saying to myself, -'Doctor Torrey will have something to say that will help me.' Oh," she -continued, "you have said just the right word! I will never be lonesome -again, never have a heartache again. I will let the Holy Spirit come -in and fill every aching corner of my heart." Eighteen months passed; -I was in Scotland again, taking a short vacation on the lochs of the -Clyde on the private yacht of a friend. One day we stopped off a point, -a little boat put off from the point and came alongside the steam -yacht. The first one who clambered up the side of the yacht and onto -the deck was this widow. Seeing me standing on the deck, she hurried -across and took my hand in both of hers and with a radiant smile on her -face she said, "Oh, Doctor Torrey, the thought you gave me in Saint -Andrews <!-- Page 138 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span>Hall that afternoon stays with me still and I have not had a -lonely or sad hour from that day to this."</p> - -<p>But it is in our Christian work that the thought comes to us with -greatest power and helpfulness. Take my own experience. I became a -minister simply because I had to, or be forever lost. I do not mean -that I am saved by preaching the Gospel; I am saved simply on the -ground of Christ's atoning blood and that alone; but my becoming a -Christian and accepting Him as my Saviour turned upon my preaching the -Gospel. For six years I refused to come out as a Christian because I -was unwilling to preach, and I felt that if I became a Christian I must -preach. The night that I was converted I did not say, "I will accept -Christ" or "I will give up my sins"; I said, "I will preach." But if -there was ever a man who by natural temperament was unfitted to preach, -it was I. I was one of these abnormally bashful boys. A stranger could -scarcely speak to me without my blushing to the roots of my hair. Of -all the tortures I endured at school there was none so great as that of -reciting a piece. To stand up on the platform and have all the scholars -looking at me, I could scarcely endure it, and when I had to recite and -my own mother and father asked me to recite the piece before I went to -school, I simply could not recite it before my own father and mother. -Think of a man like that going into the ministry. Even after I was in -Yale College, <!-- Page 139 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span>when I would go home on a vacation and my mother would -have callers and send for me to come in and meet them, I couldn't say -a word. After they were gone my mother would say to me, "Archie, why -didn't you say something to Mrs. S. or Mrs. D.?" and I would say, "Why, -mother, I did!" and she would reply, "You didn't utter a sound." I -thought I did, but it would come no further than my throat and there be -smothered. I was so bashful that I never even spoke in a church prayer -meeting until after I entered the theological seminary. Then I thought, -if I was to be a preacher I must at least be able to speak in my own -church prayer meeting. I made up my mind I would. I learned a piece by -heart. I remember some of it now. I think I forgot some of it when I -got up to speak that night. As soon as the meeting was thrown open I -grasped the back of the settee in front of me and pulled myself up to -my feet and held on to it lest I should fall. One Niagara went rushing -up one side and another down the other, and I tremblingly repeated -as much of my little piece as I could remember and then dropped back -into the seat. At the close of the meeting a dear old maid, a lovely -Christian woman, came to me and cheeringly said, "Oh, Mr. Torrey, I -want to thank you for what you said to-night. It did me so much good. -You spoke with so much feeling." Feeling! The only feeling I had was -that I was scared nearly to death. Think of a man like that going into -the <!-- Page 140 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span>ministry. My first years in the ministry were torture. I preached -three times a day. I committed my sermons to memory and then I stood up -and twisted the top button of my coat until I had twisted the sermon -out and then when the third sermon was preached and finished, I dropped -back into the haircloth settee back of the pulpit with a great sense of -relief that that was over for another week. And then the thought would -take possession of me, Well you have to begin to-morrow morning to get -ready for next Sunday! But a glad day came when the thought I am trying -to teach you this morning took possession of me, viz., that when I -stood up to preach, that, though people saw me, that there was Another -who stood by my side whom they did not see, but upon whom was all the -responsibility for the meeting, and all that I had to do was to get as -far back out of sight as possible and let Him do the preaching. From -that day preaching has been the joy of my life. I would rather preach -than eat. Sometimes when I rise to preach, before I have uttered a -word, the thought of Him, standing beside me, able and willing to take -charge of the whole meeting and do whatever needs to be done, has so -filled my heart with exultant joy that I have felt like shouting. Just -so in your Sunday School teaching. Some of you worry about your Sunday -School classes for fear that you will say something that ought not to -be said, or leave unsaid something that ought to be said, and the -<!-- Page 141 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span>thought of the burden and responsibility almost crushes you. Listen! -Always remember this as you sit there teaching your class: there is One -right beside you Who knows just what ought to be said and just what -ought to be done. Instead of carrying the responsibility of the class, -let Him carry it, let Him do the teaching. One Monday morning I met -one of the most faithful laymen I ever knew and a very gifted Bible -teacher. He was deep in the blues, over his failure with his class the -day before—at least, what he regarded as failure. He unburdened his -heart to me. I said to him, "Mr. Dyer, did you not ask God to give you -wisdom as you went before that class?" He said, "I did." I said, "Did -you not expect Him to give it?" He said, "I did." Then I said, "What -right have you to doubt that He did?" He replied, "I never thought -of that before. I will never worry about my class again." Just so in -personal work. When I or some one else urges you at the close of the -meeting to go and speak to some one else, oh, how many of you want to -go, but you don't stir. You think to yourself, "I might say the wrong -thing." You will, if you say it. You will certainly say the wrong -thing; but trust the Holy Spirit, He will say the right thing. Let Him -have your lips to speak through. It may not appear the right thing at -the time, but some time you will find out that it was just the right -thing. One night in Launceston, Tasmania, as Mrs. Torrey and I came -away from the meeting, <!-- Page 142 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span>my wife said to me, "Archie, I wasted my whole -evening. I have been talking to the most frivolous girl. I don't think -that she has a serious thought in her head." I replied, "Clara, how do -you know? Did you not trust God to guide you?" "Yes." "Well, leave it -with Him." The very next night at the close of the meeting the same -seemingly utterly frivolous young woman came up to Mrs. Torrey, leading -her mother by the hand, and said, "Mrs. Torrey, won't you speak to my -mother? You led me to Christ last night, now please lead my mother to -Christ."</p> - -<p>4. But I must close. There is another line of proof of the personality -of the Holy Spirit, but we have no time to dwell upon it. This line of -proof is that a treatment is predicated of the Holy Spirit that could -only be predicated of a person. In <abbr title="Isaiah">Isa.</abbr> 63:10 we are taught that the -Holy Spirit is rebelled against and grieved. You cannot rebel against -or grieve a mere influence or power. Only a person can be rebelled -against and grieved. In <abbr title="Hebrews">Heb.</abbr> 10:29 we are taught that the Holy Spirit -is "done despite unto," or "treated with contumely," insulted. You -cannot treat an influence or power with contumely; only a person. In -Acts 5:3 we are taught that the Holy Spirit is lied to. You can only -lie to a person. In <abbr title="Matthew">Matt.</abbr> 12:31 we are taught that the Holy Spirit is -blasphemed against. We are told that the blasphemy against the Holy -Ghost is more serious than the blasphemy against the Lord Jesus, and -<!-- Page 143 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span>this certainly could only be said of a person and a Divine Person.</p> - -<p>To sum it all up, the Holy Spirit is a Person. Theoretically we -probably all believed this before, but do we in our real thought of -Him, in our practical attitude toward Him, treat Him as a person? Do we -really regard Him as real a person as Jesus Christ is, as loving, as -wise, as strong, as worthy of our confidence and love, and surrender -as He? A Divine Person always by our side? The Holy Spirit came -into this world to be to the disciples of our Lord after our Lord's -own departure, and to be to us, what Jesus Christ had been to them -during the days of His personal companionship with them. Is He that -to you to-day? Do you know the "communion of the Holy Spirit?" the -companionship of the Holy Spirit, the partnership of the Holy Spirit, -the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, the comradeship of the Holy Spirit? -To put it into a single word, the whole object of this address this -morning, I say it reverently, is to introduce you to my Friend, the -Holy Spirit.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page 144 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak"><a name="VII" id="VII"></a>VII<br /> - -<small><span class="smcap">The Deity of the Holy Spirit and the Distinction Between the -Father, Son and Holy Spirit</span></small></h2> -</div> - - -<p>I spoke in a previous chapter on the personality of the Holy Spirit. -We saw clearly that the Holy Spirit was a person. Incidentally I -referred to His Deity in passing, but did not dwell upon it, so the -question remains, Is the Holy Spirit a Divine person? and still another -question, If the Holy Spirit is a Divine person, is He a separate and -distinct personality from the Father and the Son? We shall consider -this morning what the Bible teaches upon these points.</p> - - -<h3>I. THE DEITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT</h3> - -<p>We take up first the question of the Deity of the Holy Spirit. The fact -that the Holy Spirit is a person does not prove that He is divine. -There are spirits who are persons but who are not God. There are five -distinct lines of proof of the Deity of the Holy Spirit, that the Holy -Spirit is God.</p> - -<p>1. The first line of proof of the Deity of the Holy Spirit is that -<em>each of the four distinctively <!-- Page 145 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span>Divine attributes are ascribed to -the Holy Spirit in the Bible</em>. There are four distinctively divine -attributes; that is to say, there are four attributes which God alone -possesses, and any person who has these attributes must therefore -be God. The four distinctively divine attributes are omnipotence, -omniscience, omnipresence and eternity.</p> - -<p>(1) First of all, <em>omnipotence is ascribed to the Holy Spirit</em>, for -example, in Luke 1:35: <b>"And the angel answered and said unto her, -the Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the most high -shall overshadow thee: wherefore also that which is to be born shall be -called holy, the Son of God."</b> This passage plainly declares that -the Holy Spirit has the power of the Most High, that He is omnipotent.</p> - -<p>(2) In the next place, <em>omniscience is ascribed to the Holy Spirit</em>. -This is done, for example, in <abbr title="First">I</abbr> Corinthians 2:10, 11: <b>"But unto us -God revealed them through the Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all -things, yea, the deep things of God. For who among men knoweth the -things of a man, save the Spirit of the man, which is in him? Even so -the things of God none knoweth, save the Spirit of God."</b> Here we -are distinctly told that <em>the Holy Spirit searcheth all things and -knoweth all things</em>, even the deep things of God. We find the same -thought again in John 14:26: <b>"But the Comforter, even the Holy -Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all -things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said <!-- Page 146 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span>unto you."</b> -Here we are distinctly told that the Holy Spirit teaches all things, -and therefore must know all things. This is stated even more explicitly -in John 16:12-13: <b>"I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye -cannot bear them now. Howbeit when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He -shall guide you into all the truth."</b> In all these passages it is -either directly declared or unmistakably implied that the Holy Spirit -knows all things, that He is omniscient.</p> - -<p>(3) In the third place, <em>omnipresence is ascribed to the Holy Spirit</em>. -We find this in Psalms 139:7-10: <b>"Whither shall I go from thy -Spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up -into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, thou -art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the -uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy -right hand shall hold me."</b> Here we are told in the most explicit -and unmistakable way that the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, is -everywhere; that there is no place in heaven, earth or hades whither we -can go from His presence.</p> - -<p>(4) <em>Eternity is also ascribed to the Holy Spirit.</em> This we find in -Hebrews 9:14, where we read: <b>"How much more shall the blood of -Christ, who through the Eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish -unto God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living -God?"</b> Here we find the words "the Eternal Spirit" just as elsewhere -we find the words "the Eternal God" <!-- Page 147 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span>(e.g., <abbr title="Deuteronomy">Deut.</abbr> 33:27): Putting these -different passages together, we see clearly that each of the four -distinctively divine attributes, the four attributes that no one but -God possesses, are ascribed to the Holy Spirit.</p> - -<p>2. The second line of proof of the true Deity of the Holy Spirit is -found in the fact that <em>three distinctively divine works are ascribed -to the Holy Spirit—that is to say, the Holy Spirit is said to do three -things which God alone can do</em>.</p> - -<p>(1) The first of these distinctively divine works that are ascribed -to the Holy Spirit is <em>the work which we always think of first when -we think of God and His work—that is to say, the work of creation. -We find creation ascribed to the Holy Spirit in Job 33:4</em>: <b>"The -Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty giveth me -life."</b> We find the same thing implied in Psalms 104:30: <b>"Thou -sendest forth thy Spirit, they are created; and thou renewest the -face of the ground."</b> In these two passages creation, the most -distinctively divine of all works, is ascribed to the Holy Spirit.</p> - -<p>(2) The <em>impartation of life is ascribed to the Holy Spirit</em>. This we -find, for example, in John 6:63: <b>"It is the Spirit that quickeneth; -the flesh profiteth nothing."</b> We find the same thing again in -Romans 8:11: <b>"But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the -dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also -quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that <!-- Page 148 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span>dwelleth in you."</b> In -this passage we have not merely impartation of life to the spirit of -man, but the impartation of life to the body in the resurrection of the -body ascribed to the Holy Spirit. Man's creation and the impartation -of life to man are ascribed to the operation of the Holy Spirit in -the first book in the Bible, where we read in Genesis 2:7: <b>"And -Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his -nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."</b> Here we -are told that man was created and became a living soul through God's -breathing into him the breath of life. This clearly implies that it was -through the instrumentality of the Holy Spirit; for the Holy Spirit is -the breath of God going out in a personal way.</p> - -<p>(3) <em>The third divine work ascribed to the Holy Spirit is the -authorship of divine prophecies.</em> We find this, for example, in <abbr title="Second">II</abbr> -Peter 1:21: <b>"For no prophecy ever came by the will of man: but -men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit."</b> Here we are -distinctly told that it was through the operation of the Holy Spirit -that men were made the mouthpiece of God and uttered God's truth. We -find this same thought also in the Old Testament in <abbr title="Second">II</abbr> Samuel 23:2, -3: <b>"The Spirit of Jehovah spake by me, and His word was upon my -tongue. The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me."</b> -In this passage, also, the authorship of God's prophecies is ascribed -to the Holy Spirit. Taking these passages together, we <!-- Page 149 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span>see that three -distinctively divine works are ascribed to the Holy Spirit.</p> - -<p>3. The third line of proof of the Deity of the Holy Spirit is found in -the fact that <em>passages which refer to Jehovah in the Old Testament -are taken to refer to the Holy Spirit in the New Testament</em>. There are -numerous instances of this, not as numerous as in the case of Jesus -Christ, the Son, and yet enough to make it perfectly clear that the -Holy Spirit occupies the same place in New Testament thought which -Jehovah occupies in Old Testament thought.</p> - -<p>(1) A striking illustration of this is found in Isaiah 6:8-10; cf. -Acts 28:25-27. In Isaiah 6:8-10, we read: <b>"And I heard the voice of -the Lord, saying, whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I -said, here am I; send me. And he said, go, and tell this people, hear -ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. -Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut -their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, -and understand with their heart, and turn again, and be healed."</b> -Here we are distinctly told it is the "Lord," and the context shows -that the Lord is the Lord Jehovah who is speaking, but when we turn -to Acts 28:25-27, we read these words: <b>"And when they agreed not -among themselves, they departed after that Paul had spoken one word, -well spake the Holy Spirit through Isaiah the prophet unto your -fathers"</b> (notice that in the passage in Isaiah we <!-- Page 150 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span>are told it is -the Lord Jehovah who spoke, and here we are told by Paul that it is the -Holy Spirit who spake through the prophet), <b>"saying, go thou unto -this people, and say, by hearing ye shall hear, and shall in no wise -understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall in no wise perceive: for -this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, -and their eyes they have closed; lest haply they should perceive with -their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, -and should turn again, and I should heal them."</b> In the one place, -the place in the Old Testament, we are told that the Lord Jehovah is -the speaker; in the other place, in the New Testament, we are told -that the Holy Spirit is the speaker; that is to say, the Holy Spirit -occupies the place in New Testament thought that the Lord Jehovah -occupies in Old Testament thought. It is noticeable that this same -passage in another place is applied to Jesus Christ (John 12:39-41). -May it not be that in the <em>threefold</em> "Holy" in the seraphic cry -recorded in this chapter in Isaiah (Isaiah 6:3) we have a hint of the -tri-personality of Jehovah of Hosts, and hence the propriety of the -threefold application of the vision?</p> - -<p>(2) Another illustration of a statement, which in the Old Testament is -given as referring to Jehovah, being applied to the Holy Spirit in the -New Testament, is found by a comparison of Exodus 16:7 with Hebrews -3:7-9. In Exodus 16:7 we read: <b>"And in the morning, then shall <!-- Page 151 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span>ye -see the glory of Jehovah; for that he heareth your murmurings against -Jehovah: and what are we, that ye murmur against us?"</b> Here we are -told that the murmuring and provocation of the children of Israel in -the wilderness were against Jehovah, but in Hebrews 3:7-9, we read: -<b>"Wherefore, even as the Holy Spirit saith, to-day if ye shall hear -his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, like as in -the day of the trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tried me by -proving me, and saw my works forty years."</b> In this New Testament -passage we are told that it was the Holy Spirit that they provoked in -the wilderness, making it clear that the Holy Spirit occupies here in -New Testament thought the position Jehovah occupied in Old Testament -thought in Exodus 16:7.</p> - -<p>To sum up the passages under this head, we see that statements which in -the Old Testament distinctly name the Lord, God or Jehovah, as their -subject, are applied to the Holy Spirit in the New Testament. That is -to say, the Holy Spirit occupies the position of Deity in New Testament -thought.</p> - -<p>4. The fourth way in which the Deity of the Holy Spirit is clearly -taught in the New Testament is that the <em>name of the Holy Spirit -is coupled with that of God the Father in a way that it would be -impossible for a reverent and thoughtful mind to couple the name of any -finite being with that of <!-- Page 152 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span>Deity</em>. There are numerous illustrations of -this. Three will answer for our present purpose.</p> - -<p>(1) We read, for example, in <abbr title="First">I</abbr> Corinthians 12:4-6: <b>"Now there are -diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are diversities -of ministrations, and the same Lord. And there are diversities of -workings, but the same God, who worketh all things in all."</b> In this -passage we see the name of the Holy Spirit coupled with that of God and -of the Lord in a way in which it would be impossible for an intelligent -worshipper of God to couple the name of any finite being with that of -the Deity.</p> - -<p>(2) We see the same thing again in Matthew 28:19: <b>"Go ye therefore, -and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them into the name -of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."</b> If the Holy -Spirit is not God, it would be shocking to couple His name in this way -with that of God, the Father, and of the Lord Jesus, His Son.</p> - -<p>(3) Another striking illustration of this is found in <abbr title="Second">II</abbr> Corinthians -13:14: <b>"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, -and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all."</b> Here the -name of the Holy Spirit is coupled on a ground of equality with that -of the Father and of the Son. In all these passages, the name of the -Holy Spirit is coupled with that of God in a way in which it would be -impossible for a reverent, thoughtful mind to couple the name of any -finite being with that of Deity.</p> - -<p><!-- Page 153 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span>5. <em>The fifth</em> and last, and, if possible, more decisive way <em>in which -the Deity of the Holy Spirit is taught in the Bible is that the Holy -Spirit in so many words is called God</em>. This we find in Acts 5:3, 4: -<b>"But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thy heart to lie to -the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land? While -it remained, did it not remain thine own? And after it was sold, was -it not in thy power? How is it that thou hast conceived this thing in -thy heart? Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God."</b> In the third -verse we are distinctly told that it was to the Holy Spirit to Whom -Ananias lied, and in the fourth verse we are told that it was to God -that Ananias lied. Putting the two statements together, it is evident -that the Holy Spirit is God.</p> - -<p>To sum up all that we have said under the head of the Deity of the -Holy Spirit, we see that <em>by the ascription of all the distinctively -divine attributes, and several distinctively divine works, by referring -statements which in the Old Testament distinctly named Jehovah, the -Lord or God, as their subject, to the Holy Spirit in the New Testament, -by coupling the name of the Holy Spirit with that of God in a way in -which it would be impossible to couple the name of any finite being -with that of Deity, by calling the Holy Spirit "God," in all these -unmistakable ways God in His Word distinctly proclaims that the Holy -Spirit is a Divine Person</em>. It is absolutely impossible for any one to -go to the Bible to find out what it actually teaches, <!-- Page 154 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span>and not merely -to twist and distort it to fit into his own preconceived notions, and -come to any other conclusion but that the Holy Spirit is a Divine -Person, that He is God.</p> - - -<h3>II. THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE FATHER, THE SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT</h3> - -<p>But now we come to the question, Is the Holy Spirit a distinct -personality from the Father and from the Son? He might be a person, as -we have clearly seen that He is, and He might be a divine person, as -we have just seen that He is, and at the same time He might be only -the same person who manifested Himself at times as the Father and at -other times as the Son, and in that case there would not be three -divine Persons in the Godhead, but one divine Person, who variously -manifested Himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. So the question that -now confronts us is, Is the Holy Spirit a distinct personality separate -and distinct from the Father and from the Son? This question is plainly -answered in various passages in the New Testament.</p> - -<p>1. <em>We find this question answered in the first place in John 14:26 -and John 15:26.</em> In John 14:26 we read: <b>"But the Comforter, even -the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach -you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said unto -you."</b> In John 15:26 we read: <b>"But when the Comforter is come, -<!-- Page 155 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span>whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth, -which proceedeth from the Father, he shall bear witness of me."</b> In -both of these passages we are told that the Holy Spirit is an entirely -distinct personality from the Father and the Son, that He is sent from -the Father by the Son. We are elsewhere taught that Jesus Christ was -sent by the Father (John 6:29; 8:29, 42). It is as clear as language -can make it in these passages that Father, Son and Holy Spirit are not -one and the same Person manifesting Himself in three different forms, -but that they are three distinct personalities.</p> - -<p>2. <em>We find clear proof that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are three -distinct personalities</em> in John 16:13, where we read: <b>"Howbeit when -He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, he shall guide you into all the -truth: for He shall not speak from Himself; but what things soever He -shall hear, these shall He speak: and He shall declare unto you the -things that are to come."</b> In this passage the clearest possible -distinction is drawn between the Holy Spirit who speaks and the One -from whom He speaks, and we are told in so many words that this One -from whom He speaks is <em>not Himself, but another</em>.</p> - -<p>3. In the next verse the same thought is brought out in still another -way. In this verse, John 16:14, we read: <b>"He shall glorify me: for -He shall take of mine, and shall declare it unto you."</b> Here the -clearest distinction is drawn <!-- Page 156 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span>between <em>He</em>, the Holy Spirit, and <em>Me</em>, -Jesus Christ. It is the work of the Holy Spirit not to glorify Himself, -but another, and this Other is Jesus Christ, and He takes what belongs -to another; that is, to Christ, and declares it unto believers. It -would be impossible to express in human language a distinction between -two personalities more plainly than the distinction between the Son and -the Holy Ghost is expressed in this verse.</p> - -<p>4. The distinction between the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit -is very clearly brought out in Luke 3:21, 22: <b>"Now it came to -pass, when all the people were baptised, that, Jesus also having been -baptised, and praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit -descended in a bodily form, as a dove, upon him, and a voice came out -of heaven, thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased."</b> -Here <em>a clear distinction is drawn between Jesus Christ who was on the -earth, and the Father who spake to Him from heaven, and the Holy Spirit -who descended in bodily form as a dove from the Father upon the Son</em>.</p> - -<p>5. Still another striking illustration is found in Matthew 28:19: -<b>"Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptising -them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy -Spirit."</b> <em>Here a clear distinction is drawn between the name "of -the Father," and the name "of the Son," and the name "of the Holy -Spirit."</em></p> - -<p>6. A very striking setting forth of a clear distinction between the -Father, Son and Holy Spirit <!-- Page 157 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span>is found in John 14:16, 17: <b>"And I will -pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter that He may be -with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth."</b> Here <em>the clearest -possible distinction is drawn between the Son who prays, and the Father -to whom He prays</em>, and <em>"another Comforter," who is given in answer to -His prayer</em>. Nothing could possibly be plainer than the distinction -that Jesus Christ draws in this passage between Himself and the Father -and the Holy Spirit.</p> - -<p>7. We find the same thing again in John 16:7: <b>"Nevertheless I tell -you the truth: it is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go -not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I go, I will -send Him unto you."</b> <em>Here the Lord Jesus Himself draws a clear -distinction between Himself, who is about to go away, and the Holy -Spirit, the other Comforter who is coming to take His place after He -has gone away.</em></p> - -<p>8. The same thing is brought out again in Peter's sermon on the day of -Pentecost in Acts 2:33, where Peter is recorded as saying: <b>"Being -therefore by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the -Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He hath poured forth this, which -ye see and hear."</b> <em>Here a clear distinction is drawn between the -Son exalted to the right hand of the Father, and the Father Himself, -and the Holy Spirit whom the Son receives from the Father, <!-- Page 158 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span>and sheds -upon the Church. To sum up all under this head: again and again the -Bible draws the clearest possible distinction between the Holy Spirit, -and the Father, and the Son. They are three separate personalities, -having mutual relations to one another, acting upon one another, -speaking of or to one another, applying the pronouns of the second and -third persons to one another.</em></p> - -<p>We have seen that the Bible makes it plain that the Holy Spirit is a -Divine Person and that He is an entirely separate personality from -the Father and from the Son. In other words, that <em>there are three -divine Persons in the Godhead</em>. It has oftentimes been said that the -doctrine of the Trinity is not taught in the Bible. It is true that the -doctrine of the Trinity is not directly taught in the Bible in so many -words, but the doctrine of the Trinity is simply the putting together -of truths that are clearly and unmistakably taught in the Bible. It -is clearly taught in the Bible that there is but one God (Deuteronomy -6:4). But it is taught with equal clearness, as we have seen to-day, -that there are three Divine Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy -Ghost; and the doctrine of the Trinity is the putting together of these -truths which are taught with equal plainness.</p> - -<p>But, some one may ask, How can God be three and one at the same time? -The answer to this question is very simple and easily understandable. -<!-- Page 159 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span>He cannot be three in one in the same sense, nor does the Bible teach -that He is. But in what sense can He be one and three? A perfectly -satisfactory answer to this question is manifestly impossible from -the very nature of the case—first, because God is Spirit and numbers -belong primarily to the physical world, and <em>difficulty must always -arise when we attempt to conceive of spiritual being in the forms -of physical thought</em>. In the second place, a perfectly satisfactory -answer to the question is impossible because God is infinite and we are -finite. "God dwells in the light that no man can approach unto," and -<em>our attempts at a philosophical explanation of the Trinity of God is -an attempt to put the facts of infinite being into the forms of finite -thought, and of necessity such an attempt can at the very best be only -partially successful</em>. This much we know, that God is essentially one, -and also that there are three Persons in this one Godhead. <em>There -is but one God, but this one God makes Himself known to us as three -distinct Persons—Father, Son and Holy Spirit.</em> There is one God, -eternally existing, and manifesting Himself in three Persons—Father, -Son and Holy Spirit. If we were to go into the realm of philosophy, -it could be shown that from the very necessities of the case, that if -God were to be God, there must be in the eternal Godhead before the -creation of finite beings a multiplicity of persons; for otherwise -God could not love, for <!-- Page 160 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span>there would be no one to love, and therefore -God could not be God. The ease with which one can grasp the Unitarian -conception of God is not in its favour but against it. Any god who -could be thoroughly comprehended by a finite mind would not be an -infinite God. It would be impossible for a thoroughly intelligent mind -to really worship a god whom he could thoroughly understand. If God is -to be really God, He must be beyond our complete understanding.</p> - -<p>The doctrine of the Trinity is not merely a speculative doctrine. It -is a doctrine of tremendous daily practical importance. It enters -into the very warp and woof of our experience, if our experience is a -truly Christian experience. For example, in our prayer we need God, -the Father, to Whom we pray, we need God, the Son, through Whom we -pray, and we need God, the Holy Spirit, in Whom we pray. So also in -our worship we need God, the Father, the very centre of our worship, -we need the Son, through Whom we approach Him in our worship, and we -need to worship by the Holy Spirit. But all three—Father, Son and Holy -Spirit—are the objects of our worship. The long metre doxology is -thoroughly Christian in its worship when it sings:</p> - -<div class="poem"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="line">"Praise God from whom all blessings flow,</div> - <div class="line indentq">Praise Him all creatures here below,</div> - <div class="line indentq">Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts,</div> - <div class="line indentq">Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost."</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p><!-- Page 161 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span>And so, also, is the Gloria Patri, the words of which we so often sing, -but the thought of which we so seldom grasp:</p> - -<p>Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it -was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end, -Amen.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page 162 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak"><a name="VIII" id="VIII"></a>VIII<br /> - -<small><span class="smcap">The Atonement: God's Doctrine of the Atonement vs. Unitarian and -Christian Science Doctrines of the Atonement</span></small></h2> -</div> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>"Apart from the shedding of blood there is no -remission."—Hebrews 9:22.</p> -</div> - - -<p>Our subject in this chapter is "God's Doctrine of the Atonement vs. the -Unitarian and Christian Science Doctrines of the Atonement." One of the -most fundamental, central and vital doctrines of the Christian faith -is the Christian doctrine of the Atonement. Without the Bible Doctrine -of the Atonement you have no Christianity, but the Devil's substitute -for Christianity. Without the Bible Doctrine of the Atonement you have -no real gospel, but an utterly false and soul-destroying philosophy. -In speaking on the doctrine of the Deity of Christ I said: "If a man -really holds to right views concerning the person of Jesus Christ he -will sooner or later get right views on every other question, but if -he holds a wrong view concerning the person of the Lord Jesus Christ -he is pretty sure to go wrong on everything else sooner or later." -The same is <!-- Page 163 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span>true regarding the doctrine of the Atonement: If a man -really holds to right views concerning the Atonement made by our Lord -and Saviour Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary, he will sooner or -later get right on every other question; but if he holds a wrong view -regarding the Atonement made by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, he -is pretty sure to go wrong on everything else sooner or later. There is -a great need in this day of teaching on this subject that is definite, -clear, accurate, exact, complete; because not only in Unitarian and -Christian Science circles, but also in circles that are nominally -orthodox, in professedly Christian colleges, seminaries, pulpits, -Sunday School classes, and religious papers, magazines, pamphlets, -books, there is much teaching to-day that is vague, inaccurate, -misleading, unscriptural, and oftentimes utterly false and devilish, -teaching that is essentially Unitarian or Eddyistic. Men and women -use the old words with a new meaning; so as to deceive, if it were -possible, the very elect. Even the Christian Scientist will tell you -he believes in the Atonement, and that Mrs. Eddy taught the Atonement. -But when you begin to ask direct and pointed questions regarding his -belief and teaching you will find that by Atonement he meant, and -that Mrs. Eddy meant, something utterly different from what you mean -and what the Bible teaches. Paul tells us that the Devil camouflages -as an angel of light (<abbr title="Second Corinthians">II Cor.</abbr> 11:14), but never has he done it more -successfully and <!-- Page 164 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span>dangerously than in the teaching regarding the -Atonement which he has inspired in Mrs. Eddy and in Unitarian teachers, -and also in the teachers in many supposedly orthodox pulpits, in many -Congregational pulpits, in some Methodist pulpits, in many Baptist -pulpits, and even in some Presbyterian pulpits. Some years ago in -teaching a Bible class in Minneapolis, attended by people from all the -churches, I remarked incidentally that Christian Science denied the -doctrine of the Atonement through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. A -very intelligent lady, a lady perfect in her manners, came to me at the -close of the class and said: "Mr. Torrey, you ought not to have said -what you said to-day about Christian Science; for you do not understand -its teachings. They do teach the Atonement." I replied: "I said that -Christian Science denies the Doctrine of the Atonement <em>through the -shed blood of Jesus Christ</em>. Do you believe that Jesus Christ bore your -sins in His own body on the cross?" She answered: "I think Christian -Science is a beautiful system of teaching." I said: "That is not what -I asked you. Do you believe that Jesus Christ bore your sins in His -own body on the cross?" She replied: "Christian Science has done me a -great deal of good." "That is not what I asked you. Do you believe that -Jesus Christ bore your sins in His own body on the cross?" "I think -that Jesus Christ's life was the most beautiful life ever lived here -on earth." "That is not what I asked you. <!-- Page 165 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span>Do you believe Jesus Christ -bore your sins in His own body on the cross?" "The Christian Scientists -are lovely people." "That is not what I asked you. Do you believe that -Jesus Christ bore your sins in His own body on the cross?" "I believe -in following the Lord Jesus Christ." "Do you believe that Jesus Christ -bore your sins in His own body on the cross?" "Oh," she said, "that is -a doctrinal question." "Now," I said, "you are yourself an illustration -of the truth of the very thing I said. You do not believe in the -<em>Atonement through the shed blood of Jesus Christ</em>." The Christian -Scientist uses the word "atonement," but he means something entirely -different from what the Bible teaches regarding the atoning death -of Jesus Christ. So does the Unitarian. So do many of the ministers -supposedly of orthodox denominations. The pastor of a Congregational -church in this city said recently: "I have my own kind of religion; it -answers for me, but I hope I have sense enough to see that it would not -answer for everybody. I imagine the Salvation Army captain preaching my -kind of religious doctrine, without a devil, without a hell, without an -<em>atonement of blood</em> and recompense, without an infallible Bible—and -I see his audience melting away like snow in the rain. Is his doctrine -truer than mine, or is mine truer than his? Why, neither; his is true -for him and mine for me—that is all—each after his own kind." Now -this may sound tolerant and lovely, but it is utter <!-- Page 166 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span>nonsense. Any -doctrine which is not true for everybody is not for anybody true, and -any doctrine which is true is true for everybody. If a doctrine that -leaves out "<em>an atonement of blood</em>" is not true for the Salvation -Army—and it certainly is not—it is not <em>true</em> for anybody else. Truth -is not relative; it is absolute. What is true is true, and what is -false is false. So we come face to face with the question, What does -the Bible teach on this great fundamental doctrine?</p> - - -<h3>I. THE NECESSITY AND IMPORTANCE OF HIS DEATH</h3> - -<p>The first thing that the Bible plainly teaches on this question is -<em>the absolute necessity and fundamental importance of the death of -Jesus Christ, the absolute necessity and fundamental importance of the -shedding of His blood</em>. The tendency of our day in Unitarian circles, -and in orthodox circles that have been leavened by the corrupting -leaven of Unitarianism, is to minimise the importance of the death of -our Lord Jesus Christ. The tendency is to make His life and character, -His teaching and leadership, the main thing. Christian Science even -goes so far as to deny the fact of His death. To them His supposed -death is "an illusion," it is "only mortal thought," but the Bible puts -the emphasis upon His atoning death.</p> - -<p>1. <em>The death of Jesus Christ is mentioned directly more than 175 times -in the New Testament. <!-- Page 167 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span>Besides this there are very many prophetic and -typical references to the death of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament.</em> -When Mr. Alexander and I were holding our meetings in the Royal Albert -Hall in London, some one took away one of our hymn books and went -through it and cut out every reference to the blood, and then sent it -back to me through the mail, saying, "I have gone through your hymn -book and cut out every reference to the blood. These references to the -blood are foolish. Now sing your hymns with the blood left out and -there will be some sense in them." If any of you should take your Bible -and go through it in that way and cut out of the New Testament and the -Old Testament every passage that referred to the death of Christ, or -to His atoning blood, you would have only a sadly torn and tattered -Bible left, a Bible without a heart and a Gospel without saving power. -If I were a member of a church where the pastor said that he preached -a system of "religious doctrine, without a devil, without a hell, -<em>without an atonement of blood</em> and recompense, without an infallible -Bible," to use his own language, he would see his audience "melting -away like snow in the rain" as far as I was concerned. I would either -take my hat and get out of that church, or else the pastor would take -his hat and get out of the pulpit; for I should know that he was -not preaching God's pure, saving gospel, but the Devil's poisonous -substitute for the gospel.</p> - -<p>2. Not only are the references to the death of <!-- Page 168 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span>Christ so numerous -in Old Testament and New Testament, but we are taught distinctly in -Hebrews 2:14 that <em>Jesus Christ became a man for the specific purpose -of dying</em>, that He became a partaker of flesh and blood <em>in order that -He might die</em>. In this passage we read, <b>"For as much as the children -are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of -the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power -of death, that is the Devil"</b> (<abbr title="Hebrews">Heb.</abbr> 2:14). The meaning of these -words is as plain as day. They tell us that the incarnation was for the -purpose of the death. They tell us that Jesus Christ's death was not -a mere accident or incident of His human life (as many would have us -believe), but that <em>it was the supreme purpose of it</em>. He became man -<em>in order that He might die</em> as man and for man. This is the doctrine -of the Bible, and it is true for anybody and for everybody.</p> - -<p>3. Furthermore, <em>He died</em> for a specific purpose, <em>as a ransom for us</em>. -He Himself said so. In <abbr title="Matthew">Matt.</abbr> 20:28 He says, <b>"The Son of man came not -to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom -for many."</b></p> - -<p>4. One of the most remarkable scenes recorded in the New Testament is -that of the transfiguration, when Moses and Elijah came back from the -other world to commune with Jesus. And what did they talk about in that -great moment of human history? Luke tells us in the 9th chapter of his -Gospel, the <abbr title="thirtieth">30th</abbr> and <abbr title="thirty-first">31st</abbr> verses, <b>"And behold, <!-- Page 169 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span>there talked with -Him</b> (i.e., with Jesus) <b>two men, which were Moses and Elijah: -who appeared in glory, and spake of His decease which He was about to -accomplish at Jerusalem."</b> His atoning death was the one subject -that engrossed the attention of these two who came back from the glory -world. We are also told in <abbr title="First">I</abbr> Peter 1:10-12 that <em>the death of Jesus -Christ</em> is a subject of intensest interest and earnest inquiry on the -part of the angels.</p> - -<p>5. <em>The death of Christ is the central theme of heaven's song.</em> <abbr title="Revelation">Rev.</abbr> -5:8-12 gives us a picture of heaven with its wonderful choir of ten -thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands, and this is -the description of the song they sing: <b>"And when he had taken the -book, the four living creatures and the four and twenty elders fell -down before the Lamb, having each one a harp, and golden bowls full of -incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sing a new song, -saying, Worthy art thou to take the book and to open the seals thereof: -for thou wast slain, and didst purchase unto God with thy blood men of -every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, and madest them to -be unto our God a kingdom and priests; and they reign upon the earth. -And I saw, and I heard a voice of many angels round about the throne -and the living creatures and elders; and the number of them was ten -thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; saying with a -great voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was <!-- Page 170 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span>slain to receive the power, -and riches, and wisdom, and might, and honour, and glory, and blessing. -And every created thing which is in the heaven, and on the earth, and -under the earth, and on the sea, and all things that are in them, heard -I saying, Unto him that sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb, be -the blessing, and the honour, and the glory, and the dominion, for ever -and ever"</b> (<abbr title="Revelation">Rev.</abbr> 5:8-12). So it is evident that the great central -theme of heaven's song is the atoning death of Jesus Christ, and the -shed "<em>blood</em>" by which He redeemed "men of every tribe, and tongue, -and nation." If the Unitarian or the Christian Scientist or the New -Theologian should get to heaven they would have no song to sing. The -glorious song of that wondrous choir would sound to him like a song "of -the shambles." He would be very lonesome and feel that he had got into -the wrong pew.</p> - - -<h3>II. THE PURPOSE OF THE DEATH OF JESUS CHRIST</h3> - -<p>So much for the fundamental and central importance of His death, or of -<em>the shedding of His blood</em>. But what was the purpose of the shedding -of His blood?</p> - -<p>1. First of all, the Bible distinctly and repeatedly tells us by direct -statement, and by countless typical reference in the Old Testament, -that <em>He died as a vicarious offering for sin; that is, that He, an -absolutely perfect, righteous one, who <!-- Page 171 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span>deserved to live, died in the -place of unjust men who deserved to die</em>. For example, we read in <abbr title="Isaiah">Isa.</abbr> -53:5, <b>"But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for -our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with -His stripes we are healed."</b> And in the eighth verse we read, <b>"By -oppression and judgment He was taken away; and as for His generation, -who among them considered that He was cut off out of the land of the -living for the transgression of my people to whom the stroke was -due?"</b> And in the <abbr title="eleventh">11th</abbr> and <abbr title="twelfth">12th</abbr> verses we read, <b>"He shall see -of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied: by the knowledge -of Himself shall my righteous servant justify many; and He shall bear -their iniquities. Therefore will I divide Him a portion with the great, -and He shall divide the spoil with the strong; because He poured out -His soul unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors: yet He -bare the sin of many. And made intercession for the transgressors."</b> -In <abbr title="First">I</abbr> Peter, 3:18 we read, <b>"Christ also suffered for sins once, the -righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God; being -put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit."</b> And in -1 Peter 2:24 we read, <b>"Who His own self bare our sins in His own -body upon the tree, that we, having died unto sins, might live unto -righteousness; by whose stripes ye were healed."</b> Now the meaning -of these verses and many other verses, is inescapable. They teach in -language the meaning of which no one can <!-- Page 172 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span>misunderstand (unless he is -determined not to see) that the death of Jesus Christ was a vicarious -atonement, that is, a just one, who deserved to live, dying in the -place of unjust ones who deserved to die. It was, to use the language -of the Los Angeles minister who denied his belief in it, "an atonement -of blood and recompense." This is God's doctrine of the Atonement -versus the Unitarian and Christian Science doctrine of the Atonement.</p> - -<p>2. But this is not all. We are further taught that <em>He died as a -ransom, that is, His death was the price paid to redeem others from -death</em>. He Himself says so. His own words are, <b>"The Son of man came -not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a -ransom for many."</b> If His life was not a ransom, that is to say, if -He did not redeem others from death by dying in their place, then He -was the greatest fool in the whole history of this universe. Was He a -fool or was He a ransom? No one who in any real sense can be said to -believe on the Lord Jesus Christ can hesitate as to his answer.</p> - -<p>3. But even this is not all. The Bible distinctly tells us that <em>He -died as a sin offering, i.e., it was on the ground of His death, and -on this ground alone, that forgiveness of sin is made possible for -and offered to sinners</em>. This we are told in the <abbr title="fifty-third">53rd</abbr> chapter of -Isaiah, to which reference has already been made. In the <abbr title="tenth">10th</abbr> verse it -is written, <b>"Yet it pleased Jehovah to bruise him; He</b> (i.e., -Jehovah) <b>hath put him to grief</b> (literally, <!-- Page 173 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span>made him sick): -<b>when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his -seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of Jehovah shall -prosper in his hand."</b> Now the meaning of "<em>offering for sin</em>" is -unquestionable to any one who has studied the Old Testament offerings. -An "offering for sin" or a "guilt offering," which is the exact force -of the Hebrew word translated "an offering for sin," was a death of -a sacrificial victim on the ground of which pardon was offered to -sinners (<abbr title="Leviticus">Lev.</abbr> 6:6-10, <abbr title="Revised Version">R. V.</abbr>). The Holy Spirit says expressly in <abbr title="Hebrews">Heb.</abbr> -9:22, in words the meaning of which is unmistakable, and the force -of which is inescapable, "<em>Apart from shedding of blood</em> there is no -remission," and the whole context in which the passage is found shows -that the blood, to which all the blood of the Old Testament types as -sacrifices pointed forward, was the blood of Jesus Christ. So then -the Word of God declares that apart from the shedding of the blood of -Jesus Christ there is absolutely no pardon for sin. There is absolutely -no forgiveness outside the atoning blood of Christ. Without Christ's -atoning blood every member of the human race must have perished forever.</p> - -<p>4. Fourth and further yet, the Bible teaches that <em>Jesus Christ died -as a propitiation for our sins</em>. God the Father gave Christ the Son -to be a propitiation by His blood. That is to say that <em>Jesus Christ, -through the shedding of His blood, is that by which God's holy wrath -at sin is <!-- Page 174 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span>appeased</em>. We read in 1 John 4:10, <b>"Herein is love, not -that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the -propitiation for our sins."</b> And we read in <abbr title="Romans">Rom.</abbr> 3:25, 26, <b>"Whom -God set forth to be a propitiation, through faith, in His blood, to -show His righteousness because of the passing over of the sins done -aforetime, in the forbearance of God; (26) for the showing, I say, -of His righteousness at this present season: that He might Himself -be just, and the justifier of Him that hath faith in Jesus."</b> The -meaning of these words also is as plain as day. The two Greek words -in these two passages are not exactly the same words (<i>hilasmos</i> and -<i>hilasterion</i>) but are from the same root. The word used in 1 John 4:10 -is <i>hilasmos</i> and the word used in <abbr title="Romans">Rom.</abbr> 3:25 is <i>hilasterion</i>. The -definition given of the first in Thayer's Dictionary of New Testament -Greek, the standard work, is "a means of appeasing." The definition -given in the same lexicon of the second word is "an expiatory -sacrifice." So the thought that is in both passages is that the death -of Jesus Christ was a "propitiation," "an expiatory sacrifice," the -"means of appeasing" God's holy wrath at sin, or in other words, -that <em>Jesus, through the shedding of His blood, is that by which the -wrath of God against us as sinners is appeased</em>. God's holiness and -consequent hatred of sin, like every other attribute of His character, -is real and must manifest itself. His wrath at sin must strike -somewhere, either on the sinner himself or upon <!-- Page 175 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span>a lawful substitute. -It struck upon Jesus Christ, a lawful substitute. As we read in <abbr title="Isaiah">Isa.</abbr> -53:6, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to -his own way; and Jehovah <em>hath laid on Him</em> the iniquity of us all." -The word translated "hath laid," according to the margin of the Revised -Version, means literally, "hath made to <em>light</em>." More literally still -it means, "hath made to <em>strike</em>." Reading it this way, what God says -is, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to -his own way; and Jehovah <em>hath made to strike on him</em> (i.e., on the -Lord Jesus) <em>the iniquity of us all</em>." And in the eighth verse of the -same chapter we are taught that "the stroke due" to others fell upon -Him, and He was consequently "cut off out of the land of the living." -The death of Jesus Christ has its first cause in the demands of God's -holiness. This is the Bible doctrine versus the Unitarian and Christian -Science doctrine of atonement. The doctrine is often misrepresented -and caricatured as being that "God, a holy first person, took the sins -of man, the guilty second person, and put them on Jesus Christ, an -innocent third person," and it is objected that this would not be just. -No; this would not be just, and it is not for a moment the doctrine of -the Bible, for the Bible clearly teaches that Jesus Christ was not "a -third person," but was Himself God, and that He was Himself man, so He -is not a third person at all, but both the first person and the second -person, and <!-- Page 176 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span>the doctrine is that God Himself, the offended first -person, substitutes His atoning action whereby He expresses His hatred -against sin, for His punitive action whereby He would express the same -thing; that God, instead of visiting the sins of the sinner upon the -sinner, takes the punishment upon Himself. This certainly is something -more than just, it is wondrous love.</p> - -<p>5. Further yet, the Bible teaches us that <em>Jesus Christ died to redeem -us from the curse of the law by bearing that curse Himself</em>. We read -in <abbr title="Galatians">Gal.</abbr> 3:10, <b>"As many as are of the works of the law are under a -curse, for it is written: Cursed is every one who continueth not in -all things that are written in the Book of the Law, to do them."</b> -So then, every one of us is under the curse of the broken law, for not -one of us has continued <b>"in all things that are written in the book -of the law, to do them."</b> But we read in the <abbr title="thirteenth">13th</abbr> verse, <b>"Christ -redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us</b> -(literally, <em>in our behalf</em>): <b>for it is written, Cursed is every one -that hangeth on a tree."</b> <em>By His death by crucifixion He redeemed -us from the curse which we deserved by taking that curse upon Himself.</em> -This certainly is "an atonement of blood and recompense."</p> - -<p>6. The Bible puts essentially the same truth in still another form, -viz., that <em>Jesus Christ died as our Passover sacrifice—that is, that -His shed blood might serve as a ground upon which God would pass over -and spare us</em>. We read in <abbr title="First Corinthians">1 Cor.</abbr> <!-- Page 177 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span>5:7, <b>"For our passover also hath -been sacrificed, even Christ."</b> Now what a passover sacrifice was -and signified we learn from <abbr title="Exodus">Ex.</abbr> 12:12, 13, where our Lord told the -children of Israel at the inauguration of the passover, <b>"For I will -go through the land of Egypt in that night, and will smite all the -firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all -the Gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am Jehovah, and the blood -shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I -see the blood, I will pass over you, and there shall be no plague upon -you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt."</b> And again we -read in the <abbr title="twenty-third">23rd</abbr> verse of the same chapter, <b>"For Jehovah will pass -through to smite the Egyptians; and when He seeth the blood upon the -lintel, and on the two side-posts, Jehovah will pass over the door, -and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite -you."</b> Paul wrote his words with all this in mind, and in saying -that Christ is our Passover sacrifice beyond a question he meant that -<em>the shed blood of Jesus Christ serves as a ground, and the only -ground, upon which God passes over and spares us</em>.</p> - - -<h3>III. THE RESULTS OF THE ATONING DEATH</h3> - -<p>We have seen then the gracious and glorious purposes of the Atoning -Death of Jesus Christ. What are the results of that death? They are -<!-- Page 178 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span>even more glorious. I can speak of them this morning only in part.</p> - -<p>1. The first result of the atoning death of Jesus Christ is that <em>a -propitiation is provided for the whole world</em>. We read in 1 John 2:2, -<b>"He is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but -also for the whole world."</b> This plainly means that <em>by the death -of Jesus Christ a basis is provided upon which God can deal in mercy -and does deal in mercy with the whole world</em>. All of God's dealings in -mercy with any man are on the ground of Christ's death. Only on the -ground of Christ's death could God deal in mercy with any man. God's -dealings in mercy with the rankest blasphemer or the most blatant -atheist is on the ground of the atoning death of Jesus Christ.</p> - -<p>2. In the second place through <em>the atoning death of Jesus Christ all -men obtain resurrection from the dead</em>. We read in <abbr title="Romans">Rom.</abbr> 5:18, <b>"So -then as through one trespass</b> (i.e., the trespass of Adam) <b>the -judgment came unto all men to condemnation; even so through one act -of righteousness</b> (i.e., through Christ's righteous act in dying -on the cross in obedience to the will of God) <b>the free gift came -unto all men to justification of life."</b> And we are told in <abbr title="First Corinthians">1 Cor.</abbr> -15:22, <b>"As in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made -alive."</b> The Apostle Paul in the whole chapter is speaking about -<em>the resurrection of the body</em>, not about eternal life, and he here -distinctly teaches that as every child of Adam loses life (physical -<!-- Page 179 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span>life—see <abbr title="Genesis">Gen.</abbr> 3:19) in the first Adam, so also in Jesus Christ, the -second Adam, he obtains resurrection from the dead, through the atoning -death of Jesus Christ. Every man, the rankest infidel as well as the -most devout believer, will some day be raised from the dead because -Christ died in his place. Whether the resurrection which he obtains -through the death of Jesus Christ shall be a "resurrection of life" -or a "resurrection of condemnation," "shame and everlasting contempt" -(John 5:28, 29; <abbr title="Daniel">Dan.</abbr> 12:2) depends entirely upon what attitude the -individual takes toward the Christ in whom he gets the resurrection.</p> - -<p>3. <em>By the atoning death of Jesus Christ all believers in Jesus Christ -have forgiveness of all their sins.</em> We read in <abbr title="Ephesians">Eph.</abbr> 1:7, <b>"In -whom</b> (i.e., in Jesus Christ) <b>we have our redemption through His -blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of -His grace."</b> Because Jesus Christ died as a full satisfaction for -our sins, forgiveness of sin is not something which believers are to do -something to secure, it is something which the blood of Jesus Christ -has already secured and which our faith has already appropriated to -ourselves; "we <em>have</em> forgiveness," we <em>are</em> forgiven. Every believer -in Jesus Christ is forgiven every sin he ever committed or ever shall -commit, because Jesus Christ shed His blood in his place. Through -Christ's atoning death all believers in Him, although they once "were -<em>enemies</em>," are <em>now</em> "<em>reconciled</em> to God by the death of His <!-- Page 180 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span>Son." -As we read in <abbr title="Romans">Rom.</abbr> 5:10, <b>"While we were enemies, we were reconciled -to God through the death of His Son."</b> That is to say, the enmity -between God and the sinner is done away with, or, as Paul puts it in -<abbr title="Colossians">Col.</abbr> 1:20, Christ has "made peace through the blood of His cross," -or, as he puts it in the next verse but one, <abbr title="Colossians">Col.</abbr> 1:22, Christ "<em>hath -reconciled</em>" believers "in the body of His flesh through death." The -story is told of a faithful vicar in England who was told that one of -his parishioners was dying. She was a good woman, but he hurried to her -side to talk with her. As he sat down by the side of the dying woman -he said to her very gently but solemnly, "They tell me you have not -long to live." "No," she replied, "I know I have not." "They tell me -you will probably not live through the night." "No," she replied, "I -do not expect to live through the night." Then he said very earnestly, -"Have you made your peace with God?" She replied, "No, I have not." -"And are you not afraid to meet God without having made your peace -with Him?" "No, not at all," she calmly replied. Again he said to her, -"Do you understand what I am saying? Do you realise that you are at -the point of death?" "Yes." "Do you realise you will probably not live -through the night?" "Yes." "And you have not made your peace with God?" -"No." "And you are not afraid to meet God?" "No, not at all." There -was something about the woman's manner that made him feel there was -<!-- Page 181 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span>something back of her words, and he said to her, "What do you mean?" -She replied, "I know I am dying. I know I am very near death. I know I -shall not live through the night. I know I must soon meet God, and I am -not at all disturbed, for I know that I did not need to make my peace -with God, because Jesus Christ made peace with God for me more than -eighteen hundred years ago by His death on the cross of Calvary, and I -am resting in the peace that Jesus Christ has already made." The woman -was right: no man needs to make his peace with God, Jesus Christ has -already made peace by His atoning death, and all we have to do is to -enter into the peace which Jesus Christ has made for us, and we enter -into that peace by simply believing in the One who made peace by His -death upon the cross. Jesus Christ's work was a complete and perfect -work. There is nothing to be added to it. We cannot add anything to it, -and we do not need to add anything to it. Jesus Christ has "made peace -through the blood of His cross."</p> - -<p>4. The fourth result of the atoning death of Jesus Christ is that -<em>because of the atoning death of Jesus Christ all believers in Him -are justified</em>. We read in <abbr title="Romans">Rom.</abbr> 5:9, <b>"Being now justified by His -blood."</b> Justification is more than forgiveness. Forgiveness is -negative, the putting away of our sins, manifested in God's treating us -as if we never had sinned. Justification is positive, the reckoning of -us positively righteous, the imputing <!-- Page 182 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span>to us the perfect righteousness -of God in Jesus Christ, not merely the treating us as if we had never -sinned, but the reckoning us clothed upon with perfect righteousness. -By reason of Jesus Christ's atoning death there is an absolute -interchange of position between Jesus Christ and His people. In His -death upon the cross Jesus Christ took our place of condemnation before -God, and the moment we accept Him we step into His place of perfect -acceptance before God. As Paul puts it in <abbr title="Second Corinthians">2 Cor.</abbr> 5:21, <b>"Him who -knew no sin He made to be sin on our behalf; that we might become the -righteousness of God in Him."</b> Jesus Christ stepped into our place -in the curse and rejection, and the moment we accept Him we step into -His place of perfect acceptance, or as it has been expressed by another:</p> - -<div class="poem"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="line">"Near, so very near to God,</div> - <div class="line i1q">Nearer I cannot be;</div> - <div class="line indentq">For in the person of His Son,</div> - <div class="line i1q">I'm just as near as He.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="line indentq">Dear, so very dear to God,</div> - <div class="line i1q">Dearer I cannot be;</div> - <div class="line indentq">For in the person of His Son,</div> - <div class="line i1q">I'm just as dear as He."</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p>5. Furthermore, <em>because of the full atonement that Jesus Christ has -made by the shedding of His blood, by His atoning death on the cross, -every believer in Him can enter boldly into the holy <!-- Page 183 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span>place, into the -very presence of God</em>. As it is put in <abbr title="Hebrews">Heb.</abbr> 10:19, 20, <b>"Having -therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holy place</b> (i.e., -into the very presence of God) <b>by the blood of Jesus, by the way -which He dedicated for us, a new and living way, through the veil, that -is to say, His flesh; and having a great priest over the house of God; -let us draw near with a true heart in fullness of faith."</b> Oh, how -some of us hesitate to come into the presence of God when we think of -the greatness and the number of our sins, and when we think how holy -God is, how the very seraphim (the "burning ones," burning in their -own intense holiness) veil their faces and feet in His presence and -unceasingly cry "Holy, holy, holy, is Jehovah of Hosts" (<abbr title="Isaiah">Isa.</abbr> 6:2, 3). -"God is Holy," we think. "Yes." "And I am a sinner." "Yes." But by the -wondrous offering of Christ "once for all" I am "perfected forever," -and on the ground of that blood so precious and so sufficient unto God, -I can march boldly into the very presence of God, look up with unveiled -face into His face and call Him "Father," and pour out before Him every -desire of my heart. Oh, wondrous blood!</p> - -<p>6. But this is not all. <em>Because of the atoning death of Jesus Christ -those who believe in Him shall ever live with Him.</em> How plainly Paul -puts it in <abbr title="First Thessalonians">1 Thess.</abbr> 5:10, <b>"Who died for us, that, whether we wake -or sleep,</b> (i.e., at His coming), <b>we should live together with -Him."</b></p> - -<p><!-- Page 184 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span>7. Further yet, <em>because of the atoning death of Jesus Christ, -all those who believe on Him receive the promise of the eternal -inheritance</em>. This is what we are told in <abbr title="Hebrews">Heb.</abbr> 9:15, <b>"And for this -cause He is the mediator of a new covenant, that a death having taken -place for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the -first covenant, they that have been called may receive the promise of -the eternal inheritance."</b> I wish I had time to dwell upon that.</p> - -<p>8. There are other results of the atoning death of Jesus Christ as -regards the Devil and his angels, into which we have no time to go. -Just one more thing as regards the results of the atoning death of -Jesus Christ as it relates to the material universe. God teaches us -that <em>through the death of Jesus Christ the material universe</em>—"all -things, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven"—<em>is -reconciled unto God</em>. These are His words, <b>"For it was the good -pleasure of the Father that in Him</b> (i.e., in Jesus Christ) -<b>should all the fullness dwell and, having made peace through the -blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself; by -Him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in Heaven"</b> -(<abbr title="Colossians">Col.</abbr> 1:19, 20). These are wonderful words. They tell us that the -death of Jesus Christ has a relation to the material universe, to -things on earth and to things in heaven, as well as to us and our -sins. The material universe has fallen away from God in connection -with sin (<abbr title="Romans">Rom.</abbr> 8:20, <abbr title="Revised Version">R. V.</abbr>; <abbr title="Genesis">Gen.</abbr> <!-- Page 185 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span>3:18). Not only earth but heaven has -been invaded and polluted by sin (<abbr title="Ephesians">Eph.</abbr> 6:12, <abbr title="Revised Version">R. V.</abbr>; <abbr title="Hebrews">Heb.</abbr> 9:23, 24). -Through the death of Jesus Christ this pollution is put away. Just -as the blood of the Old Testament sacrifice was taken into the most -holy place, the type of heaven, so Christ has taken the blood of the -better sacrifice into heaven itself and cleansed it. <b>"All things -. . . whether they be things in earth or things in heaven"</b> are now -reconciled to God. <b>"The creation itself also shall be delivered from -the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children -of God"</b> (<abbr title="Romans">Rom.</abbr> 8:21). <b>"We look for new heavens and a new earth, -wherein dwelleth righteousness"</b> (2 Peter 3:13). The atonement of -Jesus Christ has an immense sweep—far beyond the reach of our human -philosophies. We have just begun to understand what the blood that -was spilled on Calvary means. Sin is a far more awful, ruinous, and -far-reaching evil than we have been wont to think, but the blood of -Christ has a power and efficiency, the fullness of which only eternity -will disclose.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page 186 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak"><a name="IX" id="IX"></a>IX<br /> - -<small><span class="smcap">The Distinctive Doctrine of Protestantism: Justification by -Faith</span></small></h2> -</div> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>"Be it known unto you therefore, brethren, that through this -man is proclaimed unto you, remission of sins: and by him every -one that believeth is justified from all things, from which he -could not be justified by the law of Moses."—Acts 13:38, 39.</p> -</div> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>"But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him -that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reckoned for -righteousness."—<abbr title="Romans">Rom.</abbr> 4:5.</p> -</div> - - -<p>These are two remarkable passages and this chapter will be occupied -with an exposition of them. Our subject this morning is, The -Distinctive Doctrine of Protestantism: Justification by Faith. The -doctrine of Justification by Faith was the doctrine that made the -Reformation. It is to-day one of the cardinal doctrines of the -Evangelical Faith. This doctrine, though first fully expounded and -constantly emphasised by Paul, runs throughout the entire Bible from -Genesis to Revelation. It is in the first book of the Bible, the book -of Genesis, that we read, <b>"Abraham believed in the Lord; and he -counted it to him for righteousness."</b> (<abbr title="Genesis">Gen.</abbr> 15:6.) In these words -in the very first book in the Bible we <!-- Page 187 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span>have the germ of the whole -gracious and precious doctrine of Justification by Faith.</p> - - -<h3>I. WHAT IS JUSTIFICATION?</h3> - -<p>The first thing for us to understand clearly is just what justification -is. It is at this point that many go astray in their study of this -great truth. There are two fundamentally different definitions of the -meaning of the words "justify" and "justification." The one definition -of Justify is, <em>to make righteous</em>, and of Justification, <em>the being -made righteous</em>. The other definition of "justify" is, <em>to reckon, -declare, or show to be righteous</em>, and of "justification," <em>the being -declared or reckoned righteous</em>. On these two different definitions -two different schools of thought depart from one another. Which is -the true definition? The way to settle the meaning of any word in the -Bible is by an examination of all the passages in which that word and -its derivatives is found. If any one will go through the Bible, the -Old Testament and the New, and carefully study all the passages in -which the word "justify" and its derivatives is found, he will discover -that <em>beyond a question, in Biblical usage, to "justify" means, not -to make righteous, but to reckon righteousness, declare righteous, or -show to be righteous. A man is justified before God when God reckons -him righteous.</em> This appears, for example, in the fourth chapter of -Romans, <abbr title="second">2nd</abbr> to <abbr title="eighth">8th</abbr> verses, <abbr title="Revised Version">R. V.</abbr> <b>"For if Abraham <!-- Page 188 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span>was justified by -works, he hath whereof to glory; but not toward God. For what saith -the scripture? And Abraham believed God and it was reckoned unto -him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh, the reward is not -reckoned as of grace, but as of debt. But to him that worketh not, but -believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reckoned for -righteousness even as David also pronounced blessing upon the man unto -whom God reckoneth righteousness apart from works, saying, blessed are -they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered, blessed -is the man to whom the Lord will not reckon sin."</b> It is plain from -this passage, as from many other passages, that a man is justified when -God reckons him righteous, no matter what his principles of character -and of conduct may have been. We shall see later that justification -means more than mere forgiveness.</p> - - -<h3>II. HOW ARE MEN JUSTIFIED?</h3> - -<p>We come now to the second question, and the all-important question, -How are men justified? In general there are two opposing views of -justification: one that men are justified by their own works, i.e., -on the ground of something which they do themselves. This view may be -variously expressed. The good works that men speak of as a ground of -their justification may be their good moral conduct, or their keeping -the Golden Rule, <!-- Page 189 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span>or something of that sort. Or they may be works of -religion, such as doing penance, saying prayers, joining the church, -going to church, being baptised, or partaking of the Lord's Supper, or -the performance of some other religious duties. But these all amount -to the same thing: it is something that we ourselves do that brings -justification, some works of our own, some works that we do, are taken -as the ground of our justification. The other view of justification is -that we are justified, not by our own works in any sense, but entirely -by the work of another, i.e., by the atoning death of Jesus Christ on -the cross of Calvary, that our own works have nothing to do with our -justification, but that we are justified entirely by Christ's finished -and complete work of atonement, by His death for us on the Cross, -and that all that we have to do with our justification is merely to -appropriate it to ourselves by simply trusting in Him who made the -atonement. Which is the correct view? We shall go directly to the Bible -for the answer to this all-important question.</p> - -<p>1. The first part of the answer we will find in <abbr title="Romans">Rom.</abbr> 3:20, -<b>"Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified -in his sight: for through the law cometh the knowledge of sin."</b> It -is here very plainly stated that we are not justified by keeping the -law of God, either the Mosaic law or any other law, and that the law is -given, not to bring us justification, but to bring us a knowledge of -sin, i.e., to bring us to the realisation of <!-- Page 190 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span>our need of justification -by grace. It is plainly stated here that <em>no man is justified by works -of the law</em>. The same great truth is found in <abbr title="Galatians">Gal.</abbr> 2:16: <b>"Knowing -that a man is not justified by the works of the law, save through faith -in Jesus Christ, even we believed on Christ Jesus, that we might be -justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by -the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."</b> Justification -by any works of our own is an impossibility. It is an impossibility -because to be justified by works of the law, or by anything we can -do, we must perfectly keep the law of God. The law demands perfect -obedience as a ground of justification. It says, <b>"Cursed is every -one that continueth not in all things that are written in the book of -the law to do them."</b> (<abbr title="Galatians">Gal.</abbr> 3:10.). But not one of us has perfectly -kept the law of God, and the moment we break the law of God at any -point, justification by works becomes an absolute impossibility. So -as far as the law of God is concerned, every one of us is "under the -curse," and if we are justified at all we must find some other way of -justification than by keeping the law of God. God did not give man the -law with the expectation or intention that he would keep it and be -justified thereby. He gave them the law to produce conviction of sin, -to stop men's mouths, and to lead them to Christ. Or, as Paul puts -it in <abbr title="Romans">Rom.</abbr> 3:19, 20, <b>"Now ye know that what things soever the law -saith, it speaketh to them that are under the law; that every mouth -<!-- Page 191 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span>may be stopped, and all the world may be brought under the judgment of -God: because by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified in his -sight: for through the law cometh the knowledge of sin."</b> As plain -as these words of God are, strangely enough there are many to-day who -are preaching the law as a way of salvation. But when they so preach -they are preaching another way of salvation than that laid down in -God's own word.</p> - -<p>2. The second part of the answer to the question as to how we are -justified we find in <abbr title="Romans">Rom.</abbr> 3:24. <b>"Being justified freely by his -grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."</b> The word -translated "freely" in this passage means, <em>as a free gift</em>, and the -verse tells us that men are justified <em>as a free gift</em> by God's grace -(i.e., God's unmerited favour) through (i.e., on the ground of) the -redemption that is in Christ Jesus. In other words, justification is -not on the ground of any desert there is in us, not on the ground of -anything that we have done, we are not justified by our own doing nor -by our own character. <em>Justification is a free gift that God bestows -absolutely without pay.</em> The channel through which this free gift is -bestowed is the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. We shall see later -that this means through the purchase price that Christ paid for our -redemption, i.e., the shedding of His blood on the cross of Calvary.</p> - -<p>3. This leads us to the third part of the answer to the question, how -men are justified. We find <!-- Page 192 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span>this third part of the answer in <abbr title="Romans">Rom.</abbr> 5:9, -<b>"Much more then, being now justified by his blood, shall we be -saved from the wrath of God through Him."</b> Here we are told in so -many words that we are justified, or counted righteous "by," or more -literally, "in," <em>Christ's blood</em>, i.e., on the ground of Christ's -propitiatory death. We were all under the curse of the broken law of -God, for we had all broken it, but by dying in our stead on the cross -of Calvary our Lord Jesus <b>"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the -law, having become a curse for us; for it is written, cursed is every -one that hangeth on a tree."</b> (<abbr title="Galatians">Gal.</abbr> 3:13.) Or, as Peter puts it in -<abbr title="First Peter">1 Pet.</abbr> 2:24, <b>"Who his own self bare our sins in his own body upon -the tree."</b> Or as Paul puts it again in <abbr title="Second Corinthians">2 Cor.</abbr> 5:21, <b>"Him who -knew no sin he (God) made to be sin on our behalf; that we might become -the righteousness of God in Him."</b> We shall have occasion to come -back to this passage later. All that I wish you to notice in it at this -time is that it is on the ground of Jesus Christ becoming a substitute -for us, on the ground of His taking the place we deserved; on the -cross, that we are reckoned righteous. <strong>The one and only ground of -justification is the shed blood of Jesus Christ.</strong> Of course, this -doctrine is entirely different from the teaching of Christian Science, -and entirely different from the teaching of much that is called New -Theology, and entirely different from the teaching of New Thought and -Theosophy, and <!-- Page 193 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span>entirely different from the teaching of Unitarianism, -but it is the teaching of the Word of God. We find this same teaching -clearly given by the prophet Isaiah seven hundred years before our Lord -was born, in Isaiah 53:6, where he says, <b>"All we like sheep have -gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way, and the Lord hath -laid</b> (literally, made to strike) <b>on him</b> (i.e., on the Lord -Jesus) <b>the iniquity of us all."</b> Get this point clearly settled -in your mind, that the <em>sole but all-sufficient ground upon which men -are justified before God is the shed blood of Jesus Christ, offered by -Jesus Christ as an atonement for our sins</em> and <em>accepted by God the -Father as an all-sufficient atonement</em>.</p> - -<p>4. The fourth part of the answer to the question how men are justified -we find in <abbr title="Romans">Rom.</abbr> 3:26, <b>"For the showing, I say, of his</b> (i.e., -God's) <b>righteousness at this present season: that he</b> (i.e., -God) <b>might himself be just, and the justifier of him that hath -faith in Jesus."</b> Here we are taught that <em>men are justified on the -condition of faith in Jesus</em>. If possible, <abbr title="Romans">Rom.</abbr> 4:5 makes this even -more plain, <b>"But to him that worketh not but believeth on him that -justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reckoned for righteousness."</b> -Here the Holy Spirit, speaking through the Apostle Paul, tells us that -to those who believe in Jesus their faith is counted for righteousness. -In other words, <em>faith makes ours the shed blood which is the ground -of justification, and we are justified when we <!-- Page 194 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span>believe</em>. All men -are <em>potentially</em> justified by the death of Christ on the cross, but -believers are <em>actually</em> justified by appropriating to themselves what -there is of justifying value in the shed blood of Christ by simple -faith in Him. In other words, the shed blood of Christ is the sole and -all-sufficient ground of justification: simple faith in Jesus Christ -who shed the blood is the sole condition of justification. <em>God asks -nothing else of the sinner than that he should believe on His Son, -Jesus Christ, and when he does thus believe he is justified.</em> When we -believe we are justified, whether we have any works to offer or not; -or, as Paul puts it in <abbr title="Romans">Rom.</abbr> 3:28, <b>"We reckon therefore that a man is -justified by faith apart from works of the law."</b> Or, as it is put -in the verse already quoted, <abbr title="Romans">Rom.</abbr> 4:5, <b>"But to him that worketh not, -but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reckoned -for righteousness."</b> A man is justified entirely apart from works -of the law, i.e., he is justified on condition that he believes on -Jesus Christ, even though he has no works to offer as the ground upon -which to claim justification. When we cease to work for justification -and simply "<em>believe</em> on Him who <em>justifieth the ungodly</em>," that faith -is reckoned to us for righteousness, and therefore we are counted -righteous. The question then is not, have you any works to offer, but -do you believe on Him who justifies the ungodly. Works have nothing to -do with justification except to hinder it when we trust in them. The -blood of <!-- Page 195 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span>Jesus Christ secures it, faith in Jesus Christ appropriates -it. We are justified <em>not by our</em> works, <em>but by His work</em>. We are -justified upon the simple and single ground of His shed blood and upon -the simple and single condition of our faith in Him Who shed the blood. -So great is the pride of the natural heart that it is exceedingly -difficult to hold men to this doctrine of justification by faith alone -apart from works of law. We are constantly seeking to bring in our -works somewhere.</p> - -<p>5. But we have not as yet completely answered the question of how men -are justified. There is another side to the truth and if our doctrine -of justification is to be complete and well-balanced, we must look at -that other side. You will find part of this other side in <abbr title="Romans">Rom.</abbr> 10:8, -10, <b>"If thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, and shalt -believe in thy heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be -saved; for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with -the mouth confession is made unto salvation."</b> God here tells us -that the faith that appropriates justification is a faith with the -heart, i.e., a faith that is not a mere notion, or opinion, but a faith -that leads to action along the line of that faith, and it is therefore -a faith that leads to open confession with the mouth, of Jesus as our -Lord. If some one has some kind of faith, or what he calls faith, that -does not lead him to an open confession of Christ, he has a faith that -does not justify; for it is not a faith with the heart. <!-- Page 196 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span>Our Lord Jesus -Christ Himself tells us that heart faith leads to open confession; for -He says in <abbr title="Matthew">Matt.</abbr> 12:34, <b>"Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth -speaketh."</b> Faith in Jesus Christ in the heart leads inevitably -to a confession of Jesus as Lord with the mouth, and if you are not -confessing Jesus as your Lord with your mouth you have not justifying -faith and you are not justified.</p> - -<p>6. The rest of the other side of the truth about being justified by -faith, you will find in <abbr title="James">Jas.</abbr> 2:14, 18-24, <abbr title="Revised Version">R. V.</abbr> <b>"What doth it -profit, my brethren, if a man say he hath faith but have not works? -Can that faith save him?"</b> We see here that a faith that a man -merely says he has, but that does not lead to works along the line of -that which he claims to believe, cannot justify, but to go on, verses -18-24, <b>"Yea, a man will say, thou hast faith, and I have works, -show me thy faith apart from thy works, and I by my works will show -thee my faith. Thou believest that God is one; thou doest well: the -devils also believe and shudder. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that -faith apart from works is barren? Was not Abraham our father justified -by works, in that he offered up Isaac his son, upon the altar? Thou -seest that faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made -perfect</b> (i.e., in the works to which Abraham's faith led, faith -had its perfect manifestation); <b>and the scripture was fulfilled -which saith, and Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him -for righteousness; and he was called the friend of God. Ye see <!-- Page 197 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span>that -by works a man is justified, and not only by faith."</b> Some see in -these words a contradiction between the teaching of James and the -teaching of Paul, but there is no contradiction whatever. But James -here teaches us an important truth, namely, that <em>the faith that one -says he has, but which does not manifest itself in action along the -line of the faith professed, will not justify. The faith that justifies -is real faith that leads to action accordant with the truth we profess -to believe.</em> It is true that we are justified simply upon faith apart -from the works of the law, <em>but it must be a real faith</em>, otherwise it -does not justify. As some one has put it, "We are justified by faith -without works, but we are not justified by a faith that is without -works." The faith which God sees and upon which He justifies, leads -inevitably to works which men can see. God saw the faith of Abraham the -moment Abraham believed, and before there was any opportunity to work, -and counted that faith to Abraham for righteousness. But the faith that -God saw was a real faith and led Abraham to works that all could see, -and these works proved the reality of his faith. The proof to us of -the faith is the works, and we know that he that does not work has not -justifying faith.</p> - -<p>We must not lose sight on the one side of the truth which Paul -emphasises against legalism, namely, that we are justified on the -single and simple condition of a real faith in Christ; but on the -other side we must not lose sight of the truth <!-- Page 198 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span>which James emphasises -against antinomianism, namely, that it is only a real faith that proves -its genuineness by works, that justifies. To the legalist who is -seeking to <em>do</em> something to merit justification we must say, <b>"Stop -working and believe on Him that justifieth the ungodly"</b> (<abbr title="Romans">Rom.</abbr> 4:5). -To the antinomian, i.e., to the one who thinks he can live a lawless, -careless, unseparated, sinful life and still be justified, the one who -boasts that he has faith and is justified by it, but who does not show -his faith by his works, we must say, "What doth it profit, if a man -<em>say</em> he have faith, but have not works? Can <em>that</em> faith save him?" -(<abbr title="James">Jas.</abbr> 2:14, <abbr title="Revised Version">R. V.</abbr>) We are justified by faith alone, but we are not -justified by a faith that is alone, but a faith that is accompanied by -works.</p> - - -<h3>III. THE EXTENT OF JUSTIFICATION</h3> - -<p>I think we have made it plain just how one is justified, and now we -come to another question and that is, the extent of justification. -To what extent is a man who believes in the Lord Jesus justified? -This question is very plainly answered and wonderfully answered, -and gloriously answered in Acts 13:38, 39, <b>"Be it known unto you -therefore, brethren, that through this man is proclaimed unto you -remission of sins: and by him every one that believeth is justified -from all things, from which he could not be justified by the law of -Moses."</b> These words very plainly declare <!-- Page 199 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span>to us that every believer -in Jesus Christ is justified "<em>from all things</em>." In other words, -the old account against the believer is all wiped out. No matter how -bad and how black the account is, the moment a man believes in Jesus -Christ, the account is wiped out. God has absolutely nothing which -He reckons against the one who believes in Jesus Christ. Even though -he is still a very imperfect believer, a very young man and immature -Christian, he is perfectly justified. As Paul puts it in <abbr title="Romans">Rom.</abbr> 8:1, -<b>"There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ -Jesus."</b> Or, as he puts it further down in the chapter, verses 33, -34, <b>"Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is -God that justifieth; who is he that shall condemn? It is Christ Jesus -that died, yea rather, that was raised from the dead, who is at the -right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us."</b> If the -vilest murderer or sinner of any kind on earth should come in here -this morning and right here now, hearing the gospel of God's grace, -should believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, put confidence in Him as his -Saviour, and accept Him as such, surrendering to Him and confessing Him -as His Lord, the moment he did it every sin he ever committed would be -blotted out and his record would be as white in God's sight as that of -the purest angel in heaven. God has absolutely nothing that He reckons -against the believer in Jesus Christ. But even that is not all. Paul -goes even beyond this in <abbr title="Second Corinthians">2 Cor.</abbr> 5:21, <b>"He who <!-- Page 200 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span>knew no sin he (God) -made to be sin on our behalf; that we might become the righteousness of -God in him."</b> Here we are explicitly told that the believer in Jesus -Christ is made the righteousness of God in Christ. In <abbr title="Philippians">Phil.</abbr> 3:9, <abbr title="Revised Version">R. V.</abbr> -we are told that when one is in Christ he has a righteousness not of -his own, but a "<em>righteousness which is of God upon faith</em>." In other -words, there is an absolute interchange of positions between Christ and -the justified believer. Christ took our place, the place of the curse -on the cross (<abbr title="Galatians">Gal.</abbr> 3:13). He was "made to be sin on our behalf" (<abbr title="Second Corinthians">2 -Cor.</abbr> 5:21). God reckoned Him a sinner and dealt with Him as a sinner, -so that in the sinner's place, as He died, He cried, <b>"My God, my -God, why hast thou forsaken me?"</b> And when we are justified we step -into His place, the place of perfect acceptance before God, or to use -the exact words of Scripture, we <b>"Become the righteousness of God -in him."</b> To be justified is more than to be forgiven! Forgiveness -is negative, the putting away of sin; Justification is positive, the -reckoning of positive and perfect righteousness to the one justified. -Jesus Christ is so united to the believer in Him that God reckons our -sins to Him. The believer, on the other hand, is so united to Christ -that God reckons His righteousness to us. God sees us, not as we are in -ourselves, but as we are in Him and reckons us as righteous as He is. -When Christ's work <em>in</em> us is completed we shall be in actual fact what -we are already in God's <!-- Page 201 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span>reckoning, but <em>the moment one believes</em>, as -far as God's reckoning is concerned, he is as absolutely perfect as he -ever shall be. Our present standing before God is absolutely perfect, -though our present state may be very imperfect. To use again the -familiar couplet:</p> - -<div class="poem"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="line">"Near, so very near to God,</div> - <div class="line i1q">Nearer I cannot be;</div> - <div class="line indentq">For in the person of His Son,</div> - <div class="line i1q">I am just as near as He.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="line indentq">Dear, so very dear to God,</div> - <div class="line i1q">Dearer I cannot be;</div> - <div class="line indentq">For in the person of His Son,</div> - <div class="line i1q">I am just as dear as He."</div> - </div> -</div> - - -<h3>IV. THE TIME OF JUSTIFICATION</h3> - -<p>There remains one question still to consider, though we have really -answered it in what has already been said, and that is, the time of -justification, or when a believer is justified. When is a believer -justified? This question is answered plainly in one of our texts, Acts -13:39, <b>"And by him every one that believeth is justified from all -things, from which he could not be justified by the law of Moses."</b> -What I wish you to notice particularly now in this verse is the word -<em>Is</em>, "Everyone that believeth <em>is</em> justified from all things." This -answers plainly the question as to when a believer is justified. In -Christ Jesus every <!-- Page 202 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span>believer in Him is justified from all things <em>the -moment he believes</em>. The moment a man believes in Jesus Christ that -moment he becomes united to Christ, and that moment God reckons the -righteousness of God to him. I repeat again, if the vilest murderer -or sinner of any kind in the world should come into this room this -morning while I am preaching and should here and now believe in the -Lord Jesus Christ, the moment that he did it, not only would every sin -he ever committed be blotted out, but all the perfect righteousness -of God in Christ would be put to his account, and his standing before -God would be as perfect as it will be when he has been in heaven ten -million years. Let me repeat to you again the incident I told you one -Sunday night some weeks ago. I was preaching one Sunday morning in the -Moody church in Chicago on <abbr title="Romans">Rom.</abbr> 8:1, <b>"There is therefore now no -condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus,"</b> and in the course -of my preaching I said, "If the vilest woman there is in Chicago should -come into the Chicago Avenue church this morning, and should here and -now accept Jesus Christ as her Saviour, the moment she did it every -sin she ever committed would be blotted out and her record would be as -white in God's sight as that of the purest woman in the room." Unknown -to me, one of the members of my congregation that very morning had gone -down into a low den of iniquity near the river and had invited a woman -who was an outcast to come and hear me preach. The <!-- Page 203 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span>woman replied, "I -never go to church. Church is not for the likes of me. I would not be -welcome at the church if I did go." The woman who was a saint replied, -"You would be welcome at our church," which, thank God, was true. But, -"No," the woman urged, "it would not do for me to go to church, church -is not for the likes of me." But the woman who was a saint urged the -woman who was a sinner to go. She offered to accompany her to the -church, but the other said, "No, that would never do. The policemen -know me and the boys on the street know me and sometimes throw stones -at me, and if they saw you going up the street with me they would think -you such as I am." But the woman who was a saint had the Spirit of -the Master and said, "I don't care what they think of me. If you will -accompany me to hear Mr. Torrey preach I will go along with you." The -other woman refused. But the saved woman was so insistent that the -woman who was an outcast finally said, "If you will go up the street a -few steps ahead I will follow you up the street." So up La Salle Avenue -they came, the woman who was a saint a few steps ahead and the woman -who was a sinner a few steps behind. Block after block they came until -they reached the corner of La Salle and Chicago Avenues. The woman who -was a saint entered the tower door at the corner, went up the steps, -entered the church, and the woman who was a sinner followed her. On -reaching the door the woman who was a sinner looked <!-- Page 204 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span>in, saw a vacant -seat under the gallery in the very last row at the back, and slipped -into it, and scarcely had she taken the seat when I made the remark -that I just quoted, "If the vilest woman there is in Chicago should -come into the Chicago Avenue church this morning and should here and -now accept Jesus Christ as her personal Saviour, the moment she did it -every sin she ever committed would be blotted out and her record would -be as white in God's sight as that of the purest woman in the room." My -words went floating down over the audience and dropped into the heart -of the woman who was a sinner. She believed it, she believed that Jesus -died for her, she believed that by the shedding of His blood she could -be saved, she believed, and found pardon and peace and justification -then and there. And when the meeting was over she came up the aisle -to the front as I stepped down from the pulpit, tears streaming down -her face, and thanked me for the blessing that she had received. And I -repeat it here this morning, not knowing who may be here, not knowing -what may be the secret life of any one of you who is here, not knowing -what may be the sins that may be hidden in your heart, if the vilest -man or woman on earth should come into the Church of the Open Door this -morning and should here and now put their trust in Jesus Christ, the -moment you did it every sin you ever committed would be blotted out and -in an instant your record would be as white in God's sight, not only as -that of the <!-- Page 205 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span>purest woman in the room, but as that of the purest angel -in heaven, and not only that, but all the perfect righteousness of God -that clothed our Lord Jesus Christ would be put to your account and you -would be just as near and just as dear to God as the Lord Jesus Christ -Himself is. That is the doctrine of justification by faith. Wondrous -doctrine! Glorious doctrine!</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page 206 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak"><a name="X" id="X"></a>X<br /> - -<small><span class="smcap">The New Birth</span></small></h2> -</div> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>"Jesus answered and said unto him, verily, verily, I say unto -thee, except a man be born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of -God. . . . Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, -except a man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter -into the kingdom of God."—John 3:3, 5.</p> -</div> - - -<p>Our subject in this chapter is Regeneration, or the New Birth. I spoke -on this subject a year or so ago, but I am going to treat it in an -entirely different way in this chapter and furthermore no course of -sermons on the Fundamental Doctrines of the Christian Faith would be -complete without a sermon on the New Birth. What we have to say in this -chapter will come under four heads: I. What Is the New Birth? II. The -Results of the New Birth, III. The Necessity of the New Birth, IV. How -One Is Born Again.</p> - - -<h3>I. <span class="smcap">What is the New Birth?</span></h3> - -<p>The first question that confronts us is, <em>What is the New Birth?</em> -Many speak of the New Birth or of Regeneration without any definite -conception of just what the New Birth is, and so are <!-- Page 207 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span>never sure -whether they themselves have been born again or not.</p> - -<p>As plain and clear a definition of the New Birth as we can find in -the Word of God is given in <abbr title="Second Peter">2 Pet.</abbr> 1:4, <b>"Whereby he hath granted -unto us his precious and exceeding great promises; that through these -ye may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the -corruption that is in the world by lust."</b> From these words of -Peter it is evident that the New Birth is the impartation to the one -who is born again, of a new nature, God's own nature. By being born -again we become actual partakers of the Divine nature. We are all born -into this world with a corrupted intellectual and moral nature. The -natural man, or unregenerate man, is intellectually blind, blind to -the truth of God, "the things of the Spirit" he cannot see or receive. -<b>"They are foolishness unto him, and he cannot know them"</b> (<abbr title="First Corinthians">1 Cor.</abbr> -2:14). His affections are corrupt, he loves the things he ought to -hate and hates the things he ought to love. A definite description of -the affections and tastes and desires of the unregenerate man is found -in <abbr title="Galatians">Gal.</abbr> 5:19, 20, 21. He is also perverse in his will, as Paul puts -it in <abbr title="Romans">Rom.</abbr> 8:7, <b>"The mind of the flesh is enmity against God; for -it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be."</b> This -state of intellectual spiritual blindness and moral corruption is the -condition of every unregenerate man. No matter how cultured or refined -or moral he may be outwardly, his inner <!-- Page 208 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span>life is radically wrong. In -the New Birth God imparts to the one who is born again His own wise and -holy nature, a nature that thinks as God thinks (<b>"He is renewed in -knowledge after the image of him that created him"</b>—<abbr title="Colossians">Col.</abbr> 3:10); he -feels as God feels, loves the things that God loves, hates the things -that God hates, wills as God wills (1 John 3:14; 4:7, 8). It is evident -then that regeneration is a deep thorough-going change in the deepest -springs of thought, feeling and action. A change so thorough-going that -Paul says in <abbr title="Second Corinthians">2 Cor.</abbr> 5:17, <b>"If any man is in Christ, he is a new -creature</b> (more exactly, Creation): <b>the old things are passed -away; behold they are become new."</b> To use the inspired language of -the Apostle John, regeneration is a passing "out of death into life." -John says in 1 John 3:14, <b>"We know that we have passed out of death -into life."</b> <em>Until we are thus born again we are in a condition of -moral and spiritual death.</em> When we are born again we are "quickened" -(or made alive), we who "were dead through our trespasses and sins." -(<abbr title="Ephesians">Eph.</abbr> 2:1). There is a profound contrast between regeneration and mere -conversion. Conversion is an outward thing, a turning around. One is -faced the wrong way, faced away from God; he turns around and faces -toward God. That is conversion. But regeneration is not a mere outward -change, but a thorough-going change in the deepest depths of one's -being, that leads to a genuine conversion or genuine outward change. -Many an apparently <!-- Page 209 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span>thorough conversion is a temporary thing because -it did not go deep enough, but regeneration is a permanent thing. When -God imparts His nature to a man, that nature abides in the man. When he -is born again he cannot be unborn, or as John puts it in 1 John 3:9, -<b>"Whosoever is begotten of God doth no sin, because his (God's) seed -abideth in him."</b> A man may be converted a thousand times, he can be -regenerated but once.</p> - - -<h3>II. RESULTS OF THE NEW BIRTH</h3> - -<p>We now come to the second question, closely related to the first, and -it will help us to understand even more clearly what the New Birth is. -<em>What are the results that follow when one is born again?</em> They are -numerous.</p> - -<p>1. The first of these results is found in <abbr title="First Corinthians">1 Cor.</abbr> 6:19, where we read: -<b>"Know ye not that your body is a temple of the Holy Ghost which -is in you, which ye have from God?"</b> These words were spoken to -believers, to regenerated men, and they plainly tell us that <em>when one -is born again, the Holy Spirit comes to take up His permanent dwelling -in the man and that the man who is born again thus becomes a temple of -the Holy Spirit</em>. It is true that we may not always be conscious of -this indwelling of the Holy Spirit, nevertheless He dwells in us.</p> - -<p>2. The second result of the New Birth is found in <abbr title="Romans">Rom.</abbr> 8:2-4, where we -read: <b>"For the law of <!-- Page 210 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span>the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me -free from the law of sin and of death. For what the law could not do, -in that it was weak through the flesh, God, sending his own Son in the -likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, condemned sin in -the flesh: that the ordinance of the law might be fulfilled in us, who -walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."</b> In the <abbr title="seventh">7th</abbr> chapter -of Romans, we have a picture of the man who is awakened by the law of -God which he approves after the inward man, which he sees "is holy and -just and good," which he tries to keep in his own strength, but utterly -fails to keep, until at last he comes to an end of himself and is -filled with despair of ever being able to keep the law of God outside -of him, because of the law of sin and death inside him, which law of -sin and death says, "the good which you would do you cannot do, and the -evil which you hate and would not do, you must keep on doing." When a -man is thus brought to a consciousness of his own utter helplessness -and turns to God and accepts Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus -Christ gives to him who dwells in him, sets him free from this law -of sin and death so that by the power of the indwelling Spirit he is -enabled to obey the law of God and to get the victory over the evil -things that he would not do and to do the things which he would do. -Whereas in a man merely awakened by the law of God, "the law of sin and -death" gets a perpetual victory, in a regenerate man, the "law of the -Spirit of life <!-- Page 211 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span>in Christ Jesus" gets the perpetual victory. Doubtless -many of you here to-day are still struggling to keep the law of God and -utterly failing in your attempt to do so. What you need is to be born -again, and thus have the Holy Spirit come to dwell in you, and then to -walk by the Spirit, and by the power of this indwelling Spirit to get -victory every day and hour over the law of sin and death that wars in -your members against the law of God.</p> - -<p>3. The third result of the New Birth is found in <abbr title="Romans">Rom.</abbr> 12:2, where we -read, <b>"And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye -transformed by the renewing of your mind."</b> From this it appears -that <em>the third result of the New Birth is in outward transformation -of our lives by the inward renewing of our minds so that we no longer -are fashioned according to this world</em>. Of course the regenerated man -does not at once manifest perfectly that of which he has the germ in -himself. He begins the new life just as we begin our natural lives, -as a babe, and he must grow. As Peter puts it in <abbr title="First Peter">1 Pet.</abbr> 2:2, we must -<b>"As new born babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that we -may grow thereby."</b> This new life must be fed and developed. It is -irrational, and unwarranted by the Word of God, to expect one who has -just been born again, and who is consequently a babe in Christ, to -be as perfect in character as one who was born years ago and who has -grown to maturity. But the moment we are born again <!-- Page 212 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span>we receive in germ -all the moral perfection that is to be ours when this germ is fully -developed within us and comes to its perfect manifestation.</p> - -<p>4. The fourth result of the New Birth we find in 1 John 5:1, -<b>"Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is begotten of -God."</b> <em>The fourth result of being born again is that the -regenerated man believes that Jesus is the Christ.</em> Of course this -faith that comes from the New Birth is a <em>real faith</em>. The faith that -John here speaks of is not a faith that is a mere opinion, but that -real faith that Jesus is the anointed of God that leads us to enthrone -Jesus as King in our lives. If you are not making Jesus King in your -heart and life you have not been born again. But if you are making -Jesus King in your heart and life and absolute ruler of your thoughts -and conduct, then you are born again, for <b>"Whosoever believeth that -Jesus is Christ is begotten of God."</b></p> - -<p>5. The fifth result of being born again we find three verses further -down in this same chapter, 1 John 5:4: <b>"For whatsoever is begotten -of God overcometh the world."</b> The <em>fifth result of being born of -God is that the one thus born again overcomes the world</em>. The world is -at variance with God, <b>"The whole world lieth in the Evil One"</b> -(1 John 5:19). It is under the dominion of the Evil One, ruled by -his ambitions and ideas. The world is at variance with God in its -commercial life, social life, domestic life, and all the phases of -intellectual life and educational life, and is constantly <!-- Page 213 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span>exercising a -power over each of us to draw us into disobedience to God (see 1 John -5:3); but the one born of God by the power of the faith that comes -through being born again, gets the victory over the world. He gets the -victory over the world's ideas, purposes, plans, ambitions. He gets the -victory over the world in his personal life, domestic life, commercial -life, political life, intellectual life every day.</p> - -<p>6. The sixth result of being born of God is found in 1 John 3:9, <abbr title="Revised Version">R. -V.</abbr>, <b>"Whosoever is begotten of God doeth no sin; because his</b> -(i.e., God's) <b>seed abideth in him: and he cannot sin</b> (rather, -cannot be sinning), <b>because he is begotten of God."</b> <em>The sixth -result, then, of being born of God is that in the one born of God the -seed of God remains; and, therefore, the one born of God is not making -a practice of sin.</em> Some one will ask, just what does this mean? It -means exactly what it says, if we look carefully at the exact force of -the words used and give due emphasis to the tense of the verbs used. -First of all, let us look at the exact force of the word translated -"Sin." What does sin mean? John himself has been careful to define it -in the verse itself and in the context in which our verse is found. -The first thing that is evident from 1 John 3:9 is that sin is <em>a -something done</em>, not merely a something left undone, and not merely -sinful thoughts and desires. What kind of a something done it is -defined five verses back in verse 4. <b>"Everyone that doeth sin doeth -also <!-- Page 214 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span>lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness."</b> Sin here by John's own -definition (and we have no right to bring the definition of any one -else into the verse we are studying) is "<em>lawlessness</em>," i.e., such -acts as reveal conscious disregard for the will of God as revealed -in His word. So we see that <em>sin, as used here, means, a conscious -intentional violation of the law of God. The regenerate man will not be -doing that which he knows to be contrary to the will of God.</em> He may do -that which is contrary to God's will, but which he does not know to be -contrary to God's will. It is not therefore "lawlessness." Perhaps he -ought to have known that it was contrary to God's will and when he is -led to see that it is, he will confess his guilt to God. Furthermore, -we should note the tense of the verb used in this verse. It is the -<em>present tense which denotes progressive or continuous action</em>. A -literal translation of the passage would be, "Everyone begotten out of -God, <em>sin is not doing</em>, because His (God's) seed in him is remaining; -and he cannot be sinning, because out of God he is begotten." It is -not taught here that one born of God never sins in a single act, but -it is taught that he is not going on sinning, not making a practice of -sin. Of what he is making a practice appears in 1 John 2:29, <b>"If -ye know that he is righteous, ye know that everyone also that doeth -righteousness is begotten of him."</b> <em>The result, then, of being born -again is that the one begotten again does not go on consciously day -after day <!-- Page 215 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span>doing that which he knows to be contrary to the will of God, -but he does make a practice of "doing righteousness," i.e., doing that -which is conformed to the will of God as revealed in His Word.</em> The new -nature imparted in regeneration renders the continuous practice of sin -impossible and renders the practice of righteousness inevitable.</p> - -<p>7. The seventh result of the New Birth is found in 1 John 3:14, <abbr title="Revised Version">R. -V.</abbr>, <b>"We know that we have passed out of death into life, because -we love the brethren. He that loveth not abideth in death."</b> <em>The -seventh result of being born again is that we love the brethren.</em> We -should note carefully what the thought of "love" is as brought out in -the context. It is not love as a mere sentiment. It is love in that -higher and deeper sense of a desire for and delight in the welfare of -others, the sort of love that leads us to make sacrifices for those we -love, or as we read further down in this same chapter, verses 16-18, -<b>"Hereby know we the love of God, because he laid down his life for -us and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath -this world's goods, and behold his brother in need, and shutteth up his -compassion from him, how doth the love of God abide in him? My little -children, let us not love in word neither with the tongue; but in deed -and truth."</b> This makes it very evident that what the Holy Spirit -here means by love is not a mere affection or fondness for others, -not a mere delight in their society; it means that deep and genuine -interest in <!-- Page 216 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span>their welfare that leads us to go down into our pockets -when they are in need and supply their need; it leads us to sacrifice -our own interest for the sake of their interests even to the point of -laying down our lives for them. <em>The objects of this love are "the -brethren,"</em> i.e., all those who are begotten of God, as we read in 1 -John 5:1, <b>"Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is begotten -of God: and whosoever loveth him that begat loveth him also that is -begotten of him."</b> <em>Any man who is born again will love every other -man who is begotten of God.</em> The other one who is begotten of God -may be an American or a German, or an Englishman, or a negro, or a -Chinaman, or an Indian. He may be educated or uneducated; but he is a -child of God and a brother, and as such if you are born of God, he will -be the object of your love. This is a searching test of whether or not -one is born of God.</p> - -<p>8. The final result of being born of God that we will consider this -morning is found in <abbr title="Second Corinthians">2 Cor.</abbr> 5:17, <abbr title="Revised Version">R. V.</abbr>, <b>"Wherefore if any man is -in Christ, he is a new creature (creation): the old things are passed -away, behold, they are become new."</b> <em>The ninth result of being born -again</em>, including all the other results that we have been considering, -<em>is that in the regenerate man, old things are passed away, they are -become new. In the place of the old ideas, old affection, old purposes, -old choices, are new ideas, new affections, new purposes, new choices.</em></p> - - -<p><!-- Page 217 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span></p> -<h3>III. THE NECESSITY OF THE NEW BIRTH</h3> - -<p>For just a few moments let us look at the necessity of the New Birth. -This is set forth in one of our texts and in the verses following, 1 -John 3:5, 6: <b>"Verily, Verily, I say unto you, except a man be born -of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That -which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the -Spirit is Spirit."</b> We see here that the New Birth is a universal -necessity, and we see why it is a necessity. The words translated, -"Except a man be born," etc. more literally translated would be, "<em>If -any man</em> be not born out of water and Spirit, he cannot enter into the -kingdom of God." And why he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God the -following verse says, and that is because all that one gets by natural -generation is "Flesh" and <em>the Kingdom of God is spiritual</em>, and, -therefore, to enter it one must be born of the Spirit. No matter how -refined and intelligent our ancestry, no matter how godly our fathers -and mothers may have been, we do not get the Holy Spirit from them. All -we get is "flesh." It may be refined flesh, moral flesh, upright and -very attractive flesh, but it is flesh; and "they that are in the flesh -cannot please God," nor "inherit the kingdom of God." The flesh is -incapable of improvement. No more "can the Ethiopian change his skin, -or the leopard his spots" than can a man <!-- Page 218 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span>who is unregenerate attain to -a life pleasing to God. (See <abbr title="Jeremiah">Jer.</abbr> 13:23.) He must be born again. <em>The -necessity is also absolute and imperative</em>, so absolute and imperative -that Jesus said to Nicodemus, though he was a man of most exemplary -morality, a man of high moral and spiritual education, a teacher of -Israel, a leader in the religious life of Israel, <b>"You must be born -again."</b> (John 3:7.) Nothing else will take the place of the New -Birth. Men are trying to substitute education, morality, religion, -orthodoxy, baptism, outward reform, "new thought," "theosophy" or the -knowledge of God, and other such things, for the New Birth; but none -of these, or all of them together, are sufficient, you <em>must</em> be born -again. There is absolutely no exception to this rule. As Jesus says in -John 3:3, <b>"Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except any man be born -from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God."</b></p> - - -<h3>IV. HOW CAN ONE BE BORN AGAIN?</h3> - -<p>The question, therefore, confronts each one of you, Have you been born -again? There is no more important question that you could possibly -face. Face it in these pages and don't dodge it. And that brings us to -the immediately practical question, How are men born again, or what -must any one here to-day, who is not born again, do in order to be born -again right here this morning? This question also is plainly answered -in the Word of <!-- Page 219 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span>God; and I can give you the answer in a very few -minutes and give it so that any one here can understand it. There are -three parts to the answer.</p> - -<p>1. The first part of the answer you will find in Titus 3:4, <b>"Not -by works done in righteousness, which we did ourselves, but according -to his mercy, he</b> (i.e., God) <b>saved us through the washing of -regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost."</b> These words tell -us very plainly that <em>it is God who regenerates and that He does it -through the power of His Holy Spirit</em>. The same thought is found in -our text, John 3:5, 6: <b>"Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto -thee, except a man be born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into -the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that -which is born of the Spirit is Spirit."</b> <em>Regeneration is God's -work; wrought by Him by the power of His Holy Spirit working in the -mind, feelings and will of the one born again</em>, in your heart and mine.</p> - -<p>2. Some one might infer from the fact that regeneration is God's work, -which He works in our hearts by His Holy Spirit, that all we have to do -is to wait until God sees fit to work; but we see plainly from other -passages in the Word that this is not true. We are taught the second -thing about how regeneration is wrought in James 1:18, <b>"Of His own -will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a -kind of first fruits of His creatures."</b> <em>Here we are taught that -the <!-- Page 220 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span>Word of Truth, the Word of God, is the instrument that God uses -in regeneration.</em> The same thought is found in <abbr title="First Peter">1 Pet.</abbr> 1:23, <b>"Having -been begotten again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, -through the word of God, which liveth and abideth."</b> And Paul gives -voice to the same great thought in <abbr title="First Corinthians">1 Cor.</abbr> 4:15, where he says: <b>"For -though ye should have ten thousand tutors in Christ, yet have ye not -many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I begat you through the gospel."</b> -From these passages it is evident that <em>the New Birth is wrought by -God through the instrumentality of His Word</em>. It is God who works it -through the power of His Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit works through -the Word, and thus God begets men anew by "The Word of Truth," or the -"Word of God," i.e., the Word which is preached by "the Gospel." So -then, if you or I wish to be born again we should get in contact with -the Word of God by studying the Bible and asking God that the Holy -Spirit may make that Word which we are studying a living thing in our -own hearts. We should get in contact especially with that part of God's -Word which is found in the Gospel of John, for John tells us in John -20:31 that <b>"These</b> (i.e., these things in the Gospel of John) -<b>are written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of -God; and that believing ye may have life in his name."</b> If we wish -to see others born again we should bring the Word of God to bear upon -their minds and hearts either by preaching <!-- Page 221 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span>the Word, or by teaching -it, or in personal work; and we should look to the Holy Spirit to -quicken that Word in the hearts of men as we sow it in their hearts, -and in this way the New Birth will result.</p> - -<p>3. The third and last and decisive truth as to how we are born again -is found in <abbr title="Galatians">Gal.</abbr> 3:26 and John 1:12, 13. In <abbr title="Galatians">Gal.</abbr> 3:26 we read, <b>"For -ye are all sons of God, through faith, in Christ Jesus."</b> This -tells us plainly that <em>we become born again through putting our faith -in Christ Jesus</em>. This is even more explicitly stated in John 1:12, -13: <b>"But as many as received him</b> (i.e. the Lord Jesus), <b>to -them gave He the right to become children of God, even to them that -believe on His name: which were born not of blood, nor of the will -of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."</b> Here we are -told that <em>the decisive thing in our becoming children of God is that -we believe in, or receive, Jesus Christ</em>. Any one who receives Jesus -Christ as his personal Saviour and trusts God to forgive him because -Jesus Christ died in his place and receives him as his Lord and King, -and surrenders his thoughts to His absolute control as his Lord and his -life to His absolute control as his King and confesses Jesus Christ -as Lord before the world, such a one immediately becomes a child of -God, is immediately born again, is immediately made a partaker of the -Divine nature. The same thought is illustrated by Jesus Himself in John -3:14, 15, where our Lord Jesus <!-- Page 222 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span>is recorded as saying, <b>"And as Moses -lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be -lifted up; that whosoever believeth in Him may have eternal life."</b> -The reference is to the story of the Israelites in the Old Testament -when they were bitten by fiery serpents. As the dying Israelite with -the poison of the fiery serpent coursing through his veins, was saved -by simply looking at the brazen serpent on the pole, a serpent made -in the likeness of the one that had bitten him, and had new life -coursing through his veins as soon as he looked, so we dying men, with -the poison of sin coursing through our veins, are saved by looking at -Jesus Christ "Made in the likeness of sinful flesh," lifted up on the -cross, and have new life coursing through our veins the moment we look. -All we have to do with our regeneration is to receive Christ as He is -presented to us in the Word, by which we are born again. Therefore, -<b>"If any man be in Christ he is a new creature (creation). The old -things are passed away, behold all things are become new."</b></p> - -<p>In the New Birth the Word of God is the seed; the human heart is the -soil; the preacher of the Word is the sower, and drops the seed of the -Word of God into the soil of the human heart; God by His Spirit opens -the heart to receive the seed (Acts 16:14); the hearer believes; the -Spirit quickens the seed into life in the receptive heart; the heart -closes around the seed by faith; the new <!-- Page 223 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span>nature, the Divine Nature -springs up out of the Divine Word; the believer is "born again," -"created anew," "made alive," "passed out of death into life."</p> - -<p>Conclusion.</p> - -<p>Have you been born again? I put this question to every man and woman -here. I do not ask you whether you are a church member. I do not ask -if you have been baptised. I do not ask, have you gone regularly to -the communion. I do not ask, have you turned over a new leaf. I do -not ask, are you an amiable, cultured, intelligent, moral, socially -delightful gentleman or lady. I <em>ask you, have you been born again</em>? -If not, you are outside of the Kingdom of God and you are bound for an -everlasting hell unless you are born again. But if you are not already -born again you may be born again to-day, you may be born again before -you leave this building, you may be born again right now; for the Word -of God says, <b>"As many as received him, to them gave he the right to -become children of God, even to them that believe on his name: which -were born, not of blood, nor of flesh, nor of the will of man, but of -God."</b> And it says again in <abbr title="Romans">Rom.</abbr> 10:9, 10, <b>"If thou shalt confess -with thy mouth Jesus as Lord and shalt believe in thy heart that God -raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved: for with the heart man -believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made -unto salvation."</b> <!-- Page 224 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span>These verses make it plain as day just what you -must do right here and now to become a child of God. It is up to you to -say whether or not you will do it.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page 225 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak"><a name="XI" id="XI"></a>XI<br /> - -<small><span class="smcap">Sanctification</span></small></h2> -</div> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>"And the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly; and may your -spirit and soul and body be preserved entire, without blame at -the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."—<abbr title="First Thessalonians">1 Thess.</abbr> 5:23.</p> -</div> - - -<p>Our subject now before us is Sanctification. The subject is one of -great importance. Not only is there much ignorance and error and -misconception about the subject, but there is, strange to say, most -bitter controversy over the subject. So bitter is the controversy -over the subject that some years ago there were two rival "holiness -conventions" held at the same time in Chicago at different hours of -the day, in the same church, and the animosity between these two -companies of "holiness brethren" was so intense that on one occasion -they came near to having blows at the altar of the church. The -subject of Sanctification has given rise to such bitterness and such -extravagances in some quarters that many even dread the use of the word -"Sanctification." But the word is not only a Bible word, but a deeply -significant word, a word full of precious meaning; and it would not be -the part of wisdom on our part to give up this good Bible word simply -<!-- Page 226 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span>because the word is so often abused. On one occasion a man said to me -in the Bible Institute of Chicago, "Are you not afraid of holiness?" Of -course what the man meant was, was I not afraid of certain phases of -"holiness doctrine" so-called. I replied that I was not nearly as much -afraid of holiness as I was of unholiness. The teaching of the Bible on -the subject is very plain and very precious. What we have to say this -morning will come under three headings. First, What Sanctification Is: -2. How to be Sanctified; 3. When Sanctification Takes Place.</p> - - -<h3>I. WHAT SANCTIFICATION IS</h3> - -<p>First, then, let us consider what Sanctification is.</p> - -<p>1. In the first place let me make it clear that, <em>Sanctification is not -the "Baptism with the Holy Spirit."</em> The two are constantly confused. -There is an intimate relation between the two, but they are not at -all one and the same thing; and only confusion and misconception can -arise from confounding two experiences which God keeps separate. -That Sanctification is not the baptism with the Holy Spirit and that -the baptism with the Holy Spirit is not Sanctification, will become -clear as we proceed and find out from a study of the Bible just what -Sanctification is.</p> - -<p>2. In the second place, let me say that <em>Sanctification is not the -eradication of the carnal nature</em>. <!-- Page 227 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span>We will see this when we come to -examine God's definition of Sanctification; for God has very clearly -defined what Sanctification is and when it takes place. Those who -teach "the eradication of the carnal nature" are grasping after a -great and precious truth, but they have expressed that truth in a very -inaccurate, unfortunate, and unscriptural way, and this way of stating -it leads to grave misapprehensions and errors and abuses. The whole -controversy about "the eradication of the carnal nature" arises from -a misapprehension and from using terms for which there is no warrant -in the Bible. The Bible nowhere speaks about "the carnal nature," and -so certainly not about "the eradication of the carnal nature." There -is such a thing as a carnal nature, but it is not a material thing, -not a substance, not a something that can be eradicated as you pull a -tooth or remove the vermiform appendix. "A carnal nature" is a nature -controlled by the flesh. Certainly it is a believer's privilege not to -have his nature governed by the flesh. Our nature should be and may -be under the control of the Holy Spirit, and then it is not a carnal -nature; but one nature has not been eradicated and another nature put -in its place, but our nature is taken out from under the control of -the flesh and put under the control of the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, -while it is our privilege to have our nature under the control of the -Holy Spirit and delivered from the control of the flesh, <em>we still -<!-- Page 228 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span>have "the flesh,"</em> and shall have the flesh as long as we are in this -body. But if we "walk by the Spirit" we do not "fulfil the lusts of -the flesh" (<abbr title="Galatians">Gal.</abbr> 5:16). The <abbr title="eighth">8th</abbr> chapter of Romans describes the life -of victory, just as the <abbr title="seventh">7th</abbr> chapter, 9-24 verse describes the life of -defeat, when men are "<em>carnal</em>, sold under sin," but it is in the <abbr title="eighth">8th</abbr> -chapter where life "in the Spirit" is described (<abbr title="Romans">Rom.</abbr> 8:9) that we are -told that we <em>still have</em> the flesh, <em>but that it is our privilege not</em> -to "live <em>after the flesh</em>," but "by the Spirit," to "put to death the -deeds of the body." So we see that the body is there, but in the power -of the Spirit we do, day by day and (if we live up to our privilege) -every day and every hour and every minute, continuously "put to death -the deeds of the body."</p> - -<p>3. So much as to what Sanctification is not. We will see exactly what -it is if we look at God's definition of Sanctification. We shall find -that the word Sanctification is used in the Bible in a two-fold sense.</p> - -<p>(1) The first meaning of Sanctification we will find in <abbr title="Leviticus">Lev.</abbr> 8:10-12, -<b>"And Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and -all that was therein, and sanctified them. And he sprinkled thereof -upon the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all its -vessels, and the laver and its base, to sanctify them. And he poured -of the anointing oil upon Aaron's head and anointed him to sanctify -him."</b> Now it is perfectly clear in this passage that to <em>sanctify -means to separate or set <!-- Page 229 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span>apart for God, and that Sanctification is -the process of setting apart or state of being set apart for God</em>. -The word Sanctify is used in this sense over and over again. Another -illustration is <abbr title="Leviticus">Lev.</abbr> 27:14, 17. <b>"And when a man shall sanctify his -house to be holy unto God, then the priest shall estimate it, whether -it be good or bad: as the priest shall estimate it, so shall it stand -. . . and if a man shall sanctify unto Jehovah part of a field of his -possession, then the estimation shall be according to the sowing -thereof."</b> Here again it is plain that to sanctify means to separate -or set apart for God, and that Sanctification is the process of setting -apart or state of being set apart for God. Still another illustration -of this same use of the word sanctify is found in <abbr title="Numbers">Num.</abbr> 8:17, <b>"For -all the firstborn among the children of Israel are mine, both man and -beast: on the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt -I sanctified them for myself."</b> This, of course, does not mean that -God, at the time that He smote the firstborn in Egypt, eradicated the -carnal nature from the first-born of Israel. It does mean that <em>He -set apart all the first-born to be peculiarly His own</em>. Another very -suggestive illustration of the same usage of the word is found in the -case of Jeremiah as stated by himself in <abbr title="Jeremiah">Jer.</abbr> 1:4, 5, <b>"Now the word -of Jehovah came unto me saying, before I formed thee in the belly I -knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified -thee: I have appointed thee a prophet unto the nations."</b> <!-- Page 230 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span>This -plainly means that before his birth God <em>set Jeremiah apart for -Himself</em>. There would still be much imperfection and infirmity in -him, but he was set apart for God. Another suggestive illustration -of the same use of the word Sanctify is found in <abbr title="Matthew">Matt.</abbr> 23:27, in the -words of our Lord Jesus Himself: <b>"Ye fools and blind; for which is -greater, the gold, or the temple that hath sanctified the gold?"</b> -But perhaps the most striking illustration of all is in what our Lord -says about His own sanctification in John 17:19, <b>"And for their -sakes I sanctify myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in -truth."</b> Here the plain meaning is that our Lord Jesus set Himself -apart for this work for God and He did it in order that believers might -be set apart for God "in truth," or "in the truth." This is the most -frequent use of the word sanctify. There are numerous illustrations of -it in the Bible. So <em>to sanctify means to separate or set apart for -God; and Sanctification is the process of setting apart or the state of -being set apart for God</em>. This is the primary meaning of the words.</p> - -<p>(2) But the word as used in the Bible has also a secondary -signification closely related to this primary meaning. An illustration -of this secondary meaning will be found in <abbr title="Second Chronicles">II Chron.</abbr> 29:5, <b>"Hear me, -ye Levites; now sanctify yourselves, and sanctify the house of Jehovah, -the God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the -holy place."</b> Bearing in mind the "parallelism" <!-- Page 231 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span>which is the chief -characteristic of Hebrew poetry, it is plain that to sanctify here is -synonymous with the <b>"Carry forth the filthiness out of the holy -places"</b> found in the last part of the verse. So <em>to sanctify</em> here -<em>means to separate from ceremonial or moral defilement, to cleanse; -and Sanctification is the process of separating, or state of being -separated from ceremonial or moral defilement</em>. The same use of the -word is found in <abbr title="Leviticus">Lev.</abbr> 11:44, <b>"For I am Jehovah thy God: sanctify -yourselves therefore, and be ye holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye -defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that moveth upon -the earth."</b> Here again it is clear that "sanctify yourselves" is -synonymous with "be ye holy" and is contrasted with "defile yourselves" -and means to separate from ceremonial or moral defilement, to cleanse; -and Sanctification is the process of separating or state of being -separated from ceremonial or moral defilement. The same meaning of -sanctification is found in the New Testament in <abbr title="First Thessalonians">I Thess.</abbr> 5:23, <b>"And -the God of Peace, Himself sanctify you wholly and may your Spirit and -soul and body be preserved entire, without blame at the coming of -our Lord Jesus Christ."</b> Here we see the close relation between -entire sanctification and <em>preserving wholly, without blame</em>, and to -sanctify here clearly means to separate from moral defilement, and -sanctification here again is the process of separating or state of -being separated from moral defilement. The same thing is evident <!-- Page 232 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span>from -the <abbr title="fourth">4th</abbr> chapter of this same epistle in the <abbr title="seventh">7th</abbr> verse (<abbr title="First Thessalonians">I Thess.</abbr> 4:7), -<b>"For God called us not for uncleanness, but in sanctification."</b> -Our "Sanctification" is here set in direct contrast with "uncleanness," -and hence it is evident that sanctification here means the state of -being separated from all moral defilement. The same thing is evident -from the <abbr title="third">3rd</abbr> verse of this same chapter, <b>"For this is the will of -God, even your sanctification, that ye abstain from fornication."</b> -Here again it is evident that Sanctification means separation from -impurity or moral defilement. The two meanings, then, of Sanctification -are: the process of separating or setting apart, or state of being -separated or set apart, for God; and the process of separating or state -of being separated from ceremonial or moral defilement. These two -meanings of the word are closely allied—one cannot be truly separated -to God without being separated from sin.</p> - - -<h3>II. HOW MEN ARE SANCTIFIED</h3> - -<p>We come now to the second question, <em>How are men sanctified?</em> There are -several parts to the complete answer of this question.</p> - -<p>1. The first part of the answer is found in our text of this chapter, -<abbr title="First Thessalonians">I Thess.</abbr> 5:23, <b>"And the God of Peace himself sanctify you wholly -and may your Spirit and soul and body be preserved entire, without -blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."</b> <!-- Page 233 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span>It appears from -this verse that <em>God sanctifies men, and Sanctification is God's work</em>. -Both the separation of men from sin and their separation unto God, -is God's work. As it was God who in the old dispensation set apart -the first-born of Israel unto Himself, so it is God who in the new -dispensation sets apart the believer unto Himself and separates him -from sin. Sanctification is primarily not our work but God's.</p> - -<p>2. The second part of the answer is found in <abbr title="Ephesians">Eph.</abbr> 5:25, 26, -<b>"Husbands love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, -and gave himself up for it; that he might sanctify it, having cleansed -it by the washing of water by the word."</b> Here we are taught that -<em>Christ sanctifies the church</em> and that <em>Sanctification is Christ's -work</em>. The question, of course, arises, in what sense does Christ -sanctify the church. The answer is found in <abbr title="Hebrews">Heb.</abbr> 10:10, <b>"By which -will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus -Christ once for all."</b> Here it appears that Jesus Christ sanctifies -the church by giving Himself up a sacrifice for it. By thus giving -Himself up for it as a sacrifice Christ sets the Church apart for God. -Just as the blood of the Passover Lamb in the <abbr title="eleventh">11th</abbr> and <abbr title="twelfth">12th</abbr> chapters -of Exodus set a difference between Israel and the Egyptians, so our -Lord Jesus by the offering of His own body has forever put a difference -between the believer in Himself and the world, and has forever set -every believer apart for God. The Cross of Christ stands between the -<!-- Page 234 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span>believer and the world. The shed blood of Christ separates the believer -from the world, purchases him to God and thus makes him to belong to -God.</p> - -<p>3. The third part of the answer to the question, how men are -sanctified, is found in <abbr title="Second Thessalonians">2 Thess.</abbr> 2:13 and in other passages, <b>"But we -are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the -Lord, for that God chose you from the beginning unto salvation through -sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth."</b> It appears -from this passage, as from other passages in the Bible, that <em>it is -the Holy Spirit who sanctifies the believer</em>, and that <em>Sanctification -is the Holy Spirit's work</em>. Here the question arises, In what sense -does the Holy Spirit sanctify the believer? In this sense, just as in -the Old Testament type, tabernacle, altar and priest were set apart -for God by the anointing oil (<abbr title="Leviticus">Lev.</abbr> 8:10-12), so in the New Testament -anti-type, the believer, who is both tabernacle and priest, is set -apart for God by the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Further than that, -it is the Holy Spirit's work in the heart that overcomes the flesh and -its defilements, and thus separates the believer from sin and clothes -him with divine graces of character, and makes him fit to be God's own. -As Paul puts it in <abbr title="Galatians">Gal.</abbr> 5:22, 23, <b>"But the fruit of the Spirit is -love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, -self-control."</b> In opposition to this work of the Holy Spirit, we -read in the immediately preceding verses what "the works of the flesh" -are, an awful <!-- Page 235 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span>catalogue of vileness and sin, and we are told in the -<abbr title="sixteenth">16th</abbr> verse, <b>"Walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfil the lust of -the flesh."</b></p> - -<p>4. The fourth part of the answer to the question how we are sanctified -is found in <abbr title="Hebrews">Heb.</abbr> 13:12, <b>"Wherefore, Jesus also, that he might -sanctify the people through his own blood suffered without the -gate."</b> It is plain from this passage that <em>believers are sanctified -through the blood of Jesus Christ</em>. Here the question arises, In what -sense does the blood of Jesus sanctify? The answer is plain: <em>The -blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all the guilt of sin</em>, and thus -separates us from the mass of men under the curse of the broken law, -and sets us apart for God (cf. 1 John 1:7, 9). In the Old Testament -dispensation the blood of the sacrifice cleansed the Israelites from -the <em>guilt</em> of ceremonial offenses and set them apart for God; in the -New Testament anti-type the blood of Christ cleanseth the believer from -the <em>guilt</em> of moral offenses and sets him apart for God.</p> - -<p>5. The fifth part of the answer to the question, how men are -sanctified, is found in John 17:17, <b>"Sanctify them in the truth: thy -word is truth."</b> Here our Lord Jesus in His prayer indicates that we -are <em>sanctified in the truth, and that the truth is the Word of God</em>. -In what sense does the Word of God sanctify? This question is plainly -answered in different parts of the Word of God, where we are taught -that the Word of God cleanses from the presence of sin, and thus -<!-- Page 236 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span>separates us from it and sets us apart to God. (<abbr title="Psalms">Ps.</abbr> 119:9, 11; John -15:3.) As we bring our lives into daily contact with the Word, the sins -and imperfections of our lives and hearts are disclosed and put away, -and thus we are more and more separated from sin unto God. (cf. John -13:10.)</p> - -<p>6. The sixth part of the answer to the question, how men are -sanctified, is found in <abbr title="First Corinthians">1 Cor.</abbr> 1:30, <b>"But of Him are ye in Christ -Jesus, who was made unto us wisdom from God, and righteousness, and -sanctification, and redemption."</b> In this passage we are taught that -<em>Jesus Christ was made unto us from God sanctification</em>. Just what -does that mean? Simply this: that separation from sin and separation -to God are provided for us in Christ Jesus and by the appropriation -of Jesus Christ we obtain this sanctification thus provided. The more -completely we appropriate Christ the more completely are we sanctified. -But perfect sanctification is provided for us in Him, just as perfect -wisdom is provided in Him (<abbr title="Colossians">Col.</abbr> 2:3). We appropriate either wisdom or -sanctification or anything else that is provided for us in Christ in -ever-increasing measure. Through the indwelling Christ presented to us -by the Spirit in the Word, we are made Christlike and bear fruit.</p> - -<p>7. The seventh part of the answer to the question of how men are -sanctified is found in <abbr title="Hebrews">Heb.</abbr> 12:14, <b>"Follow after peace with all men, -and the sanctification without which no man shall see the Lord."</b> -Here we are taught that we have our <!-- Page 237 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span>own part in sanctification, and -that if we are to be sanctified in the fullest sense, <em>sanctification -is something that we must pursue, or seek earnestly, if we are to -obtain it</em>. While sanctification is God's work, we have our part in it, -viz., to make it the object of our earnest desire and eager pursuit.</p> - -<p>8. The eighth part of the answer to the question of how we are -sanctified is found in <abbr title="Romans">Rom.</abbr> 6:19, 22, <b>"As ye presented your -members as servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity, -even so present your members as servants to righteousness unto -sanctification. . . . But now being made free from sin, and become -servants to God, ye have your fruit unto sanctification."</b> The -meaning of these words is plain, and the teaching important and -practical. We are here taught that <em>we attain unto sanctification -through presenting our members as servants (bondservants, or slaves) -to righteousness and becoming ourselves bondservants unto God</em>. In -other words, if we wish to attain unto sanctification we should present -our whole body and every member of it to God, to be His servants, -belonging wholly unto Him, and we should present ourselves to God as -His servants, to be His absolute property. This is the practical method -of attaining unto sanctification, a method that is open to each one of -us here to-day, no matter how weak we are in ourselves.</p> - -<p>9. The ninth and final part of the answer to the question of how we are -sanctified, is found in <!-- Page 238 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span>Acts 26:18, <b>"To open their eyes, that they -may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God, -that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among them -that are sanctified by faith in Me."</b> Here we are told that we are -<em>sanctified by faith in Christ</em>. Sanctification, just as justification, -regeneration, and adoption, is conditioned upon faith. Faith is the -hand that appropriates to ourselves the blessing of sanctification that -God has provided for us through His Son Jesus Christ by His death on -the cross, and through the power of the Holy Spirit working in us. And -we claim sanctification by simple faith in Him who shed His blood and -by surrendering ourselves to the control of the Holy Spirit, Whom Jesus -Christ gives.</p> - - -<h3>III. WHEN DOES SANCTIFICATION TAKE PLACE</h3> - -<p>We now come to the question about which there has been the most -discussion, the most differences of opinion, the most controversy. When -does sanctification take place? If we will go to our Bibles to get the -answer to the question there need be no difference of opinion. There -are three parts to the answer.</p> - -<p>1. The first part of the answer is found in <abbr title="First Corinthians">I Cor.</abbr> 1:2, <b>"Unto the -Church of God, which is at Corinth, even them that are sanctified in -Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that call upon the name of -our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, <!-- Page 239 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span>their Lord and ours."</b> Here -the Holy Spirit speaking through the Apostle Paul, plainly declares -that <em>all the members of the church of God are already sanctified in -Christ Jesus</em>. Sanctification in this sense is not something that -we are to look for in the future, it is something that has already -taken place. The moment any one becomes a member of the Church of God -by simple faith in Christ Jesus, for all who have faith in Christ -Jesus are members of the Church of God, that moment that person <em>is</em> -sanctified. Every saved man and woman in this building this morning, -every one who has living faith in Jesus Christ, <em>is</em> sanctified. Our -sanctification is involved in our salvation. But in what sense are we, -that is, all believers, already sanctified? The answer to this question -is found in a passage of Scripture to which we have already referred, -<abbr title="Hebrews">Heb.</abbr> 10:10, 14, <b>"By which will we have been sanctified through -the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. . . . For by one -offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified."</b> The -meaning is plain. By the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once -for all on the Cross of Calvary as a perfect atonement for sin, every -believer is cleansed forever from the guilt of sin. We are <em>"perfected -forever" as far as our standing before God is concerned</em>, and are set -apart for God. The sacrifice of Christ does not need to be repeated -as were the Jewish sacrifices (<abbr title="Five, one">V. I</abbr>). The work is done once for all, -sin is put away, and forever put away (<abbr title="Hebrews">Heb.</abbr> 9:26; <!-- Page 240 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span>cf. <abbr title="Galatians">Gal.</abbr> 3:13), and -we are set apart forever as God's peculiar and eternal possession. If -any one asks you if you are sanctified; if you are a believer in Jesus -Christ, i.e., if you have a living faith, in Jesus Christ, you have a -right to say, "I am." <em>Every believer in Christ is a saint</em>, a saint -not in the sense in which that word is oftentimes used in modern usage, -but in the Bible sense, as being set apart for God and belonging to -God and being God's peculiar property. But there is another sense in -which every believer may be fully sanctified to-day. This is found in -<abbr title="Romans">Rom.</abbr> 12:1, <b>"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of -God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to -God, which is your spiritual service."</b> In this passage we see that -<em>it is the believer's present and blessed privilege, and important and -solemn duty, to present his body to God a living sacrifice—not some -part or parts of the body, but the whole body with its every member -and every faculty. And when we do thus present our whole body to God a -living sacrifice, then we are wholly sanctified.</em> Such an offering is -well-pleasing to God. As God in the Old Testament showed His pleasure -in the offering by sending down fire to take it to Himself, so when the -whole body is thus offered to God, God will send down fire again, the -fire of the Holy Ghost, and take to Himself what is thus presented. The -moment a believer does thus present himself a living sacrifice to God, -then, so far as his will, the governing <!-- Page 241 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span>purpose of his life, the very -centre of his being, is concerned, he is wholly God's, or "<em>perfectly</em> -sanctified." He may still, and will still, daily discover, as he -studies the Word of God and is illumined by the Holy Spirit, acts of -his, habits of life, forms of feeling, speech and action, that are not -in conformity with this central purpose of his will, and these must be -confessed to God as blameworthy and put away, and this department of -his being and life brought, by God's Spirit and the indwelling Christ, -into conformity with God's will as revealed in His Word. The victory -in this newly discovered and unclaimed territory may be instantaneous. -For example, I may discover in myself an irritability of temper that is -manifestly displeasing to God. I can go to God, confess it, renounce -it and then instantly, not by my own strength, but by looking to Jesus -and claiming His patience and gentleness, overcome it and never have -another failure in that direction. And so it is with every other sin -and weakness in my life that I am brought to see is displeasing to God.</p> - -<p>2. But this is not the whole answer to the question of when we are -sanctified. The second part of the answer is found in <abbr title="First Thessalonians">I Thess.</abbr> 3:12, -<b>"And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward -another, and toward all men, even as we also do towards you."</b> -And the <abbr title="fourth">4th</abbr> chapter of this same epistle, the <abbr title="first">1st</abbr> and <abbr title="tenth">10th</abbr> verses, -<b>"Finally then, brethren, we beseech you and exhort you in the Lord -Jesus, that as you received of us how ye <!-- Page 242 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span>ought to walk and to please -God, even as ye do walk, that ye abound more and more. . . . For indeed -ye do it toward all the brethren that are in all Macedonia. But we -exhort you, brethren, that ye abound more and more."</b> And in <abbr title="Second Peter">II Pet.</abbr> -3:18, <b>"Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus -Christ."</b> And <abbr title="Second Corinthians">II Cor.</abbr> 3:18, <abbr title="Revised Version">R. V.</abbr>, <b>"But we all, with unveiled -face reflecting as a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed -into the same image from glory to glory, and even as from the Lord the -Spirit."</b> And in <abbr title="Ephesians">Eph.</abbr> 4:15, 16, <b>"But speaking truth in love, may -grow up in all things unto him, who is the head, even Christ; from -whom all the body fitly framed and knit together through that which -every joint supplieth, according to the working in due measure of each -several part, maketh the increase of the body unto the building up -of itself in love."</b> From these passages we see that <em>there is a -progressive work of Sanctification, an increasing in love, an abounding -more and more in a godly walk and in pleasing God, a growing in the -grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, a being -transformed into the image of our Lord from glory unto glory</em>, each new -gaze at Him making us more like Him; a <em>growing up</em> into Christ in all -things, until we attain unto a full-grown man, unto the measure of the -stature of the fullness of Christ. Here we see there is a progressive -work of Sanctification.</p> - -<p>3. But we have not found the whole answer to <!-- Page 243 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[243]</a></span>the question of When -Men are Sanctified, even yet. We find the remainder of the answer to -the question in our text, <abbr title="First Thessalonians">1 Thess.</abbr> 5:23 accurately translated as it -is in the Revised Version, <b>"And the God of peace himself sanctify -you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved entire, -without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."</b> Here we are -plainly told that <em>the complete sanctification of believers, complete -in the fullest sense, is something to be sought for in prayer and that -is to be accomplished by God in the future and perfected at the coming -of our Lord Jesus Christ</em>. The same thought is found in this same book, -the <abbr title="third">3rd</abbr> chapter and <abbr title="twelfth">12th</abbr> and <abbr title="thirteenth">13th</abbr> verses, <b>"And the Lord make you to -increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, -even as we do toward you, to the end that he may establish your hearts -unblamable in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our -Lord Jesus with his saints."</b> It is "at the coming of our Lord Jesus -with all His saints" that He is to establish our hearts unblamable in -holiness before our God and Father and that our spirit and soul and -body are to be preserved entire without blame. The same thought is -found in <abbr title="First">I</abbr> John 3:2, <b>"Beloved, now are we children of God, it is -not yet made manifest what we shall be. We know that, if he shall be -manifested, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is."</b> -<em>It is not in the life that now is, and it is not at death, that we -are entirely sanctified, spirit, soul, and body. It is at <!-- Page 244 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[244]</a></span>the coming -of our Lord Jesus Christ.</em> This is one of the many reasons why the -well-instructed believer constantly cries, "<em>Even so, come, Lord Jesus. -Come quickly.</em>"</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page 245 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[245]</a></span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak"><a name="XII" id="XII"></a>XII<br /> - -<small><span class="smcap">The Resurrection of the Body of Jesus and of Our Bodies</span></small></h2> -</div> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>"Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David, was raised -from the dead, according to my gospel."—<abbr title="2 Timothy">2 Tim.</abbr> 2:8.</p> -</div> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>"For I delivered unto you first of all that which also I -received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the -scriptures; and that he was buried; and that <em>he hath been -raised</em> on the third day according to the scriptures."—<abbr title="First Corinthians">1 Cor.</abbr> -15:3, 4.</p> -</div> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>"Now, if Christ is preached that he hath been raised from the -dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of -the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, neither -hath Christ been raised: and if Christ hath not been raised, -then is our preaching vain, your faith also is vain. Yea, and -we are found false witnesses of God, because we witnessed of -God that he hath raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if -so be that he did not rise. But if the dead are not raised; -neither hath Christ been raised: and if Christ hath not been -raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they -also that are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in -this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most -pitiable."—<abbr title="First Corinthians">1 Cor.</abbr> 15:12-19.</p> -</div> - - -<p>We commemorate to-day the resurrection of Christ from the dead. We -shall see that the resurrection of Christ was a resurrection of the -body of Christ, that it was not merely the indwelling Spirit of Jesus -Christ, clothed upon with a new and entirely different body, that -appeared to the disciples on the first <!-- Page 246 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[246]</a></span>resurrection day, but that it -was the body that was buried, raised again, and that this involves -for us not merely the immortality of our souls, but the resurrection -and eternal continuance of our bodies. Yet there are many who call -themselves Christians and who say that they believe in the Bible, and -who consider themselves perfectly orthodox Christians, who do not -believe in the Resurrection of the Body, they merely believe in the -immortality of the soul.</p> - - -<h3>I. THE FACT OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY OF CHRIST AND OF OUR BODIES</h3> - -<p>We shall consider first <em>the fact of the resurrection of the body of -Jesus Christ and of our bodies</em>.</p> - -<p>1. Turn first, please, to <abbr title="Second Timothy">II Tim.</abbr> 2:8, <b>"Remember that Jesus -Christ of the seed of David, was raised from the dead, according to -my gospel."</b> Here Paul explicitly declares that Jesus Christ was -raised from the dead according to the gospel which he preached. Now -what was raised? Certainly not His soul. That did not die. Turning to -Acts 2:27-31, we find that the soul of the Lord Jesus went into Hades, -the abode of the dead. These are Peter's words, spoken on the day of -Pentecost, there recorded, <b>"Because thou wilt not leave my soul -unto Hades, neither wilt thou give thy holy one to see corruption</b> -(i.e., in His body). <b>Thou madest known unto me the ways of life; -<!-- Page 247 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[247]</a></span>thou shalt make me full of gladness with thy countenance. Brethren, I -may say unto you freely of the patriarch David, that he both died and -was buried, and his tomb is with us unto this day. Being therefore -a prophet, and knowing that God has sworn with an oath to him that -of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise -up Christ to sit on his throne; he foreseeing this spake of the -resurrection of Christ, that neither was he left unto Hades, nor did -his flesh see corruption. This Jesus did God raise up, whereof we all -are witnesses."</b> Peter here declares that the soul of Jesus went -to Hades and that it was "His flesh," i.e., His body, that was kept -from corruption and afterwards raised. Turning now to <abbr title="First Corinthians">I Cor.</abbr> 15:3, -4, we read these words of Paul: <b>"For we delivered unto you first -of all that which also I received, how that Christ died for our sins -according to the scriptures; and that he was buried; and that he hath -been raised on the third day according to the scriptures."</b> Paul -here declares that Jesus Christ died and was buried and was raised. -What was raised? Paul says, that <em>that which "was buried"</em> was raised. -But what was buried? <em>Not the soul</em> of the Lord Jesus, <em>but His -body</em>. Peter makes this even plainer, if possible, in <abbr title="First Peter">I Pet.</abbr> 3:18-20: -<b>"Because Christ also suffered for our sins once, the righteous for -the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God; being put to death -in the flesh, but quickened in the spirit; in which also he went and -preached to the spirits in prison; which aforetime <!-- Page 248 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[248]</a></span>were disobedient, -when the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah."</b> These -words clearly mean that it was the body of Jesus that was put to death, -but that the spirit still lived and went into Hades; so it was <em>the -body</em> that was raised and to which the spirit that had not died or -become unconscious came back. <abbr title="First Corinthians">I Cor.</abbr> 15:12-19 removes all possibility -of doubt on this point on the part of any man who goes to the Bible -to find out what it actually teaches and not merely to see how he can -twist and distort it to fit it into his own preconceived opinions. -Paul's Spirit-given words here read, <b>"Now if Christ be preached -that he hath been raised from the dead, how say some among you that -there is no resurrection of the dead?</b> (Mark, not <em>no immortality of -the soul</em>, but <em>no resurrection</em> of the dead.) <b>But if there is no -resurrection of the dead neither hath Christ been raised: and if Christ -hath not been raised, then is our preaching vain, your faith also is -vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we witness -of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up if so be that -the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised neither hath -Christ been raised: and if Christ hath not been raised, your faith is -vain, ye are yet in your sins. Then they also that have fallen asleep -in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, -we are of all men most pitiable."</b> There is no honest mistaking the -plain meaning of these words: by the "resurrection of the dead" Paul -<!-- Page 249 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[249]</a></span>plainly means <em>a resurrection of the body</em>; and in the whole chapter, -beyond an honest doubt, he is not talking about the immortality of -the soul, but the resurrection of the body. The whole argument turns -on that, and Paul here clearly says <em>if the body of Jesus was not -raised</em>, then the whole Christian system is a sham and our faith vain -and that we Christians of all men are most to be pitied. For if the -body of Jesus was not raised, and if our bodies are not to be raised, -then we Christians are making tremendous sacrifices for a lie. Paul -says further that <em>if our bodies</em> are not to be raised, then Christ's -body has not been raised and Christianity is a humbug. Christianity as -taught in the New Testament stands or falls with the resurrection of -the body of Jesus and the resurrection of our bodies. There is no room -in this argument of Paul's for "Pastor" Russell's doctrine, that the -resurrection of Jesus Christ was not a resurrection of the body that -was laid in the grave, the body that was crucified, and that the body -of Jesus Christ, the body that was laid in the sepulchre, was carried -away and preserved somewhere, or else dissolved into gases. Paul says -here, <em>if the body that was laid in the sepulchre was not raised, "then -is our preaching vain" and your "faith also is vain."</em></p> - -<p>In Luke 24:5, 6, the angels at the tomb from which the body of Jesus -had disappeared are recorded as saying to the women who were seeking -the body of Jesus to embalm it, <b>"Why seek ye the <!-- Page 250 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[250]</a></span>living among -the dead? He is not here but is risen."</b> Now what were the women -seeking? The body of Jesus to embalm it, and the angels say that -what they were seeking was not there but was risen, had been raised. -Furthermore, in the remainder of the <abbr title="sixth">6th</abbr> verse and verse 7, they say: -<b>"Remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, saying -that the Son of Man must be delivered up into the hands of sinful men, -and be crucified, and the third day rise again."</b> Here they told the -women plainly that what was crucified, which of course was the body -of Jesus, was raised. If the actual, literal body of Jesus had not -been raised, then these angels were liars. Do you believe that? These -are only a few of the very many passages in which it is very clearly -taught that the very body of Jesus was raised from the dead. The body -of Jesus was raised from the dead and our bodies shall be raised from -the dead, else Christianity is a lie from start to finish. But Christ -was raised from the dead and we shall be raised. Or, as Paul puts it -in the <abbr title="twentieth">20th</abbr> verse of this same chapter, "<b>But now hath Christ been -raised from the dead, the first fruits of them that are asleep."</b> -Our resurrection, the resurrection of our bodies, will be <em>the harvest</em> -that follows the resurrection of the body of Christ, which was "<em>the -first fruits</em>."</p> - - -<p><!-- Page 251 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[251]</a></span></p> -<h3>II. THE CHARACTER OF OUR RESURRECTION BODIES</h3> - -<p>Having clearly settled the fact of the resurrection <em>of the body</em> of -Jesus Christ and of our bodies, let us next consider the character of -our resurrection bodies.</p> - -<p>1. First of all, we know that <em>the body which is raised will not be -exactly the same body that it was when it was laid in the grave</em>. This -appears from <abbr title="First Corinthians">I Cor.</abbr> 15:35-38: <b>"But some will say, how are the dead -raised? And with what manner of body do they come? Thou foolish one, -that which thou thyself sowest is not quickened, except it die: and -that which thou sowest, thou sowest not in the body that shall be, but -a bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other kind; but God -giveth it a body even as it pleased him, and to each seed a body of its -own."</b> Here we are told that our bodies when they are raised will -not be exactly the same as our bodies when they are buried, any more -than the wheat that springs from the kernel of wheat that is planted is -the same as the kernel that was planted. But just as what grows from -the seed comes from the seed and bears the most intimate relation to -the seed, so our resurrection bodies come from the body that is buried -and bear the most intimate relation to it. The resurrection body is the -outcome of the body that is buried. It is the old body quickened and -transformed; or, as Paul puts it in <abbr title="Philippians">Phil.</abbr> 3:20, 21: <b>"Jesus Christ -<!-- Page 252 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[252]</a></span> . . . shall fashion anew the body of our humiliation, that it may be -conformed to the body of his glory, according to the working whereby he -is able even to subject all things unto himself."</b></p> - -<p>2. The next thing that the Bible teaches about <em>our resurrection -bodies</em> is that <em>they are like the glorified body of Jesus Christ</em>. -This appears from the verses just quoted, <abbr title="Philippians">Phil.</abbr> 3:20, 21: <b>"The -Lord Jesus Christ . . . shall fashion anew the body of our humiliation, -that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, according to the -work whereby he is able even to subject all things unto himself."</b> -Christ's resurrection body was not the same body that was laid in the -sepulchre. It was the old body <em>transformed</em> and delivered from the -limitations of the body that He had while living here among men, and -new qualities imparted to it, and our bodies will also be transformed -into the likeness of this glorious body of Christ and thus delivered -from the limitations to which they are subjected now, and new qualities -imparted to them. It will be a transformed body; the character of its -transformation is indicated by the transformation that took place in -the body of Jesus Christ. Some suggestion as to what that transformed -body of Jesus Christ was like is found in that anticipation of His -resurrection which was seen by Peter, James and John on the mount of -transfiguration. Matthew in his description of the appearance of Jesus -at His transfiguration, tells us that <b>"His face did shine as the -sun, and his garments <!-- Page 253 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[253]</a></span>became white as the light"</b> (<abbr title="Matthew">Matt.</abbr> 17:2). -Luke tells us that <b>"the fashion of his countenance was altered and -His raiment became white and dazzling"</b> (Luke 9:29). Mark tells -us that <b>"He was transfigured before them: and his garments became -glistering, exceeding white; so as no fuller on earth can whiten -them"</b> (Mark 9:2, 3).</p> - -<p>3. The next thing that we are told about <em>our resurrection bodies</em> is -that they <em>will not be flesh and blood</em>. In <abbr title="First Corinthians">I Cor.</abbr> 15:50, 51 we read, -<b>"Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit -the kingdom of God."</b> Paul is here talking about our resurrection -bodies. It is in the resurrection chapter he says this, and he -distinctly tells us that our resurrection bodies will not be "<em>flesh -and blood</em>."</p> - -<p>4. But while <em>our resurrection bodies</em> will not be "flesh and blood," -they <em>will have "flesh and bones."</em> This appears from what our Lord -Himself says about His own resurrection body in Luke 24:39. Here we -read that Jesus said: <b>"See my hands and my feet, that it is I -myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye -behold me having."</b> As our resurrection bodies are to be transformed -into the likeness of His, we also must have "flesh and bones" in our -resurrection bodies. Some have fancied that they saw a contradiction -between what our Lord says here and what Paul says in the passage -quoted above (<abbr title="First Corinthians">I Cor.</abbr> 15:50, 51), but there is no contradiction. "Flesh" -we shall have, but not "flesh <em>and blood</em>," <!-- Page 254 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[254]</a></span>i.e., not flesh, the -animating principle of which is blood. The question arises, What takes -the place of the blood in our resurrection bodies? The answer seems to -be that in the present life, "blood is the life" of the natural body, -but in the life to come our bodies are to be, as we are told elsewhere -in this same chapter, "<em>spiritual</em> bodies," i.e., bodies, the animating -principle of which is the Spirit of God, not our own blood. Our not -having "<em>blood</em>" in our resurrection bodies involves many great and -glorious possibilities, upon which we cannot dwell now.</p> - -<p>5. In the fifth place (and closely connected with 3 and 4), <em>our -resurrection bodies will be incorruptible</em>. We read in <abbr title="First Corinthians">I Cor.</abbr> -15:42: <b>"So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in -corruption; it is raised in incorruption."</b> The thought of this -word "incorruption" is that the body is not subject to decay, it is -imperishable. Our present bodies are decaying all the time. We are -perishing every day and every minute. My present body is disintegrating -while I talk to you. But the bodies that we shall receive in the -resurrection will be absolutely free from the liability to corruption -or decay. They <em>cannot</em> disintegrate or suffer decay or deterioration -of any kind.</p> - -<p>6. The next thing that we are taught about <em>the resurrection body</em> -is that it <em>is a glorious body</em>. This comes out in the first part of -the following verse, <abbr title="First Corinthians">I Cor.</abbr> 15:43, <b>"It is sown in dishonour; it is -raised in glory."</b> Some idea of the glory, the <!-- Page 255 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[255]</a></span>glorious beauty, -of that body is suggested by the representation of our glorified Lord -that we have in <abbr title="Revelation">Rev.</abbr> 1:13-17: <b>"And in the midst of the candlesticks -one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot -and girt about the breasts with a golden girdle. And his head and his -hair were white as white wool, white as snow, and his eyes were as a -flame of fire and his feet like unto burnished brass, as if it had been -refined in a furnace, and his voice as the voice of many waters. And -he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth proceeded a -sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in -his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as one dead, and -he laid his right hand upon me saying, Fear not; I am the first and the -last."</b> Our resurrection bodies will be like that.</p> - -<p>7. Furthermore, <em>our resurrection bodies will be powerful</em>, or as we -read in the last half of this same verse (<abbr title="First Corinthians">1 Cor.</abbr> 15:43), <b>"It is -sown in weakness, it is raised in power."</b> Then all our weariness -and weakness will be forever at an end. In our present bodies our -bodies are oftentimes a hindrance to our highest aspirations, they -thwart the carrying out of our loftiest purposes, we cannot put into -execution our loftiest purposes, <b>"the spirit is willing but the -flesh is weak."</b> But in our resurrection bodies the body will be -able to accomplish all that the spirit purposes. The redeemed body will -be a perfect counterpart of the <!-- Page 256 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[256]</a></span>redeemed spirit that inhabits it. No -deafness, dimsightedness nor blindness, no tired hands and feet, no -maimed soldier boys coming home from the war.</p> - -<p>8. <em>It will be a heavenly body.</em> This appears from the <abbr title="forty-seventh">47th</abbr> to the <abbr title="forty-ninth">49th</abbr> -verses of this same chapter. <b>"The first man is of</b> (literally, -<em>out of</em>) <b>the earth, earthy: the second man is of</b> (literally, -<em>out of</em>) <b>heaven: as is the earth, such are they also that are -earthy: and as is the heavenly such are they also that are heavenly. -And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the -image of the heavenly."</b> The thought plainly is that our present -bodies are of an earthly origin and an earthly character, but that the -transformed body will be of a heavenly character. Paul explains it -at length in <abbr title="Second Corinthians">2 Cor.</abbr> 5:1-4 where he says, <b>"For we know that if the -earthly house of our tabernacle be dissolved, we have a building from -God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens. For verily -in this</b> (i.e., in this present earthly house, earthy body) <b>we -groan, longing to be clothed upon with our habitation which is from -heaven</b> (i.e., our heavenly body): <b>if so be that being clothed we -shall not be found naked. For indeed we that are in this tabernacle</b> -(i.e., in the present earthy body) <b>groan, being burdened; not for -that we would be unclothed, but that we would be clothed upon</b> -(i.e., with our heavenly body), <b>that what is mortal may be swallowed -up of life."</b></p> - -<p>9. <em>Our transformed bodies will be luminous, <!-- Page 257 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[257]</a></span>shining, dazzling, bright -like the sun.</em> This is seen in many passages. For example, Matt. 13:43, -<b>"Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom -of their Father."</b> This is to be taken literally for it is in the -<em>interpretation</em> of the parable and not in the parable. This suggests -what we have already seen about the transfigured body of Jesus in <abbr title="Matthew">Matt.</abbr> -17:2, where we are told that <b>"His face did shine as the sun, and his -garments became white as the light."</b> We have the same thought also -in the Old Testament in <abbr title="Daniel">Dan.</abbr> 12:3, where we are told, <b>"And they that -are wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that -turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever."</b> They -shall shine literally as well as figuratively. Some suggestion of what -the luminous glory of our faces and forms in our resurrection bodies -will be is seen in the light that Paul tells us that he saw beaming -from the person of Jesus when the glorified Jesus met him on the -Damascus road. In Paul's description of what he saw on that occasion, -as given in Acts 26:12, 13, we read, <b>"Whereupon as I journeyed -to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, -at midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, above the -brightness of the sun, shining around about me and them that journeyed -with me."</b> The light that Saul saw, as is evident from the whole -account, was the light that shone from the person of our glorified -Lord, <!-- Page 258 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[258]</a></span>and in our resurrection bodies we shall be like Him.</p> - -<p>10. <em>Three interesting facts regarding our resurrection bodies</em> are -stated in <abbr title="Matthew">Matt.</abbr> 22:30 and Luke 20:35, 36. In <abbr title="Matthew">Matt.</abbr> 22:30 we read: -<b>"For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in -marriage, but are as angels in heaven."</b> In Luke 20:35, 36 we read: -<b>"But they that are counted worthy to attain to that world, and the -resurrection of the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: for -neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and -are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection."</b> Taking these two -passages together, we learn that our resurrection bodies are like the -angels, that we do not marry in our resurrection bodies and that these -bodies cannot die any more.</p> - -<p>11. <em>Though all these resurrection bodies are glorious, they differ -from one another, each one having its own peculiar glory.</em> This appears -from <abbr title="First Corinthians">1 Cor.</abbr> 15:41, 42: <b>"There is one glory of the sun, and another -glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star -differeth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection from -the dead."</b> Glorious as all our bodies shall be, there will be no -tiresome uniformity even of glory in the world of resurrection bodies. -Each body will have its own peculiar glory.</p> - -<p>12. Let us say finally in regard to the character of our resurrection -body, that <em>the resurrection of our body will be the consummation of -our <!-- Page 259 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[259]</a></span>adoption</em>, i.e., of our placing as sons, our manifestations as -sons of God. In <abbr title="Romans">Rom.</abbr> 8:23 we read: <b>"We, which have the first fruits -of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for -our adoption</b> (i.e., our placing as sons), <b>to wit, the redemption -of our body."</b> The resurrection body will be the consummation of our -placing as sons, i.e., in the resurrection body it will be outwardly -manifested that we are sons of God. Before His incarnation Christ was -"<em>in the form</em> of God." (<abbr title="Philippians">Phil.</abbr> 2:6), i.e., in the visible appearance of -God. So shall we also be in the resurrection, for our bodies shall be -like His. This throws light upon what Paul meant when he said in <abbr title="Colossians">Col.</abbr> -3:4: <b>"When Christ, who is our life, shall be manifested, then shall -we also with him be manifested in glory."</b> And also it throws light -on what John meant when he says in <abbr title="First">I</abbr> John 3:2, <abbr title="Revised Version">R. V.</abbr>: <b>"Beloved, now -are we the children of God, and it is not yet made manifest what we -shall be. We know that, if he shall be manifested, we shall be like -him; for we shall see him as he is."</b></p> - - -<h3>III. WHEN WILL THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY TAKE PLACE?</h3> - -<p>There remains but one question to be considered and we can deal with -that very briefly. That question is, when will the resurrection of -the body take place? This question is plainly answered time and -again in the Bible. For example, it is <!-- Page 260 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[260]</a></span>answered in <abbr title="Philippians">Phil.</abbr> 3:20, 21: -<b>"For our citizenship is in heaven; from whence also we wait for a -Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall fashion anew the body of -our humiliation, that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, -according to the working whereby he is able even to subject all things -unto himself."</b> Here it is plainly declared that <em>the transformation -of our bodies into the likeness of the glorious body of Christ will -take place when the Lord Jesus whom we are awaiting shall appear from -heaven</em>. The same thought is given in <abbr title="First Thessalonians">I Thess.</abbr> 4:16, 17: <b>"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, that are left, shall together with -them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so -shall we ever be with the Lord."</b> The question will arise in some of -our minds, what about us in the meantime if we chance to die before the -coming of the Lord? This question also is plainly answered in <abbr title="Second Corinthians">II Cor.</abbr> -5:1-8: <b>"For we know that if the earthly house of our tabernacle</b> -(our present bodies) <b>be dissolved</b> (die and decay) <b>we have a -building from God, a house not made with hands</b> (our resurrection -body that we are to get at the coming of the Lord), <b>eternal, in the -heavens. For verily in this</b> (i.e., while living in this present -body) <b>we groan, longing to be clothed upon with our habitation which -is from heaven</b> (our resurrection body) <b>if so be that being -clothed <!-- Page 261 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[261]</a></span>we shall not be found naked. For indeed we that are in this -tabernacle</b> (this present earthy body) <b>do groan, being burdened; -not for that we would be unclothed</b> (i.e., not that we would merely -get rid of our present bodies), <b>but that we would be clothed -upon</b> (i.e., that we would receive our resurrection bodies) <b>that -what is mortal may be swallowed up of life. Now he that wrought us for -this very thing is God, who gave unto us the earnest of the Spirit</b> -(i.e., the Holy Ghost, whom we have received as the earnest of the -full redemption in our resurrection bodies which are to be obtained -at the coming of the Lord). <b>Being therefore always of good courage -and knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body</b> (i.e., while -we are still in our earthly life in this present earthly body) <b>we -are absent from the Lord (for we walk by faith not by sight); we are -of good courage, I say, and are willing rather to be absent from the -body</b> (i.e., to have our present earthly body die even before we -get our resurrection bodies, which we shall not get until the return -of the Lord), <b>and to be at home with the Lord."</b> The teaching -of this plainly is that if we die before the return of the Lord and -therefore before we obtain our resurrection body, our spirits are -unclothed, i.e., they are unclothed from this present body and not yet -clothed upon with the resurrection body, but that we are "at home with -the Lord" in conscious blessedness, in a condition that is far better -than that that we are in in this present life (see <!-- Page 262 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[262]</a></span><abbr title="Philippians">Phil.</abbr> 1:23, <abbr title="Revised Version">R. V.</abbr>), -but not so perfect as that condition which shall be when our redeemed -spirits are clothed upon with our resurrection bodies. <em>It will be at -the return of the Lord Jesus that we get our full redemption.</em> That is -one reason why "we wait" (literally, assiduously wait) for Him (<abbr title="Philippians">Phil.</abbr> -3:20, 21, see Greek). That is one reason why we long for the return -of the Lord. There are many reasons why we long for the return of our -Lord. All the great problems that are confronting us at this present -time in national and international life, in social, commercial and -political life, will be solved when He comes, and will never be solved -until He comes; and for these reasons we long for Him. But we long for -Him also because while this present body serves many a useful purpose -for the redeemed spirit that inhabits it, it is often a hindrance. It -is often subject to aches and pains, to frailties, and it is a constant -temptation to folly. But when our Lord Jesus comes again He will -transform this present body of our humiliation into the likeness of His -own glorious body and at that time we shall know what "full salvation" -means, when we shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of our -Father.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page 263 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[263]</a></span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak"><a name="XIII" id="XIII"></a>XIII<br /> - -<small>THE DEVIL</small></h2> -</div> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>"The Devil. . . .is."—John 8:44.</p> -</div> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>"The Devil Sinneth."—1 John 3:8.</p> -</div> - - -<h3>INTRODUCTION</h3> - -<p>Our subject in this chapter is The Devil. I have two texts—John 8:44: -<b>"The Devil. . . .is."</b></p> - -<p>The second text is 1 John 3:8: <b>"The Devil Sinneth."</b> The Bible -doctrine concerning the Devil, his Existence, Nature, Character, Work -and Destiny is a fundamental doctrine of the Christian faith, and is -of vital importance. The teaching of the Bible on this subject is not -a mere matter of theory or dogma. It is a matter of most practical -every day importance. Experience shows that if men are in error in -regard to this subject, they are pretty sure to be in error on other -questions that are fundamental. When men and women begin to question -the existence of a personal Devil it is pretty sure that before long -they will be questioning a good many other things regarding which a -true child of God should have no questions. Doubt of the existence of -a personal <!-- Page 264 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[264]</a></span>Devil is widespread to-day. Many preachers in supposedly -orthodox pulpits do not hesitate to say, "I do not believe in the -existence of a personal Devil." Denial of the existence of a personal -Devil is one of the main points in the system which is so widespread -to-day, and which is doing so much evil, that with considerable reason -it has been called "The Devil's Masterpiece"—Christian Science. A -well-known and popular pastor in this city some months ago proclaimed -to his people that he was going to preach to them a gospel "without -an atonement of blood, without an infallible Bible, without hell, -and without a personal Devil." If he does preach to them a system of -doctrine without any of these he will preach some other system of -doctrine than that which is contained in the book, which our Lord Jesus -Christ has endorsed as the Word of God, i.e., the Bible.</p> - - -<h3>I. THERE IS A DEVIL</h3> - -<p>The first point to make clear is that <em>there is a Devil</em>. This is -plain from our first text, John 8:44: <b>"The Devil. . . .is."</b> The -whole verse reads: <b>"Ye are of your father, the devil, and the lusts -of your father it is your will to do: He was a murderer from the -beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in -him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, -and the father thereof."</b> These are the words of Jesus Christ. With -any one who has any <!-- Page 265 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[265]</a></span>right to call himself a Christian, the words of -Jesus Christ have infinitely more weight than the words of Mrs. Mary -Baker Eddy or any one else, or all others together, and Jesus here -says, <b>"The Devil. . . .is."</b> But this is not the only passage by -any means in which our Lord Jesus asserts in the most emphatic and most -unmistakable terms the existence of the Devil. Turn to <abbr title="Matthew">Matt.</abbr> 13:19, -and you will read these words: <b>"When any one heareth the word of -God, and understandeth it not, then cometh the evil one and snatcheth -away that which has been sown in his heart."</b> These words are found -in the interpretation of a parable—the Parable of the Sower. It is -impossible to say that these words are figurative. In parables we have -figures, in the explanation of the parables we have the literal facts -that the figures symbolise, and these words are not taken from the -parable, but from our Lord's own explanation of the parable, and here -we are distinctly told that there is <em>a person</em>, who is here called -"The Evil One," whose business it is to snatch away the Word of God -when it has been sown in hearts that do not understand and heed it. If -evil is only impersonal and our Lord had only referred to impersonal -influences, or human influences, as taking away the Word out of the -hearts where it had been sown, these words of His would be utterly -without meaning. That Jesus Christ believed that there was a person -of whom He here speaks as "The Evil One" and of whom <!-- Page 266 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[266]</a></span>He elsewhere -speaks, as we shall see directly, as "The Devil," admits of no doubt if -we grant that the Lord Jesus was an honest man. <em>We must</em>, therefore, -<em>if we believe in the Lord Jesus, believe that there is a Devil. We -can deny his existence only by questioning either the honesty or -the intelligence of our Lord.</em> He certainly taught that there was a -Devil. It would be easy to show from the teachings of Peter (<abbr title="First Peter">1 Pet.</abbr> -5:8, 9; Acts 5:3) and from the teachings of John (John 13:2) and from -the teachings of Paul (<abbr title="Ephesians">Eph.</abbr> 6:10-12) also that there is a Devil; but -that is unnecessary for any one who has any right to call himself a -Christian, for if the Lord says so, that settles it, and the Lord Jesus -does say <b>"The devil. . . .is."</b> If there is no Devil, then our Lord -Jesus was either a fool or a fraud. The question of believing in the -personality of the Devil involves the honour of our Lord Jesus. If His -teaching is not to be trusted on this point, it is not to be trusted -on any other point, and the denial of a personal Devil involves the -trustworthiness of the Lord Jesus as a Teacher and a Saviour at every -point. So we see that the question of the existence of the Devil is -fundamental and of vital importance.</p> - - -<h3>II. THE NATURE OF THE DEVIL</h3> - -<p>Having settled it that there is a Devil, we now face the question as to -the nature of the Devil.</p> - -<p>1. First of all, the Bible teaches us that the <!-- Page 267 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[267]</a></span><em>Devil is a person</em>. -This comes out in our second text, 1 John 3:8: <b>"The devil -sinneth."</b> Only a person can sin. When we say that the Devil is -a person we do not mean that necessarily he has a body, certainly -not such a body as he is pictured as having in various paintings and -engravings that are supposed to represent the Devil. A person is any -being who knows and feels and wills. When we say that the Devil is -a person we mean that he is a being who has intelligence, feeling -and will, that he is not a mere principle of evil. The personality -of the Devil is taught over and over again in the Bible. Just a few -illustrations in addition to our texts. Turn again to <abbr title="Matthew">Matt.</abbr> 13:19: -<b>"When any one heareth the word of God, and understandeth it not, -then cometh the evil one, and snatcheth away that which hath been -sown in his heart."</b> The representation of this passage is the -representation of a person. He is called "The Evil One," not merely -"evil," but "The Evil One," which of course is the representation of a -person. If evil is only impersonal, or if it only works through human -beings, these words of our Lord Jesus would be without meaning. The -personality of the Devil comes out again very clearly and very forcibly -in <abbr title="Ephesians">Eph.</abbr> 6:10-12: <b>"Finally, brethren, be strong in the Lord and the -strength of his might. (11) Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may -be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (12) For our wrestling -is not against flesh and blood, but against the <!-- Page 268 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[268]</a></span>principalities, -against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against -the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."</b> Here -Paul distinctly tells us that the great reason why we need to be strong -in the Lord and in the strength of His might and why we need to put on -the whole armour of God, is because there is a being of great cunning, -subtlety and power, a person named "The Devil," and that this being -has under him a multitude of other personalities of such dignity and -power as to be called by the titles: "principalities," "powers," "world -rulers," "spiritual hosts of wickedness." Beyond a question our Lord -Jesus, and the Apostle Peter and the Apostle John and the Apostle Paul -believed in and taught the existence of a personal Devil. If there is -not a personal Devil we may as well give up our Bible, for in that -case it is a book that is full of folly and of fraud. If there is not -a personal Devil we must give up our belief in the inspired authority -of the Apostle Paul, the Apostle Peter, the Apostle John, and we must -give up our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. No intelligent student of -the Bible can retain his faith in the inspiration and authority of that -Book, or his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, if he gives up belief in -the existence of a personal Devil. As intelligent men and women, we -must take our choice between believing in the existence of a personal -Devil or giving up our faith in Jesus Christ and Christianity. <em>Any -system of doctrine that denies the <!-- Page 269 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[269]</a></span>existence of a personal Devil is -radically unchristian whatever name it may arrogate to itself.</em></p> - -<p>2. The second thing that the Bible teaches as to the nature of -the Devil, is that, <em>the Devil is a being of very great power and -authority</em>. This comes out in the verses we have just read, <abbr title="Ephesians">Eph.</abbr> -6:10, 11: <b>"Finally be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his -might. (11) Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to -stand against the wiles of the devil."</b> These words make it clear -that the Devil is so mighty that the people of God cannot resist his -cunning wiles without having on the whole armour of God, and it is also -evident from the <abbr title="tenth">10th</abbr> verse that we cannot resist his power unless -we are strengthened with the strength of God. And this is not all: -in the <abbr title="twelfth">12th</abbr> verse we read: <b>(12) "For our wrestling is not against -flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, -against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual -hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."</b> These are tremendous -words. If they mean anything, they certainly mean that there are -beings of great authority and dignity who are under the leadership of -the one supreme being of evil, the Devil. The conflict that we have -on hand as believers in Christ is terrific. The conflict that the -Allies have on hand with the mighty military forces of the Kaiser is -nothing to the battle we have on hand with the Devil and his hosts. -We are fools if we underestimate the battle. On the other hand, we -must <!-- Page 270 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[270]</a></span>not over-estimate it. While our conflict is with the Devil, and -while our wrestling is against "the principalities," against "the -powers," against "the world-rulers," against "the spiritual hosts of -wickedness," nevertheless He that is for us is far mightier than they. -The Devil is mighty but our Saviour is almighty. It is quite possible -for one to become morbid over this subject of the Devil, and to become -utterly discouraged and even deranged. That is entirely unnecessary and -unwarranted. While our conflict is with the Devil and his mighty hosts, -God has provided for us a strength and an armour whereby we may "be -able to quench all the fiery darts of the Evil One" and to "withstand -in the evil day, and having done all to stand" (<abbr title="verse">v.</abbr> 13).</p> - -<p>3. The third thing that the Bible teaches us as to the Nature of the -Devil is that, <em>the Devil is a being of great majesty and dignity of -position</em>. Turn to Jude 8, 9: <b>"Yet in like manner these also in -their dreamings defile the flesh, and set at nought dominion, and rail -at dignities</b> (the literal translation of the Greek word rendered -dignities is "<em>glories</em>"). <b>(9) But Michael the Archangel, when -contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst -not bring against him a railing judgment, but said, The Lord rebuke -thee."</b> From these words it is evident that <em>the position of the -Devil was so exalted that even Michael the archangel did not dare to -bring a railing judgment against him</em>. The context seems to <!-- Page 271 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[271]</a></span>imply that -the position of the Devil was more exalted than that of Michael the -archangel himself. The Devil of the Bible is not at all the Devil of -common thought. He is not a being hideous in appearance, with hoofs and -horns and tail. He is not even the being pictured by Milton or Bunyan. -He is a being of very great original majesty and dignity, a being of -great wisdom and power. When people talk lightly and contemptuously -about the Devil they display gross ignorance of what the Bible teaches -about him. It is true that he is evil in character and therefore -called "The Evil One" (John 5:19, <abbr title="Revised Version">R. V.</abbr>). It is true he is a liar and -a murderer (John 8:44), it is true that he is full of malignity (<abbr title="Second Corinthians">II -Cor.</abbr> 4:4): but he is a being of great dignity and majesty, so that even -Michael the archangel durst not bring against him a railing accusation.</p> - -<p>4. The Bible teaches furthermore that <em>the Devil is "the prince of -this world."</em> Our Lord Jesus Himself taught this. He says in John -12:31: <b>"Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the prince of -this world be cast out."</b> The Greek word translated "world" in this -passage is <i>kosmos</i>, and the thought is of the present world order, and -our Lord's teaching is that the Devil is the prince of this present -world order. We have the same teaching of our Lord in John 14:30, where -we read: <b>"I will no more speak much with you, for the prince of -the world cometh: and he hath nothing in me."</b> These words of our -Lord <!-- Page 272 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[272]</a></span>are found in what many regard as the most precious chapter in -the Bible, the <abbr title="fourteenth">14th</abbr> chapter of John, and if we give up this teaching -of our Lord regarding Satan we must give up, not merely the Bible as a -whole, but this most precious chapter in the Bible. We find the Lord -teaching the same thing again on that same night, the night before His -crucifixion, in John 16:11 where he says: <b>"The prince of this world -is judged"</b>—the evident reference being to Satan.</p> - -<p>How the Devil came to be Prince of this world it may be impossible -for us to say, but that he is so admits of no question, if we are to -accept the teaching of Jesus Christ, and any one who will study the -ruling principles of commercial life, of political life, of social -life, and above all of international relations, to such an one it will -become perfectly evident that the Devil is the one who is master of -the present order of things. If we ever doubted before that there was -a Devil, and just such a Devil as the Bible pictures, we can scarcely -doubt it now, when we consider the action of the rulers of the earth in -this present mad world war. How could beings so intelligent in matters -of science and philosophy and economics as the present rulers of -Germany are, ever be guilty of plunging the nations of the earth into -this mad war? There is but one reasonable answer: because there is a -Devil who rules the present Kosmos, or world order, and he controls the -Kaisers and the Reichstags of the world and will <!-- Page 273 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[273]</a></span>until the true Prince -comes, the Prince of Peace, our Lord Jesus Christ.</p> - - -<h3>III. THE CHARACTER OF THE DEVIL</h3> - -<p>1. <em>As to the character of the Devil, the Bible teaches us that he is -a being absolutely wicked.</em> In <abbr title="Matthew">Matt.</abbr> 13:19 he is called, "<em>The Wicked -One</em>." That is to say, he is one who is the personal embodiment of -absolute wickedness. In <abbr title="First">I</abbr> John 5:19 <abbr title="Revised Version">R. V.</abbr> also he is called "The Wicked -One." God is "The Holy One," that is to say the One who is the personal -embodiment of perfect holiness. The Devil is just His opposite, the -personal embodiment of consummate wickedness.</p> - -<p>2. The Devil is to evil what God is to good. In <abbr title="First">I</abbr> John 3:8, we read: -<b>"He that doeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the -beginning. To this end was the son of God manifested, that he might -destroy the works of the devil."</b> This does not mean that the Devil -sinned from the very origin of all things and that he was created -sinful, for we learn from <abbr title="Ezekial">Ezek.</abbr> 28:15 that the Devil was created -upright. The verse does mean, however, that <em>Satan is the original -sinner</em>. The expression "from the beginning" is characteristic of the -epistle from which these words are taken and does not necessarily mean -from the origin of things (see for example verse 11). In a similar -way we are told in one of our texts—John 8:44—that the Devil was a -murderer from the beginning and <!-- Page 274 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[274]</a></span>that he is "A liar and the father of -it." There is absolutely "no truth in him." So much for the nature and -character of the Devil.</p> - - -<h3>IV. THE WORK OF THE DEVIL</h3> - -<p>We come now to the question of the Work of the Devil, or How the Devil -Manifests Himself, and What He Does.</p> - -<p>1. In the first place we are taught that <em>the Devil tempts men to sin</em>. -We have a most striking illustration of this in his temptation of our -Lord. We have in the Bible three accounts of this temptation. We will -look at Matthew's account. <abbr title="Matthew">Matt.</abbr> 4:1-9: <b>"Then was Jesus led up of -the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. (2) And when -he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he afterward hungered. (3) -And the tempter came and said unto him, If thou art the son of God, -command that these stones become bread. (4) But he answered and said, -It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word -that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. (5) Then the devil taketh him -into the Holy City; and he set him on the pinnacle of the temple. (6) -And saith unto Him, If thou art the Son of God, cast thyself down: -for it is written, he shall give his angels charge concerning thee: -and, on their hands they shall bear thee up, lest haply thou dash thy -foot against a stone. (7) Jesus said unto him, Again it is written, -thou shalt not make trial of <!-- Page 275 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[275]</a></span>the Lord thy God. (8) Again, the devil -taketh him unto an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the -kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; (9) And He said unto him, -All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship -me."</b> Of course we have not time this morning to go into the whole -question of our Lord's temptation, but this much is certainly plain, -that the Devil is represented as the tempter, tempting our Lord. <em>If -there is no personal Devil, as so many would have us believe</em>, or -<em>if he is not the tempter, there would be absolutely no reason for -bringing him into this account</em>. As the Devil tempted our Lord, so he -tempts us to-day. And it is to be noticed that he does not tempt us -merely to gross animal lusts and vile sins, but with subtle spiritual -temptations, and above all he tempts us to doubt God's Word. It was -with this form of temptation that he first assaulted our Lord. God had -just said to the Lord Jesus at His baptism, <b>"Thou art my beloved -Son; in thee I am well pleased"</b> (Luke 3:22), and Satan came -insinuating doubt of God's Word by beginning his temptation with these -words: <b>"If thou art the Son of God,"</b> and again further down in -the temptation, he repeats the doubt, saying to the Lord Jesus again: -<b>"If thou art the Son of God."</b> In just the same way Satan began -his assault upon Eve in the Garden of Eden, by insinuating a doubt of -God's Word and of God's goodness. He began <!-- Page 276 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[276]</a></span>by saying: <b>"Yea, hath -God said. . . .?"</b> (<abbr title="Genesis">Gen.</abbr> 3:2), and further on when Eve stated exactly -what God had said, the Devil flatly contradicted and said: <b>"Ye shall -not surely die"</b> (literally, Dying, <em>thou shalt not</em> die) when God -had said: <b>"Thou shalt surely die"</b> (<em>Dying, thou shalt</em> die). -This is Satan's favourite method of attack to-day. He gets us to doubt -God's Word. Satan's most effective mode of work is by leading men -into doubt and into error on fundamental points. The saloons and the -gambling hells and the brothels are not the chief spheres of Satan's -activities, but the schools and colleges and theological seminaries -where he is inducing men and women, and callow youths and maidens, to -doubt the truth of God's Word, and to reject the fundamental truths of -God's word and accept Satan's errors in their place. Satan knows well; -that, if he can get men to doubting God's Word, it is easy to lead them -into the vilest sins. False doctrine has been a more prolific source of -the vilest sins than even the saloons.</p> - -<p>2. But Satan not merely tempts men to sin by insinuating doubts of -God's Word, he also <em>has his</em> <b>synagogues and ministers among men to -do his work.</b> Turn to <abbr title="Revelation">Rev.</abbr> 3:9: <b>"Behold, I give of the synagogue -of Satan, of them that say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; -behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to -know that I have loved thee."</b> What I wish you <!-- Page 277 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[277]</a></span>to notice here are -the words, "The synagogue of Satan." In this case it was a Jewish -synagogue, but now-a-days, it is often a so-called Christian church. In -<abbr title="Second Corinthians">II Cor.</abbr> 11:14, 15 we have an even more remarkable passage: <b>"For even -Satan fashioneth himself into an angel of light. (15) It is no great -thing therefore if his ministers also fashion themselves as ministers -of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works."</b> -Here we are told that Satan has his ministers. They do not advertise -themselves as ministers of Satan, oftentimes they are not even -conscious that they are; but they put themselves forward as "ministers -of righteousness." They advocate "<em>ethical culture</em>," a system of -salvation without atoning blood. They are frequently men of very -attractive personality and great intellectual brilliance and ability, -but they are doing the Devil's work. Satan is never so dangerous as -when he "Fashioneth himself into an angel of light," and no other -ministers of his are so dangerous as the men and women of attractive -personality and brilliant intellectual gifts who are undermining the -faith of God's children, or who are teaching various forms of seductive -and alluring error, "Christian Science," "New Thought," "Theosophy," -"Occultism" (Spiritualism), and all that species of cults.</p> - -<p>3. We have not time to speak here of Satan's work as the author of -sickness (Acts 10:38; Luke 13:16), and as the one who has the power of -death (<abbr title="Hebrews">Heb.</abbr> 2:14).</p> - -<p><!-- Page 278 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[278]</a></span>4. But we must also speak of another work of the Devil. It is set forth -in <abbr title="Second Corinthians">II Cor.</abbr> 4:3, 4, <abbr title="Revised Version">R. V.</abbr>: <b>"And even if our gospel is veiled, it is -veiled in them that perish: (4) In whom the god of this world hath -blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the gospel -of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God should not dawn upon -them."</b> We read here that it is the work of Satan to blind the -minds of unbelievers in order <b>"That the light of the gospel of -the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn upon -them."</b> It is evident then that <em>the Devil is the author of false -views, especially false views of the person of Christ</em>. He is the -author of Unitarianism, and the denial of the Deity of our Lord in all -its forms. He so blinds the minds of men who submit to his blinding -that the Divine "Glory of Christ," "who is the very image of God," is -hidden from them. This explains why it is that Unitarianism in all its -various forms persists even after its folly has been so often exposed. -Satan's work along this line is to culminate at the appearing of the -Anti-Christ, <b>"Even he, whose coming is according to the working of -Satan with all power, and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceit -of unrighteousness for them that perish; because they received not the -love of the truth, that they might be saved."</b> (<abbr title="Second Thessalonians">II Thess.</abbr> 2:9, 10, -<abbr title="Revised Version">R. V.</abbr>)</p> - - -<p><!-- Page 279 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[279]</a></span></p> -<h3>V. THE DEVIL'S DESTINY</h3> - -<p>We come now to the fifth general division of our subject—<em>The Devil's -Destiny</em>.</p> - -<p>1. Turn in the first place to <abbr title="Revelation">Rev.</abbr> 20:1-3: <b>"And I saw an angel -coming down out of heaven, having the keys of the abyss and a great -chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the old serpent, -which is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and -cast him into the abyss, and shut it, and sealed it over him, that he -should deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years should -be finished: After this he must be loosed for a little time."</b> We -are here taught that <em>at the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ -Satan shall be bound with a great chain and cast into the abyss for a -thousand years</em>. The abyss, or as it is translated in the Authorised -Version, "bottomless pit," does not mean hell. Satan, as we shall see -further on, shall be cast into hell later.</p> - -<p>2. Turn now to <abbr title="Revelation">Rev.</abbr> 20:7, 8: <b>"And when the thousand years are -finished, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall come forth -to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog -and Magog, to gather them together to the war: The number of whom is -as the sand of the sea."</b> We are here taught that <em>at the end of -the Millennium, the thousand years, Satan shall be loosed for a little -season from the abyss into which he has been cast chained, and that he -shall <!-- Page 280 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[280]</a></span>come forth to deceive the nations</em>. But the time of his power -then will be very brief.</p> - -<p>3. In <abbr title="Revelation">Rev.</abbr> 20:10 we find the ultimate destiny of the Devil: <b>"And -the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and -brimstone, where are also the beast and the false prophet; and they -shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever."</b> Here is -one of the points at which the theories of the "Reconciliation" -people and "Universalists" generally break down. The argument of the -Reconciliationists and Universalists, by which they attempt to prove -that all men must ultimately be saved, carried to its logical issue, if -it proved anything, would prove the salvation of Satan also, and this -many of them do teach. They say plainly that the Devil will ultimately -be brought to repentance and saved. Indeed that is what I believed -and taught in my early ministry. But this passage which we have just -read shows the impossibility of this being true. "The lake of fire" -was "prepared for the Devil and his angels." Our Lord Himself says in -<abbr title="Matthew">Matt.</abbr> 25:41 that when He comes back to judge this world He will say to -those on His left hand: <b>"Depart from me, ye cursed into the eternal -fire, which is prepared for the devil and his angels."</b> Hell was not -prepared for men, but for the Devil and his angels. If any man goes -there it will be because he has chosen to cast in his lot with the -Devil rather than with God. Therefore they go where <!-- Page 281 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[281]</a></span>the Devil goes. -Every one who rejects Jesus Christ is throwing in his lot with the -Devil.</p> - - -<h3>VI. HOW TO GET VICTORY OVER THE DEVIL</h3> - -<p>Now just for a few moments let me show you from the Word of God, <em>how, -in practical every day life, to get the victory over the Devil</em>. There -are four things to be borne in mind.</p> - -<p>1. Read first, James 4:7, <b>"Be subject therefore unto God: but resist -the devil, and he will flee from you."</b> This teaches us that, <em>we -are first of all to surrender to God and then to resist the Devil and -that, if we do resist him, for all his cunning and power, he will flee -from us</em>. Although the Devil is strong, it is ours in God's strength to -withstand him and overcome him.</p> - -<p>2. Now turn to <abbr title="First">I</abbr> John 2:14: <b>"I have written unto you, fathers, -because ye know him which is from the beginning. I have written unto -you young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in -you, and ye have overcome the evil one."</b> This passage teaches us -that, <em>it is when we feed upon the Word of God and store the Word of -God in our hearts, thus having it abiding in us, that we shall be able -to overcome the Devil</em>. If we neglect the study of the Bible for a -single day, we leave an open door for the Devil to enter. I have been -a Christian for forty-three years, but I would not dare to neglect the -study of God's word for one single day. Why not? Because there is a -<!-- Page 282 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[282]</a></span>Devil; and, if I neglect the study of the Word of God for a single day, -I leave a window open for him to enter and leave myself too weak to -cope with him and conquer him. But if we will feed upon the Word of God -daily, and trust in God, we can resist the devil at every point. Though -the Devil is cunning and strong, God is stronger, and <em>God imparts His -strength to us through His written word</em>.</p> - -<p>3. Turn now to <abbr title="Ephesians">Eph.</abbr> 6:11: <b>"Put on the whole armour of God, that -ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."</b> Here we -are taught that, <em>in order</em> <b>"to stand against the wiles of the -Devil"</b> <em>we must</em> <b>"Put on the whole armour of God."</b> What that -armour is, is found in the verses that immediately follow. This armour, -this whole armour, this "panoply of God," is at our disposal. The fact -that there is a Devil, that he is a being of such majesty, dignity, -cunning, and power, that he is so incessantly plotting our ruin and to -undermine our faith, is no reason for fear or discouragement. By taking -"the shield of faith" we shall be "able to quench all the fiery darts -of the evil one," by taking "the helmet of salvation," and the "sword -of the Spirit which is the Word of God," and by "praying always with -all prayer and supplication in the Spirit," it is our privilege to have -victory over the Devil every day of our lives, every hour of the day, -and every minute of the hour.</p> - -<p>4. The final step in the way to get victory <!-- Page 283 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[283]</a></span>over Satan is found in -<abbr title="Ephesians">Eph.</abbr> 6:10: <b>"Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of -his might."</b> <em>The way to get victory over Satan is to give up all -confidence in our own strength and believe in the almighty strength -of Jesus Christ and claim that strength for ourselves.</em> It is in the -strength of Jesus Christ's might that we shall get the victory over -"the evil one." In the strength of His might, as we have already said, -it is our privilege to have victory over the Devil every day of our -lives, every hour of the day and every minute in the hour. Hallelujah!</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page 284 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[284]</a></span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak"><a name="XIV" id="XIV"></a>XIV<br /> - -<small><span class="smcap">Is There a Literal Hell?</span></small></h2> -</div> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>"In danger of the hell of fire."—<abbr title="Matthew">Matt.</abbr> 5:22.</p> -</div> - - -<p>My subject is "Is There a Literal Hell?" I wish that the things that I -am going to preach to you were not true. God wishes so, too, <b>"The -Lord is longsuffering to usward, not wishing that any should perish, -but that all should come to repentance"</b> (2 Peter 3:9). But God has -made us in His own image, with a moral nature, with a capacity for -self-determination, with a power of choice; and men can if they will -choose darkness instead of light. They can choose to trample God's -saving love under foot. They can choose to reject the One who was -wounded for their transgressions and bruised for their iniquities, and -upon whom the chastisement of their peace was laid; and some will so -choose. I am sorry that they will. I would be willing to die to save -them. The Lord Jesus did die to save them. But they spurn Him. So these -things that I am to speak to-night are true and I am going to preach -them in order that you may know them, and in order that you may be sure -of them. I am <!-- Page 285 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[285]</a></span>going to preach about hell to keep as many of you as -possible from going there.</p> - -<p>Is There a Literal Hell? Almost all intelligent people who believe that -there is a future life at all, believe that men and women who sin in -the present life and who die impenitent and unsaved will be punished -to some extent at least in the life that is to come. They believe that -whoever sins must suffer, and that the suffering which sin causes will -not be limited to this present life. But, while almost all intelligent -people who believe in a future life at all believe that there is some -kind of future punishment, there are many that do not believe in a -literal hell, that is, in a place of awful and unutterable torment. Is -there a hell? Is there a place to which impenitent men and women will -go some time after death and suffer agonies far beyond those that any -one suffers here on earth? Some say, "yes," there is a hell. Many, -even including not a few supposedly orthodox preachers, say, "No, the -only hell is the inward hell in a man's heart." How are we to settle -this question? How are we to determine who is right? We cannot settle -it as some are trying to settle it by "counting noses." Majorities are -not always right. Especially is it true that majorities are not always -right in science and in philosophy and in theology. What the majority -of scientists firmly believed a century ago the majority of scientists -laugh at to-day. What the majority of philosophers once <!-- Page 286 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[286]</a></span>believed, the -majority of philosophers to-day regard as ridiculous. So majorities -cannot always be right. And, therefore, we cannot settle this question -by asking what the majority believe.</p> - -<p>We cannot settle the question by reasoning as to what such a being -as God must do, for how can finite and foolish man judge what an -infinitely holy and infinitely wise God would do? Man never appears -more foolish than when he tries to reason out what an infinite God -<em>must</em> do. All these arguments about hell by reasoning as to what -God must, or must not, do are stupid. A child of seven cannot reason -infallibly as to what a wise and good man of fifty will do, much less -can puny creatures of the dust (such as you and I are, such as the most -learned philosophers and theologians are) reason infallibly as to what -an infinitely wise and infinitely holy God must do. It is, however, far -easier to believe in a literal hell, and an everlasting hell, from the -standpoint of pure reasoning to-day than it was three years and a half -ago. Nevertheless, we cannot settle the question as to whether there is -a literal hell by reasoning even to-day as to what such a being as God -must do.</p> - -<p>There is only one way to settle this question right, that is by going -to the Bible and finding out what it says, and taking our stand firmly -and unhesitatingly upon that. We have seen the last three Sunday nights -that the Bible is beyond an honest question God's word, so whatever the -Bible <!-- Page 287 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[287]</a></span>says on this subject, or any other subject, is true and is sure. -Especially is it true that we must go to the Bible and find what it -says in the matter of future punishment and future blessedness. All we -know about the future is what the Bible tells us. All reasoning about -the future outside of what the Bible tells us is pure guessing, it is -a waste of time. We know nothing about heaven but what the Bible tells -us, and we know nothing about hell but what the Bible tells us. On a -subject like this one ounce of God's revelation is worth a thousand -tons of man's speculation. The whole question is what does the Bible -say about Hell? But while we are dependent entirely upon the Bible, -the Bible clearly reveals all that we need to know. The Bible tells us -a great deal about heaven, and it tells us still more about hell, and -it is an interesting fact that the Lord Jesus Himself, whose authority -many are ready to accept who do not accept the authority of the rest of -the Bible, is the One Who tells us the most about hell, and the most -clearly about hell. Indeed, all that I am going to show you is what -<em>the Lord Jesus Himself says</em> on this subject.</p> - - -<h3>I. HELL AND HADES ARE NOT THE SAME</h3> - -<p>First of all, in order to clear the way for the study of what Jesus -says on this subject, let me call your attention to the fact that -Hell and Hades <!-- Page 288 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[288]</a></span>are not the same. There are numerous places in the -Authorised Version where we find the word "Hell" but where that word -does not occur in the Revised Version, and where the word "Hades" is -substituted for the word "Hell." The Revised Version is right at that -point, as every Greek scholar knows. Hades is not Hell. "Hades" is -the Greek equivalent of the Old Testament Hebrew word "Sheol." This -Hebrew word "Sheol" is frequently translated in the Authorised Version -of the Old Testament by the English word "Grave." It ought never to -be so translated, as it never means "Grave." I have taken the pains -to look up every passage where this Hebrew word is used and in not a -single instance does it mean "Grave." There is an entirely different -Hebrew word which can properly be translated in that way. "Sheol," or -New Testament "Hades," means the place of departed spirits. Sheol (or -Hades) before the coming, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of -our Lord, was <em>the place where all the spirits of the dead, good and -bad, went</em>. Before the ascension of Christ, in Hades was Paradise, the -place of the blessed dead, and Tartaros, the place of the wicked dead. -At His ascension Christ emptied the Paradise of Hades, and took it up -to Heaven with Him, as we read in <abbr title="Ephesians">Eph.</abbr> 4:8, <b>"When he ascended on -high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men."</b> Before -Christ ascended Paradise was down, now it is up. Christ said to the -repentant thief on the <!-- Page 289 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[289]</a></span>cross, <b>"Verily I say unto thee, to-day shalt -thou be with me in Paradise,"</b> and Jesus Himself taught us He went -down into <b>"the heart of the earth"</b> (Luke 12:40) and the dying -thief went down with Him into this subterranean Paradise. I think Jesus -Himself went also into that part of Hades where the lost spirits were -(1 Peter 3:18-20), but that is another story that we will consider -later. All that is important now is that the repentant, dying thief -went <em>down</em> into Paradise, but after the ascension of the Lord, when -Paul went to Paradise, he was <b>"caught up even to the third heaven -into Paradise"</b> (<abbr title="Second Corinthians">II Cor.</abbr> 12:2-4). No blessed dead are now left in -Hades, and ultimately "death" and "Hades," i.e., all that are dead who -have not yet been raised, or caught up into the Celestial Paradise, all -who are still in Hades, shall be <b>"cast into the lake of fire"</b> -(<abbr title="Revelation">Rev.</abbr> 20:14). This <b>"lake of fire"</b> into which death and Hades are -to be cast, is the true and ultimate Hell.</p> - - -<h3>II. THERE IS TO BE A LITERAL HELL</h3> - -<p>Having cleared the way by removing the misapprehension so common in the -minds of people to-day, that Hades and Hell are the same, now let us -say next that <em>there is to be a Hell</em>. The Bible says so, Jesus says -in <abbr title="Matthew">Matt.</abbr> 5:22, <b>"but I say unto you, that every one who is angry -with his brother, shall be in danger of the judgment; and whosoever -shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger <!-- Page 290 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[290]</a></span>of the council; -and whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of the hell -of fire."</b> In the <abbr title="twenty-ninth">29th</abbr> verse of the same chapter the Lord Jesus -says: <b>"And if thy right eye causeth thee to stumble pluck it out, -and cast it from thee; for it is profitable for thee that one of thy -members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast -into hell."</b> And in the <abbr title="thirtieth">30th</abbr> verse He says: <b>"And if thy right -hand causeth thee to stumble, cut it off, and cast it from thee; for -it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, -and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell."</b> We read -again what our Lord Jesus said in Mark 9:45-48, <b>"and if thy foot -causeth thee to stumble, cut it off; it is good for thee to enter -into life halt, rather than having thy two feet to be cast into hell. -And if thine eye causeth thee to stumble, cast it out; it is good -for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than -having two eyes to be cast into hell; where their worm dieth not, and -the fire is not quenched."</b> Some one may say that these words of -our Lord are figurative. There is not the slightest suggestion that -they are figurative. The whole context is against their being taken -figuratively. It is indeed wrong to interpret figurative language as -if it were literal, but it is just as unwarranted and just as wrong to -interpret literal language as if it were figurative. Of course, the -word "Gehenna," which is translated "Hell" is derived from the valley -of Hinnom, <!-- Page 291 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[291]</a></span>where in ancient times human sacrifices were offered, but -the <em>use</em> of the word is literal throughout the New Testament, though -its <em>derivation</em> is figurative. Many words that are figurative in -their derivation are literal in their use, and the meaning of words -is never determined by derivation, but by usage. For example, our -word "eclipse" is a figure of speech. According to the figure it is a -leaving or failing or fainting of the moon or sun, whichever it may be -that is eclipsed. But though it is figurative in its derivation, the -ordinary usage of it is literal. The universal use in the New Testament -of "Gehenna" or "Hell" is literal. The word here translated "Hell" is -found twelve times in the New Testament, eleven of these twelve times -it is used by our Lord Jesus Himself, and He uniformly uses it, as in -the passages which I have just read, of a literal hell. If there is -no literal hell, then our Lord Jesus was either a fool or a fraud. -He certainly meant to convey the impression that there was a literal -hell. There can be no doubt of that, if we go to His words to find out -what is the natural meaning of them. If there is no literal hell then -either Jesus thought there was one when there was not, in which case He -was a fool; or else He knew that there was not, but tried to make men -think that there was, in which case He was a fraud. There is no other -alternative but either to believe that there is a literal hell or else -to believe that Jesus of Nazareth, our Lord and <!-- Page 292 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[292]</a></span>Saviour, was a fool or -a fraud. I know that Jesus was not a fool. I know that He was the only -begotten Son of God, that in Him dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead -bodily, that He and the Father are one, that all men should honour the -Son even as they honour the Father. I know that He spoke the very words -of God, therefore I know that there is a literal hell, for He said so. -It is worthy of note, furthermore, that most of these words about hell -that I have read you to-night are taken from the Sermon on the Mount, -the one part of the Bible that pretty much all men claim to believe. -There are many who say they do not know about the Bible as a whole, but -they do accept the Sermon on the Mount. Well, these passages are for -the most part from the Sermon on the Mount. Either accept this part of -the Sermon on the Mount or else throw the whole thing overboard as the -utterance of a fool or a fraud. There is no other ground possible for -any man who is willing to think things through.</p> - - -<h3>III. IS THE FIRE OF HELL LITERAL FIRE?</h3> - -<p>The next question that confronts us is, Is the fire of hell mentioned -in some of the passages we have read, literal fire? This is not -so vital a question as the question, is there a literal hell, but -nevertheless it is an important question, and I believe the question -is plainly answered in the Bible, and plainly answered by Jesus Christ -Himself. <!-- Page 293 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[293]</a></span>To turn again to the passage already referred to, <abbr title="Matthew">Matt.</abbr> 5:22, -we read: <b>"But I say unto you, that every one who is angry with his -brother shall be in danger of the judgment; and whosoever shall say to -his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council; and whosoever -shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of the hell of fire."</b> -These are Christ's own words. He not only speaks of hell, but a "<em>hell -of fire</em>," and this too is from the Sermon on the Mount. In <abbr title="Matthew">Matt.</abbr> 18:9 -the Lord Jesus says again, <b>"And if thine eye cause thee to stumble, -pluck it out, and cast it from thee; it is good for thee to enter into -life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the -hell of fire."</b> And again in Mark 9:43-49, the passage read a few -moments ago, we read, <b>"And if thy hand cause thee to stumble, cut -it off; it is good for thee to enter into life maimed, rather than -having thy two hands to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire. And -if thy foot cause thee to stumble, cut it off; it is good for thee to -enter into life halt, rather than having thy two feet to be cast into -hell. And if thine eye cause thee to stumble, cast it out; it is good -for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than -having two eyes to be cast into hell, where the worm dieth not, and -the fire is not quenched."</b> Here again some may say the fire is -figurative. Turn to <abbr title="Matthew">Matt.</abbr> 13:30, 41, 42, we read these words: <b>"Let -both grow together until the harvest; and in the time of harvest I -will say to the reapers, gather up first <!-- Page 294 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[294]</a></span>the tares, and bind them in -bundles to barn them; but gather the wheat into my barn."</b> Now here -is a parable and we have figures and there would be warrant, if this -were all that we had, for saying that the fire was figurative, as other -things in the verse are figurative; but in the <abbr title="forty-first">41st</abbr> and <abbr title="forty-second">42nd</abbr> verses -of the same chapter we read, <b>"The Son of man shall send forth his -angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that cause -stumbling, and they that do iniquity, and shall cast them into the -furnace of fire; there shall be the weeping and gnashing of teeth."</b> -Here we have <em>the interpretation</em> of the parable. Now in parables, as -already said, we have figures, but in the interpretation of parables we -have the literal facts which the figures represent, but we see clearly -that here <em>in the interpretation as well as in the parable</em>, we have -<em>fire</em>. Everything else in the parable is explained, every item in the -parable except the fire, but that remains fire in the interpretation of -the parable as well as in the parable itself. We find the same thing in -another parable in verses 47 to 50, the parable of the net cast into -the sea. Here, also, in the interpretation of the parable as well as in -the parable itself we have <em>fire</em>. Every other figure of the parable -is explained by the literal fact that it represents, but <em>in the -interpretation</em> of the parable we have "<em>fire</em>." In the light of these -facts we cannot deny the literal fire of hell without doing violence -to every reasonable law of interpretation. Furthermore <!-- Page 295 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[295]</a></span>still, we read -in <abbr title="Revelation">Rev.</abbr> 20:15 that at the judgment of the great white throne, <b>"and -if any was not found written in the Book of Life, he was cast into the -lake of fire."</b> There is nothing in the whole context that suggests -a figure. And in the <abbr title="twenty-first">21st</abbr> chapter and the <abbr title="eighth">8th</abbr> verse we read: <b>"But -for the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and -fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolators, and all liars, their part -shall be in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the -second death."</b></p> - -<p>Remember furthermore that the wicked in the eternal world are not mere -disembodied spirits. This is plain both from the Old Testament and the -New. We read in <abbr title="Daniel">Dan.</abbr> 12:2: <b>"And many of them that sleep in the dust -of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame -and everlasting contempt."</b> Now this says "them that sleep in the -dust of the earth." The soul departs into Hades. It is <em>the body</em> that -crumbles into dust, and it is the body that is to be raised. In the New -Testament, in John 5:28, 29, our Lord is recorded as saying: <b>"Marvel -not at this; for the hour cometh, in which all that are in the tombs -shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, -unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the -resurrection of judgment."</b> Now it is not the souls of men that are -in the tombs, it is the bodies of men, and this passage teaches the -resurrection of the bodies, both of the good and of the wicked. In <abbr title="First Crinthians">I -Cor.</abbr> <!-- Page 296 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[296]</a></span>15:22 we read, <b>"For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ -shall all be made alive."</b> What Paul is talking about in this entire -chapter is the resurrection <em>of the body</em>, not merely the immortality -of the soul, and we are here distinctly told that every child of Adam -gets resurrection of his body in Christ.</p> - -<p>Furthermore, in <abbr title="Matthew">Matt.</abbr> 5:30 Jesus says: <b>"If thy right hand causeth -thee to stumble, cut it off, and cast it from thee; for it is -profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not thy -whole body go into hell."</b> Here in the plainest possible terms the -body is spoken of as going into hell, and in a similar way in <abbr title="Matthew">Matt.</abbr> -10:28, the Lord Jesus says: <b>"Be not afraid of them that kill the -body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him who is -able to destroy both soul and body in hell."</b> From these plain and -definite words of our Lord it is plain as day that in the future life -we are to have bodies, and that the bodies of the lost are to have a -place in a literal physical hell of fire. While the bodily torments -of hell fire are not the most appalling feature of hell, while the -mental agony, the agony of remorse, the agony of shame, and the agony -of despair, is worse, immeasurably worse; nevertheless, physical -suffering, a physical suffering to which no pain on earth is anything -in comparison, is a feature of hell.</p> - - -<p><!-- Page 297 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[297]</a></span></p> -<h3>IV. IS THE LAKE OF FIRE A PLACE OF CONSCIOUS TORMENT, OR IS IT A PLACE -OF ANNIHILATION, I.E., A PLACE OF NON-EXISTENCE OR IS IT A PLACE OF -NON-CONSCIOUS EXISTENCE?</h3> - -<p>There is one other question that remains to be answered, and that is, -<em>is the lake of fire a place of conscious torment, or is it a place -of annihilation, i.e., a place of non-existence, or is it a place of -non-conscious existence</em>? There are those who believe in a literal -hell, but they do not believe that those who are consigned to it will -consciously suffer there for any great length of time. They hold -either that those who are sent to hell are annihilated, or else that -they exist there in a non-conscious state. Of course, this would be -an everlasting hell, and everlasting punishment, but is it the hell -that is taught in the Bible? Is the lake of fire a place of continued -conscious torment, or is it a place of non-conscious existence? In -answer to this question let me call your attention to the fact that the -punishment of the wicked is spoken of in the Bible most frequently as -"Death" and "Destruction." What do these words mean in biblical usage?</p> - -<p>1. Let us look first at the biblical usage of the word "Death." Many -tell us, time and time again, that death means non-existence, or at -least non-conscious existence, and therefore that is what it must -mean in the passages where it is spoken of <!-- Page 298 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[298]</a></span>as the future punishment -of the impenitent. But does "death" <em>as used in the Bible</em> mean -either non-conscious existence, or annihilation? Look first at <abbr title="First Timothy">1 Tim.</abbr> -5:6; here we read, "She that liveth in pleasure is <em>dead</em> while she -liveth." Death here certainly does not mean either non-existence, or -non-conscious existence. The woman that lives in pleasure still exists, -and she certainly exists consciously, but she is "<em>dead</em>." Death means -wrong existence rather than non-existence. It is just the opposite of -life, and life in the New Testament usage does not mean mere existence, -it means right existence. God-like existence, holy existence. It -means the ennoblement and glorification and deification of existence; -and death means just the opposite, it means wrong existence, debased -existence, the ruin, the shame, and the ignominy and the despair of -existence. In a similar way we are told in <abbr title="Ephesians">Eph.</abbr> 2:1, that men until -they are quickened, or made alive, by the power of God are "<em>Dead in -trespasses and sins</em>." It is perfectly clear then that death does not -mean either non-existence, or non-conscious existence. But even more -decisive than this is the fact that God Himself has defined death -very accurately and very fully in <abbr title="Revelation">Rev.</abbr> 21:8: <b>"But the fearful and -unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and -sorcerers, and idolators, and all liars, shall have their part in -the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second -death."</b> Here we are told in so many words that the "death" which -is <!-- Page 299 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[299]</a></span>the final outcome of persistent sin and unbelief is a portion in -the place of torment, the lake of fire. That this lake of fire is a -place of conscious suffering is made clear in the preceding chapter, -<abbr title="Revelation">Rev.</abbr> 20:10, where we are told that "the devil that deceived them was -cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false -prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." -The beast and false prophet had already been there a thousand years -when the devil was cast into the lake of fire, and they were tormented -consciously, without rest.</p> - -<p>2. Now let us look at what "<em>Destruction</em>" means in the New Testament. -We are told by a certain school of religious thought that "destruction" -means destruction. Yes, "destruction" means destruction, but what does -destruction mean? They say it means annihilation, or ceasing to be, -but the Greek word so translated never means that in the Bible, nor -even out of the Bible. In the best Greek-English lexicon of the New -Testament extant, Thayer's translation of Grimm's great work, we are -told that when a thing is said to "perish" (and the verb from which -the noun commonly translated "destruction" and "perdition" is derived, -is the one translated "to perish") it is not meant that it ceases to -be, but that it is "so ruined that it no longer subserves the use for -which it was designed." Furthermore, here again God has been careful to -define His terms. He Himself has given us in the <!-- Page 300 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[300]</a></span>Bible a definition -of "destruction." We read in <abbr title="Revelation">Rev.</abbr> 17:8, 11: <b>"The beast that thou -sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, -and go into perdition; and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder -. . . and the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is -of the seven, and goeth into perdition."</b> Here we are told that -the beast goes into "perdition." The word here translated "perdition" -is precisely the same word that is elsewhere translated "destruction" -and should be so translated here; or else in the other instances it -should be translated, as here, "perdition." Now if we can find what -the beast goes into, then we shall know exactly what "destruction" -means, for we are told that he goeth "into destruction." In the <abbr title="nineteenth">19th</abbr> -chapter of Revelation, the <abbr title="twentieth">20th</abbr> verse, we are told exactly where -the beast goes: <b>"And the beast was taken, and with him the false -prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them -that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his -image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with -brimstone."</b> Now looking forward to the next chapter, the <abbr title="tenth">10th</abbr> -verse, which I have already quoted, we read: <b>"And the devil that -deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where are -also the beast and the false prophet, and they shall be tormented day -and night for ever and ever."</b> Putting these passages together -we see that the beast goeth into "destruction," and the destruction -into <!-- Page 301 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[301]</a></span>which he goes is a place in the lake which burneth with fire -and brimstone, where for a thousand years he is in conscious torment, -and where after the thousand years are over he is still there and is -still tormented. So then "destruction" is clearly defined in the New -Testament in the same way in which "death" is defined, as the condition -of beings in a place of conscious torment.</p> - -<p>Again in <abbr title="Revelation">Rev.</abbr> 14:10, 11, we read regarding those who worship the beast -and his image and receive his mark in their foreheads or in their -hands: <b>"The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which -is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he -shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy -angels, and in the presence of the Lamb; and the smoke of their torment -ascendeth for ever and ever; and they have no rest day nor night, who -worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of -his name."</b> The Bible makes it clear as language can make it that -the lake of fire to which "whoever is not written in the Lamb's book of -life" is consigned, is a place of continued, conscious torment. There -is no escaping the clear teaching of the Word of God unless we throw -our Bibles away and discredit the teaching of the Apostles and the -teaching of Jesus Christ Himself.</p> - -<p>Next Sunday night we will take up the question, Is the Punishment -of the Wicked Everlasting, but we must stop at this point to-night. -Sherman said, <!-- Page 302 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[302]</a></span>"War is hell." Of course, in the way in which Sherman -meant it, this is true. It is far more true of war to-day than it was -in the worst and most inexcusable phases of our Civil War—Libby and -Andersonville, for example, on the part of the South, and the march -through Georgia on the part of the North. But even war to-day as -carried on by Germany in all its appalling frightfulness, is not hell. -Hell is incomparably more awful than the war now raging in Europe, and -this awful hell of which we have been studying to-night is the destiny -of some of you here in this room, unless you soon repent and accept -the Lord Jesus Christ. Other appalling facts about hell we will take -up next Sunday night, but we have already seen enough to make any true -Christian determine to work with all his might to save others from this -awful hell. And we have seen enough to make every honest and sensible -person here to-night determine to escape this awful hell at any cost.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page 303 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[303]</a></span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak"><a name="XV" id="XV"></a>XV<br /> - -<small><span class="smcap">Is Future Punishment Everlasting?</span></small></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Jesus Christ plainly taught that there was to be a literal hell and -that this hell would be a place of conscious suffering, suffering far -beyond that experienced by any one here in this present life, but we -are faced by another question of great importance, Is this future, -conscious suffering of the impenitent to be <em>endless</em>? There are many -who believe in future punishment of a very severe and awful character, -and who indeed believe in a literal hell of awful, conscious suffering, -but they deny, or at least doubt, that this future hell will be a place -of <em>endless</em>, conscious suffering. Many of them admit and teach that -the suffering may go on for a long time, and perhaps for thousands of -years, but they hold that it will end at last and that all men will -ultimately come to repentance, accept Jesus Christ, and be saved. What -is the exact truth about the matter? We cannot decide this by asking -what the majority of supposedly reliable theologians believe, for -majorities are often wrong and minorities are often right. Neither -can we decide it by reasoning as to what such a being as God is must -<!-- Page 304 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[304]</a></span>do. It is impossible for finite and foolish men such as we are, and -such as the wisest philosophers and theologians are, to judge what an -Infinitely wise and Infinitely holy God must do. All reasonings by -finite men as to what an Infinitely wise God must do are utterly futile -and an utter waste of time. <em>All we know about the future is what God -has been pleased to tell us in His Word.</em> The Bible, as we have seen, -is beyond a question the Word of God, and therefore what it has to say -on this subject, or any other subject, is true and absolutely sure, and -in a question of this character one ounce of God's revelation is worth -more than a thousand tons of man's speculation. The whole question then -is, what does the Bible teach in regard to this matter?</p> - - -<h3>I. WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES REGARDING THE ENDLESSNESS OF FUTURE PUNISHMENT</h3> - -<p>1. To find out exactly what the Bible teaches as to the endlessness of -future punishment let us turn first of all to the words of our Lord -Jesus Himself in <abbr title="Matthew">Matt.</abbr> 25:46 (<abbr title="Revised Version">R. V.</abbr>), <b>"And these shall go away into -eternal punishment: but the righteous into eternal life."</b> The first -question that confronts us in studying this passage is what the word -<i>aionios</i> (<i>aionion</i>) which is here translated "<em>eternal</em>" means. The -best Greek-English dictionary of the New Testament is Thayer's. In this -dictionary Thayer after a careful study of the <!-- Page 305 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[305]</a></span>word, its derivation -and its usage, gives these three definitions of the word, and these -three only: (1) "Without beginning or end, that which always has been -and always will be." (2) "Without beginning." (3) "Without end, never -to cease, everlasting." It is frequently said that the word <i>aionios</i> -according to its derivation means <em>age-lasting</em>, and therefore may -refer to a limited period. Even admitting this to be true, we should -bear in mind that the meaning of words is not determined by their -derivation but by their usage, and the most important question is -not what the derivation of this word may be, but as to how it is -used in the New Testament. It is used 72 times in the New Testament. -Forty-four of these 72 times it is used in the phrase "eternal life," -or as it is sometimes rendered, "everlasting life." No one questions -that everlasting life is endless and that in connection with the word -"life" "age lasting" (if that be its proper derivation of the word) -means <em>lasting through all ages, never ending</em>. Once it is used in -connection with the word "habitations," referring to the habitations -which the blessed are to have in the world to come, and, of course, -these also are never-ending. Once it is used of the "weight of glory" -that in the world to come awaits the believer in Jesus Christ who -endures affliction for Christ in the life that now is. In this case -again, of course, by universal consent it means endless. Once it is -used of the "house not made with hands" that believers in Christ are -<!-- Page 306 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[306]</a></span>to receive at the coming of the Lord Jesus (<abbr title="Second Corinthians">II Cor.</abbr> 5:1-8). Of course, -this "house not made with hands" is everlasting. In fact the very point -that is being brought forward in this passage is the contrast between -our present bodies which are but for a brief time and our resurrection -bodies which are to exist throughout all eternity. Once it is used of -the future unseen things that never end, contrasted with the present -seen things that are for a season (<abbr title="Second Corinthians">II Cor.</abbr> 4:18). Of course, these -are never-ending. That is the very point that is being brought out in -the contrast. Once it is used of the everlasting "comfort" (<abbr title="Revised Version">R. V.</abbr>) or -"consolation" (<abbr title="Authorized Version">A. V.</abbr>) that "our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God -our Father" give us, and that is certainly never ending. Twice it is -used of the "glory" that those in Christ obtain (<abbr title="Second Timothy">II Tim.</abbr> 2:10). That, -of course, by universal consent is endless. Once it is used of the -"salvation" Christ brings, which is beyond question never ending. Once -(<abbr title="Hebrews">Heb.</abbr> 9:12) it is used of the "redemption" that Jesus Christ secures -for us by His blood. This redemption is never ending. In fact, the -chief point of contrast in the context in this case is between the -temporary redemption secured by the <em>constantly repeated</em> sacrifices -of the Mosaic ritual and the never ending redemption secured by the -perfect sacrifice of Christ made <em>once for all</em>. Once it is used of -the "inheritance" that those who are in Christ receive (<abbr title="Hebrews">Heb.</abbr> 9:15). -Here again beyond a question it is never ending. Once it is used of -<!-- Page 307 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[307]</a></span>the "<em>everlasting</em> covenant" through Christ's blood contrasted with -the <em>temporary</em> covenant, based on the blood of bulls and goats, -given through Moses. Here again it necessarily and emphatically means -never ending. That is the very point at issue. Once it is used of the -"everlasting kingdom" of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (<abbr title="Second">II</abbr> Peter -1:11), and we are told in Luke 1:33, "of His kingdom there shall be no -end." Once it is used of "everlasting gospel" (or good news) and that, -of course, also never ends. Once it is used of the "everlasting God" -(<abbr title="Romans">Rom.</abbr> 16:26) and He certainly endures not merely through long ages, -but without end. Once it is used of the Holy Spirit who is called "the -eternal (or everlasting) Spirit," and He certainly endures, not merely -through long ages, but throughout an absolutely endless eternity. This -covers fifty-nine of the seventy-two times it is used, and in these -fifty-nine instances the thought of endlessness is absolutely necessary -to the sense, and in not a single one of the thirteen remaining times -where it is used is it used of anything that is known to end. If usage -can determine the meaning of any word then certainly the New Testament -use of this word determines it to mean <em>never ending</em>, or, as Thayer -defines it, "<em>without end, never to cease</em>, everlasting."</p> - -<p>Nor is this all, God Himself determines it to mean <em>never ending</em>: He -defines it to mean never-ending by specifically using it in contrast -with that <!-- Page 308 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[308]</a></span>which does end. For example, in <abbr title="Second Corinthians">2 Cor.</abbr> 4:18 we read, -<b>"While we look not on the things which are seen, but the things -which are unseen: for the things which are seen are temporal</b> -(literally, for a season); <b>but the things which are not seen are -eternal."</b> Here the whole point is that the unseen things in -distinction from the seen which are <em>for a season</em> are for a <em>never -ending duration</em>.</p> - -<p>But even allowing that the word according to its usage could be used -of that which, though it last throughout an age, or ages, has an end; -even if that were true (which it is not), then the meaning of the word -in any given instance would have to be determined by the context in -which it is found. Now what is the context in the passage which we -are studying? Let us read it again, <b>"And these shall go away into -eternal punishment: but the righteous into eternal life."</b> The -same Greek adjective is used in connection with "punishment" and with -"life." (In the Authorised Version it is differently rendered, but in -the Greek and in the Revised Version it is exactly the same.) Certainly -this qualifying adjective must mean the same in the one half of the -sentence that it means in the other half of the sentence. We must at -least admit that Jesus Christ was an honest man, and He certainly was -too honest to juggle with words: He would not use a word to mean one -thing in one half of a sentence and something utterly different in -the other half. <em>He evidently sought to convey the impression that -the punishment <!-- Page 309 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[309]</a></span>of the unsaved was of the same duration as the life -of the saved.</em> No one questions that the life is endless. It would be -the destruction of all our hopes if it were not endless. Therefore, -if we are to deal honestly with our Lord's words, He taught that the -punishment of the unsaved was to be endless. We have exactly the same -reason in God's Word for believing in endless punishment that we have -for believing in endless life. If you give up the one you must give up -the other, or else deal dishonestly with the words of Jesus Christ.</p> - -<p>2. We might rest the case here and call it proven, but let us turn to -another passage, <abbr title="Revelation">Rev.</abbr> 14:9-11, <b>"And another angel, a third, followed -them, saying with a great voice, If any man worshipeth the beast and -his image and receiveth a mark on his forehead, or upon his hand, he -also shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is prepared -unmixed in the cup of His anger; and he shall be tormented with fire -and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence -of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment goeth up for ever and ever; -and they have no rest day and night, they that worship the beast and -his image, and whoso receiveth the mark of his name."</b> Here we have -another expression for the duration of the punishment and suffering of -the impenitent, the expression rendered <em>for ever and ever</em>. There are -in the Greek two slightly differing forms of expression that are so -translated. <!-- Page 310 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[310]</a></span>The one form of expression literally rendered is "unto the -ages of the ages," the other form is "unto ages of ages." What thought -do these expressions convey. It has been said by those who seek to -escape the force of these words as referring to absolute endlessness, -that the expression "is a Hebraism for the supreme one of its class," -and as an illustration of the same alleged Hebraism the expressions, -"Lord of Lords" and "Holy of Holies" are cited. But this is not so. -In the first place, the form of neither of the two expressions is -the same; and, in the second place, that is not the meaning of the -expression "The Lord of Lords" or the meaning of the expression "The -Holy of Holies." The expression "Lord of Lords" does not mean merely -<em>the supreme</em> Lord, but one who is Himself Lord of all other Lords, -and this expression "unto the ages of the ages" never means merely -the ages which are the supreme ages in distinction from other ages -(nor as another puts it, the ages which <em>come out of</em> the other ages, -i.e., the closing ages before eternity). The expression according -to its form means ages which are themselves <em>composed of ages</em>. It -represents not years tumbling upon years, nor centuries tumbling upon -centuries, but ages tumbling upon ages in endless procession. It is -the strongest possible form of expression for absolute endlessness. -Furthermore, the way to determine conclusively what the expression -means is by considering its usage. Usage is always the <!-- Page 311 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[311]</a></span>decisive thing -in determining the meaning of words and phrases. What is the usage of -these expressions in the book from which we have taken our passage? -These expressions are used twelve times in this book. In eight of the -twelve times they refer to the duration of the existence, or reign, -or glory of God and His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Of course, in -these instances it must stand not merely for the supreme ages, or any -individual ages, it must refer to absolute eternity and endlessness. -Once it is used of the duration of the blessed reign of the righteous, -and, of course, here again it refers to an endless eternity: and -in the three remaining instances it is used of the duration of the -torment of the Devil, the Beast, the False Prophet, and the finally -impenitent. It is urged by those who would deny that the expression -means an absolutely endless eternity, that it is used in <abbr title="Revelation">Rev.</abbr> 11:15, -where we are told that "the kingdom of the world is become the kingdom -of our Lord, and of His Christ: and He shall reign for ever and ever -(unto the ages of the ages)," and that we are told in <abbr title="First Corinthians">1 Cor.</abbr> 15:24 that -Christ "shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father"; and -that therefore His kingdom must come to an end, and consequently "for -ever and ever" in this passage cannot mean without end. There are two -answers to this objection, either of which is sufficient. The first is -that the "he" in "he shall reign for ever and ever" in <abbr title="Revelation">Rev.</abbr> 11:15, does -not necessarily refer to the Christ, but <!-- Page 312 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[312]</a></span>rather to the Lord Jehovah, -in which case the argument falls to the ground. The second answer is -that while we are taught in <abbr title="First Corinthians">I Cor.</abbr> 15:24, etc., that Jesus Christ -will deliver up His <em>mediatorial</em> kingdom to the Father, nevertheless -we are distinctly taught that He shall rule with the Father, and we -are told in so many words in Luke 1:33 that "of His kingdom <em>there -shall be no end</em>," so that even if the "he" in <abbr title="Revelation">Rev.</abbr> 11:15 referred -to the Christ and not to the Lord Jehovah, still the statement would -be exactly correct that He, the Christ, was to reign for ever and -ever, i.e., without end. <em>There is not a single passage in the whole -book in which this expression is used of anything but that which is -absolutely endless.</em> So the question is answered again and answered -decisively that the conscious suffering of the persistently impenitent -is absolutely endless.</p> - -<p>3. Now let us look at another passage, <abbr title="Second Thessalonians">II Thess.</abbr> 1:7-9: <b>"The Lord -Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming -fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the -gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting -destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His -power."</b> Here we are told that the punishment of those that know not -God and obey not the gospel is "everlasting <em>destruction</em>."</p> - -<p>What does "everlasting destruction" mean? In <abbr title="Revelation">Rev.</abbr> 17:8, 11 we are told -that the beast goeth into <!-- Page 313 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[313]</a></span>"destruction," so if we can find out where -the beast goes, or into what he goes, we shall know what "destruction" -means in the Bible usage. In <abbr title="Revelation">Rev.</abbr> 19:20 we are told that <b>"the beast -was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought the signs in -his sight, wherewith he deceived them that had received the mark of -the beast and them that worshipped his image: they two were cast -alive into the lake of fire that burneth with brimstone,"</b> so we -see that "<em>destruction</em>" is a portion in the lake of fire. And in the -next chapter, <abbr title="Revelation">Rev.</abbr> 20:10, we are told that <b>"The devil that deceived -them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where are also the -beast and the false prophet</b> (after having already been there for -one thousand years, see context); <b>and they shall be tormented day -and night for ever and ever."</b> So we see that destruction means -a portion in the lake of fire where its inhabitants are consciously -suffering without cessation <em>for ever and ever</em>. It is clear then, from -a comparison of <abbr title="Second Thessalonians">II Thess.</abbr> 1:7-9 with these passages, that those who -know not God and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ shall be -punished with never-ending, conscious suffering.</p> - -<p>4. Let us look at one more passage, <abbr title="Matthew">Matt.</abbr> 25:41 (these again are the -words of the Lord Jesus Himself): <b>"Then shall he say also unto them -on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire -which is prepared for the devil and his angels."</b> What I wish you -to <!-- Page 314 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[314]</a></span>notice here is that the punishment into which the impenitent are -sent is the "eternal fire" which is "<em>prepared for the devil and his -angels</em>." We have an exact description of just what the eternal fire -prepared for the devil and his angels is in the passage read a few -moments ago, <abbr title="Revelation">Rev.</abbr> 20:10: <b>"And the devil that deceived them was cast -into the lake of fire and brimstone where are also the beast and the -false prophet; and they shall be tormented day and night for ever and -ever."</b> By a comparison of these two statements we have another -explicit declaration of our Lord that the punishment of the impenitent -is to be a conscious agony, where they are punished without rest day -and night for ever and ever.</p> - -<p>From any one of these passages and especially from all taken together, -it is clear that the Scriptures make it as plain as language can make -it that <strong class="allcap">THE FUTURE PUNISHMENT OF THE PERSISTENTLY IMPENITENT IS -ABSOLUTELY ENDLESS</strong>.</p> - - -<h3>II. OBJECTIONS</h3> - -<p>There are several passages of Scripture which those who believe that -all men will ultimately repent and be brought to accept Christ and thus -saved, urge against what seems to be the plain teaching of the passages -we have been studying.</p> - -<p>1. The first of these is 1 Peter 3:18-20: <b>"Because Christ also -suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he -might bring us <!-- Page 315 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[315]</a></span>to God; being put to death in the flesh, but made alive -in the spirit; in which also he went and preached unto the spirits in -prison, that aforetime were disobedient, when the longsuffering of God -waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, -that is, eight souls, were saved through water."</b> It is urged that -as Christ went and preached to the spirits in prison there will be -another chance after men have died. But this the passage in question -does not assert or imply in any way.</p> - -<p>(1) First of all there is no proof that "the spirits in prison" refers -to the departed spirits of men who once lived here on earth. In the -Bible departed spirits of men are not spoken of in this way. These -words are used of other spirits, but not of human spirits disembodied, -and there is every reason for supposing that these "spirits in prison" -were not the sinful men that were on earth when the ark was preparing, -but the angels who sinned at that time, just as we are told in <abbr title="Genesis">Gen.</abbr> -6:1, 2 that they did sin (cf. Jude 6, 7).</p> - -<p>(2) Furthermore, even if "the spirits in prison" here spoken of were -the spirits of men who were disobedient in the time of Noah, there is -not a hint in the passage that they were saved through the preaching of -Christ to them, or that they had another chance. There are two words -commonly used in the New Testament for preaching, one is <i>kerusso</i> -and the other is <i>euaggelizo</i>. The first of these means <em>to herald</em>, -as to herald a king, or to <!-- Page 316 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[316]</a></span>herald the kingdom. It may, however, be -used of preaching a message, the gospel message or some other message. -The second word <i>euaggelizo</i>, means to preach <em>the gospel</em>. In the -passage that we are studying it is the first word that is used, and -there is not a hint that Christ preached <em>the gospel</em> to these spirits -in prison. He simply heralded the triumph of the kingdom. It was not -a saving message. So there is nothing in this passage to put up even -inferentially against the plain, direct statements regarding the -destiny of the wicked found in the passages we have been studying.</p> - -<p>2. The second passage that is appealed to by those who deny the -endlessness of future punishment is <abbr title="Philippians">Phil.</abbr> 2:9-11: <b>"Wherefore also -God highly exalted Him, and gave unto Him the name which is above -every name; that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things -in heaven and things on earth and things under the earth, and that -every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory -of God the Father."</b> Here it is said, we are told, that all those -"under the earth" as well as in heaven and on earth should bow the -knee in the name of Jesus and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, and -that this implies that they are saved. But it does not imply that they -are saved. Every knee of lost men and of the devil and his angels too -will be forced some day to bow in the name of Jesus and every tongue -forced to confess that He is Lord. If any <!-- Page 317 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[317]</a></span>one does that in the present -life of his own free choice, he will be saved, but otherwise he will -do it by compulsion in the age to come and every one has his choice -between doing it now willingly and gladly and being saved, or doing it -by compulsion hereafter and being lost. There is absolutely nothing -in this passage to teach universal salvation or to militate even -inferentially against the plain statements we have been studying.</p> - -<p>3. The third passage that is appealed to is Acts 3:19-21: <b>"Repent -ye therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that -so there may come seasons of refreshing from the presence of the Lord; -and that He may send the Christ who hath been appointed for you, even -Jesus: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restoration of -all things whereof God spake by the mouth of His holy prophets that -have been from of old."</b> Here we are told of a coming "restoration -<em>of all things</em>" and those who contend for the doctrine of universal -salvation hold that this means the restoration to righteousness of all -persons. But that is not what it says, and that is not what it refers -to. We are taught in Old Testament prophecy and also in the book of -Romans, that in connection with the return of our Lord Jesus there is -to be a <em>restoration of all nature</em>, of the whole physical universe, -from its fallen state. For example, in <abbr title="Romans">Rom.</abbr> 8:19-21 we read: <b>"For -the earnest expectation of the creation waiteth for the revealing of -the sons of God. For the <!-- Page 318 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[318]</a></span>creation was subjected to vanity, not of -its own will, but by reason of him who subjected it, in hope that the -creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption -into the liberty of the glory of the children of God."</b> And in <abbr title="Isaiah">Isa.</abbr> -55:13 we read: <b>"Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir-tree; -and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle-tree: and it shall -be to Jehovah for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be -cut off."</b> And in <abbr title="Isaiah">Isa.</abbr> 65:25 we are told: <b>"The wolf and the lamb -shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and dust -shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my -holy mountain, saith Jehovah,"</b> and in <abbr title="Isaiah">Isa.</abbr> 32:15, we are told that -<b>"until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness -become a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be esteemed as a -forest."</b> It is to this restoration of the physical universe, here -plainly predicted in <abbr title="Romans">Rom.</abbr> 8:19-21 and these Old Testament prophecies, -that the "restoration of all things" spoken of in Acts 3:21 refers. -There is not a hint, not the slightest suggestion, of a restoration of -impenitent sinners.</p> - -<p>4. Still another passage that is urged is <abbr title="Ephesians">Eph.</abbr> 1:9, 10, where we read: -<b>"Having made known unto us the mystery of His will according to -His good pleasure which He purposed in Him unto a dispensation of -the fulness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things -in the heavens, and the things upon the earth."</b> Here it is urged -that <!-- Page 319 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[319]</a></span>things in heaven and things in earth are to be summed up in -Christ. This is true, but it should be noticed that the Holy Spirit -has specifically omitted here the phrase that is found in <abbr title="Philippians">Phil.</abbr> 2:10, -the "<em>things under the earth</em>," that is the abode of the lost, so this -passage, so far from suggesting that the lost ones in hell will be -restored, suggests exactly the opposite thing. There is then certainly -nothing in this passage to militate even inferentially against the -plain statements we have been studying.</p> - -<p>5. One more passage that is urged against the doctrine we have been -studying remains to be considered, that is <abbr title="First Corinthians">1 Cor.</abbr> 15:22. Here we read, -<b>"For as in Adam all died, so also in Christ shall all be made -alive."</b> It is urged in connection with this passage that we are -distinctly told here that all who die in Adam, that is every human -being, shall be made alive in Christ, and that "made alive" means -"obtain eternal life," or "be saved." For years I thought that this -was the true interpretation of this passage, and for that reason in -part, I held and preached at that time that all men ultimately, some -time, somewhere, somehow, would be brought to accept Jesus Christ and -be saved; but when I came to study the passage more carefully I saw -that this was a misinterpretation of the passage. Every passage in -the Bible, or in any other book, must be interpreted in its context. -The whole subject that Paul is <!-- Page 320 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[320]</a></span>talking about in this chapter is not -eternal life, not the immortality of the soul, but <em>the resurrection of -the body</em>, and all this passage declares is that as all lose physical -life in Adam, so also all will obtain a resurrection of the body in -Christ. Whether that resurrection of the body is a resurrection to -everlasting life or a resurrection to shame and everlasting contempt -(<abbr title="Daniel">Dan.</abbr> 12:2) depends entirely upon what men do with the Christ in whom -they get it. There is absolutely nothing here to teach universal -salvation. It only teaches a universal resurrection, resurrection of -the wicked as well as of the righteous.</p> - -<p>To sum up the teaching of all these passages that are so often urged to -prove universal salvation, there is nothing in any one of the passages, -nor in all of them together, to teach that all men will ultimately be -saved, and there is nothing in them to in any way conflict with what -we have seen to be the honest meaning of the passages studied above, -namely, that the future punishment of sin is absolutely endless. There -is not a passage to be found in the Bible that teaches universal -salvation, or that all men will ultimately come to repentance and be -saved. I wish that there were, but there is not. I have been searching -diligently for such a passage for nearly forty years and I have not -found it, and it cannot be found.</p> - - -<p><!-- Page 321 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[321]</a></span></p> -<h3>III. WHERE ARE THE ISSUES OF ETERNITY SETTLED?</h3> - -<p>There remains one other important question; and that is, where are -the issues of eternity settled. There are those who believe that the -punishment of the persistently impenitent is everlasting, that it has -no end, but they also believe that the issues of eternity are not -settled in the life that now is, but that with many they are settled -after death and that when men die impenitent they will have another -chance. Believing in endless punishment does not necessarily involve -believing that there is no chance after death. There are many who -believe that there will be a chance after death, and that many will -accept it, who also believe that some will not accept it and will -therefore be punished for ever and ever. Now what is the teaching of -the Word of God on this point? Let me call your attention to four -passages, any one of which settles the question, and taken together -they leave no possible room for doubt for any candid man who is willing -to take the Bible as meaning what it says, any man who is really trying -to find out what the Bible teaches and not merely trying to support a -theory.</p> - -<p>1. The first passage in <abbr title="Second Corinthians">2 Cor.</abbr> 5:10: <b>"For we must all be made -manifest before the judgment seat of Christ; that each one may receive -the things done in the body, according to what he hath done, whether -it be good or bad."</b> In this passage we <!-- Page 322 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[322]</a></span>are plainly told that the -basis of judgment in the world to come is "the things done <em>in the -body</em>," i.e., the things done this side the grave, the things done -before we shuffle off this mortal coil, the things done before the -spirit leaves the body. Of course, this particular passage has to do -primarily with the judgment of the believer, but it shows what the -basis of future judgment is, viz., the things done this side of the -grave.</p> - -<p>2. The second passage is <abbr title="Hebrews">Heb.</abbr> 9:27: <b>"It is appointed unto men once -to die, and after this cometh judgment."</b> Here we are distinctly -told that "<em>after death</em>" there is to be, not an opportunity to prepare -for judgment, but "judgment," and that, therefore, our destiny is -settled <em>at death</em>, and that there is no chance of salvation "after -death."</p> - -<p>3. The third passage is John 5:28, 29: <b>"Marvel not at this: for the -hour cometh, in which all that are in the tombs shall hear His voice, -and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection -of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of -judgment."</b> Here also it is clearly implied that the resurrection of -good and bad is for the purpose of judgment <em>regarding the things done -before their bodies were laid in their graves</em>.</p> - -<p>4. A fourth passage, if possible more decisive than any of these, gives -our Lord's words, John 8:21: <b>"He said therefore again unto them; I -go away, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your <!-- Page 323 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[323]</a></span>sin, whither I -go, ye cannot come."</b> Here our Lord distinctly declares that the -question whether men shall come to be with Him or not depends upon what -they do <em>before they die</em>, that if they die impenitent, if they "<em>die -in their sins</em>," that whither He goes they cannot come. To sum up the -teaching of all these passages, the issues of eternity, the issues of -eternal life or eternal destruction, the issues of eternal blessedness -and glory, or eternal agony and shame, are settled in the life that now -is.</p> - - -<h3>IV. CONCLUSION</h3> - -<p>The future state of those who reject in the life that now is the -redemption offered to them in Christ Jesus is plainly declared in the -Word of God to be a state of conscious, unutterable, endless torment -and anguish. This conception is an appalling one, but it is the -Scriptural conception. It is the unmistakable, inescapable teaching of -God's own word.</p> - -<p>I wish that all men would repent and accept Christ. If any one could -show me one single passage in the Bible that clearly taught that all -men would ultimately repent, accept Christ and be saved, it would be -the happiest day of my life, but it cannot be found. I once thought -it could, and I so believed and taught. These ideas so widely noised -about to-day as something new, these theories of "Pastor" Russell, -formerly of Pittsburg, <!-- Page 324 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[324]</a></span>Mr. Gelesnoff of this city, and Dr. Mabie of -Long Beach, and Mr. Pridgeon of Pittsburg, and many others, are not at -all new to me. I held and taught substantially the same views regarding -ultimate universal salvation years before these men were heard of, -indeed nearly forty years ago. I was familiar with the arguments that -they now urge, and other arguments which they do not seem to know, but -which were to me more decisive than those that they urge. But the time -came, as I studied the Bible more carefully, when I could not reconcile -my teaching with what I found to be the unmistakable teaching of God's -Word. I had to do one of three things: I had to either give up my -belief that the Bible was the Word of God, or else I must twist the -words of Jesus (and others in the New Testament) to mean something else -than what they clearly appeared to teach, or else I must give up my -doctrine of ultimate universal restoration and salvation. I could not -give up my faith that the Bible was the Word of God, for I had found -absolutely overwhelming proof that it was God's Word. I could not twist -the words of Jesus and of others to mean something else than what was -clearly their intended meaning, for I was an honest man. There was only -one thing left to do and that was to give up my doctrine of universal -restoration and salvation. I gave it up with great reluctance, but -I was compelled to give it up or be untrue to my own reason and -conscience. It is the inescapable teaching of the <!-- Page 325 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[325]</a></span>Word of God that all -who go out of this world without having accepted Jesus Christ, will -spend eternity in hell, in a hell of unutterable, conscious anguish.</p> - -<p>This Bible conception is also a reasonable one when we come to see the -appalling nature of sin, and especially the appalling nature of the sin -of trampling under foot God's mercy toward sinners, and rejecting God's -glorious Son, Whom in His love He has provided as a Saviour.</p> - -<p>Shallow views of sin and of God's holiness and of the glory of -Jesus Christ lie at the bottom of weak theories of the doom of the -impenitent. When we see Sin in all its hideousness and enormity, the -Holiness of God in all its perfection, and the Glory of Jesus Christ in -all its infinity, nothing but a doctrine that those who persist in the -choice of sin, who love darkness rather than light, and who persist in -the rejection of the Son of God, shall endure everlasting anguish, will -satisfy the demands of our own moral intuitions. Nothing but the fact -that we dread suffering more than we loathe sin, and more than we love -the glory of Jesus Christ, makes us repudiate the thought that beings -who eternally choose sin should eternally suffer, or that men who -despise God's mercy and spurn His Son should be given over to endless -anguish.</p> - -<p>If, after men have sinned and God still offers them mercy, and makes -the tremendous sacrifice of His Son to save them—if they still -despise that <!-- Page 326 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[326]</a></span>mercy and trample God's Son under foot, if then they are -consigned to everlasting torment, I cannot but say, "Amen! Hallelujah! -True and righteous are thy judgments, O Lord!"</p> - -<p>At all events the doctrine of conscious, eternal torment for impenitent -men is clearly revealed in the Word of God, and whether we can defend -it on philosophical grounds or not, it is our business to believe -it; and leave it to the clearer light of eternity to explain what we -cannot now understand, realising that God may have many infinitely -wise reasons for doing things for which we in our ignorance can see -no sufficient reason at all. It is the most ludicrous conceit for -beings so limited and foolish as the wisest of men are, to attempt to -dogmatise how a God of infinite wisdom must act. All we know as to how -God is to act is what God has seen fit to tell us.</p> - -<p>In conclusion, two things are certain. First, the more closely men -walk with God and the more devoted they become in His service, the -more likely they are to believe this doctrine. Many there are who tell -us they love their fellow men too much to believe this doctrine; but -the men who show their love in more practical ways than by sentimental -protestations about it, the men who show their love for their fellow -men as Jesus Christ showed His, by laying down their lives for them, -they believe this doctrine, even as Jesus Christ Himself believed it.</p> - -<p>As Christians become worldly and easy-going <!-- Page 327 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[327]</a></span>they grow loose in their -doctrine concerning the doom of the impenitent. The fact that loose -doctrines are spreading so rapidly and widely in our day is nothing -for them, but against them, for worldliness is also spreading in the -church (<abbr title="First Timothy">1 Tim.</abbr> 4:1; <abbr title="Second Timothy">2 Tim.</abbr> 3:1; 4:2, 3). Increasing laxity of life and -increasing laxity of doctrine go arm in arm.</p> - -<p>Second, men who accept a loose doctrine regarding the ultimate penalty -of sin, be it Universalism, Restorationism, or Annihilationism, or -that fantastic combination, or conglomeration, of them all, Millennial -Dawnism, lose their power for God. I have seen this proven over and -over again. These men may be and are very clever at argument, and very -zealous in proselyting, but they are seldom found beseeching men to -be reconciled to God. They are far more likely to be found trying to -upset the faith of those already won by the efforts of those who do -believe in everlasting punishment than trying to win men who have no -faith at all. If you really believe the doctrine of the endless torment -of the impenitent, if the doctrine really gets hold of you, you will -work as you never worked before for the salvation of the lost. If you -in any wise abate the doctrine, it will abate your zeal. Time and time -again I have come up to this awful doctrine and tried to find some way -of escape from it, but when I have failed, as I always have failed at -last, when I have determined to be honest with the Bible and myself, -I have <!-- Page 328 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[328]</a></span>returned to my work with an increased burden for souls and an -intensified determination to spend and be spent for their salvation.</p> - -<p>Eternal, conscious suffering, suffering without the least ray of -hope of relief, awaits every one of you here to-night who goes on -persistently rejecting Jesus Christ, as you are rejecting Him to-night, -and who shall pass out of this world having rejected Him. In that world -of never ending gloom there will be no possibility of repentance. As -you look out into the future there will not be one single ray of hope. -"Forever and ever" will be the unceasing wail of that restless sea of -fire. After you have been there ten million years and look out toward -the future you will see eternity still stretching on and on and on and -on, with no hope. Oh, men and women out of Christ, why will you risk -such a doom for a single year, or a month, or a week, or a day? Hell -is too awful to risk for five minutes the chance of going there. There -is but one rational thing for you to do, that is to accept Christ and -accept Him <em>right now</em> as your Saviour, surrender to Him as your Lord -and Master, confess Him as such before the world, and strive from this -time on to please Him in everything day by day. Any other course is -utter madness.</p> - - - - -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<div class="notebox"> -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="tnhead"><a name="TN" id="TN"></a>TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES</p> -</div> - - -<p>When a book of the Bible has multiple volumes, the volume is sometimes -referenced with a number and sometimes with a Roman numeral. These -references remain as in the original.</p> - -<p>The abbreviations "i.e." and "e.g." were both spaced and unspaced in -the original. Spelling has been made consistent throughout the text.</p> - -<p>Variations in spelling and hyphenation remain as in the original.</p> - -<p>Ellipses match the original.</p> - -<p>The following corrections have been made to the original text:</p> - -<div class="tnblock"> -<p>Page iv: By R. A.[period missing in original] Torrey</p> - -<p>Page 15: (<abbr title="First Corinthians">1 Cor.</abbr> 12:406 <abbr title="Revised Version">R. V.</abbr>[original has "RV"])</p> - -<p>Page 48: make to explain it away.[period missing in original]</p> - -<p>Page 48: nations are not able to abide his -indignation.[original has extraneous quotation mark]</p> - -<p>Page 51: conception of Pantheism and Buddhism[original has -"Bhuddhism"]</p> - -<p>Page 69: <abbr title="Galatians">Gal.</abbr> 3:28[original has "328"]</p> - -<p>Page 70: In <abbr title="Genesis">Gen.</abbr> 3:22[original has a period instead of a colon] -we read</p> - -<p>Page 81: the thousands of Judah, yet[original has "Judah? Yet"]</p> - -<p>Page 82: shows that[original has "that that"] the Lord addressed</p> - -<p>Page 90: demand on Jesus'[apostrophe missing in original] part</p> - -<p>Page 123: He is grieved beyond[original has "beyong"] expression</p> - -<p>Page 127: "[quotation mark missing in original]I have yet many -things to say</p> - -<p>Page 133: you ever have insomnia[original has "insomia"]</p> - -<p>Page 142: Spirit is "[original has single quote]done despite -unto,"</p> - -<p>Page 180: at the point of death?[question mark missing in -original]</p> - -<p>Page 188: means more than mere forgiveness.[period missing in -original]</p> - -<p>Page 192: literally, "in," <em>Christ's blood</em>,[original has -extraneous quotation mark]</p> - -<p>Page 198: Can <em>that</em> faith save him?"[quotation mark missing in -original]</p> - -<p>Page 208: "[quotation mark missing in original]He is renewed in -knowledge</p> - -<p>Page 214: <em>sin is not doing</em>,[original has a period] because -His (God's) seed</p> - -<p>Page 219: <em>Regeneration is God's work; wrought by Him by the -power of His Holy Spirit working in the mind, feelings and will -of</em>[italics ended here in the original] <em>the one born again</em></p> - -<p>Page 236: sin unto God. (cf.[original has "c."] John 13:10.)</p> - -<p>Page 239: every place, their Lord and ours."[quotation mark -missing in original]</p> - -<p>Page 251: "[quotation mark missing in original]But some will say</p> - -<p>Page 264: our first text, John[original has "Jno."] 8:44</p> - -<p>Page 267: our second text, 1 John[original has "Jno."] 3:8</p> - -<p>Page 277: "New[original has extraneous quotation mark] -Thought," "Theosophy," "Occultism"</p> - -<p>Page 295: judgment of the great white throne[original has -"thorn"]</p> - -<p>Page 296: <abbr title="First Corinthians">I Cor.</abbr> 15:22[original has a period instead of a colon]</p> - -<p>Page 314: 1 Peter 3:18-20[original has "3:18:20"]</p> -</div> - -<p>Pages viii and x are blank in the original.</p> -</div> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Fundamental Doctrines of the -Christian faith, by R. A. 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