^tam tt|f Stbrarg of Brquf attirl) by t|tm to tl|f ICtbrary of frtttrrtan ©ItpiilDgtral g>pmmary ICC #10,862 Walker, Cornelius, 1819- 1907. Outlines of Christian theology OUTLINES OF CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY BY Rev. CORNELIUS WALKER, D.D. Professor of Systematic Divinity in the Theological Seminary of Virginia NEW YORK THOMAS WHITTAKER 2 AND 3 Bible House 1894 Copyright, 1894, By THOMAS WHITTAKBR. BDUR PRINTINO HOT'SK, NEW YORK. CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAGB I. Theology and Religion, 1 II. Sources of Theological Tkuth, . . . . 11 III. Canon op Scripture : That ok Old Testament, . 19 IV. Canon oe Scripture : That of New Testament, . 20 V. Inspiration of Scripture, 34 VI. Tradition, Mystery, Miracles, 61 VII. The Doctrine of God, 74 VIII. The Divine xIttributes, 87 IX. The Doctrine of Trinity, 113 X. Creation and Origin of the World, . . . 123 XI. The Doctrine of Man, 185 XII. The Doctrine of Sin, 149 XIII. Actual Sin, IGO XIV. Sin in its Consequences, 166 XV. Salvation from Sin, 176 XVI. Efficacy op Christ's Sufferings, . . . 184 XVII. The Atoning Mediation, 197 XVIII. Christ's Work in its Application, .... 202 XIX. The Blessed Spirit in the Work of Salvation, . . 209 XX. The Church and Sacraments, 219 XXI. Angelology, 237 XXII. Esciiatology, . . ; 245 PREFACE. The object sought in the pages following is to pre- sent in brief outline the leading topics in a course of theological study. It is substantially that which the writer has pursued with his classes successively dur- ing the last eighteen or twenty years. The ultimate authority, as also the source of material, is that of in- spired Scripture. For full statement and investiga- tion of many of the subjects discussed, his pupils will recognize the text-book used — Knapp's " Theology" — ■ as also others referred to — those of Dr. Hodge, of Hill, of Dorner, of Martensen, of Lindsay Alexander, and of Yon Oosterzee. To these may be added, of more recent date, those of Dr. Buel, of Dr. Sliedd, of Dr. Strong, and of Dr. Hodge, the younger. To the earnest student there is, in these works and others easily accessible, abundant material for full and thorough investigation of every issue and to^^ic in Christian theology. But while thus with the advanced student, the object here is to take hold of and to help the beginner, to in- dicate the substance and natural order of the problems with which he is called to deal, as also their grounds of evidence and verification. At the same time it is to be noted that the interest in these topics is not confined Vi PREFACE. to this class — the theological student or candidate for the ministry. It extends to a much larger class — intel- ligent Christian readers, theologians to a certain degree of all classes. These have their rational interest in all the topics here presented. As mere technicalities, so far as possible, have been avoided, the objection in this respect to the ordinary reader has been removed. In all cases, moreover, of quotations of the original Greek and Hebrew, the English equivalent is annexed, so as to avoid all difficulty and obscurity. With the earnest prayer that it may do its work in the service of Him to whom it is offered, it is commended to its readers. Outlines of Christian Theology. CHAPTER I. THEOLOGY AND RELIGION, Theology, wherein a science. — Its sources of material, natural and reveal- ed, and some of its forms of investigation and exhibition. — How relig- ion different. — Some of the modes in which in the New Testament it is described. — What the science of religion. — Relation of theological and religious to other sciences.— Their apparent conflicts and how originating. — Wherein the philosophy of these different from their science. Theology, in its name, claims to be a science. At one time, it was the almost only acknowledged science. If we bear in mind what is meant by this word, we shall see the x^ropriety here of its application. Science is knowledge certified, as to its material ; this material finding its systemization, and unifying jirincijDle or principles, in certain laws or modes of sequence, in- variably operative. The positivist and the agnostic deny that there is any such knowledge as to God, either in the world or in specific revelation. But to the theist such position is irrational. If there be an Author of nature, caiDable of originating and sustain- ing nature, He will be caj^able also of making Himself 2 THEOLOGY AND RELIGION. iTianifest. Theology has to do with the nature and ex- tent of such manifestation. It first asks, What do we lind in this world of nature ? Is nature a chaos or a cosmos ? Do we lind in this world of inorganic and organic being, relations, and connections, and depen- dencies ? Do we find the presence and operation of law ; relations of j^arts of the cosmos to each other, as to our capacity of comprehension ? How do these make known their Author ? Inductive processes prop- erly come in here ; are strictly scientific ; as thus sci- entific, are iM'operly theological. So, too, with theology, science of God with addi- tional material : the truths of natural manifestation, (pavspooffi?, added to and made clearer in aTrouaXvifn?, those of specific revelation. Given or accepting the fact of Divine AuthorshixD of nature, no objection can be urged against the assertion of such revelation ; and there are many features, in the manifestation of na- ture, that seem both to promise and demand it. The question, however, is one of fact ; to be decided in view of the character of the evidence. The work of the theologian is to examine this evidence and the material which it brings to his knowledge ; to find out what this manifestation of nature and what this word of revelation mean ; and, through them, the character and will of their Divine Author. This, of course, involves interpretation, arrangement, recognition of controlling and subordinate principles, distinction of facts and laws, laws from higher regula- tive X)rinciples, systemization, unification. As with all THEOLOGY AND RELIGION. 3 other sciences, this is the task of theology, the science of God. As to the aspects under which this material may be investigated and studied, we may briefly indicate them. Biblical theology, for instance — a new term, or at least an old term with a new significance — is that which is arranged in the order of historical progress ; truth about God, manifesting Himself, in the primae- val, in the patriarchal, the Mosaic, the prophetic, the New Testament revelations. Systematic theology has in view the unification of all this material ; to find in it not only jirogress and development, but a combined whole — a whole, in each one of its parts, as in their organic unity, manifesting the character and purpose of their Divine Author. This includes not only the clear statement of these truths, but their relations of connection and dei)endence. Historical theology, again, has in view the progress of thought and discus- sion, through which such statements have reached their present form, and been agreed upon ; p>olemic, the statement of this truth, as related to errors of pro- fessed believers ; apologetic, as related to difficulties made by unbelievers ; and, last of all, practical theol- ogy, the effort to find practical application in these truths to the heart and life, whether in their sys- tematic or unsystematic form. In all we are dealing with the same material : the truth of God, truth about God ; the science, not the perfect, but the real knowl- edge of God, as He is, and as He stands revealed and related to His creatures. 4 THEOLOGY AND RELIGION. In this respe(5t, there is a difference with religion. " Religio," from o'elego, " scrupulous service to God," with Cicero; or "religio," from religo, "binding us to Grod," with Lactantius ; or, in monastic idea, relictus, from relinquo, " leaving the world," is not so much a science as a practice. As with all forms of practice, religion may liave its science ; but this is not its essen- tial nature. It is a knowing ; but, in such knowing, also feeling and doing. As man, in his rational na- ture, is related to God, seeks after Him, that he may find Him, so the truths of theology teach him to exer- cise his capacity aright. In such exercise is religion : the subjective appropriation, in the mind and heart, and the working out in the life, of divinely given truth. This word religion, in ordinary usage, has more than one meaning, and we need distinguish them. A man's religion, for instance, or that of a community, is that of his accepted system of belief — in this sense really the equivalent of his theology. So again, it may, and does sometimes mean, the outward form, the ritual and worship, of such individual or community — their ecclesiastical system. These inay be accompaniments. But there must be something- else : the knowing, and feeling, and doing, as to God, and as obeying the will of God. The degrees in which these terms are aT)plicable, in the diverse conditions of men, are varied and mani- fold. And yet, with all, the lowest as the highest, we find the essential elements : truth as to God, theol- ogy ; the spiritual nature of man, feeling after, and THEOLOGY AND RELIGION. 5 using such truth, religion. Whatever else may be said of human nature, it is religious ! ' ' There is no trouble," Dr. Sj)arrow used to say, "about men hav- ing religion of some kind or other ; the trouble is to get them to have the right kind of religion." Sucli religious nature, in its working, endeavors to have a theology. Wardlaw alludes to the definitions " re- ligion, theology subjectified ; theology, religion objec- tified. " While not fully exhaustive, it exhibits their main characteristics. The New Testament names of religion have their sig- nificance, cpo^o^ rov Qsov, " the fear of Jehovah," of the Old Testament, is the fear of reverence, dreading the Divine disapproval, dreading the course leading to it ; ffocpia, the " wisdom" of the Old Testament, which finds the doing of God's will and service not only the way of right, but that of wisdom and welfare ; 6ou- Xeia, the service of submissive obedience, which finds in the Divine law its rule of affection, as of action ; karpsia, the service not only of unreserved obedience, but of grateful adoration ; svXafisla, the careful ser- vice, which finds in small as in great things exercise of the sj)irit of devotion ; Opj/ffKeia, such service finding- outward expression, especially as it brings us in con- tact with the needs of our fellow-creatures ; svGsfSaia, having the inward spirit, which gives value and char- acter to everything else ; and, last of all, odoz, " the way," and ttkjti^, " the faith," in which all these forms of action are quickened in the truths of the revelation of Jesus Christ. 6 THEOLOGY AND RELIGION. But, as already intimated, while religion, in its essen- tial nature, is a service, not a science, there is or may be a science of religion. In it, for instance, there are diversities of facts and manifestations, controlling laws and operations, a unifying principle with which thej' are all connected. The science of religion deals with these : the religious nature, the fact that man has such a nature, that he is consciously and manifestly related to a Higher Being, the object of his thoughts, his fears, his hopes, his aspirations. To trace out the w^orkings of this nature, the operation of its princi- ples, as exhibited in the individual, in the different religions of the world, and as modified by different conceptions of Deity— the occasions of any such sys- tem finding origin — its reactive influence upon its vota- ries — all this becomes the task of the scientist of re- ligion. Religions may thus be classified. Some may be manifested as local, and incapable of expansion from their original centre ; others, of wider range, but still limited to certain conditions of climate, social or moral advancement ; others still wider, but, in their general result, morally and socially deteriorative —one claiming to be a world religion, actually con- trolling the highest form of moral and social civiliza- tion, and ])eneficial in its influence, as coming in con- tact with and displacing others. Evidently, in dealing with the material thus indicated, and the questions suggested, we are in the domain of science. And this brings up an issue, at the present moment, of special interest, in connection with this subject : THEOLOGY AND RELIGION. 7 the relation, as it is usually put, of theology, as of re- ligion, to science ; more properly, the relation of theo- logical and religious to j)hysical, chemical, biological, mental, or moral science. That relation, ideally, is one of perfect harmony, touching at times, and at different points, the same material ; but in these different rela- tions, parts of the same material, of one great whole. If we could have a perfect theology, many of the exist- ing difficulties and conflicts would disappear. But not entirely. To secure that there must not only be a per- fect theology, but a perfect geology, or chemistry, or biology, or whatever the science with which such con- flict has been waged. As they are all actually imper- fect, they are all liable to come in such conflict. Such conflict, from the non-theological side, has usually come from one of two sources : so-called scien- tific results unverified ; so-called scientific results of what really belongs, not to science, but to philosophy. From the theological side, such conflict comes some- times from the misapplication of theological truth to matters with which it has no concern ; sometimes, and much more frequently, from adherence to accepted scientific conclusions of an earlier period. While there is always the liability, in any new, real, or supposed revelation of science, of the theological shout of warn- ing or of contradiction, there is no less certain, and usually first, in point of time, the infidel scientific shout, that in this new discovery theology and religion are hopelessly exploded. Of course there are many theologians, and many physical and other scientists, 8 THEOLOGY AND RELIGION". who keep clear of everything of this character ; who know enough of their own and other departments of knowledge to be above such course. But here it is that most of them origii^ate. Some forty or fifty years :igo leading chemical explorers attempted to abolish the word and the idea of vitality. Now, its existence is not only admitted, but the effort and anticij^ation is to evolve it out of inorganic matter. So, again, and more recently, biologists found species and variations so fixed and limited in their caj)acity of transition, that the variations of the human race, as to origin, were found impossible in any one of them. And, still more recently, this capacity of variation has become so expanded that it includes, not only all the varieties of the human race, but many, if not all, of the lower orders of creation. Theologians, in the mean time, ad- hered to the idea of life as a reality ; to the origin of the race, in the divinely created man ; to the creation of that man, in the Divine image of rationality, and moral and spiritual being. How far are these asser- tions of theology adjustable to those affirmed by sci- ence is the future problem, alike of the theological as of the physical and biological scientist. Such adjust- ment can only be anticij)ated, as the rightful claims of both are fully acknowledged and accepted. A living writer in one of our popular science month- lies has endeavored to show the opposition of theolo- gians to the progress of science. When he gets through, as he does not seem to have quite finished, he will find quite as abundant material, used in the THEOLOGY AND RELIGION. 9 same way, to demonstrate the opposition of scientists to such progress. The average scientist, as the average theologian, is familiar with the science imbibed in his youth, or boyhood, as infallible and unchangeable ; and each alike, on the scientific grounds thus accepted, opposes the scientific novelty. There is scarcely an instance of any great scientific discovery which would not afford an illustration. , And here, it may be asked, is there not also a iDhi- losophy of religion and of theology, as of everything else ? There is, of course ; but it is very different from their science. Science, as we have seen, has to do with phenomena, facts, laws, unifying principles ; or, as the schoolmen would have said, with " quiddi- ties, " the quid^ the quod^ and the quomodo. Philoso- phy has to do with them in the quo, with the cur and queer e. Philosophy has been called the science of first principles. If by this be meant the principles to be assumed, in all science and scientific investigation, it may be admitted. But, evidently, we have gotten away from the ordinary conception of a science. The philosophy of a thing is its rationale, its immediate or ultimate cause. If, therefore, a science, it is the sci> ence of causes ; that in which the phenomena and their laws alike find explanation. This ultimate Cause is the Divine Source and Origin of things ; its first prin- ciples, what may be called secondary causes. With these, supposed or real, science begins. In view of them, it ventures or reaches certain conclusions ; in gome cases correctly, in others incorrectly. 10 THEOLOGY AND RELIGION. We may, therefore, briefly sum uj) the result of our discussion by saying that theology is occupied with and exhibits the material of truth about Grod, and His relations to the world and to men, certified, systema- tized, unified ; that religion is the knowing, feeling, and doing, as the effect of these truths, subjectively approi)riated ; and more or less wrought into the life. The philosophy of these is the divinely given religious nature, as related to its Divine Author, to the divine- ly given provision in Him, for that nature — to its full development and expansion of capacity, as of blessed- ness. Professor Cooke's " Credentials of Science the Warrant of Faith." Dawson's " Origin of the World According to Revelation and Sci- ence. ' ' Kiunis's " Harmony of Bible with Science ;" Reusch's " Nature and the Bible." Harris's " Philosophical Basis of Theism." Duke of Argyle's " Unity of Nature" and " Reign of Law." Calderwood's " Relations of Science and Religion." " Christianity and Science," Professor Peabody. CHAPTER II. SOURCES OF THEOLOGICAL TRUTH. The two extremes of upon this subject of the naturalist and the purely supernaturalist, and the contrasted teaching of Scripture. — Relations of natural theology and revelation. — Revelation rests upon specific evidence. — Place here of natural presuppositions. — How revelation related to natural capacity. Theology implies a known God. How is He known ? In what manner has He actually made Himself known ? How does He still bring Himself to human knowl- edge ? Two extreme answers to this question have been given. One finds such knowledge given in the manifestations of nature and as entirely confined to these. The other finds it in special revelation ; and all religious truth, in human conviction, of course, in many cases, with perversions and distortions, coming through primaeval revelation. The first is that of deistic naturalism, with its a pr'wr'i postulate of the impossibility of the miraculous or supernatural. The second is the extreme of the devout believer, jealous of any authority, or of any claim of Divine truth, in any- thing except the divinely revealed word. The first implies the absurdity that He who created man capa- ble of communicating and of receiving communica- tions by spoken and written words, is Himself want- 12 SOURCES OF THEOLOGICAL TRUTH. ing in the capacity which He conferred upon His creatures. The second, that He who created and fills the world with His wisdom, and goodness, and power, is nowhere, in that world, to be found. In each of these extremes is a truth, if not distort- ed, at least one-sided. Taking the dictate of Scri])- ture, we find both of these, as sources of truth about God, clearly recognized. Scripture, in its very exist- ence and nature, involves the claim that G-od, "in different manners and different degrees," makes Him- self known, through His selected human agents, in His authoritatively sf)oken and written word. No less does Scripture affirm and imply that He who thus extraordinarily reveals Himself does it, also, ordi- narily, in His works — in the orderly arrangement of natural i)henomena and their operations, the cosmos external ; in the inner phenomena of human conscious- ness, knoAving, feeling, willing, self-approving, and self-condemning, the inner cosmos of rational and moral experience. The nineteenth Psalm, for instance, implies and affirms both of these sources. The first six verses tell of the manifestations of God in the ex- ternal Avorld. The remaining eight tell of the revela- tion of His law. Law, torah, here, is the equivalent not only of revealed statute, but of revealed doing and character. So, in the first chapter of the Ejnstle to the Romans, the manifestation of God, in His created works, and the human obligation arising therefrom, is clearly asserted. In the second chapter of this same epistle, the obedience of the heathen to the law in theii' SOURCES OF THEOLOGICAL TRUTH. 13 heart implies the same fact, tlie capacity of knowing this law, as also its Divine Author. The " unknown God" at Athens (Acts 17:22-31), it is implied, is known enough to be worshipped. Further, that in His real character, He ought to have been better known and differently worshipped. So too with the remon- strance of Paul and Barnabas to the Lycaonians (Acts 14 : 17). In these last cases, knowledge, capacity of knowledge, and accountability for its exercise are clearly implied. At the same time, knowledge addi- tional is spoken of as imparted. The first of these gives us natural theology, the second that of Scripture. The first related to the sec- ond, as part to the whole ; as also illustrative and con- firmative. Revelation includes natural theology plus its own peculiar material. This fact of revelation rests upon specific evidence. A priori presumptions may anticipate, but cannot prove it. At the same time, these presumptions have their value. They anticipate difficulties, and predispose to a certain conclusion. Some of these may be briefly considered. First of all, specific revelation seems to be a necessity to the majority of the race ; as reaching, in its intelli- gibility, all classes, all orders of mind and capacity. Supposing a perfect theology, in the philosophy of Plato ; to how many could it be imxmrted 'I Revela- tion is the via hremssima of Divine wisdom, in its communications, to human ignorance and incai)acity. It is for all. And it is in a form and manner to reach all. 14 SOURCES OF THEOLOGICAL TRUTH. Further, it meets another necessity of human na- ture, in the fact of its authoritative character. This is a want of the cultivated and philosophical, as well as the weak and ignorant. Has God spoken ? The dis- tinct affirmative to this is as much needed by Newton or Kepler as by the humblest peasant or the little child. Still further, such necessity may be seen, in the material of revelation, as supplementary to that of na- ture. Natural theology raises questions and encoun- ters problems that it cannot solve. It cannot help asking, but cannot answer. " You may even give over," says one heathen ^philosopher, " all hopes of amending men's manners for the future, unless God be pleased to send some other person to instruct us." " Which of these oj)inions is true, some God must tell us," is the language of another. The material of revelation proves its necessity. Last of all, revelation, in the light of experience, seems a necessity to the highest and purest form of civilization. Revealed religion rules and blesses the world ; its power and influences point to its Divine origin. Revelation" as Related to Human Capacity. — Connected with this topic, the sources of material of Divine truth, are two others, as specially related to such ti'uth contained in Scripture, One of these is the question of interpretation ; the other is that of the re- lation of reason, or human capacity, to the substance of Divine revelation. As to the first, it may be said SOURCES OF THEOLOGICAL TRUTH. 15 that whatever diversities, in the past, as to allegorical, mystical, symbolical, or spiritual interpretation, it is now an almost universally admitted principle that, as the revelations of law, of duty, of the Divine dealings and character, are given in human language, and in the forms of expression prevalent among their recipi- ents, so, by the ordinary laws of language, their mean- ing must be ascertained. All other things being equal, the student who is best able to reproduce the condi- tions, objective and subjective, of those to whom the revelations were given, will be most successful in get- ting their meaning. If the language and its connec- tion indicate literality, it must, then, be literally inter- preted ; if figurative, symbolical, or allegorical, then by the principles of each resj)ectively. An undevout scholar, indeed, may in such case, and carrying out these principles, fail in getting the life and heart of that with which he is dealing ; as may one of an op- posite character, although comparatively ignorant, fully appreciate them. This, however, does not affect the general xirinciple. The desideratum is both of these qualifications : the scholarship pervaded and quickened by a spirit of genuine earnestness and de- votion. The more difficult and contested question is the rela- tion of reason, or human capacity, to these truths, when clearly and m.anifestly revealed. The word rea- son, it is here to be noted, in ordinary usage, flits often without any recognition of the fact, either by speaker or hearer, from one to the other of four dis- 16 SOURCES OF THEOLOGICAL TRUTH. tiiict significations. Sometimes, for instance, it means tlie rationally intuitive power of cognizing necessary truth, the, vov; ; sometimes the argumentative capac- ity, the analytic and synthetic power, the Xoyiffjuo? ; sometimes the capacity of appreciating or understand- ing, the diavoia ; and, then, inchiding all these, it means the whole mental capacity. The two main points of issue are, first, the power of reason or human capacity to receive truths incomprehensible ; secondly, the capacity of reason or the necessary intuitive power, to receive what is really contradictory to its principles. To state the first clearly and distinctly is to answer it. Human capacity, or reason, in this sense, is constantly in the actual reception and usage of natural truths that are incomi^rehensible. Omnia exeunt in mysterinm. Human language and expres- sions are full of incomprehensibles, from the infini- tudes of space and duration to the infinitesimals of the atom and the molecule. If so in nature, then also in revelation. The distinction of apprehending and com- prehending properly comes in here. We apprehend and discriminate, and find relations among things, in certain respects incomprehensible. If such incompre- hensible fact come to us in revelation, we must accept it as we do with those that come to us in nature. The second of these questions has given more diffi- culty — the relation of intuitive reason, not to incom- prehensibles, but to contradictions, truths, or asserted truths in conflict Avith the principles of the rational nature, the intellectual or moral rational. In a genu- SOURCES OF THEOLOGICAL TRUTH. 17 fne revefation and a really enliglitened reason, such con- flict is, of course, impossible. A contradictory is self- destructive. The assertion of a whole greater than the sum of its parts ; of a circular triangle ; of crossing- parallel lines ; of a malignant benevolence ; or of filthy purity, are all of this class. Reason not only can- not construe, it cannot receive them as objects of contemplation, must reject them. If anything appar- ently of this character were found in a professed reve- lation, it would have to be rejected either as vitiating the whole, or as a human interpolation, or as misunder- stood. The unbelieving effort has been to bring some of the material of the Old Testament, especially of its legislation, under this category. Some cases, doubt- less, of these are difficulties and incomprehensibilities ; and the effort must be to find out their explanation ; to avoid the issue of rational and moral contradic- tion. To sum up this i)oint, we may say the relation of reason, of human capacity to revelation, is to ascer- tain and verify the fact of such revelation ; to find out its meaning ; the different ways in which that mean- ing is exhibited. When such meaning brings to view hitherto undiscernible truths, they must be reverently accepted upon the authority of their Divine Author. His revelations cannot be subjected to natural and finite limitations. In cases of apparent conflict with rational principles, intellectual or moral, as both of these proceed from Him, that conflict is only aj)par- ent. Patient and reverential investigation, and sus- 18 SOURCES OF THEOLOGICAL TRUTH. pense as to liasty judgment, will, in due time, remove the apparent difficulty. Robson's " The Bible ; its Revelsition, Inspiration, and Evidence," Briggs's " The Bible, the Church, and Reason." Andrew's " God's Revelation of Himsi-lf to Man." Bruce's " Cliief End of Revelation." Ollsen's " Revelation, Universal and Special." CHAPTER III. CANON OF SCRIPTURE : THAT OF OLD TESTAMENT. Meaning of the word. — Collection of sacred books recognized by Christ and His Apostles. — Language of Josephus, of Philo, Son of Sirach, and the Talmud. — How Canon probably formed. — Allusions to it in early Christian writers. The acceptance of the idea of a record of revelation immediately raises the question, What is this record ; what its bounds and limitations ? Revelation might be oral, and only for the individual and his contempo- raries. It might involve a divinely insi^iring influence upon the recipient, and yet be only for immediate and present purposes. Again, it might be for all time and for all men ; revealed to inspired men, and placed in permanent, written form, for all coming genera- tions. By this last we describe the canon of Scripture, the list of divinely revealed books, given through in- spired men. This word canon, it is to be borne in mind, has other significations. It meant, in earlier usage, the canon or list of articles of faith to be accepted — in other words, a creed. So, too, it was used to designate the list of books, inspired and uninsioired alike, to be read in the churches. Again, and in more modern usage, it almost exclusively means the list of the inspired books 20 CANON OF SCRIPTURE : THAT OF OLD TESTAMENT. of Scripture. In tlie second of these, the canon of the Church of England includes some of the aj^ocryphal books. In the third sense, the canon of this Church is that of the divinely inspired books of the Old and New Testaments. For our purpose, we put aside all other meanings, and confine ourselves to the last, the inspired, authoritative books of Holy Scripture. How does it appear that such a collection was made ? On what grounds is it now accepted ? We naturally begin with the canon of the Old Testament. Taking New Testament times as our point of depar- ture, we find clear indication of the existence of such collection in the language of our Lord and that of the apostles. " Scripture," " the Scriptures," " the law," " the law and the proi^liets," " the law, the prophets, and the Psalms," are some of its modes of designation. With these, at times, is mention of particular writers — Moses, David, Isaiah — ^as familiar alike to speaker and hearers, and as of supreme Divine authority. Contemporaneous with these New Testament writers and speakers are two Jewish writers, using similar language, and from whom a similar conclusion, as to these books, may be derived. Philo, born B.C. 20, wrote probably about a.d. 30 or 40* Josephus, born 87 A.D., wrote about 85 or 90. Philo, thus about twenty years of age at the birth of our Lord, was about fifty at the time of the crucifixion ; Josephus, ])orn about the time of the conversion of St. Paul, and dying about the same time as St. John, as Jewish con- temporaries of the Jewish s[)eakers and writers of the CANON OF SCRIPTURE : THAT OF OLD TESTAMENT. 2 1 New Testament, could only mean the same collection of authoritative Jewish Scriptures. The contempora- neousness of the two classes of speakers and writers excludes the possibility of change or of different mate- rial. Philo speaks of it, as does our Lord, in its threefold division — of " laws, oracles uttered by prophets, hymns and other books." Josephus speaks of it as the " live books of Moses, thirteen prophetical books, four of hymns and directions of life." Agree- ing with this in substance is the threefold division of the son of Sirach, about 260 B.C., of " the law, the prophets, and the remaining books." Accordant with this is the languge of the Talmud — beginning, as to its material, soon after the time of Ezra— as to " the law, the prophets, and the writings ;' ' and the fact of their translation into the Septuagint about 200 b.c. Taking, therefore, the time of our Lord, we find this threefold division in His language as in that of His Jewish contemporaries ; this, in substance, agreeing with that of the Talmud, the son of Sirach, and the Septuagint. The different Jewish schools of thought — the Palestinian, the Babylonian, and the Alexandrian — agreeing substantially upon this point, would be a check upon each other in any attempted change or variation. Two facts are thus made manifest : first, the existence of this collection ; secondly, that its books held a peculiar iDosition of i^re-eminence. They were not, as many suppose, the whole of Jewish or Hel)rew litei'ature extant at this or any other period. There is evidence of other — the apocryphal books, for ^ 22 CANON OF SCRIPTURE : THAT OF OLD TESTAMENT. instance ; and of others earlier and later, not contained or recognized in the Hebrew canon. Accordant with this is the testimony of Christian writers of the three or four centuries following. Jus- tin Martyr, writing during the first half of the second century, mentions sixteen of the Old Testament writ- ers in his controversy with the Jew Try[)ho. The Tal- mud, already alluded to as contemporaneous in its oral form with Siracli and the Sex3tuagint, put in its writ- ten form during the first four centuries of Christian- ity, in this latter speaks of this same collection, and of the authorship of particular books. With slight varia- tion the Old Testament canon, in the catalogue of Melito of Sardis, 179, corresponds with that of these Jewish writers. The same may be said of that of Ori- gen, 220, of Athanasius, 325, of Cyril, Augustine, and Jerome, of the next two centuries. Later Jewish cata- logues have the same threefold division of the law, the prophets, and the Hagiographa. In some cases they divide them differently in their parts, include smaller books differently in longer ones. The Apocrypha, never accepted by the Jews, was added by the Council of Trent. But it is not fully accejDted even by the best scholarshixD of the Church of Rome. How this canon was formed, and what the succes- sive steps to its completion, it is difficult to determine. While there is no specific historical evidence sustaining the tradition of its formation l)y Ezra, yet the circum- stances of his position and times, as his peculiar work, would naturally lead to something of this character. CANON OF SCRIPTURE : THAT OF OLD TESTAMENT. 23 The argument in such case is : any other man, of ordinary good sense, having Ezra's task, and with these materials at hand, would have pursued the course supposed. The same may be said as to Nelie- miah. Certainly it must have been begun at this time, but most probably at an earlier date. The effort of Jewish scholarship, as of Jewish religious feeling, would be to co-operate in such undertaking. Evi- dence of such scholarship and of such religious inter- est is not wanting. The material of the Talmud and the Targums indicates usage of these books, and interest in them ; imply familiarity with them, and reverence toward them. The hostile effort of Antiochus Ex)iphanes to destroy the sacred books of Judaism would by reaction, as with the Chris- tians under Domitian, with books of the New Testa- ment, lead to the opposite result of their fuller verification. As already intimated, they are all found translated in the Septuagint. The Hebrew canon, in the time of our Lord, is now that of modern Judaism. The simplest explanation of these facts is, that these books, each one, as actually given, and at the time, in its known author, verified itself as a divinely given book, as was the case subsequently with those of the New Testament. Allusions are made to portions of them in Old Testament narrative. The five books of Moses, as found among the Samaritans, must have been collect- ed, and in shape, not very long after the time of Ezra. Directions are given in Old Testament narrative, re- 24 ('AN( )N OF SCRIPTURE : THAT OF OLD TESTAMENT. quiring other j)ortions to be put in writing. " We know," says Professor Cave, "that Moses set an ex- ample of an authoritative canon in his five books of the law. There is good reason for saying that tlie schools of the j^ropliets, following the Mosaic examj^le, constituted themselves the guardians of the several lU'ophetical writings, which they preserved, to form a steadily increasing whole, until the oj)en vision of prophecy ceased." The work of Ezra, as of Jewish Sf^holarship, like that of Christian, with the books of the New Testament, would be to separate them and keep them separate from all others. And the fact of the universal acceptance of this result affords pre- sumption that it was done in a satisfactory manner. The hyjiothesis of this, as the work of a divinely in- sjured man or men of " canonic insx)iration," to use the language of the writer just quoted, fully meets, and only fully meets all the facts, and the demands of the case. The accei:)ted work of after scholarship is thus simply to ascertain what has been done ; what are really these divinely given books to Grod's chosen people. Questions as to particulars of any of these books, and their writers or sources, say of the portions of Genesis, the Pentateuch or Hexateuch, of the Deutero- Tsaiah, of the Book of Daniel, or the Maccabean Psalms, these belong to other departments of investi- gation. However answered, the canon as it stands does so upon the later authentication of our Lord, as of earlier and later Jewish scholarship ; as, also, upon CANON OF SCRIPTURE : THAT OF OLD TESTAMENT. 25 the judgment of modern Judaism, and of the Christian Church accej)ting it. Etheridge's " latroduction to Hebrew Literature." Cave's " Inspiration of the Old Testament." Simon's " Theocratic Literature." Kirkpatrick's " Divine Library of the Old Testament." Girdlestone's " Foundations of the Faith." Rabbi Wise's " Pronaos of the Old Testament." Paterson Smith's " Old Documents and the New Bible." Buhl's " Cauon and Text of the Old Testament." Driver's " Introduction to the Old Testament. CHAPTER IV. CANON OF SCRIPTURE : THAT OF NEW TESTAMENT, The two questions. — How to be answered. — Early traces of usage of the four Gospels. — Patristic testimony as to these and other books of New Testament. — That of heretical and heathen writers.— Early ver- sions. — Indications of early, and wide circulation. Two questions, tacitly implied in the preceding dis- cussion, as to the canon of the Old Testament, have been more specifically raised in regard to that of the New Testament. First, What constitutes a canonical book ? secondly, When was the canon, the list of them as a whole, completed ? To the first has been the reply : The fact of inspired authorship, either apostles or contemporaneous disciples of prophetic endow- ment ; these last known, accepted, and thus endorsed by the 2:)rimitive Church. Out of the twenty-seven books of the N'ew Testament, twenty-three are by apostles, and, therefore, included in the promise of the Master, as to the Paraclete, to give them all needed Divine aid, in the deliverance of their testimony. Paul, as called to the apostleship, of course as an apostle, came within the terms of this assurance ; specifically claims to sj)eak and write under Divine influence and with Divine authority. Besides the ax30stles, however, we find mention of CANOJSr OF SCRIPTURE : THAT OF NEW TESTAMENT. 27 other disciples endowed with j^rophetic gifts : Agabiis, twice alluded to ; Ananias, in connection with the con- version of Paul ; as also allusions to similar gifts in one of the epistles to the Church at Corinth. The association of St. Luke with the Apostle Paul, and of Mark with Peter, of course gave them peculiar oppor- tunities for the preparation of their books. But the unquestioning reception of those books from the be- ginning, the manner of that receiDtion, as on a level with the others, and this by the whole Church, would indicate the recognition by contemporaries of their own divinely conferred qualifications for such undertaking. The same may be said of the Epistle to the Hebrews. If by St. Paul, of course apostolic and insj^ired ; if by Aj)ollos, then as one divinely fitted for his work ; if by St. Luke, then either as shaping the material of St. Paul, or, as in his gospel, from his own divinely con- ferred endowment. The fact in regard to them all is this, their acceptance by those to whom they were given ; the testimony, thus involved, as to known X)rox3lietic capacity. The testimony of subsequent wit- nesses. Christian, heretical, and heathen writers, is not simjDly to an opinion, but to a fact ; not that they, as individuals, think these to be divinely authenticated, but that they have been thus accei)ted from the begin- ning. In answer to the first question, therefore, we say, the canon is thus the list of the writings of in- spired men, as to the events and ti'uths recorded in them. The second of these questions, When was the canon, 28 CANON OF SCRIPTUKE : THAT OF NEW TESTAMENT. as a whole, completed ? is less easy to answer ; and this, in view of the different centres of religious life and influ- ence, the different churches to which these books were first given or sent. Each one of these constituted the evidential centre to its own special book. Its task was to communicate this book to other neighboring churches, and through these to reach tlie whole Church ; receiving, in turn, from any of these, other books of the same character. To use the idea of Bent- ley, any such book was certified and authenticated, listed, canonized immediately, in its intelligent recep- tion, by the church or community to which it was ad- dressed. When the Epistle, for instance, to the Corin- thians or to the Philipi)ians was received by the hand of Paul's messenger, as St. Paul's writing or message, and thus recognized, then and there all questions as to its character and authority were settled. The work of such church, as we have said, was to let this be known to neighboring churches ; as when these received a similar epistle to communicate to them in return. These communications seem to have been rapid. The presence of common opposition and danger, as the sympathy of a common faith and hoj^e, and of every- thing connected with it, would thus hasten this x)roc- ess of mutual communication. Books of a different character, like the Gospels, not like the epistles, ad- dressed to a particular community, but of interest to all, would, from their emanating centres, extend to the whole Christian community of the empire, and even beyond. As a matter of fact, and showing that this CANON OF SCRIPTURE : THAT OF NEW TESTAMENT. 29 must have been the process, the latest certified books are those, not like the epistles sent to Churches, or the gospels for all the churches, but those to individuals, like the epistles of John or that to Philemon. The Council of Laodicea, 360, and that of Carthage, 397, found the canon completed and in full accei)tance ; they did not settle it. That result had already been providentially, divinely accomplished, and in a way that took it out of the hands of mere human agency and authority. As having its special interest in this investigation, we first look at indications of the four Gospels. The first specific mention of them as a whole is by Irenseus of Lyons. He speaks of the number four, of the writ- ers by name, and of the peculiarities of their material. Similar language, as to the number of these gospels, is used by Clement of Alexandria and by Tertullian of Carthage. This was during the last half of the second century, and, in one case, by a man who had con- versed with contemporaries of the aj^ostles. Earlier than this, however, is the language of Justin Martyr, 90 a.d. to 166 a.d., as to "the memorials of the apostles" read in the churches. As Irenseus, born 140 A.D., was twenty-six years old at the time of Jus- tin's martyrdom, the strong presumption is that these "memorials" are the Gosj^els. The interval is not sufiicient for the disappearance of the one and the coming in of the other of a different character. The memory of Irenseus, it may be said, went back of the time of which Justin was writing. When, moreover, 30 CANON OP SCRIPTURE : THAT OF NEW TESTAMENT. we find that Tatian, a disciple of Justin, prepared tlie Diatessaron, or harmony of these four Gospels, the presumption becomes a reasonable certainty. The Didache, earlier j)erhaps than any of these, uses mate- rials from the Gospels, and seems to know of portions of them ; of St. Matthew certainly, and perhajDS of St. Luke. But it gives no list or names of books. It would thus aj^pear that these Gospels, as four, were known in the first third of the second century ; within thirty years of the death of the Ai30stle John. As to the materials of the New Testament, as it was gathered into a collection, it Avould soon naturally be listed. The wonder here is, the early period in which they seem to have been made. One of the earliest is that of the Mariatorian canon. This, from allusions in it, seems to have been written about 140 a.d. — within a generation of the Ax^ostle John, and twenty- eight years before the death of Polycarp. This con- tains all the books of the New Testament except He- brews, James, Peter, and second and third epistles of John. It sx)eaks of an Apocalypse of Peter doubt- fully. Following is the catalogue of Origen, 185 to 220 A.D., which includes all of the present canon ex- cei3t James and Jude. These last he quotes in other parts of his works as of authority. This writer, in his extant works, quotes two thirds of the material of the New Testament, and the whole contents of the four Gospels. Had the New Testament been lost, " it might have been recovered," to use the language of Dr. Tregelles, "from these books of Origen." With CANON OF SCRIPTURE : THAT OF NEW TESTAMENT. 31 Eiisebius is mention of all, with his well-known divi- sion of spurious, questioned, and accepted books ; the two last included in the present canon. Jerome has the same list as the present. He speaks, doubtfully, of Hebrews ; but elsewhere treats it as canonical. Corroborative of such evidence is the fact of the existence and usage of fche Syriac and old Latin ver- sions. The former was probably made as early as the middle of the second century, and agrees with the pres- ent except second and third John, Jude, and Revelation. The Latin versions have disappeared, or, rather, were driven out of circulation by the Vulgate. The Diocle- tian persecution, in its specific efi'ort to destroy the sacred books of the Christians, not only proved such lists to be in existence, but led to clearer discrimina- tion and more decided effort on the part of Christians to preserve these books, and to keep them apart from all others ; as does Eusebius' threefold classification show that they were not received without careful ex- amination. The Apocalypse as identified with peculiar views of the millenninm, in certain localities was for a time suspected and doubted ; as were the smaller, and individual epistles, later in finding circulation and acceptance. The evidence thus afforded, in specific lists of these books, by different writers, thus covering the first four centuries of Christian history, has, in this form, its peculiar value. But this value is greatly increased when we bear in mind the manner in which the authors of these lists estimated and used the books thus spoken 32 CANON OF SCRIPTURE : THAT OF NEW TESTAMENT. of, and what was tlie estimate and use by tlieir con- temporaries. These lists, say, of Origen, of Athana- sius, of Jerome, are the skeleton. The material of these books, thus listed, as used by these writers, is to be found upon every page of their writings, and filling volumes ; found, also, in all the Christian literature ot their times ; this, so to speak, gives the skeleton, flesh, and blood, and bones, and skin, and makes it a living and speaking organism. Origen, for instance, gives us a list of these books, accepted by the Church, as authoritative Divine teaching. But Origen, as we have seen, quotes two thirds of the contents of the books in his extant writings ; and in this, the whole contents of the four Gospels ; as in his Hexapla he re- veals his familiarity with the contents of the Old Tes- tament. "There are," says Lardner, "perhaps more and longer quotations of the small volume of the New Testament in the writings of Tertullian than of all the works of Cicero, though of so uncommon excellence for thought and style, in the writing of all characters for several ages." So, too, as illustrative of the circu- lation of books among the Christian communities, Pro- fessor Norton calls attention to the fact that two hun- dred copies of Tatian' s Diatessaron, compiled from the Gospels, was found by Theodoret among the member- ship of a single church, and that their place was easily supplied by copies of the Gospels ; Tatian himself having adopted gnostic views in his writings, and be- ing considered as heretical. This pervasion of Chris- tian literature, with the material of the New Testa- CANON OF SCRIPTURE : THAT OF NEW TESTAMENT. 33 ment, practical and controversial, and the position of antliority which it holds, gives a significance to these lists, which immeasurably increases their importance. It is to be further borne in mind that the opportuni- ties and means of reproducing these books of the New Testament, at the time of which we are speaking, were much more abundant than during some of the centu- ries following. It is a very common mistake to iden- tify the costliness and consequent scarcity of books, say, in the tenth or twelfth centuries, with the conditions of the second and the third. They were very differ- ent. The cheapness of slave labor, as copyists, and the abundance of material for production, made it easy to make books in large numbers and at cheap rate. An- drews Norton, in his " Genuineness of the Gospels," gives particulars, in regard to this i)oint, not only showing the cheapness of production, but the actual numbers of certain books at one time in circulation. His estimate is that, at the close of the second century, witli a Christian population of at least three millions, there must have been sixty thousand copies of the New Testament, or one for every fifty, in circulation. These facts, as bearing upon the general subject of the reliability of the evidence as to the canon, are full of significance. Tregelles, on " Printed Text of the New Testament." Andrews Norton, on " The Genuineness of the Gospels." Salmon's " Introduction to Books of the New Testament." Charteris, on " New Testament Scriptures." Harman's " Introduction to the Holy Scriptures,'' Westcott on " Canon of the New Testament." CHAPTER V. INSPIRATIOlSr OF SCRIPTURE, Inspiration naturally possible. — Question for believers. — New Testa- ment evidence of it. — Language of the Master as to His own inspira- tion ; as to that of His Apostles and chosen witnesses ; as that of Old Testament. — Claims of the Apostles, themselves, as those of Old Testament writers. — Forms in which they are made. — Difficulties urged, and reply. — What really implied in inspiration. The fact that there is a canon, or listed collection of books, from which all others are excluded, immedi- ately suggests the inquiry as to the basis of such col- lection. What is there common in these books, and bringing them together? what is there unique and peculiar, separating them from all others ? We are thus led to that which is their peculiar and differen- tiating element — their inspiration. The truths of these books may sometimes be found in other books, and wherever thus found are Divine ; whether in Chris- tian books, as those of Baxter or Leighton, or in books outside of Christian literature. But the books them- selves and their writers do not come under the term inspired. Books are Divine or inspired as the writ- ings of men divinely fitted for giving them to the world. Strictly, only persons are inspired ; the books are so called as coming from such persons. mSPlllATION OF SCRIPTURE. 85 The two preliminary questions here are the possi- bility and the fact of inspiration. The first, the pos- sibility, presents no difficulty. It is as to the Divine capacity of action. Is there Divine capacity of com- munication, whether in the use of natural, ordinary agencies, or of those that are extraordinary, with that which is human ? Who can answer this question in the negative ? Can it be thought a thing incredible that God, the Creator of man's capacities, should be able to communicate truth to him in this way ? The question answers itself. If man needs it, God can and may be expected to do it. In the line, moreover, of such anticipation, as ra- tional, may be noted the beliefs and opinions on this subject, not only of Jews and Christians, but of those outside of the circle of the Old and New Testa- ment revelation. Whether all such ideas and claims of inspiration, outside of this circle, were unfounded and false, cannot and need not be asserted. We can only say, that if any of them were genuine and accom- plished their divinely intended purpose, the evidence, as is that of the Old and New Testament, has not been i)reserved. The fact of prevalent ideas and beliefs has, however, its significance. The unbelieving inference has been, all these were counterfeits ; so, therefore, those of Judaism and Christianity. The believing inference is just the opposite. It is not cer- tain that all these were counterfeits. But, if so, coun- terfeits always imply a genuine, somewhere or some- how. That men should, in so many forms, anticipate 36 INSPIRATION OF SCRIPTURE. and naturally believe in this fact, imi^lies the coiiela- tion of this fact not only to the convictions, but to the moral and spiritual necessities of human nature. This matter, however, is one more particularly for Christian believers, those who accept the evidence, his- torical, moral, and otherwise, of the truth and genu- ineness of the Christian record. The apostles, for in- stance, were first heard by the unbelieving Jews and Gentiles as uninspired men ; uninspired witnesses of certain events and transactions coming under their cognizance. After the conversion of these unbelievers they listened to the same apostles, as inspired wit- nesses, of these same facts, as also to their real mean- ing. It is a waste of time to argue the question or urge the authority of inspiration with a man who questions the historic credibility of the New Testa- ment. Prior to inspiration is this previous question of the genuineness, authenticity, and credibility of the books claimed to be inspired. So again, the distinction, more emphasized in late discussions, and helping to remove some of the diffi- culties of the subject, of revelation from inspiration, needs to be kept in mind. In many cases they went together ; but in others they were separated, and in all need to be distinguished. There was, for instance, revelation to the whole camp of Israel at Sinai, of the majesty and will of Jehovah. There was inspiration to Moses to write the ten words and what followed for permanent remembrance. So, too, many of the earlier manifestations to jiatriarchs, as also of a later period, INSPIRATION OF SCRIPTURE. 37 may not have included the insjnring influence. There were revelations to Balaam ; and, at one supreme mo- ment, there was an inspiration, driving him against his wish to proclaim the success of Israel. Our effort now is to find out as to this latter inspiration. Deferring anything like a definition, until we have examined the phenomena, we begin with the New Tes- tament. Our point of departure, as our ultimate au- thority, is the person and teaching of our blessed Lord. This teaching has reference to three spheres of inspiration : first, that of His own teaching ; second- ly, that of His a]30stles and accredited witnesses ; third, that of Old Testament writers. We begin with the first : His claim to speak with Divine authority. "As the Father gave Me charge, so I speak." ' ' The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life." " He that sent Me is true ; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of Him." " As the Father hath taught Me, so 1 speak." ' ' Whosoever f olloweth Me shall not abide in darkness, but have the light of life." " Even as the Father said unto Me, so I speak.' ' There can be no doubt as to the meaning of these and similar declarations. And as our Lord thus affirms the Divine authority of His own declarations, so does He give assurance of a Divine influence which would impart like authority to those of His apostles. Their work was to testify of Him, In that testimony, of course, there would be constant recurrence to acts and words of His, coming under their own observation, and in their own hearing. 38 INSPIRATION OF SCRIPTURE. Natural memory would be used in tlie report ; but there would be also a Divine influence, aiding tliat memory, recalling all things as they had taken place. So, too, as to other things ; their understanding of His character and work. But with this, also, a Divine in- fluence, "taking these things of Him," and revealing them in their full significance. As witnesses of Him, in this work of their apostleshij) — not in other matters or undertakings — but in this, their appointed work, the Paraclete, the Sj)irit of wisdom and of knowledge, would be with them, and in them, and give truth and authority to all their teachings and declarations. Among these assurances, the first in jioint of time was in connection with the sending forth of the twelve (Matt. 10 : 19, 20). " It is not ye that speak," is His language in contemplation of a certain exigency, ' ' but the Spirit of your Father, that speaketh in you." Again in Luke 12 : 11, in telling them of dangers to be encountered in His service, the same assurance is given : " Take no thought, be not anxious," as to the manner or the matter, nwi rf n, "how or what ye shall speak." "The Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to speak." So, again, later in His prediction of the destruction of Jerusalem, and of difficulties and persecutions con- nected with their work in preaching the Gospel (Mark 13 : 11 ; Luke 21 : 14), the same assurance is given, with the additional promise, " I will give you a mouth, and wisdom which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor to resist. " INSPIRATION OF SCRIPTURE. 39 Throwing light upon all these, and exx3anding their meaning, is His declaration at the last supper, of the Paraclete going with them, and recalling all things to their remembrance, revealing His person and work, leading them into the whole truth, and showing them things to come. All these, closing in the promise given just before the ascension (Acts 1 : 1-8), when they are reminded of " the promise of the Father," already given, and receive their last assurance of the power of the Holy Ghost, as they witnessed for Him " in Jerusalem, and in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Manifestly there is, in these declarations, the authoritative word of the Master to the affirmed in- spiration of these. His chosen witnesses. And, as with these, as we saw in the discussion on the canon, so with others called to their special work — to Paul, to Barnabas, admitted to the apostolate ; to Agabus or ApoUos ; to Luke or Mark, receiving the j)rophetic gift, speaking under the power of the same Divine Spirit and with the same Divine authority. And as our Lord thus gave assurance of this in- spiration to the apostles, so these ai:)Ostles themselves distinctly claim it. " The word of God, which ye have heard of us" (1 Thess. 11 : 13), is one of these decla- rations. " What I write unto you are the command- ments of the Lord" (1 Cor. 14 : 37) is another. " I re- ceived the Gospel by revelation of Jesus Christ ; not from man, nor by man, but through Jesus Christ from God" (Gal. 1 : 12). " We are of God. He that heareth God, heareth us" (1 John 4 : 6). So, too, as to forms 40 INSPIRATION OF SCRIPTURE. and modes of expression, in which it is implied. " It seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us" (Acts 15 : 28). " The Spirit speaketh expressly" (1 Tim. 4:1). "We speak in the words which the Holy Ghost teacheth" (1 Cor. 2:4, 7, 10, 12, 13). "We have the Spirit" (Eph. 3:5). "I was in the Spirit" (Rev. 1 : 10 ; 4:2). Evidently the claim is here assert- ed of the actual possession, of the power promised to them by the Master. But question has here arisen as to the adjustment of these assurances and claims with certain recorded facts of apostolic experience. One of these is the conference of the fifteenth chapter, in the Acts of the Apostles, and the conclusion as the result of that conference. Another is the inability of Peter fully to see the mean- ing of his vision until after his conversation with Cor- nelius. Another is the contention of Paul and Barna- bas as to the propriety of giving Mark a second trial. And the last is the inability of Peter to see his incon- sistency of action until his attention was called to it by the rebuke of Paul. To these difficulties the general reply may be made : inspiration is not omniscience. It is insight given with reference to a joarticular object, and in a variety of ways. Still further, if these cases constituted in- consistency, the disci x)les and the writer of the book do not seem to recognize it. The process by which an insx^ired man was brought to a conclusion, of which he could be divinely assured, was, in different cases, a very different one. Peter needed to be led and in- INSPIRATION OF SCRIPTURE. 41 striicted in a x)eculiar manner before lie could clearly see the fact of the full extension of the Gospel to the Gentiles. He needed, again, by the rebuke of Paul, to see that he was acting inconsistently with this truth, which he had previously reached in the house of Cornelius. The same Divine process of imparting light to an insijired conclusion was afforded in the discus- sions of the Apostolic Council. The contention of Paul and Barnabas was not as to their teaching, but as to the merits of an individual. Most readers think Paul was right ; but Mark's subsequent experience seems to justify the view of Barnabas. But whichever was right, it was not a matter of inspiration. So far, then, as regards the insi^iration of the Master Himself, and that of the apostles in this, His own lan- guage, and in theirs reaffirming, we find it clearly and emphatically asserted. As applicable to their teach- ing orally given, it is equally so to that teaching in written form. As the wisdom of man has made mani- fest that this is the best form in which to place truth and corrrectly perpetuate it, the wisdom of God would not select one that is inferior. We are thus led to the kindred question of tlie in- spiration of the Old Testament. Here we have not only the affirmations of the Master and of the apostles, but of the Old Testament writers themselves. We begin with the first. Prior to specific examination of this there are two general presumptions to be noted as of special significance. One of these is the ordinary pourse of our Lord, and of the apostles, as to Judaism 42 INSPIRATION OF SCRIPTURE. and Jevvisli Scriptures. While their real work was to subvert Judaism, especially in its rabbinic form, their language and course upheld and honored the Jewish Scriptures ; they even affirm that in these Scriptures is a Divine sanction to their work. No less important, as in the same line of inference, is the usage and pecul- iar idea of the word i3roj)het— not merely a predicter, but one speaking under Divine enlightenment and direction ; organs of Divine communication, under Di- vine guidance, and proclaiming, " Thus saith Jeho- vah." This term, used both in the Old and New Tes- taments, carries with it this implication. Taking with us these presumptions, we look at some of the declara- tions of these different witnesses in regard to this sub- ject. We begin with those of our Lord. " David spake by the Holy Ghost." " God's word cannot be broken." "The Scriptures testify of Me." "The Scriptures must be fulfilled." "All things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms concerning Me." " Be- ginning at Moses and all the prophets. He expounded unto them, in all the Scriptures, the things concerning Himself." These are a few out of many ; but they are sufficient. It is to be said that in His appeals to Old Testament Scripture it was as ultimate, as Divine in its authority.* * The point has been recently made, especially in connection with the declarations of our Lord in regard to particulars of the Old Testament, as to whether such declaration is, in all cases, to be regarded as final. mSPlKATlON OF SCRlPTUliE. 43 The same is to be said as to the apostles. Their preaching was to show, from the Okl Testament, as divinely predicting, that Jesus was the Messiah, and The doubt in this case is urged upon two grounds : First, upon that of the limitations of our Lord's knowledge, in the very fact of His human- ity. Secondly, supposing His knowledge perfect, as extending to His actual declarations, His object was, not to settle questions of criticism and history, but to reveal Himself and His work ; in so doing to em- ploy the terms then in use, and adapt Himself to the intelligence of His hearers. We examine the first. Jesus Himself, it is urged, speaks of things which He did not know •. "increased in wisdom and stature;" was "surprised" at things as they sometimes took place. If limited, it is asked, in the conditions of His humanity in these respects, why not in others ? Why not as to the authorship and time of the composition of a Psalm, or as to that of certain portions of the Pentateuch ? Why not regard Him in this, His human knowledge, as in common with that of His age and time ? To this the reply is direct and decisive. While our Lord knew the limita- tions within which He was not to speak, He knew also His knowledge as to those things of which He ought and did speak. It would almost seem as if some of His declarations were anticipative of such question. " What we know we speak ; what we have seen we testify." " I speak as My Father hath taught Me." "What I should say and what I should speak the Father gave Me commandment." "As I hear, I judge ; and the word that ye hear is not Mine, but the Father's, which sent Me." In the light of these declarations, it may be said that He knew His own human limitations ; and knowingly, from the Spirit which dwelt in Him without measure, spoke and taught authoritatively within those limitations. The highest form of mere uninspired knowledge is this, which includes its own limitations and keeps its utterances within them. Was that of Him, who, perfect humanity in union with Deity, and even in that humanity filled with the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of knowledge and wisdom, less ? What He positively said He knew ; and He always thus unhesitatingly spoke, as knowing that He knew. But, then, as to the second, it is further asked, supposing this perfect 44 INSPIRATION OF SCRIPTURE. that this Messiah was the predicted head, not of an earthly, but of a heavenly and spiritual kingdom. From Peters lirst sermon to his JeAvish countrymen, knowledge iu Himself, as to all His afflnnutious, did lie in such affirma- tion endorse, or intend to endorse, all the meanings of the terms em- ployed, and in the sense in which He knew Himself to be under- stood ? This is a different question, and demands careful consideration. Words, it is to be recognized, have an etymological, and they may have a later contemporaneous and popular meaning. No one who now speaks of a man as a lunatic means to say that the moon made him so. So, again, to say that a man is a villain, does not hold us to the asser- tion that he lives, or ever lived, in a village. "We speak of the sun rising and setting without becoming responsible for the Ptolemaic theory. So in numberless other cases. The speaker, in anj' such case, is held to the sense in which he knows that he is understood. Our blessed Lord and the inspired writers, to be intelligible, must employ the terms and forms of expression in usage among their hearers. The same thing may be said as to historical allusion, or to known characters even in well-known works of fiction. Supposing the Book of Jonah, or that of Ruth, to have been a fiction, and accepted as such by hearers and speakers ; illustrations from them, in our Lord's teaching, might have been anticipated. But supposing any such fiction, known as such by a speaker, but re- garded by his hearer as a genuine history, be used by that speaker in argu- ment or teaching, as historical truth, and thus to the establishing of his conclusions. This would not be argumentum ad liominem, as it is some- times represented, but argumentum ad igiiorantiam — taking advantage of ignorance to reach a conclusion which the material did not really sus- tain. A speaker, under the law of contract, is held to the sense in which he knows himself to be understood by his hearer. He is so morally as well as legally. The significance of this principle must be recognized, as we look at these, our Lord's declarations. ]\Iuch more, too, when, upon this accepted sense, depends the validity of His con- clusion. Those Old Testament books were regarded as sacred truth ; their sacreduess associated with their authorship. Upon this basis the INSPIRATION OF SCRIPTURE. 45 to Paul's last appeal to them at Eome, this was the in- variable course i^nrsued. No effort or specific affirma- tion is made as to the Divine source or authority of the Old Testament. It was always assumed and im- plied, on one side, always accepted as beyond doubt by the other. Such specific affirmations are afterward made in later Christian instruction. But, with Jewish hearers, it was not needed, would have been a gratui- tous impertinence. Among these latter are those of 2 Tim. 3 : 15, 16 ; 1 Pet. 1 : 10, 11, 12 ; 2 Pet. 1 : 19, 20, 21. The different readings of the first, ''all Scripture is insx)ired," and " every insiDired Scripture," does not affect the issue as to the Divine origin of the Old Testament ; and the two others aflBrm its i)i"ophetic character and fulfilment in the events of the New Testament. conclusion rests. When He said, "Moses wrote of Me," and "David said" thus and so of Me, in certain Old Testament books. He was speaking to those who accepted such origin and authorship. In that acceptation His argument found its conclusiveness. Suppose, for in- stance, He had said, " Some unknown writer or redactor of the time of Josiah, in a book which you think was written by Moses, wrote of Me." What would have been the reply ? Or, again, some unknown psalmist of the Maccabean times said in a psalm which you think was written by David, " the Lord said" thus and so of ^e. Supposing these hearers to have kept themselves from stoning Him on the spot, what would have been the natural reply to such an argument ? Would it not have been, ' ' What do we care for unknown writers of the Josian or the Maccabean age ? If Moses wrote and David spoke, as we believe they did, we are ready to hear them. " Manifestly the common postulate with speaker and hearer, in an argument, is needed to give such argu- ment its validity. Popular apprehensions cannot be used to establish truths, unless themselves truthful. 46 INSPIRATION OF SCRIPT UKE. But how as to these Old Testament writers them- selves ? Bo they claim to speak under Divine guid- ance and influence 'i The reply is best given in their own language. " Jehovah said to me, Go and speak to this people" (Isa. 6 : 9). " Thus saith Jehovah" (Isa. 43 : 1). " The hand of Jehovah was upon me," " The Avord of Jeho- vah came to me." " The heavens were oj)ened, and I saw visions of God" (Ezek. 1 : 1-3). " The word of the Lord came unto me, saying" (Ezek. 6 : 1). So also Jer. 23 : 9 ; 2 : 12 ; 7 : 23 ; Amos 3:1; 7 : 1 ; 9 : 1-3. These are but a few out of many. As in the language of our Lord, and that of the apostles, there can be no difficulty or doubt as to the fact meant to be asserted — that of Divine influence and guidance. These decla- rations, taken in connection with those of the New Testament, show, further, this influence and guidance as not only extending to prediction and to moral pre- cept, but to other portions of Old Testament material. They are all spoken of alike in the New Testament. John 10 : 35, " Scripture cannot be broken." Facts and doctrines are treated as inseparable ; the precept or doctrine is in the fact, in ritual as in moral action, Heb. 9:18, "The Holy Ghost signifying," through these, certain Divine realities. So, too, with actions and sentiments of good men, of an improper as of a proper character. We have the record of David's weakness and sin, of Solomon's idolatry, of Job's impa- tience, of the erroneous arguments of his friends, of the complaints of Jeremiah, of the weakness of Heze- INSPIRATION OF SORIPTURE. 47 kiali. The record in all these particulars has its di- vinely intended uses — is for the instruction of all, of all coming generations. Such, then, as to the fact of insjDiration, both of the Old and of the New Testament. We approach, now, the more disputed point of its character ; what it im- plies ; what in it is essential ; what some of its inci- dentals ? Is there any one word under which its char- acter can be described ; which gives what may be called a theory of inspiration ? It is a Divine, and yet a human result ; under a Divne Agent, and yet in con- nection with human personality. Each of these fac- tors. Divine and human, act ; and in such manner that the integrity of each is unimpaired. Not only the human personality, but the peculiar individualities of this personality, as manifest in the contents of the in- sjDired books, find their place. As one of these per- sonalities — the Divine — is infinite, and is thus, to some degree, incomprehensible in His operations, so any theory of these operations must be imperfect. We may examine some of the forms in which it has been affirmed. One of these is what has been called the mechanical — that which eliminates the human personality, and makes the inspired man a mere machine in the hand of the Omnipotent Insi)ii'er. Whether ever consistent- ly held, it has now few, if any, advocates. Its main im- portance just now is, that those who attempt the op- posite extreme — that of eliminating, not the human, but the Divine Agent, in the fact of inspiration, and 48 INSPIRATION OF SCRIPTURE. to make it out purely a natural one— usually begin by representing their opponents, and of whatever class, as holding this, the " old traditional view'' and ex- planation. It is sufficient to have described it. This last, the natural, and as the greatest extreme from tlie mechanical, may briefly be described. This is inspiration of the whole man, in his highest physi- cal, mental, and moral condition, as he is brought in contact with great truths and sentiments, comes under their power, and gives to them expression — that of the orator or poet in his best moments of natural inspira- tion. This, the rational and moral elevation of the human agent, was that of the Hebrew prophet, of the Christian apostle. If it be urged that this is spoken of as Divine, the reply is, " All that man has is divinely given, his natural powers, as his outward surround- ings." As the inspiration, through the elevation of these natural powers, exercised and quickened under these divinely arranged outward conditions, it is prop- erly described as Divine. It is thus a Divine gift, and power for all time, to be anticijiated in every age of the world. In other words, it is naturally supernatu- ral, if this last word ought ever to be used. But to this there are two fatal difficulties. It does not corres^iond with the facts ; and it really gets rid of what it attempts to explain. An inspiration, with- out an extraordinary Divine influence upon the in- spired man, is in conflict with the whole tenor of Scripture teaching, already quoted. This fact of Bible insi:)iration cannot be brought within the category of INSPIRATION OF SCRIPTURE. 49 mere natural agencies ; and this explanation does vio- lence to the terms in which it is described. The in- spired man may have been, in the elevation of his highest and best rational and moral moments. The outward environment may have been of the most sug- gestive and favorable character. But there was some- thing else, producing, it may be, this very elevation, and using these outward circumstances, distinct from, however, and above them — the personal Divine Spirit of Divine truth and wisdom. Akin to this, and with like defect, to some degree, is that which has been called gracious inspiration. This, while recognizing the personal action of the Spirit of God upon the spirit of man, at the same time identifies it with the ordinary enlightening and sanc- tifying influence of *the blessed Spirit upon the minds and hearts of believers. His agency to the revelation and certification of new truth, upon the specially select- ed prophet or apostle, is thus only the same as that of His enlightening and sanctifying agency in the spir- itual life. The holiest man is the most fully inspired prophet, and all holy men are inspired. These two things, doubtless, may, and, perhaps, ordi- narily, did go together. They did so, perhaps, with Elijah and Paul ; but how with Jonah or Balaam or Caiaphas ? Ordinarily, it would seem that holy men were selected for such work. But not necessarily. A man of ordinary spiritual attainment might thus be se- lected, and another of higher spiritual character, but of inferior natural gifts, be left aside. The case of Jonah 50 INSPIRATION OF SCRIPTURE. is almost as suggestive as that of Balaam or of Caiaphas. But whatever such capacity, natural, moral, or spir- itual, there was something else. An inspired prophet is not, necessarily, although ordinarily, a man of the highest spiritual character and attainment. On the other hand, a holy man is not, thereby, an inspired prophet. The two things, if not always separated, must always be distinguished. This view, like the one jireceding, gets rid of the idea of authoritative inspira- tion. Somewhat different from either of these is what has been called partial inspiration ; partial, sometimes as to the different books, sometimes as to the material of the same book ; involving thus the idea of different degrees of inspiration. The law, it may be, and the prophets, with some ; but not tiie historical books. With others, it is the material of prediction, and pre- cept, and sj)ecific declaration, but not that, as in Paul's epistles, of reasoning ; or, as in the Gospels, of narra- tive. The element of truth, in this view, is that of the variety of the Divine operation, in its modes and mani- festations. It is here, as it is in all Divine operations, manifoldness in unity. The unity, here, is the one authoritative, inspiring Divine Agent and agency. In this, its Divine identity, it baffles all finite qualifica- tion or quantification. The inspired writers them- selves make no such effort. The Scriptures, as we have seen, in the language of our Lord, are spoken of as a whole, and are spoken of as alike authoritative. INSPIRATION OP SCRIPTURE. 51 Sometimes it is so under the word " Scripture ;" some- times where their threefold division is indicated. The idea of inspiration, moreover, as related to historical record, or to processes of reasoning, presents no rational difficulty. Men exercise upon each other similar influences, aiding their memory of facts, and their jDrocesses of reasoning, without any interference either with rational or moral i3ersonality. If so with the i^ower of the spirit of man, much more so with the Spirit of God. The inspired writers are the only capa- ble witnf^sses in this matter. Their testimony recog- nizes no such distinction ; rather implies and affirms the contrary. But, if thus extended to the whole of Scripture, in what sense ? Is it to the words ? And, if so, was it verbally dictated ? These two ideas are distinct. We take the latter first — that of verbal dictation, or, as it is usually described, verbal inspiration. That there were instances in which such verbal dic- tation found place can scarcely be doubted. The lan- guage, for instance, of direction, to Isa. 6 : 9, 10 ; Jer. 22 : 2, 3 ; Ezek. 3 : 10 ; Jer. 1 : 9, 10 ; Amos 2 : 1-10, seems to imply this ; as is the case with many similar passages. If it be said that, in these cases, the truth was revealed, and the words are those of the prophet, the reply is that the account specifies words as com- municated ; and the most natural interpretation is that of verbal messages, with which the prophet was charged. Inspiration, therefore, in some cases, extended to the verbal form of the message. This, let us remember, 52 INSPIRATION OF SCRIPTURE. did not conflict either with the free agency or indi- viduality of the inspired man, or of those to whom he spoke. A wise human sender of a verbal message would, in doing it, so adapt his message to the indi- vidualities, both of the messenger and the recipient, as to express his meaning in the best manner possible. If this be possible, and the best course to human wis- dom, it would not be less so to that which is Divine. The style of that Spirit of x^erfect wisdom and knowl- edge is a j)erfect one ; not absolutely, or metaphysi- cally, or rhetorically, but relatively — relatively to its recipients, and to the purpose to be accomplished. But while there were thus undoubted examples of verbal insi)iration, it cannot, therefore, be affirmed that thus it was with all There are other recorded cases in which nothing of this kind is im2:)lied. " The hand," the power of Jehovah, is upon the prophet, and he speaks. The prophet sees a vision, and it becomes the starting- j)oint of his prediction. Sometimes such vis- ion is explained. Then, again, no such explanation is given. In other cases incidents are the occasion, as 2 Sam. 22 ; 2 Kings 19 : 20-34 ; 1 Kings 17 : 1-14 ; 21 : 17, 24 ; Obad. 1:1. Then again the imx)ulse comes without anything outward (Acts 8 : 26 ; 10 : 19). " The word of the Lord came," is one form of expression employed. "The burden of the word of the Lord" is another. The connection, in these cases, rather seems to indicate the source and substance of the message than its verbal expression. Doubtless, in these cases, the influence exerted would modify and INSPIRATION OF SCRIPTURE. 53 control the terms, the words of the message thus de- livered. So, we may say, in that degree and respect it was verbal. Whether in rare cases we are able to think without words has been a question. Certainly, without them or without outward signs, the thinking cannot be expressed. And any powerfully controlling influence brought to bear upon the human mind and heart, as was the case with the inspired man, would also control and modify forms and manners of expres- sion. Sometimes, in the passages above, words seem to have been used ; sometimes they were only affected and controlled in the material imparted or in the man- ner of such impartation. The object was, of course, to secure correctness in delivery ; that, as it came to the recipient, and as he delivered it, it should be the word of the Lord, and therefore a true word. We have thus to seek some form of expression or word which will include these varied phenomena, the natural elevation, the morally sanctifying influence, the divinely sx)oken word, the divinely given vision or incident, the Divine impulse ; and these as related to the object in view, whether of precept, prediction, rational deduction, or moral insight. "The self -same Spirit dividing to each one severally as He will," thus, "at sundry times and in divers measures," secures His pur- pose, the imi^artation of truth to man. Plenary has been suggested as best expressing it : plenary, suffi- cient, adequate to the end divinely proposed. In other words, we say the influence exerted, the inspiration is sufficient, adequate, to th- attainment of the Divine 54 INSPIRATION OF SCRIPTURE. object, tliat of imparting Divine truth to man ; to en- sure the correct delivery of the messages of Divine dic- tation. This does not, of course, mean plenary as to all kinds and forms of knowledge, geological, chemi- cal, psychological, physiological ; but so as to the Divine purjDose in view. The Divine Agent, in such case, uses the imperfect vehicle of human language and human expression to make known His truth, and to convey His meaning. He is able, even through these, to accomplish His object. The message, in some cases, as in jDrediction, may be but imperfectly under- stood, both by the prophet and those to whom he speaks it. But, in its time, the full meaning can and will come out. Given the postulate of the omnipresent wisdom and knowledge of the inspiring Agent, and there can be no rational doubt or fear of His securing accurate delivery of His intended message. If this be so, we have our definition. That of Knapp seems to meet the demand in this respect : " An extraordinary Divine influence, by which the in- spired teacher was instructed, what and how he should speak in discharging the duties of his office." That of Dr. Hodge : " An influence of the Holy Spirit upon selected agents, rendering them organs of God for the infallible communication of His will ;" and that of Professor Park : "A Divine influence on the minds of the sacred writers, causing them to teach in the best x^ossible manner whatever they intended to teach, and especially to communicate religious truth without error, " are substantially fhe same. Here we have no INSPIRATION OF SCRIPTURE. 55 attempted explanation of the phenomena. We have, however, a unifying principle, to which all such phe- nomena may be related, and in which they find a rational explanation. To this have been urged various objections and diffi- culties. Many of them have little relevance to the real issue in this subject. They really belong to kindred topics and departments of scriptural investigation, but are not essentially involved in that of inspiration. When, for instance, difficulties are urged, in connec- tion with uncertainties as to the text, various readings, disputed translations, or the disputed canonicity of certain books, the reply is manifest. A corrupt text, or a wrong translation, or an imperfect version, or a question of canonicity, does not at all affect the char- acter, the authority, or inspiration of that which is pure and genuine. Inspiration is affirmed only of the genuine book, and of the pure text. Whether or not that is the case, must be decided upon historical and critical reasons and evidence. So, too, as to the issues of fragmentary construction, say of Old Testament books ; the asserted later com- position, or different authorship than usually supposed, of some of these books. All these questions, it is to be said, are yet at issue. The higher scholarship is to be found on both sides. While we are told every week that it is all on one side, the next week we read a learned reply from the other. While, moreover, the old scholarship is as a unit, the new is si)]it uj) into conflicting theories. But whether so or not, and how- 56 INSPIRATION OP SCRIPTURE. ever these points be decided, the books, as we now have them, whether as a whole or in parts, have re- ceived the authentication as inspired of the Master and of His apostles. " The Scripture," " the Scrix)tures,'* ''the law," "the law and the prophets," "the law, the prophets, and the Psalms," and whatever their date and authorship, are thus settled by Him and them as the inspired Scriptures. Not less direct is the reply to difficulties urged, from variations of language in quotations, by New Tes- tament Avriters and speakers, from Old Testament, or that of late Old Testament writers of those that are earlier. The removal of the difficulty will come, in recognition or discovery of the jpurpose for which the quotation is made — the principle controlling. That princii:)le may be sometimes that of verbal exactness, to give the very words. In others, to give only the idea or sense. Sometimes it may be as proof ; some- times to indicate only similarities, or for illustration. So again, such quotation may be from the Hebrew text, or from the Septuagint, or from an Aramaic ver • sion, or from an oral Aramaic gradually formed, and in popular usage. And then, again, from whatever version, it might have been targumed, as was by no means unusual, parajohrased in the way of explana- tion, as quoted. Any rational supposition, in these respects, avoids conflict in the domain of inspiration. Whatever the principle of quotation, they are always thus quoted as inspired, authoritative. But the still further difficulty is urged from dis- INSPIRATION OF SCRIPTURE. 57 crepancies in different accounts of the same transac- tion — say the death of Sanl in the Old Testament, or of discourses and events in tlie New Testament. These, it is urged, are inconsistent with any other inspiration than that of natural or moral elevation. Of course, if the discrepancy amount to contradic- tion, it is inconsistent not only with inspiration of any kind, even that which is natural, but also with his- toric truth. Such contradiction cannot be affirmed so long as any supposable possibility of explanation can be suggested. The discrepancy or difficulty may often be removed by reference to the specific intentions of the inspired writers or of the divinely inspiring Agent, in regard to which we are not able fully to decide. That intent may have regard, in one case, to one form of words, in another to another. In one of these cases a certain amount and arrangement of matter may have been required ; in another it may have been different. Why does John omit the institution of the Lord's Sup- per ? the agony in Gethsemane ? the incident of the dying malefactor ? How is it that he alone mentions that the discii^les baptized ? Why does Luke leave out the resurrection of Lazarus, and Matthew the para- ble of the prodigal son 1 " Ignorance has a wide range of possibilities," and any supposable hypothesis saves ignorance from contradiction. So, too, as to discrep- ancies as to accounts of the same transaction. " The generals of Henry the Fourth," says a living writer, " strove to tell him what passed after he was wounded at the battle of Aumale ; and no two of them agreed 58 INSPIRATION OF SCRIPTURE. as to the course of events which gave them the victory. Two armies beheld the battle of Waterloo ; but who can tell when it began ? At ten o'clock, said the Duke of Wellington ; at half - past eleven, said General Alam, who rode at his side. At twelve, according to Napoleon and Davoust ; and at one, according to Ney." All, x^erhaps, right, but each one meant a different tiling or movement which he called and re- garded as the beginning. One other of these supposed difficulties claims atten- tion : the real or supposed conflict of Scripture with secular history, or with the scientific conclusions of the past or the present century. To this the reply is two- fold. Many of these mistakes and conflicts have been found to be no mistakes or conflicts, but have rather confirmed the claim of Scripture. It is to be remem- bered, moreover, that this language of Scripture is popular, is in the form of the contemporaneous sci- ence, whatever that was. The j)roblem, to the inspired writer, or, rather, to the divinely insiDiring Agent, was the communication of Divine truths and dealings through the medium of human language, and this in language intelligible to the actual recijDients. With such an imperfect instrument the work was done. It is the business of the student and interpreter to find the Divine truth in this, its human setting ; to ascer- tain the Divine message, or the Divine act, coming in this manner to human reception. We are constantly using words that, in their etymology, had a different meaning ; that will, to sj^eakers and hearers a century INSPIRATIOX OF SCRIPTURE. 59 hence, be still further modified as to such meaning. We speak of natural phenomena, not in accordance with scientilic accuracy ; and what is now accurate will not be so fifty years hence. Chemistry now says affinity. A hundred years ago it said phlogiston. A century hence it may find a better term than either. At the same time,' there is no particular difficulty in making ourselves intelligible ; in making substantially correct communications.* The inspired communica- tion, whether a precept, or a fact, or a logical conclu- sion, a revelation of Divine or human character, is so made as to convey its meaning — a meaning for the * Professor Sanday, in his Bampton Lectures, speaks of the Tradi- tional and the Inductive view of the Canon and Inspiration. It is to be said that there is not one of the many theories on this subject that is not traditional, that does not claim to be, and is not, to some de- gree, inductive. The traditional view, however, first received, is by each intelligent recipient, for himself, inductively certified. The induc- tive, whatever its processes of collocation and verification, starts with traditional material and preconceptions. Perhaps the distinction of historical and critical would better describe the two classes of views. And yet, the historical does not entirely leave out of view the internal and critical, and the internal and critical does not entirely ignore the external and historical. It is the undue predominance of one or the other that is to be avoided. What is needed is the full induction that will take in and fairly deal with both these forms of material ; that will adjust the relative claims of each. In the confusion of recent conflict the necessity of this is becoming manifest. As it is intelligently recog- nized and striven for, much of this confusion will disappear. Tradi- tional, as we shall see, has two meanings— one of these a bad one. It is, therefore, always an avaih\ble ambiguity with which to discount beforehand the position of an opponent. GO INSPIRATION OF SCKIPTUKE. reader of Scripture, coming to it in earnest, truthful, prayerful examination. Lee on Inspiration. Jamiesou on Inspiration. Manly on Inspiration. Cliarteris on Cliristian Scriptures. Robson on the Bible, its Revelation, Inspiration, etc. Hodge's discussion, and Cave on Old Testament Inspiration. CHAPTER VI. TRADITION-, MYSTERY, MIRACLES. Tradition. — Mystery. — Evidences of Ciiristian Revelation. Intijmately connected with the subject of the canon of "Scripture, and its authority as that of an inspired revelation, is that of tradition — an authority addi- tional, one of a different form, and coming through a different process, but originating in the same Divine source ; in other words, is there a revelation and in- spiration in the Church ? Sometimes it may be in the line of its asserted earthly head, the successors of Peter ; sometimes in the whole Church, finding exjDres- sion in conciliar decision ; sometimes in the concurring voice of the successive episcopate. The question, thus, is not that of historical tradition, written or otherwise. This, of course, not infallible, has its value. Our knowledge of the past, secular as well as religious, scientific as well as popular, first comes to us in that way. As it thus comes, in the first instance, it is sub- sequently verified, or proved to be reliable, by exami- nation of its evidence ; the reasons, in view of which others before us have given it acceptance. In this sense of the word, tradition is a source not only of in- formation, but often of verification. 02 TRADITION, MYSTERY, MIRACLES. The issue, however, in this matter of tradition, as related to Scripture, or as a source of Divine informa- tion additional to Scripture, is, with reference to it in one particular form, that which is oral. The Council of Trent affirms the existence of such tradition, and places it on a level with the written Scripture. It is the divinely given and transmitted word, divinely given and preserved in oral form. There is thus, in the Church, a depositum for all ages ; its infallible Head, or its infallibly directed Councils, declaring, in particular cases, and as needed, what is its substance — the material of its teaching and decisions. To state this claim explicitly is to refute and dispose of it. There is no scriptural reason, no rational evi- dence outside of Scripture, by which it can be sus- tained. Doubtless, as St. John says, there were many sayings of our Lord that were not written in his book ; and, we may add, not in any other of the Gospels. But, so far as regards the knowledge of the Church, they have passed away. Oral tradition does not even attempt to reproduce them. So with the unrecorded words and truths of apostolic preaching. No effort is made to reproduce them. Oral tradition, now, rather undertakes to say what they meant in that which is recorded. St. John, indeed, does tell of one oral tradi- tion getting into circulation, during his time, which he corrects as giving a wrong impression. And, within the next hundred years, we find opposing views ap- pealing to oral tradition as sustaining oj^posite conclu- sions. TRAIttTION, MYSTERY, MIRACLES. 63 The issue here is not the comparative value of truth, oral or written. Truth is truth, and has its vahie, however transmitted. The real issue is as to whether the oral mode is a reliable one. This, too, not only, or mainly of facts, and for short periods, but of doc- trines, and for all time. The clear statement of the question suggests its answer. There is no satisfactory evidence of any such body of traditional truth beyond the lifetime of the founders of Christianity. Had any such existed, its mode of transmission would have vitiated its reliability. In such process of oral trans- mission it would have lost its definiteness, and gath- ered new and erroneous material. In closing this sub- ject, it is well to note the ambiguity in usage as to this word tradition. A traditionalist, in one sense, is one who accepts indiscriminately what comes from the past, and without verification. In another sense, it is one who accepts oral tradition. In still another it is one wlio accepts knowledge and truth from the past, but verifies it by careful investigation. The word is now a favorite one with a certain class to describe any long- established opinion, with, of course, the insinuation that it has been and is thus held, simply as received and without verification. There is often a great want of truth in tlie terms by which men describe their oid- l^onents. This subject fifty years ago, in the Oxford contro- versy, warmly contested, has largely lost its interest. The opposite extreme now is that which holds all established opinions, and from that fact, as traditional 64 TRADITION, MYSTERY, MIRACLES. and doubtful, or at least obsolete. The subject, as be- tween Rome and Oxford on one side, and Protestant- ism on the other, is exhaustively treated in Goode's " Divine Rule of Faith and Practice." Mysteey. This, like tradition, has its connection v^ith Scrip- ture, and brings out the fact that in Divine revelation there are truths naturally shut, hidden from, or tran- scending human discovery, if not human comprehen- sion. The word ordinarily and po^jularly expresses the last, that which is incomprehensible. In this sense it is frequently employed in the sacramental contro- versy. Thus employed, it frequently means, not an incomprehensibility, but a contradiction — as, for in- stance, a bodily 2)resence, which in its very term bodily is limited, affirmed as ubiquitous, unlimited, omni- present. Affirmations, however, without any such contradiction, may be incomprehensible. They may be apprehended as facts, as in certain of their bearings and applications. At the same time, in themselves, as in their full and ultimate explanation, they transcend all human capacity of comprehension. The Divine perfection, for instance, the Trinity in unity, the union of the Divine and human in the jDerson of Christ, con- stitute illustrations of such truths. They are revealed as truths, not to be fully construed, but, in faith, ac- cepted and followed in their practical application. Whether the word fj-uffrr/piov is ever used in this sense in the New Testament is a matter of dispute. Pre- TRADITION, MYSTERY, MIRACLES. 65 doniinantly its usage is different. In 1 Tim, 3 : 16, how- ever, and in 1 Cor. 14 : 2 it rather seems to incline to this meaning. The one the great mystery of godliness before and after its revelation ; the other, a man speak- ing in an unknown tongue, incomprehensible to his hearers. Its more frequent use is different. In such use it describes things undiscoverable in themselves, or hidden for a time from human knowledge, but in due time divinely revealed. The Gosjjel, in this sense, is a mystery, " the mystery hidden from ages and genera- tions, but revealed in Christ" (1 Cor. 4:1; 15 : 51 ; Eph. 1 : 9 ; 3 : 3). In this sense, all truth depending for its knowledge upon Divine revelation is mystery. But there is a still further sense in which this w^ord is sometimes employed : to describe a truth symbolically exhibited ; hidden, or secret in the symbol. This is its meaning in Eph. 5 : 32 and in Rev. 17 : 5. The great truth of the sacred union of Christ with His Church, con- tained, or hidden behind, symbolically exhibited in the sacred union of the wife and husband, the adulterous woman, the mystery or symbol of an apostate church. This is really its proper usage as related to the sacra- ments ; not a contradiction, or even an incomprehensi- bility, but the hidden or symbolic truth in or behind the sacrament of spiritual purification with one ; of spiritual loyalty, and life, and growth in the other. This gives us the three senses of the word : {a) Mys- tery, an incomprehensibility, but not a contradiction. (6) Mystery, a truth needing revelation to brin^ it to human knowledge, (c) Mystery, a truth symbolically 66 TRADITION, MYSTERY, ]VIIRACLES. exhibited. (See Hatch, " Essays on Biblical Grreek," pp. 57, 62.) Proofs of Revelation. We thus reach the clistinct jioint of the proofs or evi- dences in view of which revelation, a7rouaXvi/-i;, spe- cial Divine communication, as distinct from qjavepooffi?, natural manifestation of God to man, is believed and asserted. In Christian countries this fact is found in actual acceptance ; is, so to speak, a providential inheritance. As thus preoccupying the ground, it may, from opponents, demand positive disproof of that which is thus accepted. With its recipients, and as related to its full and intelligent acceptance, it de- mands thorough investigation ; that not only the be- lief itself, but the reasons and evidences in view of which it is held, should be clearly seen and exhibited. Some of these may be briefly stated : (a) One of these is the character and effects of this asserted Christian revelation. " Christendom," said Coleridge, " is the argument for Christianity." The ideal Christendom would be a perfect moral demon- stration. The actual, with all its defects and failures, reveals the same conclusion ; still attests its Divine source and origin ; what it has done and is doing in the world ; what are its undoubted effects, moral, so- cial, and spiritual, as consistently applied, and by its consistent disciples proclaims its superhuman, its Di- vine character, "The tree" here ''is known by its fruit." Christianity, as compared with other relig- TRADITION, MYSTERY, MIRACLES. 67 ions, is superior in moral purify, as in spiritual and social elevation. Christianity, as comj)ared with irre- ligion, is as the heavenly to the earthly. As thus such an existing world fact, of such a character, absolutely and comparatively, it demands acceptance. The al- ternative to that acceptance is irreligion. When it is rejected it is not for Mohammedanism, or Buddhism, or Confucianism. Whatever may be said of exceptions to this, they are so exceptional that they cannot be made an element of calculation. The alternative is Christianity or nothing ; Christianity or i:)ractical athe- ism. To a serious, earnest man this is now the only religion. (Hiristianity thus, in itself, in its character, its teachings and effects, as in its alternative, affords evidence of its Divine origin. (&) Along with this, the essential character of Chris- tianity, are the facts, historical and evidential, con- nected with its founding — the ministry and life of Christ and those of His apostles, and their immediate con- sequences. This ministry gathered in and organized a community largely made up of previous enemies, which has perpetuated itself, with institutions and practices that have kei)t it unbrokenly in public existence. The apostles testify as ear-witnesses of the Master's words, as eye-witnesses of His works and life. Their testi- mony is corroborated by that of other disciples con- temporaneous ; by that of converts, of same date, con- firming thus what they had j)reviously opposed. The rite of baptism organizing these believers into a com- munity, the Lord's Sux)X)er a memorial of His death, 68 TRADITION, MYSTERY, MIRACLES. the Cliristian Sunday taking the place of the old Sab- bath as also a memorial of His resurrection — all these gave emphasis and definiteness to the events with which they were connected. So, too, it was, in the effect of the Gospels and Epis- tles, as reaffirming in a written form what the Christian body, from its own knowledge, first accepted. No less significant as giving historical reality and value to this testimony of Christian believers, is that of their op- ponents and persecutors. All bring before us the his- torical fact of a new form of religious belief ; this rest- ing upon the doings and teachings and life of its Founder — these facts affirmed by eye-witnesses ; ac- cepted, as thus affirmed by contemporaries ; both alike taking these asserted facts as the controlling j)rinciples of their lives — living by them, and in many cases dying for them. Such evidence, in regard to any other his- torical fact, would be accepted as moral demonstration. (c) But the evidence thus far is all in the sphere of the natural. There is, further, that which is above nature, supernatural, miraculous. Supernatural some- times means only superphysical. Here we use it in its ordinary and more extended signification. It is the extraordinary manifestation to rational beings of the presence and agency of God. It may be through natural powers and agencies, it may be with some- thing additional ; but the essential feature in it is the manifestation of Divine presence and working. This evidence, in connection with Christianity, is afforded in different forms. TRADITION, MYSTERY, MIRACLES. 69 (a) First, as its most wonderful exliibition, is that of tire personality of its Founder. Jesus Christ is the miracle, the supernatural fact of human history. The most unbelieving have, in substance, over and over again admitted it. As men stand in His presence, and study His personality, and note the spirit of His life, the involuntary confession comes that here is a phe- nomenon without its parallel. If natural, unlike any other in the world's knowledge or experience. " Be- hold the Man !" You may, perhaps, deny that He wrought miracles ; but you cannot deny that He is the miracle, unique, unexampled, transcendent. He is the truth. His words are certified as those of the God of truth. {b) And as the personality of the Lord Jesus is thus supernatural, so it may be said is His teaching. It transcends all natural explanation of its origin. Efforts have been made to compare it with that of other religious teachers -, but the effort only demon- strates the hopelessness of the comparison, the perfec- tion above nature and beyond nature of His moral and spiritual teaching. In that teaching, as in His person, w^e see the supernatural, the Divine. (c) Coincident with these, we may say, and included in them, are His manifestations of the suj)ernatural in work and action. We may reverently say that such a man, such a being could not have been only natural in His words and actions. To Him the supernatural was natural. His w^orks were those of power, exhibitive of control in the domain of physical nature. Most of 70 TRADITION, MYSTERY, MIRACLES. them, further, were works of compassion, love, relief to the diseased and suffering. One or two, temporarily of judgment, had in view permanent results of benefit in the way of instruction ; but, all alike, His works, as Ilis teachings and person, make manifest that God was with Him. " My Father worketli, and I work," is His own declaration. The character of those works sustains His declaration : works of power controlling nature ; works of love and compassion relieving natu- ral suffering ; words of knowledge revealing the future. They were thus revelations of omnipotence, of omnis- cience, of love. As with Nicodemus, so comes now the attestation, "No one can do," could do, " these mira- cles unless God were with him." {d) And these miraculous powers, asserted and exer- cised by the Master, are by Him conferred upon and promised to the a]30stles ; authenticated by Him as possessed by Moses and the prophets of the Old Testa- ment. Every affirmation of revelation, a supernatural fact, implies miracle as, in some manner, involved in its bestowal. As to the speculative difficulties in the way of the acceptance of miracles, it is to be said that, to the in- telligent tlieist, they have no existence. They virtu- ally rest upon the assumptions of naturalism or mate- rialism. Human wills, for sufficient reasons, modify the course of nature and natural forces. On the grounds of naturalism we can have only natural phe- nomena. Bring in those that are Divine, and the results will be supernatural. TRADITION, MYSTERY, MIRACLES. 71 The scriptural words descriptive of iidracles have their signilicance. One of these, dvyajni;, rnnj^ ex- presses the truth of the Divine power put forth to its production. Another, Oavjdaffia, ^'7?, brings out its character as wonderful and striking ; as does repai^ i^3io, still more strongly ; while the other two words, '>'fori argument is that from a priori truths or necessary intuitions. The idea of perfect or infinite being, it is affirmed, is a necessity of human thought ; and as thus a rational necessity, must be accepted as true. Think space, and you can- not avoid thinking infinite space. Think time, and you cannot avoid thinking infinite duration. Think being, and you necessarily think infinite being. Whether the step in this last, being, is immediate as with space and time, has been a question. With Clarke the intermediate was the necessity of substance, or being, as necessarily implied in these of space and time ; with others this intermediate is the causal idea- finite being demanding that of the infinite to account for its existence. This last, however, brings it within the domain of the a posteriori., from effect to cause. Tak- ing this causal idea, the argument is a valid one. 'J^hat which comes to us as a necessity of human thought, and which comes as a reality, must be accepted. THE DOCTRINE OF GOD. 79 Kant's distinction of sx)ecukitive and practical reason, as vitiating this conclnsion, cannot be sustained. Whatever the value of tliis argument, one of its re- sults passes over for further use. It validates the truth of infinitude in space and time directly, if not in Ijeing ; of infinitude in being as the necessary causal ground of finite being. We pass on to the other class of proofs, the a posteriori. {a) One of these has been called that of contingency, revealed in the fact of changes in the world, of matter, and of existence ; of things beginning to be and com- ing to certain forms of termination. The finite, the dependent, the changeable, find their explanation in something joreceding and continuing. This, whether regarded as a force or a personality, is immeasurable, especially as we take in the immensity of the known universe. As, moreover, we know and can only con- ceive of one kind of originating efficient, that of will of I)ersonality, we find in this, in infinite, will and person- ality, an intelligible and sufficient explanation of the world, in its existence and changes. Any other hy- pothesis fails to meet the demands of the problem. To the counter assertion that effects and causes are only antecedents and consequents, the reply is that we know them, in ourselves, as different. We ourselves are efficient causes, and our actions and their results are consequences and effects. What we thus know in ourselves we transfer to other personalities. (b) Connected with this, and bringing in an addi- tional feature, is the cosmological argument. This 80 THE DOCTRINE OF GOD. finds the woi'ld of be^^-inrnngs and clianges not a chaos, but a cosmos, an orderly arrangement, rehitions of parts to each other, of i)arts to a whole, of these sev- eral wholes to unifying principles— to a few, or, it may be, one such principle by which all is pervaded. The argument is thus, not only from change, beginnings, but of order, of intelligent arrangement, needing intel- ligence to account for it. Here, also, in view of the extent or the arrangement and of the variety of the materials, is the demand for intelligence of infinite capacity. (c) An advance upon this, in degree if not in kind, is the teleological — that which finds not only changes and order, as in the two preceding, but also such order and arrangement as conduce to the attainment of cer- tain ends or purposes. Sometimes, for instance, struc- tures are so related, in their respective parts, to a unified whole ; and these wholes to others, as to their surroundings and necessities of perpetuation, of exist- ence and enjoyment, that jmrpose is manifested in them. As they are, and as they are related, they manifestly have ends in view. There is purx:)ose indi- cated in their existence. The eye is for seeing, the ear for hearing, as vdth numberless cases of similar char- acter. Such purpose is manifest, supposing to every such structure a distinct origin, and perj)etuated with- out change from the first creation. But it is no less manifest, supposing it the effect of numberless changes by which these forms of structure gradually passed into others. The fact, whether by a leap or by a long THE DOCTRINE OF GOD. 81 process of ]3rei)aration, is the same fact ; and in it are the same indications of purpose. It rather, indeed, increases the evidence of wisdom, and skill, and pur- pose in the complicated and progressive stages through v^^hich the result is reached. Evolution demands in- volution, the plan and purpose under which it begins and goes on to its result. In it, as in the creation of the world, as it actually is, are marks of design, pur- pose, teleology. An intelligence of infinite capacity, a will of infinite resources is needed for its realization. Of course, indications in this cosmos of wisdom, of goodness, increase the evidence as to the perfection of its Author ; moral, as well as intellectual perfection. Objection to this or that 23articular, as involving pain and sufl:ering, may be urged. But even in many of these there is revelation of higher benefit ; and the general i^urpose and predominant effect of good may be easily recognized.* {d) To this has been added what has been called the anthropological : the indications, as in the others, of * Difficulties have been made, in connection with this argument of design or purpose, in the phenomena of nature. One has been specially insisted upon : that the idea of design goes with us in the investigation ; consequently we do not find it in the phenomena. But this is to confound two things perfectly distinct. The idea of design in its origin is, with man, a designing being. If he were not so he could never be able to find or even comprehend it. This idea, which he gets in the first movements of his own mind, lie takes wuth him into the investigation of phenomena ; and in such phenomena recognizes its existence and presence. I, as a designing, purposing being, recognize such design and purpose, telcological results made manifest in things around me. 82 THE DOCTRINE OF GOD beginnings, of order, of x)urpose ; but all these lieiglit- ened and increased in the phenomena of human nature, as related, in its organic being, to the world and its surroundings ; as, in its rational, moral, and spiritual constitution, related to a moral and spiritual order, and to its Divine Author. Here we have personality in its capacities of being and of doing ; and in such personality is proof of that of its Author. The fact reveals the nature of its cause. Personal being is the only adequate, as a cause, to i)ersonal being. Man, created in the image of God, is thus a revelation of his personal Creator. {e) With all these comes in, and upon its own specific evidence, that of revelation, with its miraculous attesta- tion. God, in that revelation, not only makes known His will, but gives increased and co-operative proof of His existing presence, and power, and perfection. Specially is this the case in His dealings with His an- cient people ; in His interpositions for their benefit or correction. Peculiarly is this proof afforded in His predicted j)urposes, as in the progress of ages they have been verified. God, as working and speaking, and in these special modes, manifests alike His exist- ence and His perfection. Of course, not so much from j)articular texts as from facts of His dealing are to be found God's manifestations of Himself, not only to His people, but to all men and in all coming ages. How I first got that idea has nothing to do with the rational conviction of its presence and reaUty. For full investigation of this subject, see Jackson's prize essay, " Philosophy of Natural Theology." THE DOCTRINE OF GOD. 83 These different i:)roofs are usually thought of as identical. There is really in them the element of prog- ress. In each there is an advance upon those preced- ing. In that of contingency, for instance, is the truth of an originating Intelligence and Power, and this all pervasive. In the cosmological are these forces of in- telligence and power in an orderly manner, and in m'anifold operation. In the teleological is, further, the purpose and design, additional, over all and in all, to the attainment of certain results, manifestive of in- finite knowledge, wisdom, and benevolence. Last of all, in the anthropological is found the image of the Divine Original, rationally necessitating the existence of that Original. And, corroborative of all, and with additional evidence, is that of specific revelation. Unbelief as to the Divine Existence. Contrasted with this truth of God, accepted and verified in the forms indicated, is that first and most sliari)ly of atheism. This, in its form of statement, is negative ; and the adaot of Eph. 2 : 12 and of Ps. 53 : 1 were rather the godless, the practical, than the theo- retic or dogmatic atheists. It is sometimes asserted that atheism is impossible, usually upon the assumed postulate that human nature, mediately or immediate- ly, knows God and cannot help knowing Him. Even, however, upon this postulate, is to be borne in mind the capacity in human nature of resisting and over- coming natural convictions, of obscuring rational intui- tions. And, whether it be acce];)ted or not, over against 84 THE DOCTRINE OF GOD. this assertion is tlie undoubted historical fact that such belief has been explicitly avowed— dogmatic atheism. This, as the affirmation of a negative, can only be es- tablished by an exhaustive analysis of the contents of the universe ; is, rationally, a hopeless undertaking. The affirmation of atheism demands the capacity of Omniscience, Avhich imx)lies God. It is sufficient, for our 2^nrpose, simply to indicate what may be regarded as the forms of atheism. {a) The dogmatic, that which positively affirms it. (5) The s^Deculative, which fails to find proof of its opposite. (c) The practical, which, perhaps accei)ting it, the truth of God, acts and lives as if it were false. With this subject of atheism is usually connected that of pantheism, the belief or form of philosophy which identifies the Divine and cosmical existence. That of Spinoza, of one substance, with its two princi- ples, or attributes of thought and extension, variously modified, is that which is best known. Later systems in Germany have involved additional modifications. Perhaps the simplest distinction in this matter is that of materialistic and idealistic pantheism. With the former, matter in its simplest element is the point of departure. Deity, intelligence, Divine and human alike, as everything intermediate, is an evolution from matter in its simplest principle ; Deity, however, in some manner present wath matter in its initiative as in its continuative i')otentialities. With the latter, taking mind as the x^oint of departure, the world is an emana- THE DOCTRINE OF GOD. 85 tioii of Deity ; at the same time is in Deity, as Deity is in it. Practically, with the average man, the first of these is atheism, and the last frequently runs into it. The results of both are fatalistic, logically destruc- tive of personality ; consequently of accountability, as of the springs of human exertion and asj^iration. Allied to these forms of speculative and practical unbelief, as to the Divine existence and perfection, are two others of comparatively modern origin and preva- lence — those of positivism and agnosticism. The ]3rin- ciple of the former, positivism, is that of jDositive or real knowledge as confined to the domain of j)hysical science, or facts verifiable by the senses. Ethics, psy- chology, and theology are thus ruled out, as not author- ized to make affirmations of a scientific or positive character. The i^rogress of the race has been, first, the theological, in its successive stages of fetichism, polytheism, monotheism ; the metaphysical, or stage of doubt ; the positive, that of certified knowledge. Re- ligion is a matter of feeling. The object to which it is directed cannot be proved to exist. The later course of Comte was strangely inconsistent with some of these features of his system. But, to all intents and pur- poses, positivism is practical atheism. Agnosticism, in contrast with this, affirms the neces- sity of a sufficient ground for the existence of the universe, an originating efficient ; but it denies that affirmation can be made as to attributes or modes of operation. We thus know the world, and, in our knowledge of this world, know necessarily of its Au- 86 THE DOCTRINE OF GOD. thor. But as to His character, and dealings, and rela- tions to men, and of His princi^^les of operation, we are ignorant. The altar, if erected, is to the unknown God. Two other terms need brief explication. Deism, simple in its etymology, but in its usage bet- ter described by the word naturalism ; the equivalent, also, of wliat is usually spoken of as rationalism. It accepts the truth of a God as known in nature and as Creator ; but it excludes the truth of His continued personal action, of providential control, and presence, and interj^osition in nature. All forces and agencies, as originally set in operation, unvaryingly continue, are natural. Theism, the same word in its Greek form, has a much more expanded significance. It is often the equivalent of deism ; so, again, of agnosticism ; at the same time, by others is applied to Christianity. Any form of belief in this modern usage, accepting the idea or truth of God, is theism. It needs, therefore, to be used carefully and with discrimination. The speaker may mean Christianity ; the hearer may understand it as naturalism or agnosticism. Harris's " Philosophical Basis of Theism." Hodge, Charles, " Theology," 1 vol. Hetherington's " Apologetics." Steenstra's " The Being of God as Unity and Trinit)\" " Discourse Concerning the Being and Attributes of God," by Samuel Clarke. Dorner's " Tlieology." CHAPTER YIII. THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. Grounds of conccptjon as to these.— The two features of Scriptural teaching. — Attributes of Personality. — Divisions of them. — Divine Unity, Spiritualitj^, Eternity, Omnipotence, Omniscience, Omni- presence, Holiness, Truth, Justice, Wisdom and Love, or Goodness. In any endeayor to apprehend or get ideas of the perfections of God, Ave find our limit in onr own capaci- ties. These, while helloing its, at the same time do not, in their results, fully give what we are seeking. They are, however, onr highest and fullest source of comprehension and of information ; analogically enable us to understand the Divine character and perfections. We get our ideas of those perfections as they are out- wardly manifested in nature. We are told of them in the revelations of Scripture. And, from nature within, from our own intellectual, moral, and spiritual per- sonalities, evidence corroborative and elucidative is afforded. We know ourselves as personalities, intelli- gent, rational, volitional ; cai:>able of selecting ends, adapting means to their attainment ; knowing them as morally good and evil. Man is thus higher than the mere vital, physical, or instinctive capacity. All these he includes in himself ; and he is, additionally, much more and higher. We take him, the highest of all 88 THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. earthly creatures ; and take that in him which olevates him above these, as affording the clearest anrl fullest evidence of the perfections of his Divine Author. In so doing, we endeavor to remove all human mperfec- tions, to heighten all human excellence ; in this man- ner, to get an intelligible and worthy, although it may be an inadequate knowledge, of the Divine Being and character. Anthropomorphisms, however imperfect or liable to perversion, are less so than any other. The alternative, too, is to something lower. We cannot avail ourselves of angelomorphisms, for these, when intelligible, are anthropomorphic. Efforts to avoid this — in other words, to construe the world and its Di- vine Author under the morphisms of gravity, affinity, vitality — are at the bottom of much of the scepticism of our day. If any of these give an idea of God, it will be that of a being, as simply an immense, unintel- ligent force, ceaselessly operating. He, or it, v/hile perhaps dreaded, cannot be an object of love, of obedi- ence, or devotion. Instinctive, vital, affinitive, or atomic cannot therefore be depended upon to save us from the dangers of anthropomorphism. In the human personality is the analogy, the image of the Divine. It is well worthy of note that inspired teaching seems to anticipate and guard against the danger, alike, of anthropomorphic and abstract conceptions. The former, unmingled, would tempt to only human conceptions of Deity ; the latter, if alone, Avould be unintelligible. Its declarations at times speak of the THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 81) Infinite, the Eternal, the Self-Existent, the Immutable. At other times He is described as speaking and doing, as i^leased and displeased, as grieved or gratified in the actions of His creatures. He is thus God in the infini- tude of His perfections ; that perfection including His interest and presence, and dealings with all of His de- pendent creatures. With this central truth, therefore, of personality, we begin in our efforts to see His attributes or perfections. The Divine Being or nature we may say is the sum of these perfections. These enable us to know His work- ing, the principles controlling. Various divisions of these have been made ; such, for instance, as negative and X30sitive — the negative, in which we remove all im- perfections that are in ourselves, as those of knowl- edge, in Omniscience ; the positive, in which we add such qualities, as perfect justice and goodness, to ours imperfect. Further, the division of active and passive attributes, justice and omnipotence of the active, eter- nity and omnij^resence of the passive. Still further is the division of the natural or physical and the moral ; the latter those in which there is the exercise of the Divine will, as, for instance, justice as distinguished from knowledge or power, in which will is not includ- ed. All these divisions are defective ; but the last is the simplest and least liable to objection. The words physical and natural have, indeed, in later usage, be- come materialized in their association. It is difficult to find a substitute. Perhaps dynamical or substantial might be taken. 90 the divine attributes. Divine Unity. Carrying, therefore, with us, in our examination of each of these attributes, the truth of i^ersonality, we look first at those which are natural as distinguished from moral ; and as unifying our view of their char- acter and operation, single or combined, we first con- template the truth of the Divine unity. The proof of this is twofold : first, in the idea of infinite pei'fection, which cannot be conceived of but as one. Division im- plies capacity of addition, as of further division, and thus voids the idea of infinitude. So, in the calling into existence of the world, its preservation and gov- ernment, unity alone meets all the demands of the problem, and settles it without complication. It is to be said that the clear recognition of the Divine person- ality is usually connected with that of the unity. In polytheistic religions there is aj^t to be confusion as to both. The scrij)tural enunciation of this truth is clear, dis- tinct, and emphatic. It was the one point in which the religion of Israel was Protestant against the world —the point of their temptation to individual and na- tional apostasy — and, therefore, one in which they re- ceived full instruction. " Hear, O Israel ! Jehovah our God is one Jehovah" (Deut. 6:4). "To us," says the apostle, " there is one God" (1 Cor. 8 : 4, 6). "I am God, and there is none else" (Isa. 45 : 5, 21, 22). " Thou art God alone" (Ps. 86 : 10). To these may be added others, See especially Deut. 4 : 35-39 ; 32 : 39, thp: divine attributes. 91 Intimately connected, in the way of contrast, with this truth of the Divine unity, is that of the existence and prevalence of its opx^osite, polytheism, many gods ; sometimes that of a monarchy, with one supe- rior ; sometimes that of superior and inferior classes ; sometimes if not exactly equal, yet singly exerting power and objects of dread and worship. The prob- lem has been its origin. The apostle, in Rom. 1 : 19, 23, finds it in neglect and perversion of divinely given truths and evidences as to the true God in the begin- ning. This accords with the Old Testament in its his- torical dealing with it, as in its constant reprobation of it. The first men are monotheists. Enoch walked with God ; Noah's loyalty to God is emphasized ; and Abraham seems to have been called in his own life wit- ness, as in the existence of his descendants, to perpetu- ate it in the world, as to protest against its opposite. Accordant with this is the fact that, in the religions of the world, the earliest stages are the purest ; the grosser forms of polytheism come later. The personification of Divine attributes or of natural powers was perhaps the first stage ; the worship of the attribute or power thus personified in due time following ; the deification of human poAvers, or humanity, one of its last stages. However begun, it rapidly spread ; and in the time of Abraham seems to have reached a point at Avhich a special dispensation was needed to preserve and per- XJetuate the primitive truth, from which it was a de- i:tarture. It is further to be said of polytheism that while it sometimes gave so niucli prerogative to one of 92 THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. its deities that it bordered on monotheism, in another, it so identified all the deities with the powers and operations of nature, that it becomes pantheism. The gross polytheism of the multitude was the pantheism of philosophers. At different stages one or other of these, holding in solution its opposite, oi^enly predomi- nated ; but rarely, if ever, rising into consistent mono- theism. Historically exhibited, and impressed upon God' s chosen people through their long experience, it became to them a permanent possession ; and, through them, has been inherited by the world. The effort to evolve monotheism from fetichism, through the lower forms of polytheism, and from these through the higher forms of polytheism, is one that breaks down at every stage of its undertaking.* * Perhaps, as striking illustration of the hopelessness of such attempt, is that afforded, by Dr. Matheson in his "Messages of the Old Relig- ions." Starting with the assumption of fetichism — that is, religion, an evolution from and through the lower up to the highest — he exhibits this rising progress. The oldest religion — not that of Adam or Abel, but of men without knowledge or idea of God — begins in its process with one of the lowest objects, say, a stone or piece of wood, this hav- ing or giving to man the consciously changing being, the idea of per- manence. Attaining in the stone this idea of permanence, he manages to transfer it to himself by the dream experience. As he finds that he continues through the dreaming and waking state the same being, so, like the stone, he is immortal. The next stage, it may be, is the spir- itualizing the fetich, the stone, by carving or making it like a man. This may be idolatry ; but, according to the author, it is not polythe- ism. "Polytheism," he tells us, "is impossible. There never really existed or could exist a time in which the mind of man had its atten- tion simultaneously fixed upon two objects of worship." Perhaps not, or upon any other two things. But how as to different times ? Poly- theism is not the simultaneous worship of different deities, but of these deities at different times, and in different acts of devotion. The heroes of Homer did not worship Zeus, or Neptune, or Apollo in the same time THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 93 Spirituality of God. " Unus mirus, et verus Dens"' (" the true God, one and living' ' ) is the opening sentence of our first arti- cle. The unity and living personality of the Divine Being thus stand first, in ]3oint of contemplation, in any endeavor to know or exhibit His attributes or per- fections. This, of unity, goes with us in all that fol- lows, and enables us to see it in its full significance. " The Lord our God," a sentence to be read on the walls of many Jewish synagogues, as the great truth of that dispensation — " the Lord our God is one Lord." With this truth of tlie Divine unity, thus to be taken with us, and imi)lied in all the Divine perfections, is another — that of the Divine infinitude : God as in- finite, not subject to limitation in space, or capacity of being or of action. This truth, like that of Divine unity, goes into and is implied in the exercise of all His attributes. It is thus, to use the idea of Dr. Fairchild, not so much a Divine attribute as the mode of all His attributes. In all these, natural and moral alike, in being, and counselling, and doing. He is infinite. and act, as do not those now who worship tlie Virgin, the saint, or the ascended Master, This theory of Henotheism, the worship of all in one, or of one in all, is a generalization and abstraction of which the primitive man was hardjy capable, and which it would be difficult, if not impossi- ble, to verify in the phenomena of any historical religion. If we could discover a colony of respectable Ilenotheists, there might be some hope of tracing it to its origin. So, too, as to all those hypotheses, which derive the idea of God from dreams, from animism, or personification, or self-deification, or fear, or self-deception. They do not rest, to use the language of another, upon any basis of established truth — cannot be verified. 94 THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. Nothing short of this meets the necessity of human thought in the question of an originating and adequate Cause of the finite world and its phenomena. In the infinitude of the one i^ersonal God is the solution, and the only satisfactory solution, of the problem of the world, as of its beings and forms of existence. But this infinite Being is especially to be contem- plated as an infinite Spirit. As Sjjirit, He is not re- lated to space or to any point or duration of time ; not thus, in space, not included in any extent of duration. As Spirit, He is intelligent, moral, and free. As per- fect Spirit, He is jDerfect in each of these respects. Matter and animal force operate, or are set in opera- tion, through material or organic forces ; spirit, by in- telligence and will. In the idea, therefore, of perfect Spirit is that of perfect intelligence, perfection of purpose as of will, in counsel and in action. We, as finite spirits, act upon each other and the world through mediate agencies ; God, as infinite, perfect Spir- it, immediately and perfectly. " God is a spirit" (Ex. 20 : 4 ; Col. 1 : 15 ; 1 Tim. 1 : 17 ; Isa. 46 : 6 ; John 4 : 24). From this there are several scriptural inferences. {a) Worship to God must be not merely outward, but the outward must be the movement and expression of the inward " in spirit and in truth." {b) Such worship cannot be exclusively localized. Where the human spirit really worships, the Divine Spirit is present to accept and bless it. (c) As Spirit, He cannot be represented in any visible image or figure. THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 95 {d) These representations, as imperfect, lead to wrong and degrading ideas of His personality, eventu- ally to polytheism, and are, therefore, forbidden. This is the prohibition of the second commandment — the sin of the calves, in. tlie wilderness, and that of Jeroboam. Aliab's sin, the worshijiof Baal, in oi)posi- tion to that of Jehovah, was more daring, a violation of the first commandment. How far possible, in Christian worship, is one of the problems of our time. Eternity of God. This is, of course, involved in the idea of infinite perfect Being. As perfect Spirit, unrelated in exist- ence to x^eriods of duration. He is eternal. The eter- nity thus spoken of is absolute both as to the past and as to the future. We predicate eternal life, as does Scripture, of beings who come into existence ; who begin to be, but to whose existence there is no ending. The eternal life of such a being begins, and endlessly continues. The eternal life of God has no such begin- ning ; is so from eternity to eternity. " He is the same." In the perfection of that eternal and immu- table existence is the necessary ground of that of the universe, as of all His creatures. In this truth, moreover, of the eternity of the in- finite j)erfect Spirit, is that of His immutability. As His years have no beginning nor ending, so is He in the unchangeableness of His perfection. As His pur- poses are grounded in the perfections of His being, so are they without change or variation. He is, thus, 96 THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. self -existent, has the ground of His existence in Him- self and x^i'ior to all other beings and things ; is inde- pendent, nncontrolled by any of these His dependent creatures. Passages exhibiting this attribute are Isa. 44 : ; 41 : 4 : "I am the first and the last, and beside Me there is no God." " I am Jehovah, the first and the last, calling the generations from the beginning." Ps. 90 ; Heb. 1 : 10 : " Thou Lord in the beginning hast laid the foundations of the earth." " Thou art the same." " They shall change, but Thou remain- est." 1 Tim. 6:16: " Who only hath immortality." Rom. 1 : 20 : " His eternal power and Godhead." 2 Pet. 3:8: " One day is with the Lord as a thou- sand years." Heb. 6 : 17 : " The immutability of His counsel." Mai. 3:6: "I, Jehovah, change not." James 1 : 17 : " Without variableness, or shadow of turning." Ps. 33 : 11 : " The thoughts of His heart are to all generations." Rom. 11 : 33-36 : ^' Of Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things." Under this attribute are two difficulties needing ex- amination. One of these is the class of passages in which God is spoken of as repenting, as grieved, as changing His purposes. These are to be regarded as anthropomorphisms, and anthropopathisms, in which God, speaking after the manner of men, and describing His actions, like those of men, dictated by certain affec- tions and feelings. These, like jjassages which speak of God as with human organs, as with hands, or an arm, or with ears, are accommodations to human conception, and to be explained in the light of those preceding. THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 97 So, too, as to one of the words used to describe end- less~ duration, d^,U' and aioov. Their significance, it may be said, is the duration of which the being, or thing spoken of, is ca^Dable. The d^,i;^ or aioov^ or age, of an individual, it may be, is sixty or eighty years ; that of a generation is between thirty and forty ; that of the race is longer, that of the planet is longer still ; that of God with no beginning nor end. The connec- tion, therefore, must, and usually without difficulty does settle, in what sense it is to be taken. Kofffxo^ it has been said, is the world projected in space, as aiGDv is this world projected in time — that is, world in duration. At the same time, as apjDlied to God, it may be eternity absolute ; applied to men, it may be eternity relative ; with beginning, but with no end. Omnipotence of God. — In the perfection of infinite Spirit is the attribute of power. This, while contem- plated in its results and operations as physical, is the exercise of moral and spiritual j)erfection — the out- going of the Divine will. Omnipotence has been de- fined the power of doing all things possible, or what- ever God wills. Impossibilities to Almighty Power are contradictions. '' Such contradictions," to use the language of Dr. Sparrow, " may relate to the ol)ject or the agent. An object may imjjly it immediately and openly, or conseqaentially and covertly. That a thing should be and not be is an example of the first, which, in its statement, contradicts itself. That a thing should be in two places at the same time is an exam- l^le of the second, the covert and the consequential. 98 THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. Tljis latter may be resolved, after xn'oceeding one step, into the former. So as to the agent. An action im- plies contradiction to God, as an Agent, when it is re- pugnant to His essential x^erfections. On this ground it is no derogation of Him to say that He cannot cease to exist, or want, or do evil, as these would imply that He was not God. "With Him all things are possi- ble," and yet " He cannot look upon iniquity but with abhorrence." His omnipotence is that of rational and moral perfection ; of course in the operation of natu- ral forces and laws as of special and sux)ernatural in- terposition. This attribute is exhibited in Scripture figuratively and literally. " By the word of Jehovah were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth" (Ps. 33 : 6, 9). " The hand of Jehovah is not shortened" (Isa. 59 : 1). " Our God is in heav- en : He doeth whatsoever He will " (Ps. 115 : 3). " Call- ing things that are not as things that are" (Rom. 4 : 17). " Thou hast made the heaven and earth by Thy j^ower and outstretched arm" (Jer. 32 : 17). " By Thy will Thou hast created all things' ' (Rev. 4:11; Job 38). Omniscience of God. — This, as the attributes al- ready mentioned, is included in the idea of perfect Spirit, infinite j^ersonality. Spirit, as Spirit, is intelli- gent ; ijerfect Spirit is all knowing, is omniscient. The knowledge thus p)redicated as Divine is analogous in certain respects to that wliich is human ; and yet in others transcends all human comparison or comprehen- sion. Human knowledge is of the present and the THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 99 past, but of both imperfectly. The future can only be conjectured ; and of its real connection with the pres- ent and the past we are profoundly ignorant. Om- niscience includes all these, and perfectly. We know them only as under temporal conditions ; as known in the jDresent, as remembered from the past, or as antici- pated for the future. To omniscience — from eternity to eternity — they are known and fully comprehended. " From the beginning of the world, known unto God are all His works" (Acts 15 : 18). Transcending, as it does, the capacity of human thought to its comprehen- sion, it is a necessity of such thought, in this truth of spiritual perfection. As this truth is of constant practical interest, it is frequent in scriptural affirmation. In the perfection of His knowledge God comprehends Himself, and in all the perfections of His being. Finite spirits fail to know themselves, fail and fall short at the highest in their knowledge of God. He knows both — Himself, in His perfection ; man, in his imperfection. In His knowledge are included all beings and all things, their powers and operations, their results in human action ; in the consequences of such action,' in the pos- sibilities and probabilities of human volition. " To the eye of Him all things are naked and ox^ened" (Heb. 4 : 13). " He clothes the lilies, upholds the sparrows ; knows man's necessities of food and raiment ; tries the reins and the heart of men ; knows their thoughts." " His eyes are over the righteous, and His ear open to their cry, and His face is against them that do evil" 100 THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. (Matt. 6 : 26-32 ; Jer. 11 : 18-20 ; Ps. 94 : 9, 10, 11 ; 139 ; 1 Pet. 3 : 12). Connected with this attribute, in its exercise, have arisen certain speculative difficulties. One of these is as to the mode of such exercise, whether, in it, is in- volved the element of succession. Secondly, as to the possibilities of Divine knowledge, extending to results contingent upon human action ; and, therefore, some- times not actually taking place. And, last, as to the relation of Divine knowledge and foreordination to human freedom and accountability. We take them in, the order presented. As to the first, the mode of the Divine knowledge, the reply is that it transcends all finite comprehension. Finite human knowledge, as we have seen, is related to the j)ast, the present, and the future, remembrance, experience, anticipation ; the element of succession, from one of them to the other. We not only thus know, under the limitations of time, but, in our thoughts and forms of expression as to Divine knowledge, and only as making it com- prehensible, we use the same terms. At the same time, in perfect knowledge, such limitation is exclud- ed. That knowledge, however, thus from eternity to eternity, is no less through, and in all time, ever cog- nizant, and of everything. It includes things as they are contemplated, and as they actually are ; as they take place, and as related to their agents, their accom- paniments, and their consequences. So, too, as to the question of knowledge, with refer- ence to events contemplated, that do not actually take THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 101 place. The incident of David at Keilah (1 Sam. 23 : 11, 12), and of St. Paul in the shipwreck (Acts 27 : 22, 31), are illustrations. The reply is simi)le. Perfect knowledge comprehends not only actual results, events, and forms of action, but the results of different modes of proposed action. Human cax)acity is often able thus to foresee ; much more that which is Divine. The only difficulty in this last, however, is involved in the third — that they are foreknown, and therefore absolutely, unconditionally foreordained. Foreknowl- edge, in such case, is made the equivalent of foreordi- nation, and this as unconditional. What is foreknown, it is argued, must take place, and therefore cannot be free. But foreknowledge, if perfect, as must be that of Omniscience, foreknows the action as that of a free action ; any ordination is in view of that feature in it as of all others. Foreknowledge is not the ground of the act. The act, contemplated and known as a free act, is the ground of the foreknowledge. The uncon- ditional is in the world of physical and mechanical forces and operations ; the conditional always in that of moral and spiritual, and, therefore, accountable agency. Election" atstd FoREOKDiisrATioN. Under this attribute of perfect Divine knowledge usually comes up the question of election and foreordi- nation. As in the domain of the Infinite, the subject has its difficulties. These have been greatly compli- cated in the manner and spirit in which the controversy 102 THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. in regard to them has gone on. Two classes of those difficulties need to be considered — those of a philo- sophical and those of a scriptural character. The phil- osophical are involved in the effort to construe the idea of perfect eternal knowledge with those of fore, and present, and after ; as also of any decree of elec- tion or foreordination, having no regard to the actions or character of the individuals or classes thus decreed. If, however, the Divine knowledge be eternally per- fect, it must include everything, all action and all char- acter. And individuals must be contemplated, and as they really are, as the objects of Divine determination. The scriptural difficulties have largely risen from the failure to note the variations of meaning in the words elect, predestinate, etc. Sometimes, for instance, they describe an outward condition of reception of Di- vine blessing. Sometimes the inward state of those morally responding to these facts of their condition. In the first of these senses all Israel was the elect. In the second, it was really only the obedient, loyal j^or- tion to Jehovah. The election in both cases was to present blessing ; to its enjoyment and improvement ; to higher blessing as the result of that improvement ; to the duty of communicating those blessings to others. Just as was the individual response at any one of these stages, so was the election made effectual. When that response was wanting, the election as to inward bless- ing was made void. While of Divine grace at every such stage, in its origination as in its final heavenly result, it was only in the response of human faith that THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 103 Bucli grace became effectual. It is of faith that it may be by grace. It is by grace that may be of or through faith. Omnipresence. — This follows from the last two at- tributes, omniscience and omnipotence, the power of knowing and acting everywhere ; God present, in His power and knowledge, everywhere. The definition has been suggested, " the presence of all things to Grod." This, while intended to keep clear of mate- rialistic concei)tions, at the same time does not fully express the idea intended — that of the essential as well as effective presence of God in all things and in all places. In one as23ect of His being God is transcen- dent ; transcends the universe of His creatures as He does their capacity of comprehension ; the Holy One, separate and distinct from all finite beings and things. In another, He is immanent — distinct from and j)resent in every movement and to every creature in His domin- ions. While there has been a tendency to run this truth into pantheism, so as to identify God and the world, yet this is not its necessity. It is the distinct- ness of existence, and yet, in that distinctness, the ever-abiding and everywhere j)ervading presence of that Spirit, in its perfection of knowing and of acting. Special manifestations of that presence may be made, and are scripturally described ; but every such special manifestation is only the fuller revelation of the ever- present and abiding reality. "Do not I fill heaven and earth ? saith Jehovah" (Jer. 23 : 24). " Our God is in the heavens" (Ps. 115:3). "He dwelleth not in 104 THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. temples made with hands' ' (Acts 17 : 24 ; see also Isa. 66 : 1 ; John 14 : 23 ; 1 Kings 8 : 27). The sacramental issue of controversy, it is to be re- membered, is not as to the presence of our Lord's Deity, but that of His body, His bodily humanity. He, as God, is present in the sacrament, as He is every- where. He, as God Man, is at the right hand of the Father, Body, an outlined object, in becoming ubiqui- tous gets away from that which is the essential attribute of body, becomes omnipresent, is deified. MoKAL Attributes. — The transition, here, from those already indicated, will be easily recognized. In the infinitude of being, of permanence, of power, of knowledge, and of presence, there is no necessary im- X)lication of moral relations or issues. Unconsciously, indeed, we carry with us in our idea of these attributes that of their moral exercise ; and it may be said that in the truth of infinite perfection, as ^personality, they are included. At the same time, they may and should be distinguished— the Divine attributes which are im- plied in the idea of moral and spiritual perfection. They are sometimes spoken of as attributes of the Di- vine will — as its forms of exertion and outworking, in contrast to those of simple power or intelligence ; as expressions, in such exercise, of the Divine will and character. Without making distinct and separate sections in the examination of these, we may briefly notice their nature and connection. They are those of holi- ness, truth, justice, wisdom, and love or goodness. THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 105 The first of these — holiness — really including some of the others in its significance, is that of moral and spir- itual excellence. This idea of holiness, as related to finite creatures, is that of consecration, sexoarateness from everything impure or evil, separation, consecra- tion to that which is excellent, to Him who is excel- lent, the Holy One. He, the Holy One, is infinitely separated from and against all evil and imj)erfec- tion. He is thus set apart from, consecrated above all imperfect beings and things, in the excellence of His spiritual perfection. This word holy is often thought of only in its negative aspect — that of freedom from its opposite. Its positive thus fails of recognition. Both need to be kex^t in view. Holy (Saxon, liallg, hal)^ hale, healthy, soundness, wholeness, is the significance of the word physically, as to the bodily organism. Bodily haleness, healthiness, wholeness, holiness of organic life, is that, negatively, of freedom from all taint of organic disease and imperfection ; positively that of vigorous and active cax3acity. So, too, wnth that which is spiritual. As bringing out this truth of holiness in its x^ositive aspect, it is sometimes used in Scripture as the equivalent of the Divine majesty (Isa. 6 : 3), as in the Ax')0calyx3se, the whiteness, not only absence of all tarnish and imx^urity, but the shining- white resplendence of the Divine glory and majesty. See Matt. 17 : 2 ; Mark 9:3; Rev. 1 : 14, where it is not only x^urity, innocence, but glorious excellence. Old Testament revelation brings out this truth of the Divine character : " I, the Lord thy God, am holy' ' (Lev. 106 THE DIVINE ATTRII5UTi:S. 19 : 2). He was thus lioly in His purity and separateness from all the pollutions and abominations of heathen worship, and thek impure objects of worship, in His su- preme deity ; above them and in His holiness opposed to them, as the only proper object of reverence and imitation. "Be ye holy" is the accordant precept of the New Testament, quoted from the Old Testament. "For I am holy" (1 Pet. 1:14, 16). "This is the will of God, your holiness" (1 Thess. 4:3). " With out holiness no man shall see the Lord" (Heb. 12 : 14). Tlie finite holiness thus insisted upon finds its object in Him who is x^erfectly holy ; free from all evil and possi- bility of evil, full of all moral and si:)iritual excellence. But this supreme and perfect excellence, thus con- templated in its wholeness, negative and positive, has its forms of manifestation. One of these is that of truth. This we find scripturally as one of the Divine attributes. The truth of God, thus spoken of, has ref- erence, first, to the truth and reality of His existence absolutely ; as also relatively, in the way of opposi- tion, to all other supposed or affirmed deities, and ob- jects of worshij) or of reverence. He is the true God, the only God as opposed to all called or worshipped as gods. He is, moreover, the true God in that He is the God of truth. All His words are true. He is true in all His manifestations, in word and act, is what those manifestations x^rofess and affirm. The truth of things is the exact correspondence of them with what they affirm or are rejDresented to be. God is thus true in all His revelations of Himself ; His declarations of prom- THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 1U7 ise and of warning ; His words as to the acts and char- acter of His creatures. Herein is the ground of reli- ance to finite and human agents. " God is faithful" (1 Cor. 10 : 18), reliable, to be trusted, without reserva- tion or hesitation, because He is true. " Thy word is truth" (John 17 : 17). " The judgments of Jehovah are true" (Ps. 19 : 9). " In faithfulness hast Thou afflicted me" (Ps. 119 : 75). " The word of the Lord is faithful, and everything He does is truth" (Ps. 33 : 4 ; 1 Cor. 1:9.) Close akin to this is the attribute of righteousness or justice — the Divine i^erfection, working in and for righteousness as to all the movements of finite action, according to their real desert and character. This is sometimes described as holiness in action : moral and spiritual jDerfection brought into exercise ; opposing and chastening evil and wrong, sustaining, and help- ing, and rewarding the right. This quality in the char- acter, and motives, and actions of moral beings is con- stantly imx^lied in Scripture ; in j)articular cases, spe- cifically asserted. They are right or wrong. As so, they are objects of Divine apj)roval or condemnation ; of Divine administrative acts, in view of which the right will be vindicated, the wrong opposed, and finally be punished. It is a power not only working for right- eousness, but in righteousness ; in that righteousness identified with the cause of the righteous, opposing and condemning its opposite. " God," says the psalm- ist, " will judge the world in righteousness," Slich judgment is going on during the whole Divine admin- 108 THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. istration ; is finally perfected in the great day of final retribution. This justice may thus be contemplated, first, in its legislative asi^ect ; as expressing itself in laws and pre- cepts, whether in the natural constitution of things, or as specifically revealed. It may be also looked at in its executive administration, enforcing those laws in one direction, warning against their violation in an- other ; as Judicial, rewarding the obedient and punish- ing the disobedient. The questions of natural and revealed laws, or of natural and positive rewards and penalties, may be more jDrojjerly treated elsewhere. It is sufficient for our jDurpose that these features in the attribute of justice or righteousness be clearly recognized. God, as a God of holiness and righteous- ness, hating evil and loving right ; in His law reveal- ing His righteous will, as to the acts and motives of His creatures ; in His dealings enforcing and sustain- ing those laws ; in His judgments, rewarding and pun- ishing. " The statutes of the Lord are right'^' (Ps. 19 : 8). " The perfect will of God" (Rom. 12 : 1). " Thou sittest in the throne judging right" (Ps. 9 : 4). " God judgeth the righteous, and is angry with the wicked" (Ps. 7 : 11). " Thy judgments are right" (Ps. 119 : 75). The attribute of wisdom is not usually classified with the moral. As, however, distinct from knowl- edge, simple intelligence, it rather belongs here. Wis- dom has been defined as "an exercise of the intellect into which the highest affections of the heai't enter." THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 109 So, again, as knowing how to nse l^nowledge ; or the Ivnowing good, to the attainment of good. As wisdom is thus intelligence pins the capacity of devising and attaining what is right and good, aocpia^ •^P^H', so it is contrasted with craft, 8o\oi^ Di"i;r, cunning, or even skill, in which the right and good may not be present, or in which may be sought their opposite. As related to knowledge, its meaning can only be brought out by some defining adjective ; and that, as bringing out the moral element in its exercise. In the omniscience of God, for instance, we affirm His x^erfect knowledge of all things and of all beings ; of his own perfections, as of the imperfections of His creatures. In His wisdom we affirm, further, the exercise of that knowledge, as in harmony wdth and dictated by His holiness, and truth, and righteousness, and love. In the harmonious cooperation of these attributes He is the only wise God, knowing and purposing good results ; of blessing to all His subjects and creatures. This implies ends contemplated, and means to be em- ployed to their attainment. The final end, in creature action, as revealed in Scripture precept, is, that all be done to the glory of God. That which is thus present- ed as the ultimate end with the creature, is revealed as the end with the Creator. But God thus glorifies Himself in the creature by making that creature like Himself, in blessedness as well as in holiness. Doing the will of God, the creature glorifies God ; in so doing- becomes like Him, secures His approval, and the high- est blessedness of which He is capable. God's ulti- 110 THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. mate end is to reveal Himself in His perfection of blessedness ; in so doing to commnnicate Himself in that blessedness to His dependent creatnres. Tlie ulti- mate beatific vision of the redeemed is thus to " see Him as He is." As His glorious j^e^rfections are thus appreciated and appropriated, these His creatures are blessed and elevated. As to the means of securing these ends, we may say that the best M^ill always be taken. We are not capa- ble of judging here. What may seem complicated, inadequate, or even inconsistent with the ends to be secured, may not only be the best, but really the sim- plest and shortest. Finite wisdom often needs a variety of means to secure a single end. Infinite, often through a single mean, may secure a variety of ends. In that efi'ort and work every moment is filled up, and perfectly ; and in the full result will be no waste of time, effort, or material. " The foolishness of God is wiser than men" (1 Cor. 1 : 25). " Jehovah by wisdom founded the earth" (Prov. 3 : 19). " O Lord, how manifold are Thy works ; in wisdom hast Thou made them all" (Ps. 104 : 24). " O the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God" (Rom. 11 : 33). We thus reach what, in Scripture, is made the com- plement and completion of tliese attributes of moral perfection — that of love, goodness, benevolence. Two of these words express the Divine working of a certain character ; the other the impulse to it, the Divine love. " God is love." He is holy, and true, and righteous, THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. Ill and wise ; and He is loving. In the exercise of these others and of all His attributes He is not indifferent as to the interests and welfare of those to whom, in snch working, they have regard. As His creatures, called by Him into existence, reflecting to some degree His X)erfections, they are objects of His love. This love goes out in goodness, in blessing to the creature to the extent of his capacity of recej)tion. Question has been raised, and the effort made, to resolve all the moral at- tributes into this one of love, benevolence ; to repre- sent them as different forms of its operation. The difficulty, however, to this is that the ideas of these other attributes are simple, not resolvable into others. The words describing them refer to distinct character- istics, and are thus emjiloyed in Scripture. In such usage, too, we see that there is a guard against the error of making Divine love that of mere sentimen- talism ; that which is indiscriminate, and without ref- erence to character. And yet, while we cannot resolve these attributes into love, w^e must remember it as in them all, as in them effectively operative. The ten- dency of Christian theology, at one period, was to em- phasize another of these atttributes, that of justice, to the losing sight of others ; at another, that of almighty power. The present tendency is to forget these in the afRrmation of love. The problem is to take account of all ; and, in the fulness and emphasis of the Divine revelation of love, to find its j)lace ; its propulsion, so to speak, in every Divine act, whether of x^ower, right- eousness, or wisdom. " God is love" is one of the last 112 THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. utterances as to His cliaracter and action. " The love of God, in Jesus Christ our Lord," the ground of human confidence and consolation. As we thus find holiness, the entireness of the Divine moral excellence, so we find love, the element pervading them all, and bringing blessing in their operation. It is of the es- sence of love to seek to bless its object. In that seek- ing there will be no sacrifice of any other perfection, but rather its enforcement and highest illustration. See Knapp, Dwight, and Hodge, and especially Dr. Fairchild s " Elements of Theology," for this and the section following. CHAPTER IX. THE DOCTRINE OF TKIlSriTY. In what sense a mystery. — Threefoldness in unity. — Natural analogies. — Ground of reception, and position in New Testament teaching. — How far to be found in Old Testament. — Two general classes of passages in New Testament. — What to be established as to the Son and Blessed Spirit. — Passages in which these truths are exhibited. — Economy of the Divine Revelation, as to this doctrine. In the unity of God, the infinitude of the Divine perfection, we have mystery, not in tlie sense of the undiscoverable, but in that of the incomprehensible. Tlie one God, " God over all, blessed forever," tran- scending all human, all finite capacity of comprehen- sion^ — a necessity of human thought, and yet, to human thought, the great mystery. In the Trinity, the Triunity, the threefoldness in unity, or unity in threefoldness of God, revealed in the New Testament, it may be said that there is mys- tery in both of these senses — the undiscoverable and the incomprehensible. Its difficulty, however, is not so much its incomxDrehensibility, in either one or both of these senses, as in its supposed or apparent contra- diction ; the three in one or the one in three. Under- standing it to mean that God is one and three, in all respects exactly alike and the same, there would be 114 THE DOCTRINE OF TRINITY. sucli contradiction. There is no necessity for any such statement. There are many forms of finite threefold- ness perfectly consistent with unity. If so with the finite, much more with the infinite. We find that, in the aflirmation of this tlireefoldness, there are distinc- tions indicating differences ; the persons, related to each other in the Divine unity, are severally related to men in the work of redemption. There is thus indicated one God, one Divine nature. In this Divine nature are the distinctions of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ; and these equally and in common have the nature and perfections of Supreme Deity. How thus in all respects three and one. Scripture does not say. Its object, rather, is to exhibit this truth in its connec- tion with human redemption ; in its adaptation to human necessity. As to the difliiculties of threefoldness in unity, effort has been made, in the way of analogy, to remove them. The threefoldness, in the unity of human nature, of body, soul, and spirit ; that, again, in the spiritual nature of man, of intelligence, sensibility and will ; those, again, of unity, in manifoldness of relations, as son, father, and brother ; or, further, again, of that one human being in varied manifestations— all these may help to remove the difficulties. As are all human analogies, these are in the sphere of the finite, and touch, perhaps, at only one point. The essential ques- tion is : Have we this truth clearly exhibited in the teaching of Christ and His apostles ? What is its sub- stance and place in that teaching ; its practical ap- THE DOCTRINE OF TRINITY. 115 plication ? We may, as we suppose, see reasons for it prior to all Scripture teaching. We may see such rea- sons for it, after it has been clearly tanght. But the real question is that already stated : Has God spoken in this matter 1 What is His meaning ? In seeking the reply to this, we first notice the place of this doctrine in the Christian system. It is pri- mary, fundamental. The apostles were sent out to baptize men into a profession of it, as heartily accept- ed. As men thus knew Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, they came savingly in contact with the great redemp- tive features of Christianity. It may be said that this doctrine constitutes the spinal column of the Christian system. It forms the main substance of the early creeds. Those creeds, indeed, are only enlargements of the early baptismal formula of Matt. 28 : 19, and are introductory to all the doctrinal contents of the New Testament. We thus look at this New Testament teaching. The question as to the teaching of the Old Testament on this doctrine has been differently answered. Some of its declarations, read in the light of the New Testa- ment, are strikingly significant. It must be said that, if contained in these passages, the doctrine was not recognized by Old Testament readers. The logos of Alexandrian Judaism hovers between a personified at- tribute and a personality. The same may be said of the Memra Jehovah of the Rabbinic theology. The angel Jehovah, in one part of the narrative distin- guished from Jehovah, and in another identified with 116 THE DOCTRINE OF TRINITY. Ilim, has its bearing in the same direction. So, too, passages spealving of the Spirit of God in the Old Tes- tament, the passage standing by itself may mean either an attribute or a personalitj^. The specific classes of passages usually quoted on this topic are fourfold. (a) Those in which plurality of names and actions is affirmed. ' ' Elohim said' ' — singular verb—' ' let us' ' — plural — ' ' make man. ' ' Elohim said, ' ' Let us go down' ' (Gen. 11 : 7). Jehovah said, " Who will go for us?" (Isa. 6 : 8). {b) Where the names are separated and distin- guished. " Jehovah rained fire and brimstone from Jehovah" (Gen. 19 : 2-1). " O our God, hear our pray- er, for the Lord's sake" (Dan. 9 : 17). " Jehovah said to my Lord" (Ps. 110:1). (c) The names of Son and Spirit in the Old Testa- ment. " And now Jehovah and His Spirit hath sent me" (Isa. 48:16). "The heavens were made by the word of the Lord, and the host of them by the breath of His mouth" (Ps. 33 : 6). {d) Threefoldness of expression. "Jehovah bless thee," etc. (Num. 6 : 24). " Holy, holy, holy" (Isa. 6:3). Any one of these passages or classes, taken by itself, might not have importance as proof. All taken to- gether constitute a problem, of which the New Testa- ment doctrine of the Trinity is the satisfactory solu- tion. Read in the light of that New Testament revelation, many of those i)assages are full of pro- found significance. THE DOCTRINE OF TRINITY. 117 Passing on to the New Testament, we find a twofold classification of passages : those of a collective and those of an individual character. In the first, the per- sons are mentioned together. In the second, they are mentioned singly. To the former we, therefore, first give attention. These are the apostolic commission, Matt. 3 : 16, 17 ; 28 : 19, 20 ; 1 Pet. 1:2; John 14 : 26 ; 2 Cor. 13 : 14 ; Eph. 2:18; Rev. 1 : 4, 5. As a summary of the contents of these, we find : First, association of three names or subjects, one of whom is undoubtedly personal deity. Second, per- sonality is explicitly affirmed of the second, and neces- sarily implied in what is said of the third. Third, the order of mention is not invariable ; the second sometimes first, the third, second or first (2 Cor. 13 : 14 ; 1 Pet. 1 : 1, 2 ; Rev. 1 : 4, 5 ; Eph. 2 : 1, 8). Fourth, such collocation, as also the change of the order and the common fact of personality, suggest equality. In passing from these to the second class of pas- sages, those in which mention is made of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost separately, the two points needing to be established are, first, their personality, then their deity. As to the Father and the Son, there is no doubt as to the personality. This needs especially to be proved of the Holy Spirit. So, again, there is no question as to the Deity of the Father. Recognizing the twofold scriptural application of the term Father, sometimes as the Divine Being or nature, and then, more specifically, in His relation to the second person, the Son, we pass on to the examination of the passages 118 THE DOCTRINE OF TRINITY. bearing upon tlie two points tlins mentioned : tlie Deity of the Son, the personality and deity of the Holy Ghost. First, then, as to the Deity of the Son. This is found in passages which give Him Divine names ; which affirm of Him Divine attributes and w^orks ; which involve expressions of adoration and worship. A Being who is to be called God, who has the perfec- tions of God, and is to be worshipped as God, is to be regarded as God, as a Divine being. As to the first, Divine names (John 1:1), " Tlie Word was God." " I and My Father are one" (John 10 : 28, 30). " My Lord and My God" (John 20 : 28). " Equal with God" (Phil. 2 : 6). Examine Rom. 9 : 5 and Tifcufe 1:4; 2 : 13. And as Divine names are thus applied to the Son, so we find also Divine attributes and works. Eternity, in John 17:5; 8:58: "The glory which I had with Thee before the world was." " Before Abraham was, I am." Creative power, in John 1:2; Col. 1 : 15, 17 ; Phil. 3 : 21 ; Heb. 1:3; John 5 : 17-20. " All things were made by Him." " By Him were all things made in heaven and in earth." ' ' Upholding all things by the word of His power." " He is able to subdue all things unto Himself." " No one knoweth the Father but the Son" (Matt. 11 : 27). And these Divine names, and attributes, and works ascribed to Him are accompanied by expressions of reverence and acts of worship, as to a Divine being. " Show, Lord, whom Thou hast chosen" (Acts 1 : 24). THE DOCTRINE OF TRINITY. 119 ''Lord Jesus, receive my spirit" (Acts 7:69, 60). '' At or in the name of Jesus every knee should bovv^" (Phil. 2:10). "I besought the Lord thrice" (2 Cor. 12 : 8). " All men should honor the Son even as they honor the Father' ' (John 5 : 23). In the proof of the Deity of the blessed Spirit, the Holy Ghost, that of His personality first claims atten- tion — the fact that in speaking of the Spirit of God the Scriptures do not mean merely a power, or at- tribute, or such attribute personified, but a Divine per- son, x>ossessed of all the Divine attributes. We look, therefore, first at the language as to this point, and then, further, as to Divine nature and perfection. One of the first of these may be seen in the language of our Lord, in John 14 and 16, as to the Paraclete or Helper, who, on His departure, would take His place. This language describes not a power, but a person. "He would lead them into all truth." "He would teach them ;" " would call all things to their remem- brance" of His previous teaching ; " would convict the world of sin ;" " would show them things to come ;" would reveal the real and full significance of Christ's work and jDerson. He is thus described by the mascu- line ensivo;, not it, but He, So, further, in 1 Cor. 12:4-11, He imparts jrvpzcr/^n'ra', distinct from Him- self. He is distinguished from nvpio? and from deos, and imparts His gifts autocratically, jtaOoo? fSovXarai, "as He will." And this personality, thus described, is in these pas- sages, as in others, also spoken of as exercising Divine 120 THE DOCTRINE OF TRINITY. powers. In 1 Cor. 2 : 10 lie reveals truth, searclies the depth of infinitude, ' ' the deep things of God ;' ' in Acts 13 : 2-4 orders the separation of Paul and Barnabas. These show tliat, in the collective passages, as Matt. 28 and 2 Cor. 12 : 13, personality is involved: This person thus exercises the attributes of omniscience, of omnipotence, of omnij^resence, of wisdom. As to Divine worship, we find, in Rom. 9 : 1, the Holy Spirit is invoked by the apostle as present to know the truth of his assertion ; and in Matt. 12 : 31, " blasphemy against the Holy Ghost" is spoken of as an offence of the deepest malignity. Again, as to Divine names, we find, in Acts 5 : 3, 4, that lying against the Holy Ghost is spoken of as lying against God. The names are interchanged. If it be said that lying against Peter, as appointed of God, would have been lying against God, the reply is, that in the one case the creaturely character of the mediate agent would be undoubted, in the other it is not. Standing by itself, this text might not be sufficient as full proof of Deity of the blessed spirit. That proof is seen as it is taken with others. In glancing over these passages, as to the Deity of the second and third persons of the adorable Trinity, there is exhibited a S23ecialty, and amj^lification, and profuseness as to the second which is not found with the third. The explanation seems to be twofold. First, the difficulty of plurality in unity is encountered in the issue of our Lord's Deity ; after this there was less need of such variety of statement and amplifica- THE DOCTRINE OF TRINITY. 121 tion. Second, the idea of divineness, power, knowl- edge, wisdom was already familiar, and associated with the idea of the Spirit of God. The development of doctrine really needed was the truth of His person- ality. When this became clear, the doctrine assumed its full proportions. Old passages of the law and the prophets were read with a new meaning. Just as the old meanings of Son of God, angels, good men, magis- trates, or a being called by creative act into existence, came to include all these meanings, and something di- vinely more, so to these old meanings of the Spirit of God, Divine power, or knowledge, or wisdom, or these personified, was added that of the personal Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life, with the Father and the Son to be worshix)ped and glorified. There is a profound significance in the suggestion of Archbishop Whately as to the Divine rationale, so to speak, of the lateness of the clear and distinct revela- tion of this doctrine of the Trinity : that of its practi- cal aj)plication and importance. Prior to the actual manifestation of the second Person in the work of human redemption, and that of the blessed Spirit in its living ai3]3lication, the doctrine of the Trinity, even if intelligible, would have been largely speculative. As it is, it is seen to touch every part, and to meet every necessity of human nature. It is thus a doc- trine not to speculate about, but to appropriate and live upon : God, a loving Father, in the infinite self- sacrifice and the gift of his well-beloved Son ; God, a Divine-Human Brother, knowing, feeling with, and 122 THE DOCTRINE OF TRINITY. able to help Ills human brethren ; God, an ever-pres- ent Spirit in life, and in effect enlightening, sustain- ing, and consoling in all human trial and experience, making Divine truth living and energetic in human minds and hearts ; God, Father, Son, and Holj^ Ghost, thus the God of human nature, in the fulness of whose revelation all the wants and aspirations of this nature are met and satisfied. CHAPTER X CEEATION AND ORIGIN OF THE WORLD. The idea of creation. — Different from that of mere arrangement. — How related to theories of Evolution. — Divine Preservation, Providence, and Government. The truth of tlie Divine Trinity, of the Divine Unity in its threefoldness of manifestation and working, has more special reference to the world of men — moral and spiritual beings in spiritual relations to God and to each other. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost are alike spoken of in creation. So, too, they all co-operate in redemption ; but each one in His special mode. God the Father loves the world, and, in the self-sacrifice of love, sends His well-beloved Son for its deliverance. God the Son, in like love and self- sacrifice, comes and takes upon Him human nature, working and suffering for its benefit. God the Holy Ghost reveals and makes these truths savingly effect- ual. The Trinity is thus the doctrine of God as relat- ed to a world of moral and spiritual beings ; is spe- cially adapted to the necessities of these beings as fallen and sinful. The truth of the Divine Unity, while in most impor- tant respects related to man, is more x^redominantly so 124 CREATION AND ORIGIN OP^ THE WORLD. in Scripture to the world of creation, as called into ex- istence, sustained and regulated. In the question, there- fore, of the origin and creation of the world, including our own system, or any of which we have knowledge, we contemplate the Divine Unity. " God," said the ax)ostle to his Athenian hearers, " that made the world and all things therein." This has its positive meaning. It has in view opposing affirmations ; and it is connected with practical inferences of the highest practical importance. To some of these we give ex- amination. Manifestly, in this particular case, it was intended to assert the unity of the Creator of the world against the multitude of deities worshipped by his hearers. This is its frequent imjDlication in the Old and New Testament. " To us there is but one God." " He made the world, and all that is therein." The claims of all others, therefore, are empty and false. " In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth ;" not only our earth or planet, but whatever else is included in the heavens. "Thou, Lord," said the psalmist, "in the beginning hast laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Thy hands' ' (Ps. 102 : 25). " He that created the heavens and stretched them out" (Isa, 42 : 5). " The heaven, even the heaven of heavens, is the Lord's" (Ps. 115: 16). "Hath not My hand made all things?" (Acts 7 : 50.) " Of Him, and through Him, and to Ilim are all things" (Rom. 11 : 36). The origin of the world, of the heaven and the earth, as they now are in these CREATION AND ORIGIN OF THE WORLD. . 125 passages, is clearly affirmed, as in the Divine will and working. But the issue is made of tlio difference between crea- tion—that which calls things into existence, not form- ing and arranging existing material, but calling the material itself into existence ; creation in the strict sense of the word. The effort has been to find in these passages only the ordering and arrangement of pre- existing material — the transformation of chaos into cosmos. " Ex niJiilo, niJiil fiV was the maxim of heathen philosophy, as it is sometimes now of natu- ralistic unbelief. But infinitude, the infinitude of the Divine perfection, is not niliil. In His resources all such difficulties are imaginary. The matter, the atoms, the vortices, or whatever their name, elementary to the coming cosmos, must be created, or it must originate itself. Things do not come just dry so. They must exist uncaused, or they must find a- cause adequate to their origination. Such adequate Cause is Infinite Per- fection — God ! Agnosticism, while affirming ignorance as to the character and actions of such sufficient Cause, finds it a necessity to world existence. The only origi- nating efficient of cause of which we have knowledge is that of mind and will, the originative power of moral and spiritual beings. Human thought is thus forced to the conclasion of inspired truth. ''God," not merely the Framer or Disposer, but the " Creator of tlie heavens and the earth." As to the language of Scripture, it falls in with this idea of creation. "There are," says Dean Smith, 126 CREATION AND ORIGIN OF THE WORLD. " three words employed in the Old Testament in refer- ence to the production of the world — x'^3, He created ; ■^V;, He formed ; and nty;r, He made — the first term being appropriated exclusively to God alone, who is alone called Creator. Creation, therefore, accord- ing to the Hebrew, is a Divine act ; though, accord- ing to its etymology, it does not necessarily imply a creation out of nothing, it does signify the Divine production of something new, something that did not exist before. "It denotes," says Delitzsch, "a Di- vine and miraculous production, having its commence- ment in time." The expression, " God said, let it be, and it was," is, perhaps, the most striking of all these forms. As the similar one elsewhere, " He spake, and it was done." Nor are these statements confined to the simple fact of originating material. One form of speculation de- nies this truth of Divine origination. Another, admit- ting this, denies its continued operation. The inspired record affirms both. It goes on and exhibits the Crea- tor as arranging and ordering the material, through the ages, to the production of the ]3resent condition of things ; by which the world was organized and brought into condition for animal and human habitation. 5<'^3, as we have seen, is used of the first, " God created." And then, following, in the other words and forms of ex- pression, are described His continued action and super- vision. The operation of Divine law, material, chemical, vegetable, and organic forces, is not, by the Divine will, excluded. At the same time, the ox^eration of these CREATION AND ORIGIN OP THE WORLD 127 does not and cannot exclude the presence and agency of Him who called them into existence— originating not only tlie material, but its laws and forces. If this be called evolution, there is no difficulty with it, if it be recognized as the working out of the X)i'evious invo- lution of the Divine purpose, as the accompanying Divine agency, controlling it to His designed result. His hand is in and over the evolution, as is His mind. His purpose in the involution. God is present and operative in both of these respects all through the whole chapter of Genesis, as He is in the first verse. In the different stages He is present. He speaks, and results follow ; He directs as to processes, and those processes are accomplished ; He approves them as " good," as "very good," as adequate to His intended purposes. The process, too, it may be said, is in what is now seen to be the natural order of forces and opera- tions.* It begins with matter, with its principles of gravity and affinity ; it rises from this to the vege- table world, with its jDrinciple of vitality ; it rises from this to the animal world, with its principles of sensa- tion and instinct. And it rises from this to man, in his world, and with his powers of rational and moral rellection and action. Each step rests upon, takes in the former, and is something additional. At every such step comes in the Divine Creator, and in each, calling out, for the new stage, its laws and princij^les of existence. Of course Moses, or whoever wrote this chapter, knew nothing of this scientific order ; but * See Hopkins's Outline Man. 128 CREATION AND ORIGIN OF THE WORLD. somehow or other, lie lias described it. " The heavens and the earth, and the generations of them," were thus, in Divine creative power, connsel, and agency ; in His arrangement and supervision of their varied forms and modes of existence and operation. This conclusion, thus, first against polytheism, is no less against mate- rialism ; involves the supreme ownership of Jehovah, the God of Israel, as He is of the whole earth. Preservation", Providence, Government. — Fol- lowing naturally upon the truth of Divine creation is that of jDreservation— the continuance of beings and things, with their manifold forms and modes of exist- ence and operation. All beings, all things, in the light of Scrij^ture, as in that of rational conclusion, are to God in the relation of absolute dependence. They are thus dependent upon Him, first, for existence ; still further, for its continuance ; still further for their powers of action and enjoyment ; for the capacity of exercising those j^owers ; for the objects to which they are related. Divine preservation has been called a continued creation. Distinction, however, is properly made between the two — the calling into existence and the perpetuation of such existence. The distinction of immediate and mediate creation would better describe it. In both, however, is the common truth of the Di- vine presence and effective working ; and, in the last, as clearly revealed, is there provision against the ten- dency of human thought to stop at the existing forces and laws of the natural work, as exhaustive of all the agencies to its preservation and perpetuation. Pascal CREATION AND ORIGIN OF THE WORLD. 129 said of Descartes, that his only use for God, in the world, was to give it a fillip, in the way of a start, after it was made, and leave it to its own laws and forces. This is the view of the old English deism, communi- cated by them to the Germans, and called rationalism, more ]3roperly naturalism, and has come back again into English thought, as materialistic evolution ; in this, its last form, getting rid even of Descartes' Di- vine Creator, as of the fillip, starting creation on its progress. The properly descriptive name for this, in all its forms, as already intimated, is naturalism. Sometimes it is materialistic ; sometimes, as including all natural powers and agencies, those of mind as of matter ; but finding explanation of all the phenomena of the w^orld, for its continued j)reservation, as for all its forms of existence of action, in the operation of these natural agencies. Miracle, the supernatural, the manifestation and working in nature of the Author of nature, is thus excluded, is ruled out as impossible. Over against this, is the truth of the Divine presence and agency, in the continuance of the world, as in its creation. Just as in the creative days God was thus present and operative in the successive stages, from matter up to man, and in the operation of the laws then called forth, so is He now, ever has been, and will be in the world's continuance. " The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercy is over all His works." " Thou openest Thy hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing" (Ps. 145 : 9, 15). So also Ps. 147. " Thine hands have made me and fashioned me" (Job loO CREATION AND ORIGIN OF THE WORLD. 10 : 8). " In Him we live, and move, and are" (Acts 17:28). "Not one of tliem forgotten before God" (Luke 12 : 6). " Your heavenly Father feedeth them" (Matt. 6 : 26). Manifestly there is here the implication as the assertion of Diviiio presence and agency to the world's continuance and preservation. In His ordi- nances, Avhether of heaven or of earth, and giving them effectiveness. He, the God of preservation as of crea- tion, is present and operative. Closely connected with this truth of Divine preserva- tion are those of providence and government. The first has more special reference to a present arrange- ment and control of created things and beings from moment to moment as they move on ; the latter in the present also, but controlling and overruling for the future. How such providential agency is exercised, in what manner it extends to the minutest as to the greatest matters ; how it adjusts itself to and uses natural laws and forces ; in what manner it uses, or baffles, or overrules human agency without at all in- fringing upon human freedom and accountability, we are not told ; would not, perhaps, if told, be able to comprehend. But the truth itself is clearly revealed and distinctly emphasized. " He doeth His will in the armies of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth" (Dan. 4 : 35). "He maketh all things work together for good to them that love Him" (Rom. 8: 28), " Herod, and Pontius Pilate, and the Jewish rulers are described as working out their own counsels. And yet, while thus working freely for their own CREATION AND ORIGIN OF THE WORLD. 131 ends, witlioiit intending or knowing, they accomplish the Divine pur2)ose. Tlie reign of law, material, phys- ical, and rational, is thns secured. At the same time, in the iDrovidential Divine administration, it does not exclude the personal presence and agency of its Divine Author and Giver. In His providence these laws, in their operation, are made consistent with His special designs and purposes. " In Him we live, and move, and are." He reveals Himself as an ever-present help in every time of trouble. Prayer, as dictated by the exigencies of the present necessity, which, to be an- swered, demands the exercise of present Divine power, must, in faith, be made to Him. Creatures, in such prayer, are to go to Him as children to a Father in every exigency. And they have the assurance, not only of the Father's heart to sympathize, but that the Father's hand, all-sufficient for help, will be put forth to their benefit. To Him in His providence all things, small and great alike, as needed, are possible. The revelation of Him in the micuoscope is no less wonder- ful than of that in the telescope. Details do not ex- clude general j)rincix)les ; and general principles do not exclude details. (See Ps. 107 ; 113 ; Matt. 7 ; Luke 12.) It may, indeed, be said that this is the scriptural assumption everywhere — God at hand, providing and I)resent to all the wants and earnest petitions of His creatures. And these two truths. Divine preservation and providence, lead naturally to, if they do not imply. Divine government. In this are the ideas of purpose^ 132 CREATION AKD ORIGIN OF THE WORLD. plan, ends to be attained, an ultimate end to wliicli subordinates have reference. In the counsel of Divine perfection, that end cannot be anything imperfect and limited. " Jehovah hath made all things for Him- self." That ultimate end is the manifestation of Him- self in His perfections as in His blessedness to His creatures, thus imparting to them in Himself the high- est good of which they are capable. As they " see Him they become like Him." But, to this ultimate end, there are intermediates exhibited in the Divine administration ; sometimes in the Church, sometimes in the world. They are brought to view in the -history of the race in the vari- ous stages of human experience. They are more con- spicuously exhibited in His revealed dispensations, His dealings with His servants and ancient j)eople. His I)reparations in these for the final manifestation of His purposes of blessing and salvation. So, too, in the affairs of this world, as in Scripture, He governs against evil and wrong and on the side of righteous- ness. The great purpose running through all these is the establishment of a kingdom of righteousness. And the assui'ance is given that this shall eventually become the controlling and pervading power in human- ity. " All things are to come to a head in Christ." " God is to be all in all." Creation begins with God, calling all things into being. God preserves and guides. God rules and controls. God not only thus rules, but He shall be openly acknowledged and lov- ingly obeyed as Ruler. God's kingdom in a redeemed CREATION AND ORIGIN OF THE WORLD. 133 and glorified world is the blessed termination — the end which has no ending. The relation of these truths to the fact of the exist- ence of evil will come wp in connection with the sub- ject of sin. For the j)resent we may briefly summarize the theories under which these truths have been con- strued. The first has already been intimated : God creating and imposing forces and laws upon the world and leav- ing it to their oj^eration. The second is the extreme of this, and rather loses sight of natural laws and forces in the Divine imma- nence, acting directly in all movements and opera- tions. To some degree, too, this Divine immanence gets away from the idea of the Divine personality, or fails to give it due position. With some it seems to be the old truth of the omnipresence of power, as of love and knowledge, of a Divine personality. In others it seems to identify the immanent power with that in which it is working, and thus to run into pantheistic concex)tions. To say the least, the modes of expres- sion are not at all satisfactory. God is in the world immanent ; but also, distinct from the world, He is transcendent. The last is that which finds the Divine Creator, and Preserver, and Provider, and Governor, as also His laws. At the same time, while He Jias an ordinary mode of ox)eration as the basis of action and calcula- tion to finite creatures, yet He Himself is not tied to it. For reasons sufficient, effects may be contemi:)lated l;U CREATION AND ORIGIN OF THE WORLD. and extraordinary means used to their accomplisliraeut — in other words, miracles. Miracle is not necessarily contradictory to natural law, is not suspension of such law. It is a higher power coming in, affecting, and modifying laws and forces to a new result. He who knows all, who sustains all, and is able to control all, can do this without confusion. Duke of Argyle's " Reign of Law" and " Unity of Nature." Harris's "Self-Revelation of God." McCosh's "Divine Government." Cudwortli's " System of the Universe." Dawson's "Origin of the World." CHAPTER XL THE DOCTRINE OF MAN. His original condition. — Divine image, its Scriptural meanings. — Unity of the race. — Possibilities of primeval acquisition. — The first act of transgression and fall. Man in his Primeval Condition. — ''God," said Kolieleth, "hath made everything beautiful in its time." "God said," is the record of Genesis, " let us make man in our own image, after our likeness, and let them have dominion." The world, in its Divine creation and order of preservation, providence, and overruling control, is thus contemplated in subordina- tion to the dominion of man. Man, really in God's image, will rule in accordance with God's will and purposes, and this His rule will be a blessing to all creation. So far as he is in that image, morally and spiritually, will this result be secured. The scriptural account of man follows that of his creation ; and this in its relation to all that follows. Some of the particu- lars of that account claim attention. First, then, as to the significance of this expression, the " image and likeness of God." The first of these words, oh-a, describes the outline of an object as cast by its shadow ; the other, m, that of resemblance in general. The former the image of God, that most fre- 136 THE DOCTRINE OF MAN. quently used, seems intended to express the idea of what is peculiar to humanity as distinct from or con- trasted Avith the lower orders of creation. Sometimes it is as in its Divine ideal as before the fall ; sometimes only in its actual human natural, and after that event ; but always as thus with the Divine impress of essential human nature. In the first two chapters of Genesis, for instance, the ijredominant idea of the Divine image, as resemblance, seems to be that of Divine dominion ; as God over all, so man under Him in his dominion of the lower creation. This, too, is the idea of the New Testament in one place (1 Cor. 11 : 7), where man, as the image of God, is over the woman. In Gen. 9 : 0, however, where the prohibition against murder is based upon the fact of this Divine image in the vic- tim ; and in James 3 : 9, where the cursing of men, in this Divine image, is reprobated, it seems to ])e rather the essential fact of humanity that is indicated, and without specific reference either to dominion or char- acter ; while in Col. 3 : 10, where the regenerate man is spoken of ' ' as renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created Him ;" and in Eph. 4 : 23, 24, when such an one is spoken of " as renewed in the spirit of his mind ; as putting on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness," the idea manifestly is that of the Divine image of moral and spiritual resemblance. These three classes of pas- sages bring before us, it may be said, the three stages and forms of human experience to which this expression is applicable : The im age of God to man in his innQ_- THE DOCTRINE OF MxVN. 137 cence, as lie was created, and before he sinned. The linage^l God in liis humanity, marred and defaced by sin, but not hoj^elessly obliterated and destroyed. The image of Grod, in his spiritual restoration and trans- formation in Christ, and through the power of His re- newing S^^irit ; this latter the earnest and prophecy of the Divine image in humanity in its heavenly excel- lence, glorified with Christ in His heavenly exaltation. Humanity thus spoken of, as in the Divine image, in its totality, is also thus implied as to its particulars — in its bodily, its vitalized and spiritual characteristics. Man's body, like that of other creatures, certainly after the fall, is subject to the law of change and dis- solution. Evidently had there been no such fall, the implication was that of continued bodily existence, but nothing of its particulars ; the transition from the natural to the spiritual body, not by death, but in some other way. Besides the body, is mention made of the soul, ^d:, as an organific principle, sometimes very nearly the equivalent of life, but of a life not necessarily destroyed by bodily death. Sometimes, again, soul is very nearly, if not quite, the equivalent of spirit, nn, the spiritual being in personality. And then, further, the word spirit describes this last idea of personality, and more specifically. Soul and spirit seem to be interchanged in the Old Testament poetic paral- lelism, as they are sometimes in the New Testament. If there be any difference in such cases, it is that soul, as in modern j^sychology, indicares connection with organ- ism, spirit as dwelling in the body. SjDirit itself is not 138 THE DOCTRINE OF MAN. contemplated as necessarily in such relation. In 1 Thess. 5:23 the three, "body, soul, and spirit,'' are spoken of together as the objects of the whole sanctification prayed for by the apostle. In Heb. 4 : 12 " soul and spirit" are spoken of in connection with the thoughts and intents of the heart, and these as related to bodily organism. Body and spirit are thus clearly distin- guished. Soul is connected ordinarily with body, as also with spirit. In this idea of spirit, siDiritual per- sonality is usually the imx)lication of continued exist- ence ; and the glorified body and sanctified soul and spirit are contemplated as the final condition of the redeemed race — every part of human nature delivered from the eft'ects of evil and sin — ^in Christ positively exalted and glorified. Implied in these j)^rticula]\s has been that of the nnity of the race — the fact of its unity of origin as con- trasted with the various characteristics of dilfei'ent jyeo- ples and nations at the present time. This, at one time a sharply contested point of disjDute, has lost much of its interest. In the later issue of the deriva- tion of man from a lower order of organic being, that of his unity has been accepted on both sides. This is manifestly the implication of Scripture. Men are spoken of as having a common nature, as of a common origin. " God," says the apostle, " hath made of one blood all nations of men to dwell on the face of the earth." Blood is, perhaps, not critically correct ; but nature, or something to that efi'ect, needs to be sup- I)lied. The race fell in one man ; by one man is re- THE DOCTRINE OF MAN. 139 deemed. Its unity is the base of all such representa- tions. Just here a deeply interesting question presents itself, one a subject of much discussion and specula- tion—that of man's possibilities of knowledge and of acquisition, as a being thus called into existence ; and with this that of the possibility of a primitive revela- tion. Whether created or evolved from a lower organ- ism, this question presents itself. The rational and moral being, however he came, when he came, encoun- tered this problem. How, and how far, as such being, can he know and be receptive of knowledge ? Regard- ing him as created, we may briefly examine this ques- tion. How, for instance, with such a being as to lan- guage ? The reply to this will be substantially the same as to other acquisitions. Here mere natural analogies fail. And the difficul- ties urged from such analogies ignore the fact that a created man, as divinely called into existence, is not a natural, but a supernatural phenomenon. So, too, with a rational nature communicated to one of the higher forms of brute existence.* Such a man would not be an infant as to his digestive, his muscular, or his nervous system. He would not be so in his intel- lectual, his emotional, his volitional nature. Just as such a one would move, and walk, and take food, and take cognizance of surrounding objects, so would * Nature, as from nascor nattis, that which in some manner is born, or from <^vcig (f>vu, that which grows or has grown, does not describe what is liere spoken of. 14U THE DOCTRINE OF MAN. he make signs, iind give sounds, expressive of ideas, especially as not alone, but, as like the created man, with a companion —this companion, being no less necessary to the evolved man, if his race is to be perpetuated. The beginnings vrouM, of course, be imperfect ; but the progress would be rapid. In such case there would be a power and rapidity of movement, in all lines of capacity and acquisition, of which we have no anal- ogous instances. Given the fact of such a being, or two such beings, in daily association ; and as would be the necessity, so would be the development of caiDacity, both of thought, and its expression in word or in action. All that we can say with certainty is, that as the exigency came, so the sign or the sound needing to constitute expression would come along with it. Lan- guage, as thus the exxoression and outcome of thought, would increase and enlarge its means of exj)ression. Aiding this would be any specific Divine communi- cations of which he might be in the reception. How exactly they were made, how ' ' Eloliim said, ' ' we are not specifically told. God is described as speaking, as making Himself intelligible to man ; and man, it is implied, understood the Divine communication. The extreme of naturalism, which would construe the first man as a heli^less infant, is as absurd as that of some of the old theologians, who found him in full posses- sion of all the acquisitions of the subsequent race. Between these is the position described in Genesis : a being capable of acquiring knowledge, and becoming more intelligent, as intelligence was needed ; of thus THE DOCTRINE OF MAN. 14:1 coming into commnnication with the workl around, as with his Maker ; and, in tliat knowledge, capable of moral accountability — of moral excellence or its fail- ure. Thus we find him in Genesis, with language, the religious institution of the Sabbath, the moral and social of the marriage relation, bodily employment, in keeping the garden, as a condition of healthful physi- cal existence. And thus far, in the language of his Divine Creator, very good. The First Transgression and Fall. — The transi- tion from the last topic is natural : that of man in Eden, to the first transgression and its effects. This last has its difficulties : first, as to interpretation ; sec- ond, as to its effects upon the man himself, and through him upon his posterity. Just here we look at the first, its interpretation. These are threefold : the allegorical, the mythical, and the literal. The difficulty with the first two is the variety of meanings extracted by them from the nar- rative, and their conflicting character. That which proves everything proves nothing. The difficulty with the literal is mainly with the serpent, and the character of the trees and their fruit. These, however, are not insuperable. It is to be said, moreover, that the human part, the moral and spiritual transactions, whether clothed in figure or not, are clear and unmis- takable as to their meaning — to all intents and pur- poses may be treated as literalities. The human agents were placed upon trial ; they were temi:)ted, dis- obeyed, and fell ; they were subjected to penalty. 142 THE DOCTRINE OF MAN. The literalities of that penalty are unquestionable. Some of these we examine.'^ One of these is the fact which gives significance to the whole : that of trial, test of obedience and char- acter, so far as formed, to its full formation, moral vigor and security. The question is often asked. Why evil in the universe ? Could not God have prevented it ? Undoubted!}^ He could, confining the world of creation to non-moral and non-accountable beings. Just as pain, the protective of animal organism, could have been excluded in a world of mere i)hysical forces or of vegetable organisms. But as in the animal or- ganism is the necessity of pain, so in the moral is the necessity of personal agency ; and in this fact of finite moral agency and its exercise, is the 230ssibility of fail- ure and deviation from right. To be, it must exercise itself ; and in such exercise is trial and probation. Innocence is not excellence, the strength and excel- lence of formed character. The one is the weakness of the infant ; the other, the vigor, and power, and secu- rity of the full-grown man. Such power and vigor only come, so far as we can see, through moral growth under test and probation. The test of Eden consti- * There is in this account, literally : (a) The Divine being, Elohim. (b) The human being, Adam and the woman, (c) The tempter and the temptation, (d) The result of tlie act of yielding. Act and its results. (e) These results : death, woman's condition, conflict of seeds. These open to question, as figurative : (a) Was it a literal serpent ? (b) Was it a literal serpent only ? (c) Did Elohim or the serpent speak in words ? (d) Were the effects physical only through the moral V (<) Or were the effects moral through tlie physical ? (/) Or did both of these act co instantaneously ? THE DOCTRINE OP MAN. 143 tuted the divinely given opportunity, with its necessary risks for such growth and maturity. It was the part of Divine wisdom and compassion, even after faihire, to bring in remedial agencies ; to afford means by which a fallen might become a redeemed race. But to the formation of character, spiritual vigor, moral ele- vation, strength and security, such probation would seem to have been a necessity. That test was simple, and mercifully arranged as to its particulars. A certain act was forbidden upon the authoritative word of the Divine Creator and Benefac- tor. The consequences of disobedience were clearly made known, as the blessing of its opposite implied. It was thus a test of loyalty, of faith in the Divine word and character ; and it contained an assurance of welfare in one direction, as of disaster in the other. To forbear was obedience and life ; to eat was dis- obedience and death— was resistance and disregard as to the will of the heavenly Sovereign and Benefactor. The temptation, as it came, was from without, herein mitigating the nature of the offence. Its form was twofold. First, to self-exaltation and personal bene- fit : " Ye shall be as God." Second, to disbelief, want of faith in the truth of God : " God doth know that in eating you will not be injured, but rather exalted and benefited; has said to you what is not true." This first temptation, as are all subsequent in their ultimate analysis, was a lie, a slander against God. And faith, not in God, but in the devil, the source of the disobedient act and all its consequences. Morally 144 THE DOCTRINE OF MAN. and spiritually, the fall took place wlien God was dis- believed and the tempter trusted. The actual eating was the outward and visible sign of the fall as already, inwardly and spiritually, accomplished. Of course, all the moral and spiritual effects were heightened as this inward state found, in the act, its outward expres- sion. What was its result ? Was it entirely moral and spiritual, in its deranging and destructive effects, from within outward, affecting the body, and thus working to its corruptibility and mortality ? Or was it entirely bodily, poisoning the body, and from without inward depraving, through the body, the spiritual nature ? Or was it both of these combined, the spirit dej)raved and the body poisoned in one and the same act of transgression ? These questions are not specifically answered. Manifestly the predominant feature and result is the spiritual and moral, the sinful act. De- rangement and moral death beginning, will soon dam- age and deprave the body. The divinely announced result includes both — disobedience, moral defection, bodily dissolution, and mortality. That divinely announced result, both in its matter and order, is deeply significant. While the human offenders are questioned and their extenuation heard, there is no such questioning, no such extenuation Avith the tempter. He is condemned in his instrument as he is himself, and eventually to a complete overthrow. The woman, as first in the transgression, is put in sub- jection to the man ; is to bring forth in pain and sor- THE DOCTRINE OF MAN. 145 row, and yet is to bring forth eventually tlie Deliverer, The man is condemned to labor as the condition of existence ; and, with the woman, as in him and all his posterity, becomes subject to bodily mortality. In the sentence, as we have seen, there is alleviation. Wom- an's suffering becomes the medium to the coming of the Deliverer ; man's toil is really a ]protective against various temptations to evil. And, in the in- timation of the victorious conqueror of the evil one, was wrapped uj) the hope of a coming restoration. With only one other specific point are we just here occu]3ied : the i)ersonality of the tempter. The serpent is spoken of, and yet allusions in the New Testament to this serpent indicate something more than the literal serpent : the presence, indeed, of the great enemy. How, it is asked, can this be literal ? Which is to be understood ? Perhaps the best reply would be, both. If, as the apostle tells us, Satan can transform himself into an angel of light, as he probably transformed himself into man, when he tempted our blessed Lord, he could into a serpent, with the first man. And the subsequent conflict of the literal seed of the woman and the seed of the literal serpent would be part of the result accomiDanying the si^iritual conflict ; to termi- nate in the final victory of the spiritual seed in a higher sphere of operation. Evidently this latter is the predominant one : the overthrow of all enemies, the final triumph of the seed of the woman, in His final heavenly exaltation. Connected with this subject questions are often 146 THE DOCTRINE OF MAN. asked, and to wliich, perliaps, only partial rei)lies can be suggested. One of these is as to the possible opposite result of the trial — successful probation — to the first man. Would probation have terminated there ; and if so, how would his posterity have been affected ? As in cer- tain respects they fell in him, so if he had stood, would they have stood in him — in other words, have needed no probation ? Scripture does not specifically raise, and therefore does not answer this question. The first man may have needed further trial ; and his posterity, even if he had been successful, and they enjoying its advan- tages, might have still needed further personal trial to the formation of personal character. Another of these questions is as to the effect of that trial as successful both with the first man and the race, his posterity. Would the result have been bodily im- mortality, the non- entrance of bodily death in human experience 1 Man's bodily nature, it is urged, is consti- tutionally mortal, comes under the law of organic dis- solution. To this three replies have been made : First, man's bodily nature is so, as that of a sinful being. How, if sinless, is the j)oint of inquiry ? Sec- ond, we have only to sujDpose a different physical organism, one in which the supply is exactly adajoted to the demand of the system, so as to go on forever, and the difficulty is removed. Third, earthly exist- ence with the race, as with two exceptional cases, Enoch and Elijah, might terminate, not in bodily death, but in translation, and the transformation needed for an- THE DOCTRINE OF MAN. 147 otlier state of existence. There was the implied assur- ance of continued existence to obedience ; but nothing as to its localities and conditions. Evidently the idea of perpetuated life, the possibility of life immortal, is thus implied in the record. This "plank from the wreck of Paradise' ' thus survived to men's minds as a possibility of human experience. So, again, the further question has been asked : Was not the fall, and the knowledge in personal ex- perience of good and evil, a stage, and a necessary one, to a higher condition ? As " God causes the wrath of man to praise Him," so did He not, in this case, the malignity of Satan 1 The reply to this is, that as, in the blessed angels and in the humanity of our blessed Lord, there was no knowledge in personal experience of evil, for full and successful trial, and the highest excellence following, so we cannot affirm any such necessity in the case of the first man. Sin is not a God-originated thing or agency. He controls and overrules it, as originating with His finite creatures ; but hates and condemns it. How He would have done with man sinless we cannot fully say ; but we can say He would have blessed him, and blessed him more highly, than as brought under the power of sin. While, therefore, it cannot be said that man's fall was a needed step to his moral and spiritual elevation, we may say it afforded opportunity for the most con- spicuous manifestation and exercise of Divine love and wisdom, to the deliverance of men from the effects and consequences of his transgression, and thus for his 148 THE DOCTRINE OF MAN. moral and spiritual elevation. But that such eleva- tion could not have been without sin is beyond our cajDacity of affirmation. As it was, in the actual fact, "where sin abounded, grace superabounded. " And thus, as sin reigned unto death, so grace, in the Divine work and righteousness, reigned unto eternal life. God thus caused, alike, the malignity of Satan and the sin of man to show forth His praise. CHAPTER XII. THE DOCTRIlSrE OF SIJST. Distinction of Original and Actual. — The first original sin. — Ambiguity of the terms employed to describe it. — Scripture assertion of man's sinfulness. — What the nature of this, and its connection with the sin of the first man. — Theories of such connection. In an ideal world there would be no place for this topic. In the actual it meets ns everywhere ; not only in systems of theology, but in every-day life ; not only in Christianity, but in all forms of religion ; in the struggles of human feeling, as in the confessions and speculations of human science and philosoj^hy. Such fact, deeply significant in itself, becomes still more so as in its connection with the teaching of Old and New Tes- tament revelation. This teaching is that of sin as in some manner, either in act or tendency, an inheritance, an experience common to the race. Man is described as a sinful being. The two great questions of Christian theology with reference to it are, what is this sin ? how can it be overcome and eradicated ? To understand the remedy we must know the evil. As we see the real char- acter of this evil, we see the necessity, and to some de- gree what must be the character of the effective remedy. We begin with the first, sin. Here, in the beginning, we encounter the distinction 150 THE DOCTRINE OF SIN. of original and actual sin. With the former there are many difficulties. With the latter, comparatively few. Actual sin, sin contemplated as an act, is deviation, in the free movement of a moral agent, by commission or omission from the Divine law ; wrong-doing, or fail- ure of right-doing as to God, the Supreme Ruler and Lawgiver. Sin is offence against Divine law, as is crime against that which is human. Crimes thus may not be sins, and sins may not be crimes. It was no crime for man and wife, under Roman law, to sepa- rate and seek new partners ; but it was sin. On the other hand, it was a crime for a Roman soldier to re- fuse to do religious homage to the effigy of Csesar ; but it w^as not sin. Both of these words imply a law given by a rightful authority, as also the voluntary agency of those living under it. Transgression of the Divine law is specially described as sin. Such sin in other relations may be and usually is described by other terms — immorality, villainy, dishonesty. Con- templated Godward, they are sins. Prior, however, to the consideration of actual sins is usually that which is called original. The nomen- clature here is not by any means a happy one ; and it is to be regretted that the idea of Zwingle, as to the use* of some other term, had not been adopted in the confessions of the Reformation. What is really meant could have been better expressed by the word deprav- ity, corruption, or tendency to sin of human nature, and the present entanglement and confusion avoided. Sin, which is a word properly descriptive of a volun- THE DOCTRINE OF SIN. 151 tary criminal act, is thus used to describe the in- voluntary state or condition of the race, as of the agent prior to his cai)acity of voluntary action. So, in the same manner, guilt, which properly describes the condition into which a voluntary agent brings himself by a criminal act, is used to describe the state or condi- tion of others by such act affected. Original sin, meaning by this the condition in which men are by the sin of the first man, is usually spoken of as preced- ing actual sin. And yet it was an actual sin of the first man that produced it. Strictly speaking, the original sin, peccatum originans, was that of the first man. The effect of this is the depravity, the corrujD- tion, the universal race tendency to follow in his foot- steps. This, described as peccatum originatuin, origi- 7US, or or/'ginale, always involves a modification of the sense of peccatum. In the first, describing the offence of the first man, it means a voluntary criminal act ; in the second, a naturally depraved state or dis- position. Refusal or failure to recognize this distinc- tion has been the prolific source of confusion and em- bittered controversy. The two points, thus included in this subject of race dex^ravity, or, as usually described, original sin, are, first, the fact as to its existence and nature ; second, its connection with the sin and fall of the first man. This fact itself comes out in a twofold form. First, in those passages of Scripture and their implications in which the actual condition of the race is described. Distinction here is not specifically made between actual 152 THE DOCTRINE OF 81N. sin and tlie race tendency to its commission. But the point of significance is the iiniversality of sin both in space and time ; its manifestation under variety of times and circumstances ; its manifoldness of ox)era- tion, and yet, in all, its essential unity of character, Man is contemplated as a sinful being. If this is not a part of his nature, in that nature as related to its surroundings, it is called into existence. Just as dis- eases in certain families, through several generations, indicate hereditary tendency in such families, so this disease of depravity in the family of the race, in all its generations and under all conditions and circum- stances, indicates no less clearly a law of moral and spiritual heredity as its natural explanation. "All," says the apostle, ' ' have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Whether regarded as a result and proof of human dej^ravity, or simply as the outworking of human nature, the fact is substantially the same. Most startling are some of the illustrations. The first of human born becomes a murderer. The earth, in the course of time, becomes so filled with violence, as to bring ujDon its guilty inhabitants a flood of destruc- tion. The confusion of Babel, not long after the flood, is the efi'ect of disobedience to the Divine will. In the course of a few generations, the spread of idolatry and polytheism and their abominations necessitate the call of Abraham and his family, as witnesses of the livino; God, and as protesting against the i)ollutions and cruel- ties of heathenism. Even among these chosen people, sin and idolatry are constantly breaking forth, and THE DOCTRINE OF SIN. 153 brought under Divine reproof and punishment. Their history is one long record of Divine blessings pervert- ed, as of Divine penalties inflicted. Even the best specimens of the faithful, how painful the record, how clear the confession from them of failure and sin ! It is the race unity of sin that is thus exhibited ; of something in human nature, left to itself, going into sin ; even, in spite of Divine grace, falling into its commission. So, too, the world of men is contemplated as need- ing salvation ; and that as divinely provided to meet, not a partial, but a universally existing race neces- sity. The children of a sinful progenitor are thus participants with him of sin ; in the nature, which thus finds expression. What is involved in such participation we examine further on. Just here we note the fact of heredity in natural disposition or constitution : sinful, dying parents, giving birth to mortal and sin-inclined children ; giving them the in- heritance of mortal bodies, of inward corrupt and depraved tendencies. Connected scripturally with this fact of the actual condition of the race, and i:)ointing to something in its nature as explanatory of its existence, are scriptural statements as to its connection with the sin of the first man. " As in Adam," says the apostle, " all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive." Christ's life, imjiart- ed to the race, is not merely that of l)odily life. Pre- ceding this, and a ^preparative condition to it, is Christ's moral and spiritual life to men morally and spiritually 154 THE DOCTRINE OF SIN. dead, thus in this condition, through connection with the first man. So, too, in the parallel of the fifth chapter of Romans, the two great heads of the race are set over against each other— the one as bringing in sin and death, the other as bringing grace and life to the race. It is the race unity in each of these, its re- spective heads, that is thus manifestly contemplated. And we thus have the race inheritance of a sin-dis- posed nature. In the light of such fact we read the confession of the i^salmist (Ps. 51 : 5), the language of Job 14 : 4, the conflict described in Rom. 7 : 5-25, as to the indwelling power of the depraved nature ; and the language of our blessed Lord as to the need of spirit birth to the naturally born, for admission to the king- dom of God. Thus far there has been little of serious difference as to the fact of man as a sinful being — in other words, human depravity, tendency to sin, going out, as human nature is left to itself, into actual sin, as moral capac- ity for such sin is reached. In this respect, and in some way or other, this fact of race connection and race inheritance, of the fallen nature of the first man, has been generally accepted. The manner of that connection, what it involves in the moral condi- tion of the race, and as to man's standing, under the Divine law, prior to actual sin, has been that of con- troversy. Without going into the details and stages of this controversy, it will be sufficient to indicate the main point of interest in it — that of the moral and legal standing of the race, as of each member of it THE DOCTRINE OF SIN. 155 prior to actual sin, say that of tlie new-born infant, through, race connection, and from this first sin. Birth connection, natural connection, is of course in- volved. But in this what is additionally included ? Two theories — the participation theory of Augustine and the imputative theory of Anselm, and later scho- lastic and reformed theologians answered it, by the affirmation of personal guilt, and consequently a posi- tive Divine sentence of condemnation. The first of these theories, under that of realism, affirmed the pres- ence of the race in the person and act of their progeni- tor ; and, therefore, their participation in the conse- quences of this common act — personal guilt and con- demnation. The other found them thus present and X)articipant, not in person, but in that of their divinely appointed representative, the first man, and coming to them in the way of imputation. In both cases the result was the same : the race, each member of the race, criminally guilty of the first sin, and, therefore, under sentence of Divine condemnation. Connected with these, and ending in the same con- clusion, was that of the participation personally in the sin of the first man, not by concurrent act, as with Augustine, not in the act of the representative, as with the later view, but in the malignity of the inherited nature itself, which, wanting in love to God and all good, and full of positive tendencies to evil, was itself sin, and under the divinely condemning sentence. Here the transition from the idea of depravity, a state, to that of sin, an act ; from that of guilt as the 156 THE DOCTRINE OF SIK effect of personal criminality, to guilt as the effect of the criminality of others, was made without distinct recognition. Sin, an act, was made to describe the effect of a depraved and fallen condition ; and guilt, in the sense of criminality, was used to describe the effect, in others, of such criminality. In all these theories the personal agent, j)rior to any act or agency of his own, and even to his capacity of agency or of action, was found guilty, criminally so, of sin, an act, and legally under Divine sentence as to its conse- quences. Children, in the language of Scripture, ' ' an heritage of the Lord," who " are not able to discern good or evil," are thus made not only to know evil, but to be criminal participants in it, and under its Divine sentence of doom. This, very naturally, led to the sacramental remedy. For dying infants there could be no other. The sin and its doom, criminally incurred, not by their own act, was, in the same manner, without their act or knowledge, removed. And, as one sacrament thus be- came debased from its original high moral and spiritual significance into a mere fetich, so, in due time, the other came to be regarded and treated as of similar char- acter. Where sin is looked upon as a physical thing, it will be treated, and its cure sought with 23hysical remedies. Over against this affirmation of race criminality and condemnation from the first sin is that of its extreme opposite, what has been called the theory of example. Men are affected by Adam's sin through the tempta- THE DOCTRmE OF SIN. 157 tion of his examx^le. Just so far as they are affected by that example, and follow it, just so far are they par- ticipants of his fall and its consequences. This ignores the fact of prior participation in these consequences in the result of mortality, and really makes all connec- tion, not that of race or nature, but of actual offence. Actual sin is all that we find in these respects in the human race ; in human failure and transgression. We are as was the lirst man. He sinned and fell. We sin and fall. Adam injured himself ; we injure ourselves ; are really affected only by his examj)le. Here, mani- festly, there is defect of scriptural truth and scriptural statement, as in the previous theories there are super- fluities. While, in one direction, man is scripturally held accountable only for his own actions, in another he is exhibited as acting from the impulses of a de- praved and fallen nature. He does undoubtedly fol- low the example of his progenitor ; but why so in- variably and universally ? Why does he need to be born again for his entrance into the kingdom of God ? There is the race tendency, the race inheritance. We may not be able fully to explain the fact ; but it must be accepted. One other of these theories — that of the scientia Tnedia — may be briefly mentioned ; the race, as indi- viduals, are accounted and treated as guilty, as it was foreseen they would actually become so. Scripture, it must be said, treats men as offenders, not in view of what they might or may do under certain conditions, but in view of what they have actually done. The 158 THE DOCTRINE OF SIN. question may be asked, Why not include, under this theory, the sin of the first man, as well as those of his children ? Have we, then, any way of stating this connection ? There is one that describes it as actually existing ; and this, j)erhaps, is as far as we are capable of go- ing — that of consequence. Human depravity is not identically the sin of the first man. But it is the di- vinely established consequence, in the race, of that sin ; in the Divine overrulings, to manifest not only the Di- vine justice, but the Divine goodness and wisdom. Analogies to it are to be found in all directions. Heredity has become a familiar word in human sci- ence. And there are few communities of any size that do not afford individual and family illustrations. A sinful i^rogenitor will beget depraved offspring. The terrible truth of human sinfulness comes to men every- where. It is a human, a natural fact. It is natural to man, as he is, in his present condition. This had its be- ginning with the first sin, and is connected with it. As Christ is the head of the race for its deliverance, so is Adam for its sinfulness. This depraved nature needs to be changed, just as the actual sins, which are its outgoing, need to be i)ardoned. In the work of Christ, as in the Spirit of Christ, is provision for both of these necessities. In this way we have no confu- sion of personalities. Each one must give account, not of Adam' s, but of his own sin to God. And each finds, in the provisions of Divine grace, that which will enable him to obtain pardon for these his own THE DOCTRINE OF SIN. 159 sins, Divine spiritual influence to the mastery over tlie effect of Adam's sin, the j)Ositive sanctification of his own spiritual nature. The question has sometimes been raised, in connec- tion with this topic, whether man is to be spoken of as totally depraved. The phrase is not a happy one. It may mean that men are demons, as bad as they are capable of being. This excludes degrees of guilt as varieties of character, and is not of course possible. It is sometimes used to affirm the truth that depravity extends to every part of human nature, not only to the body, but to the intellectual, the rational, the moral, and spiritual nature. This, however true, would be better expressed in other terms. Knapp's definition of depravity " as that tendency to sinful passions, or unlawful propensities, which is perceived in man, whenever objects of desire are placed before him, and laws are laid upon him, ' ' gives a much better idea as to its character. (See Rom. 7.) See on this and chapter preceding, Hodge, Martensen, Muller's " Christian Doctrine of Sin," Harold Browne, and Dr. Buel on "Ninth Article." CHAPTER XIII. ACTUAL SIN. Sin, as a criminal act, has its degrees, of commission and omission. — In- voluntary sins ; sins of ignorance ; voluntary ; scandal ; sin against the Holy Ghost. The transition here is to sin in the strict sense of the word ; from sin, as something in the nature, to that which is in the act ; from sin, as in the race, to that which is in the individual. In this last, as already intimated, there is implied the idea of Di- vine law promulgated ; known or knowable ; and the free agency of the human subjects under that law ; the free agency of rational and moral being. Trans- gression, by such being, of the Divine Law is sin, sin- ful action. As, moreover, in numberless variation, as to its modes and conditions, under which it is committed, such sin has its degrees of moral quality, as of desert of Divine dealing. The Stoics affirmed that all sins were equal. What, perhaps, they meant was that their quality was the same. So, too, the affirmation has often been made by Christian theologians that, as sin is against an Infinite Being, so it is infinite in its character. But moral acts are not measured in all re- spects by the character of their object ; as to their quality or degree by this object to which they have ACTUAL SIN. 161 reference. If so, acts of obedience and service to God would be infinitely excellent. Degrees and kinds of sin, moreover, are expressly spoken of in Scripture, and as to resj)ective consequences. The servant, know- ing liis Lord's will, and doing it not, is under a heavier penalty and with a greater degree of culpability than his more ignorant fellow- servant, pursuing a like out- ward course. " He that delivered Me to thee," is the language of the Master to Pilate, " hath the greater sin." Offence, indeed, against God is deeper and more hein- ous than as in other directions. But thus, as against Him, it has its variations of degree, as of character. As, moreover, under law, requiring certain things to be done, as others to be avoided, there is necessarily the distinction of sins of omission and of commission. Question has been raised as to their comparative char- acter. In the general the act of commission is more open and positive, and thus indicates more positive- ness of resistance and disobedience. At the same time, there are some sins of omission that are also open and public, and in other respects heinously inex- cusable. In individual cases, also, with peculiar light, and advantages, the omission is worse and less excusa- ble than the commission of others, in less favorable conditions. The main point of special interest here is the reality of both of those forms of sin : that omis- sion as well as commission is sin, comes under Divine disapproval and condemnation. Looking thus at sins as of various degrees, as alike 162 ACTUAL SIN. of commission and of omission, tliere are certain as- pects of them that remain to be noted. Among these are what have been called involuntary sins ; involuntary in the sense that there is not specific deliberation and determination beforehand. The agent finds himself in an unanticijDated contingency, is sur- prised, and acts hastily. He is encountered by a new form of temptation, and overcome ; or, through want of watchfulness against old habits, falls under their power. The reality of sin is i)resent in all such cases. The mitigation is with Him who knows all. With such sins in others we must make large allowance. With those of our own we must find out the weakness and defect, and be watchful against their future influ- ence. Every such sin, apart from its other efi'ects and meanings, is a temptation to its future and more delib- erate repetition — the seminal principle to many others. Akin to these are what are called sins of ignorance. Our Lord's prayer on the cross for His enemies pleads their ignorance of the extent of their transgression. So, too, the apostle speaks of what he did " ignorantly and in unbelief." And yet in both is the implication of sinful doing. The acts might have been worse ; but the ignorance, or imperfect knowledge, did not entirely remove their sinful character. Such ignorance, if not wilful, might and ought to have been removed by care- ful inquiry. More positive are what are called voluntary sins ; when the act is known and contemplated as sin, and the determination is to its commission. Here, too, it ACTUAL SIN. 163 may be said, the choice is not of the sin, as sin, or for its own sake, but of sin as the condition to the enjoy- ment or the object for which it is committed. The sin, in such case, is not so much the object as it is the price, the risli to the attainment of something else. The act, in such case, injures its perpetrator. It may injure others. In both of these respects, as in itself, it dishonors God. Its peculiar characteristic is that of its deliberate commission. When, moreover, such is the case, it will probably be repeated. The act is, itself, a temptation to its repetition. In every such act is the seminal power and principle of a habit. What was thus, at first, sin, an act unarrested, becomes sinful habit, vice, vicious character. There may be a degree beyond this — that of sinning for its own sake. Even, however, in ap- parent cases of this kind, it may be the association of the act or sin with some kind of enjoyment. Such monstrosity seems to be explained only under this sup- position. And all these forms of sin may be further contem- plated as to their objects. They are against Godj against the sinner's own moral and spiritual nature, against the interests and welfare of his fellow-men. As related to the agent and his fellow-men, these effects had better be described by other words. It, as they are related God, that they are called sins. What is really wrong in any other direction is a sin against Him ; is against His law ; is best expressed, in its meaning, as toward Him, by this word sin. 164 ACTUAL SIN. Two other sxDecialties of sinful action may be briefly described. One of these is sins of offence, scandals, by which the innocent, the weak and ignorant may be led astray, or the sinful confirmed in wrong doing. Our Lord sj)eaks of such offences, and of the woe to those through whom they come. And the apostle mentions cases in which even allowable things are indulged in to the injury of others. The doubtful things to others, however clear to the man himself, as innocent and harmless, must be avoided, as the weak brother may be led into the sin with which he associates the act in question. Anything doubtful to the doer him- self must be abstained from ; and the benefit of all doubt be given to the claims of God. Thus doubting and doing, such a one sins and is condemnable. The last of these specific distinctions of sins, is that of "blasphemy against the Holy Ghost." The original reference, it will be remembered, was to the blasphe- mous ascription, by the Scribes and Pharisees, of our Lord's miracles, wrought through the jDOwer of the Holy Ghost, to the agency of Satan. The position thus has been taken, as by Chrysostom, that as the con- ditions cannot be rex^roduced, so the sin, under others, cannot be repeated. Others, as Augustine, found it to be the sin of x^ersevering resistance to the Holy Spirit ; and, therefore, as the sin of all obdurate transgressors. This came to be identified with " the sin unto death," in the E^^istle of John ; as of that, in the Ej)istle to the Hebrews, " incaj^able of being renewed to repentance." So again, in a modified form, the deadly as contrasted ACTUAL SIN. 165 with " the venial sins" of mediaeval theology. Confin- ing our view to our Lord's language, it seems to de- scribe a particular form of offence, and to imply a crisis in character, as involved in, or as the result of its com- mission. Men may now, as did the Scribes and Phari- sees, blaspheme Christ's works and words filled with the Holy Spirit, and impute them to the agency of Satan, They may do it against as great, if not greater, evidence than was possible to the original offenders. If these essential conditions can be reproduced, the act of which they are the occasion, it would seem, can be reproduced also. A very common idea of this sin is that of unworthy participation of the Lord's Supper ; " eating and drink- ing to themselves damnation" — the rendering of the Authorized Version — instead of " condemnation." So, too, it has been associated with the refusal, when under deep conviction at revivals, to go ui3 to the mourner's bench to be prayed for. Then, again, with the sin of indulgence in some hidden offence or evil habit ; or of resisting Divine influences to a life of re- ligious duty. Every pastor of any experience will en- counter such cases. Where there is real anxiety, ear- nestness, a desire to be free from such power, there are indications of hope that, whatever the real sins and follies of the persons thus anxious, the dreaded state has not been reached. They who really blaspheme and sin against the Holy Ghost have no such troubles. In their induration they have gotten rid of everything of that character. CHAPTER XIV. SIN IN" ITS CONSEQUENCES. These in their two aspects, as natural and positive, outward and inward. — Divine penalties. — Chastisement in penalty. — Punishments in pres- ent and future world ; wherein positive, wherein natural. The definition of sin, already given, wrong-doing as to God, transgression, by commission or omission, of the Divine law, carries with it certain inferences as to its effects and consequences. These are outwardly upon others, as they are outwardly and inwardly upon the sinner himself. Such an act must have its conse- quences. It is related to the Divine, eternal order of things, and may be eternal in these its consequences. It breaks in upon this Divine order ; in so doing, in- troduces elements of evil and confusion. Some of these consequences, as exhibited in Scripture, we may now examine. They may be contemplated under two aspects : first, simply, as consequences under the divinely established order of things ; secondly, as penalties under the Divine prerogative and jurisdiction of a Supreme Lawgiver. In both aspects, it is as related to law that they take place. In the former, however, it is simply as natural law, or a naturally operating order or agency. In the latter, we distinctly contemplate the element of per- SIN IN ITS CONSEQUENCES. 167 sonality — personal character in the Lawgiver and Ad- ministrator, as also in the offender. In both, moreover, we go back to personality ultimately, as the only rational ground either of the moral law or of the natu- ral order. Taking, therefore, into account this fact of personality, in the Author as in the breaker of the law, we look at it in some of its effects and consequences. These, to some degree, are indicated in the threefold form in which sin is described — ungodliness, alienation from God ; hypocrisy, pretence and self-deception as to God ; wickedness, open and positive rebellion against God. Finding in every such manifestation this fact of sin, what in it is always involved ? What its effect upon the offender himself, as upon others ? First of all, there is in the act and course of sin the privation and loss of Divine favor, the satisfaction and peace therewith connected. This may not be recog- nized, or even thought of, by the sinner ; but it is no less a real dejjrivation from that fact. Not to be con- scious of such loss is itself a moral calamity. No peace to the godless and sinful, unrest, failure as to the peace and blessedness for which he has the capacity. Naturally connected with this is the anticipation of re- sults opposite ; of the positive effects of sin, of viola- tion or failure as to the Divine law. Again, and with these the self-condemning consciousness of wrong- doing as to God — the sense of Divine disapproval and displeasure, the anticipation of Divine x^enalty. In the mean time is going on the retributive o^Deration of the law of habit ; the sinful act becoming the sinful 168 SIN IN ITS CONSEQUENCES. habit, the vice ; and mastering capacity and power of resistance. Some of these effects may be modified by others. The fears and anticipations, for instance, of conscience may be silenced in the result of moral in- sensibility and induration. But the latter is the worse condition of the two, and is wanting in all real peace and satisfaction. So far as regards what may be called its present, natural results, sin, in the ex^Derience of the sinner, is wretchedness, want of satisfaction and real j)eace — often positive suffering and misery. And as there are these inward effects of sin upon the sinner himself, so, in many cases, there are others of an outward character, affecting the health, the bodily comfort, the social and moral condition of the sinner, as of those by whom he is surrounded ; upon the members of his family, upon his associates in busi- ness and otherwise, upon the community. The act, or course of sin, as we have seen, is against, is one of wrong relation to the sinner' s own moral nature, as to that of God and that of his fellow- creatures. It is, thus, against the righteous, wise, and beneficial order of things. It i)roduces confusion, injures the sinner, does mischief to others, and dishonors God. Whether in what we call the way of natural consequence or of divinely administered law, these are the wages, the effect of sin. And, beyond this, is the revelation of the Divine word, of consequences in the future, the consequences of sin beyond this world, in a future state of existence. "The wages of sin is death." It is death of the body. If unarrested, it is death of the SIN IN ITS CONSEQUENCES. IGl) moral and spiritual nature. If this, the death beyond of coming retribution. Divine Punishment. We thus api)roach the question of the Divine imr- X)ose,and object, in dealing thus with offenders and offences against Divine law. In other words, why are there Divine penalties ? Why, it may be asked, as helloing us to a reply to this question — why do we pun- ish criminals in this world 1 The reply of some is, to reform the criminal. Some say, to deter others from like courses. Some, to protect the innocent. Some, to uphold the sacredness and majesty of the law. All these answers are, to a certain degree, and with refer- ence to certain cases, correct ; but they are all partial. And they may leave out the main element, in view of which punishment is inflicted, and that by which alone it is justified — the criminality of the person punished. When Caiaphas said that " one man should die and the nation not perish," this fact, if not imj)lied, was not distinctly stated. If he had said one innocent man, his argument would have probably shocked some even of his hearers. So, again, when an English judge told a thief that he was hanged, not for horse-stealing, but that horses might not be stolen, it was an admission that the penalty was not justified by the offence. All these other objects — the reformation of the criminal, the protection of society, the sacredness of the law — may and must have their place. But, along with these, and always, must be the fact of criminality and 17U SIN IN ITS CONSEQUENCES. the proportion of the j)enalty to the crime. The offender against Divine law, and, therefore, as deserv- ing of penalty, is the subject of Divine administration and dealing. God is justified as He speaks, clear as He jadges ; and this in view of the real nature of the acts decided upon. Contemplating sin as thus divinely dealt with, and from its first commission, we apx)roach a toi)ic of deep interest in connection with this whole subject — the difference between Divine j)unishment and Divine chas- tisement and discipline. Tlie element of penalty, to some degree, runs through it all, and yet it may be mainly chastisement. Manifestly this is the aspect of the Divine dealings with the penitent and forgiven transgressor, especially in connection with natural sufferings from his past sins, bodily or otherwise. So, too, to some degree, with such offender in the earlier stages of his course ; with many, perhaps with all, to some degree during their earthly probation. Just as the bodily man is warned in his very structure against certain bodily acts and habits, so is the moral and spir- itual in the laws and operations of his moral and sjDir- itual organism. " God is not willing that any should perish." He would have all to be saved and come to repentance. His dealings with the sinner are, at the first, to warn him against sin ; at a more advanced stage to turn him from it to repentance. When and where chastisement and discipline terminate in penalty, it may be difficult to decide. Chastisement, indeed, as already intimated, usually involves a degree of pun- SIN IN ITS CONSEQUENCES. 171 isliment ; and yet it may be considered only as chas- tisement. In tlie exx^erience of the forgiven and re- pentant transgressor already alluded to, struggling painfully with his old habits and suffering thus from such habit, there is something of penalty. At the same time, it is merciful and loving chastisement, warning him against indulgence and helping him in his onward course. In all such cases we see the two elements in their combined oxDeration. But there is a point in contemplation, and a stage in the course of the offender against Divine law, when chastisement, discipline, terminates ; when the offender is contemjDlated as coming under punishment. Such Divine i)unishment may be in the present life. It may be in the future. If the discii^linary element disapioear in the present life, it is not so ordinarily. Here we are siDoken of and dealt with as on trial, pro- bation. For full and final results, either of reward or of jDunishment, we are i^ointed to the future. But whether present or future, this fact of sin, in its pun- ishment, is clearly exhibited, as under the Divine deal- ing, " God will judge the world in righteousness." What will be, or is, the nature of such punishment we cannot fully comprehend. The fact that it is in a world of spirit or of spiritualized bodies, and beyond the conditions of our temx)oral experience, makes it thus difficult of comprehension. Contemplating it negatively as that of deprivation of blessing, positive- ly as that of remorse and self-condemnation and suf- fering, we may brieffy look at some of the questions 172 SIN IN ITS CONSEQUENCES. that have been raised in connection with this subject. They demand careful consideration. One of these questions is, whether Divine punish- ment in a future world is to be spoken of as only nat- ural, or as both natural and positive. One of the diffi- culties in its settlement is in the ambiguity of this word natural ; changing, in this fact, the meaning of the other word, positive. Natural, with many, means physical, and nothing more. In such usage, positive would be moral personality. Natural, again, as op- posed to positive, is that which is the result of the established order and operation of the laws of the uni- verse ; positive, as something in the Divine will, or working additional. The former, as obligatory, springs out of our natural constitution as related to the natu- ral order of things ; the latter, as revealed in Divine law or jprecept. But the difficulty here is the imjDossi- bility, in actions and courses, of carrying out this dis- tinction. We do know that there are duties naturally and XDOsitively revealed. But the natural duties are insisted upon in revelation ; and the revealed duties, if we understood nature more fully, might be recognized as, by that nature demanded — in other words, as natu- ral. What, in a lower stage of human progress, may be positive, in a higher and subsequent stage may be seen as natural or moral. Natural punishments, in this sense, would be those that are the result of the divinely established constitution of things ; positive, those that are result of Divine volition and action specifically revealed. But then, again, the latter, if SIN IN ITS CONSEQUENCES. 173 we fully understood tlie divinely established constitu- tion, might be seen to be included in it. The positive, in such case, might be recognized as natural. Our only use, therefore, of this distinction is as re- lated to our capacity of knowledge. There are natu- rally known duties. There are duties that are posi- tively revealed. There are rewards and x^unishments of both of these classes. In this sense, as positively revealed, Divine punishments are positive. Our aflBr- mation of them rests ujDon the revealed word of posi- tive dictation. In this sense they are positive. As to their relation to the established principles of operation for the universe, they may be what we call natural, or, more properly perhaps, moral. " The judgments of Jehovah are right." Closely connected with this, and one of the issues of our time, is that of the termination of Divine penalty ; and with it that of probation beyond the present life. Does the Old or New Testament, in speaking of the punishment of the wicked beyond this world, speak of it as coming to an end ? Does it, in speaking of human l^robation, intimate that such probation may go on in a future state of existence ? Reasons may be suggest- ed why such topics should not have been dwelt upon ; but the simple issue with which we are concerned is the actual fact of the case. If there is termination to the punishment of the finally impenitent, we are not told of it ; the intimations are, rather, the direct oj)- posite. If there be probation for the heathen, or certain classes, it is not revealed. And as we are told 174 SIN IN ITS CONSEQUENCES. to work out our own salvation, so are we required, as we are able, to urge and aid all others in doing. Two other questions in this matter remain to be noted. One of these has to do with the subjects of Di- vine penalty. Is their condition simply and only one of suffering 1 This is frequently asserted. So, too, as to the other assertion, so often made, that such condi- tion of suffering, as of sinfulness, is in constant process of increase and aggravation. Can it be affirmed that this is the teaching of Scripture, or in accordance with the analogy of the Divine dealings in other respects ? Sin will be punished according to its real character and deserts, and its consequences have no revealed termination. This is clear. Is it safe or wise, in our ignorance, to affirm anything beyond or additional ? So, again, as to the Divine relations to the sub- jects of such penalty. It is that of Judge, But is it that'only ? Is not the Judge also a Father ? The rela- tion of all the Divine perfections to this truth of Di- vine penalty must be borne in mind. Too frequently, if not ordinarily, such i)enalty and its state are spoken of as related simply and only to justice — God, as Sov- ereign, holding in supreme right legislative, judicial, and executive powers, and exercising them justly in righteousness ; but this, let us remember, is in connec- tion with His other ^perfections. God cannot undeify Himself. And in all His doings, even in what He calls " His strange work" of penalty, there are work- ings also of wisdom, of goodness, of infinite love and compassion. In the punishment of the offender the SIN IN ITS CONSEQUENCES. 175 interests of others are provided for, and the condition of the criminal offender, we may say, is the best of which he is capable. In this blackness of the dark- ness of sin and its consequences, the only light is in the perfections of Him by whom all is administered. In His hands, overruling all and overruling for good, we leave the destinies of His creatures. CHAPTER XV. SALVATION" FROM SIN". Modes in which its necessity recognized, and sought.— Sacrifices. — Self-inflicted penalty. — Kepentance and restitution. — The Divine pro. vision. — Relation to it of different Persons of the Trinity. — The man- ifestation of the Person of the Redeemer. — His modes of working.— Position of His death and sufferings. Over against these facts of sin and its consequences, manifested in our nature and specifically revealed in Scripture, is that which gives Christianity its peculiar characteristic and name — that of Gospel, God's story or message of salvation. Intimations of this are to be found in the Old Testament. And whether from these or from its own sx)iritual constitution, human nature, outside the circle of God's chosen people, has looked and striven for it. Sin is something that human nature, in the clear conviction of its existence, cannot rest under with satisfaction. It will either try to make it out not sin, or in some way to get rid of ifc and its threatened evils. Very briefly some of these forms of effort may be indicated. One is that of sacrifice. Whether divinely instituted for the first man or not, they were undoubtedly used from the beginning ; were offered by Cain and Abel ; accepted in the case of Abel ; thus accepted as offered SALVATION FROM SIN. 177 during the patriarchal ages ; and were put under Di- vine sanction and direction in the Mosaic dispensation. And in both stages, the ante-Mosaic and the post- Mosaic, these sacrifices were, some of them, of an ex- piatory character, relieving the criminal from the conse- quences of his sinful action. Many sacrifices were not thus exiDiatory. Some of them were thank offerings, some of communion in worship before God. Some of them were propitiative, not necessarily in view of sin or Divine displeasure, but x^roi^itiative gifts to secure Di- vine favor. And then there was the propitiative sacri- fice of the subject under the Divine Ruler' s displeasure, seeking His pardon and restored favor. Here the propi- tiative partakes of the nature of the expiative, the sacri- fice or gift restitutive, which in its effort endeavors to make satisfaction for the offence and its effects. These are all under the Mosaic law. Ordinarily, too, the expiative preceded the others, and was needed as rendering these others accei3table. In other words, under Divine direction and in a divinely established dispensation, we find exx)iative sacrifices for sin. But, as hinted in their promulgation, and as clearly declared, by the prophets of the Old Testament and the teachers of the New Testament, these sacrifices of themselves had no power to take away sin. Their effi- cacy was in the Divine appointment ; the pledge in it given, that if offered in the right s^Dirit and manner they would be acceptable and efficacious. They were types, symbolic prophecies, of a greater and more per- fect sacrifice ; but of themselves could not take away 178 SALVATION FROM SIN. sin. If, moreover, thus helpless, even as divinely ap- pointed, much more so under the darkness and de- basement of heathen idolatry. The same, too, is to be said as to other supposed modes of expiation for sins. Self-inflicted penalty, for instance ; sacrifice of property, of comfort, of children, of life itself, all fail here. The criminal cannot be the judge, Jury, executioner, and remitter of penalty in his own case. This could not be under imperfect human law, much less under that which is Divine. So, too, as to the expiative effects of repentance, restitution as far as possible, and the course of obedi- ence to Divine law following. These are demanded in Scripture, as in reason, and they should be striven for ; but, as a matter of fact, they are imperfect as they go on in the present and the future, and they do not at all provide for the delinquencies of the past. They are accepted under the Old Testament, as con- nected with the divinely appointed modes of sacrificial remission ; and they are accepted in the New Testa- ment, as sanctified, and made efficacious through the great sacrifice. Of themselves they cannot take away sin. Human nature, as helpless in such exigency, needs something additional — a special Divine provi- sion for the removal of sin and its consequences ; a special Divine assurance as to its manner of applica- tion and its efficacy. That needed provision is a Divine salvation ; one administered by a divinely aj)pointed Saviour and Mediator. " There is one Mediator between God and SALVATION FROM SIN. 179 Man, tlie Man Christ Jesus." '' Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners." '' I came," is Christ's own declaration — " I came to call sinners to repentance." That provision, as already noted, is Divine. It is one which manifests Divine love and compassion ; at the same time, Divine righteousness and wisdom. In the persons of the adorable Trinity we are told of their respective operation. The Father, in love, sends and gives ; the Son, in such love, comes, and works, and suf- fers ; the Spirit reveals, and applies, and makes effica- cious their agency in its human results and operations. The first of these, as exhibited in Scrij^ture declara- tion, first naturally claims attention. This comes before us in various forms of affirmation : " God," says the apostle, " commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8). "He spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all" (Rom. 8 : 32). So in that of St. John : " Herein is love not that we loved God, but that He loved us and gave His Son to be a propitiation for our sins" (1 John 4 : 9, 10). " God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son" (John 3:16. See also Eph. 2:4-7; Titus 3: 4-7 ; 2 Cor. 5 : 19). Here are the two great truths as to the salvation of the Gospel : divinely originated ; thus originated in love, in undeserved compassion. " God rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved" men, thus providing for their salvation. As to the work of the blessed Spirit, the examina- tion of this more ]3roperly follows that of the Divine 180 SALVATION FllOM SIN. Son of God — the manifestation of God in the person and work of His well-beloved Son. We thus look at this manifestation as presented in the New Testament. This comes before ns in two aspects : First, as it is contemplated in its Divine origination, in the loving self-sacrifice and abasement of the Son of God ; sec- ondly, that in which it actually went on in the work of redemj^tion. The first of these is exhibited in Phil. 2 : 5-10 ; Heb. 2 : 14-17 ; 1 : 3. In these and similar passages the saving Deliverer is contemplated prior to His earthly manifestation ; fulfilling the Father's lov- ing purpose with reference to men ; and yet, in so doing, working out His own work of boundless grace and compassion — the Son of God becoming Son of Man for man's deliverance and salvation. But this Divine purpose, and its manifestation, in the person of the Divine Deliverer, went on in a cer- tain way. His actual manifestation was in His human- ity. " He was born of the Virgin Mary ;" although supernaturally conceived, yet naturally born. " He increased in wisdom and stature ;" was subject to His earthly parents, partook of the circumstances of their earthly condition. He hungered and thirsted, slept and ate, was subject to weariness and pain, and en- tered into all the forms of sinless life with those around Him ; and, at last, in His bodily nature, suf- fered a violent death. His own self -selected and most common appellation was that of Son of Man. What- ever else, therefore, is to be found in the person of this divinely revealed Saviour is this trutli of His htiman- SALVATION FROM SIN. 181 ity. Jesus was a man, in iDerfect sympathy with man ; thus capable of loving and being loved with human affection ; capable of being relied upon in His human love, and compassion, and sympathy. But this Man, thus manifested, in His life, and feel- ings, and words, and acts, affirmed, and was supernatu- rally sustained in it by His works, that He was One sent from God ; One having a Divine commission ; that He was, moreover, not only, as others had been, a prophet, but that He was The Proi)het ; that He was the Messiah, the Christ of Old Testament prediction. He was, thus, the saving Deliverer that was to come into the world. He, Jesus, was the Christ. These two names, now conjoined as a personal appellation, were not so in the beginning. The one was a proper name, the other an official title. Jesus, the divinely sent Teacher, taught and proclaimed that He was the Christ, the Messiah. Thus far we are in the range not only of human apprehension, but of comx^rehension. But beyond this is another truth, in the personality of this revealed Saviour, of transcending interest, and of the most over- whelming character : "He is the Son of Clod," and this in a sense unique and peculiar. Angels and good men are sometimes spoken of as sons of God, as repre- senting or manifesting God's perfections ; magistrates as representing His authority. In one case the term is applied to Adam as not born, but divinely called into existence. So too it was the title of the promised Mes- siah. As applied to Jesus Christ, it includes all these 182 SALVATION FROM SIN. and miicli more. He is a Son, as, like the angels and good men, manifesting God's perfections. He is a Son of God, as, like the human magistrate, manifesting the Divine authority. He is a Son of God, like Adam, supernatural in His coming into our world. He is, moreover, as Messiah, the Son of God as God, as hav- ing a Divine nature, possessed of Divine perfections. While He has a perfect human nature. He has also, in union with it, a Divine nature. The manner of this union we are not told ; we have indeed no comprehen- sion. One of the factors to it is infinite. We are in- capable of construing this in its distinct essential exist- ence, much less in its union with humanity. What, however, is clear is the truth of the two natures ; the perfection of their union, the integrity of each in that union ; a heavenly mystery, but full of significance in its earthly and human bearings. This truth, thus divinely transcendent, at the same time reaches to and meets our deepest necessities. Christ, the Son of Man, is in full sympathy with man. Christ, the Son of God, gives efficacy to that sympa- thy. While "in all points tempted like as we are," yet " in Him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bod- ily." Jesus, the Son of Man, is Christ, the Son of God. "I and My Father are one," is His own language. " Being," said the apostle, " in the form of God, He thought it not a thing to be retained or grasped, to be equal with God." " My Lord and my God," is the unrebuked language of Thomas. " He made Himself to be equal with God." In these and various other SALVATION FROM SIN. 183 declarations we find fliis truth exhibited — Jesus not only a human, but a Divine Saviour. In the perfect union of these two natures He works for the redemp- tion of men. CHAPTER XVI. EFFICACY OF CHRIST'S SUFFERINGS. Teaching, Example, Suffering. — Position of tliis last in Scriptural dec- laration. — Forms of statement in regard to it. — Resurrection. — Inter- cession. In dealing with tliis subject, tliere are different as- pects in which it may be contemplated. The order in which Christ's manifestation was actually made is the most natural, and will best enable us to take in its meaning as a whole. He is rejDresented as a Mediator : thus mediating in various respects ; as a Teacher or Prophet ; as an atoning Peacemaker or Priest sacrific- ing Himself ; as a conquering and supreme Lord of His redeemed Church and people, and finally over even His enemies. His manifestation for this begins with His instruction as a Teacher, He taught, thus, by word and by example. In that teaching is provision for the necessities of man's intellectual nature ; his wants as a rational being ; redemption for that part of human nature. Sin affects every part of that nature ; and it is only the truth that makes free. The teach- ing of Jesus by word was very largely as to what was the true character of God ; how He regards and treats man ; and how, therefore, man ought to treat and honor Him. Every such item of teaching, as to EFFICACY OF CHRIST'S SUFFERINGS. 185 God, is a revelation of duty to man. The Father in heaven, with a Father' s heart of care and love, is thus an object of filial confidence and affection. So too these children of a common Father must also love and benefit each other. The teaching thus in word was further enforced and illustrated by action. " Jesus went about doing good ;" not only teaching, but doing. His miracles and works of comj)assion for the diseased and the suffering were as object lessons, enforcing what, in that teaching, had been exhibited. The same may be said as to the si)irit of His life, thus exhibited and illustrated. In His intercourse with those around Him, not only with His friends, but His enemies, the full meaning of His words became manifest. All that men need to know, all the necessities of man's ra- tional and intellectual nature, are met and pro- vided for in Christ's teaching and life example. In the light of this revelation, of truth, and obliga- tions, and duties, and the way of meeting them, no man to whom they come fails or perishes through lack of knowledge. But there is one part of this teaching that needs to be emphasized — that which makes known that some- thing more than teaching and example are needed for human redemption. Jesus, the Teacher, in His teach- ing proclaims and announces Himself as Jesus the re- deeming Saviour, not only from the defilement and power, but from the divinely condemning sentence of sin. The whole saving work of Christ is sometimes 186 EFFICACY OF CHRIST'S SUFFERINGS. asserted to consist in tliis, His teaching and examx)le ; by precept and by action. To this the reply has been properly given, that such is not made the case in the New Testament. His teaching and example are spoken of as to be followed, but not as saving men. Saved men are to follow them. They are thus saved by His work ; by His sufferings and death. Accordant with this are His own declarations. These come in a twofold form : first, in the specific declarations as to His own death and suffering in relation to the remis- sion of sins. The necessity of the cross was a neces- sity of human nature — a necessity in the experience and work of the Saviour of human nature. The teaching of Christ, so far from constituting the atoning work or taking the place of His atoning sac- rifice, exhibits its peculiar necessity and charac- ter ; that it is something additional to and different from mere instruction. In that teaching He reveals Himself as a forgiver of sin, as obtaining forgiveness of sins. Coincident with these specific declarations, as to such necessity, are those of Christ's teaching, as to men' s relations to God, their duties arising therefrom, and the spirit in which they must receive performance. Here there is an enlargement, a length, and breadth, and depth, and height of obligation, of duty, and of motive to its performance, upon all that had previously existed. The offender against Divine law, under the Ten Commandments, and condemned, is still more hopelessly condemned in that of the Sermon on the EFFICACY OF CHRIST'S SUFFERINGS. 187 Mount, as of similar instruction following. If Jesus were only a moral teacher, He enlarged the circle of human obligations, leaving men without capacity of meeting them. The purity and perfection of this teaching as to human duty, make manifest the need to human nature, of some new i)ower for its successful performance ; for pardon and help, in case of trans- gression and failure. The manner of this efficacy we examine farther on. Just now we look at the truth of the incarnate Christ, in His sufferings and death, for the sins of the world. What this fully involved — in other words, an exhaus- tive theory of the atonement — will ever baffle the capacities of our finite intellect. Analogies in Divine and human dealings help us to understand it, in its practical bearing, as in its appeal to our affection and sense of obligation. It is a revealed truth ; and, as thus revealed, we receive it upon the Divine dictation. In the instruction of Jesus, as we have seen, there is provision for the wants of man's rational nature. Here there is necessity of and provision for his moral nature, his conscience — that of the pardon of sin, the removal of its penalty. We thus turn to some of the declarations of Scripture upon this subject. Among these, as of special significance, are those in which this part of Christ's manifestation and work is spoken of as in comparison with others. Its position js thus made one of supreme pre-eminence. " As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so ^inust the Son of Man be lifted up" (John 3 : 14). " I| 188 EFFICACY OF CHRIST'S SUFFERINGS. I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men unto Me" (John 12 : 32). " My blood shed for the remis- sion of sins" (Matt. 26 : 28). " The Son of Man came to give His life a ransom for many" (Mark 10 : 45). " I delivered unto you, first of all, that Christ died for our sins" (1 Cor. 15 : 2). '' We preach. Christ cruci- fied" (1 Cor. 1 : 23). " I determined not to know any- thing among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified" (1 Cor. 2:2). " God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Gal. 6 : 14), " We were reconciled to God by the death of His Son" (Rom. 5 : 10). " We have redemption by His blood" (Eph. 1:7). " The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin" (1 John 1:7). "He bore our sins in His own body upon the tree" (1 Pet. 2:24; 3:18). "Christ suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that«He might bring us to God" (Rev. 5 : 9-12). " Thou wast slain, and hast by Thine own blood redeemed us to God." " Worthy is the Lamb, that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom." The point of interest in passages of this character, and taken together, is, first, the num- ber and frequency of their appearance ; secondly, the prominent and central position which they are made to occupy. It is not only Jesus the Christ, the Mes- siah ; not only Christ the Teacher, the Example ; not only the Master, the incarnate Son of God ; but Christ crucified. All these other truths of His person are ex- hibited and emphasized. But, as heightening their importance, and along with them, that Christ suffered and died for sinners ; that, as related to the fact of EFFICACY OF CHRIST'S SUFFERINGS. 189 sin and its forgiveness, these His sufferings had aton- ing efficacy. Under these general statements, however, are certain particulars — special forms in which this same truth is exhibited. Bearing in mind the usage of such words as redemption, ano\vrpoo 1 2 THE BLESSED SPIRIT IN THE WORK OF SALVATION. tioii ; as, for instance, between the time of regenera- tion and renewal, and that, again, of repentance and conversion. We do not scripturally speak of a man as regenerate and unrenewed, or repentant and unconvert- ed. Any one of these implies the others. They are all needed spiritual comj)lements to any one as really ac- complished. All these forms of expression help us to understand, in its many-sided significance, this great truth of spiritual experience — that of moral and spir- itual change and transformation. In the word ' ' con- version," for instance, turning, STtiGrpocpri, is the figure of one going in a wrong or dangerous direction, and turn- ing aside, going back or in another. So, again, "regen- eration," TTaXivyevvsffia and dvayswcxcj^ is that of transition by birth into a new condition ; as is avanai- vcDGi?^ that of being made over or anew into such con- ditions. In classical and Jewish usage this word, TtaXivyevvsGia, expressed the idea of a change to a something better. The manumitted slave, under Ro- man law, was born again in the process, regenerated. So too with the restored exile, as his sentence of ban- ishment was removed ; as was the heathen proselyte born by admission into the covenant blessings of Is- rael. The word " repentance," fxaravoia^ again, is de- scriptive of the change of the rational nature ; another, (.lerafxeXsia, that of the emotional, corresponding. So again there is the figure of men passing from death to life, literally the change from the natural to the spir- itual life or condition. In all there is the same truth, but under difi'erent representations. Each one con- THE BLESSED SPIRIT IX THE WORK OP SALVATION. 213 tains something not in the others, and jet li el ping to make those others more intelligible. In the i^ieravoLa^ the change as to the vov?, the rational, is brought out — this its rational character. In the jusrapieXeia, the ac- tion of the emotional, of the affections and desires, is indicated. In the £7riffrpoq)r/ is there like imi^lication of that of the volitional ; a sx:)iritual change, in which is involved moral action, voluntary determination. And in the TraXiyyeweffia is that of the thorough and com- plete transformation of the whole character. Some of these, as with TraXtyysweffia, emphasize the Divine agency to this result. Others, as with anifftpocpT], em- phasize the human ; but in none to the exclusion of that which is in the others. It is a great change and transformation accom2:>lished in the power of the Spirit of God ; in the free moral response of the human spirit to His agency and influences. The man thus, in his own moral and spiritual personality, lives the new life. At the same time Christ, by His Spirit, origi- nates this life, and lives in him. And this brings us into the great topic of the opera- tions of the Blessed Sj^irit, as related to man's natural condition, and the transformation to the sx^iritual. This, to some degree, has been imj^lied in what has gone before ; but it demands specific consideration. Its imx)ortance is that it finds its necessity in the moral and spiritual condition of human nature ; its inability, unaided, to appropriate even the x^i'ovisions and bless- ings of the salvation of the Gospel. ' ' If any man sin, ' ' says one of the apostles, " we have an Advocate, a 214 THE BLESSED SPIRIT IN THE WORK OF SALVATION. Paraclet(?, a Helper with tlie Father — Jesus Christ the righteous — and He is the proi)itiation for our sins." This Advocate or Helper, Jesus, is thus exhibited for the removal of the guilt and penalty of sin. But He who is thus the Helj^er with reference to this issue, tells of another whose help is directed to another necessity — that of enabling men to know and fully ajjpropriate what He Himself, the propitiating Saviour, had done for them. " I will pray the Father, and He will send you another Helper." "That Helper will lead you into all truth." " He shall testify of Me." In other words, He will fully reveal, and apply, and make effi- cacious the provision of My salvation. It is a work, first, upon the preachers of the Gospel ; taking of the things of Christ and showing them in their full signifi- cance ; leading them into the whole truth. It is one also upon the hearers, convicting the sinful, pressing that truth upon their minds and consciences, and pre- paring them for its acceptance. Looked at collectively, this work of the Spirit, and for both j)reachers and hearers of the Gospel, is needed ; can alone give to that work its divinely intended results and consequences. And, as with men collectively, so with them individually. The i^reacher, if really what he professes, is himself a transformed man of the Spirit, and his preaching, only under the power of that Spirit, can transform His hearers. The necessity, as already intimated, is in human nature, in its alienation and estrangement from God. "That," says the Mas- ter, " which is born of the flesh is flesh." " The car- THE BLESSED SPIRIT IN THE WORK OF SALVATION. 215 nal mind," says the apostle, "is enmity against God." " We know not what we should pray for as we onght," In these and similar passages is the con- trast of the natural and gracious condition. " Those naturally born of the flesh" are graciously born of the Spirit. "The carnal mind, enmity against God," in the reception of the Spirit, becomes " life and peace." Those not knowing how to pray aright, have the Spirit to intercede for, and in them, effectively. The change thus from death to life, from enmity to love, from darkness to light, is wrought in the agency and influ- ences of the Divine Spirit. That change, in some of its stages and results, we have already seen. It re- mains that we endeavor to ascertain its nature. What, in this change from grace to nature, is involved ? First, we may say there is a change of mind, of the intellectual and rational nature. Through this there will be one ui)on the emotional nature, the affections and desires ; and, through both of these, ui)on the will. Feeling sometimes goes before reason, and will sometimes anticipate it. But the change, to be thor- ough and effective, includes all ; and in due time each one will have its jilace. Light, warmth, and energy are needed for this great moral and spiritual change and transformation. In the personality and agency of the blessed Spirit these necessities find their ample provision. That light and warmth and energy are the Divine truths in Christ, ministered by the Spirit of Christ ; the Divine truths of Christ's love, and grace, and all-sufficiency for men. These become fully opera- 216 THE BLESSED SPIRIT IN THE WORK OF SALVATION. tive, as by His Spirit tliey are revealed and applied with converting and sanctifying power and energy. The intellect is thus enlightened, affections moved, the will changed and sanctified. " It is," says the Master, "the Spirit that quickeneth." In all these respects to man, dead in trespasses and sins, that Sx:>irit is tlie qiiickener, the life-giver. Just here we encounter the controverted question, as to the nature of this infiuence, whether or not it is irresistible, and with this the issues of unconditional predestination and final perseverance. As is the first of these questions answered, so logically will be the others. A help to its reply may be found in the in- strumentality which the Spirit is described as employ- ing ; that instrumentality is Divine truth (1 Pet. 1 : 22, 23 ; James 1 : 18 ; John 17 : 17 ; 15 : 3 ; 2 Thess. 2 : 13 ; John 8 : 31, 32 ; Ps. 19 : 7, 8 ; 2 Tim. 3 : 15, 16, 17). Primarily here the reference is to the truth of Scripture, the divinely inspired word of truth. That truth, how- ever presented, whether in preaching, in sacraments or ordinances, becomes such instrument. The blessed Spirit, using this, is not, however, confined to it in His gracious operations. He may use the truths of nature and of Providence, as He did striving with men before the flood ; the truth contained in afiiiction and blessing ; any and every truth, by which men's minds and consciences may be affected. As Divine Spirit, dealing with human spirit, producing a sjDiritual re- sult. He uses a spiritual instrument to accom2:)lisli His purpose. This great change is a moral and spiritual THE BLESSED SPIRIT IN THE WORK OF SALVATION. 217 one. From its very nature it demands a moral resi)onse on tlie part of its subject to the Divine influence. As the response of a free moral agent, that response is an act of freedom ; the human spirit yielding to and placing it- self at the disposal of the Divine Spirit. God thus beginning, graciously works in man to will and to do. Man, both in willing and in doing, responds to and obeys the Divine impulsion. Salvation in every such instance is of Divine grace— in the blessing offered as in the constraining influence of Him who offers it. And yet it is as Divine grace yielded to and accepted that it becomes savingly operative. If men are pre- destinated and elected, they are to make their calling and election sure. If they finally persevere, it is as they perseveringly respond to the aids and influences of the Divine Helper and Sanctifier. They are always dealt with as able to act otherwise ; to resist the Di- vine influences, and thus fail as to their final benefit. There is thus election to advantages and privileges. As this is responded to, the full result is the election of blessing. The former is unconditional, the latter conditional. And in both, the elect are made so, not to enjoy these privileges and blessings alone and only for themselves, but to extend and communicate them to others. One other point needs to be brought out clearly and distinctly. The Spirit, it has been said, uses the truth as an instrument. Is not that truth all with which we have to do ? In other words, is not the whole work of the Blessed Spirit in this matter to reveal these truths as 218 THE BLESSED SPIRIT IN THE WORK OF SALVATION. they are given to us in the inspired Word ; and in giv- ing us that, has He not entirely fulfilled His commis- sion ? Manifestly this does not meet the scriptural declarations on this subject. The Sj^irit does indeed reveal the truth. But He also uses it. He is pres- ent dealing with the human spirit in such usage. " Neither He that i^lanteth, nor He that watereth, but God givetli the increase." Here the apostle is speak- ing of truth thus used in spiritual planting, })ut need- ing divinely quickening power. So too, when he speaks of God working in them, to will and to do, the same idea is implied. The peculiarity, indeed, of the Spirit's work to abide with men forever, in this view, is disposed of. He would thus turn over His work to the written word. Men are now living under the dis- pensation of the Spirit. One of the ]3ervading truths of that dispensation, is this of His presence and power ; His presence and power in all moral and spiritual agencies ; His influence and agency through these, and with these wpon sj^iritual agents, urging them and aid- ing them in the way of life. Christ bodily absent is present by His Spirit, to His Church and people, in their work and s]3iritual life, even to the end of the world. CHAPTER XX. THE CHURCH AND SACRAMENTS. The Church invisible and visible, ideal and actual. — Teaching of the Articles. — Sacraments ordained of Christ. — How different from other sacred ordinances. — Baptism and its effects. — Question as to its form, its subjects, by whom administered. — The Lord's Supper. — The two questions of difference and controversy. — Sacrificial character. — That of the kind of presence. The bringing in, by the Blessed Spirit, of individuals to the recex^tion of Christ and the benefits of His work of salvation, is the transition inwardly from the state of nature to that of grace, externally from the world to the Church. This last is the community of the re- deemed. Identification with Christ inwardly by a spirit of grateful devotion and loyal obedience, out- wardly by baj)tismal profession, is demanded of each one of His followers. Thus associated in His name, they are to do His work, to bring men under His do- minion — in other words, they are to enlarge the Church or discipleship until it includes the race, all nations. It is a visible institution rooted in invisible and spiritual realities. And it looks forward in its results to the spiritual conquest of the world. The XIX. Article, as those that follow, is occu- pied with this visible Church. Its notes or features are profession of Christ, the preaching of the joure 220 THE CHURCH AND SACRAMENTS. Word of God, sacraments duly administered, errancy in doctrine of some of the most eminent of the early 'churches, as also that of Rome. Its authority, in this respect, while affirmed in Articles XX. and XXXIV., is, at the same time, limited by that of Scripture ; the same implication being contained in the XXI. Article of the English Church on General Councils. A minis- try is contemplated in Article XXIII., the necessity of a lawful call and sending, by the duly authorized men for that purpose, and in Article XXXVI. the Episco- pal consecrations and ordinations of the book of Ed- ward V I. are accepted as free from superstition, and to be used in the English Church. But there is no affirmation as to its exclusive effect, or as to its bearing 'upon the validity of orders received elsewhere. The men who drew up these articles, as a matter of historic fact, accepted these orders — Roman, Lutheran, and Reformed — and with the two latter had communion. The distinction is frequently made of the Church visible and invisible. Dean Field uses these terms. Hooker uses the word mystical for invisible ; but in his discussion it comes to the same thing. The object in this distinction seems to have been to affirm the real church-membership of individuals and communities, expelled by persecution or otherwise from the visible church, — those without organization, or with but an im- perfect one. The idea was the real, mystic, invisible, spiritual connection with Christ, of all His real, believ- ing people, not destroyed by anj^thing of a mere out- ward character. Visibly cut off, invisibly they were THE CHURCH AND SACRAMENTS. 221 living in Him. The visible Church would thus be the aggregate of all visible communities, constituting one outward whole. The invisible would be the aggregate of all individuals, of all genuine Christians, those in the visible Church, as those, if any, outside. The purposes of this distinction, while expressing an im- l^ortant truth, have largely passed away. Another "mode of looking at this subject would be under the aspects of the Church ideal and the Church actual. Without the use of these terms, we find the facts which they imply in the New Testament. There is, in the epistles, at times, to the contemplation of the apostles, a glorious Church, as yet unrealized — the " spotless bride of Christ," without defect or excres- cence ; the Church, what it ought to be inwardly and outwardly. At the same time they si^eak, and legis- late for, and give direction to actual churches. Some of these are defective in doctrine ; others seem to be only partially organized as to their ministry ; and others with moral defects among their membership. As associated in the j)rofession by baptism, of Chris- tian fellowship, they are all spoken of and treated as churches. So is it now. The ideal is not as yet actualized. The actuals, even the best, fall far short of it. Some imagine that they are, in outward organ- ism. But beyond that, the claim has not been ven- tured. A clear view of what that ideal involves and demands, and the earnest effort to its attainment, out- wardly and inwardly, would be one of the death blows to unloving sectarianism. The great and proper work. 222 THE CHURCH AND SACRAMENTS. for eacli one of these forms of the actual, is to be striv- ing and making effort for the Divine ideal. Christian Sacraments, This w^ord '^ sacrament," in connection with Chris- tianity, first occui's in a heathen writer. Pliny, in his letter to Trajan, speaks of the Christians as binding themselves by a sacramentnm, or pledge, to certain actions or courses. Whether, in any way, it was thus associated with the reception of the Lord's Supper, it is impossible, from the connection, to determine. As the sui^per was usually a part of the Christian services, it may have been that part of it to which this expression had reference. Both in this and in the other sacra- ment — bai^tism — there is involved one of the elements of the sacramentnm — the military oath by which the soldier bound himself to a course of fidelity to his leader. Converts from the world were baptized, sacra- mented, pledged to a loyal discipleship. Disciples in the supper, so to sj)eak, renewed their sacrament, re- minded themselves and others of their assumed obliga- tions to the redeeming Master, and in Him to each other. Both originally instituted by the Master, rested upon His supreme authority. Whatever may be said of other institutions of an edifying or appropriate character, as related to certain acts of religious service, those say of confirmation or ordination, their ground of acceptance and usage is simi^ly tlieir adaptation to the ends pro- posed. They want the element present in baptism and the Lord's Supper, of specific Divine institution. The THE CHURCH AND SACRAMENTS. 223 essentials of a Christian sacrament, not only in tlie judgment of Protestant theologians, but even in that of the Council of Trent, must include this, its Divine institution. Having a form of words and some material element to which they are related, they become author- itative as divinely apj^tointed. Sacrament of Baptism. Baptism, as the initiative pledge of Christian disciple- ship, rests, of course, upon the specific institution (Matt. 28 : 19 ; Mark 16 : 15, 16) of the Master. The inter- pretation of the command thus given is afforded in the lecord of apostolic action during the next thirty years following. Such baptism pledges to faith in Him and devotion to Him, as fully manifested, not only in His teaching, but in His atoning work, His attesting resur- rection and triumphant ascension : as the Son of Man, the Son of God : and thus, Avith the Father and the Holy Ghost, in the Trinity of the Divine Unity. Baptisms prior to this were, so to speak, of an intro- ductory character. Their earliest forms were in the symbolic washings of the Levitical system. Later was the proselyte baptism of heathen converts, preceding the circumcision, by which they were admitted to the privileges of Judaism. John's baptism, later on, was connected with the announcement of the Messiah and His kingdom, and to the higher baptism that Messiah Himself would administer. Still later was the baptism by our Lord's disciples (comx^are John. 3 : 22 ; 4:2), in connection with His actual manifestation. No intima- 224 THE CHURCH AND SACRAMENTS. tion is afforded as to the baptism of the ax)ostles them- selves. Some of them, as disciples of John, had received his baptism,* That of the Holy Ghost and with fire, fitted them to administer that of water to others. As to its nsage, as already intimated, it begins on the day of Pentecost, and we find it in connection with converts as subsequently made. Doubt has been sug- gested as to whether the formula (Matt, 28 : 19) was always used. It is not specifically mentioned ; in some cases, too, persons are spoken of as baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, Both of these facts, how- ever, are perfectly consistent with its usage. The natural probability is heavily against its non-usage. As, moreover, it continued in the ages following in such usages, and the apostles, and other creeds really seem to be this formula, expanded for catechetical instruction, preceding baptism, we may regard the rite and its form of words as perpetuated through the subsequent ages of Christianity until the present. No one anticipates that a change in this respect is now pos- sible. Two points have arisen as to its administration of a controversial character. One of these is as to its manner, whether by immer- sion, pouring, or sprinkling, and as to whether the original manner, if undoubted, is essential to the sac- rament, and, of course, to Christian discipleship. The main issue is as to the last. Many who think immer- * See Robert Hall's discussion as to the bearing of this upon close communion, vol. i., p. 304. THE CHURCH AND SACRAMENTS. 225 sion probably the original form, do not regard it as essential, the great truth symbolized in all these modes being this essential. Others regard it as both the original form, and the only valid one. Under some- thing like the distinction of the visible and invisible Church, these last recognize the distinction of baptized and unbaptized Christian believers. So, too, as to the subjects of baptism. Some affirm that it is only for adults, callable of assuming its obligations ; others, and the great majority of Chris- tendom, admitting the child upon the faith and j^ledges of the Christian parent, look forward in due time to his own assumption of them. This is in the line of Divine dealing, under the old dispensations, patriarchal and Mosaic ; and j^eculiarly in sympathy with the si^irit and declaration of the Master Himself as to little chil- dren. One other point needs to be noted — the proper ad- ministrator. Ordinarily it has been held, the persons appointed by the Church for this duty. The apostles, if they themselves baptized, seem, in some cases, to have turned it over to subordinate officers. And St. Paul speaks of the inf requency of his own personal baptizing. At certain periods, lay persons, by Church appointment, largely administered the sacrament. The principle seems to have been accepted that the adminis- trator might be of the order, but not necessarily of the essence, of the sacrament. Baptism, in decorous form, with water, in the name of the adorable Trinity, it was ruled, ought not to be repeated. If doubt as to 226 THE CHURCH AND SACRAMENTS. any of tliese, then rei^etition or liypotketical form of administration. Passing from these to the more xoromi nent question of the effects of tiie sacrament7^we"inay talve tlie various points enumerated in the XXVIJ. Article. First, as to adults. (a) Baptism is a sign of profession and mark of difference between Christians and non- Christians. {b) Baptism, rightly received, is a sign of regenera- tion or new birth ; is an instrument of grafting into the Church ; is a visible signing and sealing of the Divine promises of forgiveness of sin and of Divine adoi:)tion. (c) Baptism thus rightly received, confirms faith and increases grace. The statement a, it will be seen, is unconditional. It is the ecclesiastical opi(,s operatum of all baptized in due form. But b and c are conditional. In other words, there is the transition from the actual baptism of a to the ideal of b and c ; from the baptism that may be in any particular case, to that which ought to be in all. Evi- dently the real spiritual blessing of baptism here, is not in the objective sacrament alone, but in the subjective recipiency of the person baptized. As in the article on the Lord's Supper, the recei^tion of the spiritual blessing is made to dei:)end upon its faithful, its believ- ing reception. But, then, it is asked, does the validity of the sacra- ment depend upon the subjective condition of the re- cipient ? Not at all. This is to confound two things that in themselves are distinct. The sacrament, prop- THE CHURCH AND SACRAMENTS. 227 erly administered, in this, has its ecclesiastical validity. Supposing its recii:»ient, coming to a cognizance of the fact, six months or twenty years afterward, that he had received it in a worldly or unbelieving spirit, he would not need to be baptized again. That ecclesiastical, outer part is done. And he, now seeing what it means and demands, must endeavor to meet its obligations. Ordi- nances do not depend for their validity uj)on inward states. If so, they could never be certified ; but the inward, personal experiences of their benefits do. The inward blessing of the sacrament is, in all cases, as is the faith of him who jDarticixoates in it. The same jDrinciple also ax^plies to the long-contest- edTand complicated issue of the spiritual regeneration, associated with infant baptism. Here, as in the adult, is the actual and the ideal baptism. In some particular actual, the outward rite is duly administered ; but the parents and sponsors are thorough worldlings, and the conditions of the after-faith of the child, and that after-faith itself, have no existence. In such case there is ecclesiastical regeneration. In another i^ar- ticular actual, is also the ideal. The child is prayer- fully and believingly consecrated ; and his response of faith as he comes to the capacity for its exercise, se- cures the -blessing. Here is the spiritual as well as the ecclesiastical regeneration. The service, in its terms, assumes that it is the ideal in all cases, and predicates the result. But that result, as with the adult, is conditional. If the baptism is what it ought to be, so the blessing ; if not, otherwise. 228 THE CHURCH AND SACRAMENTS. The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. The sacrament of the supper, having its special ref- erence to Christ's sacrificial work, as does that of bap- tism to the transforming agency of the Blessed Spirit, in i)oint of time, as to its institution, preceded that of baptism. It was to the twelve, not to the whole disci- pleship, on the night preceding the crucifixion. That it was intended for all, comes out later in apostolic practice ; the apostles, in its first institution, repre- senting the whole body of the discipleship. The breaking of bread in the Acts of the Aj^ostles, and the allusions to it in the epistles, as also the later prac- tice of the early Church, show its observance ; and there can be no reasonable doubt of its continuance until the present time. Modifications as to its mean- ing and efficacy, and the manner of its reception and benefit, have come in during the intervening periods. But, whatever the character of these, whether regard- ed as a sacrifice or the memorial of a sacrifice, whether as a symbolic representation of Christ's body, or Christ's body substantially or materially present, its observance continues unbroken. In some of these forms or other, the efi'ort is made to show forth " Christ's death until He come." We may say, with little doubt or hesitation, that wherever and so long as Christianity lasts, this sacrament will be continued in its observance. Two deeply interesting issues present themselves in connection with this sacrament. The first has refer- THE CHURCH AND SACRAMENTS. 229 ence to its sacramental nature ; the second, to the man- nerof its efficacy. The reply to the first to some de- gree anticipates the second. They may, however, for clearness be distinguished. First, then, is the Lord's Snx)per a sacrifice? Is such sacrifice that of the cross repeated, or one made on the night of the supper ? * If so, there is nothing of it in the language of the institution. ' ' Take, eat, this is My body," is the language of the Master ; " drink ye all of it ; for this is My blood of the New Testament, which is slied for many for the remission of sins" (Matt. 26 : 26, 28 ; Mark 14 : 22, 24 ; Luke 22 : 19, 20). " The cup of blessing," says the apostle, " which we bless, is it not the communion, the common partici- pation," of the blood of Christ ? The bread which we break, is it not the " communion of the body of Christ" ? '' The Lord Jesus took bread, and when He had given thanks, He brake it, and said, Take, eat ; this is My body, which is broken for you ; do this in re- membrance of Me." " This cup is the New Testament in My blood ;" " this do, as oft as ye drink it, in re- membrance of Me." " Ye do show forth the Lord's death." (See 1 Cor. 10:16, 17; 11:23, 24.) These are the insjpired accounts of the institution, and its sig- nificance. In none of them is there allusion to its sac- rificial character. "Christ," says the apostle, "our Passover, is sacrificed for us." But here, again, there is no allusion to any such sacrifice anticipated or re- * These need to be distinguished. They are so in the doctrine of the mass. 230 THE CHURCH AND SACRAMEKTS. X)eated in tlie Lord's Supper. The idea is unscrii)- tural ; in the light of the Epistle to the Hebrews, anti- scriptural. The one Priest and the one Sacrifice, in their perfection and finality, exclude the possibility of any other or others. Just as the old Jewish and heathen conception, that a minister of religion must be a sacrificing j)riest, worked its way into the declin- ing Christianity of the third and fourth century, so did this of the Lord' s Supper as a re-enacted sacrifice : sometimes as the sacrifice on the cross repeated ; some- times, as in the Trentine doctrine of the mass, the repe- tition either of that on the cross, or of one offered on the night of the institution of the sujoper. But may it not, it has been asked — may it not be called a memorial sacrifice ? In some of the secondary senses of the word sacrifice, and as descrijptive of the state of mind of the recipients, doubtless such forms of expression may be used. They are very apt, eventu- ally, to lead astray. Much safer and more scriptural is the language of the Church Catechism — " a remem- brance of the sacrifice of the death of Christ, and of the benefits which we receive thereby ;' ' not ' ' a memorial sacrifice," but "a memorial of a sacrifice." So also the XXVIII. Article calls it " a sacrament," a pledged assurance " of our redemption by Christ's death." Just as baptism, a divinely covenanted sac- ramentum, oath, or pledge of the regenerative grace of the Blessed Spirit to those in faith seeking it, so is the supx')er of the redemptive efficacy of Christ's work, to those in like faith relying upon it for salvation. THE CHURCH AND SACRAMENTS. 231 Often identified with this last, bnt really of very different significance, is " the sacrifice of thanksgiv- ing," to which allnsion is made in the communion ser- vice. Here the sacrifice is not one of the sacramental elements, but of the persons thankfully receiving them. It is the great body of the spiritual priesthood, in grateful remembrance of the sacrifice of Christ, thankfully offering themselves to Him and His service in return. This is the spiritual sacrifice pertaining to the whole redeemed life, but here solemnly recog- nized in its obligatory character and gratefully re- affirmed : " The sacrifice of praise to God, the fruit of lives, our earnest devotion and grateful service." Connected with this question of the sacrifice, in the sacrament of the supper, is that of the presence. This word presence, which has given so much trouble, does not occur in our communion service, in our Articles or Catechism, or in Scripture. In some of their expres- sions, however, this issue is implicated. The great difficulty, in this matter, is the ambiguity of many of the terms employed. Some, however, are undoubted as to their single meaning. There is, for instance, the affirmation of {a) the transubstantiated presence ; (J)) the consubstantiated presence ; (c) the substantiated presence ; {d ) the representative or sym- bolic presence. All these are objective to the recipient, and whatever his moral and spiritual condition. In the first three, Christ's body is corporally present in the elements. In the third, it is so symbolically and representatively. 232 THE CHURCH AND SACRAMENTS. But there are otlier forms of expression descriptive of tliis presence, full of ambiguity. " Real presence" mostly, for the first century after the Reformation, the equivalent of " corporal," "transubstantiated.'' Sometimes , now, in the same sense ; sometimes as opposed to fictitious or imagi- nary. With some, again, the equivalent of spiritual ; with others, some kind of corporal. ' ' Spiritual presence. ' ' This is usually the equivalent of Christ's presence in the elements to the faith of the recipient ; the suffering Christ in His sacrifice jDresent to those appropriating the benefit of that sacrifice ; and Avitli this, the presence of the glorified Christ, min- istered by His Spirit to His believing people, and thus fulfilling His j^romise of being with them, when as- sembled in His name. Faith, it may be said, com- bines these aspects of the absent Saviour, and brings Him to loving contemplation and communion. " Sacramental jiresence" is a term of more recent usage. It may mean any of the others. Recently it is a form in which transubstantiation, or some of its modifications, is asserted. All forms of such presence are. of course, in some sense sacramental. " Substantial presence." The effort in this seems to be to affirm the fact of the real bodily presence, without attempting to describe its mode, as is done in the terms trans and consubstantiation. As, however, under sub- stantial it affirms corporal, it has all the difficulties of both of these : body, that which in its very definition is outlined, without outline, ubiquitous. THE CHURCH AI^D SACRAMENTS. 233 Amid all these diversities of statement and apparent difference of view, it may be said that they are but variations of two, under which they may all be com- j)rehended : the spiritual and the corporal. In the first is the presence of Christ's body and blood, objec- tive, symbolized, represented in the elements ; the presence subjective of the loersonal Christ, ministered by His Spirit, to the spirit, the mind and heart of His faithful disciple. In the second is the presence of Christ's body and blood objective, corporally transub- stantiated, consubstantiated, or substantiated in the elements ; there is the subjective loresence it may be to faith, but also certainly to the bodily organs of those receiving, containing, and conveying the grace which it signifies, when that grace is not positively resisted. These are the two systems. Many of the expressions noted are intended to avoid either ; to find a tertmui quid, and thus keep clear of what are regarded ex- tremes of both. In some cases, too, theological and ecclesiastical experts manage to keep up the appear- ance of such mediate position. But their unsophisti- cated pupils are more consistent. The teacher, in many cases, is able to halt in the middle of a syl- logism. But the pupil, in his simplicity, goes on to the conclusion. Calvin and the English Reformers, in their effort to find a harmonizing statement for the Lu- therans and Zwinglians, were not always perfectly con- sistent. Such inconsistency, however, does not appear in the Articles and standards. While the diversity and strife of this subject has 234 THE CHURCH AND SACRAMENTS. been one of tlie reproaches of Christendom, it may, at the same time, be nrged, and truthfully, that it indi- cates the deep interest as to all particulars of the Christian Church in this solemn ordinance of the Mas- ter's apjwintment, as in the great event which i,t was intended to commemorate. Article XXXI. denies in the most emphatic manner the sacrificial nature of the supper, and, of course, the doctrine of the mass. Article XXVIII. condemns tran- substantiation. While it does not use the word " pres- ence," it affirms that the body of Christ, represented in the bread, is given, taken, and received only after a heavenly and spiritual manner ; and that faith is the medium or means of reception. If any kind of pres- ence be thus implied, "spiritual" would best ex- press it. Of course the only kind of presence in dispute is that of Christ's body. His human na- ture. In His Divine nature He is, of course, Omni- X3resent. The difficulty with most of the affirma- tions of bodily j)resence is that of ubiquity, really monophysitism. The further question has been raised as to which body of our Blessed Lord — that of the humiliation or that of the exaltation — is present in any of these forms in the supper. Strictly speaking, there is no which in this matter. The idiov Goopia^ "the identical body" of our Lord, as of that of His people, is the same in its exaltation, as in its humiliation. Manifestly, how- ever, the body represented in the broken bread and the poured-out wine, is that which suffered oij the cross. THE CHURCH AND SACRAMENTS. 235 seen by faith as thus represented. That same faith, however, sees that same body now exalted at the right hand of the Father. But more living, and closer still, to that faith, is the living, personal Christ, according to His promise, and by His Spirit revealed as present to His believing disciple. With these two questions of the sacrificial character of the Lord's Supper, and the manner of His presence, is that of its sacramental benefit or efficacy. These, as noted in Articles XXV. and XXVIII., are twofold : those of an ecclesiastical, and those of a moral and spiritual character. The former are invariable, the latter variable. The outward sacrament, duly ad- ministered, includes the former ex opere operato ; the latter come only in the proj^er inwaid recep- tion. The supper of the Lord, for instance, is ecclesi- astically : {a) Invariably a sign or symbol of the love which Christians ought to have to each other. {IS) Invariably an outward sacrament or pledge of our redemption by Christ's death. (c) Morally and variably, a participation of Christ's body and blood— those rightly, worthily, and with faith receiving, thus participating ; others not. Such particii^tion of the faithful, not physical, but in a heavenly and sx)iritual manner, by faith. The sacrament in such case is a valid, ecclesi- astical transaction to all. Some who partake, re- ceive its full blessing. Others fail so to do. The presence or absence of faith constitutes the ground 236 THE CHURCH AND SACRAMENTS. of difference as to results. These results, objective and ecclesiastical, are invariably in the ordinance duly administered. The subjective spiritual benefit is variably conditioned upon the subjective state of the recipient. CHAPTER XXL ANGELOLOGY. Angelic existence. — Early intimations.— Manifestations of presence and agency in Old Testament Names of Angels, and degrees.— Manifesta- tions in New Testament. — Fallen Angels. — Their Leader. — Demoni- acal possessions. Theology, the doctrine of God, and anthropology, the doctrine of man, have their immediate and practi- cal interest, and as related to all times and possible cir- cumstances. Angelology, the doctrine of other beings or intelligences, related to Grod in one direction, to man in another, so far as revealed, properly claims atten- tion. No specific account as to their creation is given. " As sons of God" (Job 38 : 7) they are spoken of as rejoicing in the creation of our world ; and in Col. 1 : 16, as among things invisible, they themselves are elsew^here spoken of as created. This name, ' ' angel, ' ' describes their i)eculiar characteristic, as in connection with our world, sent ones, or messengers. " Minister- ing spirits," says the apostle, " sent forth to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation (Heb. 1 : 14). Their relations Godward and manward are thus exhibited. Such statements may not be intended to be exhaus- tive. So far as regards one class of men, it brings to view their predominent work ; as, under this, others 2<58 ANGELOLOGY. may be included. It is one of which there are many scriptural illustrations, and strikingly describes their agency in human affairs. The truth of the existence of such beings, however in accordance with what might be anticipated, from the immensity and manifoldness of creation, is here grounded upon the fact of its specific revelation. The ultimate question is as to the satisfactory evidence of such revelation. That revelation begins at a very early period. The cherubim, keeping the way of the tree of life, living beings of some form or other, have been regarded as the first. As these, however, in later Scripture seem to be rather symbolic exhibitions of Divine or natural powers tlian personal agents, so they may be here. The earlier manifestations to the patriarchs were theophanies. But with these, beginning with Abra- ham, were the angelic. The same were made to Hagar and Jacob. And in the deliverance from Egypt, their j)resence and agency is more than once to be recog- nized. The law, indeed, is sjDoken of " as a dispensa- tion of angels," " as ordained of angels." And in the Psalms their presence is alluded to in connection with its promulgation ; as, in its subsequent administration in the history of the chosen people, we are frequently told of their interpositions. Sometimes, indeed, the powers of nature, winds and storms, are personified as Divine angels or messengers. Sometimes, again, the expression, " Sons of God," ai)j)licable to angels, is ap- plied to good men. But the connection usually makes clear what is intended. While winds and storms are ANGELOLOGY. 239 God's messengers, and good men are His sons, yet, be- sides these, He has His angelic sons and His personal angelic messengers of heavenly power and intelligence. Throughout the Old Testament the existence and work of these personal angelic beings are exhibited. Toward its close we find specific names — ■" Michael," " who as God," and " Gabriel," " man of God" — given to two of them. Whether the former of these, as the angel Jehovah of Genesis, was not a manifestation of the Di- vine Logos in the Old Testament, has been made a ques- tion. We find in the New Testament one of them spoken of as an archangel, and the other as standing in the presence of God. So, again, the trump of the archangel is spoken of in connection with the resurrec- tion. But no specific account beyond the fact of pre- eminence is given as to what in this appellation is fully implied. Coming more particularly to the New Testament, we find these manifestations of angelic agency and inter- est in the heirs of salvation. They herald the coming of the Christ, the promised Deliverer ; warn of impend- ing dangers to Him in His infancy ; minister to Him after His trial in the wilderness. One is with Him in Gethsemane. Others are at the tomb on the morning of the resurrection. And at His ascension two of them give assurance of His visible return to His disci- ples and people. So, too, in His own teaching, angels of little children are spoken of as beholding the face of His Father in heaven. The beggar Lazarus is borne of angels to Abraham's bosom. Angels are spoken of 240 AKGELOLOGY. as coming with the Son of Man in His glory. And more than twelve legions of them are spoken of as at His call, in the arrest in Gethsemane. Angelic i)res- ence and agency are thus clearly manifested. The same agency comes to view in the record of apostolic effort and labor. And, in the last book of Scripture, we find this agency on earth as in heaven in the great conflict, "which finally terminates in the triumph of righteousness. " Michael and his angels" are on one side, the dragon and his angels on the other. In this conflict there are also the beast and the false proj^het, representing classes of men opposing Christ, and the saints for Him. At the same time, with these human agents, and doing their part in the conflict, are these angelic ones : good and bad men, Michael and his angels, and the dragon and his angels. In reference to all the manifestations thus far of angelic existence and agency, with one exception it is that of beings habitually and spontaneously moving under the impulse or conformity to the Divine will : " Sons of God," " Bene Eloliim," as in the filial spirit of loving obedience that Divine will controls and regu- lates all their movements. They have thus kept their high estate ; passed safely through their original pro- bation, attaining the security of habitual and heavenly excellence. Contrasted with these are other angelic beings of a different character : fallen angels, not keeping their high estate ; miserable in their fall, and hostile to God, as also to His earthly subjects and creatures. ANGELOLOGY. 241 Just as the good angels, in their love and obedience to Grod, are described as endeavoring to bless and benefit His creature, man, so the fallen, as opposing His will and endeavoring to injure and destroy His earthly crea- tures. Distinction must here be made as to the term evil angels, especially as sometimes used in the Old Testa- ment. This may mean natural agencies of calamity, as the pestilence, the storm, the famine. It may, again, mean angels obedient to God, the instruments of His judgments of disaster ; as when sent to execute such judgment upon Sodom or upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians, Distinct from these are angelic beings morally evil in character, the fallen ones to whom allu- sion has already been made. Their existence comes to view especially in the New Testament. Their leader and prince, Satan, or the devil, is described, in the teaching of Jesus and the apostles, as exercising his powers of enticement and temptation upon men ; as opposing the Divine will, and working in men to dis- obedience and transgression. And intimations are given as to his malignant work in the first temptation of man, " the murderer and liar from the beginning ;" later, in the trial of Job, as in the evil influence exert- ed upon Saul. With him, also, as his followers, are other evil sx)irits, and working to the same malignant and mischievous purposes. As the work of Christ was to destroy those of the devil, to overthrow his king- dom, so in the New Testament, the existence and agency of Satan and his angels are more fully brought out and exhibited. The conflict, in its various forms 242 ANGELOLOGY. and stages as it goes on, is more fully bronght to view- in the Ai)ocalypse ; and its final result is seen in tlieir complete and perfect overtlirow. All enemies are to be put under Christ's feet. This includes not only all opposing human agency, but that which is Satanic and diabolical. Having its connection with this subject is the very difiicult one of demoniacal possession. One mode of getting rid of this difficulty is to identify these posses- sions with cases of ordinary insanity. Doubtless in some of the cases, phenomena of insanity are exhibit- ed. Perhaps insanity was one of its usual accompani- ments. In one case a father, bringing his son to our Lord, speaks of him as a lunatic ; and yet, in the same connection, he is spoken of as under demoniacal agency. It has thus been argued that, as our Blessed Lord spoke in the forms of expression then in current usage, and as He did not stoj) to explain that the luna- tic, 2£X?p^ia^oju£voi, was not moon-struck, so with the AaipiQovia^£/A8vo?, the supposed demon-struck. And if the mere names in these cases were all, this ex- planation might be satisfactory. There are, however, other accompaniments which seem to present to it in- superable difficulty. Our Lord not only spoke of the demons, but to them, and commanded their departure. The demons knew Him and His authority. His para- ble of the unclean spirit going out of a man and seek- ing rest, and finding none, and of his re-entrance with others worse into the empty habitation, and His lan- guage in reply to the charge of casting out demons by ANGELOLOGY. 248 Satanic assistance — all show that we are beyond the region of mere insanity. It is a revelation of the spirit world, nniqne and peculiar. And, as such, how- ever mysterious, and as only mysterious, must be ac- cepted. The only question, in such case, is, Are there anal- ogous facts natural, so that the mystery does not in- volve contradiction ? Regarding the demoniac as ac- countable—accountable for being in such state, and thus, to some degree, for his actions in such state — the analogous cases are around us in abundance. The demon of strong • drink, of opium, of licentious indul- gence, often loroduces a condition as wretched and irra- tional as that of the demonized in the New Testament. If this, their condition, was thus the result of some habit of previous indulgence, the mystery of an evil spirit coming in and taking possession of such a man remains ; but the moral difficulty disappears. It is the act of the man, under Divine permission and arrangement, bringing its results in this form. So, too, if we suppose the demon possessed not ac- countable for his condition, or as in a condition in which his accountability has passed away. Analogous cases we find all around, in the X3henomena of ordinary in- sanity and other diseases, under the operation of the law of heredity. Insanity is something with which we are familiar, and we imagine we know something about it. But its problems, its moral problems, who will undertake to solve ? Prior to experience, how violent- ly improbable that rational beings, men, too, of the 244 ANGELOLOGY. highest order of intellect, could come into such condi- tion ? On the other hand, how much like the demon- ized, the self-made victim of vicious habit and indul- gence ? How often similar result seen in the innocent inheritors of their vicious constitutions ? Men, again, brutalize themselves, and they come into the condition and even the diseases and habits of the brute creation. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. And while there is moral safety to the upright, the result of its opposite, and in all directions, is incalculable. The demoniacal i)OSsession, a great supernatural mystery, has its many natural analogies. Specially manifested during the ministry of Him whose mission was to de- stroy the works of the devil, still, even as belonging to that special dispensation of the past, it has its present lessons of profitable suggestion. CHAPTER XXII. ESCHATOLOGY. Its particulars matter of pure revelation. — The final transition. — Resur- rection, Judgment. — The two great classes. The knowledge thus spoken of, in one sense a knowledge of tlie end, in another is a knowledge of that which is without end, the world of endless reali- ties. Even as related to the events closing the present condition of things, the end of earthly existence, with its relations, such knowledge is dependent upon spe- cific revelation. As, in such knowledge, we pass into the region of the supernatural, so it is only in a sujoer- natural way, and by supernatural agencies, that we can come to its attainment. " In the Gosj^el," says the ajDostle, " Jesus Christ hath brought to light life and immortality." To some of the main points of this revelation, completive of all that had gone before, we now give our examination. In so doing we naturally think of what may be called the divinely indicated transition, from man's present to his future state of being. Prior even to this, however, is the deeply interesting truth of the nature of such transition — fiom mortality to immor- tality, from temporal to eternal existence. " God," 246 ESCHATOLOGY. says one of the apocryphal writers, ''^created man in the image of His own inmiortality." This is the con- stant implication of Scripture, especially of the. New Testament Scripture. Dying creatures, as to this world, men are undying in the world to which they are going. It is, therefore, the transition from a tem- poral to an eternal existence. Two facts involved in that transition come promi- nently to view — the resurrection and final judgment. The first of these — the resurrection — going back, in its assurance, to the resurrection of Christ, and looking forward in its anticipation, to the fulfilment of His declarations. As also to the exercise of His Divine power, it brings out and emphasizes the deeply interest- ing truth of the continuance of the whole man, bodily as well as spiritual, beyond this present state, and into that which is beyond. As there is a natural body, a body adapted to the conditions of the present animal organism, so there is a sj)iritual body, adapted to the conditions of sj)iritual existence. The body thus, in its two stages or conditions, is treated and sjioken of as the same, changed and changeable, but not los- ing its identity, in these its difi'erent stages of exist- ence and of action. As it was with the Master in these respects, so with His discix)les. He the first- fruits, in His resurrection ; His people, in the morning of the resurrection, the fully ripened and gathered harvest. At the same time, while emphasizing this fact of the resurrection of Christ's people, the truth is also exhibited of that of the whole race, " of the just ESCHATOLOGY. 247 and of the unjust" (Acts 24 : 15 ; John 5 : 28, 29 ; 1 Cor. 15 ; 1 Thess. 4 : 13, 18). Closely associated in Divine teaching with this truth of the general resurrection, is that of the judgment. The two classes arise, the one to a resurrection of life, the other to one of condemnation. While there may be difficulty in forming conceptions of this judgment, its outward circumstances and manifestations, the truth of its reality, in the light of Scripture, is clear and undoubted. While each one shall give an account of himself, the implication is that it will be in connec- tion with others ; if not the whole world of human beings literally, at least that world of human beings to which the individual was related ; which affected him, and which he affected in his individual life and course of action. "Every one," says the apostle, " shall give an account of himself to God" (Rom. 14 : 12). " We must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ" (2 Cor. 5:10). "Before the Son of Man shall be gathered all nations" (Matt. 25 : 31, 32). " I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God" (Rev. 20 : 12). And these two events — resurrection and judgment — as already intimated, are the transition to the life be- yond this world. That existence — certainly in the New Testament conception, whatever may be the ques- tions and difficulties as to the teaching of the Old Tes- tament — is an endless one. Created in the image of God, renewed in the image of Christ, the Son of God, man becomes partaker of Divine, endless existence. 24:8 ESCHATOLoaV. Eternal life is the j)ortion of Christ's redeemed x)eoi)le. This life, in its fulness and blessedness, is not ex- hausted as to its meaning in the words ' ' endless exist- ence." It is that, and much more. " They shall not die forever,' ' is one declaration of the Master. " They shall have eternal life," is another. The latter in- cludes the former, and goes far beyond and above it. It is endless rest, deliverance for all that is evil, and in all its forms. It is endless life, elevation to all the blessedness of which man is callable : " the new heavens and the new earth, wherein dwell righteous- ness ;" the redeemed " creation," delivered out of the bondage of corruption, translated " into the glorious liberty of the sons of God." God created man in His own Divine image. In the person of His well-beloved Son He assumed man's human image, that He might make him like Himself, holy, happy, blessed, in the full, and ]Derfect, and joyous exercise of all His di- vinely given powers and capacities. The mournful contrast to this demands contemx)la- tion ; the condition of the unsaved, the effect of perse- vering impenitence. The judgment introduces them into a world of condemnation ; and the prospect is of continuance. No prosj)ect is held up of relief or re- mission. The sentence in each case is a just one, in perfect accordance with desert, and as related to all kinds and degrees of evil character. What will be the effect of such penalty, and the conditions which it will involve, no specific information is given. In view of the fearful truth of such penalty, and its possibilities, vari- ESCHATOLOGY. 249 ous replies liave been ventured. One, for a long time prevalent, and especially of a popular XDreaching and conception, was that it will make its subjects morally worse and more malignant ; and, as tlie effect of tliat, more miserable and wretched. The recoil from this was universalism — sin really punished in this world, and the race saved by the redeeming work for another. A modification of this was that of restorationism ; this after the administration of due j)enalty and reforma- tion. Still another of this was the theory of condi- tional immortality ; such immortality to those re- formed and purified under this joenalty, annihilation to those under it failing so to do. And still another : that of annihilation to all, either at once or after a time of retribution. The difficulty with all, after the first, is that they bring to an end what is represented without termination. And, that of the first, is its con- flict with the perfections of the Divine character. Di- vine penalty is thus made x>urely and only productive of misery and suffering. The same course alluded to, in connection with explanations of the doctrine of the atonement, has been pursued here — that of looking at only one attribute of Divine x)erfection. Strict justice, perfect righteousness, is the attribute present in such penalty. Is it the only one ? Can this be affirmed ? God is just ; but He is also wise and loving. Even in His strange work of inflicting punishment He does not and cannot, deny Himself, divest Himself of any of His perfections. While He cannot look upon iniqidty but with abhorrence, lie cannot look upon suffering but 250 ESCHATOLOGY. with interest aucl compassion. With the justice that chastens and punishes is the love, the compassion over its objects, and the necessity of its exercise. "If 1 make my bed in hell, Thou art there also." He is there in justice ; but also in compassion, in the inter- est of love over the suffering even of the evil-doer. This overwhelming j^roblem, with our imperfect com- prehension of what it involves, we must and can leave with Him. Even in what to us is its hojieless dark- ness, we know that He is ruling and arranging. " Even so, Father, to what is good in Thy sight." " All things shall be subject unto Him," not only, as now, in right and actual control, but openly, con- fessedly, to all and by all, of all classes. The problem of dealing with that subject world, of redeemed as of condemned creatures, is one for His supreme perfec- tion. n^DEX. Administrator of Baptism, 224. Agnosticism, 85. Angelology, 237. Angels, Creation of, 237 ; Doctrine of, 237 ; Fallen, 240. Annihilation, 249. Anthropological Argument for the Existence of God, 81. Anthropomorphism, 88, 96. Anthropopathisms, 96. Apocrypha, 22. Arguments for the Existence of Gol, 79, 80, 81. Articles, On the Church, 220. Atheism, 83 ; Forms of, 84. Atonement of Christ, 187. Atoning Mediation, The, 197 ; Theories of, 198. Baptism, Manner of, 224 ; Proper Administrator of, 224 ; Sacrament of, 223 ; Subjects of, 225 ; XXVII. Article, on, 226. Baptismal Regeneration, 227. Canon of New Testament, 26 ; Muriatorian, 30 ; of Old Testament, 20, 22 ; of Scripture, 19. Cave, Professor, on Canon of Scripture, 24. Change, The Spiritual, 211 ; Nature of, 215. Chastisement, Divine, 170. Christ, Atonement of, 187 ; a Teacher, 184 ; Example of, 185. Clirist's Resurrection, 193 ; Sufferings, Efficacy of, 184 ; Sufferings Necessary, 186 ; Work in its Application, 202. Church and Sacraments, 219 ; Visible and Invisible, 219, 220. Conditional Immortality, Theory of, 249. Consequences of Sin, 166. Consubstantiated Presence, 231. Contingency, Argimient from, 79. Cosmological Argument for the Existence of God, 79. Creation of Angels, 237 ; of the Woild^ 123 ; not Arrangement, 125. 252 . INDEX. Deism, Definition of, 86. Deistic Naturalism, 11. Demoniacal Possession, 242. Depravity, Human, 151, 154, 158. Descartes, 129. Diatessaron of Tatiau, 30. Difficulties as Regards Omniscience, 100. Divine Attributes, 87 ; Unity. 90. Doctrine of Angels, 237 ; God, 74 ; Man, 135 ; Sin, 149 ; Trinity, 113. Eden, The Test of, 142. Efficacy of Christ's Sufferings, 184. Election and Foreordination, 101. Endless Punishment, 248. Eschatology, 245. Eternity of God, 95 Eusebius, Canon of New Testament, 31. Evil, Origin of, 142. Evolution, 127. Exaltation, Heavenly, 204, 207. Existence of God, Arguments for, 79, 80, 81 ; Proofs of, 76. Faith, 205. Fall of Man, 141, 147. Final Judgment, 246, 247 ; Perseverance, 217 ; Resurrection, 246, 247:, Foreknowledge not Foreordination, 101. Foreordination and Election, 101. God, Doctrine of, 74 ; Eternity of, 95 ; How Known, 11 ; Moral Attri- butes of, 104 ; Omnipotence of, 97 ; Omnipresence of, 103 ; Omnis- cience of, 98 ; Proofs of Existence of, 76 ; Revealed in His Works, 12 ; Scriptural Statements of, 75 ; Spirituality of, 93 ; Wisdom of, 108. Government, Divine, 131. Governmental Theory of Mediation, 199. Henotheism, 93. Hodge, Definition of Inspiration, 54. Holiness of God, 105. Holy Ghost, Deity of, 119 ; Personality of, 119 ; Sin Against, 164. Human Personality, The Analogy of the Divine, 88. Ignorance, Sins of, 162. Image of God, Man Made in, 135. Immortality, Theory of Conditional, 249. INDEX. 25;^ Inspiration, Definitions of, 54 ; Evidences of, 35 ; Objections to, 55 ; of Scripture, 34 ; of the Old Testament, 41 ; Theories of, 47. Intercession of Christ, 194. Invisible Church, 220. Ireugeus of Lyons, 29. Irresistible Grace, 216. •Josephus, 20. •Judgment, Final, 246, 247. Judicial Theory of Mediation, 198. Justice of God, 107. Justification, 202. Justin Martyr, 22, 29. Knapp, Definition of Depravity, 159 ; Definition of Inspiration, 54. Lay Baptism, 225. Lord's Supper, The Articles on the, 234 ; Ecclesiastically Defined, 235 ; Real Presence in, 232 ; Sacrament of, 228 ; Sacrifice in the, 229. Love, Divine Attribute of, 110. Man, Primeval Condition of, 135. Manifestation of Christ as Saviour, 180. Martineau, on the Idea of God, 74. Matheson, Dr., Quoted, 93. Mediation, The Atoning, 197. Miracles, 69 ; Naturalistic Explanations of, 78 ; Not necessarily Contra- dictory to Natural Law, 134 ; Objections to, 72 ; Scriptural Words Descriptive of, 71. Moral Attributes of God, 104. Muriatorian Canon, 30. Mystery, 64 ; Three Senses of Word, 65. Natural Theology, 18, 14. Necessity of Revelation, 13. New Testament, Canon of, 26. Norton, Professor, Estimate of Copies of Gospels, 38. Objections to Inspiration, 55 ; to Miracles, 72. Omnipotence of God, 97. Omnipresence of God, 103. Omniscience of God, 98. Origen, Canon of the New Testament, 30. Origin of Evil, 142. Original Sin, Theories of, 155, 156. 254 INDEX. Pantheism, 84. Park, Professor, Definition of Inspiration, 54. Paternal View of Mediation, 200. Personality of God, 89 ; of the Holy Ghost, 119 ; of Tempter in Eden, 145. Philo, 20. Philosophy of Religion, 9. Polytheism, 91. Positivism, 85. Possession, Demoniacal, 243. Predestination, 216. Presence in the Lord's Supper, 231. Preservation, Divine, 128. Primitive Revelation, Possibility of, 139. Probation, Future, 173. Problem of Punishment, 250, Progress of the Race, 85. Proofs of Revelation, 66. Providence, Divine, 130. Provision of Christ's Work in their Reception, 204. Punishment, Divine, 169 ; Endless, 248 ; Positive, 173 ; Problem of, 250. Race, Unity of the, 138. Real Presence, 232. Reason as Related to Revelati r , 15. Regeneration in Baptism, 22. Religion, Definition of, 4 ; Difference with Theology, 4 ; New Testa- ment Names of, 5 ; Science of, 6. Repentance, Expiative Effects of, 178. Restorationism, 249. Resurrection, Final, 246, 247 ; of Christ, 193. Revelation a Necessity, 13, 14 ; Evidence in, of the Existence of God, 82 ; Human Capacity for, 14 ; Relation of Reason to, 15 ; Proofs of, 66. Righteousness of God, 107. Sacrament of Baptism, 223 ; of the Lord's Supper, 228. Sacraments, Christian, 222. Sacrifice in the Lord's Supper, 229. Sacrifices for Sin, 176. Salvation from Sin, 176 ; Work of the Spirit in, 209. Sanday, Professor, on Inspiration. 59. Sanctification, 303, 306. INDEX. 255 Sataii^ 241. Science and Secondary Causes, 9 ; and Theology, 7, 8. Scriptural Proof of the Atonement, 188 ; Divine Unity, 90 ; Doctrine of Trinity, 116 ; Eternity of God, 96 ; Omnipresence of God, 103 ; Spir- ituality of God, 94. Sin, Actual, 160 ; Against the Holy Ghost, 164 ; Doctrine of, 149 ; in its Consequences, 166 ; Inward Effects of, 168 ; Original, 150 ; Salva- tion from, 176 ; Various Degrees in, 161. Sins of Omission and Commission, 161. Smith, Dean, on Creation, 135. Son, Deity of the, 118. Son of God, Christ the, 181. Son of Man, Christ the, 180. Sources of Theological Truth, 11. Sparrow, Dr., on Omnipotence of God, 97. Specific Revelation, 13. Spinoza, Pantheism of, 84. Spirit, Blessed, in Work of Salvation, 209. Spiritual Change, 211 ; Nature of, 215. Spirituality of God, -93. Subjects of Baptism, 225. Substantiated Presence, 231. Talmud, 21, 23. Tatian, Diatessaron of, 30. Teleological Argument for the Existence of God, 80. Temptation in Eden, 143. Tempter in Eden, Personality of, 145. Test of Eden, The, 143. Theism, Definition of, 86. Theology, Conflict with Science, 7, 8 ; Definitions of, 2, 3, 10 ; Differ- ence with Religion, 4 ; Relation to Science, 7 ; Sources of Material for, 3. Theory of Conditional Immortality, 249. Theories of Inspiration, 47 ; Mediation, 198 ; Original Sin, 155, 156. Total Depravity, 159. Tradition, Authority of, 61. Traditionalist, Definition of, 63. Transgression, First, 141. Transubstantiated Presence, 231. Trinity, Doctrine of, 113 ; Human Analogies of, 114 ; Scriptural Proof of, 116. Truth of God, 106. 256 INDEX. Ultimate Cause, 9. Unbelief as to the Divine Existence, 83. Unity, Divine, 90 ; of the Race, 138. Universalism, 249. Whately, Archbishop, on the Trinity, 131. Wisdom of God, 108. World, Creation of, 133. Date Due 26 '3c } . ^^® 4j %2a -% i 'K: "Id J; f)