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  THE TWELVE GEMMED CROWN CHRIST IN HEBREWS
  by Samuel Judson Porter
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Porter's examination of twelve titles for Christ in the Epistle to the Hebrews
arranged in three groups: His relation to the Father, His place in redemption,
and His relation to believers, using these names as gems reflecting Christ's
multifaceted character and significance.

  Chapters: 8

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  TABLE OF CONTENTS
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    1. 04 Foreword
    2. 05 Introduction
    3. 07  CHAPTER I
    4. 08  CHAPTER II
    5. 09 CHAPTER III
    6. 10  CHAPTER IV
    7. 11 CHAPTER V
    8. 12 CHAPTER VI

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  CHAPTER 1: 04 FOREWORD
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In the writing of this book it has been my desire and aim to acknowledge all
debts, but, as a member of the guild of students, I find, as in other relations
of life, that I owe more than I can tell to more people than I can name. If,
therefore, in any instance proper credit has not been given so that any author
thinks that his wares have been vended without his trade-mark, I trust that he
will accept my apology and gratitude.

Scriptural quotations from the Old Testament are from the Revision of the
Authorized Version, while those from the New Testament are from the American
Revision. Greek characters are not used in the work, but where Greek words are
parenthesized the spelling is the English equivalents of the Greek letters.
Following quotations from Hebrews the name of the book is omitted, only the
numerals of chapter and verse being cited. The substance of the chapters in "The
Twelve Gemmed Crown" has been given in addresses at several summer assemblies —
among them at Palacios-By-The-Sea. The book has first been laid as an offering
of love before Him whom it seeks to honor and is now sent forth with a prayer
for blessings on everyone who may peruse its pages.

S. J. P.


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  CHAPTER 2: 05 INTRODUCTION
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INTRODUCTION The New Testament is a series of interpretations of Jesus Christ.
Given the fact of Christ, the books of the New Testament undertake to construe
his person and work through the media of the history, literature and religion of
the Jewish people, but they differ in the use they make of these interpretative
data, as well as in the relative values which they assign to them. While
allowance must be made for the atmosphere and the setting of each
interpretation, points of similarity may be observed in certain books written
for the same general purpose. For example: The Gospel of Mark, which is usually
spoken of as the Gospel for the Romans, in its energy, courage and lofty purpose
is not unlike the Epistle to the Romans; Luke’s Gospel, which may be called the
Gospel of progressive Christianity and designed for the Greeks, in tone and
spirit resembles the two Greek Epistles, First and Second Corinthians; while the
Gospel of Matthew, which is generally considered as the Gospel for the Jews
since it sees in Christianity a fulfillment of Judaism, has pronounced
affinities with the Epistle to the Hebrews. But the Epistle to the Hebrews,
while it has affinities in a marked degree with Matthew, and inless degree with
all types of Christian thought, nevertheless occupies a unique position among
the primitive Christian books, giving the most symmetrical and complete
interpretation of Christ to be found in the New Testament. To quote from Prof.
Denney’s book, "Jesus and the Gospel":

"It is the most humanitarian of apostolic writings. It speaks with a kind of
predilection of Jesus, not the Christ; it recalls ’ the days of his flesh,’
when, with strong crying and tears, he offered prayers and supplications to him
that was able to save him from death, and was heard because of his godly fear;
it holds him up to us as a pattern of faith, the ideal subject of religion, who
was tempted in all things like as we are, yet without sin; who passed through a
curriculum of suffering by which he was made perfect for his calling, and who
learned in doing so what it is to obey; who lived the life of faith in God from
beginning to end, and is in short the typical believer." On the other hand it
can be fairly called the most theological book of the New Testament, since its
burden is to show the place of Christ in the Scriptures and in the whole
redemptive scheme. To the Hebrew Christians who had witnessed the decay of their
national life and with it the crumbling of the forms of their national religion
the Epistle lovingly and comfortingly interprets the history and religion of the
chosen people, taking Christ as the key and at the same time givinga new
interpretation of Christ. Regarding the Jewish institutions it is shown that,
instead of failing they find their completion in Christ. The law is not
abolished, but fulfilled. The earthly temple is transfigured into the heavenly.
The historical priesthood is translated into the one eternal Priest; while the
ever recurring yet never efficacious animal sacrifices ceased in the presence of
the perfect Sacrifice which was offered "once for all"; just as all the sensuous
services of the temple find their end in those spiritual realities which they
foreshadowed and foretold. This entire outlook is obtained from a new angle of
observation. The Epistle interprets Christ from the priestly view-point. At the
same time recognition is given to other schools of thought, so that it has been
termed the “most finished treatise of the Alexandrian philosophy." More
successfully than any contemporaneous Christian writing it grapples with the
problems of nature, mind and history, and it does this in the strength of the
great and noble idea: What the person of Christ signifies for God, for man and
for religion.

"On the speculative side it re-interprets God and makes creation intelligible;
on the historical, it exalts man and turns his life into a process of growth and
education; on the religious, it finds a unity of idea within diversity of form,
and it proves faith to be universal and constant, for its object is ’the same
yesterday, to-day and for ever.’"

Instead of bewailing the decay of Judaism and the annulment of the old covenant
the Epistle rejoices in the inauguration of the new covenant brought in by
Christ. "His concealed presence in the old was the reason of its being; his
revealed presence in the new is the cause of its life." All this is brought out
by two characteristic words:

One of these words is "better," which is used when Christ and Christianity are
compared with other religions and their contents. Thus Christ by whom the gospel
is given is "better than the angels" (Hebrews 1:4) by whose ministration the law
was delivered; through the gospel a "better hope" (Hebrews 7:19) is brought to
those who accept it; though the old covenant is set aside Jesus becomes the
"surety of a better covenant" (Hebrews 7:22); and this covenant is " enacted
upon better promises " (Hebrews 8:6); having become the mediator of a better
covenant Jesus with his own blood enters the heavenly sanctuary which must be
cleansed "with better sacrifices than the earthly" (Hebrews 9:23); the blood
which Jesus shed speaketh "better things" than that of Abel (Hebrews 12:24); we
have a "better possession and an abiding one" (Hebrews 10:34); so that with the
faithful of other times we seek a " better resurrection" (Hebrews 11:35); and
desire a "better country, that is a heavenly" (Hebrews 11:16); and on account of
all these things "beloved, we are persuaded better things of you and things that
accompany salvation." (Hebrews 6:9). The other word is “eternal," by the use of
whichit is inferred that Christ and Christianity are never to be misplaced, that
the new dispensation is the final and perfect form of man’s relation to God.
With this conviction of the incomparableness of the Gospel the writer speaks of
the "eternal salvation" which Christ gives to those who obey him (Hebrews 5:9);
and of the "eternal redemption" which Christ obtains through his own blood
(Hebrews 9:12); again we are told of the " eternal spirit" through whom Christ
offered himself without blemish unto God (Hebrews 9:14); of the "eternal
covenant" established in his blood (Hebrews 13:20) ; of the " eternal
inheritance " which they that obey his call are to receive (Hebrews 9:15); and
finally of the "eternal judgment" into which all must come (Hebrews 6:2). All
these better things are brought by Christ and these eternal things are eternal
and final because conditioned on Christ. When we stop to think what these
expressions mean it is easy to understand the place which Christ held in the
thought of the writer of the Epistle. By him all the relations between God and
man are determined and he has a place and work which belong to him alone.

Holding this conception of Christ and having in hand the history, traditions,
literature and religious forms of the Jewish people, himself imbued with the
spirit of his race, the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews does that which is
the mission of every exponent of the gospel to do, he interprets Christ in terms
understandable by the people whom he addresses. The fabric of this
interpretation is built up around a system of names, familiar to Hebrew thought
and rich in significance, which are applied to Christ. Among the ancients,
especially the Hebrews, names meant more than they do among the moderns. This is
shown by the following quotation from the "Jewish Encyclopedia" on the names of
God:

"Like other Hebrew proper names the name of God is more than a mere
distinguishing title. It represents the Hebrew conception of the divine nature
or character and of the relation of God to his people. It represents the Deity
as he is known to his worshipers, and stands for all those attributes which he
bears in relation to them, and which are revealed to them through his activity
on their behalf. A new manifestation of his interest or care may give rise to a
new name, so also an old name may acquire new content and significance through
new and varied experience of these sacred relations." This quotation anent the
names of God is applicable to the names attributed to Christ in the Book of
Hebrews.

These names applied to Christ give a many sided view of his character, with the
result that he is looked upon from well-nigh every point of vision afforded by
the religious conceptions of the Hebrews. As the sculptor constructs his bust
with the aid of a dozen photographs of his subject all taken from different
points of view, so from the twelve titles by which Christ is known in this
Epistle, each of which is like a photograph, there is constructed his solid
symmetrical character.

These names may be arranged, according to the following scheme, in three groups,
each group consisting of two couplets, while the members of each couplet are
correlative to each other:

I. First group, in which are defined Christ’s relations with the Father:

1. First couplet setting forth primal relations. (Hebrews 1:2).

(1) "Son,"

(2) "Heir."

2. Second couplet setting forth manifested relations. (Hebrews 1:3).

(1) "Effulgence of his Glory,"

(2) "Image of his Substance."

II. Second group, outlining Christ’s place in the plan of redemption:

1. First couplet, the old covenant sublimed in the new. (Hebrews 3:1).

(1) "Apostle,"

(2) "High Priest."

2. Second couplet, the new covenant educed from the old. (Hebrews 8:6).

(1) "Mediator,"

(2) "Minister."

III. Third group, connoting the relations between Christ and the believer:

1. First couplet, Christ’s sovereign relations with the believer. (Hebrews
12:2).

(1) "Author,"

(2) "Perfected."

2. Second couplet, the believer’s experiential relations with Christ. (Hebrews
6:20; Hebrews 13:20).

(1) "Forerunner,"

(2) "Shepherd." As the twelve precious stones which adorned the breast-plate of
the Jewish high priest were so arranged as to reflect the light most perfectly,
so these twelve names like gems gathered from many fields are set in a glowing
cluster upon the bosom of Christ to ray forth the beauty and brilliance of his
character. Or, to vary the simile: In "The Last Supper" by Leonardo da Vinci our
eyes are carried up by way of the composition and every action of the
subordinate figures, and left alone with the Christ who sits upright, his hands
spread out upon the table, his head against the space of light framed by the
large middle window in the picture. On either side, but a little apart so that
no other head intrudes on this central space of light, are arranged the twelve
in groups of three, while the disposition of the figures in each group is such
that the interest of all is focalized on the face of the Master. Matthew, Simon
and Jude, who form the group at the extreme left of the Saviour appear to be in
subdued but anxious converse, are not looking toward the Master, but looking at
one another, still the hands of all are pointed toward him. And so with the
group next to his right hand, including Peter, Judas Iscariot and John; their
faces are close together, but from the very center of the group Peter’s left
hand is pointing directly toward the face of the Master, And so with all the
group. Every face and every hand seems alert with attention which is riveted
upon him whose face is marked with benign dignity, suffused with profound
sorrow, and stamped with the lineaments of divinity. So the twelve names which
furnish the basis of the studies which follow, while full of variety and
contrast among themselves, point to their Bearer for their significance and
fulfillment.


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  CHAPTER 3: 07  CHAPTER I
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CHRIST: SON AND HEIR The opening sentence of the Epistle to the Hebrews contains
four titles descriptive of Christ’s divine relations. "Son" and "Heir," the
first couplet in this four-fold group, explain the primal, personal relations
between Christ and the Father. The second couplet, consisting of "Effulgence"
and "Image," is parenthetical and corollary to the first couplet, and marks by
analogy the manifested relations between the Son and the Father. CHRIST: THE SON
"God hath spoken unto us in his Son." More meaningful words than these have
never been written. No more guesses, no more riddles, no more straining the ears
to catch uncertain sounds. The silence is broken. God speaks. He speaks in his
Son. So significant is this speaking in his Son that the Son himself is
elsewhere given the name Word, and in this term we may look for the meaning of
his mission. Whence? Whither? How? Why? To the deepest ponderings of the human
soul the answer is found in Jesus Christ. If we inquire about the world’s
beginnings and its continuance — and this is a question which little children
and grown up men ask with equal interest — we are told that through him the
worlds were made, and that all things are upheld by the word of his power. If
the question is raised with regard to the final purpose of creation, and the
consummation toward which all things are moving, we are reminded that for him
all things were made, and that he is the appointed Heir of all things. If we
look for the self-revelation of God in the history of his chosen people, the
discovery is made that this history and this revelation are but the preparation
for the appearance of the Son. If we think of the atonement which makes access
to God possible for us, we are directed to him who when he had suffered for our
sins sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. The Book of Hebrews
deals with these eternal verities in a way which shows Christ to be the one and
only answer to the mightiest questions which concern mankind. • In fact the
opening sentence of the book gathers up all these subjects in one sublime period
which indicates that Christ is the key to every problem in these vast regions,
and that his place and worth in religion are incommensurable with the place and
worth of any other being, human or angelic. And not only this, but his person is
made the ground and guarantee of the truth and value of Christianity. Indeed to
him are due all its majesty, permanence, and power. The Dual Sonship. The book
of Hebrews may be regarded as an exposition of the ancient book of Leviticus. As
such it offers us an interpretation of Christ which shows him at once the
Archetype and the Antitype of the Hebrew religion. This religion was formulated
after “the pattern that was showed in the mount." Christ himself may be thought
of as this pattern. As such he was the Archetype, holding latent in himself, as
the acorn holds the future oak, the whole Levitical system with its sacrificial
ritual, which is the "copy and shadow of the heavenly things." (Hebrews 8:5). On
the other hand, the system with all that it signified, pointed to him as
Antitype and found in him its complete fulfillment. As Archetype he was the
involvement of the Hebrew religion. As Antitype he was its evolvement. In his
sonship these are united — the one with the idea of God, the other with the idea
of man. As Archetype he had a divine and super-historical being; as Antitype he
had a human and historical being. This double sonship, therefore, expresses a
two-fold relation: On the divine side, the unity of the Son with the Father; on
the human side, the unity of the Son with man. The first relation represents the
mode by which God finds access to man; the second by which man finds access to
God. The Father approaches man through the Son’s divinity, while man approaches
God through the Son’s humanity.

In his interview with Jesus, Nathanael addressed him as Son of God, whereupon
Jesus immediately speaks of himself as the Son of man, saying, " Ye shall see
the heavens opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son
of man." Manifestly he meant to impress the disciples that this title of Son of
man bore close relation to the one which had just been applied to him by
Nathanael. Son of God: Son of man. These two appellatives complement each other.
They set forth his divine and human relations, showing him to be the equivalent
intermediary between God and man. Were he man and not God, we should be guilty
of idolatry to worship and trust him at all; were he God and not man, we should
approach him with fear and dread, if indeed it would be possible to approach him
at all. This sonship is not simply a figure of speech or a verbal convenience.
It is a reality. It is utterly dissimilar to anything else in the universe, and
denotes a rank which qualifies for functions unique and preeminent. By it his
office and position in the whole universe and in humanity are determined, and by
it likewise are settled the sufficiency and permanence of his religion. Back of
the Beginning. Christ’s divine sonship did not begin with his earthly existence,
but preceded and determined it. The author of Genesis and the author of the
Fourth Gospel start with the same words, "In the beginning." The beginning of
which John speaks cannot be other than that which Moses makes the starting point
of his narrative, but while they start at the same point the two writers
separate from each other immediately and go in opposite directions. Commencing
with the fact of creation Moses descends until he reaches the point of man’s
appearance on the scene. Starting at the same point John moves upward in the
reverse direction, ascending into eternity. He goes farther hack in order to
reach farther forward. Rising into the heights eternal he finds him who was both
the agent of the first creation, and shall also be the agent of the second
creation, the redemption of mankind. As the prologue of John’s Gospel is in
rapport with the first chapter of Hebrews, attention may be given here to that
luminous opening of the only biography ever written whose beginning antedates
the beginning of creation: John 1:1. "In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God." Rising into eternity the author finds
the object of his quest, and this object is made the subject of the narrative
which he is about to relate. John 1:2. "The same was in the beginning with God."
Now the author descends to take his place with the eternal Word at the beginning
of the creation. John 1:3. "All things were made through him; and without him
was not anything made that hath been made." Here the Word is discovered to be in
action, cooperating in the work of creation. John 1:4. "In him was life; and the
life was the light of men." The veil is thrown aside, and there is made clear
the relation which from the beginning has existed between the Word and humanity
clear down to the time when he came to be a member of the race. The Eternal
Towardness. "And the Word was with God." The word of special meaning in this
sentence is the preposition with (Gr. pros), whose meaning is different from our
with, in that it implies movement or approach, usually toward a person.
Obviously this preposition was chosen to indicate the direction, the tendency,
or moral movement of the being called the Word. The sentence is not strictly
grammatical, since a preposition of motion (toward) is used with the verb of
rest (was). Apparently a strain is put upon language to make clear what is meant
to be expressed, that the unchanging attitude of the Word in relation to the
Father was a state of perpetual and harmonious activity. Compare the eighteenth
verse which says: "The only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father,"
where we find not "in the bosom " but "into" (Gr. eis). The use of these
prepositions indicate movement in the God-head, as well as rest. And the
movement is on the part of the Word, the Son. The phrase "with God" permits us
not for one moment to think of the Word as merely approaching God or unequally
associated with God — a sort of quasi-divinity, for the Word was God. He does
not represent a condition intermediate between God and created beings, since he
is altogether different from the most perfect of men or the most exalted of
angels. "For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the God-head bodily." This term
Word seems to go back to the narration in Genesis, the first chapter, where the
creative fiat, “and God said," is repeated eight times. "All these sayings of
God John gathers as if into a single, living ’Word,’ endowed with intelligence
and activity, from which emanates each one of these particular ones. At the
foundation of all those spoken divine words, he discovers the divine speaking ’
Word.’ But while those resound in time, this exists above and beyond time."
(Godet). Hence we read, " The Word was in the beginning with God. All things
were made through him; and without him was not anything made that was made." The
work of creation was the first stage in the divine revelation, and this
revelation in common with all others was made through the Word who was in active
cooperation with the Father. "We believe that we hear in this an echo of that
plural in Genesis which indicates intimate communion: ’Let us make man in our
own image.’" (Godet). In this connection Goethe, in his Faust, offers a
genuinely illuminative contribution in the following lines: "’Tis written; ’In
the beginning was the Word,’ Here am I balked: who now can help afford? The
Word? — impossible so high to rate it; And otherwise must I translate it, If by
the Spirit I am truly taught. Then thus: ’In the beginning was the Thought/ This
first line let me weigh completely, Lest my impatient pen proceed too fleetly.
Is it the Thought which works, creates, indeed? ’In the beginning was the
Power,’ I read. Yet, as I write, a warning is suggested That I the sense may not
have fairly tested. The Spirit aids me; now I see the light! ’In the beginning
was the Act,’ I write." The Descent into Humanity. This eternal, personal,
creative Word is called Son of God, whom the disciples recognized in the man
Jesus and whom they called the Christ. In a most luminous way the story of his
entrance into humanity is told in Php 2:6-8 : "Who, existing in the form of God,
counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied
himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men; and
being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto
death, yea, the death of the cross." His descent into humanity is here marked by
two steps: First: He emptied himself, (1) by giving up "the form of God" to take
"the form of a servant," (2) by surrendering his "equality with God " to be "
made in the likeness of men." Second: He humbled himself, (1) by "being found in
fashion as a man," (2) by "becoming obedient unto death, yea, the death of the
cross." Throughout this experience of humiliation his sonship was repeatedly
attested by his Father so that while he moved among men his conscious fellowship
with the Father was unbroken: First, his sonship was shown and declared in his
incarnation —" When he bringeth in the Firstborn into the world, he saith, And
let all the angels of God worship him." Compare Luke 2:14 : "And suddenly there
was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men in whom he is well
pleased." Second, at his baptism—"And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up
straightway from the water; and lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw
the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon him; and lo, a voice out
of the heavens, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased"
(Matthew 3:16-17). Third, at his transfiguration —" While he was yet speaking,
behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold, a voice out of the cloud,
saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him."
(Matthew 17:5). Fourth, at the temple at Jerusalem just before his death —" Now
is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. But
for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name. There came
therefore a voice out of heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will
glorify it again." (John 12:27-28). Fifth, by his resurrection — "Who was
declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness,
by the resurrection from the dead; even Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 1:4).
Sixth, and after his ascension his renewed relation with the Father was
manifested in the gift of the Holy Spirit —" This Jesus did God raise up,
whereof we all are witnesses. Being therefore by the right hand of God exalted,
and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he hath poured
forth this, which ye see and hear." (Acts 2:32-33). The Incarnation Interpreted.
In addition to these supernatural attestations of his divinity there was such a
steady raying-forth of his divine character that men were constrained to say,
"We know that thou art a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs
that thou doest, except God be with him; " while those who received him at his
full estimate of himself could even go farther and say, " The Word became flesh
and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from
the Father full of grace and truth." The Word dwelt among men. In this
connection dwell means to live in a tent, and contains a probable allusion to
the tabernacle in the wilderness which was the temporary dwelling place of
Jehovah while he himself was "a pilgrim among his pilgrim people," and which was
made glorious by the indwelling of the divine presence. So the disciples beheld
the divine glory in the Son of man, and recognized him as the eternal Word, the
only begotten Son of God. "And so the Word had breath, and wrought With human
hands the creed of creeds In loveliness of perfect deeds, More strong than all
poetic thought; Which he may read that binds the sheaf, Or builds the house, or
digs the grave, And those wild eyes that watch the wave In roarings round the
coral reef." Through the centuries God had been speaking to men in various ways
as they were able to bear it. At last he speaks to them in the life of his Son.
"God, having of old time spoken unto the fathers in the prophets by divers
portions and in divers manners, hath at the end of these days spoken unto us in
his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the
worlds." (Hebrews 1:1-2). Only in Christ can we understand God —"Neither doth
any know the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son willeth to
reveal him." (Matthew 11:27). And it is only through him that we come to the
Father —" Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no
one cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6). Faith Flowering into
Experience. In Browning’s "The Ring and the Book" Pompilia says, "Now I see how
God is likest God in being born," thus echoing the opening words of John’s first
epistle, " That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that
which we have seen with our eyes, that which we beheld, and our hands handled,
concerning the Word of life." (1 John 1:1). In his Gospel where John writes as a
historian he starts with the fact of the Word, saying, "In the beginning was the
Word," and describes later the ineffable joy which he land other witnesses
experienced in beholding the grace and glory of the Word. Here, however, in his
epistle the reverse change is observed, where, in writing as an eye witness, he
relates first his own experience and from this passes forward to the fact
itself. What he accepts on faith he finds to be true in fact, his experience
verifying his hypothesis. And so he ends in this instance where he began his
Gospel, with the conviction that the Word is the life and the light, the Son of
God, and declares in triumph that "our fellowship is with the Father, and with
his Son Jesus Christ." This is true Christian experience. In the verse quoted
above there is observed a difference between the words see and behold. The word
see (Gr. horao) implies the idea of knowledge acquired by investigation, while
around the word behold (Gr. theaomai) attaches the conception of satisfaction in
contemplating, a sort of restful seeing. Examination results in exultation.
Honest investigation ends in adoration. "They came wondering; they returned
worshipping." A story is told of a blind girl who spent much time in reading the
Bible, who, when her finger tips became callous from long use, closely pared
them to make them more sensitive. This, however, only had the effect of
rendering them harder and more callous, so that finally she could not make out
at all the raised characters on the page. At last after bitter weeping she
kissed her Bible an affectionate farewell. To her intense joy that kiss revealed
to her the fact that she could distinguish the raised words with the touch of
her lips. From that time she learned to read by pressing her lips along the
page, and so she kissed her way through the precious Book. Though blind, though
having lost her skill in reading with her finger tips, there was left for her a
way to read her Bible. Seeing, beholding, handling. These are some of the
various ways of receiving the Word, of experiencing Christ; and however dull,
maimed, and shut in may be the hearts of men, God through his Son speaks to them
that they may hear, see, respond, and live. Sharing His Sonship. The primary and
fundamental relation of God to man is that of creator and governor. The only
essential sonship was that of Christ’s deity, but by its union with his deity
humanity became participant in the filial relation. Christ is the only person
who is by nature the Son of God. The only other sons of God are those who
receive Christ, and by adoption become partakers in his sonship. "But as many as
received him, to them gave he the right to become children of God, even to them
that believe on his name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the
flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." (John 1:12-13). And again: "But when
the fulness of the time came, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born
under the law, that he might redeem them that were under the law, that we might
receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God sent forth the Spirit
of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father." (Galatians 4:4-6). To
illustrate the value and significance of Christ’s sonship as it relates to our
acceptance and sonship, the following narrative of experience is cited from
Principal Fairbairn’s "The Place of Christ in Modern Theology ": "Sonship can be
realized only when fatherhood is known, and fatherhood can be known only where
it is seen with all its qualities in fullest exercise. The act of physical
generation constitutes only a nominal or legal paternity; duties of another and
higher order must be fulfilled if a man is to be a father indeed. Nor is it
enough to feed and clothe the child — the state can do that; or to educate him —
the school can do that. The child must, as it were, daily live in the father’s
soul, be warmed by its generous heat, quickened by its larger life, moved and
expanded by its wiser love. And if God’s fatherhood is to be a reality to man,
he must see it as it is, know it by experience, by handling it and being handled
by it. But the only way in which it can thus come to him is in the form of
humanity. He must see a real Son whose knowledge of the Father is inner, and
not, like his own, outer only. He must learn what the Father is from one who has
lived in his bosom. Even in so high a region personal experience may illustrate
a truth. One of the things time has made most obvious to me is this: that of all
the human persons that have contributed to the shaping of character, which is
destiny, the mightiest was that of an obscure man who died years before I was
born. But his daughter was my mother; and the daughter so loved and revered the
father, so remembered his sayings, so understood his mind, so believed the faith
that ruled and guided him, that she had no higher thought for her son than to
make him such a man as her father had been. And so, invisible as he was, he
became the real parent of the spirit and the character of the man who writes
this book. And if God is to become the real Father of man, and man the real son
of God, then all the energies and loves and ideals of the unseen paternity must
be incarnated and organized in a visible sonship, that they may become creative
of a mankind which shall realize the ideal. It is through the one God-man that
the many become men of God." Five times by John (John 1:14; John 1:18; John
3:16; John 3:18; 1 John 4:9) the term " only begotten" (Gr. monogenes ) is used
with reference to Christ. The same word is employed by Luke three times, but in
each instance is translated only instead of only begotten. Notice the
connections in which it is thus rendered: (1) Approaching the village of Nain
Jesus halts a funeral procession and restores to life the one dead upon the
bier, who was "The only (monogenes) son of his mother." (Luke 7:11-15). (2)
Falling at Jesus’ feet Jairus "besought him to come into his house; for he had
one only (monogenet) daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying."
(Luke 8:40-42). (3) Descending from the mount of transfiguration he was met by a
man who said, "I beseech thee to look upon my son; for he is mine only
(monogenes) child." (Luke 9:37-43). Nowhere else is the word found in the
gospel. There is something suggestive and pathetic in the use of this word in
these three places. In the first the widow’s only son was dead. Upon his bier
God’s only Son lays his hand, speaks, and the dead lives. In the second Jairus’
only begotten daughter is dead. Into his house God’s only begotten goes, even
into the inner chamber, and taking the dead child by the hand, in endearing
terms he calls her back to life and delivers her to her parents. Descending from
the mountain where, enfolded within the heavenly glory, he had heard the word,
"This is my beloved Son," he is met by a sorrowing man who comes with well-nigh
the same words on his lips as had been uttered on the mount, saying, "My son, my
only child;" and immediately Jesus rebukes the evil spirit, heals the boy, and
gives him back to his father. God’s only begotten Son, the Lord of life and
power, " touched with the feeling of our infirmities," comes to the widow, the
ruler and the father of the demon-enthralled boy, to liberate and restore their
children. Fatherhood is essentially the same whether human or divine, and
sonship is essentially the same whether human or divine, and so when Christ, the
Father’s only begotten Son, comes to these parents each of whom is bereaved for
an only begotten child, there is revealed in a very real and touching manner the
character of the divine approach to humanity’s utterest need, and we witness
anew the value and efficiency of Christ’s unique and preeminent position as the
only begotten Son of God, and are impelled to the conclusion that the fact of
his sonship is the center and ground of all security and hope. CHRIST: THE HEIR
The inevitable corollary of Christ’s sonship is that he is the "appointed heir
of all things." (Hebrews 1:2). "For in him were all things created, in the
heavens and upon the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones
or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through
him, and unto him; and he is before all things, and in him all things consist."
(Colossians 1:16-17). Not only is he the archetype, the author and the agent of
creation but its end as well. Pressing His Crown Rights. This first chapter of
Hebrews carries us back to the second Psalm which is freely quoted. "I will tell
of the decree: The Lord said unto me, Thou art my son; this day have I begotten
thee. Ask of me, and I will give thee the nations for thine inheritance, and the
uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." (Psalms 8:1-9). As Son and
Heir Christ is making all things contribute toward that consummation when "every
knee shall bow, of things in heaven and things on earth, and things under the
earth, and when every tongue shall confess that he is Lord to the glory of God
the Father." This end has not been reached yet, but he is pressing toward it. In
the eighth verse of the Psalm quoted above there is a shade of difference in the
meaning of the words inheritance and possession. Inheritance is property to
which one has a born right or legal title. Possession is property that one has
seized and actually holds. Thus the world belongs to Christ by eternal right as
his inheritance. It shall be his also by conquest and actual possession. Here
then is the meaning of Christ’s present activity. Here is his program for this
present age. Here is the significance of the missionary enterprise which is
Christ in action, pressing his crown-rights, coming into possession of his
lawful inheritance. Joint-Heirs with Him. To the suffering, persecuted Hebrew
Christians to whom this Epistle was addressed it seemed that Israel was about to
be dispossessed forever of his inheritance under the deprivation and oppression
of his enemies, but such was not to be the case with Christ " whose throne is
forever and ever" and whose "years shall not fail," for unto him the Father has
said, " sit thou on my right hand till I make thine enemies the foot stool of
thy feet." (Hebrews 1:13.) In this consummating victory these troubled saints
and all other believers with them are to be partakers, for are they not heirs of
salvation to whom the very angels are sent to be ministering spirits? Elsewhere
the thought is presented even more strongly. "For ye received not the spirit of
bondage again unto fear; but ye received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry
Abba, Father. The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are
children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with
Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified with
him." (Romans 8:15-17.) As we become sons through his sonship, so we become
joint-heirs with him, partaking share and share alike with him, both in his
suffering and in his glory. What greater comfort and encouragement can be
offered than are here to be found? Christ’s final and full inheritance is
certain, and we are joint-heirs with him. In many ways we may be poor and needy
now, but we are children of the King and fellow heirs with his Son. Writing to
some of these same discouraged, scattered people Simon Peter says: "Blessed be
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy
begat us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the
dead, unto an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not
away, reserved in heaven for you." (1 Peter 1:8; 1 Peter 1:4.) With what
fruitful words is the nature of these heavenly possessions characterized —
incorruptible, undefiled, unfading. No grave is ever dug on this estate, for it
is beyond the reach of death. It is undefiled, since it is beyond the taint of
sin. No contamination will ever stain its purity or mar its beauty. It is an
inheritance that fadeth not away — literally "amaranthine." The blight of change
is not seen there. The leaf is never seared. "Time does not breathe on its
fadeless bloom." And what makes assurance jubilantly sure is that he who
prepares and reserves the inheritance also prepares and preserves the heirs. The
Forward Bearing Command. Here must be noticed another thing about the Heir. "He
upholds all things by the word of his power." (Hebrews 1:3). The word not only
means to bear up so as to keep from falling, but also to carry forward. A free
translation would be: He bears up and carries forward all things by his
omnipotent command. With this agrees Colossians 1:17 which says: "And he is
before all things and in him all things consist." In the first pages of this
chapter it was found that Christ was the author and active agent in creation.
Here he is seen to be the executive head of the universe. It is he who carries
forward all things. It is he who makes "all things work " ; it is he who makes "
all things work together "; it is he who makes " all things work together for
good "; it is he who makes " all things work together for good to them that are
called according to his purpose " — that is, to them who are the sharers of his
sonship and joint-heirs with him of the glorious inheritance. So does he care
for and preserve the individuals who are joint-heirs with him. And also he will
protect and perfect all his plans and all his people. He upholds and carries
forward! With taper in hand and closely following the guide, one comes upon many
things that will arouse the interest, stir the emotions, and quicken the faith,
while groping through the catacombs around Rome where the early Christians
buried their dead, and where in later years, they sought refuge from the burning
stake, the boiling oil, and the raging wild beasts of the arena. One special
object of wonder is a symbol carved rudely upon some of the tombs or found
engraven on some of the seals and rings picked up in these dark regions of the
dead. The symbol is that of a lamb standing on the back of a fish. What may it
mean? Interpret it and there is a charm about its suggestiveness and beauty. A
common symbol for Christ among the Christians of that day was a fish. And the
reason for this was that the letters of the Greek word for fish, when arranged
as an acrostic, are the first letters of each of the names of Christ in Greek —
Jesus, Christ, God’s Son, Saviour. Thus the Greek word for fish (ichthws) became
a sort of password among the saints, and thus too, as an ancient writer tells
us, the name of Christ was mystically designated by the symbol of a fish. And
what means the lamb? That, of course, is the common scriptural name for a
believer. Now the interpretation seems clear. The lamb standing on the fish:
That means that the weak believer is held up and carried forward by Christ. It
was not because they were so strong and brave in themselves that those early
Christians were mightier than the fagot, or the grip of the angry lions, or the
oppressive darkness of those underground catacombs, but it was because they were
borne up and borne forward by Jesus Christ the Son of God, and the Heir of all
things. They endured as seeing him who is invisible, and their souls were
luminous with the light which they had beheld shining forth from their Lord.


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  CHAPTER 4: 08  CHAPTER II
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CHRIST: EFFULGENCE AND IMAGE The second pair of epithets ascribed to Christ and
illustrative to the Hebrew mind of the uniqueness of his character occurs in the
same sentence with those discussed in the foregoing chapter, with the apparent
design of enlarging and elucidating their meaning. While these designations
Effulgence and Image are obviously corollary to the titles of Son and Heir, they
are, like them, cognate to each other, and together complete the idea of
relationship which exists between the Father and the Son. The early Hebrew
Christians, accustomed to the use and aid of type and symbolism in apprehending
religious truths, looked at God through Jesus. For them the divine personality
was made distinct and luminous not by the recognition of an eternal fatherhood,
but by "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus
Christ." In the first epistle of Clement, written about A. D. 95, is a
beautifully significant passage which sets forth the conception of the relation
of Christ to the Father prevalent at that time: "By him (Christ) we behold, as
in a glass, his (the Father’s) immaculate and most excellent visage. By him are
the eyes of our heart opened, by him our foolish and darkened understanding
blossoms up anew towards the light." Being himself divine Christ was the only
true revealer of God. Indeed the very heart of Christianity is that Christ,
being co-eternal and co-equal with the Father, became the unveiler of the
Father. Around these centers were waged the intellectual conflicts of the
Christianity of the first centuries. Whatever theory threatened to separate the
personality of Christ from the personality of God was recognized as hostile and
dangerous and was therefore vigorously combated. Much that is written in Hebrews
and in some of the other epistles is in refutation of these heresies. The Battle
Around the King. The terms " Effulgence of his Glory" and the "Image of his
Substance" are a concrete means of setting forth the fact of the Son’s
essential, divine personality, and are designed in their use to explain and
strengthen the idea of sonship, not merely reasserting it, but illustrating in a
fresh and pleasing way the community of nature between the Father and the Son.
Other passages which teach the same thing are: "The light of the Gospel of the
glory of Christ who is the image of God." (2 Corinthians 4:4). "Who is the image
of the invisible God." (Colossians 1:15). These identical words Effulgence and
Image were in common use to uphold a heretical doctrine against which strong
protest is raised in the Epistle to the Colossians. This Colossian heresy
maintained that all nature was essentially evil, and therefore the material
creation could not have come from God directly, but in a certain sense was set
over against him, or at least removed from him by an immense gulf. This vast
intermediate space between the spiritual and holy God and the material, evil
universe was bridged over by a long line of intermediate beings who gradually
became more and more material and divided out into different grades or orders
called "thrones," "dominions," "principalities," "powers." The lowest in rank of
these orders of intermediate beings had created the material universe and ruled
over it. On this account therefore they were to be propitiated by worship, and
the great God of all could be approached only through them. Over against these
foolish, fanciful theories is set up the solid truth of Christ and his gospel.
Instead of this vast coterie of intermediate beings in whom the divine glory was
gradually shaded down and finally obscured, while the spirit became more and
more blunted and condensed into matter, there is lifted high and supreme the
solitary figure of the one Christ. It is he, and he alone, who occupies all the
space betwixt God and man, so that there is no need for a connecting chain of
shadowy beings to link earth with heaven. Nor do these hazy, angelic hierarchies
have anything whatever to do with creation, nor hold any claim on the worship of
men. The great Creator and Lord is Christ who is the Image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation. "Who is the image of the invisible God, the
firstborn of all creation; for in him were all things created, in the heavens
and upon the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or
dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him,
and unto him; and he is before all things, and in him all things consist."
(Colossians 1:15-17). And if by any chance among the unseen things of earth or
heaven there be any such throne, dominion, principality, or power as claimed by
this false philosophy Christ himself made them also, and is their master, since
"all things were created through him and unto him and he is before all things,
and in him all things consist"; and since he is the first and the last in all
things, the creator, the end, and Lord of all, he is to be listened to, loved,
and worshiped, and no rival must be allowed to usurp his place. He alone is the
Effulgence of the divine glory, and the very Image of the divine substance. As a
trophy from this long and hard fought battle these names were rescued from the
obscurity of the Alexandrian and Eastern philosophy and employed to describe the
person of the Son and his relations to the Father. They are rare jewels captured
from paganism to shine in the crown of Christ, CHRIST: THE EFFULGENCE OF THE
DIVINE GLORY This word Effulgence has reference to the sun and its radiance. As
the radiance of the sun manifests the sun which otherwise would be unrevealed,
but is inseparable from the sun and one with it, so does Christ reveal the
Father and at the same time is eternally one with him. The radiance is as old as
the sun, and without it the sun would not be the sun. So Christ, while revealing
the Father, is co-eternal and co-equal with him. The relation between them is as
constant and inseparable as between the center of light and the light which
emanates from that center. Christ is the Effulgence of the disseminated light
through which the otherwise inaccessible glory is revealed. In the Apocryphal
book entitled "Wisdom," Wis 7:26, wisdom is described as "the brightness of the
everlasting light, the unspotted mirror of the power of God, and the image of
his goodness." But in this description the idea of personality is clearly not
developed; here, however, when the same terms are applied to Christ they are so
hedged about and modified by ascriptions to him of creative, upholding, and
redemptive power, that, while losing nothing of their fine illustrative value,
they serve to emphasize the fact of Christ’s divinity. "God hath at the end of
these days spoken unto us in his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things,
through whom also he made the worlds." (1The bare reading of this verse leaves
the impression that the one thus described can be in no whit inferior to all
that God himself can be conceived of as being. At the same time, though awed by
the sense of his deity, we grow confident in discovering his kinship with
ourselves; and finding in him the answer to the soul’s profoundest call, we feel
a keen appreciation of his blessed nearness which Browning has so splendidly
portrayed in his "Saul ": He who did most, shall bear most; the strongest shall
stand the most weak. ’Tis the weakness in strength, that I cry for! my flesh,
that I seek In the Godhead! I seek and I find it! O Saul, it shall be A Face
like my face that receives thee; a Man like to me, Thou shalt love and be loved
by, forever: a Hand like this hand Shall throw open the gates of new life to
thee! See the Christ stand!

How the Word Grew. Glory was not a new word among the Hebrew people, but was for
them one of the richest and most meaningful of all scriptural terms. The most
common word for glory in the Old Testament often signified a bright appearance
and is used in a great variety of senses. Etymologically it comes from a root
expressing an idea of heaviness, so in the New Testament we find "an eternal
weight of glory." (2 Corinthians 4:17). From its use in various connections it
may be concluded that it means the external manifestation of power, worth,
purity, dignity; for example, the glory of the king consisted in his riches,
authority, sumptuous buildings and garments, and the awe-inspiring retinue which
attended him, (Matthew 6:29); the glory of Lebanon was in the stately cedars,
the spreading firs, the fragrant pines, and the flowering box trees with which
its slopes were covered, (Isaiah 60:13); while the king’s daughter was all
glorious in the virtue of her richly adorned clothing inwrought with gold,
(Psalms 45:13). Thus it came to signify the pomp and circumstance of military
array, the splendor and pageantry of a royal court, the waving beauty of a
mountain landscape, or the delicate comeliness of a royal princess; in fact
anything which impressed the minds of men with the sense of magnificence,
grandeur and beauty. In the same manner when ascribed to Jehovah it signified
some reflection of his majesty as seen in the outer world, something which at
once both revealed and concealed his essential Godhead. For example, when the
Psalmist says, "The heavens declare the glory of God" he means that the visible
heavens afford matter and occasion, in respect of their vast extent, glorious
furniture, and powerful influences, for acknowledging and admiring the glorious
being, the infinite power, wisdom and goodness of God. Glory in the Bush and in
the Cloud. Applied to the Supreme Being glory was first used of that visible
brightness which indicated and symbolized the presence of the great and holy
God, as when the angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in the wilderness in the
flame of fire out of the midst of a bush, and the bush was not consumed, while
Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God. (Exodus 3:2). Again to
Israel, wandering in the wilderness, the glory of the Lord " appeared in the
cloud." (Exodus 16:10). While they were assembled at Sinai to receive the law,
"the glory of the Lord abode upon Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six
days; and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud."
(Exodus 24:16). When the tabernacle was completed and set up, "the cloud covered
the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses
was not able to enter into the tent of meeting because the cloud abode thereon,
and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle." (Exodus 40:34-35). Likewise
upon the dedication of the first temple, "the cloud filled the house of the
Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud:
for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord." (1 Kings 8:10-11). The
Terror of the Presence. And so attending this glory there is also an element of
terror and destruction. "And Mount Sinai was altogether on smoke because the
Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a
furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly." (Exodus 19:18). "And the
appearance of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the
mount in the eyes of the children of Israel." (Exodus 24:17). "And the glory of
the Lord appeared unto all the people. And there came forth fire from before the
Lord, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: and when all
the people saw it, they shouted, and fell on their faces." (Leviticus 9:23-24).
"And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took each of them his censer, and put
fire therein, and laid incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the
Lord, which he had not commanded them. And there came forth fire from before the
Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord." (Leviticus 10:1-2).
Many other passages might be cited illustrating the character of this brilliant,
awe-inspiring glory which indicated the divine presence. The Old Testament
abounds in them, but only a few are given. In the New Testament we come upon
several highly significant passages showing that this brilliant appearance on
several occasions accompanied the presence of Christ, as when the angels
announced his birth the glory of the Lord shone round about them. And elsewhere,
again, we read of this glory on the occasion of our Lord’s transfiguration on
the mount, and of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus. This word then signified
some shining appearance which suggested the divine presence — the presence which
could not be perceived with the natural eye. The idea is illustrated in an
interview said to have occurred between Hadrian and Rabbi Joshua upon the
occasion of the former’s last visit to Jerusalem. Said the emperor, " I desire
to see thy God." Whereupon Joshua requested him to stand facing the brilliant
summer sun, and said, "Now gaze upon the sun." The emperor replied, " I can
not." Then said Joshua, "If thou are not able to look upon this creature of God,
how much less mayest thou gaze upon God himself." The After-Glow. While it is
impossible to gaze steadily at the noon-day sun, we may behold its glory
disseminated over clouds and flowers and fields. In somewhat the same way
something of the glorious character of God is comprehended in the works of
nature, more fully comprehended in revelation, but fully manifested in his Son.
In Exodus 33:23 the term "back" has been translated "after-glow" by some
scholars, as the after-glow of the setting sun which in the genial clime and
among the majestic mountains of Arabia is a glorious and awe-inspiring sight. On
the occasion described in this passage Moses had been speaking of God’s presence
going with him, and begged for a special display of the divine glory. To this
request Jehovah said: "Thou canst not see my face: for man shall not see me and
live," the answer seeming to imply that it would be impossible for Moses to
obtain any immediate conception of God’s complete character, while on the other
hand it is equally true that all medial manifestations are only faint
reflections of the actual glory and light of God. "For man shall not see me and
live. And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand
upon the rock: and it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will
put thee in a cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand until I have
passed by: and I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back
(after-glow) : but my face shall not be seen." (Exodus 33:21-23). While the
glory was passing by Jehovah graciously shielded Moses under his hand. Then the
divine hand being taken away Moses looked upon the after-glow which lingered
behind the disappearing glory like the gently diffused and slanting rays of
light emanating from the setting sun which could not be beheld when shining
unveiled and undimmed in its full strength. Such theophanies granted to Moses
and other Old Testament saints contained only a partial manifestation of the
divine Being who could not be fully looked upon and comprehended, just as we can
not know the sun by gazing upon its brilliant, fiery disk, but by its broadly
scattered and softened light. He upon whose glowing face no man could look and
live is now revealed in his Son. "Seeing it is God, that said, Light shall shine
out of darkness, who shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of
the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (2 Corinthians 4:6). "My face
shall not be seen," says Jehovah, but we can see the face of Jesus Christ. No
longer then do we have to depend on glimpses of him in burning bushes and fiery
clouds, while we lave seen the Word, beholding his glory, the glory as of the
only begotten from the Father. So it is that outside of Christ we can seize only
a few isolated rays of the divine truth thinly diffused in nature and conscience
— "They are but broken lights of thee And thou, O Lord, art more than they." But
while it is true that no one has seen God at any time, it is also true "that the
only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him."
(John 1:18). This is enough. No fuller revelation is needed. No further
revelation is to be given. On one occasion Philip said, "Show us the Father, and
it sufficeth us." (John 14:8). In answer to this desire to behold a theophany
after the manner of the Old Testament Jesus said, " He that hath seen me hath
seen the Father. How sayest thou then, Show us the Father? " indicating clearly
that during the whole time that he had been with them they had had this perfect
theophany and visible resplendence of God for which they were asking. "He, who
from the Father forth was sent, Came the true Light, light to our hearts to
bring; The Word of God — the telling of his thought; The light of God — the
making visible; The far-transcending glory brought In human form with man to
dwell; The dazzling gone — the power not less To show, irradiate and bless, The
gathering of the primal race divine, Informing chaos to a pure sunshine." The
True Shekinah. "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his
glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father), full of grace and truth."
(John 1:14). The word dwell in this verse means literally to dwell (Gr. skenoun)
in a tent, and according to the "Jewish Encyclopedia" has a direct reference to
the divine presence which dwelt in the tabernacle in the wilderness. The common
name ascribed to this divine presence by the Hebrew people was Skekinah, which,
though not found in the Old Testament, is the equivalent Hebrew word for the
Aramaic term therein used for glory. In the Old Testament there are many
references to this glory or Shekinah which appeared in the cloud and later in
the tabernacle and the temple, and which, in Deuteronomy 33:16 is spoken of as
the one that "dwelt in the bush," referring to the bush which Moses saw flaming
with the divine presence. One noted Jewish writer says: "The tabernacle was
erected in order that the Shekinah might dwell on earth." This reference then to
the Word tabernacling and revealing the divine glory is rich in suggestion and
historical meaning, and throws great light upon the word Effulgence of his Glory
used to set forth to the Hebrew Christians the character and office of Christ.
On this subject Dr. Alexander McLaren, in his sermon on "The Light of the World"
says: "That guiding pillar, which moved before the moving people — a cloud to
shelter from the scorching heat, a fire to cheer in the blackness of night —
spread itself above the sanctuary of the wilderness; and ’the glory of the Lord
filled the tabernacle.’ When the moving tabernacle gave place to the fixed
temple, again ’ the cloud filled the house of the Lord;’ and there,— dwelling
between the cherubim, the types of the whole order of creatural life; and above
the mercy-seat, that spoke of pardon; and the ark that held the law; and behind
the veil, in the thick darkness of the holy of holies, where no feet trod, save
once a year one white-robed priest, in the garb of penitence, and bearing the
blood that made atonement,— shone the light of the glory of God, the visible
majesty of the present Deity." But the Shekinah thus described had long ago
ceased from the temple in Jerusalem, and the light which shone between the
cherubim had disappeared. In fact one of the five things lacking in the second
temple was the presence of this Shekinah. But this lack is now filled in the
coming of Christ. He is the true Effulgence. He takes the place of the Shekinah
and so fulfills the hopes and promises of Israel which had been long postponed.
This view of Christ must have afforded great comfort to the Jewish Christians
who at the time of the writing of this epistle were largely scattered, and in
common with all of their nation felt that in many respects the glory and
grandeur of their religion had departed. And it is worthy of note that the
Apostle John, in keeping with this thought expressed in Hebrews, not only in his
Gospel keeps referring to the glory of God as manifested in Christ on earth, but
in his glowing picture of the New Jerusalem declares that the " city hath no
need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine upon it: for the glory of God did
lighten it, and the lamp thereof is the Lamb." (Revelation 21:23). Thus in
heaven as well as on earth Christ is the revealer of the Father and the revealer
and bestower of all the joys and blessings which the Father has in store for his
people. CHRIST: THE IMAGE OF THE DIVINE SUBSTANCE Only here is this word image
(Gr. charakter) found in the New Testament. Two other words are translated
image, but they have not the breadth and spiritual meaning conveyed by this one,
as a comparison of the three will show: The first word omoioma (image) is a
likeness or figure, not a complete representation of its original, but amounting
almost to visible conformity, just as a photograph to a face. It institutes a
comparison in which the points of resemblance to the larger object are set out
and seen in a smaller one. For example: It is used of baptlsm as a likeness
(omoioma) of Christ’s death. It is also used of idolatry which "changed the
glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image (omoioma) of
corruptible man." (Romans 1:23). The second word, eikon, means also a likeness
or image, but differs from omoioma in that in its use the lesser bears
resemblance to the greater, as when the believer is renewed "after the image
(eikon) of him that created him." (Colossians 3:10). It is used again in Romans
8:29, where those predestinated are "conformed to the image (eikon) of his Son."
And once more in 2 Corinthians 3:18, where "beholding as in a mirror the glory
of the Lord, we are transformed into the same image (eikon) from glory to
glory." The word charakter has a larger meaning. It suggests nothing of
inequality, but signifies an exact expression, a precise reproduction in every
part — a facsimile. It is not found elsewhere than in this passage and here
describes Christ as co-equal with the Father in every way. Its meaning is
strengthened by the accompanying ascriptions to Christ of the functions of
creating and upholding all things by the word of his power. The teaching then,
involved in the use of this word may be expressed as follows: In Christ the fact
of deity stands forth in visible form, and in him the divine substance is
expressly imaged. The Gospel of the Glory. Christianity then is the
self-revelation of God. In 1 Timothy 1:11 we read, "The gospel of the glory of
the blessed God." The apostle is dealing not with the quality of the gospel, but
with its contents. It is a gospel which reveals or manifests the glory of God,
and it must be so since it is the gospel of Christ who is both the Effulgence of
the Glory and the Image of the Divine Substance. In what has already been said,
an effort has been made to show what is meant by the glory of God, and that that
glory is fully expressed in Jesus Christ. Now, if that be true is it not a
startling thing to speak of the gospel of Christ as the gospel of the glory, if
Christ is any less than God himself? In answer to this question Dr. Alexander
McLaren says: "Suppose a man who had no previous knowledge of Christianity,
being told that in it he would find the highest revelation of the glory of God.
He comes to the Book, and finds that the very heart of it is not about God, but
about a man; that this revelation of the glory of God is the biography of a man;
and more than that, that the larger portion of that biography is the story of
the humiliations, and the sufferings, and the death of the man. Would it not
strike him as a strange paradox that the history of a man’s life was the shining
apex of all revelations of the glory of God? And yet so it is, and the Apostle,
just because to him the gospel was the story of the Christ who lived and died,
declares that in this story of a human life, patient, meek, limited, despised,
rejected, and at last crucified, lies, brighter than all other flashings of the
divine light, the very heart of the luster and palpitating center and fontal
source of all radiance with which God has flooded the world. The history of
Jesus Christ is the glory of God." But all this cannot be true if when we deal
with the story of his life and death we are simply dealing with the biography of
a man, however pure, lofty, and inspired he may be. It can be true only on the
ground that Jesus Christ is very God himself — the express Image of the divine
substance. Take Romans 5:8 which says: "But God commendeth his own love toward
us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." What sense and
logic do these words contain unless there is some altogether different
connection between the God who commends his love, and the Christ who dies to
commend it, than exists between God and a mere man? To save this text and the
whole teaching of scripture from the charge of being extravagant nonsense we are
compelled to believe that in Christ Jesus we behold God’s glory, and that
listening to his voice we hear God’s voice, and that beholding his gentleness we
behold God’s patience, and looking upon his tears we look upon God’s pity, and
gazing upon his cross we see the depth and reach of the divine love. The Fourth
Gospel opens with an abstract, philosophical presentation of the eternal Word as
the hypothesis of faith, but closes with the confession of Thomas, "My Lord and
My God!" in which the abstract and theoretical gives way to the concrete and
personal, the hypothetical to the experiential. The irresistible brightness of
the light has at last penetrated and flooded the depths of the slowest, dullest
soul among the group of the apostles. By a single bound from the lowest depths
of doubt he rises to the highest degree of faith and proclaims the divinity of
his Master in a greater expression than all those which had ever before come
from the lips of any of his fellows. Thomas’ confession is the human acceptance
of that divine pronouncement made in the prologue of the Fourth Gospel. At last
Thomas receives Christ’s estimate of himself at its full value. The history of
the development of faith in the school of the apostles closes with this incident
in which the man Jesus still bearing in his hands and side the marks of his
humiliation and suffering is proclaimed Lord and God by the slowest of them all,
and that without any quibbling, protest, or reservation. The Mirroring of the
Divine. In the Rospiglioso Palace in Rome is the elegant fresco by Guido —" The
Aurora." It covers a lofty ceiling in the spacious hall. Looking up at it from
the pavement your neck grows weary, your head becomes dizzy, and the figures
appear indistinct. You soon grow tired, lose interest, and would turn away in
disappointment were it not that the owner of the palace has caused to be placed
near the floor a broad and perfectly clear mirror before which you may now sit
down as at a large table and, at your leisure, look into its limpid surface and
see the glorious painting which is now brought down within easy reach of your
vision. There is no more weariness, no more dizziness, no more indistinctness.
By means of the perfect mirror " The Aurora " has been brought down to us. For
all purposes of observation and study the reflection is the precise reproduction
in every particular of the wonderful fresco. Like this mirror beneath "The
Aurora," Christ in his flawless human nature is indeed the Image of the
invisible God, and brings down the divine nature, revealing it to our eyes. Thus
beheld he is declared to be the express Image of the divine Substance.


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  CHAPTER 5: 09 CHAPTER III
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CHRIST: APOSTLE AND HIGH PRIEST We come now to the second group of names
attributed to Christ in definition of his place in the redemptive scheme. In the
first couplet of this group which designates him as Apostle and High Priest is
discovered a reference to the old covenant which was made under the law and
fulfilled in the new covenant of grace. "Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of
a heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, even
Jesus." (Hebrews 3:1). In this pivotal verse of the extended context which
treats of Moses and Aaron in their respective offices of apostle and high priest
under the old dispensation, a striking analogy is drawn in which Christ appears
acting in the double capacity of both these offices in the New Testament. Still
pursuing his purpose of making the Hebrew Christians understand the nature of
the new religion, the author here gives a description of Christianity together
with a description of Christ. Christianity is described as a heavenly calling,
and the description is apt and accurate, 1st, because the call comes from
heaven; 2nd, because it invites to heaven; and 3rd, because it makes those who
partake of it heavenly in their character. Such a definition of Christianity
prompts inquiry concerning the character of its author, consequently he is
called the Apostle, as being one who brings the call from heaven and extends to
us the invitation to heaven, and furthermore he is called the High Priest, as
the one who makes possible for us the way into heaven, at the same time
rendering us through his offices fit to enter into heaven. What then is an
apostle, and what is a high priest? An apostle is one who comes from God with a
message to men. A high priest is one who goes from men with a message to God.
These two offices, the former filled by Moses, the latter by Aaron under the old
dispensation, are ascribed to Christ and united in him who performs the
functions of both. A more apt Hebraistic parallelism could not have been used,
nor one more welcome to the Hebrew Christians. By instituting this comparison
the very heart of the Hebrew religion is entered, and Christ is shown to be its
center, foundation, and fulfillment. CHRIST: OUR APOSTLE By reverting to the
definition given above, that an apostle is one who comes from God with a message
to men, it may be seen how fully Moses met the requirements of such apostleship.
As far as it can be said of a mere man, he, above all others, came from God.
Certainly he was not a man of the people, but for the Hebrew nation he was in
large measure as the very voice of God, even as Jehovah had said to him in
regard to his brother Aaron, "Thou shalt be to him as God." The facts of his
life show that he was removed from his people, and that when he did come among
them he came with unquestioned authority to speak in the name of him who sent
him. His whole life was in striking contrast to the life of his people. While
they groaned under the tasks of a cruel slavery, he was reared and trained as a
prince at the royal court. Later, while they remained in the unbroken thralldom,
he departed the country, to lead an isolated life in the desert districts of
distant Midian where he communed not only with nature, but with Jehovah, and
received his commission and message to Israel. When he did come back to Israel
in Egypt he came as one sent from God. From the naming presence in the burning
bush he went to his people. And when he came, he came with a message — a message
received from Jehovah. It was a three-fold message — a message of deliverance, a
message of instruction, and a message of construction. The Message of
Deliverance. Gazing in wonderment at the burning bush, the voice of Jehovah came
to him, saying: "Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that
thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt." (Exodus
3:10). Here then was his message of deliverance declared in God’s own words, "I
will send thee that thou mayest bring forth my people out of Egypt." So did he
go, this apostle — this sent one — from the presence of God, to deliver the
children of Israel from the oppression under which they groaned. The book of
Exodus — and the word means "the way out of "— gives the story of this marvelous
deliverance. In this same sense Christ is called Apostle. Just as Moses, his
prototype, came, so came Christ, the great Apostle. He came from God to men with
a message of deliverance. In terse language the story of his coming, and the
announcement of his message are told in Luke 4:16-19; " And he came to Nazareth,
where he had been brought up: and he entered, as his custom was, into the
synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up to read. And there was delivered unto
him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And he opened the book, and found the place
where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he anointed me
to preach good tidings to the poor: He hath sent me to proclaim release to the
captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are
bruised, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." Having read these words
from the prophet he closed the book and began to say, "This day • is this
scripture fulfilled in your ears," and making personal application of the words
he pointed out to his hearers that he had been anointed and sent to do all the
blessed work of deliverance promised in this glorious prophecy. From that day
until this hour he has indeed been the world’s Apostle of deliverance. Wherever
he has gone, and wherever his message has been proclaimed there has been
dispensed healing to the broken-hearted, there has been deliverance for the
captives, there has been sight for the blind, there has been liberty for the
bruised, there has been proclaimed the jubilee year of the Lord. In the day when
he began humanity groveled in a thralldom so appalling that we cannot in this
day conceive of its terror. The proclamation of his gospel has meant everywhere
the liberating of men, physically, mentally, and spiritually, ,and every day the
host of his beneficiaries grows larger, the liberty song rises higher, and, as
his work of redemption goes on, the conviction deepens in the minds of men that
he came from God, while a universal agreement is given to the judgment
pronounced by Nicodemus, who said, "No one can do these signs that thou doest
except God be with him." The Message of Instruction. Next to his divine Antitype
Moses is indeed the primate of the world’s teachers. Even the narrative of his
life has brought instruction, inspiration, and ideals to countless multitudes.
The charming story of the Egyptian princess finding him in the papyrus basket in
the waters of the Nile has held the unslacken interest of countless childish
listeners. And of interest equally undying is the story of how he was
transferred to the palace to be educated by princes and sages as the adopted son
of his foster-mother, and of how finally this child of the water himself became
a prince of Egypt, and how, Egypt being a leader in civilization and culture,
the young prince became versed in the arts and sciences of the erudite classes,
so that, according to ancient legends, he became not only acquainted in the
learning and civilization of his age, but added to it in vast measure. And there
is a further lesson in the unavoidable conclusion that all this was a divinely
arranged preparation for the great commission which he was to fulfill in the
training of his race. Indeed his whole life has been an object lesson for
successive generations and will be unto the end. Added to this unique and
thorough equipment he possessed what all teachers must first possess, the
element of teachableness, which voiced itself thoroughly when, looking at the
bush burning with fire, yet not consumed, he said, " I will now turn aside and
see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt." This attitude of mind revealed
the possibilities of his noble nature and led to his discovery of God. He knew
how to turn aside from the ordinary. He knew how to discriminate. He came to
know God. Bringing himself to such a point of spirit that he found the source of
wisdom in God, he became the fitting law-giver for the world, since "the seat of
law is in the bosom of Almighty God." As the sent one from Jehovah he discovered
and read and delivered to the people that great and holy message which is the
beginning and basis of all true wisdom — that message which is the law of God.
Thus did he come, sent from God with a message of instruction. "So Moses went
down unto the people, and told them." (Exodus 19:25). In like manner came Christ
with his message of instruction, "and never man so spake," "for he taught them
as one having authority." Not through types and ceremonies, but by direct
revelation did he teach. The contrast between the message given through Moses
and the message brought by Christ appears in John 1:17-18 : "For the law was
given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No man hath seen
God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he
hath declared him." From the mountain Moses came down to deliver the Ten
Commandments, but with a greater graciousness Christ went up to the mountain
carrying the people with him to whom he preached the great sermon which is the
compendium of all religious teaching, the organic law of the kingdom of heaven.
"He opened his mouth and taught them, saying "— and these sayings have become
the text and touch-stone for the teachers of mankind. To such extent is this
true that a distinguished author in announcing his purpose to write a story of
Christ’s life, recently declared that he had spent all his life getting together
material for his proposed book, and that he had no higher aspiration than to be
associated in some humble way with the name and fame of Jesus. As in the
triumphal procession of ancient Roman conquerors, kings and princes walked as
captives in the train, so in Christ’s triumphal procession of thought the
greatest teachers and thinkers of past and present generations are compelled to
follow. And not only in the realm of religion is Christ the supreme teacher,
but, as has been declared, "The Divine Man of Judea is at once the symptom and
cause of innumerable changes to all people in the world." And to such extent is
this true that in the words of the greatest of economic writers, " To-day all
political economy is being written in the language of the Sermon on the Mount,"
while, as elsewhere stated, "Christ is increasingly the inspiration of all
charity and philanthropy." All the great social movements of our era are
centered about him, and already his teachings are the watchword of coming
reform, duty, art, music, statesmanship, philosophy — for all these have joined
in his triumphal march. The Message to Build. "Make me a sanctuary that I may
dwell among them. According to all that I show thee, the pattern of the
tabernacle, and the pattern of all the furniture thereof, even so shall ye make
it." (Exodus 25:8-9). This is Moses’ building commission. The pattern was
carefully drawn, and the specifications accurately given. Having been delivered
from Egypt, having been instructed at Sinai, Israel is now assigned the task of
building. All of this is told in order in the three-fold story in Exodus. In
addition to building the tabernacle Moses did a still larger work in building
the Hebrew nation which until this hour bears the imprint of his constructive
hand. Moses was a builder, but Christ is a greater builder. Though applied in
depreciation, it was not without significance that he was spoken of as the
carpenter (Gr. tekton, joiner, constructor). In the context immediately
following the verse in which Jesus is called Apostle occurs this comparison
between the building which Moses did and that which Christ is doing: "For every
house is builded by someone; but he that built all things is God. And Moses
indeed was faithful in all his house as a servant, for a testimony of those
things which were afterward to be spoken; but Christ as a son, over his house;
whose house are we, if we hold fast our boldness and the glorying of our hope
firm unto the end." (Hebrews 3:4-6). "Whose house are we." Christ then is
building a house, the material of which is his people, gathered from various
sources, as was the stuff of which the tabernacle was made. "So then ye are no
more strangers and sojourners, but ye are fellow-citizens with the saints, and
of the household of God, being built upon the foundation of the apostles and
prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief corner stone; in whom each
several building, fitly framed together, groweth into a holy temple in the Lord;
in whom ye also are builded together for a habitation of God in the Spirit."
(Ephesians 2:19-22). "Christ Jesus himself being the chief corner stone"— he is
then the foundation as well as the builder. Just as the great cathedrals of
Europe are built in the shape of a cross, so is Christ building this spiritual
temple founded upon himself, the cross furnishing the ground plan. "If you would
see his monument look about you," is the memorial inscription to Sir Christopher
Wren in St. Paul’s, London. Even so the perpetual proof and memorial of Christ’s
divine workmanship are seen in the work which he is accomplishing. In building
this spiritual habitation he is reconstructing the race, reorganizing the world,
and compelling all things to work together toward the consummation of his
unvarying plan. The central word of the verse in which Christianity is described
as a calling, and its founder is described as Apostle and High Priest, is the
word consider, which in the original literally means to be in one’s right mind
so as to be able to understand clearly. In this way then Christ must be
understood. The proper comprehension of Christ’s Apostleship goes far towards
shaping the character and determining the conduct of his people. To understand
him as Apostle, and our relation to him in this apostleship will, of necessity,
develop in missionary interest and activity. In the unfolding of his plan it
comes to light that he expects us to be so completely identified with his
apostolic purpose that the mission of our lives shall be to extend his mission.
The True Apostolic Succession. Here then is the true apostolic succession. At
last the true greatness has been discovered. To be in the succession means that
we must be next to Christ. This idea of succession has suffered a strange
distortion from its original meaning. The apostolic succession does not belong
exclusively to him whose bosom bears a jeweled cross, and whose brow wears a
gem-adorned miter. The Master of the first school of apostles wore no miter, but
a thorn crown. The glitter of his cross was not golden, but crimson; nor was it
jeweled save with nails. Where is the beginning of the apostolic succession?
Calvary is the starting point, but Calvary means crucifixion. Did the Great
Apostle come with a message of deliverance? He delivered others by delivering up
himself. Did he come with a message of instruction? His own gentle life of
selfgiving is the chiefest lesson which he would teach. Did he come to build? He
first surrendered himself in death as the foundation stone. To stand in this
succession with him gives the fullest meaning of the Christian life. Just here
something may be said by way of considering this great Apostle. The
Encompassment of the Great Commission. After coming with his message, and before
returning to his Father, the Great Apostle imparts his message to his successors
and endeavors to install it in their lives. In those blessed forty days between
his resurrection and his ascension, according to the record, he appeared ten
times to his wondering disciples. Three of these appearances were taken up
announcing the future plans of action which he would have them follow. Three
times in different places and under different circumstances he gave what has
been called " The Great Commission," indicating therein the points of union
between his apostleship and their apostleship. The Apostolic Motive. First, the
Commission as given in Jerusalem: "When therefore it was evening, on that day,
the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples
were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and saith unto
them, Peace be unto you. And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and
his side. The disciples therefore were glad, when they saw the Lord. Jesus
therefore said to them again, Peace be unto you; as the Father hath sent me,
even so send I you. And when He had said this, he breathed on them, and saith
unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit." (John 20:19-22). Notice how tender and
personal is the account; and how lofty and personal is the commission, "as the
Father hath sent me, even so send I you." Notice again the charming embedment of
the commission. He stood among them. He showed them his hands and his side, and
they were glad when they saw him. Notice the "therefore" and its force. "Jesus
therefore said to them, as the Father hath sent me, even so send I you." And
then he breathed on them, saying, "Receive ye the Holy Spirit." Here in this
first form of the commission is discovered the missionary motive, which holds
good, and will hold good, as the missionary motive through all time. This motive
is two-fold: First, joy in recognition of the risen Lord; second, the gift of
the Holy Spirit. The Apostolic Method. Second, the commission as given in the
mountain in Galilee. "But the eleven disciples went into Galilee, unto the
mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshipped
him; but some doubted. And Jesus came to them and spake unto them, saying, All
authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth. Go ye therefore, and
make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit; teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of
the world." (Matthew 28:16-20). It is probable that at the same time he appeared
to the five hundred as mentioned by Paul (in 1 Corinthians 15:6). "Then he
appeared to about five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain
until now, but some are fallen asleep." Notice that this account lacks the
personal touch so easily distinguished in the Jerusalem appearance. Here there
is an atmosphere redolent with a kingly authority. He met them on this Galilee
mountain by special, previous appointment. After long journeys they had
assembled there and were doubtless eagerly awaiting his coming when he appeared.
And when he did appear he announced that all authority in heaven and earth had
been given to him. Therefore they were to go discipling. In the first commission
the " therefore" reached back to their joy in personal fellowship with the risen
Saviour. Here, however, the "therefore" springs out of his limitless authority.
Following the command, there is given in condensed detail the direction for
carrying out the command, and so it is that in this second form of the
commission is furnished the missionary method. The method is three-fold: First,
making disciples; second, baptizing them; third, teaching them to observe all
things whatsoever he commanded; and all of this to be done under the
consciousness of his presence and his power. Whenever through the centuries this
method has been tampered with or departed from there has been failure stamped
with his manifest disapproval. The Apostolic Meaning. Third, the commission as
given on the Mount of Olives at his ascension. "But ye shall receive power, when
the Holy Spirit is come upon you; and ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem
and in all Judea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." (Acts
1:8). Grouped around him on the mount were these expectant disciples. They had
been told to wait for the promise of the Father. Their minds were agitated with
thoughts of a restored kingdom. They were on the alert, eagerly looking for
something marvelous and glorious. To their responsive, anticipatory hearts he
imparted the very best gift that he could possibly bestow by saying, ye shall
receive power, and ye shall be my witnesses, beginning in Jerusalem and
continuing to the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had said these
things, as they were looking, he was taken up. Received out of their sight, they
stood looking after him, his last words lingering in their ears. Now that he has
gone, it must seem that these final words came as from the heavens into which
they were gazing. Here, in the third form of the commission, issued in this
sacredest of all hours, is revealed the missionary meaning. He tells them what
to do. They are to be witnesses unto him. One cannot but wonder with what
emotion that word "witness" was received by the apostles, and what regretful
memories it stirred within them. A few weeks before he had been on trial in
Jerusalem, and no one was found to witness for him, only false witnesses
testifying in his case. Now, though forever beyond the reach of his enemies, he
was to be on trial again in Jerusalem. This time they must witness for him. Here
is the missionary meaning — witnessing for Christ at any cost, in all places.
Now a witness must know something and tell it. He is not to report rumors, but
tell facts as he has experienced them. The facts of the gospel are the death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ. These two things an apostle must know: he must
know the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings, being made conformable unto his
death, even to the point of crucifixion and the filling up of that which is
behind of the sufferings of Christ; and he must know the power of his
resurrection. Paul declared, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no
longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me." Crucifixion pains precede
resurrection power. The gift must be laid on the altar before it blazes with
fire from above. We dedicate our lives by giving them to God; he consecrates
them by receiving them and giving them back to us. The one act means
crucifixion, the other means resurrection. Aaron’s rod never budded, blossomed
and bore fruit until it had been laid up in the presence of the Lord. Having had
these deep soul experiences with Christ, one becomes a witness for Christ; not a
dying, but a living, witness. And this is to become a continuation of Christ’s
apostleship. Thus we consider the Great Apostle of our profession. CHRIST: THE
HIGH PRIEST To say that Jesus is the arch-advocate of human liberties, the
world’s wisest teacher, the mightiest constructive personality of the ages, is
only a half statement. There are many who with some reserves acknowledge him as
Apostle, while they deny his Priesthood. But his office is twofold in its
nature. He is both Apostle and High Priest. He came from God, he returned to
God. His priesthood is of equal importance with his apostleship. The two are
inseparably united. Revert to the definitions given above: An apostle is one who
comes from God with a message to men; a high priest is one who goes from men
with a message to God, and, it may be added, does something for them in religion
which they can not do for themselves. He completes the circle and in doing so
unites God and man and brings heaven and earth into harmony. Under the ancient
covenant, Aaron, the brother of Moses, was the high priest. Under the later
covenant Christ is the High Priest. In him are combined the offices filled by
those two wonderful brothers. And to put beyond all question the supersedure of
Christ’s priesthood over Aaron’s a comparison is introduced between Christ’s
priesthood and an older priesthood, one independent of the descent and
succession which were of the essence of Aaron’s, namely, Melchizedek’s, "who
abideth a priest continually." While the note of time is stamped upon the
Levitical priesthood immutability and eternity are the attributes of Christ, who
is "the same yesterday, to-day and forever," and therefore he belongs, as
illustrated by Melchizedek’s priesthood, to a higher and unchangeable order,
made "after the power of an endless life." From Among the People. A high priest
must be a true representative of his people. "And bring thou near unto thee
Aaron thy brother, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto
me in the priest’s office." (Exodus 28:1). Aaron was a man of the people,
serving with them through long years of wearisome bondage. For him there had
been no tarrying and training in the royal court, no journeying to distant
lands, no communing with Jehovah at the burning bush. He belonged to the people
and stayed with them. He shared their hardships and burdens and thus was
qualified to represent them in the priesthood. While Moses was in the mighty
mountain getting his message to bring down to the people Aaron remained in the
valley with the people, taking part in their murmurings, and sharing in their
fear. While Moses was experiencing God, his brother was experiencing the people.
And this very experience fitted him for priestly functions. As Aaron came out
from among the people to officiate as their priest, so our great High Priest was
identified with the race. He was born in poverty. His first resting place was a
manger. He grew up accustomed to the sins, sounds, and toils of the common
people. He entered into their experiences sincerely, cordially, thoroughly. He
worked, wept, grew weary. He thirsted and hungered. Up and down he swept the
whole gamut of experiences common to men. "Wherefore it behooved him in all
things to be made like unto his brethren, that he might become a merciful and
faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the
sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is
able to succor them that are tempted." (Hebrews 2:17-18). As Apostle coming to
declare his heavenly message he had through eternity been in the bosom of the
Father, but in order to become our faithful High Priest as a babe he nestled in
the bosom of Mary. "For we have not a high priest that cannot be touched with
the feeling of our infirmities; but one that hath been in all points tempted
like as we are, yet without sin." (Hebrews 4:15). "With joy we meditate the
grace Of our High Priest above: His heart is full of tenderness; His bosom glows
with love. "Touched with a sympathy within, He knows our feeble frame: He knows
what our temptations mean, For He has felt the same. "He in the days of feeble
flesh, Poured out his cries and tears, And in his measure feels afresh What
every member bears." Bringing the Sacrifice. In fulfillment of his office the
high priest was required to bring a sacrifice. "And Aaron shall present the goat
upon which the lot fell for the Lord, and offer him for a sin offering. Then
shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring
his blood within the veil, and do with his blood as he did with the blood of the
bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy-seat, and before the mercy-seat: and he
shall make atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the
children of Israel, and because of their transgressions, even all their sins."
(Leviticus 16:9; Leviticus 16:15-16). In reality the blood of these lambs and
goats offered by Aaron could not take away the sins of the people, but were
types of that lamb which in the language of Abraham to Isaac, "God would himself
provide as an offering," and of whom the great forerunner said, "Behold the Lamb
of God that taketh away the sin of the world." "But Christ having come a high
priest of the good things to come, through the greater and more perfect
tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation, nor yet
through the blood of goats and calves, but through his own blood, entered in
once for all into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the
blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling them that have
been defiled, sanctify unto the cleanness of the flesh: how much more shall the
blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish
unto God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"
(Hebrews 9:11-14). Under the first dispensation there had to be laid upon the
head of the animal offered in sacrifice the hands of the offerer and the hands
of the priest. The offerer had a double substitute in the animal which died for
him and in the priest who officiated on his behalf. The priest and the sacrifice
were one symbol, but under the new dispensation the Priest and the Sacrifice are
one, both are found in Christ, who offered himself without spot to God. "He gave
himself up for us an offering and a sacrifice to God." (Ephesians 5:2). The
unmistakable teaching of the foregoing scriptures is that in the matter of
salvation Christ takes our place in entirety. A brief unmistakable restatement
of the subject is in 1 Peter 3:18 : "Because Christ also suffered for sins once,
the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God; being put to
death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit." Here Christ appears as our
Sacrifice —" He suffered for sins," as our Substitute —" the righteous for the
unrighteous," and therefore as our Saviour —" that he might bring us to God."
The Intercession. In pursuance of his office a high priest was required to make
intercession. "And they indeed have been made priests many in number, because
that by death they are hindered from continuing: but he, because he abideth for
ever, hath his priesthood unchangeable. Wherefore also he is able to save to the
uttermost them that draw near unto God through him, seeing he ever liveth to
make. intercession for them." (Hebrews 7:23-25). Note here three things: Christ
abideth forever, therefore his priesthood is unchangeable; he is able, therefore
he saves to the uttermost; he ever liveth to make intercession, therefore he
receives all that draw near unto God through him. "For Christ entered not into a
holy place made with hands, like in pattern to the true; but into heaven itself,
now to appear before the face of God for us." "Nor yet through the blood of
goats and calves, but through his own blood, entered in once for all into the
holy place, having obtained eternal redemption." (Hebrews 9:24; Hebrews 9:12).
As the high priest of old entered into the holy place to make intercession in
behalf of the congregation waiting without, so Christ, our great High Priest,
has entered "into heaven itself" to appear "before the face of God" on our
behalf. Never have there been written words which mean more for men than these
which tell of Christ’s intercession for us. He does in the fullest measure
fulfill the meaning of the high priest’s office in that he goes from among men
with a message to God, and going, he does for us what we can not do for
ourselves. On this intercession of Christ in our behalf rests our hope both
"sure and steadfast and entering into that within the veil." As the earthly high
priest bore upon his bosom the breast-plate containing the twelve precious
stones engraved with the names of the tribes of Israel, so bears our divine
Intercessor our names, and pleads our cause in the most holy place of that
greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands." "The names of all his
saints he bears Deep graven on his heart; Nor shall the meanest Christian see
That he hath lost his part." Listening for the Approach of the Golden Bells. And
upon the skirts of the high priest’s robe "thou shalt make pomegranates of blue,
and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the skirts thereof; and bells of gold
between them round about: a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a
pomegranate, upon the skirts of the robe round about. And it shall be upon Aaron
to minister: and the sound thereof shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy
place before the Lord, and when he cometh out." (Exodus 28:33-35). It appears
that the custom of the ancient high priest was that upon returning from
intercession in behalf of the people, they waited, listening for the tinkling of
the golden bells. Coming out at last from the presence of the Lord he stood at
the tabernacle door, blessed them, and sent them to their homes as he pronounced
that most beautiful of all benedictions: "The Lord bless thee, and keep thee;
The Lord make his face to shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee; The Lord
lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace." (Numbers 6:24-26) In
view of Christ’s oneness with his people, his sacrifice for them, his
intercession on their behalf, and his looked-for return, what a wealth of tender
consolation must this exhortation have brought to the Hebrew Christians as they
are urged to consider the great High Priest. There is, however, one point of
marked dissimilarity between the earthly high priest and the heavenly. Aaron
sent the people away, but Christ when he "shall appear a second time, apart from
sin, to them that wait for him, unto salvation," he will not send them away, but
welcome them, saying, "Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world," and entering in by that "new
and living way" they shall join in that symphony of which he himself is the
central theme: "Unto him that loveth us, and loosed us from our sins by his
blood; and he made us to be priests unto his God and Father; to him be the glory
and the dominion for ever and ever. Amen." (Revelation 1:5-6). Until he comes
the duty and privilege of his people is to consider him in his priestly office,
listening for the music of the golden bells which tell of his drawing near.


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  CHAPTER 6: 10  CHAPTER IV
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CHRIST: MEDIATOR AND MINISTER Closely conjoined with the messianic apostleship
and priesthood is the second pair of names in what has been called group number
two, and descriptive of Christ’s position in the plan of redemption. These two
additional offices denominated Mediator and Minister involved functions which,
while separate from each other, are so nearly related as to almost over-lap at
some points, but which when carefully interpreted, round out the meaning of the
entire group. In seeking the meaning of these two terms it must be remembered
that Christianity is differentiated from all other systems of religion by two
distinct characteristics, namely: a recognition of the mutual obligation between
God and man, and an accumulative series of promises serving as a constant
stimulus to faith. Every religion in the world recognizes the obligation of man
toward God. In the Precepts of Confucius, in the Code of Hammurabi, and in the
teachings of other religionists, many of the ethical principles embodied in the
Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount are set forth with more or less
clearness. But in none of them is there a recognition of God’s obligation to
man. The unique and out-standing thing about Christianity is that it does
recognize and emphasize this obligation to man on the part of God. This, of
course, is true of Judaism as it is true of the Christian religion, but these
instead of being separate are really one, for, as someone has said, "
Christianity is the Hebrew religion in flower; Hebrew religion is Christianity
in bud." This obligation Jehovah, however, recognizes when he reveals himself as
sovereign, husband, and Father. He calls himself king: then, as the citizens owe
to the king loyalty, the king owes to the citizens protection. He calls himself
Father: but this is a term implying mutual obligation, since, as the child owes
obedience to the father, the father in turn owes sustenance and watch-care to
the child. He calls himself husband: here again is dual obligation, for where
the wife owes fidelity to the husband, the husband is due the wife guardianship
and love. This obligation on the part of God is, of course, voluntary and finds
expression in his free grace. Following the description of the desperate
condition of men who make no effort to seek God, occurs this wonderful statement
in which God’s obligation to man is set forth. "But God, being rich in mercy,
for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead through our
trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace have ye been saved),
and raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly places,
in Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2:4-6). "But God ": Over against man’s willful
wickedness, unloving waywardness, and inert helplessness, stands God, rich in
mercy, great in love, waiting to quicken, raise up, and save the children of
wrath, dead in trespasses and sin. And this is grace. This is God’s obligation
in action. There is one little word, terse and inflexible in its meaning, which,
more than any other single word, expresses obligation, and which more than a
dozen times is used in connection with the great events of Christ’s life. That
word is "must." It is found in his first recorded utterance. "How is it that ye
sought me? Knew ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?" On other
occasions it is used as the only explanation of what was regarded as some
extreme action or unwarranted position. "Even so must the Son of man be lifted
up." "I must work the works of him that sent me while it is day. The night
cometh when no man can work." "I must preach the good tidings of the kingdom of
God to the other cities also." "Other sheep I have which are not of this fold:
them also I must bring." "Zacchaeus, to-day I must abide at thy house." "The Son
of man must be delivered up in the hands of sinful men and be crucified." "He
must rise again from the dead." These are not the "musts" of earthly
circumstance or of human limitations. They express eternal obligation, divine,
loving compulsion. It is not necessary here to dwell upon the obligation of man
to God, since that is everywhere evident and universally recognized. But
attention will be given to the word which epitomizes the mutuality of obligation
and sets forth the acknowledged relations between God and man. That word is "
covenant." A covenant always signifies mutual agreement and a compact entered
into by two parties. This mutuality of obligation is acknowledged and affirmed
by Jehovah in all his revelations of himself to his people, and in all his
dealings with them. But wherever there is a covenant there must be a mediator.
Here then is the office which Christ fills between God and man. CHRIST: OUR
MEDIATOR "For there is one God, one mediator also between God and man, himself
man, Christ Jesus." (1 Timothy 2:5). This idea of mediation is not a new one,
nor is it peculiar to the Christian religion. It emerges in the lowest grades of
civilization under the form of medicine men, rain makers, sorcerers, whose
function is to coerce rather than to conciliate the hostile, unseen powers. But
while it occurs in the lower, false forms of religion, it is more clearly and
forcibly expressed in Christianity than in any other type of religion. A
quotation from Hasting’s "Dictionary of the Bible" says so prominent and
characteristic is the idea that we might define Christianity in the abstract as
Theism plus Mediation — understanding the latter term to include all that is
true concerning the person and mission of Christ. It is this idea that must
distinguish the religion of the New Testament from pure Theism. Between God and
man there is one mediator, and that mediator is Christ Jesus. Even the facts in
his life are indicative of his mediatorial character. His teachings,
characterized by original, lofty tone, spiritual force and authority, show him
as one standing between God and man. His works, so gracious and helpful,
convinced men that he stood before them, doing the works of God, and he himself
says, "If I by the finger of God cast out demons, then is the kingdom of God
come upon you." His prayers also convinced those who heard him that for them he
was standing next to God, pleading on their behalf. And lastly, his death he
considered as his great mediatorial work which later, his disciples, at first
slow to understand, came to consider in its true significance. The aspects under
which he led his disciples to view his ministry suggest his mediatorial office.
It was he who dispensed the Water of Life to those who were spiritually thirsty.
He called himself the Bread of Life, which came down from heaven. More than once
he referred to himself as the Light of the world. Again he was the Good Shepherd
protecting the sheep and giving them life. At another time he is the true Vine
supporting and nourishing the branches. Again he is the Door of the sheep-fold;
and lastly he is the true and living Way, through which men come to the Father.
In this mediatorial office as is shown through the Epistle to the Hebrews he was
filling up the form which had been left by the teachings of the Old Testament,
and which could be filled by none but himself. The Ancient Covenant. Of God’s
ancient covenant with Israel Moses was the mediator. Now a mediator is one who
intervenes between two. The intervention was for the purpose of bringing about a
reconciliation where enmity had existed, or, quite apart from any notion of a
previous quarrel, it was for the purpose of drawing two together into a compact
or covenant. This latter meaning attaches to the three passages where the word
is used in the Epistle to the Hebrews. And it is in this sense that Moses is
spoken of as mediator. He came to introduce God’s law to the people and effect
their covenant union with him. This mutual agreement between God and his people
Israel was compacted at Sinai, Moses being the mediator. This ancient compact or
covenant which consists of the 20th, 21st, 22nd, and 23rd chapters of Exodus, is
generally admitted to be the oldest part of the Bible, and is spoken of as the
Book of the Covenant. Its heart is the Ten Commandments. The account of the
giving of this covenant is abridged in Hebrews 9:19-20 : "For when every
commandment had been spoken by Moses unto all the people according to the law,
he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and
hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, This is
the blood of the covenant which God commanded to you-ward." A most significant
thing in this passage is the sprinkling of the blood both upon the book and upon
all the people. Reference to this ceremony will be made later. The Mediator of
the New Covenant. One of the chief topics of the Epistle is to exhibit the
mediatorial status and functions of Jesus Christ. In contrast with the various
forms of mediation in Judaism mention is made of the mediation of angels in
giving the law, the mediation of Moses and Aaron, the mediation of Melchizedek,
all in order to show the superiority of the mediatorial office of Christ who is
the Mediator of the new and better covenant as is declared in 8:6, 7: "But now
hath he obtained a ministry the more excellent, by so much as he is also the
mediator of a better covenant, which hath been enacted upon better promises. For
if that first covenant had been faultless, then would no place have been sought
for a second." This new covenant then, into whose compact we are called, is made
on God’s initiative through Jesus Christ. And since where there is a testament
or covenant there must also be the death of the testator, God, in the death of
his Son, makes the sacrifice upon which this covenant rests, and in this
initiative step on the part of God, which is the expression of his obligation
toward men, consists the infinite superiority of Christianity to all other
religious systems. "In the pagan conception God is wrathful; in the Christian
conception God is love. In the pagan conception man is higher and better than
the gods who are destroying him; in the Christian conception man is destroying
himself in his own ignorance and sin. In the pagan conception sacrifice is
offered by man to the gods; in the Christian conception it is offered by God for
man. In the pagan conception peril comes from God to man, and sacrifice goes
from man to God; in the Christian conception the peril comes from man to
himself, the sacrifice comes from God for man through God’s act of
self-sacrifice." Thus has been stated the infinite difference between
Christianity and every other religion, and upon the fact of this difference
rests the covenant — the new covenant of grace. Here is the meaning of the blood
of the New Testament. Here is the gospel of redemption. Through the death of his
Son God enters into covenant with man. The appeal of the gospel is that we shall
come and at this same point of sacrifice enter into covenant with God. Accepting
this offer of God made through his Son we enter into covenant relations with
him. The Covenant of Grace. In Hebrews 8:10-12 the new covenant is given which
takes the place of the old delivered by Moses: "For this is the covenant that I
will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord: I WILL PUT
MY LAWS INTO THEIR MIND, AND ON THEIR HEART ALSO WILL I WRITE THEM: AND I WILL
BE TO THEM A GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE TO ME A PEOPLE: AND THEY SHALL NOT TEACH
EVERY MAN HIS FELLOW-CITIZEN, AND EVERY MAN HIS BROTHER, SAYING, KNOW THE Lord:
FOR ALL SHALL KNOW ME, FROM THE LEAST TO THE GREATEST OF THEM. FOR I WILL BE
MERCIFUL TO THEIR INIQUITIES, AND THEIR SINS WILL I REMEMBER NO MORE. (Hebrews
8:10-12) This new covenant consists of four distinct articles: The law of God
inwrought and inwritten on the heart; The mutual possession of each other by God
and his people; Intimate and direct acquaintance with God; And divine
forgiveness as the foundation of all spiritual blessings. A brief examination of
these four articles will show that while the old covenant is an external code,
the new is an internal principle, and that over against the failure of the old
is set the success of the new. 1. The law of God inwrought and inwritten on the
heart. The first covenant was written on tables of stone which were placed in
the ark. The new covenant is written not in tables of stone, but in tables that
are hearts of flesh. "I will put my laws into their mind, and on their hearts
also will I write them." Mind here may be taken as meaning the intellectual part
of man’s nature, while heart indicates both the affections and the will. Taken
together the two words imply two things: The clear understanding of the laws of
God, and the coincidence of our inclinations and desires with these laws. By
nature the law is written on our mind, but well do we know that between this
mental perception and the inclination to obey these laws there is an immense
chasm. "I see a different law in my members, warring against the law of my mind,
and bringing me into captivity under the law of sin." (Romans 7:23). But here
the perception and the inclination are the same. That which is written on the
mind is written on the heart, and the handwriting on both is the Lord’s. The one
is the facsimile of the other as truly as the typewriter’s carbon copy is the
accurate reproduction of the original. Just as two right-angled triangles if
laid one upon the other coincide precisely, angle for angle and line for line,
so that which is written in the mind agrees with that which is written in the
heart. Knowledge and will cover absolutely the same ground, so that inclination
and knowledge are identical. In " Social Statics " Herbert Spencer says:
"Education alone never makes a man better. Creeds fixed on the memory, good
principles learned by rote, lessons in right and wrong, will not eradicate
vicious propensities, but if in place of making a child understand that this is
right, and the other wrong, you make it feel that they are so, if you make
virtue loved and vice loathed, if you produce a state of mind to which proper
behavior is natural, spontaneous, instinctive, you do some good." But this is
the divine prerogative. God alone can produce this state of mind. The ancient
Israelites were commanded to write the articles of the first covenant as signs
upon their hands, as frontlets between their eyes, upon their gates, and upon
the door-posts of their houses, but their strict obedience to this command
hardened into a lifeless form. The complete writing on the heart was beyond
their power, and though in after years the Psalmist said, "Thy law is within my
heart," he immediately adds, " Mine iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am
not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head, and my heart
hath failed me." (Psalms 40:12). There has never been but one who transcribed
the divine will on his will without the blurring of a letter, or the omission of
a clause, and this one who has so completely written, obeyed, and preserved the
law of his Father, if we ask him, will, by his Spirit write that law upon our
hearts, and this law " of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus makes us free from
the law of sin and death." With great earnestness Tennyson writes: "Our wills
are ours, we know not how; Our wills are ours to make them thine." There is only
one way, however, by which our wills can be made his, and that way is to let him
write his will into our wills. Doing this we may say with humility and
gratitude, "Lo, I am come; In the roll of the book it is written of me: I
delight to do thy will, 0 my God." With the will thus yielded to his will, the
heart thus written upon, we may face the future with the prayer, "Lead kindly
light," and there will be no fear. 2. The mutual possession of each other by God
and his people. This mutual possession of God and his people is in the new
covenant substituted for those outward relations that existed between the
Hebrews and Jehovah under the terms of the old covenant. "I will be to them a
God, and they shall be to me a people." Someone has declared that this is love’s
mother tongue. "I am thine, and thou art mine." God gives himself to us; we give
ourselves to him. Two mirrors placed the one opposite the other, will reflect
one another and themselves in each other in endless perspective. Likewise two
hearts that love with complete reciprocation mirror back to each other their
mutual affections. If between the two mirrors there be placed a bright light its
reflection also will be seen multiplied over and over in the depths of both the
mirrors. So it is with this covenant of mutual possession in which God and man
are brought face to face in love. Christ brings the two together and appears in
the midst. It is he who reveals the Father to us and then shines into our hearts
with the light of the glory of God. God gave himself to us when he " spared not
his own Son, but delivered him up for us all." We give ourselves to him when in
joyful surrender we can say, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no
longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me: and that life which I now live in
the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me,
and gave himself up for me." (Galatians 2:20). "I have a friend so precious, So
very dear to me, He loves me with such tender love, He loves so faithfully, I
could not live apart from him, I love to feel him nigh, And so we dwell
together, My Lord and I." 3. Intimate acquaintance with God. "They shall not
teach every man his fellow-citizen, and every man his brother, saying, Know the
Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest of them." In the
words of Dr. McLaren: "The prerogative of every Christian man is direct
accession to, communication with, and instruction from God himself." No priest,
no preacher, no church, no infallible earthly head of the church, no creed, no
ordinance must come in between the individual and his God. "There is one
mediator between God and man, Christ Jesus." With brotherly hand we may help our
friends in finding the way, but we must not get in the way that leads to God. We
can do what he does who gives away the bride. We may bring the soul to its Lord
and then step aside while these two enter into the terms of the covenant in the
presence of the officiating Mediator. The pain and pity of Christendom have
been, and still are, that millions of people are supinely willing to make all
their religious relations at second hand in direct antagonism to this article of
the new covenant, ignoring the necessity of deep personal experience. Such an
attitude is fatal to spirituality in religion. The beautiful stained windows in
a chapel can not be appreciated from the outside. One must stand within in order
to enjoy the rich design of the colors. Nor can Christianity be appreciated or
appropriated from the outside. To be known it must be experienced. The necessity
of this spiritual experience has been emphasized and illustrated by reference to
the five physical senses. We are exhorted to hear, to see, and to taste, thus
proving and appropriating the grace and goodness of God. So we are told also of
those who " feel after God," while in Isaiah 11:3 the words "and his delight
shall be in the fear of the Lord" if more literally rendered would be, " and he
shall be of quickened scent" to discover the fear of the Lord. Thus all the
bodily senses are made to illustrate the soul’s quest of God and its entrance
into relations with him. Only such an experience can fulfill the requirements of
this third article of the new covenant. 4s. Divine forgiveness as the foundation
of all spiritual blessings. Though named last this is in reality the first
article of the new covenant because all the others rest on it and proceed from
it. It is the keystone of the arch. There must be forgiveness of sin, otherwise
there can be no acquaintance with God, no mutual possession, no divine
hand-writing on the heart. The first covenant, mediated by Moses, was dedicated
with blood, which was sprinkled both upon the book and upon the people, while
the mediator said, "Behold the blood of the covenant which the Lord hath made
with you concerning all these words." Likewise Jesus, the Mediator of the new
covenant, seals the covenant with his own blood; but this shedding of blood is
closely connected with the forgiveness of sins. A Christianity which does not
offer forgiveness of sins is impotent. It only mocks at the despair of man. A
gospel which does not base forgiveness on Christ’s sacrifice is no gospel at
all. If there is anything clearly taught in the New Testament it is that "apart
from shedding of blood there is no remission." If the gospel is offensive it
must be offensive to those to whom it is the savor of death unto death. "I will
be merciful to their iniquities and their sins will I remember no more." On what
ground will God be merciful? On what ground will he remember no more their
iniquities and their sins? Let Paul answer: "In whom we have our redemption, the
forgiveness of our sins." (Colossians 1:14). Let Peter answer: "Who his own self
bare our sins in his body upon the tree, that we, having died unto sins, might
live unto righteousness; by whose stripes ye were healed." (1 Peter 2:24). Let
John answer: "And he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only,
but also for the whole world." (1 John 2:2). Without entering into a discussion
of the atonement it may be here stated that upon this declaration "their sins
will I remember no more" rests the new covenant in its entirety, and of this new
and better covenant Jesus Christ is the Mediator. On the same night on which he
was betrayed he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my
blood." So then as Moses dedicates the first covenant with blood, in like manner
the new covenant was dedicated in the blood of Christ. And as the blood under
Moses was applied not only to the covenant but to the people also, so the blood
of Christ cleanses and seals those who accept his blood covenant. The scriptures
make the whole question of salvation depend upon the atonement of Christ and the
atonement is epitomized in the one word blood. Notice these references: "The
church of the Lord which he purchased with his own blood." (Acts 20:28). "Whom
God set forth to be a propitiation, through faith, in his blood, to show his
righteousness because of the passing over of the sins done aforetime, in the
forbearance of God." (Romans 3:25). "Much more then, being now justified by his
blood, shall we be saved from the wrath of God through him." (Romans 5:9). "In
whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our
trespasses, according to the riches of his grace." (Ephesians 1:7). "Knowing
that ye were redeemed, not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, from
your vain manner of life handed down from your fathers; but with precious blood,
as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, even the blood of Christ." (1
Peter 1:18-19). "And the blood of Jesus his Son cleanseth us from all sin." (1
John 1:7). "These are they that come out of the great tribulation, and they
washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." (Revelation
7:14). "And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb." (Revelation
12:11). And finally we are to be made perfect in every good thing to do his will
" with the blood of an eternal covenant." (Hebrews 13:20). From this array of
scripture references — and it might be greatly extended — one thing is clear:
That the forgiveness of sin is made possible through the death of Jesus Christ,
and this fact of forgiveness is the foundation article of the new covenant
relation between God and his people. CHRIST: THE MINISTER Closely subjoined to
Christ’s title of Mediator is that of Minister. "But now hath he obtained a
ministry the more excellent, by so much as he is also the mediator of a better
covenant, which hath been enacted upon better promises." (8:6). In the second
verse of the same chapter he is called "the minister of the sanctuary and of the
true tabernacle." The word minister (Gr. leitourgos) stands for the service
rendered by one individual to another of high rank for the public good, as of
Joshua to Moses who is called Moses’ minister in Joshua 1:1, and of Moses in
relation to God in Numbers 12:7, "My servant (minister) Moses is faithful in all
mine house." Of the fifteen times in which it is used in the New Testament not
once does it refer directly to the priesthood, but to a work broader and more
general in its scope. To appreciate the full significance of the office
designated by this word it will be necessary to trace in an indirect way its
historical development. As heretofore noted, Christianity is unique in both its
covenant and in its long line of prophetic promises. As relates to the covenant,
it has just been shown that its agent is the Mediator. As regards the promises
the Minister, as just defined, is the fulfiller and inspirer. This statement
becomes clearly evident when it is remembered that the Hebrew religion from
which Christianity was evolved was fore looking and anticipatory in its
character and made its strongest appeal to hope. This anticipatory quality based
on the divine pledges was a mighty incentive to progress and finds continuous
expression in the note of promise which sounds throughout the whole Hebrew
literature. These promises were given through the long line of prophets whose
messages fill up more than one quarter of the entire Hebrew scripture, so that
we have two principal limbs of scripture: The law based on the covenant and the
promises commonly spoken of as the prophets. These two are recognized in the New
Testament as standing in apposition to, and complementing, each other, finally
uniting in one point in the Golden Rule, "All things therefore whatsoever ye
would that men should do unto you, even so do ye also unto them: for this is the
law and the prophets." (Matthew 7:12); and in the two-fold law of love, "Thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with
all thy mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second like unto it
is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments the
whole law hangeth, and the prophets." (Matthew 22:37-40). For their complete
fulfillment they centered in Christ who on the one hand was the Mediator of the
covenant (law), and on the other the Minister of the promises. "We have found
him, of whom Moses, in the law and the prophets, wrote, Jesus of Nazareth." On
this point Christ, after his resurrection, sets his own interpretation: "And he
said unto them, These are my words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with
you, that all things must needs be fulfilled, which are written in the law of
Moses and the prophets concerning me." (Luke 24:44). Regarding this anticipatory
feature of the Hebrew religion Dr. Abbot, in his "Life and Literature of the
Ancient Hebrews" gives a most illuminative treatment. In this discussion he
points out that the act of creation with which the book of Genesis opens
declares that God has created the world for man, has given it to him to possess,
and bids him have dominion over it and over all which it contains, and that such
a command accompanying such a gift is itself a promise of wisdom and power
adequate to accomplish the so great achievement. He also points out that the
story of the fall is accompanied by a promise at once greater and more explicit
in that the head of the serpent which has brought disobedience shall be crushed
by the seed of the woman. And just as the theme of a symphony is indicated in
the opening movements, so in these early accounts appear those glorious promises
which shall terminate in man’s final triumph and success in his struggle with
evil. This note of promise is sounded throughout the Hebrew literature, and this
attitude of expectancy characterizes the devout and faithful in Israel in all
the stages of their national history. Following the flood appears the bow set in
the cloud as a sign of God’s pledge of fidelity with Noah and his descendants.
Abraham, the father of the Hebrews, received his call from the land of idolatry
by the promise that he should be made the father of a great nation to be blessed
in a goodly land. Commissioned in the desert to lead Israel out of bondage,
Moses carries the promise of freedom, plenty, and safety in the goodly land to
be given to them. At Mount Sinai when the law is given and the covenant accepted
the promise is also made that if the people keep their covenant God will make of
them a great and holy nation. To Joshua the promise is repeated that the land
will be given to Israel if the leader is strong, courageous, obedient. After the
land had been possesed the promises take on a new form. They are now of a king,
and then of a kingdom. When troubles gather about the kingdom the promise
changes again. It is no longer of a land nor of a kingdom, but it is a promise
of happy deliverance. When the nation is in darkness there is promise of light.
When it is under the hand of tyranny the promise is that the rod of the
oppressor shall be broken. At last when Jerusalem is destroyed and the people
carried into captivity the promise still remains, though its form changes. It is
now a promise of restoration. Thus throughout the entire history the promises
grow larger and continue to freshen and sustain the expectancy of the nation.
They tell in turn of establishment, deliverance, recovery, and restoration. The
Central Figure of the Mighty Minister of the Promises. The interesting thing
about these ever enlarging promises is that they cluster about some particular
person whose coming will guarantee their fulfillment. Sometimes he is spoken of
as a prince, who shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting
Father, Prince of Peace. Sometimes this central figure is a priest, sometimes a
prophet, sometimes a king, sometimes the suffering servant of Jehovah. These
promises, the fulfillment of which would devolve upon the coming of this
glorious person the delineations of whose character became more clearly marked
through the years, became the basis of the cherished messianic hope. In relation
to the covenant and the law, Emil Schurer, in his " History of the Jewish People
in the Time of Jesus Christ," says: "As the work of the Israelites was virtually
the observance of the law, so was their faith virtually belief in a better
future. Round these two poles did the religious life of the Jewish people
revolve." The Increasingly Spiritual Conception of the Promises. Another thing
to be observed is that this expanding vision, while it cheers, invites and
inspires, becomes more markedly spiritual in meaning. At first it was almost
wholly material in its offers. The land was to be possessed, then the nation
built, followed by the establishment of the kingdom, the erection of the temple,
with the increase and extension of the national power and glory. Gradually the
prospect widens, the horizon expands until the knowledge of the Lord covers the
earth as the waters cover the deep. The heathen nations hear the call and come,
the kingdom becomes an everlasting kingdom, and the expected Messiah rules the
whole earth. Glory Through Suffering. Though the sufferings of the Messiah were
portrayed by the prophets, the Hebrew people were far from entertaining such a
conception of him. After discussing the many phases of the messianic hope and
the Hebrew books written on this subject, Schurer, in the work above mentioned,
says: "In no one of the numerous works discussed by us have we found even the
slightest allusion to an atoning suffering of the Messiah." Beyond doubt there
are various passages in the New Testament which show that both the friends and
enemies of Jesus shared the idea that the Messiah was not to suffer. This seems
strange since, in what is possibly the most notable passage in the old prophetic
literature, the prophet sees in the distance of the future a single, central
figure, bearing in his own bosom the burden of humanity, a mighty, sinless
sufferer, who by his suffering brings healing and redemption to men. This
preview found in the 53rd chapter of Isaiah and reproduced here from the
Polychrome Bible, presents the form which the Messiah was to fill out in fact,
thus becoming the fulfillment and the fulfiller of the promises, pledges and
prophecies which fed the hopes and fostered the faith of the Hebrew people
throughout their history: "He grew up as a sapling before us, And as a sprout
from a root in dry ground, He had no form nor majesty, And no beauty that we
should delight in him. "Despised was he, and forsaken of men, A man of many
pains, and familiar with sickness, Yea, like one from whom men hide their face,
Despised, and we esteemed him not. "But our sicknesses, alone, he bore, And our
pains — he carried them, Whilst we esteemed him stricken, Smitten of God, and
afflicted. "But alone he was humiliated because of our rebellions, Alone he was
crushed because of our iniquities; A chastisement, all for our peace, was upon
him, And to us came healing through his stripes. "All we, like sheep, had gone
astray, We had turned, every one to his own way, While Jehovah made to light
upon him The guilt of us all. "He was treated with rigor, but he resigned
himself, And opened not his mouth, Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, And
like a sheep that before her shearers is dumb. "Through an oppressive doom was
he taken away, And as for his fate, who thought thereon, That he had been cut
off out of the land of the living, That for my people’s rebellion he had been
stricken to death? "And his grave was appointed with the rebellious, And with
the wicked his tomb, Although he had done no injustice, Nor was there deceit in
his mouth. "But it had pleased Jehovah to crush and to humiliate him. If he were
to make himself an offering for guilt, He would see a posterity, he would
prolong his days, And the pleasure of Jehovah would prosper in his hands. "With
knowledge thereof my Servant will interpose for many, And take up the load of
their iniquities. Therefore shall he receive a possession among the great, And
with the strong shall he divide spoil. "Forasmuch as he poured out his
life-blood, And let himself be reckoned with the rebellious, While it was he who
had borne the sin of many, And for the rebellious had interposed." And so it is
that by becoming the Mediator of the new covenant he becomes also the Minister
of the hopes and promises held forth by that covenant. The burden of the greater
part of the Epistle to the Hebrews is to show to the Hebrew Christians how the
Mediator through his death becomes the Minister of hope and of the mighty
comprehensive program which lay embryonate in the prophecies to spring forth in
larger life in the gospel. In the painting of " The Shadow of the Cross " by
Morris, the mother is giving the Christ child his first lessons in walking, but
seems all unconscious of the ominous shadow which appears in front of the child
in the shape of a cross. The child’s hands are extended, the one toward the
spiny cactus, the symbol of suffering, the other toward the fronded palm, the
symbol of victory. The conception is correct in delineating the double attitude
of Christ as Mediator and Minister, since in the one office he is the sufferer,
while in the other he is the victor. As Mediator Christ brings in the covenant,
dedicating it in his blood; as Minister he brings to fruitage the hopes which
spring from the covenant. In doing this he sustains a three-fold attitude toward
the redemptive program which rests on his work of atonement. In his official
capacity of Minister he stands related to the life of the believer, to the
promises to be fulfilled for the believer, and to the ultimate success of the
kingdom. The Determining Factor of Conduct. As Minister Christ bears an intimate
relation to the believer and becomes the determining factor in his life and
conduct. In the tenth chapter, the sixteenth and seventeenth verses, the new
covenant is given in abridged form, and is followed by what may be called the
"therefore" of our relation to him, or, as may be stated otherwise, our covenant
relation. These relations appear as three exhortations: "Let us draw near;" "Let
us hold fast;" "Let us consider one another." Verse 22. "Let us draw near with a
true heart in fulness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil
conscience: and having our body washed with pure water." The basis of the
exhortation appears in the preceding verses in which we are told a new and
living way has been dedicated for us, and because of this we ought to draw near.
Notice that the requirements for drawing near enumerated in verse twenty-two are
fully met in the terms of the covenant. (1) In drawing near there must be a true
heart. This demand is met in the first article of the covenant which shows that
the heart is made true by the divine law inwritten and inwrought upon it. (2) To
draw near there must be a full assurance of faith and this requirement is met by
the second article of the covenant which eliminates all doubt through the mutual
and loving possession of God and the believer. (3) Again in order to draw near
there must be the purified conscience and this demand is met in that first-hand
and intimate knowledge of God based on experience which is the third article of
the covenant. (4) Once more there must be the consecrated life, "having our body
washed with pure water." This provision is met by the fourth article of the
covenant — the forgiveness of sin and the cleansing in the blood of Christ. The
second exhortation is found in verse twenty-three. "Let us hold fast the
confession of our hope that it waver not; for he is faithful that promised." The
word confession as here used really means a compact or a treaty in which are
summed up the terms of surrender as in war. The suggestion seems then to be that
we ought to live up to, and within, our treaty. We are called upon to hold fast
our full privilege under the covenant and claim all that has been secured for us
under its terms, seeing that he who submitted the terms of the treaty is
faithful. Verse 24. "Let us consider one another to provoke unto love and good
works." Thus is stated the third of the covenant exhortations. "Consider one
another." Being brought into proper relation with Christ means that we must
enter into proper relation with one another. The spirit of envy must be cast
out, while mutual love and cooperative good works are to be the bonds of
fellowship. The Guarantor of the Promises. In the history of prophecy in the Old
Testament the promises are seen to take the form now of an inheritance, now of a
kingdom, and again of a great and glorious city; sometimes it was the temple,
sometimes a Sabbath rest, and sometimes better things not clearly described. In
the Book of Hebrews the great Minister who is the fulfiller of the prophetic
office and the fulfiller of the prophecies leads his people into the true
inheritance. "And for this cause he is the mediator of a new covenant, that a
death having taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were
under the first covenant, they that have been called may receive the promise of
the eternal inheritance." "For ye both had compassion on them that were in
bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your possessions, knowing that ye have
for yourselves a better possession and an abiding one." (9:15; 10:34). Like
Abraham, the father of the faithful, we "look for the city which hath the
foundations whose builder and maker is God." (11:10). "We have not here an
abiding city, but we seek after the city which is to come." (13:14). And "are
come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly
Jerusalem." (12:22)’ "Receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken." (12:28). After
this summing up of the promises whose fulfillment is looked for in Christ,
expectation is rekindled and enlarged in the declaration that "God has provided
even better things for us." (11:40). Of those heroes whose names stand written
on the golden scroll of the faithful in the eleventh chapter it is said, " Not
having received the promises, but having seen them and greeted them afar off,
they confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." Herein is
discovered the aim and purpose of prophecy in keeping hope expectant and in
giving continual enlargement to the noblest ideals. The Expanding Boundaries of
the Kingdom. As Joseph, prime minister of Egypt, through many successive years
carried forward the program which resulted finally in preserving his own
father’s family as well as all Egypt, this divine servant, this prophetic
Minister, is setting forward his program, and will continue setting it forward
until the boundaries of his kingdom shall touch and include the limits of the
most daring and jubilant prophetic vision. And through it all he will take care
of his own that they shall not suffer. "Behold my servant, whom I uphold; my
chosen, in whom my soul delighteth: I have put my Spirit upon him; he shall
bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till
he have set judgment in the earth; and the isles shall wait for his law."
(Isaiah 42:1; Isaiah 42:4). "But he, when he had offered one sacrifice for sins
for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; henceforth expecting till his
enemies be made the footstool of his feet." (Hebrews 10:12-13). Having brought
in the covenant and sat down on the right hand of God he is now in the attitude
of expectancy. Here is the one true picture of the divine Minister. He is the
Expectant Christ. Not only is he the center and source of expectation among his
people, but he himself is expectant. The Saviour becomes the Sovereign — the
cactus gives way to the palm. He who offered the sacrifice sits on the right
hand of God. This Enthroned Saviour, this Exalted Servant, this Expectant
Sovereign, he is the Excellent Minister, in whom meet the hopes and the
prophecies, the ideals of those who believe.


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  CHAPTER 7: 11 CHAPTER V
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CHRIST: AUTHOR AND PERFECTER OF FAITH The third quartet of names mentioned in
the introduction outlines Christ’s relations to the believer. Of this quartet
the first pair —" Author" and "Perfecter " — connotes his relations in the
matter of actual salvation. In the eleventh chapter the author tells his readers
that they need endurance, and points out to them examples of men who did endure
though they waited long for the promises. In this long catalogue of believing
worthies occur the names of Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and
Joseph, as those who endured in expectation. Then follows a long line of heroes
who not only endured but actively strove, contending against evil with the hope
of making their faith a reality. Advancing to the twelfth chapter, the purport
of which is to incite faith to greater and more definite aim, there is held up
the stimulus of example found in the cloud of witnesses named in the eleventh
chapter; the appeal of opportunity which appears in the race set before them and
which implies both hope and contest; and the inspiration arising from
comtemplating the double office of Christ as the Author and Perfecter of their
faith. For the continuous exercise of enduring faith it is not enough that there
be a race at the end of which there is held out a prize, nor is it sufficient to
be encompassed about with a cloud of faithful witnesses who endured before us.
They are as but a cloud, a large multitude of indistinguishable individuals who
are now distant from us, and with whom close personal communion is now
impossible. Even faith cannot discern the individual saints that compose the
cloud, but for its stimulus and complete strengthening it can look to Jesus, the
perfect example, the perfect helper, since it is he who begins the work of faith
within us, and it is he who will perfect that work of faith until the conflict
closes. CHRIST: THE AUTHOR OF FAITH It is a compound word, and means
PrinceLeader, as when one inaugurates a procession and leads it forward to its
goal. The word alludes to what the writer has already told us in the second
chapter of the Epistle concerning Jesus where he is called the captain or leader
of our salvation, who, being perfected through sufferings "brings many sons unto
glory." Faith’s Primordial. Christ is the Author of faith because from within
his own experience there is manifested that immutable faith which in the act of
regeneration is incorporated within the soul of the believer, a faith that never
fails because it is born of the eternal verities of Christ’s own nature and
returns to him for its fulfillment. In chapter five, verses seven to nine, is
the tragic picture of Christ’s conflict of discipline through which he passed in
order to become the Author of the faith that saves: "Who in the days of his
flesh, having offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears
unto him that was able to save him from death, and having been heard for his
godly fear, though he was a Son, yet learned obedience by the things which he
suffered; and having been made perfect, he became unto all them that obey him
the author of eternal salvation." This picture fills us with amazement and awe
and seems to forbid any attempt at explanation, lest, by any gloss of our own
devising, we ascribe to Christ’s suffering something which does not belong to
it. It is not for us to fathom the depth of his agony. With the disciples we may
go with him to Gethsemane. With Peter, James, and John we may accompany him into
the garden, but with them we must tarry while he goes "a little farther" to the
spot where, "being in an agony he prayed more earnestly and his sweat became as
it were great drops of blood falling down upon the ground." (Luke 22:44). It is
not for the eyes of men to look upon that scene nor can its terrible
significance be encompassed by their thoughts. We simply know that something
tremendously and eternally important was being done by our Lord on our behalf.
In the darkness, through prayers, crying and tears, his faith struggled upward,
holding its unshaken grip upon God. And though he was a Son, yet, through
suffering he must be prepared to be the Saviour of men. Being made perfect
through this experience he became the Author of the faith that saves. It is this
faith — this faith begotten in agony, tested by dire emergency, triumphant
through prayer and suffering — which is divinely and livingly set within the
soul, making endurance possible. And not only is this faith inaugurated by the
death experience of Christ the foundation and guarantee of the ultimate
salvation of the believer, but it is the vital, nuclear fact of the whole
creational order. That striking expression in Revelation 13:8, "And all that
dwell on the earth shall worship him, every one whose name hath not been written
from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that hath been
slain," has a more extensive significance than is commonly attached to it. The
slaying of the Lamb is the foundation of the world. That is to say, the act of
creation itself involved the sacrifice of God through his Son Jesus Christ. With
great force one has said: "In creation God goes forth from himself, as it were,
in the person of the eternal Son, to return to himself in a perfected spiritual
world wherein selfsacrificing love has proved itself by pain. The whole process
of creation, the history of the world, as the Bible teaches it, is the movement
of humanity back to its home in God. Now creation is the work of God the Son;
that is, it is the giving of his life that the glorious purpose of a perfected
spiritual world may be realized. ’Then cometh the end, when he shall have
delivered the kingdom up to God, even the Father.’ The beginning was the laying
down of the life of God the Son; creation implies limitation and limitation is
sacrifice. The sacrifice did not end with the creation of the heavens and the
earth. It only began there, but it culminated on Calvary and will end only when
Christ ’hath put all enemies under his feet.’ The conception of the Lamb slain
is the warp and the woof of the moral and the spiritual history of the world."
Here then is the grounding of the faith that endures unto triumph. It is the
faith originated and vouched by the Lamb whose slaying is the world’s primal
under-pinning. Faith’s Ingraftment. The sacrifice of Christ is the act of God
done in the person of the Son as a complete and solemn condemnation of sin
through death. On the cross the sin of man is judged and condemned as a thing
not to be tolerated in God’s universe. This divine act of condemnation has its
initiative and inspiration in the divine love. "God, sending his own Son in the
likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh." (Romans 8:3).
Therefore the forgiveness of sin is made possible through the condemnation of
sin endured by Christ, the divine sacrifice. In this sacrifice which Christ made
every hindrance to the forgiveness of sin is removed except one, and that
hindrance is the will of the individual. The whole human race is already
redeemed in that the sins of the whole race have been condemned in the sacrifice
of Christ who suffered as the representative of the race. That is therefore a
very feeble gospel indeed which preaches that God is ready to forgive sin and
waits to redeem. The true and mighty gospel declares that God has redeemed. If
then this be true, and if Christ died for all, are all saved? By no means. In
the " Gospel of the Divine Sacrifice" Dr. Charles Cuthbert Hall says: "The
individual, as an individual, the man, the woman, the child, is saved only when
the personal will consents to the righteousness of sin’s condemnation as
accomplished in Christ’s sacrifice; when the person identifies himself or
herself, by faith, with the humiliated, suffering, crucified Saviour; dying with
Christ, as it were, unto sin, as unto an accursed and intolerable condition, and
rising with Christ, as it were, into newness of life to walk not after the
flesh, but after the spirit." The only escape from the condemnation of sin is in
Christ. Disbelieving him we bare ourselves to its penalty. On this point
Christ’s own words are to be received at full value: "He that believeth on him
is not judged: he that believeth not hath been judged already, because he hath
not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God." (John 3:18). The
individual, then, must identify himself with Christ in his death by believing on
him as the sacrifice for sin. But this means the condemning of himself, for in
identifying himself with Christ he assumes God’s attitude toward sin. Will he do
this, or will he turn from Christ, hardened in heart, proud in spirit, to trust
in his own righteousness? On this decision depends finally the salvation of the
individual, and this decision is reached only through consent of the will. What
inducement then to surrender to Christ’s redemptive work is presented to the
will? What really is the point of appeal which the gospel makes? The answer to
this question is that the attitude of Christ dying on our behalf constitutes the
strongest appeal that can possibly be made. In this connection let it be
remembered that the atonement presents God in an attitude of love, not hate. The
atonement is the expression on earth of the love that filled God’s heart from
before the foundation of the world. It is the external effort of divine love to
save men from that sin which makes them the object of divine wrath. Put these
two scriptures side by side: "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven
against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hinder the truth in
unrighteousness." (Romans 1:18). "God commendeth his own love toward us, in
that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now
justified by his blood, shall we be saved from the wrath of God through him."
(Romans 5:8-9). The one shows the attitude of God toward sin; the other shows
the attitude toward the sinner. Toward sin there is the revelation of wrath;
toward the sinner there is the revelation of love. Jesus then is not the victim
interposing to shield guilty sinners from an angry God, but a willing Saviour
sent by the loving Father to redeem sinners from their sins. This view of the
atonement reveals the cross making a two-fold revelation: The exceeding
sinfulness of sin, and the marvelous love of God, and at the same time
furnishing an escape from the penalty of sin so startling as to quicken the dead
feelings of the sinner when every other resource has failed. Sin lures its
victim into an insensibility of its terrors so deep that a mere appeal to reason
is as fruitless of an arousal as a bonfire of straw at its base would be toward
melting an Alpine glacier. The cross makes its first appeal to the feelings in
revealing the horror and blasphemy of sin. "And when they had crucified him they
sat and watched him there." And what is the interpretation of the spectacle
which they beheld? And what is sin there seen to be? It plaits a crown of thorns
and presses it on the brow of the Son of God. It spits upon his face. It smites
him on the head. It drives the nails into his hands. It robs him of his
garments, and gambles for his seamless vesture. To fill up its measure, with a
spear it pierces his bosom. Such is the attitude of sin toward God. Rehearsing
these things on the Day of Pentecost Peter tells these deicides of their heinous
deed, saying, f Him ye did crucify and slay," (Acts 2:23), adding that "God hath
made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom ye crucified." (Acts 2:36). Thus
brought face to face with their sin in the slaying of Jesus, they saw it as they
had never seen it before, and when they heard this they were pricked in their
hearts and cried out for mercy and forgiveness. Thus their feelings were
aroused, stirred by this tremendous and lurid appeal, so that they were ready to
receive the message and obey its commands. So it was then, and so it continues
to be. The story of the suffering Christ interprets his sin to the sinner,
awakens his conscience, and reveals the need of salvation. The face of the Man
of Sorrows, pallid with fatigue, seamed with grief, scarred with wounds,
marvelous in pity, compassionate in willingness to suffer — on his face are
interwritten the story of man’s sin, and the story of God’s abounding love. "But
God commendeth his own love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8). The story of the conversion of Red Owl, the
great orator of the lower Sioux Indians, but brings up-todate this act of that
scene at Pentecost. Red Owl for a long time refused to attend the services of
the mission chapel lest he should impair his influence among his people. Once he
stalked sullenly into the mission school building, and stopping before a
picture, "Ecce Homo," asked, "What is that? Why are his hands bound? Why are
those thorns on his head?" The teacher patiently told him the story of the love
of Christ for sinners. Red Owl was deeply moved, and came again and again to ask
about Jesus. One day, as the missionary was riding over the prairie, he saw a
new-made grave, and over it was a plain wooden cross. He was told that Red Owl
was dead. He had been taken suddenly ill, and one day said to his young men:
"That story which the white man has brought into our country is true. I have it
in my heart. When I am dead I wish you to put a cross over my grave that the
Indians may see what is in Red Owl’s heart." This little story illustrates how
Christ is the Author of faith, and shows how the captain of salvation carries
his conquest even into savage hearts. "I know that I am saved, because I was
present when it took place, and I know that Christ saved me because he was there
too," a man was heard to say, and he spoke truly. Christ is always there when a
sinner is saved. He is the Author of the faith which lays hold on salvation. In
regeneration Christ is thus inaugurated in the heart and becomes the inaugurator
of the great salvation which he achieved in the atonement. What was sufficient
becomes efficient. The Effective Ideal. As the Author of faith Christ does not
stop with saving us from the penalty of our sins, leaving us to drift without a
chart or compass. He not only opens up a way, pointing it out and starting us in
it, he himself is the Way. He is the perfect example of that faith which his
followers are to imitate, and he is the effective motive of the life they are to
live. In all life’s vicissitudes Christ’s example is the ideal and inspiration
of the Christian; and especially in the realm of suffering does his sympathy
make appeal which transforms sorrow into gladness, and transfigures pain with
joy. Having learned obedience with the things which he suffered he is touched by
the feeling of our infirmities, and is able to succor those who suffer and are
tried. The sorrow of Christ was the sorrow of man, and as such it is akin to all
our sorrows. The very perfection of his humanity enabled him unhindered to
explore by means of experience the poignant possibilities of sorrow. And,
therefore, in a world filled with sorrow, where it is impossible to escape the
insistent sounds and sights of grief; where the tragic element is unceasingly
present; where "Never morning wore To evening, but some heart did break;" where
forever some hope is being grimly wrecked, some human body is quivering in
mortal anguish, and some home is being plunged into fathomless woe; in this
world of these varied agonies, there is a strange, strong comfort to be found in
contemplating that picture painted by the prophet and known as the Man of
Sorrows, or in reading that terrible, majestic narrative, "Then cometh Jesus
with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and began to be sorrowful and sore
troubled. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto
death." (Matthew 26:36-38). For those who grieve and suffer there is a most
powerful attraction in response to the appeal, "Looking unto Jesus the author
and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the
cross, despising shame, and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne of
God." (12:2). "Looking unto Jesus." The word means weigh in the balance. "Weigh
this in the balance. Compare this quality of faith with your own. Consider who
he was and what you are. When you have well understood the difference, remember
that he endured, as you endure, by faith. He put his trust in God. He was
faithful to him who had constituted him what he became through his assumption of
flesh and blood. He offered prayers and supplications to him who was able to
save him out of death, yet piously committed himself to the hands of God. The
gainsaying of men brought him to the bloody death of the cross. You also are
marshaled in battle array, in the conflict against the sin of the world. But the
Leader only has shed his blood — as yet. Your hour may be drawing nigh!
Therefore be not weary in striving to reach the goal! Faint not in enduring the
conflict!" ("The Expositor’s Bible.") And while he is the soul’s inspiration in
trial, he is more. Indeed he is more than the ideal rising before us calling us
up unto himself, more than a model to be yearned after and aimed at objectively.
He is in addition to all these the soul’s subjective motive, being within us the
hope of glory. As the Author of our faith he does more than approach us
externally, but in "the hidden man of the heart" he carries forward his blessed
work of transformation. CHRIST: THE PERFECTER OF OUR FAITH This name is wide in
its meaning, and affords an outlook upon a field immense in its scope and
bearings. "Perfecter of our faith." He who inaugurates will carry to completion.
The ending must be worthy of the beginning. He is the Perfecter because he
himself has been "perfected for ever more," (Hebrews 7:28) and because of the
sacrifice which he has made: "For by one offering he hath perfected for ever
them that are sanctified." (Hebrews 10:14). The work which the Perfecter
accomplished on behalf of men is generally regarded as a threefold work of
reconciliation: First, it is a work accomplished for us, bringing us into
harmony with God, and may be stated as the reconciliation between God and man
which results in justification. Second, it is a work accomplished in us,
harmonizing us with ourselves, and may be stated as the correcting of the schism
wrought in man’s nature by sin so that man comes into unison with himself, and
this we may call sanctification. Third, it is a work accomplished for the whole
universe in which we live. The reconciliation of all things, including man’s
physical body which has been disordered and distorted by sin. And this operation
as it affects man may be called adoption, or the redemption of the body. Since
justification is a fact already accomplished for every believer, and not to be
reversed, it is with reference to sanctification and the redemption of the body
that Christ is called the Perfecter of faith. The work of salvation which Christ
inaugurates as Author he finishes as Perfecter. He is the Alpha and Omega, the
beginning and the end, the first and the last. With him there are no fragments,
no "broken arcs," no unfinished tasks. "He who began a good work in you will
perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ." (Php 1:6). THE LONG FOUGHT BATTLE
This continuous work of grace in the soul begins with regeneration and is
carried on until the believer stands glorified in the image of Christ. In
regeneration though the soul is brought into right relations with God, and its
sinful disposition made holy, there still remain evil tendencies which are to be
subdued only through a lifelong conflict. Coming in when the soul surrenders in
conversion Christ sets up his throne, and then begins the progressive warfare
for final victory. "That spirit which he made to dwell in us yearneth for us
even unto jealous envy," is the marginal reading of James 4:5, and may be taken
as teaching that God’s love, like all other love, longs and demands to have the
object of its love wholly for its own, and is jealous of every encroachment upon
its rights. In the Christian two men meet in one, but he is to "put away the old
man" and "put on the new man." (Ephesians 4:22-24). It is related that when
Bourdaloue was probing the conscience of Louis XIV, applying to him the words of
Paul, "For the good which I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that
I practice," and, intending to paraphrase them, added, " I feel two men in me,"
the king interrupted the great preacher with the memorable exclamation: "Ah!
those two men, I know them well!" Bourdaloue gravely answered: "It is already
something to know them, Sire; but this is not enough, one of these two men must
perish." In saying this the bold preacher spoke the truth of God. One of the two
must perish. In this conflict victory is certain because Christ has undertaken
in our behalf, and he will not fail nor be discouraged. "Now there was a long
war between the house of Saul and the house of David: and David waxed stronger
and stronger, but the house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker." (2 Samuel 3:1).
The war was long, but it terminated in victory for David because God was on
David’s side. In achieving this triumph over evil, even though God be on our
side, we must have a share in the conflict. We must be co-workers and
co-warriors with God, working out our salvation because it is God who works in
us to will and to work according to his good pleasure. To accept Christ is to
receive an impulse which energizes the will for the highest and noblest
exertion. The perfection of Christian character therefore is conditioned on the
cooperation of the human with the divine. This appears in 2 Timothy 2:19 :
"Howbeit the firm foundation of God standeth, having this seal, The Lord knoweth
them that are his: and, Let every one that nameth the name of the Lord depart
from unrighteousness." The picture here presented is that of the temple of
Christian character, upon whose foundation are written on opposite sides two
significant inscriptions. The one declaring God’s power, wisdom, and purpose of
salvation. The other declaring the purity and holy activity on the part of the
believer, in whom God’s purpose is to be fulfilled. Standing upon this
doublesealed foundation the character of the Christian "groweth into a holy
temple in the Lord." Setting the Poem to Music. In this upward yearning after
holiness Christ is the inspiration. In this conflict Christ is the believer’s
nourisher, support and guide. That is a most beautiful confession which Henry
Drummond makes of his faith: "The recoverableness of a man at his worst is the
gift of Christ; the forgiveness of sins comes by Christ’s cross; the power to
set the heart right is Christ’s grant; the hope of immortality springs from
Christ’s grave; religion means a personal trust in God, a personal debt to
Christ, a personal dedication to his cause." This gift and cross and hope and
trust and dedication form the warp into which our own endeavors and strivings
must be woven so as to result in the sanctified life. Our creeds must be
transformed into deeds. "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for
good works, which God afore prepared that we should walk in them." (Ephesians
2:10). Instead of saying workmanship let us use the word that is almost Greek in
its very form, and say we are God’s poem. God is the poet, we are the poem. But
a poem is written with the view to be sung. When it is sung it then becomes a
harmony and triumph. Only when, as God’s poems, we are set to music do we attain
the end which God ordained and designed for us. "Created in Christ Jesus for
good works." We are the poems, the good works are the music. By this scripture
it must not be inferred that good works are the object of the new creation, but
that they are involved in it as an inseparable condition upon which the new
creation itself was accomplished. A common error with regard to the doctrine of
sanctification is the contention that the Christian may in this life become
perfectly free from sin. The only answer to be urged against this view is found
in the five-fold exhortation of the context in which we are urged to look to
Jesus. We are urged: First, to " lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth
so easily beset us." Second, to "run with patience the race which is set before
us." Third, to look unto Jesus. Forth, to consider him that hath endured. Fifth,
to strive against sin. All these exhortations are evidently made on the
assumption that we may not be free from sin and from the necessity of striving
against it, until the race shall have been finished and we have entered in glory
with him who endured and sat down on the throne. Against the doctrine of "final
perseverance" is opposed the error of apostasy or " falling from grace," in
support of which is cited the following passage: "For as touching those who were
once enlightened and tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the
Holy Spirit, and tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the age to come,
and then fell away, it is impossible to renew them again unto repentance; seeing
they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame."
(6:4-6). Only two things need be said about this scripture: First, it is an
impliably hypothetical case as is shown in verse nine which says: "But, beloved,
we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation,
though we thus speak." And second, if this and similar passages teach the
possibility of apostasy, they go still farther and teach the impossibility of
restoration, since he who apostatizes has apostatized forever. The above and all
other objections to the doctrine of progressive sanctification and final
perseverance must disappear when we remember that they are conditioned not upon
ourselves, but upon Christ. Of the one he is the motive, of the other he is the
inspiration. In regard to these two doctrines in a very particular sense he is
the Perfecter. The very name means one who stands at the end and sees the work
completed. This conception of Christ is the mightiest incentive to all righteous
life. "The soul, whose sight all quickening grace renews, Takes the resemblance
of the good she views As diamonds stripped of their opaque disguise, Reflect the
noonday glory of the skies." The man who spends months in the great art
galleries of the world living in the presence of the masterful pictures,
carefully studying their proportion and beauty, will be astonished what daubs
the so-called works of art, which he used to admire, appear to be when he comes
back to look at them. And so he who has been in communion with Jesus Christ,
contemplating his grace, glory, and faithfulness, will not be over-tempted by
the coarse pleasures offered to him in the world. It is said that there are
certain kinds of sea weeds which lie at the bottom of the sea, and, as their
flowering time approaches, they elongate their stalks, rise to reach the light,
and float upon the surface. When they have flowered and fruited they sink again
into the depths. Whoever has Christ in his soul will not, can not, remain in the
depths, but must rise to the source of the life which dwells within. Like the
sea weeds he will rise to the place where his heart can flower. "One indeed I
knew In many a subtle question versed, Who touched a jarring lyre at first, But
ever strove to make it true: Perplexed in faith, but pure in deeds, At last he
beat his music out." "To Wit, the Redemption of our Body." After consideration
of the nature of Christ’s work in reconciliation which results in the believer’s
spiritual sanctification, there remains to be noticed his mission of
reconciliation which is operative in all creation and which concerns man
directly as it relates to the redemption of the body. Christ came to save men’s
bodies as well as their souls, or, more correctly, Christ came to save men —
souls and bodies together. Of his thirty-two recorded miracles no fewer than
twenty-three, or more than two-thirds of the whole, were of healing, and it is
quite certain that those on record are only a few in comparison with the many of
which the details are not given. Said Jesus, "I came not to judge the world, but
to save the world." "To save the world." That was the errand of Christ. Not
merely to save a certain number of people out of the world and to bear them
safely away to another world* but to save the world. "For we know that the whole
creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only so,
but ourselves also, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves,
waiting for our adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body." (Romans 8:22-23).
Too wide application can hardly be given to this scripture which entitles us to
the expectation that our salvation is to have an immense scope, including the
earth and all its tribes of life — the physical world as well as the social
world and the moral world. It is a true insight of faith in the Perfecter of
faith which makes the poet say: "The world we live in wholly is redeemed; Not
man alone, but all that man holds dear: His orchards and his maize:
forget-me-not And heartsease in his garden, and the wild Aerial blossoms of the
untamed wood, That make its savagery so homelike; all Have felt Christ’s sweet
love watering their root: His sacrifice has won both earth and heaven, Nature in
all its fullness is the Lord’s. There are no Gentile oaks, no Pagan pines; The
grass beneath our feet is Christian grass; The wayside weed is sacred unto him.
Have we not groaned together, herbs and men, Struggling through stifling
earth-weights unto light, Earnestly longing to be clothed upon With one high
possibility of bloom?" In his book " The Meaning and Message of the Cross," Dr.
Henry C. Mabie discusses ably the question of the relation of the reconciling
work of Christ to the redemption of the body, and says, "That there is such a
relation close and organic, embracing even the whole cosmos, is undoubtedly the
teaching of the scriptures. As the natural death common to our mortal state
springs out of sin, so the cure of death —’ the last enemy that shall be
destroyed ’— is organically connected in revelation with the redeeming work of
Christ." On the same subject Dr. James Orr, in his notable book "God’s Image in
Man," has a passage which is substantially as follows: "The ripest philosophy
concerning man, and especially as he is revealed in the Bible, is coming to see
that the body is as really a part of man’s personality as is the soul. It is not
a mere vesture serving as a temporary prison-house of the soul, but is a part of
ourselves. The soul, indeed, may survive the body, but man was not created
incorporeal spirit. The soul was designed to inhabit the body, and was never
intended, in the whole of its life, to subsist apart from it. Hence, death also,
in the true Biblical point of view, is not something natural to man, but must be
regarded as something violent and unnatural, the rupture of that which was never
meant to be disjoined. Even while the soul, after physical death has ensued,
survives the body, the soul is still regarded as, in a real sense, imperfect and
weakened, in a condition temporarily awaiting its final rehabilitation. So, when
we apprehend the real import of Christ’s death in behalf of mankind, we behold
that everywhere in the New Testament the very kernel of his reconciling death is
found in his submission to death, and for the manifest reason that death was
that in which was expressed the judgment of God upon the sin of our race." In
coming, therefore, to save man, not in part, but in whole, Christ submits to
death for the evident reason that death was that in which was expressed the
judgment of God upon the sin of the race; thus being " made sin for us" and "
becoming a curse for us," he abolished death and "brought life and immortality
to light through the gospel." (2 Timothy 1:10). In the light of this teaching a
very practical question clamoring for consideration in this hour is, when may we
expect this result of the reconciling work of Christ, the redemption of the
body, to take place? In discussing this question grateful acknowledgment is made
to Dr. Mabie in his book mentioned above. By some it is urged that nothing but a
lack of faith stands in the way of realizing the bodily new creation which is
germinal in the new spiritual birth. Indeed that by an act of faith the perfect
health of the body may be fully claimed and realized at any time. While
protesting against such sweeping claims made by the socalled faith cure
devotees, it does not seem wise to antagonize or abuse in a wholesale way the
belief in the divine healing of the body. Doubtless there is much that should be
opposed and much more which sadly needs correction in regard to this belief, but
we shall lose nothing and probably gain much more by conceding cordially that
"in principle the work of Christ covers all results that may be embraced under
the health, the moral perfection, and even the glorification of the human body
as an object of redemption. It should be urged, however, that this result is
included in the work of Christ only potentially, and that we should not look for
its complete manifestation in the present time." There is no doubt that God in
his compassion may and does in many instances answer prayer in the healing of
sickness. Experience attests the truth of this statement. Sometimes in a most
extraordinary way Jesus has made himself known among us as the Great Physician,
able and willing to restore. With grateful, joyful hearts many can speak out of
the most precious experiences and say: "The healing of his seamless dress Is by
our beds of pain, We touch him in life’s throng and press, And we are whole
again." On the other hand experience demonstrates with equal certainty that
these results are exceptional since in every case all men finally succumb to
disease and death. However, these exceptional results should be received as
evidences of God’s superhuman grace to the suffering, and should be a source of
cheer to all Christian hearts. Sometimes he hears our prayers in the healing of
our friends, sometimes we know that though we have prayed earnestly, our friends
are not healed. What conclusion shall we draw? Possibly it would be better not
to draw conclusions nor undertake to make up the case until all the facts have
been brought in. One thing is clear, that though our Lord imparted to the early
disciples the power to heal, this power was not always exercised. On the island
of Melita Paul prayed for the father of Publius, laid his hands on him, and
healed him of his sickness. Here he healed a heathen man whom he had never known
before, and whom possibly he never saw again. On another occasion he did not
heal his friend, Trophimus, who had been a faithful witness and patient sufferer
on behalf of Christianity. "Trophimus I left at Miletus, sick." Here the heathen
stranger was restored, while the Christian friend was not restored. The father
of Publius at Melita was healed while Trophimus was left at Miletus sick. Why
did Paul heal the one and not the other? The answer is not given. One thing is
certain, that the healing power was not used all the time even by those who
possessed it unmistakably. The fact that Trophimus was left sick at Miletus is
not recorded as an indictment against the faith of Paul, nor against the faith
of Trophimus. One other thing may be said with regard to those who exercised
this healing power in the apostolic days. They all finally died, as did-those
who had been healed. The only possible inference then is that this healing power
was exceptional, then as now. But while this is the case it should not weaken
our faith in Christ as the Healer and Redeemer. In the roll call of faith in the
eleventh chapter a long list of heroes is given and their mighty deeds are
celebrated. They subdued kingdoms, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the
power of fire, escaped the dangers of the sword, and achieved other noble
triumphs. Yet is said, "These all died." The fact of their death is not
mentioned as an indictment against their faith. Indeed it is not presumed that
faith would save them from suffering imprisonment, stoning, affliction, ill
treatment, and death, but that it would save them through these things by
holding before them the hope " that they might obtain a better resurrection."
This then is the triumph of faith. Faith’s finest utterance is heard when the
suffering soul exclaims: "Though he slay me, yet will I wait for him." (Job
13:15). One thing is certain, and it is this: That experience and scripture
teach that it is not God’s purpose for us to live in this present world without
suffering and to be translated finally into glory without dying, "Inasmuch as it
is appointed unto men once to die." (9:27). In this world of suffering and death
Christ himself trod uncomplainingly, seeking and giving no explanation except in
these words: "Behooved it not the Christ to suffer these things, and to enter
into his glory?" (Luke 24:26). There is Consolation. Though experience and
scripture do teach that suffering and death are inevitable, we are not left
without alleviation and comfort, and we do wrong to ourselves while dishonoring
our Saviour if we do not accept the consolations which are offered. It is very
easy in affliction to become impatient and petulant, thus aggravating our souls
and intensifying our sufferings. When disease comes in and the bodily functions
become disturbed it is the tendency for human nature to fall into depression and
brood over its ills. This inclination thus to nurse our ailments until they
become chronic, to allow heart and mind and faith to become flatulent while the
bodily tissues relax and weaken, is a frightful evil and should be resisted. The
most effective preventative of this deplorable condition is found in the fact of
the work of Christ in reconciling and eliminating discord and schism in the
world, including physical afflictions, and in the further blessed fact that by
his indwelling within us through his Spirit he so enlarges and strengthens the
soul as to result in its quickened vitality, while the physical being is
correspondingly invigorated; and even in cases where prayer is not specifically
answered and health restored, a greater triumph than regained health is
achieved, as the sufferer, whose strength is ebbing away day by day, can say in
high hopefulness and joyous confidence in God: "Wherefore we faint not: but
though our outward man is decaying, yet our inward man is renewed day by day.
For our light affliction, which is for the moment, worketh for us more and more
exceedingly an eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which
are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen
are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal." (2 Corinthians
4:16-18). Never has this writer witnessed more positive evidence of the presence
and power of Christ as the Perfecter of faith than he has beheld in the
sick-room. A Field that Promises Victory. In the matter of preserving bodily
health, as in the matter of the progressive sanctification of the spirit, there
is necessity for working together with the Lord of life and faith, both by
prayer and the use of means at hand. As we approach nearer the true
interpretation of the words and works of Christ we appreciate more perfectly the
place of the healing art in the progress of the gospel. It is a notable fact
that learning and Christianity were long in finding their proper and helpful
attitude toward each other; but this attitude once discovered, Christianity
became the fosterer of learning, as is evidenced in its being the founder of
practically all the great universities in the world; while on the other hand
learning has been the aggressive and faithful coadjutor of Christianity in their
common warfare against ignorance and unbelief, so Whittier sings: "Nor heeds the
sceptic’s puny hands, While near the school the church-spire stands; Nor fears
the blinding bigot’s rule, While near the church-spire stands the school." Even
so medical science and the healing art are coming into closer fellowship with
Christianity. On the foreign mission fields the medical missionary has gone hand
in hand with the evangelist, and often in advance of him, so that it has been
said that China was opened to the gospel " at the point of a lance." Responding
to this reflex influence from the mission fields, in the home lands the
physician and the pastor are coming to know as never before the common aim of
their mission, and the day is near at hand when not only the church and school
must stand side by side, but the church and hospital will be built together,
with the result that a church will be thought derelict in duty if it fails to
make provision for alleviating the bodily sufferings not only of its own
members, but as far as practicable of the entire community. In this field we are
to win our next great victories for Christ, and here will be furnished the
complete answer to the propaganda of Christian Scientists and other faith
curers. In that day, JEsculapius will not be called the god of the healing art,
but Jesus Christ will still further come into his own and be recognized as the
Lord Healer and head of the noble medical profession. Not until then will we
know him as the Perfecter of faith even in this world under present conditions.
Looking for the High Dawn. "High dawn." That is what sailors call day-light
first seen above a bank of clouds. That is what we are looking for in our
present estate. The apostles and all the early Christians looked for it, and
called it "the coming of the day of Jesus Christ." "For we know that the whole
creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only so,
but ourselves also, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves
groan within ourselves, waiting for our adoption, to wit, the redemption of our
body." (Romans 8:22-23). Here we are brought face to face with an awful mystery
which we do not understand because it has been left unexplained. It is declared
that the whole creation is groaning and longing for deliverance from the slavery
of death, but that this groaning shall at last cease, and the longed-for liberty
be gained. At that time the children of God, now patiently awaiting the
redemption of the body, shall be glorified in common with all creation. Within
this present period of waiting we are, so to speak, imprisoned, but though the
day of deliverance is delayed, there is no cause for despair, but we are urged
to look forward expectantly. "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present
time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to
usward." (Romans 8:18). While we wait we hope, the ground for hope being Christ,
since from him we have received the firstfruits of our salvation and already
hold in our bodies the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the
purchased possession, that is to say, the resurrection of the body. "Thou didst
put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he subjected all things
unto him, he left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we see not yet all
things subjected to him." (2:8). What a glorious word is here spoken on the
exaltation of Christ. If the question be raised whether or not this reference
bears upon the deliverance from death we may look for answer in the latter part
of the verse, "But now we see not yet all things subjected to him." The
inference is that though all things are not actually put under him, yet they are
potentially, and in this assurance we may wait for the potential redemption of
our bodies to become actual. Lest, however, we should be depressed by the delay
of that for which we look, the writer adds: "But we behold Jesus," and he is the
archetype and guarantee of what we ourselves are to be. We see him who was made
a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory
and honor, and while we look upon him who has been thus perfected and so becomes
the Perfecter of our faith, the truth dawns upon us that "he that sanctifieth
and they that are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed
to call them brethren." (2:11). We are then related to him, bound up with him,
contained in him, so that all which he has accomplished both actual and
potential has been for us, and though we suffer here until at last death
overtakes us, we will not merely "pull the drapery of our couch around us and
lie down to pleasant dreams," but will rather rise in certain faith in him who
has overcome all things. And though we die we will die with the note of triumph
on our lips: "O grave, where is thy victory, O death, where is thy sting!"
confident that at last we shall be perfect in him who is the Perfecter, and, in
body as well as in spirit, be made like him who has sat down at the right hand
of the throne of God. The Foci of Faith’s Ellipse. To the Hebrew Christians
these things must have brought joy and comfort as they were urged to look to
Christ, the Author and Perfecter of their faith. We, in common with them, are
prone to suffer much because of our small conception of Christ. We have
undertaken to measure him by standards far too small. The enrichment of
Christian life depends upon enlargement of the view of Christ. Possibly no two
words could have been chosen which would more fittingly serve as the foci of the
infinite ellipse of imaginative faith than these two here used, Author and
Perfecter. A single illustration culled from the period of trial in the history
of the Jewish people will serve to show how complete and farreaching is the work
which Christ undertakes for his people. In Zechariah 4:9 these words are found:
"Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, The hands of Zerubbabel
have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou
shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you." Here the prophet
Zechariah gives the word of assurance to the men grown old in service who had
taken the first spadeful of soil out of the earth in preparation for that second
house which in some humble fashion was to replace and represent the finished
glory of Solomon’s temple. This man who had laid the foundation of the temple,
declared the prophet, should, though estopped for twenty years by the hostility
of the surrounding people, live " to bring forth the head stone with shoutings
of 1 Grace unto it.’" This good word spoken for the advantage of this builder of
the temple has a bearing upon the work of that mightier temple builder, the
Author and Perfecter of our faith. More broadly than they knew spoke his
neighbors around Nazareth when they called him "the carpenter," since it is he
who is building the eternal temple of God and of him it may be truly said, "His
hands have laid the foundation of the house, and his hand shall also finish it."
To John in Patmos he declared, " I am Alpha and Omega,"— the first letter of the
Greek alphabet and the last letter of the Greek alphabet. Between these two all
the other letters are included as well as all the words that can be formed from
these letters. All comes from him and is included in him. He underlies
everything, and in him all things consist. He has laid the foundation and his
hands shall also finish it. Why should those Hebrew Christians fear even though
their nation is scattered, and their capital city destroyed? Why should any
Christian fear or doubt, seeing that he is engrasped within the purpose and
program of him who is here styled the Author and Perfecter?


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  CHAPTER 8: 12 CHAPTER VI
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CHRIST: FORERUNNER AND SHEPHERD The potent and wonderful thing about Jesus
Christ is his personality. Its subtle influence can not be explained; it can
only be felt. "The hearts of men burn within them when he talks with them in the
road. When he breaks to them the bread of life their eyes are opened; and though
he vanishes from their sight they can never forget him. To have once come under
his spell is to be his for ever. To know him is to love him." His marvelous
personality defies definition; and while names and titles utterly fail to do
justice to it, yet they enable the observer to catch glimpses of it from
different angles. Here therefore are two other titles attributed to him which
were familiar to Hebrew readers. He is called our "Forerunner," (6:20); and the
great "Shepherd of the sheep," (Hebrews 13:20); the one name significantly
standing in the middle of the Epistle, the other appearing at its close. CHRIST:
THE FORERUNNER "Within the veil, whither as a Forerunner Jesus entered for us."
(Hebrews 6:19-20). The classic word whose meaning is here given as forerunner
variously signified the first shooting bud of spring, or the first drippings of
wine from the earliest ripe grapes of the season. Elsewhere it applied
especially to the light armed soldiers who were sent in advance of an army as
scouts, or those who rode before the king to see that the way was in good order
for his coming. In three places in the New Testament it refers to John the
Baptist whose preaching prepared the way for the coming of Jesus. And similar
meaning is involved in the saying of Christ to his disciples, " I go to prepare
a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I come again, and will
receive you unto myself: that where I am, there ye may be also." (John 14:2-3).
Condensing all these meanings of the word we arrive at this definition: A
forerunner is one who, in the interest of others goes in advance to a place, and
fulfills within himself all that is to be realized by those who follow after. In
matters religious it has been declared that, "a human ideal is the greatest need
of the worshiper." This need is supplied in Christ who as Forerunner is not only
the perfect ideal but the guarantor that the ideal shall be attained by those
who worship him. In " The Holy Grail," describing the mighty hall which Merlin
built for Arthur, Percivale is made to say: "And four great zones of sculpture,
set betwixt With many a mystic symbol, gird the hall: And in the lowest beasts
are slaying men, And in the second men are slaying beasts, And on the third are
warriors, perfect men, And on the fourth are men with growing wings, And over
all one statue in the mould Of Arthur, made by Merlin, with a crown, And peak’d
wings pointed to the Northern Star. And eastward fronts the statue, and the
crown And both the wings are made of gold, and flame At sunrise till the people
in far fields, Wasted so often by the heathen hordes, Behold it, crying, ’We
have still a king.’"

Here Merlin sets up the ideal which he would have the young king to reach. It
contains Merlin’s conception of what the king ought to be, and shows the ladder
of conflict over which Arthur must climb to this fine prophecy of himself.
Christ is the ideal set before us to be worshiped containing within himself all
that we may become and at the same time imparting to us the power to attain to
the ideal in himself. In his humanity we recognize our kinship with him. In his
victory we behold our victory. In his strength we feel ourselves girded. Within
the veil of the unseen our Forerunner has entered for us — for our advantage.
This idea of the Forerunner was not unfamiliar to the Hebrews since it had most
apt illustration in their history: in the case of Joseph as well as in the case
of the twelve spies. Joseph was sold by his brethren and carried by the
Ishmaelites into Egypt, where through trial he arose to triumph and made ample
preparation for his father and family who later were to come into the land of
plenty in order to escape death from starvation in the home land. Later when his
brothers had come and were dependent on his generosity he made himself known to
them and in doing so calmed their fears and relieved their consciences, which
smote them for having sold their brother, by saying, "Now be not grieved, nor
angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to
preserve life. For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and there
are yet five years, in the which there shall be neither plowing nor harvest. And
God sent me before you to preserve you a remnant in the earth, and to save you
alive by a great deliverance." (Genesis 45:5-7). So it turned out that Joseph
was the forerunner of his father and his father’s family in Egypt. Again:
Waiting at the fords of the Jordan with Israel Joshua sent spies to view the
promised land, which having done, they returned saying, "Truly the Lord hath
delivered into our hands all the land." These spies were forerunners for the
Israelites. After telling his disciples that he would soon leave them Jesus
said: "It is expedient for you that I go away." (John 16:7). This and other
scriptures teach that in heaven his interest is occupied in behalf of his people
on the earth. Three Post-ascension Appearances. There are recorded three
post-ascension appearances of Jesus, and in each one he appears thoroughly
identified with his people and their struggles: First he appeared to Stephen
who, in the agony of being stoned to death, said: "Behold, I see the heavens
opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God." (Acts 7:56). Here
it is seen that the Forerunner had not forsaken his follower. Though dying
Stephen was not left alone nor did he experience any sense of desertion. His
dying day was his coronation day. His very name means "Crown." In the hour of
death he triumphed as he beheld his Forerunner who had not only gone before him
but had prepared for him an open, upward way. Because of his union with the
Forerunner who stands within the veil his dying testimony emphasized and sealed
the testimony which he bore in his life. "Who have fled for refuge to lay hold
of the hope set before us: which we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both
sure and steadfast and entering into that which is within the veil; whither as
Forerunner Jesus entered for us." (6:18-20). How truly applicable are these
words to Stephen in his dying experience. In life he followed the Forerunner, in
death he had fellowship with him. In death the Forerunner had said, "Father,
forgive them, for they know not what they do." In death the follower prayed,
"Lord, lay not this sin to their charge." In death the Forerunner had said,
"Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit."’ The follower’s prayer was, "Lord
Jesus, receive my spirit." The Forerunner had gone on before, but he was not far
away, just within the veil, and was succoring and glorifying him who looked
steadfastly to behold the glory within the veil. Adoring and serving his
Forerunner with all the energy of his being Stephen becomes like him and enters
into his presence. The second appearance of the ascended Lord still further
revealed his interest in his people and their earthly conflict. On the way to
Damascus — to arrest and bring bound unto Jerusalem any whom he found " of this
way "— Saul fell suddenly to the ground under the shock of a great light
breaking from heaven, and heard a voice saying unto him, "Saul, Saul, why
persecutest thou me?" Saul thought that he was persecuting only those of the
way, but under the searching light which flashed from the skies, and the
question from him who spoke from the midst of that light, Saul’s threatenings
and slaughter were shown to be not simply against the disciples of the Lord, but
against the Lord of the disciples. Not simply against those of the way, but
against him who is the Way. Christ insisted upon his identification with his
persecuted people. The Forerunner had not forsaken his followers. Once more the
veil which hides him from human sight opened, and the divine Forerunner made his
appearance. John, the beloved, who had leaned on his bosom, who had tarried long
at the cross, and had taken to his own home the Lord’s sorrowing mother — John,
now aged and exiled, was in great tribulation in the isle that is called Patmos.
It was on the Lord’s day, the day on which the bands of death had been broken
and the grave despoiled of its chiefest victim. It was on this day of sweet
memory, and John was in the spirit, and lo! the Son of Man stood by, girt with a
golden girdle. And his head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow;
and his eyes were as a flame of fire. With a voice like the sound of many waters
he spoke words of infinite love, and sent messages of consolation to the
scattered, struggling churches. "After these things," said John, "I saw, and
behold, a door opened in heaven, and the first voice that I heard, a voice as of
a trumpet speaking with me, one saying, Come up hither." (Revelation 4:1). Here
we have the picture of the great Forerunner. Out of the open door of heaven he
keeps calling to his own, saying, "Come up hither. Come up hither." "In the
world ye have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."
(John 16:33). Up Through Conflict. With his clothes rent and with earth upon his
head there ran a man of Benjamin from the battle field to Shiloh, and he said,
"I am he that came out of the army." So may our great Forerunner say, "I am he
that came out of the army." He has felt the strength of battle, and he knows how
to help those who are still in the fight. ** You have shown me some of Fra
Angelico’s pictures, I remember," answered Donatello; "his angels look as if
they had never taken a flight out of heaven; and his saints seem to have been
born saints and always to have lived so. Young maidens and all innocent persons,
I doubt not, may find great delight and profit in looking at such holy pictures,
but they are not for me." This indictment in no way describes that Forerunner
who has gone in advance of his people and holds in himself the ideal of all
which they hope to become. Another word remains to be said illustrative of the
power which Christ, the Forerunner, exerts upon those who give up to the
attraction of the ideal which they find in him. A Story of Lily Life. Snug in
the mire in the bottom of a pond a lily bulb lies embedded — in its heart the
dormant prophecy of what a lily ought to be. A grim little grub wriggles its way
toward this bulb and asks with a touch of scorn, "What is this?" to which the
reply comes, "Indeed, I am a lily!" "Well," retorts the grub, "I think I have
heard of lilies in my time. Let me see what a lily is like. A lily is a black,
hard ball in the bottom of a pond." To this the sun, which holds in outlines of
brightness the Creator’s plan for a lily, replies, " Oh, it is not a lily yet!"
And then with hooks of light it seizes the lily’s heart and gives it an upward
pull. In response the lily bursts from its shell to begin its upward climb. Now
it has unfolded into a bunch of leaves and stems, toward which a little fish
swims, saying, "And what is this? What is this?" The answer comes, " I am a
lily." Then the fish says, "Oh, then this is a lily! A lot of hard green stems
and sheltering leaves." But the sun answers again, "Not yet! Come up higher. You
have not yet laid hold on that for which I laid hold on you." To this the lily
makes response by further yearning upward toward the light. Finally its heart is
laid open. Its velvety petals stand in stately array encircling the stamens and
pistils, which, like bejeweled fingers are touched with the beauty of the
morning. Lured by the fragrance, a butterfly with brilliant wing alights on the
flower, saying, "Oh, what is this?" The lily’s reply is, "I am a lily," while
the sun echoes, "Yes, you are a lily now." And when did the lily come to be a
lily? It became a lily when its heart got on top, when it answered the final
call of God’s ideal for lilies, when it responded to the attraction of the sun,
rising from the dark depths of the pond to receive in the open air and light all
that the world had to give, and in turn to give back to the world and to God all
that it had received. What the sun does for the lily Christ does for his people.
As our Forerunner he calls us up toward himself and into himself, and not only
does he call, but he draws. He holds before us the ideal, and it is he who makes
the ideal real as we aspire toward it. "And He, He is the Light, He is the Sun
That draws us out of darkness, and transmits The noisome earth-damp into
Heaven’s own breath, And shapes our matted roots, we know not how, Into fresh
leaves, and strong, fruit-bearing stems; Yea, makes us stand, on some consummate
day, Abloom in white transfiguration robes." CHRIST: THE SHEPHERD How Christ
makes his ideal for us real is connoted in his being called the Shepherd. "Now
the God of peace, who brought again from the dead the great shepherd of the
sheep with the blood of an eternal covenant, even our Lord Jesus, make you
perfect in every good thing to do his will, working in us that which is
well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be the glory for ever
and ever. Amen." (Hebrews 13:20-21). Having gathered from the fields of Hebrew
literature sheaf after sheaf of truth into the great harvest of this Epistle,
our author now gleans from many sources numerous references to the shepherd, and
binds them together in this rich expression with which he crowns his noble
treatise. With full, affectionate understanding the Hebrew Christians would give
attention to this term, "the great Shepherd of the sheep." Their entire
scripture was redolent with the ideas which this term suggests. Jacob, the
ancestral head of the Israelites, was a shepherd. Moses, the law-giver and
founder of the nation, was a shepherd. David, their mightiest king and
organizer, was a shepherd. Some of the greatest of the teachers and prophets had
been shepherds, while the people themselves had formerly been a race of
shepherds and were strong in their pastoral instincts. Broken and scattered now,
even as Christ had foretold, they were like sheep without a shepherd. Under
these conditions the very thought of all that this title includes would serve to
comfort them in their distress and strengthen them in their weakness. The name
Forerunner stands in the middle of the Epistle. Here at its close stands this
tender name Shepherd. This word so rich in historical usage and meaning Christ
chose as the vessel into which he poured to over-flowing the abounding
significance of his relation to his people. The best explanation of this name
appears in what Christ has said concerning himself as the good Shepherd: "I am
the good shepherd: the good shepherd layeth down his life for the sheep. I am
the good shepherd; and I know mine own, and mine own know me." (John 10:11; John
10:14). The Reversal of the Sacrificial Law. In the giving of his life for the
sheep lies his first claim to the title of good Shepherd. He gives his life for
the sheep. Here is love carried to the point of complete sacrifice. It is "love
out-loving love." Here is the reversal of all law and precedent with regard to
sacrifices. Under the law of sacrifice the sheep died for the shepherd, but now
the shepherd surrenders his life for the sheep. This tenth chapter of John flows
as the New Testament sequel out of the twenty-third Psalm so often, read, so
often prayed, so often sung. But this Psalm of the shepherd comes immediately
after the twenty-second Psalm which is without doubt something more than a mere
coincidence. The twenty-second is the Psalm of the cross and of redemption. In
it we have Christ crucified, even the details of his sufferings being enumerated
as they actually occurred and are recorded in the gospels: as in the cry, "My
God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" vs. 1; as in vs. 16 where it is said, "
They pierced my hands and my feet;" and in vss. 17 and 18 where it is said,
"They look and stare upon me: they part my garments among them, and upon my
vesture do they cast lots." Having thus laid down his life, in the twenty-third
he becomes the good Shepherd of the soul. With the risk of repeating the thought
though not the form of some things already discussed we may ask, "Who is this
Shepherd that lays down his life?" Without hesitation we answer, " He was not
one of the sheep." As the Shepherd sacrificing himself, he did not rise up out
of the flock, but came to the flock, saying, "Behold, I myself, even I, will
search for my sheep, and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeketh out his flock
in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered abroad, so will I seek
out my sheep; and I will deliver them out of all places whither they have been
scattered in the cloudy and dark day. I will seek that which was lost, and will
bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken,
and will strengthen that which was sick." (Ezekiel 34:11-12; Ezekiel 34:16). It
should be kept in mind that Christ is not the champion of mankind. He is the
redeemer. He is not God’s rival, but God’s revealer. He is not the agent of God,
he is the Son of God. If Christ is no more than a man, however great and good a
man he may be, then we have in his words the absurd picture of one sheep
delivering the entire flock from the wolves. But Christ is God. His love is
God’s love, not an echo of it. In saving man he did what only God could do. In
the matter of the atonement if Christ was not God in the act of saving men, he
was saving from God. He was acting a part not unlike the part played by
Pocahontas when she fell on the neck of John Smith to save him from death by the
tomahawk in the hands of Powhatan, while God the Father in the meantime becomes
a more terrible monster than the Indian chief. For Powhatan, according to the
story, did desist when he saw that the blow which he was about to deal would
mean the death of his daughter, while "God spared not his son." No, it was not
thus; but God was in Christ, reconciling and saving the world. It was not enough
to tell men of the divine love. This the prophets did, but with all their pathos
and fervor their messages failed to impress the people in any largely effective
way. As a prophet Jesus himself largely failed, both with his disciples and with
the people. They marveled and admired, but they were slow to believe. More than
the White Marble Christ. Nor was it enough for Christ to appear as a sinless
personality or statuesque figure embodying the divine love imaged before the
eyes of men as the perfect type, the holy ideal. That would have been beautiful
in art, but it could not serve as the dynamic for the moral redemption of
mankind. It would have left him an inert figure, a lovely spiritual statue,
exquisitely finished, indeed, but armless and as helpless to meet the deeper
needs of man as the beautiful armless statue of Venus of Milo was to help the
crippled boy poet who went day after day to lie at its feet and gaze up at its
beauty. What was needed, and desperately needed, was a Saviour, mighty and
strong, who could take hold of the world and wrestle with it — a shepherd who
would go out into the wilderness "in the cloudy and dark day," following the
sheep until he found them. Such a Saviour-Shepherd was Christ. The Foot-prints
of the Flock. To appreciate what he did for us it is necessary to keep in mind
what was our need. Our difficulty is not that we are strayed children, big babes
in the woods gathering wild flowers. We are sinful men, belonging to a sinful
race, a mutinous crew, driving our ship against the rocks. We are sheep escaped
from the fold and running away, everyone willfully going his wayward course. Our
situation is not pathetic, something to cry about with a weak sentimentality. It
is tragic, desperate, deathly. No amount of external application will avail. The
disease is mortal. The only remedy is regeneration. Anything less is like trying
to smother a terrific volcano by attempting to put a sticking plaster over the
crater. Nor is a spiritual hero sufficient. Nor an exquisitely beautiful martyr.
The stimulus which these provide is powerful, but not powerful enough to wrest
men from the mighty grip of sin. In "Positive Preaching and the Modern Mind"
Principal Forsyth truly declares that in his death Christ does that which is
crucial for human destiny. He enters the wild stream. He rides on its rage. He
rules its flood. He binds its course. His love takes its throne in the active
center of rebellious humanity, and there wields its scepter. He goes to the
cross voluntarily. His death on the cross was not his fate: it was his act. "I
lay down my life for the sheep. No one taketh it away from me, but I lay it down
of myself." His death was God in action in behalf of men. It was redemption
mastering perdition. It was not merely a declaration or proof of the grace of
God. It was the tremendous fact of the grace of God. It was the focal point of
eternity. It was not the seal of his work. It was the consummation of his work.
"For this cause came I unto this hour." On the cross something was done once for
all. Something decisive was achieved for time and for eternity. There he
suffered and there he atoned. The weight of our guilt was laid upon him "who his
own self bare our sins in his body upon the tree." (1 Peter 2:24). There love
reached its limit in enduring pain and judgment. He entered into our
condemnation. "Him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; that we
might become the righteousness of God in him." (2 Corinthians 5:21). "But none
of the ransomed ever knew, How deep were the waters crossed, Nor how dark was
the night that the Lord passed through, Ere he found the sheep that was lost."
In his Fellowship. Another ground on which Jesus bases his claim to be the
Shepherd of souls is that of the tender relation uniting himself and his people.
This relation may be best described as fellowship. He says, " I am the good
Shepherd; and I know mine own, and mine own know me." "Good Shepherd." That is,
"beautiful (Gr. kalos) Shepherd." The reader of the Fourth Gospel can not fail
to notice the constant tendency to attach to certain words only the loftiest
spiritual meaning. Dropping their ordinary meaning, these words, like Shelley’s
skylark, spring up from the common earth to soar and sing in the blue depths of
the spiritual realm. Such a word is that here translated. "good." While it means
good, a stricter rendering would be beautiful — beautiful in a moral sense; and
so it signified the highest moral beauty. Keeping in mind this meaning of the
word the title "Beautiful Shepherd" is clothed with a new charm and tenderness.
This fellowship which includes mutual acquaintance between Christ and his people
reaches the very climax of moral beauty. This fellowship from its very nature
results from Christ’s immanence. Much has been said about "divine immanence."
But the divine immanence imports nothing more nor less than the immanence of
Christ who is "before all things," in whom "all things consist," and who is "
over all, God blessed for ever." His immanence makes him accessible and his
accessibility is the basis of our fellowship with him. The Lover of Warm Life.
In his death on the cross where he entered into our condemnation, suffered in
our stead, and bore our sins, Christ identified himself with us. With Calvary as
the starting point it is our privilege to press to its logical end the meaning
of that death as it bears upon his identification with us. He died for us. He
arose for us. He now lives for us. And through it all he knew us and loved us.
It is this which makes him accessible. Indeed it is this which makes him our
Saviour and Shepherd. Some one has said that there are multitudes of the saintly
so remote from all weakness and so severe to self-indulgence that we dare not
confess our sins in their presence. But we can do this before him because we
feel that he is inviting us to do it. He who loved us unto death can continue to
contain and shelter us in his love. He said once, and he keeps on saying, "Come
unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest." To come
unto him is to come into him. He knows us and we know him. There are no sealed
secrets barring fellowship. In the large dictionary on my study table is a bunch
of dry, pressed violets and roses placed there at some time by my little girl.
They have only the imperfect form, and but little of the fragrance, which they
originally possessed. They remind one of the purely historical conception which
some have held with regard to Christ, a sort of Rose of Sharon or Lily of the
Valley, the fragrance of whose petals has been pressed out between the leaves of
musty books. Such a desiccated Christ has lost his appeal and power. There is
much to be considered in the words of I. Zangwill in "Dreams of the Ghetto" when
he says: "I give the Jews a Christ they can now accept,— the Christians a Christ
they have forgotten — Christ, the joyous comrade, the friend of all simple souls
— not the theologian spinning barren subtleties, but the man of genius
protesting against all forms and dogmas that would replace the direct vision and
the living ecstasy, the lover of warm life and warm sunlight, and all that is
fresh and simple and pure and beautiful." Such is Christ in his capacity as
Shepherd. He is the soul’s true companion. His people are the sheep of his
pasture, not the sheep of his stalls, fed on dry hay. A great need of much
present-day Christianity is that its professors shall roam through the flowery
pastures with the Shepherd, hear his voice, feel the gentle stroke of his hand,
and feed in the green fields of actual experience. It is well to study Bible
geography since Palestine is the sacred country where the historic Christ lived,
but all geography is sacred because Christ is filling all lands with his
presence. In the long ago, crossing the Sea of Galilee he fed the hungry and
cast out the evil spirits from the suffering Gadarene: and he is still doing
this, though on a larger scale, as from month to month with the missionaries he
crosses the Pacific Ocean to feed the hungry, teach the ignorant and exorcise,
the demons from the multitudes awaiting his coming on the shores of the Orient.
The great fact in our religion is that Christ lives. The Christ who lived and
died in Palestine lives to-day. He lives here and now with his people. To a
fellow passenger who sneered at his missionary work in India, saying, "Your
Christ is dead, and he can do nothing to help the heathen," Bishop Thoburn
replied: "You are mistaken. The Christ I preach is alive. He is a living Christ.
He actually rose again. I saw him this morning." "And where did you meet him?"
came the question. To which the missionary replied, " On this steamer. I have
been in the habit of turning the key in my door every day, and on my knees
talking with him. Yes, he talks with me." The man was struck dumb, astounded at
such faith. Do not the psychologists teach that you can not go back of personal
consciousness? Jesus says, "I know mine own and mine own know me." The Basis of
Perfect Union. And this fellowship based in mutual acquaintance is inseverable.
In this consists its value and glory. In the New Testament seven forms of figure
are used to set forth the union of Christ with the believer. There is one drawn
from the animal kingdom — the sheep and the shepherd, (John 10:14-15); one from
the vegetable kingdom — the vine and the branches, (John 15:1-5); one is taken
from the realm of architecture — the foundation and the stones in the building,
(Ephesians 2:20-22); one from the political kingdom — the commonwealth and its
people, (Ephesians 2:19); one from the physiological kingdom — the body and its
members, (1 Corinthians 12:27); one from the marriage relation — the bride and
the bridegroom, (Ephesians 5:31-32). But all these unions imply the possibility
of severance: the shepherd might lose his sheep; the branch might be torn from
the vine; the stone removed from its place in the building; the arm cut from the
body; the citizen exiled from his country; and even the bride may be divorced
from the husband. All these figures are strong and beautiful, though incomplete
within themselves. But there is a union mentioned which precludes all
possibility of separation. It is found in 1 Corinthians 6:17> "He that is joined
unto the Lord is one spirit." They are one substance. In spirit there can be
discovered no line of cleavage. There is no point here for incision. The knife
that would go into the believer would go into Christ. The ruin that would fall
upon the one would necessarily fall upon the other. Spirit is elemental and can
not be separated into parts. Here then we have the full expression of the
perfect and indissoluble union between Christ and his people. The Chapel at
Life’s Center. "Now the God of peace . . . make you perfect in every good thing
to do his will." (13:21). "Make perfect," otherwise to mend, to adjust, or put
in order, as, to set a broken bone, or to bring back into the right way. But
this adjustment is accomplished through what the good Shepherd does. In Amos
3:12 the shepherd "rescueth out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or the pieces
of an ear." The deliverance came too late. The ruin was beyond repair. Not so
with the Shepherd of souls. "He will bring again that which was driven away and
will bind up that which was broken." (Ezekiel 34:16). The rescue is accomplished
and the repair is made in order that those thus adjusted and brought back may do
the will of him who performs this great service. And the more perfectly this
will is done the more perfect will be the fellowship between the rescuer and the
rescued, the rescuer in the meantime working in the rescued that which is
well-pleasing in his sight. This then is the meaning and fruitage of the
fellowship between Christ and his own. And so Christ enters into the innermost
part of the believer, there to record his will and carry on his work just as in
some of the stately royal palaces of Europe there is shown a beautifully adorned
chapel, as in the case of the Cappella Palatina of the royal palace at Palermo,
which is said to be the most exquisitely finished in the world, the inner life
of the believer becomes the dwelling place of the believer’s Lord. And so each
one may have at life’s center his own royal chapel in which, however, there is
not enshrined a lifeless crucifix nor inert painting of the Christ, but where
the risen, living Christ dwells as intimate friend and unquestioned master.
Memorizing with the Life. How Christ may thus be appropriated and yet live in
the life of the believer is illustrated by the following story from the mission
field: A native Korean Christian once came to a missionary, and said, "I have
been memorizing some verses from the New Testament; will you hear me repeat
them?" The missionary opened his Testament, and the native helper began at the
fifth chapter of Matthew and recited the Sermon on the Mount without a halt or
verbal error. The missionary was surprised, although he had often observed the
power of memory in these people, who read less and reflect and memorize more
than we; and he took some thought concerning the comment he should make. At
length he said. "You have done well, my brother, to learn these words of the
Lord Jesus. All our religion may be found in them. But you must remember that it
will do you little good merely to know the words; you must practise them as
well." "That is the way I learned them," replied the Korean. "What do you mean?"
asked the missionary. "I took these precepts one by one," said the Korean, "I
mourned for my sins, and found comfort. I sought to be pure in heart, and I saw
the vision of God. I tried to make peace and to be a child of God. I hungered
and thirsted after righteousness, and something of what I sought I found. It was
not difficult to commit to memory the precepts of the sermon, because I had
learned the word by obedience as well as by study." Since this bond of union
between Christ and his own is indissoluble it must mean the elimination finally
of death. "The God of peace who brought again from the dead the great Shepherd
of the sheep." Here only in the Epistle is the resurrection mentioned. Indeed it
could not be concluded without mentioning this great link which binds into an
eternal oneness the mighty truths which have been discussed. All that Christ
becomes to his own he will remain to them through death and after death. Even in
the future glory the relation of shepherd and sheep will continue. Among the
splendors of the world to come this relation will remain unchanged. "And he that
sitteth on the throne shall spread his tabernacle over them. They shall hunger
no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun strike upon them, nor
any heat; for the Lamb that is in the midst of the throne shall be their
Shepherd, and shall guide them unto fountains of waters of life." (Revelation
7:15-17). Here the identity of the Shepherd with the sheep is completed in his
being called the Lamb, while the relation is eternal since this Lamb who is the
Shepherd forever guides and nourishes the sheep. With this sense of endless
security all Christ’s own, with George Whitefield, can sing: "And when I’m to
die, ’Receive me/ I’ll cry, For Jesus has loved me,— I cannot tell why. But this
I can find, We two are so joined, He’ll not be in glory and leave me behind."


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Source: https://sermonindex.net/books/porter-samuel-judson-the-twelve-gemmed-crown-christ-in-hebrews/
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