The Watchtower, July 1, 1890
VOL. XI. ALLEGHENY, PA., JULY, 1890. NO. 8.
Zion's Watch Tower
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"I WILL DRAW ALL UNTO ME."
"Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out [i.e., the judgment or testing of this world is now about to begin --the testing which shall result in casting out the present prince, Satan, who now dominates the world and who sways fallen men by ignorance, superstition, fear, etc.]. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw ALL unto me."-- `John 12:31,32`.
It seems strange that so simple a statement as the above can be differently understood by God's children. Our Calvinistic friends see in the word all no more than the elect, and in the word draw they see nothing but force or compulsion. Our Universalist friends get the all right, but hold the same erroneous view of the word draw.
Our Arminian friends, on the contrary, though they get the correct view of the word draw, namely, to constrain, or to exert an influence upon, but not a compulsory influence, nevertheless fail to get the true sense because they do not allow the true meaning to the word all. They see that all are not drawn now, and know nothing of the greater work of constraining love, in the Millennial age.
When, however, the passage is examined by those who have clear views of God's great plan of the ages, all is harmony, and no necessity is found for either belittling or exaggerating the meaning of such simple words as all, draw and unto. (The Greek word here rendered unto is pros, signifying toward.)
The passage predicts that though our Lord's death by crucifixion (`verse 33`) might seem like Satan's victory, it would really be the beginning of his overthrow, who for so long had held humanity as blinded slaves in sin, superstition and ignorance. While it looked like the defeat of the Son of man, it really was not; it led to his exaltation and power, whereby he should in God's due time free men from bondage to sin and death, and grant to all an opportunity of life--to draw all away from error and from love of sin and the service of Satan, to himself, and to obedience to him as the great ruler whom God has appointed. As the Prophet, Priest
and King appointed of God to destroy sin and to restore to perfection all who will yield themselves to the drawing influence of the truth, he shall be exalted in his Millennial kingdom. Many who should know do not know that our Lord has not yet begun this work of drawing men unto himself. Thus far he has been receiving such only as are drawn to him by the Father's promises through the prophets, etc. His work of drawing will not begin until the Millennial kingdom has been established--not until the Father's promises have drawn out from the world a little flock to be the bride, the Lamb's wife.
All of God's dealings with his intelligent creatures are on this same principle of drawing, persuading and constraining, and not of compulsion. During the Gospel age the Father himself is the one who draws or persuades to righteousness by his truth. Our Lord Jesus attributes to him all the drawing of the present time, saying, "No man can come unto me except the Father which sent me draw him." The Father's work is to draw or call, and to select from among the called the "little flock" whom he shall accept with and under Jesus Christ to be partakers of the divine nature, to constitute his kingdom, and to bless and draw all the families of the earth, during the Millennium.
This, as the Father's part of the work, is beautifully illustrated in the type of the calling of Rebecca to be the wife of Isaac. Abraham typified the Heavenly Father, Isaac, the Lord Jesus, and Rebecca, the Church, the Lamb's wife. Not Isaac, but Abraham, called Rebecca to be Isaac's joint-heir. As Abraham sent Eliezer as his honored representative and servant with instructions how to select the proper person, and to draw or influence her to come with him to be Isaac's wife, so God has sent forth his Spirit--the spirit of his truth and the power of his truth--to call or draw, not all, but merely a desired class--such as gladly receive the messenger and willingly forsake their father's house (the human family), to become members of the divine family.
Abraham did not send his servant to call or draw any maiden whom he should meet, but, on the contrary, charged him strictly that he should not fetch one of the daughters of the Canaanites, but one from among those already related to him. So God does not call or draw sinners (represented by the Canaanites, to whom Eliezer was not to go,) to this high position of joint-heirship with Christ, but only such as are already justified, in harmony with God--friends of God.
The servant, in representing his mission and calling the bride, always spoke in the name of Abraham and as Abraham's servant, and not as Isaac's servant, though as a matter of fact Isaac was being served too, because Abraham's service and instructions included Isaac's interest. So the spirit of truth speaks to us who are now being drawn. We are told that we are called of God (`Rom. 8:28,29`); begotten of God (`1 Pet. 1:3`); adopted by God into his family by the spirit of adoption sent of God (`Rom. 8:15`; `Gal. 4:5,6`); we are to come unto, and find access to, the Father (`Rom. 5:2`; `Eph. 2:18`; `3:12`); and we are finally to be resurrected by the Father (`1 Cor. 6:14`). Thus the Father is credited with doing all the drawing of the Church, the bride, during this age, although our Lord Jesus and all the faithful of God have been his servants, ambassadors and representatives, represented also in the person of Eliezer, doing the calling and drawing in the Father's name.
This, then, the Father's method of drawing, is a proper sample of the drawing which our Lord Jesus will do when he shall, as promised, draw all men unto him. (The word draw in both cases is from the same Greek word helkuo. `John 6:44` and `12:32`.) Using the Father's work as an illustration of Christ's work, we know that there will be no coercion, no compulsion; that it will be by the cords of the truth that all will be drawn; and that those who would resist the spirit of the truth, when the Lord and all his gracious provisions are fully known, will be privileged to do so, none being drawn against their wills.
As the Father drew the Bride by the special promise of the heavenly estate, and will bestow upon her the divine nature in accordance with that agreement, so the conditions and promises by which our Lord Jesus will draw all are clearly defined. The promise which he will hold out will not be the same that the Father has held out to us--the "high calling" or "heavenly calling"--but an earthly calling. A calling and drawing to the restitution of all things lost in Adam will be the prize which he will set before all mankind, and for which all will be invited to so run as to obtain it.
The promises of full restitution of life --including perfect health and strength --and of all the honor and rulership of earth originally given to Adam will be parts of the drawing power which shall influence every man. Yet then, as now under the Father's drawing, there will be no compulsion; and notwithstanding the drawing of those promises, the wills of men will be free to choose between humility and pride, between God's law of love and Satan's law of selfishness, between good and evil.
If all other conditions were to be the same then as now, we might well reason that few would be drawn by the Redeemer, as only a "little flock" have been drawn by the Father. But we have already seen that in many respects the difference between now and then will be great. Satan will be bound; his deceptions, political, financial and theological, will no longer mislead those really seeking the truth and the right way. The way of holiness will then be a highway--a broad, open, public thoroughfare, upon which there will be no danger of pitfalls and snares, and whereon no ravenous beasts (false systems and false doctrines) shall go to torment with fear or to turn back the seekers of perfection of holiness.--See `Isa. 35:8-10`.
Not only will the way be so much more favorable than the narrow, thorny way open during the present age, by which alone the heavenly calling can be reached by those who have been called and drawn of the Father, but the call and drawing will be more attractive to mankind. It will be a drawing in perfect harmony with all that is good of human nature in mankind, whereas the call and drawing of this present age is in many respects (when rightly understood) the very reverse. The present call to the Church is to leave the human, earthly, all the visible delights and experienced pleasures, to seek after such as can only be seen by faith and grasped by hope. How much more enticing will be the call to "build houses and inhabit them, plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them, and long enjoy the work of their hands." --`Isa. 65:21,22`.
Even now, while the saints are called to the heavenly things, and exhorted to lift their minds from earthly hopes and ambitions, and to place them upon the heavenly things not seen as yet, how difficult all find it to do so at all times. How apt are earthly plans and ambitions to intrude and carry us captive to earthly things for a time. How difficult it seems for the very large majority of God's children to lift their affections and place all of them upon the Kingdom promised them, but seen only by faith--to live for that Kingdom, to spend all of time and influence (aside from the necessities of the present) in preaching that unseen Kingdom, not believed in except by the few.
On the contrary, do we not see that most of God's people grasp earthly reforms and seek to push them, instead of prosecuting the work for the promised but deferred and unseen Kingdom? Among these earthly ambitions are Temperance reforms, Political reforms, Financial reforms and Social reforms. All of these, and many more, are good and pleasing
to God and will be regularly the order of the day under Christ's Millennial Kingdom. These are all earthly and tend toward earthly restitution, and for mankind in general they are the proper thing, and manifest the proper aspirations and ambitions. We are not objecting to such reforms, but while commending them, wish to have all see how much more natural it is to fall in with such works of restitution than with the one and only thing that the consecrated believers are now called to give their attention to--"Go thou and preach the Kingdom of God."--`Luke 9:60`.
Thus will the Son of man, because lifted up, (because he became man's ransom-price, and by virtue of his consequent exaltation to be man's King and Restorer,) draw all unto him, into harmony with him and the laws of righteousness. And as a result of the light then shed abroad and the knowledge of the truth then caused to fill the earth, and the drawing power of that light and truth, in connection with the promises and blessings of restitution, many, we hope and believe, will choose life by choosing to obey the New Covenant-- the law of the spirit of life in Christ. But whether the vast majority will so choose and obtain life everlasting for the ages of glory and joy and peace beyond the Millennium, God only knows, and his Word makes no declaration on the subject, except what may be inferentially drawn from the only parable of our Lord which illustrates that Millennial age and the results at its close. (`Matt. 25:31-46`.) The inference which it would give is that a majority will obtain everlasting life, as sheep are more numerous than goats.
DO YOU BELIEVE IN THE RANSOM?
Do you know what the word ransom means? When you have found out that the Greek word, antilutron, rendered ransom, has a particular meaning, that it means neither more nor less than a corresponding price, then ask yourself whether you believe in it according to its true and only meaning? Do you believe that the Lord Jesus gave a corresponding price? that is, a price equivalent to the forfeited life of Adam, in whose condemnation you were involved and in whose redemption also you are therefore included? If so, you are a believer in the ransom; if not, you might use the word ransom in every sentence you uttered and yet not be a believer in it. Remember that no other definition of the word ransom is ever offered, even.
Let us briefly go into the philosophy of the ransom and ask a few questions which may assist some to clearer views on the subject and enable them to square and repair their belief in harmony with this, the fundamental principle of God's plan of salvation.
If you accept of the fact which the word ransom teaches--that Christ gave a corresponding price for all--then ask yourself, What was the price which he gave? Does he not say, it was his life that he gave as the price of ours? (`John 10:15`; `6:51`.) Was that price not given to save us--to recover us out of death, to make legally possible the resurrection of the dead? Is it not written, I will ransom them from the grave? (`Hos. 13:14`.) Are you sure that you believe in the ransom, thus, according to its only meaning and use in the Scriptures? Make sure that you do so fully; for to believe something else about it and to use the word ransom in a wrong sense is only to deceive and ensnare your own heart, and will lead you bound hand and foot into the "outer darkness" of human philosophy--evolution.
Well, if you are sure that you have the correct idea of the corresponding price, look at the facts and ask yourself, When did our Lord pay that price for us? Does not the Apostle give the answer of this (`1 Tim. 2:5,6`), saying that it was the man Christ Jesus who gave himself a ransom for all? When was he the man Christ Jesus? Surely not before he was made flesh, when he was a spirit-being with the Father. Surely not since his resurrection; for he is the man Christ Jesus no longer. He was made alive from the dead "a quickening spirit," of the divine nature, far higher than angels, while manhood is "a little lower" than the angelic nature.-- `Heb. 2:7-9`; `Psa. 8:4-8`.
Is it not clear, then, that our Lord when he was the man Christ Jesus gave himself (all of himself, his human rights, privileges, etc.) as our corresponding price?
And as the price paid by the Lord was a corresponding price, does not this prove that those for whom this price was paid had lost or forfeited just such things as corresponded to what he paid? And does not this agree with the statement, oft confirmed in the Scriptures, that God created man perfect, upright, in his own image, only of a fleshly or earthly nature instead of a spirit or heavenly nature?
Is it not evident, then--since Adam was created in God's likeness, and not in a state of imperfection and sin; and since he lost his powers of perfect manhood and all right to their possession through disobedience; and since by losing these he and all in him became subject to death (`Rom. 5:12`)--that our Lord Jesus under the divine plan became a man for the very purpose of giving himself a corresponding price for Adam, and thus for all involved in the loss and fall through him? Is it not evident that he gave up his manhood on our behalf as a substitute for condemned Adam, that Adam and his children might be released from the tomb "in due time"? Is it not evident, then, that our Lord Jesus would not prefer to be a man, being now of a nature so much higher than the one that he humbled himself to take for our sakes, that he might be able to give the corresponding price? And is it not evident that even if human nature were higher and more desirable than the divine nature, our Lord could not take it again without taking back the price of our justification?
And is it not evident that this is the one and only view of ransom which fits to the meaning of the word and to the facts and testimonies which God gives relative thereto.
Do you know, now, whether or not you believe in the ransom? and are you able to see through the thin deceptions of some teachers who use the word repeatedly to give the impression that they believe the sentiments which the word represents, but who are nevertheless constantly teaching theories in direct opposition to the meaning of the word ransom and its use in the Scriptures? Settle this question at once and definitely; and then see to it that your every mite of influence, by word and by letter and by literature, is exerted for the ransom as God's Word teaches it,--a "corresponding price," its only definition.
QUESTIONS ON THE RANSOM.
One who has been somewhat confused by the growingly prevalent no-ransom views, which darken counsel and pervert the Scriptures by stringing together disconnected portions of Scripture and by using such words as ransom and restitution regardless of the meaning of the words, suggests the following questions, which, for the benefit of all, we answer publicly.
Ques. Could not Christ be our ransom and yet not be our substitute?
No; the word ransom means all that substitute and redeem mean, and more. The word ransom not only signifies a price put instead of, or as a substitute for, something, but it means a corresponding price, a corresponding thing substituted.
Ques. Do you not misstate the case when you declare that Christ as our ransom is the Rock upon which all should build, the foundation of all true faith? Do not the Scriptures declare that "That Rock was Christ," without mentioning the ransom?
No, we do not misstate the matter. While acknowledging all of the features of Christ's work, we claim, and have repeatedly shown, that the work of Christ as our ransom is the foundation Rock upon which all other parts of his work for man's salvation are built, and that faith in his work as our ransom price is the solid rock-foundation, and the only foundation for all our hopes, present and future, through him. What is it to believe in Christ? Surely not the mere belief that such a person lived and died. No; many infidels believe this, and yet, rejecting the work which he accomplished as our Redeemer, our ransom-price, they have no foundation for faith in him. Besides, in the very case you cite (`1 Cor. 10:4`), the rock which typified Christ was the one from which the water flowed out as the result of its being smitten. That smiting represented Christ's crucifixion as our ransom. As the direct result of that ransom the water of everlasting life flows to the otherwise perishing. The source of life, the foundation of all faith and hope, then, is the smitten Rock, Christ as our ransom.
Ques. You have pointed out repeatedly the many texts which mention the value of Christ's death, the efficacy of the precious blood as the one and only propitiation (satisfaction) for our sins, which effects for us a release from sin and its penalty, death; will you permit me to inquire --How comes it, then, that the Apostle, while agreeing with you that "we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son," declares that "we shall be saved by his life?" He even declares that if Christ be not risen, we are yet in our sins. If Christ's death was our ransom-price, and effected our reconciliation with God, as you and the Apostles declare, how could it be true that if Christ had not risen, our guilt would have been unforgiven and we would have been without hope of a resurrection?
A careful study of the typical sin-offering (See next issue of the TOWER,) will show clearly the answer to this question. When the typical high-priest made atonement for sin, he first slew the bullock, which represented the man Christ Jesus who gave himself a ransom (a corresponding price), putting it on the altar of sacrifice, where it was fully consumed. Then he, as the representative of Christ, the "new creature," partaker of the divine nature, took the blood of the bullock into the Most Holy and sprinkled it upon the Mercy-seat and before the Mercy-seat, thus representing a work done by our Lord Jesus after his resurrection, when he, as our great High Priest, "entered into heaven itself (the true Holy of Holies), there to appear in the presence of God for us"--there to present before the Father, as the payment of our sins, the merit or value of his own sacrifice at Calvary.
Just as in the type the slaying of the bullock and the consuming of it as a sacrifice did not effect the typical atonement nor typically take away the sin, just so in the antitype. Our Lord's sacrifice of himself did not take away our sins, nor in any way effect a reconciliation, nor justify us from our sins, nor secure to us resurrection life, until presented to God, after his resurrection and ascension. As in the type the death of the bullock became the means or price by which reconciliation and atonement for sin was afterward effected in the Most Holy, so in the antitype
the death of Christ became the means, the merit, the price by which reconciliation and atonement for sins was afterward effected, when Christ our Lord arose, ascended, and presented before the Father the merit of his obedience, as the offset to the penalty against Adam and all his race--as substitutionary payment of the penalty against Adam, as his ransom price (a corresponding price).
When you have earned the money for the purchase of an article, that alone does not make the article yours. The money may lie in your purse and the desired thing will never be yours unless you present the money for it. So, our Lord's death, which corresponded to man's penalty, became in his hand a merit, a valuable thing, available for man's purchase or ransom, sufficient as a propitiation to settle or cancel the debt of the sinner. But the presenting of that price for us was not done at Calvary, but after our Lord was risen and ascended up on high. The presentation of that merit before the Father and its acceptance as our ransom price was typically shown in the type of the atonement, by the sprinkling of the blood of the bullock (blood of propitiation or satisfaction) upon the Mercy-seat or Propitiatory.
Did God then accept the merit of Christ's sacrifice as the full offset, ransom or purchase price for the world of mankind? Yes; God not only indicated that the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus was an acceptable one in his sight, but he in a special manner granted an acknowledgment that when presented to him as the payment, the price, the propitiation of our sins, he thus accepted of it.
The resurrection of Christ from the dead was the proof or evidence that in him God was well pleased, that his life and sacrifice were acceptable before God; and this became an assurance or evidence to men that he is the one through whom God intended to judge the world--to try or test men under full knowledge and opportunity, and reward all who will choose righteousness with lasting life.--`Acts 17:31`.
The descent of the holy Spirit at Pentecost was the evidence or proof that the sacrifice of Christ had been applied on our behalf as the price of our sins and that God had accepted it as such. It was ten days after our Lord ascended up on high before any forgiveness of sins or other advantage from his death accrued to men. What was our Lord doing in heaven during those ten days, while the disciples waited for the promised blessing? He was doing what was typified in the act of the typical high priest sprinkling the blood of the already offered and consumed sacrifice, as an atonement or propitiation upon the Mercy-seat or Propitiatory. He was presenting the merit of his human life given up as the price of our forfeited life, that he might, by thus meeting our penalty, have the right to offer lasting life, by a resurrection, to all.
Thus seen, the resurrection of our Lord was all-important. Had he not risen, he would have been proved a sinner, one not worthy of life and unfit to be our ransom price. Had he not risen, he could not have gone into the Holy of Holies, even heaven itself, there to appear on our behalf, to present to God the merit of the sacrifice he had made; and therefore we would have remained unbenefited. Remember, too, how he declared after his resurrection, "It is expedient for you that I go away." Had he not entered the true Holy of Holies and presented his sacrifice as our ransom, we would have remained in our sins, and the holy Spirit and the privilege of God's call to joint-heirship with Christ would not have been granted--for this favor comes not to sinners, but to the justified. And had Christ not risen, he could never do the great work of restitution for mankind. For be it remembered, only believers in his ransom-sacrifice are yet justified, freed from sins, or in any way forgiven. Of others it is written, "ye are yet in your sins." Only believers have escaped from the condemnation that is still upon the world (`John 3:18`). And these believers are such as not only believe that such a person as Jesus lived and died, but that his death was accepted of God as their ransom price. Others will be brought to a knowledge of this great foundation truth in the times of restitution, and when they accept of it, their sins will be blotted out. --`Acts 3:19`.
So then, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, but not at the time of the death, nor until it was presented and accepted as our ransom price. And we were justified freely by his blood [his sacrificed life], not when he died, nor when he presented it to the Father as the price of Adam and his race, but when we individually accepted of the offer of forgiveness and reconciliation--through his blood.
THE WAITING ONES.
There are some among the faithful,
Waiting, watching every day,
Peering through the misty shadows
To the clear and lighted way;
Listening in the dusky twilight,
Waiting even in the night,
'Mid the toil and heat of noonday
Bending forward to the light.
And they speak in eager whispers--
"Can we see his chariot yet?"
"Will the Master come this evening?"
"Will the heavenly Friend forget?"
So they stand, these earnest servants,
Waiting, watching evermore
For the clouds to part asunder,
And reveal the open door.
There are troubled ones among them,
Looking through the weary night;
Some are God's dear little children
Watching for the dawning light;
Some are aged pilgrims, longing
For the Master's spoken word;
There are some in every country
Waiting, watching for the Lord.
And they take their daily duties,
And perform them as for him;
And they read his loving message
When their eyes are tired and dim.
They are living lives of blessing--
Lives of love for his dear sake,
While they wait with eager longing
For the morn of joy to break.
Now he doth no longer tarry;
Soon he'll fold them to his breast;
He will make his watchers happy
In this everlasting rest.
He will give them satisfaction
For their days of waiting here;
And their joy shall be unceasing
When they shall his glory share.
--Selected.
THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF CHRIST.
All of God's dear children trust in the precious blood of the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. They know, as Mr. Moody tersely puts it, that the blood of Christ is the principal topic of God's revelation, and the foundation of his great plan of salvation. They know that the expression, "blood of Christ," somehow stands for sacrifice of Christ, though they are sadly confused by false ideas on the so-called "trinity," and consequently upon what our Lord Jesus gave as the sacrifice for sins.
In this "evil day" the great Adversary of God and his truth is taking advantage of this confusion, this lack of clearness of understanding, to overthrow faith in the ransom, the foundation doctrine of Christianity. The process is, to scoff at the idea of blood cleansing from sin, and to insinuate that most Christians believe in having literal blood sprinkled on their hearts, or that they are cleansed from sin by plunging into a literal fountain filled with blood drawn from Immanuel's veins. Thus the idea of blood-cleansing is scouted as being on a par with the doctrine
of everlasting torment, and belonging to the savage minds of the "dark ages."
As a matter of fact, no sane Christian people have ever held this literal and absurd view of the meaning of the blood of Christ. It has always been recognized as synonymous with sacrifice. Any fair-minded person can readily see this to be true as well of the use of the word blood by the Apostles, as in the hymns of all denominations of Christian people. Take that grand old hymn--
"There is a fountain filled with blood
Drawn from Immanuel's veins,
And sinners, plunged beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains."
What could more clearly express the very essence of the Bible doctrine; and how absurd for any to try to make out that those who thus express their sentiments believe in a river of literal blood. The hymn expresses well and beautifully the very thought of the Prophet (`Zech. 13:1`), "In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David for sin and for uncleanness."
There is surely an object in this misrepresentation of the general views of Christian people. Is it to confuse the mind, excite disgust at the thought of blood, and swimming in rivers of blood, etc., and then under the warmth of the denial: "Such is not my belief even if my fathers did believe it," to point out to the confused one a theory which it is desired to impress? It looks very much that way. The theory then advanced is, that when Christ's blood is mentioned, the word blood stands for carnal nature, and the understanding should be--Christ slew HIS carnal nature, as an example of how all his followers and the world in general should slay their carnal natures.
Ah! no wonder that, with such a theory to advance, the great Adversary first tried to excite disgust for any and every thing connected with "the blood." He well knew that, unless disgust for "the blood" should be aroused and form a barrier of mental prejudice, some of God's children would be sure to examine the forty-three places where the Scriptures mention the blood of Christ, and the many more where they mention the blood of animals which typified his blood. And if they would but investigate, they would find that which would prove fatal to the theory he wished to establish as new light.
The few who look to God's word for instruction find that in these forty-three times that the blood of Christ is mentioned, neither our Lord nor the apostles once hint that the blood of Jesus represented the slaying of his carnal nature, nor that he had in or about him anything evil that required to be destroyed. They find, on the contrary, that there was no cause of death found in him except in the sight of the hypocritical Pharisees. And they find that, to the contrary of the theory we are criticizing, these forty-three inspired testimonies on the subject declare unitedly, not that our Lord shed his blood for himself and as an example to all men to shed their blood for themselves and thus reach perfection, but that, whatever blood symbolizes, it is his blood that cleanseth us from all sin.
Yes, his blood became the basis for the forgiveness of our sins, made peace for us, opened up the way to reconciliation, and transferred us from the domain of sentenced culprits, back to sonship in the family of God. So says the great Apostle Paul-- `Col. 1:20`; `Heb. 9:12`; `10:19`; `13:12`; `Rom. 3:25`; `5:9`; `Eph. 1:7`; `2:13`; `Col. 1:14` and `Acts 20:28-31`. So declares the great Apostle Peter--`1 Pet. 1:2,19`. So testifies the beloved Apostle John--`1 John 1:7`; `Rev. 1:5`; `5:9`; `7:14`.
Truly the Word of God is sufficient that the man of God may be thoroughly furnished against all the wiles, glosses and sophistries of Satan. Even those who do not see clearly what the blood does signify or symbolize, can, without aid, quickly see that it means nothing at all like what this erroneous view would set forth. The idea of the blood of Christ signifying the slaying by him of his carnal nature is as far from the testimony of the above passages of God's Word as the East is from the West.
But what is the true significance of the blood of Christ when used in reference to our cleansing from sin, as in the above citations? If it does not mean literal blood, what does it mean?
We answer by giving God's definition of what blood represents or symbolizes. The blood is the life. (`Gen. 9:4-6`.) "For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have appointed it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls [lives, beings]: for it is the blood [sacrificed life] that maketh atonement for the soul [or being]."--`Lev. 17:11,14`.
By accepting God's definition of what blood signified, in all the sacrifices, as well as in the case of the "one sacrifice for all" which our Lord Jesus presented, all confusion disappears. As blood represents the life, the shedding of blood represents the loss of life--death. So then, the expressions --the Lamb slain, the cleansing blood of the Lamb, the precious blood of Christ, no more refer to literal blood than to a literal lamb, but to the death of Christ. True, our Lord's side was actually pierced and blood flowed out, but the expression, "He hath redeemed us by his blood" (by his death), would have been equally true and proper, if not a drop of his literal blood had passed from his veins; for it merely signifies that he redeemed us by his death--by the sacrifice or loss of his life. Thus it is written, "He poured out his soul [being--life] unto death;" and again that he made "his soul [being-- life] an offering for sin."--`Isa. 53:12,10`.
So then, God's people have always had the pith of the truth on this subject, when believing that the "blood of Christ" meant the sacrifice of Christ. That is the correct thought. Their difficulty is, that when they come in contact with errors their lack of a clear understanding of what sacrifice Christ did make for the sins of the world, combined with erroneous ideas of a trinity, make them liable to be led astray from the foundation doctrine of Christianity--"that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures." Finding that they cannot clearly analyze their own views, they are very susceptible to the false view we criticize, which first ridicules the idea which no one holds, that it is the literal blood of Christ which washes away our sins, and then offers the proposition, that Christ's blood, when referred to in Scriptures, represents his slaying of his own carnal nature and desires, as an example to men, how they must each slay his own carnal nature and desires. According to this unscriptural theory each man would be his own Savior. And not only so, but if each would be a great Savior in proportion to the work accomplished, then the Lord Jesus would be the least of all; because, even those who claim that he had a carnal nature to crucify or slay cannot dispute that many men have far more of evil and sin working in their members to overcome than our Lord had. And if each slays sin in himself, the more degraded the man the greater the salvation, and the greater he is as his own Savior.
But let each compare this view briefly with the view presented in the above cited statements of the apostles respecting the blood of Christ--the life which he laid down on our behalf.
The life of the world in general was gone--forfeited in father Adam's failure when on trial--all not absolutely dead were dying. They were under the execution of the just sentence of God, "Dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return." God had decreed a sentence which would most fully manifest the law of the universe --that no sinner shall live--and one which at the same time furnished an opportunity for revealing to angels and to men his unswerving justice, his great love, and his boundless wisdom and power. When God decreed death as the penalty for sin, so that a ransom (a corresponding price --a just one to die for [or instead of] the unjust one--`Rom. 5:17`) would be necessary to the release of mankind from the sentence, he did so in full view of the course he would pursue. His wisdom foresaw the results of leaving Adam to his own free will--that in his inexperience he would not submit his will to the will of his creator and would therefore get into sin and under the sentence of death--extinction. And his wisdom also foresaw how his love could work out a plan for the salvation of his creatures. And he foresaw that the well beloved and only begotten Son would humbly consent to carry out the divine plan--to leave the glory and honor of the heavenly nature, and as the man Christ Jesus give himself a ransom for Adam and his race.--`Phil. 2:7,8`; `1 Tim. 2:5,6`.
Since the penalty was death, the ransom necessary to release the dead and dying world from the sentence under which all were, and to secure them restitution-- resurrection--and an individual trial for everlasting life, was the death of this perfect man whom God thus provided. And this simple and easily comprehended plan was carried out. The man Christ Jesus gave himself a ransom for all;--he died, the just for the unjust;--he died for our sins. The dying on the cross, the drops of bloody sweat in Gethsemane, the pierced hands and side and flowing blood were not necessary to our ransom. None of these things were the penalties of sin. God's sentence against Adam--"dying thou shalt die"--did not specify what manner of death, nor what amount of suffering should be connected with it. Death alone was the penalty, and had God's will been such, for our Lord to have met death in any other form than crucifixion would have been equally our ransom price.
Many do not see that in our Lord two things were being accomplished at once. Our ransom was being provided, and our Lord's extreme fidelity to the Heavenly Father was being tested and proved in the same sacrifice. As our ransom, death in any form would do; but as an unbounded proof of his humility and obedience to the Father's plan, the shame of the cross was added.--`Phil. 2:7,8`.
The result of his death as it affects himself is that he is now highly exalted and made partaker of the divine nature, that all men should honor the Son even as they honor the Father.--`Phil. 2:8,9`; `John 5:23`.
The result of his death as it affects mankind is that it places the world in his hands as the purchaser, to the intent that, without violating the law and sentence of God (which he satisfied with his own [life] blood), he may restore men to perfection and offer everlasting life to all who will come into harmony with God's perfect law through him--under his direction and assistance.
THIS IS JUSTIFICATION.
Thus we are justified by his blood [by the life which he laid down for us]: our sins and imperfections are passed over, forgiven, covered by the merit of the ransom which he gave. Not only sins past and present, but also all future sins--all that are directly or indirectly the results of Adam's transgression--all that are not our own, that our wills do not approve of, are not reckoned any longer to those who are in Christ Jesus. No wonder these have joy and peace as they realize that there is now no longer any condemnation against them.--`Rom. 5:1`; `8:1`.
Here begins the work of sacrifice and crucifixion with Christ to which many are invited, but to which few respond. It is
a mistake, however, to consider this sacrificing as a slaughter of our sins or as having anything to do with the "slaying of the enmity" mentioned by the Apostle. On the contrary (under the Law, which was typical), no sacrifice could be offered unto the Lord that had any blemish or imperfection--blemishes representing sin. So it is that no one is ever invited to become a sacrificer with Christ until he has first been justified from all things-- cleansed from all sins--by the precious blood [sacrificed life] of Christ. And if these who are cleansed from sins--justified from all things--are told that they may present their bodies ["holy and acceptable unto God" through Jesus Christ] as living sacrifices, it must be their justified selves and not their sins that they present, and that the Lord proposes to accept.
The "enmity" which the Apostle declares Christ abolished (`Eph. 2:15`) was not sin in himself, nor anything in himself; but in or by the sacrifice of his flesh, the man Christ Jesus abolished the enmity or opposition of the Jewish Law Covenant, under which fleshly Israel labored. When that Covenant which they could not keep was fulfilled by our Lord Jesus and passed away (`Col. 2:14`), all who had been under it were released from its requirements of absolute perfection which opposed and condemned them all, that they might receive through Christ forgiveness of sins --through faith in his blood.
The privilege of becoming joint-sacrifices with Christ is limited, as truly as is the privilege of becoming joint-heirs with him. "Now is the acceptable time." Both the privilege and the reward of sacrifice will end with this age. Now is the time when God will accept the living sacrifices of all who (after being justified from all sin by the blood of Christ) come unto God through him.
Such are not invited to sacrifice for their own sins, then, for their sins must be canceled before any sacrifice would be acceptable. But they are invited to sacrifice time, talent, influence, self-ease, and lawful self-gratification, in the service of the truth--in the general cause of God against the great enemy, Sin, and for the recovery of sinners out of it through Christ Jesus.
The sufferings of Christ, to a share in which all believers cleansed by his blood were invited during the Gospel age, will soon end. They will be filled up or completed. (`Col. 1:24`.) Then the glory will follow--the glory of Christ Jesus and also of all the members of his body, the church, those who suffered for the truth (not for their sins), sacrificing their justified selves with him and in the cause of God. Then the reign of righteousness will begin and none will have occasion to lay down his life for the truth's sake thereafter.
Many have believed in the precious blood and have had joy and peace in believing and then heard the call to the privilege of self-sacrifice with Christ; but few have responded, and hence few are chosen to be with him and behold and share his glory and his throne, and his new nature--the divine nature--far above both the human and the angelic natures, even in their grandest perfections. Let us, acceptable to God through the precious blood, make our calling and election sure. Let us lay aside every weight and hindrance and run with patience the race of self-denial to the end--looking unto Jesus, the author of our faith, to finish it by receiving us to the heavenly mansion.
"ENTERTAIN no thoughts which you would blush at in words."
THE UNDEFILED ONE.
"Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one."--`Job 14:4`.
That the pre-existent Son of God "was made flesh and dwelt among us," is clearly stated in the Scriptures (`John 1:14`); that he was "holy," "undefiled," and "separate from sinners," is plainly stated (`Heb. 7:26-28` and `Luke 1:35`); and that he knew no sin, while all other men are sinners, is also stated (`2 Cor. 5:21`; `Rom. 5:18,19`; and `1 Pet. 2:22`). The Apostle's argument that he was able to, and did, give himself a ransom or corresponding price, for the forfeited life and rights of Adam (`Rom. 5:17-19`; `1 Tim. 2:6`), proves the same. Because the first Adam was perfect until he sinned; hence one who could give a corresponding price or ransom must have been likewise perfect, without sin and free from its condemnation. The same thought is logically deduced from the statement that Jesus fulfilled all the requirements of the Law (`Matt. 5:17`; `John 8:46`); for we know that the Law of God was the full measure of a perfect man's ability. Hence the conclusion is irresistible that he must have been a perfect man when able to do what no imperfect man had done or could do. --`Psa. 49:7`; `Heb. 1:3`; `4:15`; `9:28`; `10:5-10`; `Isa. 53:9-12`; `John 1:29`; `1 Pet. 1:19`.
But notwithstanding the mass of Bible testimony as to his human perfection, some inquire, Can the possibility of this be scientifically shown? Others assert that it is an impossibility, and that the laws of nature are in direct opposition. They give unbounded weight to their imperfect understanding of nature's laws, and lightly cast aside the weight of Bible testimony.
The question, however, is well worthy of an examination from a scientific as well as from a scriptural standpoint, in order that the agreement of science and Scripture may be clearly seen. Science and Scripture always agree when properly understood. There is no law against our seeking evidence from every good source, but only egotism, or blindness, or both, will exalt human reasonings above the divine testimony.
We raise the query then: How came it that Jesus was perfect while his mother was imperfect?--who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Seeking to answer this query, the church of Rome promulgated the doctrine of the "Immaculate Conception:" not the doctrine that Jesus was miraculously conceived by the holy power of God, as recorded by the Evangelists; but that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was miraculously conceived, and hence that she was pure, holy, and free from Adamic sin and imperfection. But the originators of this doctrine could not have been far-seeing, or they would have known that by the same reasoning it must be proved that Mary's mother was of immaculate conception, and so all the way back to Eve, "the mother of all living," whose fall into sin before she bore any children is clearly stated in the Bible. See `Gen. 3` and `1 Tim. 2:14`.
However, this subject is perfectly clear and plain now, from a scientific as well as from a Bible standpoint.
The Scriptures hold out the thought that all EXISTENCE, LIVING ENERGY, or BEING, comes from the father and not from the mother. The mother receives and nourishes the germ of being until it is able to maintain an independent existence; i.e., until it is able to appropriate to its maintenance the life-sustaining elements which the earth and air supply. The living organism which she nourishes came entirely from the father. The word father has the significance of life-giver.
In harmony with this principle, God was the "FATHER," or life-giver, while the earth was the Mother of Adam, and hence of the human race (`Luke 3:38`). In harmony with this principle, the children are spoken of, as of or from their fathers, and borne by their mothers. (`Gen. 24:47`.) Thus the children of Jacob, counted through his sons, were seventy when he came out of Egypt; but if he or the twelve Patriarchs had daughters, which we cannot doubt, the children of those daughters were not counted as Jacob's children, they being counted to their fathers. And all of these seventy souls or beings are expressly said to have come out of the loins of Jacob. (`Gen. 46:26,27`, and `Exod. 1:5`.) So of Solomon it is said, that he came out of the loins of David. (`1 Kings 8:19`, and `2 Chron. 6:9`.) So also the Apostle Paul and Israelites in general claimed that they all came out of the loins of Abraham; and of Levi it is written that "he was yet in the loins of his father when Melchisedec met him." --`Heb. 7:5,10`.
Thus also the whole race was in and sprang from Adam their father, but were not from Eve. And thus it is written that in (through) ADAM all die, but not in (through) Eve. Because the race came of Adam, it was therefore tried in him.
This, which the Scriptures teach, is the latest deduction of science on this subject of Progeneration, as applied to life in all its forms. Scientists find abundant and conclusive proof in nature that life or being comes always from the male. The simplest form of illustration is a hen's egg: Of itself it contains no life; no living organism could under any circumstance come of it, unless it be impregnated with a living organism by the male. The egg consists of the proper elements, and in proper proportion, adapted to the minute organism received into it; and under proper conditions that organism develops. The yolk becomes wholly the bird, while the clear liquid albumen serves as its earliest nourishment until it breaks the shell and is able to sustain itself by appropriating cruder elements of nutrition. The principles here involved are the same in human and other animals.
In view of these testimonies of the Bible and science, it is a reasonable deduction that if the father be perfect, the child will be so: the perfect progeny would absorb and appropriate only such elements of nutrition as were suitable and beneficial to its perfect development, throwing off through the operation of its perfect organism any other elements. On the contrary, if the germ of being be imperfect, it will appropriate whatever qualities its mother furnishes--good or bad. Being imperfect, it would be unable to reject wholly the poisonous elements of disease. This is on the same principle that if two persons eat of strong food, the one with good digestive powers can appropriate its nutriment and pass off its unwholesome qualities, while the other with weak digestion could appropriate little nutriment from the same food and would be injured by its evil qualities.
It follows, then, that had mother Eve alone sinned, the race would not have died. Had Adam remained perfect, his life unforfeited and unimpaired, his offspring would have been the same; the imperfections of Eve would not have affected them; being perfect, they would have appropriated good elements and have passed off naturally any elements of decay without injury. On the other hand, suppose that Adam had sinned and Eve had remained sinless, Adam's condemnation and death would have affected the entire posterity just the same; the most perfect nourishment given to imperfect and dying germs would never make of them perfect beings. Hence the appropriateness of the Scriptural statement, that "In Adam all die," and "By one man's disobedience...death passed upon all." (`1 Cor. 15:22`; `Rom. 5:12,19`.) How wonderful the correspondence here between the first and second Adams and their brides. As the death of the race depended not upon Eve but wholly upon Adam, and yet she shared in the bringing of it, so the restored life of the race redeemed depends not at all upon the bride of Christ, but upon Jesus, though by divine favor it is arranged that she shall share in the work of RESTITUTION of "that which was lost."
The fountain, Adam, having become contaminated by sin and death, none of his posterity can be free from contamination; for, "Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one." The reference here must be understood as applying to the man, and not to the woman: none coming from or out of the contaminated fountain can be clean. Hence, "There is none righteous, no, not one;" none can redeem his own life, nor give to God a ransom for his brother.--`Rom. 3:10`; `Psa. 49:7`.
It follows, then, that the only obstacle to the generation of a perfect man is the lack of a perfect father to give a perfect life-germ; and hence the teaching of Scripture, that in the case of Jesus a perfect LIFE-GERM, transferred by divine power from a pre-existent condition to the embryo human condition, was born "holy" (pure and perfect), though of an imperfect mother (`Luke 1:35`). That he was uncontaminated with any imperfection --mental, moral or physical--which his mother in common with the entire human race shared, is entirely reasonable, and in perfect accord both with Scripture and with the latest scientific findings and deductions.
Another fact which scientists are demonstrating to themselves, which seems to concur with Scripture testimony, is, that though life or being comes from the father, form and nature come from the mother. The scientific proofs of this are more abstruse and less easily grasped by the ordinary mind; and this, because in wisdom God has not only separated the various kinds, or natures, but in great measure has limited them, so that they cannot mix or blend beyond certain limits.
The clearest illustration of this principle that kind or nature comes from the mother, scientists have yet to learn, is found in the Scriptures. They furnish the principal and clearest illustration of the effect or result of miscegenation, or the blending of distinct natures, and prove more conclusively than science has yet been able to do, that NATURE comes of the mother, though the father's characteristics attach. Take, as an illustration, the offspring of the improper union between "the daughters of men" and those angels who kept not their proper estate, but degraded their nature: the progeny had the vitality of the fathers, but the nature of the mothers--they were renowned MEN. [Superior to the then decaying race, it would have had hard masters in those Nephelim had not God in goodness not only swept away the new race (new, because not of the same father) in the Flood, but restrained "those angels" who caused this trouble, depriving them
of their former liberties. See articles in issues of June and December, 1884, and January, 1885, treating of these.] So great was the renown of these, that it is to be found with more or less distinctness in heathen mythologies to this day, and hundreds of years after their destruction in the flood, the false report that some of these were yet alive caused a panic among the Israelites while flushed with the victory of recent battles.--See `Num. 13:33`.
But the chief illustration of this principle is found in the fact that Jehovah, himself of the divine nature, has begotten sons of the same as well as other natures. He is the father of those of the angelic nature (`Job 2:1`; `38:7`; `Heb. 2:9`), and of the human nature (`Luke 3:38`), as well as of the "NEW CREATURES" who shall be made partakers of his own divine nature. (`2 Pet. 1:4`). The will or ENERGY of Jehovah operating upon spirit-substances produced and developed angels; operating upon earthly substances (`Gen. 2:7`; `1 Cor. 15:47`), man was produced. And when he would give us a clear conception of the generation of the new creatures to the divine nature, he represents them as begotten of his in the womb of the Covenant which he made with Abraham, which he symbolizes by a woman, Sarah, telling us that as Isaac was the heir of Abraham and child of promise (by Sarah), so we, as or like Isaac, are children of God, being children of the promise, or Sarah covenant. --See `Gal. 4:23-31`; `1 Pet. 1:3,5,23`; `2 Pet. 1:4`.
The same principle is illustrated in the fact that in the typical dispensation, prior to the Christian age, a child inherited blessings and privileges of its father, according to the favor and standing of its mother, thus again declaring that the mother's nature, rights, privileges and liberties attached to the child, though not of necessity the father's. See `Gen. 21:10`; `Ex. 21:4`; `Gal. 4:30`.
Again, Jesus' birth of a woman proves the same thing. The "holy thing" born of a woman partook of the woman's nature, i.e., human nature--"of the earth earthy." Though retaining all the purity and perfection of the pre-existent (spirit) state, the transferred germ of being (in harmony with this law we are examining) partook of the nature of the mother and was "made flesh" by being "born of a woman." Yet the "clean thing" came not out of the unclean race, but "proceeded forth and came from God" and was merely nourished and developed in Mary.
It is yet further in harmony with this same principle that though Christ has been highly exalted to the divine nature, and is no longer human, yet it is declared of him that he shall be the life-giver or father of the whole human race, while it is also shown that his work for the race is to restore the perfection of human nature, which was lost for all through Adam's sin; thus showing that he, as father, will be on the divine plane, while the restored race, as children, will be on the human plane, born out of a covenant of restitution, illustrated by Keturah, Abraham's third wife.
SECTARIAN TAXES.
A prominent New York journal calls attention to the fact that of the total sum of $1,142,222.61 assessed in that city for charitable purposes for the present year, more than one-half will go to support sectarian charities, the figures standing:
Nonsectarian, . . . . . . . . $510,092.38
Sectarian, . . . . . . . . . 632,130.23
Total, . . . . . . . . . . . 1,142,222.61
This immense sum appropriated to sectarian purposes is made up as follows:--
PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL.
The Children's Fold of the
City of New York, . . . . . . $17,680.00
Protestant Episcopal House of
Mercy, . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,134.63
The Shepherd's Fold of the
Protestant Episcopal Church
in the State of New York, . . 5,000.00
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . $31,814.63
JEWISH.
Hebrew Benevolent Society of
the City of New York, . . . . $60,000.00
ROMAN CATHOLIC.
Association for Befriending
Children and Young Girls . . . $7,280.00
St. Joseph's Institution for the
Improved Instruction of
Deaf Mutes . . . . . . . . . . 20,700.00
Foundling Asylum of the
Sisters of Charity . . . . . . 252,345.60
New York Catholic Protectory . 254,000.00
Roman Catholic House of the
Good Shepherd . . . . . . . . 6,000.00
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . $540,325.60
Thus, at the expense of the public, over half a million dollars per year are spent to prove to the world the great benevolence of the CHURCH OF ROME.
We highly approve of real generosity and benevolence, but the people have a right to demand that public taxes be devoted to public and not to sectarian religious purposes. The influence of this money goes to spread or to support the errors of the systems dispensing the sum. How these large sums of money are spent, the public never knows, for no reports are required of these as of the city charities.
SHALL NEVER DIE.
"I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die."--`John 11:26`.
These were Jesus' words of consolation to Martha. They state briefly man's future hopes in, and because of, the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Let us analyze the statement, and, if possible, gain its full import.
The first statement--"He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live," teaches that only believers shall be resurrected--made to "LIVE." This may appear out of harmony with other statements of our Lord to the effect that ALL in their graves shall "come forth," until we recognize the full force of the words RESURRECTION and LIVE. We have therefore shown that the word resurrect signifies to lift or raise up again to perfection, and that since man's fall was from perfection as represented in Adam, his resurrection would imply a bringing to perfection again. But many Scriptures indicate that while the gospel church will be lifted to the perfection of the new nature in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, the world will be resurrected or brought to perfection of their human nature gradually--the Millennial age being the times of resurrection or restitution.
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