But, still more wonderful! this son of man was, also, the "Son of God;" Jehovah, the LORD. Joining the two natures, God and man, he became the Messiah, or Christ.1 To the world, and to each one of us, this is the most interesting fact in all history. Our eternal happiness, or our everlasting misery, depends upon our faith in this fact. "Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God," and "hath eternal life;" and "he that believeth not the Son, is condemned already; shall not see life: but the wrath of God abideth on him."4 9 6 8 2 To this wonderful being, the Lord Jesus Christ, are ascribed the names; the works; and the attributes, of God." He is the Creator of all worlds; of all things, visible and invisible; and by him all things consist.10 Angels and men are directed to worship him ;" and to honor him as equal with God. He is omnipotent; 13 having "all power in heaven and in earth;" 14" angels, and authorities and powers being made subject unto him." 15 He is omniscient; 16 he is omnipresent." Well might he, who was "God manifest in the flesh," 18 say to the leper: "I will; be thou clean," 19 and to 12 on earth," by John Young, a very able and interesting work; proving the divinity of Jesus from some of the historical facts, which present his manhood; has furnished many thoughts for this chapter. 1 Matt. xvi. 15, 16. 2 1 John v. 1; Matt. xvi. 17. 3 John iii. 16, 36. 4 John iii. 18, 36. 5 Isaiah ix. 6; John i. 1; xx. 28; 7 Col. ii. 3, 9; Heb. xiii. 8; John viii. 58. * John i. 10; Heb. i. 2. 9 Col. i. 16. 10 Heb. i. 3; Col. i. 17. 12 Phil. ii. 6; John v. 23; x. 30. 13 John xiv. 14; Rev. i. 8. 14 Matt. xxviii. 18; Heb. i. 8. 15 1 Pet. iii. 22; Eph. i. 21. 16 Matt. ix. 4; John ii. 24, 25; Acts i. 24; John xvi. 30; xxi. 17; Rev. ii. 23. 17 Matt. xviii. 20; xxviii. 20; John iii. 13; xiv. 18, 23; Acts xviii. 9; Eph. i. 23; 2 Tim. iv. 22. 18 1 Tim. iii. 16. 19 Matt viii. 3. " Heb. i. 6; Luke xxiv. 52; 1 Cor. i. 2; Phil. ii. 10; Rev. v. 8, 13; vii. 9. 10. 2 1 the winds and waves; "Peace, be still;" and to the dead: "I say unto thee, arise;" and to the sinner: "Thy sins be forgiven thee."3 194 for The Lord Jesus Christ is well called the "Word; in and through him alone we know all that we know of God and of the way of salvation: he is the only "way" to God. All the types; all the sacrifices; all the promises, in the Word of God, centre in him. Well might the heavenly host, at his advent, praise God; saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."5 Well might the angel say, "Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people! For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." Well might the disciples be glad, when they saw their crucified Lord risen from the dead!' Well might they worship him with great joy, after he was carried up into heaven while in the act of blessing them! Well may we rejoice! The loving Jesus has entered into heaven with his human body; has there all power; is head over all things to his Church: is "the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever;" with all his human sympathies; 10 with the same loving heart, that responded to every cry of distress that was made to him; that wept with Mary and Martha at their brother's grave; and that raised the widow's son. He is as willing now, as when on earth, to receive the most degraded; and to forgive even the chief of sinners; and is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him." " Well may the sheep of the King of kings "rejoice always!" 12 for "He gives them eternal life; they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of his hand." 13 u CHAPTER XLVII. THE NEW KINGDOM-ITS WONDERFUL PROGRESS. THE HE resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead; his repeated appearances to his disciples; "his opening their understandings that they might understand the Scriptures, how it was written in Moses, and the prophets, and the Psalms, that it behooved Christ thus to suffer, and to rise from the dead on the third day; " and his ascension before their eyes into heaven; gave renewed confidence to his terror-stricken followers, who had been so sorely disappointed at his ignominious death, although he had repeatedly foretold to them that death, with all its attending circumstances. The scattered few began the assembling of themselves together in his name, in a retired room, with closed doors, for fear of the Jews. Thus did the kingdom, which was to overthrow all opposing kingdoms, commence its course. The new kingdom thus strangely founded, was as wonderfully to make its way in the world. Opposed to the natural desires and inclinations of all men ; and intended to destroy the power of Satan, the god of this world; it is not surprising, that, wherever it appeared, rulers and people at once rose up to prevent its progress. In Jerusalem persecutions immediately arose; and the humble followers of the meek and lowly One were pursued even to strange cities, and taken to prison and to death. The new kingdom, however, strange to say, was extended by persecutions; and kept extending the more, as the world rose against it. Soon the ' Luke xxiv. 44-46. whole power of the Roman empire, which then controlled the world, was repeatedly put forth to blot out all traces of it from the face of the earth. But, in three short centuries, we see this kingdom, its subjects gathered chiefly from the poor of this world, its adherents everywhere persecuted, yet making no resistance; we see it obtain control of the great Roman empire, and counting even the emperor himself among its professed subjects. And since then it has been extending, until it has become acknowledged by the whole civilized world. To the eye of sense, no task could have been more hopeless, than that undertaken by the first followers of Jesus. A few "unlearned and ignorant men,"1 are sent forth with the command: "Go teach (or disciple) all nations." They were directed to commence a crusade against "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life" common to all men, and cherished by all; a crusade to overturn the religions of the world; they were to proclaim salvation by faith alone, in One, just put to death as a malefactor. They were to call men, everywhere, to forsake the faith of their fathers, to deny themselves, and to take up a cross; to give up friends and all their worldly prospects; to meet persecutions, and most probably to suffer a cruel death. They were sent forth, warned that they would meet all this themselves. What a mission for a few friendless, uneducated men to undertake! But they had the eye of faith. They knew whom they believed. They had his promise: "Lo, I am with you alway, even to the end of the world." And they at once, fearless of all danger, and certain of success, went forth to conquer the world. The extension of this kingdom in the world has been a continual extraordinary manifestation of the presence and power of God: and its progress brings more clearly to view that Great Being, the glorious Third Person of the God 'Acts iv. 13. 2 Matt. xxviii. 19. 9 Matt. xxviii. 20. |