waited for the manifestation of the sons of God at the resurrection of the dead.

Again he says (verse 20), "For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope." That is, the called under the law were made subject to vanity, that is death, by the terms of that law, as all persons under the law were under the curse; but the wise looked forward in hope, expecting that they would be redeemed from the curse of the law, and therefore Paul says in his letter to the Hebrews (9:15), “And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called (under the law) might receive the promise of eternal inheritance." (Verse 21) "Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption (that is, from under the curse of the law) into the glorious liberty of the sons of God." There were many righteous people developed before the law was given, and many more after Christ came, among the Gentiles. Paul said to the Galatians (5:13), "Brethren ye have been called unto liberty, only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh." They had been released from the bondage of sin by the faith of Christ, and were exhorted to stand fast, therefore, in the liberty wherewith Christ had made them free.

(Verse 22) "For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now." In this passage the house of Israel under the law is likened to a travailing woman, and therefore it is said by the prophet on behalf of Israel, "Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given." That Son was Christ, and so Paul says (Gal. 4:4), "When the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his son made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that they might receive the adoption of sons." While they were under the law, they were not sons; they were sinners under the law of sin and death; but Christ was born under the law to redeem them that were under the law, that they might receive the adoption of sons, and so be introduced into the glorious liberty of the sons of God.

Thus we have endeavoured to roll away this reproach from Paul's words, and to show again that what he says in this place is in perfect harmony with his words elsewhere. For when he speaks of the whole creation which groans, travailing to be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the sons of God,- if that is to be applied to the natural creation, as is done by these lights of the Presbyterian Church, and if they are to be reproduced again by resurrection, where would there be place found for them, the tame beasts, the wild beasts of the forest, the fowls of the mountains, the serpents and reptiles, and creeping things of the ground, and the fishes of the sea? They would fill the seas and cover the whole face of the earth, like a living mass, jostling one against another, or be piled up upon each other. No, such theories cannot, and will not be.

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CHAPTER XI

THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST

Christ's nature - Doctrine of antichrist in both forms - Principles of doctrine of Christ-First, foundation of repentance from dead works — Second, faith toward God-Faith in Christ Third, doctrine of baptisms - Fourth, doctrine of laying on of hands Fifth, doctrine of resurrection of dead - Sixth, doctrine of eternal judgment - The true and only hope set before us-Heirs according to the promise - Entering within the veil Good works ·Mercies of new covenant · - Love, the fulfilling of the law Duty of children to parents -Law of Marriage · - Divorce

Prayer.

GREAT IS THE MYSTERY OF GODLINESS, GOD WAS MANIFEST IN THE
FLESH

The doctrine of Christ constitutes the very foundation of Christianity, and is one of the first things for a person to inform himself in, if he desires the salvation and inheritance that God in his mercy has provided for the children of men; for without a scriptural understanding of this doctrine, and a hearty belief of the same, no man can be saved. And for any man after he has embraced the knowledge of God, which comprehends this doctrine, and has rendered the obedience of faith, to corrupt again or deny this doctrine, is a sin for which there is no forgiveness and the penalty against all such is the second death. It is concerning this sin that the apostle says, "There is a sin unto death; I do not say that ye shall pray for it." The gravity, therefore, of this matter should command our most careful attention, that we may comprehend it in its fullness.

"God," says Paul, "was manifest in the flesh." The term, "the flesh," which is pointed out so often by the apostles of Christ, is what we will call attention to first. Paul said among other things to the Athenians as he stood in the midst of Mars Hill: "God that made the world hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on the face of all the earth." Now we inquire, How could this be done? If God at the beginning had created Eve directly from the dust of the ground, as he did Adam, and then had given her to him to be his wife, then their posterity would not have been of one blood, but of two, and so the matter of unity would not have been manifested. Then Paul could not have said that God had made of one blood all nations of men to dwell upon all the face of the earth. But to accomplish that necessary thing that Paul speaks of, the Lord caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and while he slept, he removed a portion of Adam's body, and from that he made a woman, and brought her to the man. And Adam said, "This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall

be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man." In this way only could Paul's words be true, for the children of Adam and Eve would be one flesh with themselves, no matter how many millions they might be multiplied into.

Now the importance of this fact is seen when we consider that another Adam was to arise from among the first Adam's posterity, who also "is the seed of the woman," and of whom Paul also says that the first Adam was the figure. Again to the Corinthians, Paul says, "There is one kind of flesh of men." All mankind, therefore, are a unit, being all of one blood and of one flesh and bones; and Christ, by being partaker of the same flesh and blood as Adam and all of Adam's posterity, thereby sustains a relation to them all; and if you change the physical nature of any of Adam's posterity, that involves a new creation, and breaks the connection with all the rest, and there the representative character of Adam, the first, is lost, which immediately introduces confusion into the work of God. Paul says that we all sinned in Adam, and so by one man's disobedience many were made sinners; and again, "By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, in whom all have sinned." Therefore if the flesh of any man is at all shaded, and in any way made to differ from the rest, he is a nondescript, and separated from all the rest. And if Christ's flesh was made in any wise to differ from Adam's and his posterity, then he is no saviour for us, and we must look for another.

Now concerning the nature of Christ, Paul, in his letter to the Hebrews, speaks particularly. He quotes two Scriptures, one from the twenty-second Psalm, which was spoken for Christ before he was born, which says, “I will declare thy name to my brethren; in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee"; and another from the eighth chapter of Isaiah (verse 18), which reads, "Behold, I and the children which God hath given me." Now what object had Paul in quoting these Scriptures? Why, it was in order to draw from them certain logical conclusions in regard to Christ's nature, and in regard to his relations to his brethren as their High Priest and Saviour, which could not be denied or gainsaid; for he says, "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage."

Now we are to note particularly the points so clearly made here by the apostle; namely, that as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, Christ also himself likewise took part of the same. The force of the Apostle's words are to the effect that there was no distinction whatever between Christ's flesh and the flesh of the other children; and the necessity for the inspired man of God to be explicit on that point is seen in the fact that this doctrine would be tampered with and thrown out by false teachers in after times. • Further, Paul says, "For verily he took not on him the nature of angels, but he took on him the seed of Abraham." Now why should Paul say to the Hebrews," For verily he took not on him the nature of angels," if angels have not flesh and bones? For it cannot be denied that Jesus was born of a woman, and grew up to manhood as other children do, and it was well

known that he was physically like other people, and lived by eating and drinking as we all do. Why, then, does Paul make a special point of the fact that he took not on him the nature of angels? Evidently because the flesh of angels differs from ours as follows: first, the flesh of men is mortal, whereas the flesh of angels is immortal; consequently, they never died, even as Jesus said to the Sadducees, "They that are accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, die no more, but are as the angels of God in heaven." But that the angels have flesh and bones can be proved in this way. The righteous, when raised from the dead, are to be like two things: first, Paul says, "He shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body." Again Jesus said, as above, that they shall then be like the angels. Now as Christ had flesh and bones after his resurrection, the righteous also will have flesh and bones after their resurrection and as they then are like the angels, it follows that the angels have flesh and bones also. But if they have not, as persons foolish and unlearned in the Scriptures suppose, then how could they dine with Abraham, and eat and drink at his table and in his presence, the same as other people do?

Again, the flesh of angels is pure and holy, while the flesh of men is impure and unholy in the present earthy state, and is therefore called "sinful flesh, for even Paul says, "I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing." The force of Paul's words, therefore, is very apparent. Christ did not come to save angels, for they are already saved: he came to save sinners, and therefore he did not take on him the nature of angels, but he took on him the nature of sinners. Mankind are all sinners; Christ himself sinned in Adam, as well as we, and his long line of ancestors were all sinners by nature and practise; but Christ, as the Psalmist said of him, "kept himself from his iniquity," and himself personally committed no sin; but Paul says to the Ephesian Christians, including himself, "We were all, by nature, the children of wrath even as others." Christ was born under the sentence of death as pronounced in Eden, as well as we. Paul says, "It is appointed. unto all men once to die"; Christ responded to that appointment, and bowed his head and died, and so tasted death for every man.

But to return to Paul's words again in his letter to the Hebrews, interpreting the Scripture which says for Christ in the Psalm, "I will declare thy name unto my brethren," Paul says, "Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest, in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people; for in that he himself hath suffered, being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted." In this place the apostle shows the necessity for Christ to have been made in all points like unto his brethren, to the intent that he might thereby be a merciful and faithful high priest; and as he felt the emotions of sin in his own flesh, and as he had been "tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin," he is able to succor them that are tempted, and so his sympathy for us would not be based simply upon a theory, but upon an actual experience in his own person.

Now who are the brethren of Christ? They are the righteous in all ages, from the creation of the world to its end; and as Christ is made in all things

like them, they must all have been alike.

And again, if Christ were not like his brethren according to the flesh, why should he have been baptized by John with the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, to fulfil all righteousness? Again, the priests under the law made an atonement, first, for their own sins, and after that for the sins of the people; and this Jesus Christ did likewise, as Paul said of him (Heb. 7:27), “Who needeth not daily as those high priests to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself." And again, "He can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way, for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity and by reason hereof, he ought as for the people, so also for himself to offer for sins."

But if there were no sin in Christ's composition, what shall be said of Paul's reasonings on this very important subject? Christ's holiness did not consist in the purity of his flesh, but in resisting temptation from within himself, as well as from without. He was consecrated and set apart for God's holy purposes in the redemption of his brethren. All the first-born sons in Israel were holy to the Lord; the priests were holy ceremonially, though many of them were great sinners; the Tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry were holy; Israel was a holy nation, so-called; their land was called the Holy Land. If all these things are rightly understood, there is no confusion.

But before leaving this subject, we will refer to a few more Scriptures with reference to the nature of Christ. As the apostles knew perfectly that errors of the grossest nature would be invented and advocated in the churches on this matter, therefore they were explicit in their warnings to the churches, to guard them from being led away with the errors of the wicked who perish.

Paul cautioned Timothy, and said, "Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David, was raised from the dead, according to my gospel." Again, in his preface to his letter to the Romans he says that he was separated unto the Gospel of God, concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh. And what does this mean, except that Christ's flesh was like David's flesh, and, consequently, like the flesh of all men. After that, he was declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. "Christ," says Paul again in another place, "being made perfect (that is immortal, or holy), became the author of salvation to all those that obey him."

Peter also speaks particularly on this point in his memorable speech on the day of Pentecost, when he said, "David being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne." Here again, if any man makes void this saying of the man of God by maintaining that Christ's flesh was in any way different from David's, he makes God a liar and a perjurer, for the oath of God is pledged to the truth of this doctrine; and if this doctrine is not vital as a matter of faith, how are we to account for the fact that inspired men have laid such stress upon it?