King's Business - 1912-12

with o t h er chemicals. "Du st h e is, a nd t o d u st h e r e t u r n s" (Gen. 3 : 1 9 ). He also shares, w i th t he animals, a psy- chical or soul n a t u r e; the principle vitalizing, organizing, and individualiz- i n g his body. It is the seat of sensation a nd instinct, and the i n s t r ume nt of t h a t rational n a t u re which the b r u te lacks. The shadow of mind in the b r u te only emphasizes the absence of its sub- stance. (3) Man's nobler a t t r i b u t es ally him to his Maker, and constitute him t he " i ma ge of God." As (a) per- sonal, he can say, "I am ," "I am one," " t h e re is none like me ," i. e., "I have n o duplicate"; his ego, " I ," is a center r o u nd which the universe revolves; (b) he is rational, can " t h i nk God's t h o u g h ts a f t er H i m"; the world is in- telligible to h im; reason and purpose constructed it, reason and purpose can analyze and utilize it; man is an imi- t a t or of God because he is an imitation of H im; (c) he is moral, apprehends, approves, and applies t he moral law which is called " a reflex of the divine n a t u r e "; t h e r e f o re he becomes t he ser- vant, judge, and executor of it; (d) he i s sovereign ( r o y a l ), by f r ee will he is a little god, can rule himself and others, can " s u b d u e" the e a r th and have "do- m i n i o n" over it; (e) he is spiritual, this •capacitates him to have communion with J e h o v a h, and brings him into fel- olwship as a " p a r t a k er of the divine n a t u r e " (1 Pet. 1 : 4 ) ; he is a reflection •of God, a mi r r or in which, t h o u gh dimly a n d imperfectly, the face of the Deity c an be seen, His lineaments are in us "finite, in Him infinite. F or these rea- sons God could become incarnate, and God is made known in man. II. MAN'S PLACE. Man is t he capstone of creation. Last In the act, he was first in the creative t h o u g h t. All things were made for h im and without him was not a n y t h i ng (terrestrial) made t h at was made. Of m a n in Christ the same is t r ue of celes- tial things. All was e n i gma until man appeared. Wi t h o ut him the world was a house without a t e n a n t; a realm with- out a r u l e r; a book without a reader. E a ch step foreshadowed t he coming heir. " L et us m a k e m a n " was not an a f t e r t h o u g h t, but the a n n o u n c eme nt of n a t u r e 's coronation. Wi t h o ut him E a r t h could not know her Maker, nor h e r Maker t a ke delight in the works of His hands. III. MAN'S ARCH I TYPE. Man's exact architype, t he completed ma n, is the glorified Jesus. That ideal redeemed h uma n i ty is yet to realize.

Phil. 3 : 2 1; attain it?

Eph. 4:24.

Shall you

III. MAN'S NURSERY. 1. Ed e n. T h at God should place the inexperienced Adam in a place prepared, hedged about f r om the u n t amed world, spontaneously bringing f o r th his sus- tenance, is most reasonable, and to have been expected. Its location was in -the E u p h r a t es valley, where we find the r ema i ns of the first rule and civil- ization, and whence history and an- thropology indicate the first tribes of men spread abroad. 2. His occupation. Man was not to be an idler even in his innocency, b ut was to " d r e s s" the garden, and to " k e ep ( g u a r d) i t" (then Adam, t he first ma n, was civilized); even in its shelter, as t he sequel shows, he was safe only by due vigilance. 3. His privileges. "Of every t r ee of t h e g a r d en h e could freely e a t ," most generous grant. 4. H is prohibition. One and but one t r ee was prohibited, " t he T r ee of Knowledge of Good a nd Evil." Not t h at its f r u it had magic power to imp a rt knowledge, an impossibility; yet eating of it has led to bitter experience of evil, out of which, however, has come the greatest good, Redemption and Glo- rification. Doubtless one tree would have served as well as another to test man's use of t h at sovereign gift and crown, his f r ee agency. The only fit ruler of the dominion could be one who would say, " Thy will, n ot mi n e ." 5. His intelligence. Adam named every creature. This can mean nothing less t h an t h at he classified t h em; his 'was the first scientific zoological cata- logue; and he named them all, no "sci- e n t i s t" h as equalled him in that. He would win all the "Noble prizes in t h at | line ( t h en Ad am was highly intellec- t u a l ). The first man was neither b r u te nor savage. Th at he was a philosopher is evident f r om subtle and beautiful 1. He who m a d e m a n f r om t he dust, who instantly changed water to wine, and of a few f r a gme n ts of bread and flesh made a b a n q u e t; and raised a dis- integrating body to life (Jno. 1 1 : 4 3 ), could " b u i l d" a woman f r om a f r a g- me nt of ma n 's "flesh a nd b o n e" ( Ep h. 5:29, 3 0 ). 2. This is a mo st sublime teaching. It is exquisite philosophy. The fact is t h at man and woman are one; t he double unit of the race. How it exalts and sanctifies man, woman and mar* reason in verses 22-24. IV. MAN'S HEL PMEET.

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