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o f God.” And that is an instance o f taking a Scripture- clause out o f its connection, and using it irrespective o f context and meaning. The words that follow are sufficient answer. Here is the passage: “ Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom o f God, Neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.” Clearly, the term “ flesh and blood” corresponds with the term “ corruption” in the second line. “ Flesh and blood” here stands for corruptible humanity, man in his present mode of existence. A change must take place be fore such a one can inherit the kingdom of God. What this change will be he tells us at once: “ The dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we [the living ] shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality” (1 Cor. 15 :50-53). But
this change did take place in: the Lord’s body when He was raised from the dead. For “ God raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption” (Acts 13:34) { and “ Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more'; death no more hath dominion over him” (Rom. 6 :9 ). The risen Christ lacked nothing o f incorruption and immor tality to fit Him for the presence o f God. His “ glorious body” is His human body, glorified and immortalized. As He went, so is He yet, and so will He return “ a second time, apart from sin, to them that wait for him unto salt vation”— the Son o f man in His glory. Russell’s followers fall into a grave error when they deny the present bodily humanity of our Lord; and so likewise also have all erred who deny that Tesus is Man now.
AI/¿. é » a » The Fact of the Atonement By R ev . E rnest B aker Mombrary, Cape Province-
i F sin is rebellion against God, it is a question with which He must deal. It is for Him to say what is required. It is not a matter for us to think out, and for each o f us to be satisfied with his own particular solution. We can have no certainty that we are on the right track unless God speaks. In this matter we need a Revelation. Believing that God has spoken, we turn to the Book that is unmistakably His and listen, with the spirit of little children, to what is said therein on this subject. The whole testimony of the Bible is summed up in these words: “ Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3). It is through the Lord Jesus Christ that “ we have received the Atonement” (Rom. 5: 2 ). The death of Christ has to be interpreted “according to the Scriptures.” W e may puzzle our heads about what that great fact means and arrive at no satisfactory con clusion. W e could never be sure that our guesses at truth were right. It is a great thing to find that God Himself has taken this question in hand, that He has thought it out, settled it, and revealed the solution. Our part is to grate fully accept what He has revealed and to abide by it. What Scriptures are meant by the passage quoted ? Undoubtedly the Old Testament Scriptures. All references by the New Testament writers to “ Scriptures” are com monly accepted as being made to the books of the Old Testament. But some, whilst not denying this statement, call in question the New Testament interpretation o f the Old. So we must, before we proceed further, ask : From whence did the New Testament interpretation o f the Old Testament come? And we unhesitatingly answer: From Christ Himself. In our Lord’s Prayer, recorded in John 17, He said: “ I have given unto them the words which Thou gavest Me.” He claimed His Father’s authority for His utter ances. W e are not in the presence o f ignorance when listening to the words o f Jesus. W e are listening to abso lute truth. Then when He rose from the dead He said to His dis ciples : “ These are the words which I spake unto you, while
I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning Me” (Luke 24:44). All the way from Jerusalem to Emmaus, a walk of over seven miles, our Lord was opening up to two o f His followers, the Scriptures: “ Beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself” (Luke 24:27). For forty days between the Resurrection and the Ascen sion the Lord Jesus was speaking o f the things pertaining to the kingdom o f God (Acts 1 :3 ); In these days Christ gave to those who were to found His Church, the key to the Scriptures. “ Thus it is written,” He said, “ and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached among all nations” (Luke 24:46, 47). How M en M ust A pproach G od In reading the New Testament we ought to feel that whenever reference is made by the Apostles to the Old Testament, it is made on the lines o f interpretation, laid down by the Lord Himself. We are on sure ground here. At any rate let us try it and see how it works out. Let us go back to the Old Testament and look at the book of Leviticus. This is the book which more than any other in the Old Testament deals with sin and sacrifice. It is God’s Kindergarten. By a series o f object lessons God Himself has taught us how to come to Him, how to serve Him, how to enjoy Him. It is not an uncommon thing to hear people say in ref erence to the doctrine of Christ dying for our sins that there is nothing in human life like it, and that it is unnat ural, and impossible. Here we must say that God has not waited for human life to illustrate His forgiveness. He has made His own illustrations, and given them to us in advance. As His thoughts arid ways are higher than ours, we must not limit His forgiveness to the specimens of for giveness found in human relationships. His pictorial set ting forth o f truth we find in Leviticus. Another, not infrequent, remark is that' the Bible is unequally inspired; and in support of this the statement
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