THE KING’S BUSINESS
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said in this verse, a n d u n d o u b te d ly he w as co rre c t in this sta tem en t also th a t “ th e law was given by Moses,” a n d th a t th o se critics w ho d en y it an d b rin g th e law dow n to a far la te r d a te th an Moses a re u tte rly w rong. W e shall see la te r th a t th e L o rd Jesus H im self teaches th e sam e thing. V . 1 8 . “No man bath seen God at any time (ra th e r, “No one hath ever yet seen God” ) ; the only be gotten Son, which (ra th e r, “who” ) is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him.” T h is verse exp lain s th e sta tem en t of th e 17th verse, th a t “g race an d tru th cam e b y Jesu s C h rist.” T h e tru th , th e full, com p le te tru th could n o t com e th ro u g h Moses, fo r h e h ad n o t seen G o d ; n e ith e r cou ld it com e th ro u g h any o th e r th a n th e W o rd H im self b ecom e in c a rn a te ; fo r no one else, an y m o re th a n Moses, h ad seen God. But th e W o rd W ho b e cam e in c a rn a te in Jesu s h a d seen G o d— in d e e d H e w as ev e r in th e closest fellow ship w ith G o d— H e w as in th e bo som o f th e F a th e r. It is tru e th a t Moses h a d seen a m an i festation of G o d ( a th e o p h a n y ), an d in th a t sense it cou ld b e said th a t he h ad seen G od . It is tru e also th a t A a ro n , N adab , a n d A b ih u an d sev en ty of th e eld e rs o f Israel saw a th eo p h an y , a m an ife sta tion of G od , a n d in th a t sense it cou ld b e said “T h ey saw th e G o d o f Israel” (E xod . 2 4 :1 0 ) . In like m an n e r Isaiah saw th e L o rd ( Isa. 6 :1 ) . But in n on e o f these instances w as it G o d in H is invisible essence, G o d as G od , W h om th ey saw. W h en Moses was g ra n te d a vision o f G o d , such a vision as h a d b e en given to no other, he w as to ld distinctly th a t it w as no t G o d in H is fullness an d in H is es sence W h om h e shou ld see. Moses asked , “ I b eseech T h e e show m e th y
g lo ry ,” an d Je h o v a h rep lied th a t H e w ould m ak e all H is goodn ess to pass b e fo re him a n d “w o u ld p ro c la im th e n am e o f th e L o rd b e fo re h im ,” b u t it w as a d d e d “Thou canst not see m y face, for there shall no m an see Me and live” (E x o d . 3 3 :1 8 -2 0 ). Infidels d e ligh t in p o in ting ou t w h a t th ey th ink to b e a flat con trad ic tio n b e tw e en J o h n 1:18 an d Exod. 2 4 :1 0 , an d th e o th e r passages w here variou s p e rson s a re said to hav e seen G o d ; b u t th e re is no co n tra d ic tion w h atev er. Tw o sta tem en ts which in te rm s seem to flatly c o n tra d ic t one a n o th e r m ay b o th o f th em b e ab so lu te ly true, fo r th e reason th a t th e term s a re n o t used in th e sam e sense in th e tw o statem en ts. If any m an shou ld ask m e if I ever saw th e b a c k o f m y h e a d I m ight answer, “No, I n ev e r saw th e b a ck of m y h e a d ,” an d this sta tem en t w ou ld b e strictly tru e ; o r I m igh t answer, “Yes, I h av e seen th e ba ck o f m y h e a d ,” a n d this sta tem en t w ould also b e true, th ough it a p p e a rs to flatly c o n tra d ic t th e other. T h e b a ck o f m y h e ad I hav e n ev e r seen, b u t m o re th a n once w hen look ing in th e glass w ith a n o th e r glass h eld b a ck o f m y h e ad , I hav e seen th e b a ck o f m y head . If som e one shou ld still o b je c t a n d say, “ In th e la tte r case you d id n o t really see th e b a ck o f y o u r h e a d ; w h a t you saw w as a reflection of th e b a c k of y o u r h e a d in th e m irro r,” I w ould reply, “N e ith e r d o you see th e b ack o f an y one’s h e ad even w h en you a re look ing right a t it; w h a t you see is th e reflection o f th a t p e rso n ’s h e ad upon th e re tin a o f y o u r eye.” But every one know s w h a t you m ean w hen you use language in this com m on ev e ry d ay w ay of using it. T h ey know th a t w hen you say you saw -th e b a ck o f a n o th e r m an ’s h e a d you m ean th a t you saw a reflection o f it up o n th e retin a o f y o u r eye, an d th ey know also w hen you say you
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