6 0 ’ The Fundamentals the combination of the Divine and human; twelve, the product of three and four, for the Divine interpenetrating the human; ten, the sum of one, two, three, and four, is the number of completeness; three and a half, the broken number, represents tribulation; six, which stops short of seven, is unrest; eight, which is beyond the number of rest, is the number of victory. All this implies one presiding mind, and it could not be man’s mind. 7 . T h e u n i t y i s d i d a c t i c . In the entire range and scope of the ethical teaching of the Bible there is no incon- sistency or adulteration. But we need to observe a distinc- tion maintained throughout as to natural religion and spiritual religion. There is a natural religion. Had man remained loyal to God, the universal fatherhood of God and the univer- sal brotherhood of man would have been the two great facts and laws of humanity; the broad, adequate basis of the natural claim of God to filial obedience, and of man to fraternal love. But man sinned. He fell from the filial relationship; he dis- owned God as his Father. Hence, the need of a new and spiritual relationship and religion. In Christ, God’s father- hood is restored and man’s brotherhood re-established, but these are treated as universal only to the circle of believers. A new obedience is now enforced, resting its claim, not on creation and providence, but on new creation and grace. Man learns a supernatural love and life. Upon this didactic unity we stop to expatiate. In not one respect are these doctrinal and ethical teachings in conflict, from beginning to end; we find in them a positive oneness of doctrine which amazes us. Even where at first glance there appears to be conflict, as between Paul and James, we find, on closer examination, that instead of standing face to face, beating each other, they stand back to back, beating off common foes. We observe, moreover, a progressive development of reve- lation. Bernhard devoted the powers of his master mind to
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker