December 1927
T h e . I K i n g ’ s B us i n es i
784
Was the Babe of Bethlehem a Monstrosity ? B y T homas F itzgerald Saltash, Cornwall, England
t OD was manifest in the flesh” (l'T im . 3 :16). This it is which calls forth our wonder. This great fact opens the way for all kinds of human speculations and explanation. The fact that there is a God in Heaven,"is not so much a subject of wonder. There is something in
measurements of the Sanctuary, and we do yell to employ them and no others. The Tabernacle and its vessels were made according to the Divine measurements given to Moses when in the mount with God, and it would have been perilous to have departed one hair’s breadth from them. Therein lies an important lesson. Many who have at
man which expects and ac- knowledges that behind all things is God. Man does not attempt to explain God, or try to account for His. existence. “Tell me how God is, that we may both go mad,” said an Athanas- ian to an Arian. “T h e heavens declare the glory of God: and the firmament s h e w e t h his handiwork” ( Psa. 19:1). “Only the fool hath said in his heart, There is no God” (Psa. 14:1). The matter, however, is quite different when (wè say it with deepest rever ence) God takes the risk of manifesting Himself “in the likeness of sinful flesh” (Rom. 8:3): While He re mained enshrined in light unapproachable, seated in glorious majesty upon His Eternal Throne, men were filled with solemn awe, and trembled at the sound of His voice. True, the heathen at tempted to form some im pression of His likeness and carved grotesque im ages of wood and stone, for which cause God gave them over to reprobate minds (Rom. 1:28). When, however, the in credible question, “But will
tempted to define the mys terious Person of the Man, Christ Jesus, and to ex plain what they term His! “Self-limitation,” have got-;! ten out Of their depth, and have exhibited such confuj sion of mind, that one can only judge that God has given them over to their; vain imaginations. N eed of D e fin ing T erms : What do they mean by our Lord’s “self-limita- tion” ? Men w o u l d be saved from many errors if 'only they would take the t r o u b l e to define their terms1. Do they mean that He Himself limited Him-r self? Or, do they mean, that He Himself set a limit to His own intellect and powers? But can the Ego (self or Person) change or limit, itself, that is, can the person ever.be other than what it is, by its own act? Did the Son of God change or alter His Person when He took on Him man’s, na ture ? The Scriptures. de clare that He (the Person) “is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb. 13:8). Was He not, al4 though partaking of His Blessed Mother’s substance, still the same Person, Who
IT IS QUITE PROBABLE THAT THROUGH TH IS’ GATE OF JERUSALEM CAME THE THREE WISE MEN IN THEIR SEARCH FOR THE YOUNG KING. A FEW DAYS LATER MARY AND JOSEPH MAY HAVE PASSED THAT WAY WHEN THEY TOOK THE BABE TO THE TEMPLE ACCORDING TO THE JEW ISH CUSTOM.
as to position (not locality) held the supreme place in the affections of His Father, “the only begotton Son, which is in the bosom o f the Father”? (John 1 :18). There was no change in His Person or His position,; but there was a change of condition, when He submitted to be made in the likeness of men. Never is it stated that He was made in the Likeness of God, for He was and is( eternally God. We are told that, if it is denied that Christ was lim ited in His knowledge and restricted in His powers, the humanity which He assumed could not have been a true humanity, but this manner of reasoning fails, because it is reasoning from our own sinful and ignorant, human nature, which our Lord did not assume. The Word truly
God indeed dwell on the earth?” was answered in won drous reality, by the appearance of the Son of God ; when “the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us,” then the flood-gates of speculation were opened, and all kinds of expressions have been employed to try to explain the great “mystery of godliness Rabbi Duncan has said, referring to-the subject of Christ’s Person, “All heresies are just explanations of the mystery,” and again, “Every hypothesis is the root of a heresy.” Man cannot describe Light, much less can he then describe Him Who is the Light of the World. The words used in Holy Scripture concerning Christ’s Person are measured words, measured according to the
Made with FlippingBook Annual report