The God-Man 73 spake of Himself in these terms: “God so loved the world, that He gave His .only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16), by which our Lord'evidently meant to convey the idea that the gift of the Son was the richest gift of divine love. And this idea proved powerfully germinant in the minds of the apostles. They elaborated the argument. By the gift of Christ above all others, they taught us: “God commended His love towards us” (Rom. 5:8; see, too, John 4:10). They reasoned thus, having learned their logic from the lips of their Lord, “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Rom. 8:32). The argument of the apostle is from the greater to the less. I t assumes that Christ Jesus is greater than all things. It would have no force on any other principle. More than this, it assumes that Christ is infinitely greater than all things, so that -all the other expressions of divine goodness to our race dwindle into insignificance when compared with the gift of Christ. But can such representations as these be harmonized with the notion that Christ is merely a gifted man? Would they not deserve to be called hyperbole run mad on such an hypothesis? And imagine a mere man to stand forward and proclaim himself the choicest gift of God’s love to our race. What a monstrous exaggeration and* ego- tism! If Christ be greater than all other divine gifts com- bined, must He not be the God-man ? On the evangelical hy- pothesis such representations, are seen to be neither ,bom- bast nor rhetorical exaggeration, but sober, solid tru th ; and we can say with the seraphic Paul, without reserve: “Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift” (2 Cor, 9:15). 8. Jesus announced Himself as the center of rest for the human soul. Who has not thrilled under the mighty spell of those mighty words: “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and
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