The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1878-02-07

spoke dCCOIul0g 10 the mO00 lie was IN. !
sometimes believing Himself to be the
Son of God" !
Finally said, after turning to the
passages he had referred to, and reading
them aloud:
Now suppose that you had been on
earth when Jesus was here, and had
heard Him make these contradictory (?)
statements, and had asked Him, saving
Master, do not quite understand you.
A little while ago you said, I and Ny
Father are one, and he that hath seen
Me hath seen the Father; and again
You say, Ny Father is greater than I,
and, All power is given Me. How can
You be one with the Father, and yet less
than the Father, and how can You be
equal with the Father if Your power is
given to You, and not Yours independ-
emily p And suppose He had said in
reply, My child, what if, for the purpose
of your redemption from sin, and the |
curse of the law, [ voluntarily |
laid aside My eternal glory, and |
suffered Myself to be made of |
woman, and made under the law, thus |
limiting Ny being to the conditions of
your nature, that | might, in that nature,
offer up to God such a sacrifice for sins
to the whole world? In such a case,
contradiction in these sayings of Mine
For indeed, I am one with the Father,
and he that hath seen Me hath seen the
Father, but for the purposes of atone
ment, have voluntarily assumed an
| inferior position that I might thus take
your place and die, which l could not
have done unless l had thus taken sub
ordinate place. THUS. sometimes speak
of My eternal relation to God, and some
1 times of Ny relation to Him, as the
messenger of the covenant sent to re-
! deem.''
He listened attentively to this, and
then said, as if speaking to himself:
" Yes, that might be. I can see how
that might be. But Speaking to me)
did Christ ever make such an explana-
ton? Is that the theory of Christ's
subordination to the Father?"
I, in answer, turned to the second
chapter of Philippians, and said, Ger
tainly this is the explanation of it. For
see: Paul was trying to inculcate lessons
of humanity, by exhorting the Philip
plans to voluntarily take subordinate
place in relation to each other, though
they might, as matter of fact, and right,
stand on an equality, and enforced his
exhortation by this reference: Let
this mind be in you which was also in
! Christ Jesus who, being in the form of
! God, thought it not robbery to be equal
with God Thought not his equality with
God something to be contended for, but
l made himself of no reputation, and took
upon himself the form of a servant, and
was made in the likeness of men, and
being found in fashion as q man, he
i humbled himself, and became obedient
; unto death, even the death of the cross
; -(Phil. ii, 5, 81
He took my bible in his hand, anC
: read the passage over and over himself
and said, " Wonderful! wonderful =!
: And still holding the book in his hand
J with quivering chin and moistened eye
> he said:
Yes, the Son of God made himself Q
o no reputation for me, and took m
nature, and died on the cross for me-"
T. And then, locking up in my face
said, What have l got to dc about it ?
TIE which l replied, 6 Accept hin
a believe in him, and confess him as you
IL Saviour"
a "May Ip'
u 1 replied, opening my bible to Rom. :
70 9: elf thou shalt confess with tn
{ mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt belieN
a in thy heart that God hath raised hiI
T. from the dead, thou shalt be saved"
u 60 Let me see that"
IL l handed him the book, and read
- aloud, and then said:
- "I do believe in my heart that CT
Il, raised him from the dead, and l {
n acknowledge him as my Saviour"
IS We dropped down together upon OF
knees with a little group which h;
gathered about us), and / offered a lit
al prayer of thanksgiving to God for b
us conversion, and little petition for /
ed keeping.
10. It will be seen at a glance that the
en- was no attempt made to meet his obje
I'M tions by an exhaustive argument, but
on simply presenting the biblical stateme
VS., to him, leaving the work of conviction
ID; the Holy Spirit. AS mere argumer
ID, the statement may have been very dete
He tive, but God can take his own tru
lid and use it more nightly than t
/" strongest argument man can construct.
?" Req. @. F. PentecOSt in the Christi
'ur Union.