Daily Republican., 1879-04-22


terancs truths. Fearing, unbelief,
watching and unbelieving, desire flee
ing, these are strange figures to throw
around q crucfed God, or a fersaken
tomb.
Now, in studying this resurrection OF
the Lord--aside from the suggestions
previously given-several thoughts are
briefly to bs conpassed, and carried to
our homes for enlargement and for
meditation. We are not only to I'M
derstand the resurrection OF our Lord,
as the necessary preliminary to His as
cent to the eternal throne, but as EN-
bodying many lessons. Only few OF
the most salient can We expect to think
apon this morning.
One Of the leading thoughts to he
gathered from the scene and its sur
roundings is the thought that matter
is not inherent, is not necessarily an
evil. Many of those who constituted
the original churches were those who,
searching for truth, had studied or
harkened to the Roman or Greek phil
osophies. So fondly devoted had these
become to tho tsnets Of their philoso'
phic masters that in entering upon the
new doctrines, they carried much OF
the influence derived from Plato, or
Zeno, or the shadowing words OF Soc
rates, with them.
Rapidly from such influences the pure
doctrines Of the Lord began to be imprtg'
mated with the dogmss of these mas
ters. In this way, Fnasticism had
crept into many of the churches. Bor-
rowing from Plato's dual divinity, God
and matter, the thought ofthe evil mat
ter, the idea was gaining rapid foothold
among the new Christian converts. The
teaching was prevalent that all sin was
to be referred to the material, the soul
was incapable Of wrong doing. They
spoke with rapture OF the day when the
body should be cast aside as the time
when they should be free from a burden
and from sin breeding part Of their
nature.
They declared the body and the whole
material organism an unmtigated evil.
In the midst of the opposition Paul was
invoked by letter or word OF mouth, as
one nearer God to settle the strife ell
gendered. He declares tothem that II,
because of the evil inherent in matter,
the resurrection from the dead be an
impossibility, then necessarily it had
never occurred. But if this be true,
. then we have no risen Saviour, and all
: revelation and all preaching and be-
, lievins in vain. Then, as an advance
upon this strong argument, he de-
, mands: what know ye not that
! your bodies are temples of the Holy
+ Ghost }" and lest they should fail to
grasp the full import of the words, adds
the declaration, Whosoever defleth
/ that temple, him will God Destroy
Your material parts are not necessari,
: " evil, to be wounded, assailed, de-
E spis.d at will. see here beside me
| flowers, placed as reminders that an
: (ooms to land Of fowers, and il
: remembrance of tn day we celebrate
D They are material. True not OF tina
F.. grosser form Of mater, yet still mate
y rial. Are they evil. This rose which
q breathes its fragrance about it, and by
. its beauteous form awakens within mt
o a sense of the aesthetic and enlarge'
e my conception Of the beautiful, is it al
b evil' This magnolia that is breathing
q its life out upon the surrounding air il
It perfume. and by it's snowy easement re
d minds US Of purity, is it inherently
s evil9 Are there to be no fadeless flow
S ers in the Gland of bloom'' VIII they
be spiritual tlowers'
n When God made Adam and place,
d him amid Eden's beauties and verna
y scenes, the book says, He pronounced
e him good" The Hebrew word viii
g bear the rendition beautiful. Bu
J. he was Adamah, the red clay beinI
n material. Was he necessarily evil
e II so, how pronounced as good"
is When the Great Deliverer had finished
8 his earthly career. He carried back
y material form - in some directions
& surely-to His throne and demjohn
d This body in which | now dwell shal
}. by and by pass under the ban of it
!. mortality but shall come forth again
e Resurrection for Jesus and for us doe
, not mean an escape from falling, nor
|. new outgrowth from former possibili
l. ties, it means the actual coming bacl
n again. My soul shall never enter tn
t grave, it cannot be resurrected. Moth
IS ing but my material shall becom
}, the prey of the worm and decay, i
% alone can be brought out Of the grave
e The word is -surreotiOn-the bring
ing back of the same thing, the mater
ial.
II Pause for few moments upon anOth
d or thought. This resurrection of Jesu
It teaches US that while our bodies shal
n be restored to US just the same, they
j. shall not be the same. Paradoxical a
it sounds, it remains the truth. TIT
d man speaking to Mary, and whose fee
~ size would gladly have clasped, as he
/. lips utter "Rabboni," is the sam
d friend whom she saw cruciiied; but tn
h sudden disappearance from her view j
! not according to His usual past mani
,e festations. Two disciples, journeyinl
Of to Ernmaus, talk with the unknown
/" stranger. They speak of Him and t
e. Him as a man they treat as human; il
id this He partook of His former way, bu
% His sudden flight from that inn-room
4, is contrary to former mate rla!lsm.-
le All the disciples, save plodding rhoma
are in little upper room. The barre
le doors and windows, a defence from pros
of ecuting Jews, speak of security iron
m sudden and unheralded approach.
in But suddenly figure stands IN thei
I'd midst. No bolt has flashed back, Il
,u bar been drawn. Neither from abov
OF nor below has he come. He is simpl
or there. Is there material for the OF
e. materiallsm Yet, He says, "Handl
1t, me and see that am flesh and blood.