The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1879-11-12

THEN one SAID unto nluli DeLOIui my .Ai"'A'ot
and thy brethren stand without, desiring to
speak with thee. ,..,,
him, Who is my mother and who are my oreth-
REM -,
disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my
brethren
For whosoever shall do the will Of my Father
which is in heaven, the same is my brother and
sister, and mother-Matt. xii; 1850.
1t is sayings of this sort that distin-
guish Jesus as a teacher from all others
who have set up as teachers. In the first
place, observe the boldness and the
breadth of the declaration and the claim
implied in the declaration He does not
mean to undervalue earthly ties; but he
means to assert that he was the Son Of
God, and that the strongest tie which ne
recognized was that one should do the
will of his Father" the same was his
brother. and sister, and mother. Did
Plato or Mahomet or Buddha ever utter
such a sentiment? We should have
deemed it a piece Of senseless arrogance
for one of them to have talked in this
way. Falling from Jesus, the words
seem perfectly natural Without any
effort, he uttered the profoundest truths,
and performed the most stupendous mir
acles. Did anyone before ever organize
such brotherhood as this The central
figure is the teacher, and he declares him
self to be the Son of God, and afirms that
all those throughout the world and in all
ages who shall do the will of his Father
are bound to him by a tie as strong as
that which binds together brothers and
sisters, parents and children.
Here indeed is declaration for dy-
ing Withdrawing as the world at that
time was, if any would show them any
good? The Son of God, coming in the
shape of man,-that they might draw
the nearer to him-tells the children of
Adam, I am come that We might have
life, and if any man Will do the will Of
my Father, the same unites himself there
by to me by tie like that which holds
together the members of the same house
hold.
1t was not mere fgurative relation
that he spoke Of he meant that in fact
such man would be his brother. Jesus
loved and was loved by, his disciples;
and this love has been living principle
in the Christian Church for eighteen hun
dred years. Who has not been touched
by the love which Paul manifests for
Jesus-a passionate love, like the love
which David avows fol-. Jonathan, pass
ing the love of women?
1t was this sort of love that Jesus re-
ferred to, and which he cherishes for
every one who doeth the will Of his
Father.
1t is this union between God and man
which is characteristic of Christianity.
Nothing short of this could have satisfied
the cravings of the human heart This
is what the scriptures mean by the union
of Christ with believers, And thus the
relation of husband and wife is compared
to the relation between Christ and the
Church. "For no man ever yet hated
his own Aesn; but nourisheth it and
cherisheth it; even as the Lord the
Church: for we are members of his body,
of his flesh, and Of his bones.
But how could Christ love child of
the devil in this way?
Therefore he made reconciliation for
sin; at once justifying the sinner, and
appealing to his love.
But sin atoned for, how shall sin die in
the heart?
Therefore he hath sent the Holy Spirit
TO work in their hearts love, JOY, peace,
long-sufering, gentIeness. goodness, tenn
perance.
tits this unity of the Christian scheme,
and its wonderful adaptedness to the con
dtiOn of man, that evidence its claims up
OnOur obedience Thirty years before the
apostles presented in the epistOlary writ
ings of the New Testament the doctrine
Of justification by faith, and of the Holy
Spirit, and of love to Christ, Christ him
self, standing alone, calmly fOreshadOwed
it all in his daily teachings-eyer keep
ing his death steadily in view, and pro
missing his disciples that after he left them