Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1879-05-25
THE GRRAT MYSTERY"
A Lecture BY Rev. w. A. Harrison y
ID, i'm the Third PresbY-
derian church

ASFlan NnuFch.
The following is the second Of a series {
lectures on The Great Mystery" by Rev
| w A Harrison, d. D.. delivered at tn
Third Presbyterian Church Sunday night
18th inst:
The text is found in 1st Timothy, 3, Il
And without controversy GREATS the mys
terry of goodness, Tor God likeness), Go
Spirit seen of angels, preached unto tn
Gentiles, believed on in the world, recoiv
ed up into glory"
There are three promir ent features il
this mystery of PauPs. First, the linear
nation second, the Atonement, which wa
the substance OF the doctrine preached
unto the Gentiles and believed on in the
world, and the Ascension of the incaTnateC
God, after His atoning death.
The first feature, viz: the Incarnation
has already been discusse1 we therefor,
pass that Oy with this simple remark, liz
that 1t is fundamental doctrine, without
which the Atonement and resurrection oil
the dead (the Ascension) are the vere.t
hctions imaginable.
One word just here, on the two expires
sions Immediately preceding the fe .ture IN
our text, TO which special attention is called
Christ was justified IN the SpIrit-that is,
vindicated Dy the Holy Spirit, from all
the calumnies of the Jews, who put Him
to death as an impOstOr. The Spirit, who
is very God, was with Him in all His mir
acles, and then raised Him from the dead,
and thus proved Him to be the Son of GOD,
with power.
Ihe same Spirit now vindicates Jesus
from every charge made against Him
through dis people. de puts on them an
aImOr that Is superior TO that In which
the tabled Hercules was clad-the giTdle oi
truth, the breast plate of righteousness,
the suielI of faith, the helmet Of hope and
the sword of the Spirit. And strengthen
ing them with might in the inner man,
lie enabled them to WELD effectively this
divine armour. And 50 they do what 9th
ers can not do; they overcome, even as
Christ overcome, Thus Christ, who gave
tins promise, is vindicated in the trium D b :
OF lis people.
Again, tie was seen of Angels. They
saw dim: were witnesses of his incarua-
uOn, passion, death, resurTec ion, asc IL
sim and glorlhcAtion. Aud thus, as Paul
says, the my sEery, which, from the begin
Mug of the world had been DID In GUd,
Was made known unto them.
We now come t. that feature in our text
which is the subject of our lecture to-
night: ChrIsE preached unto the GentiIes
dues not leave US in ignorance as to ID e
central truth of all his preaching,
for he says, Il determined to snow
nothing else but Christ and Him
crucIfsd." Christ and Him crucifed, was
his theme. GODS great plan of salvation
be enunciated to the GENTLE world. The
central truth OF that great mystery, or sal
walton, was the death of Christ, the iano-
cent, dying for the guilty. Tho One who
was holy, harmless, and separated from
sinners, taking their place and dying, the
just for the unjust. He was delivered for
our otfenses and raised again for our jusLl-
fcation."
We have now before us the doctrine of
the Atonement, substitution, the innocent
nation, before its accomplishment, was an
impenetrable mystery even to the angelic
world. How God could punish sin and let
the sinner escape, they could not under
stand for no such Interpretation had been
made for the angels that fell. They sinned,
and for that sin was suffering the ven
geance of eternal ire.
Let US pause here and consider this mys-
.ery, that was so overwhelming to the an
gels, with something of scrutiny, and at
IGNITION. Paul tells us that passing by an
gels, God, in infinite wisdom and love, de-
Vised plan of salvation for man, pohere6y
the punishment of sin may be separated
from the person Of the sinner and under
which man may live who deserves to die,
IS the angels did. Such plan, as matter
IF course, would, at once, riyet the atten-
ion of angels, both of the saved and the
lnsaved. Up to the announcement of this
plan Divine justice had demanded the pun
shment of SIN in the person of the sinner,
or of the SHINING angels. Now that the
Almighty had made an arrangement for
executing the extreme penalty of the law,
and st the same time, save man who was
exposed to that penalty, this was to them
the marvel of marvels, the wonder of won
ders and mystery of mysteries. This is
the plan, that Paul says, lay hid In God
from the beginning OF the world. This is
what they saw unIolded in the incarnation,
in the ind yelling ofthe fullness of the God
head in the person of Christ, in his death,
his resurrection from the dead, and His
up to the right hand of the Maj
esty on high.
But consider again, that the plan was all
laid open to man primarily, and not, in
his sense to angels. The way of saving
sinners, yea even the Chief of sinners, sui-
'ers no concealment. God has made 1t
shine forth like the sun in mid-heavens, in
he preaching of the glorious Gospel of the
Son of Cd. Yes, the sound has gone out
n pagan nations, albeit, they do not COM
prenend the meaning of the symbols used
n their own temples For the peace of
he human mind anxiously seeking justi-
1catlon On which 1t may rest for the relief
Of the wounded conscience demanding
10 know how God can be Just,
and yet justify the ungodly. the whole
method of saving grace Is explained" so
hat "a wayfaring man, though fool,
need not err therein" This wondrous
plan, in which the MANIFOLD wisdom OF
Iod is revealed to ali spiritual intelli-
Fences, is urged upon our attention by
,yery consideration, The Bible, as a mat
er of course, is the great store-house
rom which all authority for this doctrine
must be derived, but along with the Bible,
in its temple service and sacred
looks, comes in as corrohorating testi-
nony. -
AS we havs remarked. the central prin-
iple of our holy religion is the doctrine Of
a bstitution. That this doctrine emanated
rom God. that it is divine idea, the Bible
yerywhere proves. And that this doc
rine, like that of the incarnation, is
Ounded in the very nature of man, and is
ne of the primary and universal beliefs
# the whole race of mankind, is cons
lusively shown from the monuments and
histories of all Paganism. Substitution,
= Il =