Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1891-07-02
THE WORD MADE FLESH.
International Sunday-SchooI Lesson fol
July & 1891


HELPS OVER HARD PLACEs-i. "I' be-
ginning:' Before the creation. NV -" He
existed. THE Word:" That the WOrd was
Jesus Christ is evident from yer. IL "And the
Word was with GOd:" With the One Infinite
Eternal God. And the Word was Gods" He
was God, none greater than He. g WAS In
the beginning" The revelation was not new
with the coming Of Christ. s. "All things
were made by HIM" Came into being by His
agency. And without Him." Apart from
Him l. I'm Him was life" He was the
source OF all life, both natural and spiritual
and the lite was the light Of men" Life and
light represent the sum Of all power and
blessedneSs in the universe 5. "Shineth in
darkness" In the darkness which enShroudS
man. And the darkness cOmprehended It
not:n Did not admit or receive the light. &
Whose name was johns" John the Baptist,
cousin Of Jesus. Z. "The same came. 80. TO bear
witness Of the Light" Came before Jesus to
witness that He was coming. THAT all
men through Him might believes" That Is
though John might believe in the Light and so
receive it. g. He was not that Light" but
only reflector Of the Light. 9. 'He was the
true Light;" Nothing lesser but the sun itself
(which lighteth every man." Not "alI' men
but each one singly. TO- He was in the worlds"
In all the past ages. "And the world was
made by Him." Was the creator Of all things.
And the world knew Him not:" Did not
recognize Him as their Saviour. II. "And
His own received Him not" Tho nation as d
whole did not receive Him, Y. But as many
as received Him to them gave He power"
Those who acknowledged Him as their Saviour
He made children Of God 12 (Which were
born" Received the new divine life. Not Of
blood:" Not by parentage. Nor OF the WtlIof
the fesh:" Not by their own Efforts. Nor OF
the will Of man" Nothing that man by wis
dom or intellect could do. But OF Gods" he
alone can impart the new life. Il, "ASd the
word was made flesh;" ASSUMED human ma
ture in its entireness. HAnd We beheld HIS
gl0ry;" Those Qualities which deserve honor
and praise. "As of the only begotten:" Tho
glory worthy Of the only son Of God. Is
John" the Baptist, the forerunner. "And
crledE' Implying earnestness and emotion.
He that oOmeth AFTER He who is coming
after. l6. "Of His fullness:" The fnexhsust-
ible riches Of grace and truth. Have We all:"
All mankind and especially those who have re-
ceived Him. II. For the laws" Both the
moral and the ceremonial. was given by
MOses:" As a means or instrument. IS mo
man hath seen God at any timer They have
seen only partial manifestations Of God, hints
and broken reflections OF His glory. 1.-THE only
begotten Son." Who being like God and par
taking OF His nature would know Him perfect
ly. (which is in the bosom Of the Father"
In the most intimate relations. HE hath de-
cIareo him." For he only could declare Him
LESSON COMMENTS.
Christ, the Word Of God. That the word
was Jesus Christ is evident from verso
fourteen of this lesson. He is called
the word of God because through Him
IS revealed to us the thoughts, feelings,
purposes and will Of God as our words
express to others our thoughts aud pur-
poses. Christ as the maker Of the
world is the word that reveals to us all
that we can learn Of the nature and at
tributes of God from the works Of God
in creation.
The flowers arc the alphabet of angels,
whereby
They write on hills and fields mysterious
truths"
Christ is the word of God in the Old
Testament. He is probably the angel
of the Lord" who so often came to men
in the early ages. Christ's own person
is the word of God. He is the revela-
ton to us of Gods nature-His charac-
ter, His love, His goodness, His attitude
toward men-so that He could say;
HE that hath seen Me hath seen the
Father" Christ's teachings reveal to
us the mind and heart Of God; the
Heaven and eternal life God has pre-
pared for us, and the way there; and
Gods desire that we should all come to
Him. Christ's atOnement on the cross
is the revelation Of Gods love for US
and His plans for US. No word of love
ever equalled this, or so expressed to
man the very heart of God. Christ is
still the word of God by the Comforter,
the Spirit of Truth, whom he sends 70
reveal the truth of God,
The Trinity. We must hold abso-
lutely the unity Of God. And yet there
is a distinction in the GOdhead; the Son
Is distinct from the Father. Statements
so conflicting seem contradictory, and
impossible to harmOnize. Yet that they
are not contradictory can DC illustrated
by our own soul Each OF us Is one
kind of ''three in one" Each soul is
unit, yet 1t consists of intellect and sem
slbilities and will. And every difficulty
In understanding the Divine Trinity is
found in this lesser trinity, which we
know to be a fact. So that while this
does not explain the Trinity, nor solve
the mystery, it proves that there need
be no necessary contradiction.
The Mystery Of the Union Of God and
Nan in one Person, Jesus the Christ. We
cannot explain how this can be, but
we can prove that it is possible and
by a similar mystery in our
selves. For each Of US is a union Of
body and soul in one person. This Is
fact, but before it became fact It
would seem contradictory and unthink-
able, that the immaterial spirit should
unite with matter, that the two should
be distinct, and yet form one person
Every difficulty involved in God dwell
ing in the man Christ Jesus" two and
vet one person, sometimes spoken Of
as separate, sometimes as the same, Is
in our own persons, and
solved there, that being said Of the
whole which is true only Of the soul
las that we are immOrtal), or again
true only Of the body las that we are
sick, or die).
The -Four Great GJts-Lifo, Light,
Grace, Truth-Are the great and blessed.
gifts which Christ brings to us, and
which attract and bind His disciples to
Him. These are the gifts which men
thrust from them when they reject
Jesus Christ.
PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS
1. There is wonderful comfort and
power in a Divine Saviour, with all
goodness, all knowledge and all power.
.. Otherwise our love and devotion to
Him would lead Us away from God
Vow 1t all draws rs towards God.