The Washington times., 1894-09-03
cHRIST'S ARGUMENT.

Rev. Z. G. Sanderson Sets Forth the
Saviour 'sIpIea for His Own Divinity
Rev. Z. G. Sanderson, of Minnesota. chap
lain-in-chief of the uniform rank knights OF
Pythias, preached at the Metropolitan Pres
byterian Church, Fourth and B streets north
east, at II a. m. yesterday. Three hundred
persons heard him, and among them were
two Sir Knights in full uniform
His subject was "Christ's argument for his
own divinity" The responsive reading was
the seventy-fourth Psalm and the Scriptual
lesson John x:31-42. The text was from this
lesson, being the thirty-fourth verse. as fol-
lows: Jesus answered them, Is it not writ
ten in your law? l said, Ye are Gods"
The pastor of the church. Mr. Luccock
was absent on account of sickness in his fam
lily, and Mr.. Sanderson spoke without any
formal introduction. He said. in part:
Jesus had two answers to those who ques-
toned his divinity and would put him TO
death for its assertion First was the spoken
word OF God as seen in the lesson, in the
Psalms, in Isaiah. and in the account of the
creation. This word had been obscured by
two views: One, that OF the Pharisees who
had a substantially correct understanding of
the nature of God, but who separated man
too far from Him; the other, that of the
heather who brought their gods down to
their own level. Both contributed to make
the Jews ready to destroy Christ for what
they called his blasphemy. The modern par
allel of the Pharisees is the liberal, and OF
the heather, the materialist.
"ChrIsts second answer was drawn from
the nobility of man. He shows this in four
ways. First man was noble enough to have
addressed to him communication from God,
the Holy Scriptures. Then he was noble
anOuUh m understand no NJ
divine word sent for his instruction and ele-
walton. Third, he was noble enough 10 be
the host OF the Creator, to receive Him in his
home and to do His work. Fourth. he was
noble enough to be the form in which God
should manifest Himself on earth. He came
not In the form of angel, but of man. And il
is rs when the electric current speeds through
the dark wire till it meets another material in
which 1t burns and glows and gives light; so
the divine spirit in man passes through his
life till it inspires him and ennobles him and
makes him fit for every good work.
Our life is as when the potter puts the dull
clay in the furnace and it is burned and
burned and burned till it comes out the pure
and beautiful porcelain. So are we purified
and made useful by the discipline of our ex-
perlence. l pray that the light may shine
through me and through all of US and that
we may appreciate how noble is man. worthy
Of our best efforts, even TO the sacrifice of our
lives, to reclaim and uplift him into likeness
with God
At the conclusion DR.. Sanderson referred
to the official character in which he addressed
them, and said the order of Knights of
Pythias filled u place occupied by no other
civic society. He commended its work to all.
In his position as chaplain-in-chief he was
in touch with $4,000 of the Uniform Rank,
600, 900 members of the order, and so with
the 60,000,000 of the nation. He thanked
them for the courtesy of hearing, and asked
that all pray for the work which he and the
chaplains who labored under his direction
are doing.