The Saint Paul globe., 1897-11-01
ION OF THE RESURREC-
TION.
so SAYS REV. DR.. J.. P. EGBERT,
IN a SERMON AT THE HOUSE OF
HOPE YESTERDAY MORN
ING.
PASTOR NGERsOLL's ANNUAL
He Celebrates His Sixth Years
Service in Charge of Park Con-
greGatiOnaI Church.

Not the past or present but the
future was the special burden of Rev.
DR.. John Paul Egberts sermon at
House of Hope yesterday. His text
was: Beloved, we are now the sons
of God, and it doth not yet appear
what we shall be; but we know when
we shall appear we shall be like Him,
for we shall see Him as He isl.
John iii, 2. In part, he said:
Notice the steps of the text. I'VE
are now the sons Of God" Literally
the children of God. I'VE know not
what we shall be-" There is the OBJ
scurtty The apostle glances at that
a moment and then passes on quickly,
as if he saw, beyond this little con-
fusion and doubt of what we shall be,
the great flooding life of the illustra-
ton God has given to the world, and
says: But we shall be like Him who
is beyond that Obscurity, for we shall
see Him as He is When? When ii is
manifested what we shall be. The
two things come together-Our seeing
of Christ as He is and our being like
Him in the manifestation of our per-
feet life. ..
Notice the expression. "See Him as
He is" Not as He was in the streets
of Jerusalem-a buffeted, defeated He
brew; not as He is today, the Ruler,
the Master in millions of minds and
hearts, the inspirer of all that is
greatest and nOblest in human life;
not simply as the influence behind all
the forward movement in this worlds
life, but as He actually is. Oh, how
many of us would be drawn together
in closer and nObler bonds if we knew
each other. How many rich and
beautiful things we might see in one
another if we could look down
through this outer garb of flesh, Of
manner, of speech, Of habit, of inherit
ed characteristic, into that inner self
that wants to be and is starving to be
all that is nOblest and best. To see
one another as we are would be
marvellous revelation of good and evil
before us. But what will it be to see
Jesus as He is-one who is sinless
who is perfect in every attribute who
is the revelation of God to us, not as
we apprehend that revelation. but as
He made it.
In this world we see His mystery,
something of His power, something of
His marvellous beauty. We have learn
ed to know God through what He has
said of God and what He has reveal
ed in His own person of Cod Ne
have learned to look to Him, as He
acted to know what God is. We all
ton of personal life the world has ever
had was Jesus of Nazareth. He was
the light in this world; He will be to
US the light of that world. The lamb
is the light thereof" And so when
we see Him as He is, the continual
revelation of God (and therefore of us
as WELD, we shall be like Him. That
vision will transform us completely
there as the vision He has given the
world has transformed us here. Has
not the view which Christ taught the
world transformed it's whole conception
of God and of human life? Is there
anv one of US who can look at death,
at the dark problems of this life, at
its tangles. it's sorrows, its burdens
and at the great future, except in the
light which Christ has revealed to US?
He has filed us and toned every facul-
ty and power of our lives. And so He
has transformed our whole being; He
has renewed our minds, He has given
us an entirely different motive of life,
a different purpose. different concep-
ton of human brotherhood, a different
conception of God as our Father; and
lust as He has transfigured our life on
earth by our poor vision OF Him that
we have had, so will He tranSfgure
that great future life for us when we
see Him 8s He is. Then we shall be
like Him. We shall be sons Of God in
the truest, nOblest, completest sense.
Even in this world we get little
suggestion of it, Now and then some
Being surrenders himself sufficiently TO
what is greatest and noblest in all that
has come to him from God as to be
come q saint; a sanctitied, consecrated
soul, consecrated to all that is noblest
and best that God has revealed. And
they stand up above the rest of the
world. They stand as our ideals that
we hardly ever hope to approach. But
they reveal the possibility Of every hu-
man life, and they make it easier for
us to believe that great revelation, that
not simply as a Saint Francis, SAINT
Paul. or as a Saint John, but as the
great Master, Himself, We shall stand
at last. worthy to stand before the Son
Of God.
Now, there are few things I want
to emphasize which are suggested by
this passage of Scripture. The first is
that this is a revelation Of our real
selves. There is back Of all that ap
pears a profound reality to cause the
appearance. Back Of all our dreams
and hopes. back of all our faith, back
of all that comes to us as revelation,
there is something to be revealed
something that is revealed. 1t is the
great personal life, the life Of God. the
fife of all persons And all things in
this whole universe are fer that We
talk of men dying for the truth. Men