The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1900-03-12

with the lives of Christians. In their
progress through the world ihrF rcaCn
the grave and sink out Of sight. SUI
they arr. not lost They will come forth
again. and continue their progress
through the ages.
Another purpose Of ne incarnation W.
To- make il possible for the son Of Goa
t. suffer lie could not suffer IN Ills ~
vine nature. IL was. Therefore. h'C'SS1lS
FOR Him 10 become man. Poets an" lattI.
crs have expended their genius IN tHoitS
Ia portray the sufferngs of Chris. but III
vain. Those sufferirgS Were TOO greet ~
he told i'm words. or Co Toe painted ON cdu-
vas While W. can give NO adequate tN-
preston 10 them. there are two iactS III
regard To Christ which show that th'N
must have been very great me IT, -
Ills knowledge Of the future re heym
what was in store Tor MIN. ana olt,'
smoke Z. his disciples about IT, lir Ht,'L
ally walked iu the valley ot the sIi''"'tM
Of death ONLY once did Tie cllihp IN
mount Of TRANSFORMATION. a % 10 aSSuie
Himself thlt beyond the clouds the sun
was still shining. u rs fact IN human
nature that our SuNtriueS are iil, - -,
i,- a know LEDGE Of them beforehand ihcN
are not made greater nm their tii'llSI,A'
hut in the period OF their duration. Inc
sufferings 81 Gethscmauc and the aEoHtS
Of calvary wer" not liihlt.l 1" 'i, ~ ~
time that Jesus lay ON the EieutlH ~
huns. on the cross. They extended "NfA
His whole life The other fact Wlich auh
mented the sufferngs Of christ Wis ~.
Is IN, most delicate of musical lhslru-
mentS The geutleSt breeze Nihi"tt~ ~
strings and makes fhcm moan as lho"Sn
thev were In pain. This IS hluSltil',,i ~
q. % incident In ac life Of some friends ga
nine who were spending several year
abroad They visited. ON one occasion, an
old and deserted castle. As they Wahati
IN through its lonely halls they heard -
low and mournful sound which was III
harmony with tho solitude of thc place
They searched for the source OF thtSc
which some one had placed in an open
window 81 the castle. As the SOFT hftt~'7
were waited through the window from
the plain below the sensitive STRINGS o.
the harp were touched. and all the cdStie
was filled with their means. Jesus y tle
aeolau harp of humanity Ills haIutt
was cNquisitclv fine and sensitive. lhis
finene~1 Of nature made Him more SuS-
ceptihle 10 pain than lie would have nrth
had tie had coarse nature IKE ours,
His tender nc~h uuiNricd with pam as the
nails were driven into lis hands ana
feet and His noble soul suffered deeply
from "a sense of humiliation as lie hung
on the cross a spectacle 10 men ana an
gels.
still another purpose Of the incarnation
was Go make communion between God anu
men possible The desire of God for com
muniuu with men Is taught in the Bibie-
Behold I St1nd 1t the door ami KNOCK.
If any man hear my voice and open the
door. l Will come 70 % HIM ana sup Win
him. and he with me. this Is as Gear
a declaration Of Gods ccSirc for COM
munion with men as could be cNpre~sed
Zen language. hat it is not She only evil
dence that there is in the Bible Of this de-
sire. There are two great ilc.s an Chris-
tanifv which teach this doctrine as clear
~ as the passage which has been clteu
The first i- Gods presence with men.
lie tented with Israel 90 the Tabernacle.
He dwclt with men iu the person Of Jesus
Christ and lie abidcs with believers in the
person Of the Holy Ghost. This three
fold presence Of God with men proves
that He loves their fellowship and seeks
their company. The second fact IN Chris
tiauitv which teaches Gods desire for
communion with men IS the institution of
the Lords supper. IhlS sacrament is 4
communion. and its institution by our
Lord is a proof Of Ills desire To sup with
men. and 10 have them sup with Him.
Likeness Of nature was necessary TO the
realization of this desire. TWO beings
with widely different natures cannot on
ter into communion with each other.
There can hc no communion between a
man and "A brute. The superior nature
Of the man may enable him 10 enter some
what into the feelings Of the brute. and
10 give him an intelligent sympathy: tut
the brute can have no communion with
the man, because ne knows nothing. and
can know nothing OF mans higEer and
better nature. 50 IL IS with % and
men The infinite nature of God enabled
Him 10 enter into fellowship with men,
E,tr they could not enter into communion
with him. Il was. therefore. necessary
for Him 20 make Himself like them.
This lie did by becoming man.
The fNet winch fndNt an incarnation OF
some kind necessary 10 communion at all
between God and men made il necessary
that the incarnation should be complete.
If Christ has assumed only "A part of our
nature. our communion with Him would
have been incomplete To an extent that
would have been commensurate with the
"Reminiscences IF His incarnation. Com
plete communion between God and men
dema nded a complete incarnation of God.
This is what Christ's incarnation was.
There is not an element in human nature
which is essential TO il that lie did not
possess.
But Christ's humanity was not only
complete il was also universal The
humanity of other men is limited by race.
In Christ. however, was neither Greek
nor Jew. barbarian nor Scythian. lie
was not the son Of a Jew, but of the race;
lie was not the son of a man. but Of man.
The universally of His humanity swal-
lowed uD all racial distinctions. and He
stands forth as the one man who has all
the essential characteristics of every
race without possessing the distinctive
traats Of any. IL is said that on account
of the unique topography of Palestine
one from almost any country in the world
will find something there that is vernacu-
lar To him. The Icelander Will find tho
SHOWS of the Arctics. the Brazilian the
flower and fruits of the tropics. and the
EtIropean the cereals and the forests OF
his latitude So il is with Christ. His
humanity is So unique that every man,
whatever his nationality, finds in Him all
that is purest and hest in his own race
This touch of nature makes the whole
world kin 10 Him.
Another limitation upon our humanity IS
sex Men possess the masculine. women
the feminine nature. Neither alone con-
stftute humanity. but both together. In
Christ there was neither male nor female.
He possessed the masculine nature. but