The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1909-03-03

Jesus Christ, ana Jesus CQTlSC is GOu.
the Second Person of the Blessed
Trinity. From eternity this Person
had "all power in heaven and in
earth" This same divine Person, as
the Person of Christ's humanity,
which He assumed that He might suf-
fer for us, has now also "all power in
heaven and in earth" When He died
as man, for He could not die as God,
He merited all power. This Is the
power He refers to in the preamble
of the great constitution that He gave
to His church. This power is the
source and strength of that constitu-
ton.
It was for us Christ died. With
out doubt when He died for us He
showed us the deepest affection. To
use Lincoln's expression on the field
Of Gettysburg: HE paid the last full
measure of devotion" When He
gave His life, He made a sacrifice so
much greater than the sacrifice OF
our lives would be as q divine person
is greater than we. Jesus has been
so good to US that we ought to regard
Him as IN other self.
The power that Christ merited we
find Him shortly using in our inter-
ests. He first uses 1t in sending His
apostles to teach men the new thing
that had come to pass. How else
could they know that they had a Saw
Jour? His command was: Teach We
all nations" Great as was that COM
mand, 1t was not equal to the charity
that prompted it, for Jesus is love it.
self. And in what was He their Saw
Jour? He was to save them from
their sins. That we do not appre-
eiate the evil Of sin is mans great
misfortune. We know that II we ap-
p~reciate the evil Of sins we would not
commit them. If they are blotted out
only by the blood of the Son Of God,
1t is no wonder that We do not under
stand them. We do understand sin
enough to know that it is disgusting
and Injurious. How disgusting and
Injurious then must it appear In the
sight Of Cod The philosophers give
us another aspect Of sin. They tell
US 1t is a privation, a want of some
thing we ought to possess. Want
sometimes becomes very hard to bear.
Sin in the soul is the greatest want,
for it means want of spiritual life. A
dagger will kill the body. Sin is the
most deadly Of all daggers, for it kills
the soul.
When Christ came the world was
reeking with sin. So disgusting is
the account history gives US that we
think we could not endure to live
among the denominations Of the past.
DIV fhoir SING man nnt nn1v QC 1n6j-
viduals, but as whole nations, had Of
Tended the Father and the Son and
the Holy Ghost. They had made an
enemy of Him that could send them
to eternal punishment. Christ mer-
cifully commands His apostles to
wash away the sins of the nations.
baptizing them in the name Of the
Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Ghost. This was an exercise of
that almighty power that He had re-
ceived. Thus was the account which
the Father and the Son and the Holy
Ghost had against them to be washed
away in the waters of baptism. What
a debt the nations owe to Christ!
AS the issue proved, it was no easy
task to which the apostles were sent.
Christ sent them to do mems work.
But the apostles we're full Of the sub
lime spirit of the Saviour, who had
trodden the winepress alone. For
three years they had imbibed the
lion spirit of Christ. So difficult was
their task that in it's discharge they
one and all encountered the martyrs
trial. The foul spirit of darkness
did not yield without a contest, but
he had to yield. We can glory that
Christ so filled His apostles with His
spirit when He sent them out to
preach that they did not shrink from
the trial of blood for the sake Of
Christ and for the sake of US. Our
faith is an evidence of how well they
preached. How terribly earnest are
the words of Christ when we inter-
pref them in the light of what He
was and did, and in the light Of the
lives and deaths of His apostles.
Let US now take up these other
words of Christ: Teaching them to
observe all things whatsoever I have
commanded you" This the apostles
could understand. They knew what
commands He had given them. But
perhaps they might understand diff
ferently, perhaps they might forget,
as other men do. This was all guard
ed against, as one might infer from
the brevity of the constitution, which
goes into nc details, and which makes
no mention Of mistake or failure.
The apostles were inspired. They,
and not only they, but the church to
all time, were preserved free from
possibility of error by Christ when
He pava HE DromjSe. "RphO16 7 am
with you all days even to the con-
summation of the world" He sent
them to teach. And certainly since
He was to be with them, He was to
help them in the task He assigned
them. Otherwise His presence would
be without meaning. We cannot deny
that He is still present with His
church unless we deny the truth of
what He said.
Power, power. power. is what