The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-07-16

C-COL O4AuAClls Ills DI1Q0, VIII De WIFI
him IN his throne, sharers of his glory
ana participants in his work-the work
OF blessing and uplifting the world
reconciling the world to God.
Calvin, Knox-Wesley and Whitfield.
Calvin, Knox and others of the re-
formers. We may then see, were quite
right in their insistence that none at
the present time are in a reconciled
condition toward God except the com
paratively few of our race-the saints.
These turn from sin to righteousness,
turn from disobedience to faith and
conservation. and in and through the
merit of the Redeemer are acceptable
as probationary members of the elect
Church. If faithful they will shortly,
In the first resurrection" constitute
the Church of glory, the Bride, the
LAMBS Wife and Joint Heir.
Brothers Wesley, Whitfield and 9TH
ers We're also right in their proposition
that God was not content with electing
merely sanity handful, but surely
loved the whole world and would sure
~ give every member of the race a
Iuii opportunity to come to knowl-
edge of Christ and to seek a share in
the merit of his sacrifice for sins and
an opportunity for life everlasting.
Those dear brethren contended ear
nestly with each other over their diff
Ierences, the one upholding the doc
trine of Election, the other contend
ing for the doctrine of Free Grace.
Now we see that both were right!
NOW we see that the election belongs
to this Gospel Age and the High Call
ing to the divine nature and that in
an age following this Free Grace to-
ward all of the race of Adam will
prevail The knowledge of the Lord
shall fill the whole earth;'' every
knee shall bow and every tongue con-
fess.' Then those who, under the rule
and assistance and uplifting influences
of the "'elect'' will come into harmony
with the Divine Law, will be blessed
with full reconciliation to God and
Paradise restored-while the intelli-
gently perverse, instead of being ever
lastlngly tortured, as we had suppos-
ed, will, as the Apostle says, be pun
1shed with everlasting destruction
(II Thessalonians i, %.
"HalIelujah, What Savior!"
From this viewpoint the glory of our
emily Father are multiplied a million
times. Our Redeemer is not only to be
the Savior of the little f1ock,'' his
Church, his Bride, on the spirit plane
of glory, but additionally. through the
agency of his Millennial Kingdom, he
is to be the Savior of the world. He
tasted death for every man. as the
Scriptures declare, and, as they ex-
press it, HE shall see of the travail of
his soul and be satisfied (Isaiah liii,
I'D. Who could suppose that the Saw
ior would be satisfied with the result
Of his labor if only about one in mil
lion, as members of his Church, reach
the heavenly glory land?
Who in our day could for a moment
believe the suggestion of Brother JOna-
than Edwards, the great New England
preacher, who declared that the Lord
and his saints would, together, look
over the battlements of heaven at their
neighbors and friends and children
suffering an eternity of unreliable tor
ture at the hands of demons, and turn
this behalf? Poor Brother Edwards
had, we believe, but small concep-
ton of Divine Justice and Divine Love.
And his difficulty was that he did not
see what is now so distinct and clear
to Bible students, namely, that the BIZ
BILE He'll, to which all humanity goes is
not a place of torture nor of conscious
ness at all, but the grave, sheol, hades,
the tomb.
Instead of Christ and the \ saints
praising God because of the fortunes
of the poor groaning creation, the Di-
vine program shines resplendently,
showing us that the Redeemer and his
Church will for a thousand years be
engaged in missionary work of the
sublimest and most gigantic character
"a work not only for a living remnant
of the race, but one which will in
clude in it's blessing all the thousands
of millions of humanity under the Di-
vine sentence, 1.-THE wages of sin is
DEATH Truly the Scriptures declare,
AS the heavens are higher than the
earth, SO are Gods ways higher thsl
mans ways and Gods plans loftier
than mans conceptions.
Notice next the context. st. Paul,
after mentioning Christ as the Head
of the Body, the Church, who is the
first begotten, the first born from the
dead, that in all things he might have
the pre- eminence, adds, For it pleased
the Father that in him should all full
ness dwell" and that (after) lslving
made peace through the blood of his
cross by him to reconcile all things
unto himself-both the things in earth
and things in heaven (Colossians i,
1920. The Apostle indicates the great
scope of Christ's work as it shall be
pointed of the Father to establish
peace and righteousness throughout
the Universe. But he has not yet ac
complished all of this. He has only
begun. He has died for the sins of
the world, as well as for the sins of
the Church. But he has not yet Of
fered to Justice the satisfaction for the
worlds sins: He first appears before
God as the great Advocate for the
elect Church, "called" of God in adj
Wife" Note how the Apostle ex-
presses the thought in our text,
verse 81.
The Church First ReconciIed.
"And you, that were sometime
alienated, and enemies in your mind
by wicked works, yet now hath he
reconciled in the body of his flesh
through death, to present you holy and
unblamable and unreprovable in his
(the Father's) sight, if We continue in
the faith,'' etc.
Who are these and why are they
reconciled in advance of the remainder
of the world-brought in advance into
fellowship with the Father by the Re-
deemer as the Bride? These were by
nature children of wrath even as
others" By nature they were alien
ated and enemies in their mind by
wicked works. They were unlike the
Redeemer. who was holy, harmless
and undefiled and separate from sin
ners." Why then did Gods grace
specially come to this classic us who
are of the Church of Christ, accepted