The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1913-08-15
Pastor Russell S Sermon

| him was only a tentative one. IL he
| would use It In harmony with his Gre
ators commands. he might enjoy IL
| forever. as indicated in the words,
BE fruitful and multiply and fill the
earth with your posterity. and sub
due the earth as We have need of it,
AS your posterity increases. extend the
bounds of Eden. until it will include
tb" whole earth.
But that the life was u tentative one
u conditional one. is indicated by the
threat that disobedience would bring
death the cessation of life. Thus.
when the sin had been committed. God
declared, "Accursed is the ground for
thy sake, In the sweat of thy face
shalt thou eat bread. until thou return
to the ground: for dust thou art. and
unso dust shalt thou return. Genesis
3:17. 10.
The whole world knew that ii was
dying: and not even a suggestion Of a
reversal of the curse was made up to
the time of Abraham. Then. for the
first time. God declared it His purpose
to bless all the families of the earth.
which implied the rolling away of the
curse This blessing the rolling away
of the curse. was to come through
Abraham's Seed. ''In thee and in thy
Seed shall all the families of the earth
be blessed" st. Paul declares that
this Seed is The Christ-Jesus the
Head and the Church His Body.-Ga-
latians 3:l6 20.
But the Apostle explains that even
this statement to Abraham was more
or less indistinct: it did not bring the
matter clearly forward and give posi-
tive assurance of everlasting life. st.
Paul declares that this was accom-.
plished through Jesus. more than 1000
years after the fall. He declares that
Christ brought life and immortality to
light through the Gospel.2 TIM. 10.
Now we may see that this promise of
immortality. deathessnesS death proof
existence. is a very much grander one
than we ever supposed. Immortality
is quality of life which thus far is
possessed only by Jehovah God and by
His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Moth
ing in the Scriptures indicates that
even the angels possess death-proof
bodies. On the contrary, the Bible
teaches that Satan, one of the very
highest angels. Is to be destroyed.
This shows us that this immortal.
death-proof quality is not possessed by
the angels. Their everlasting life de-
ponds upon the Divine covenant that.
so long as they are in harmony with
God. He is pleased to perpetuate their
lives in most joyful condition.
The Bible assures us that only the
elect Church will ever attain the i'm
mortal quality peculiar to the Father
and to the Son. This promise Of
glory. honor. Immortality" Is made
merely to the sanity Church. and is
to be attained in the First Resurrection
by those found worthy. ION such the
Second Death hath no power" Rev
elation 20:6.
But our Lord Jesus not merely brought
to light immortality as Gods gift to
the Church. The Gospel of Jesus
brings to light hope of everlasting
of them as, under the light of the
knowledge of the glory of God during
the coming Millennial Age, will fully
respond and be of those who will bow
the knee and confess with the tongue
the great King. and be uplifted to
human perfection by the arrangements
of His Kingdom. For these God has
the same everlasting life that He has
already given to the angelic hosts
This everlasting life of the future is
usually styled immortality; for it will
be deathless life-a life free from the
imperfections of the dying condition.
But the Immortality of the Bible. which
is for the Church alone, is separate and
distinct. and elsewhere described as
1.-THE Divine nature."-2 Peter n.
As We Now Sober Up.
This Bible presentation of the matter
that Gods proposition is life or
death-we are beginning to see is most
reasonable. most logical. Furthermore.
His proposition is that when His Plan
will have been completed, none shall
have life at all who will not have it in
perfection. He desires not to have
mental. moral and physical cripples
and degenerates in His Kingdom. He
will give all the fullest opportunity for
recovery through the Redeemer and
the Messianic Kingdom. All who will
not be obedient to the Divine arrange
ment will be everlastingly destroyed.
as thorns and thistles are destroyed.
and as uncomfortable wild beasts are
destroyed. This is the Divine Word on
the subject Peter PIP; Isaiah 1912.
Thus eventually God will have
clean universe in which His Will shall
be done on earth even as now 1t is done
in Heaven. Eventually ! every knee
will bow. and no one need any longer
say, Know thou the Lord; for all
shall know Him, and love Him, too,
Then the darkness, ignorance, super
stition. which has blinded us will be
past. Then our great Creator will be
seen to be our very best Friend. the
Father of Mercies, the God of all
Grace Perhaps, indeed. we shall love
righteousness and appreciate our God
all the more because of the previous
ISLANDERS of the Adversary. which for
5000 years have misrepresented Him.
Undoubtedly the Divine Wisdom.
Justice. Love and Power will be more
clearly seen by both angels and men
as the result of the Divine permits
sion of the reign of Sin and Death
Without this narmissinn nf sin we