River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1914-06-25

ing those who had seen our Lord after
His resurrection, st. Paul says. Last
of all He was e Of me also, as of
one born before the time" Jesus ap-
peared to st. Paul in the glory of His
spirit being. shining above the bright
ness of the SUM- at MONDAY. The
sight caused injury to Saul's eyes.
The Pastor then pointed out how in
appropriate and unsatisfactory such a
manifestation would have been if the
Redeemer had so appeared to the Elev-
en- during the forty days following His
resurrection. They could not possibly
have identified the glorious Parsonage
who shOne above the brightness of the
MONDAY sun with the Lord Jesus, their
Friend, their Teacher. But to Saul OF
Tarsus, the revealing In fiery light,
above the MONDAY glare, was very ap-
propriate. 1t convinced him in a man.
ner that 10 human appearance could
have equalled that Jesus was no long
er a la and that He was no impos-
tor. st. Pauls conversion was instan-
taneous.
1t should not cause us to marvel
that Jesus assembled, as He declared,
''up to where He was before said the
Pastor. 1t should not surprise us that
the Apostle declares that our Lord as
cended in dignity and station far
above angels. principalities and pow
ers, and above every name that is
named. On the contrary, it would be
both equitable and God-like that the
great Jehovah should highly honor His
faithful Son, the First and the Last,
the Beginning and the Ending of the
creation of God. Could we, he asked,
for one moment suppose that our great
Creator would permit this faithful
Son, or any servant, to lay down life
in the Divine service and to suffer
loss as a consequence of his obedi-
ence? Is it not much more rational to
believe, as the Scriptures declare, that
Him hath God highly exalted?
Extreme Humiliation and Exaltation.
Pastor Russell called attention to
the Apostles ~phraseology in the con
teXt-that the One who assembled had
previously descended, and that the de
scending and the ascending were re
lated as cause and effect. The One
who has assembled on High completely
fills the highest position in the great
Divine Government Of the Universe
as Head of municipalities and powers,
angels and men-next to the great Je-
havah Vn% n@ 4h4 no~AIo xvnxrNn nc
we must not identify this gloriied
One with the One who in obedience to
the Fathers will came down from
Heaven and as a man humbled Him
self unto death. even the ignominiOus
death of the cross The Apostle calls
attention to these two extremes of hu-
initiation and exaltation-both accom-
plished In the Son of God. the Logos.
the Messiah. the Christ.
The Pastor then showed that If some
of us at one time had supposed that
our Lord Jesus assembled to Heaven
In a physical condition, as q man, we
had entirely misunderstood the Scrip
lures. To suppose that Jesus went to
Heaven a man, the Pastor maintained.
is to mistake the significance Of His
title. the Son of Man. which He pre-
serves as identifying Him with His
great redemptive Work-as one Of His
many titles. To suppose that Jesus is
In Heaven q human being, he declared.
is to suppose that He is still. as when
on earth. "a little lower than the an
GELS whereas the Scriptures state
that He has assembled far higher, so
that not only men, but also all the an
gels of God, are commanded to WOr-
ship Him. To suppose Jesus in Heav-
en- a human being Is to suppose Him
out of all harmony with Heavenly sur
roundings and spiritual conditions.
Moreover, the speaker queried. are
we not told that the Church of Christ
will be changed from the human con
dition to the spiritual condition in the
resurrection; and that this change will
make them like their Redeemer, so
that they may see Him as He IS, not
as He WAS-that they may see Him
IL glory, honor and immortality-ex-
altation-and not as the One who in
humiliation was made flesh that He
might sacrifice His flesh on behalf OF
the race of Adam? Answering his
own question, be declared that when
we SO thought we forgot the S%criptural
assertion that flesh and blood cannot
inherit the Kingdom Of God" This
statement of Scripture implies that all
who become partakers of the Divine
nature and share In the Heavenly
Kingdom with their Lord and Redeem
er must be made like Him by the pow
err of the First Resurrection.
Difficulties of UnbeIievers
The Pastor declared that he a
found worldly-wise people very scept1-
cal respecting the descent of the Logos.
the Son of God, to earthly conditions,
but that Christians seem to have more
difficulty than do the world to compre-
bend the ascension of Jesus to the
spirit plane and its excellent glory.
Both points, however, are important.
Whoever is unable to see that the
ToroS tho OI0riOuC Con Of fhp High