Evening star., 1917-01-06
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON.

there exists uncertainty whence it
came. the threefold use Of it leaves no
| possible doubt concerning the charac-
ter of the Word. Reminted by the
Spirit of God it indicates His eternal
existence. expresses profoundly His
personality through His fellowship
| with God and also His essential deity
| which fitted Him to be the revealer Of
God to men.
The simple statements of the lesson
are clear, but their profundity over
whelms the one who tries to fathom
their depths. There was the necessity
pressing Himself. which He did in
Jesus. the Word, in creation and in
fthe gift Of life and light. According to
Genesis and science the first result of
a life movement. the brooding energy
Of the spirit upon chaos. was light,
which is a form of motion and the re-
suit Of life.
Men did not see the light because they
did not possess life. In the hour OF
darkness. due to mems lack of faith.
there appeared amid the worlds disor-
ganization, despair and disorder the
prophet of righteousness crying re-
pent He came to witness to the CHAR
acter of Jesus and introduce Christ into
the world by his prophetic preaching.
| 1t was the glory of the Baptist to re-
! vivs the function of the prophet, and
to inaugurate the movement that de-
veloped into Christianity. 1t was his
| testimony that Influenced the Apostle
John to become a disciple of Jesus. The
primary work of John the Baptist was
| to testify to Jesus the Savior of men.
Almost all of human knowledge comes
through witnessing, and practically all
the knowledge of the higher truths of
christianity has come to men through
| testimony, which calls for the consid-
Grafton of the character of the wit
nesses and their testimony. John the
Baptist and the beloved disciple are
credible. competent and absolutely re-
liable witnesses of Jesus. the true light
of the world.
The Baptist tried by a fearless pre-
sentation of the message of God, pro-
claiming sin and the Judgment and de-
manding repentance, to persude men to
trust in Christ Jesus as their Lord and
Savior. He secured the confidence of
the popular heart, but was not able to
| turn the multitude to Christ. When
Jesus commenced His public ministry,
although He was the creator and there
fore the owner of 1t, the ruler of men
and nations, He was not accepted by
all classes. He was rejected first at
Jerusalem by the priests. then by Judea
and finally by Galilee, where all His
mighty works were done. The spirit
! of unbelfef is still present inithe world.
1t is because men have not accepted
Christ and done His will that wars con-
| tinue in the world. He came that men
might know what God was like. The
purpose of the incarnation was the
revelation of God to men.
The manifestation of Christ's glory is
the key to Johns Gospel. The coming
of the Divine One into human flesh
confirmed the prophecy of John the Bap
tist and made possible for all who ac-
cepted the revelation of God in the flesh
to become like Him. He became man
fuller revelation of God than He could
in any other manner. Only by entering
the ranks of humanity was it possible
for Jesus to make men understand and
know what God was like. The life that
He lived among men, while he was
dwelling in the flesh, made clear to
men what philosophers, preachers and
prophets had been unable to do. To
those who through faith behold His
grace and glory Jesus gave the power
to become like their Master. Faith in
the character of Jesus is absolutely
necessary for the enjoyment of the
grace of Christ SO that the great bene-
fits of His grace are only open to those
who, through faith, accept the promises
of Jesus and receive from Him the gifts
of eternal life and the Transforming
power Of the gospel that enables them
to be made like their Lord.
The law, which could not perfect men,
He replaced with the gospel of His
grace and truth. He endowed humanity
benefit of His light as they journeyed
through life. He shared His heart with
humanity in their sorrow, suffering and
sin so that they would be fitted as re-
suit OF Ieeiins MS nedTt DedtS 10 Iol-
low Him all the way home. The Christ,
who lived in the beginning and who in
the fullness of time was born in Beth
lehem's manager, proved Gods love for
the world by the life that He lived, the
labor of love that He performed, by the
lessons He taught and by the legacy
of service that He bequeathed to His
disciples to preach the gospel of His
love to every creature with it's message
of pardon for the past sins, peace for
the present, power for service and the
promise of a paradise in life hereafter
as an incentive for them to leave all
and follow Him. Those who behold His
glory will preach the gospel of His
grace SO that all men may come to
know the Christ and through Him
know Gods love for all men. Jesus
hath declared Gods grace and glory
unto men by becoming flesh and dwell
ing among men.