Year: 1869

The Incnrnntion-SermOn by the Rev.


Chauncey Giles.


Rev. Chauncey Giles, yesterday forenoon, in view
OF the festive season in commemOraton OF the natv
ity OF Christ, preached sermon on the incarnation,
as understood and interpreted py the followers of
SwedenbOrg, composing the Church Of the New
Jerusalem. The reverend speaker took for his text
st. Luke H. 81, "a, 35-"And behold, thou shall con-
celve in thy womb and orng forth Son, and shall
call His name jesus Then said Mary unto the
angel, How shall this be, seeing know not manr
And the angel answered and said unto her, The
Holy Spirit shall come upon thee ana the power Of
the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore, ALSO
that Holy Thing which shall be born shall be called
the Son OF God.'n In her question said Mr. Giles,
Mary expressed the doubt OF the world. From a
natural point OF view the tlncarnation is the most
improbable, not to say impossible OF events The
wlthln the limits OF Its knowledge and cannot be
explained by natural laws. But It's knowledge Is
imaaines to see the whole chain. 1t forgeis that
innnite wisdom has many ways OF producing the
same effects IN accordance with divine order. II
hgndred years ago an angel from heaven
hau foretold the telegraph and It's wondrous
working over the earth and under the ocean
he would not have been believed and
with our present means OF communication.
These would have been miracles to the wlsest men
OF the past, and hence we should hesitate 10 pro-
nounce impossible what the Lord has announced.
The reverend speaker then referred TO the aid the
Lord sought TO accomplish by the incarnation that
He might become lmmanuel, God with man, that
He might save men from their sins. II was divine
work and required divine being 10 perform it, who
must be the Son OF God as well as the son OF man.


This thought was very eaboratey explained and fol-
lowed by means OF numerous Illustrations. The New
Church doctrines show the necessity OF incarnation.
The child inherts the SOUL or the interior plane OF
Its being from the father and the exterior from the
mother; hence that Jesus Christ might be the Son OF
This doctrine Of the New Church had am important
bearing upon the question OF incarnation. The
words OF the angel were then dwelt upon ana the
force OF the words Therefore shall be called the


Son OF God because He is beg0tten by the power OF
the Highest.n This follows from the law that the


divine cannot be divided. 1t Is life ITSELF Infinite,
uncreated life and to create divine being would
be q contradiction In terms. human son Is per-
sonay distinct from his father but Jehovah clothes
sonaiy dlsunct from the Father. He was not, as
the Trntarlans hold, Of the same substance az
from Mary The New Church teaches that
Father ana Son were personally one. like a


mans soul and BODY the distinction being diner
ence OF substance and degree OF life. The human
nature VI Christ mad every human quality and form


complete, and could Will and think from itself,


tirely distinct from the divine nature within It, II
was hu nan nature which was begotten and born
and owing to which Christ often addresses the


Father AZ another person. and declares HIS own In
feriority 70 Him. But He speaks His Divine nature
IS the Father" But Jehovah was not changed in-
| to the Son. There was no change IN the Father.
| The Divine was not changed into the human.


Thonght Is not changed by speech and action, 1T Is
more fully ones own after expressnRit 1t. The Most
High flowed forth with all His creative energy as be-
| fore into all the creation; He only exerted new
power TO reach u new condition IN human life. The


speaker referred at length to the relation OF the in


fant Christ to the Father and the iulness OF infinite
| perfection. Through the nature lie derived from
Mary He could be tempted, ana the powers OF evil
could approach HIN. Here mans enemies were
| overcome and his redemption achieved. Through
this lie was again brought into perfect union with


the Father the Divine within HIM, SO that lie could
| say, ~ and my Father one.v After explaining


that Jesus saved man. not by His physical death bur
by the death OF that nature He received from Mary


he concluded that In the New Church they had this
comforting and glorlons TRUTH that Jehovah assumed


our fallen nature from pure love and mercy that He
might get access to enemies and overcome them
that lie might restore wanting link In the chain o
| communicable between ua.