The Meridian Dispensation. (Note 1)
LESSON XXI.
(Scripture Reading Exercise.)
THE FORERUNNER AND THE CHRIST.
ANALYSIS.
I. The Ministry of the Baptist.
1. John's Special Message.
2. The Baptism of Jesus.
3. His Testimony of the Divinity of Jesus.
II. The Ministry of Jesus.
1. The Call of the Twelve.
2. Messiah's Precepts.
3. The Manner of His Teaching.
REFERENCES.
St. John i:6-36; also iii:23-36[A] Matt. iii. Mark i. Luke iii:1-23.
Notes 4, 5.
Luke iv:1-23. Mark i:14, 15.
Matt, iv:12-25. John i:35-61.
Matt, v-vii. St. John vi-viii. Note 6.
[Footnote A: St. John's Gospel gives the most complete account of
John the Baptists' ministry, and hence is given precedency here. The
same method is followed on other topics; that is, the evangelist or
authority giving the fullest or most important information is given
precedence.]
NOTES.
_1. Meridian Dispensation:_ Meaning really the middle
dispensation: the one that comes some where near midway between the
first and the last. The first opened with Adam, the last closes with
the triumph of the Christ. It would be more agreeable to the writer to
call the Dispensation here to be treated the "Christian Dispensation,"
because Christ is not only the central figure of it, but in it also
he lives his earth career, manifests God in the flesh, and opens the
way of the resurrection. But since it is imperative that we recognize
the real presence of the Christ in every dispensation, from the very
first to the very last, it might lead to confusion to call this
Meridian Dispensation the Christian Dispensation, and hence the less
satisfactory name is used.
_2. Treatment of the Meridian Dispensation:_ It is not the purpose
of the lessons covering the period of this Meridian Dispensation to
deal either in detail or succinctly with historical events. The general
scheme of our present year's work precludes any such attempt. Equally
distant is it from our purpose to attempt to treat exhaustively of
Christian doctrine, or even the divinity of Christ. The intention of
the lesson is merely to present sufficient historical and doctrinal
matter as will hold the thought present to the mind that a dispensation
of the Gospel was again given to men under the ministry of John
the Baptist, the forerunner of the Christ, and in the birth, life,
teaching, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. The aim of the
Lessons dealing with this dispensation is merely to treat it as one
of many dispensations of the Gospel given to men: not to emphasize
its glory, or importance, or treat it as a culmination of ages, or
of divine purposes. For that culmination of ages and purposes--"the
Dispensation of the Fullness of Times," which will witness gathered
together, "in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and
which are on earth; even in Him;" the age in which the Christ shall be
entirely triumphant is an age and dispensation future from the Meridian
Dispensation, as we shall fully see before this division of our work
closes. Here it is thought necessary only to guard the student against
disappointment by cautioning him not to expect too much.
_3. Literature of the Meridian Dispensation:_ "The history of the
Meridian Dispensation divides itself into two chief parts: (1) The
Revelation of the Gospel by Jesus Christ, including the accomplishment
of his work of redemption; and (2) the Propagation of the Gospel, and
full establishment of the Christian Church, after his ascension. The
former history is written in the "Gospels," of the "Four Evangelists,"
the respective openings of which furnish us with four different, but
almost equally important, starting-points for all that follows. St.
Matthew, who writes with the most constant reference to the fulfillment
of prophecy, begins by showing that Jesus Christ was, by his reputed
father Joseph, the son of David, and the son of Abraham; the predicted
king of the royal line of Judah; the promised seed, in whom all
kindreds of the earth were to be blessed; the great object of Covenants
made by God wih Abraham and with David. St. Mark, commencing at once
with the public proclamation of Christ, dates "the beginning of the
Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God" from the ministry of John the
Baptist as his forerunner. St. Luke places in the forefront of his
narrative its practical purpose, for the instruction of a convert to
Christianity, and begins "to write in order" from the birth of John the
Baptist, and of Christ himself. St. John, having his mind imbued with
the mysteries revealed to the "disciples whom Jesus loved," goes hack
to a "beginning" antecedent to all time, and displays the eternal and
divine glory of that "Life and Light," which were, manifested by Christ
when he appeared on earth.
And what is true of the beginning of the Gospel history applies to
each step of its subsequent development. Critics may speculate on some
common remoter source of the narratives of the four evangelists, till
they learn to abandon the unprofitable search; harmonists may pursue
their useful labors so far as to be in danger of confounding the
separate characters, the four documents, in the artificial compound of
their own making; but the student who rightly appreciates the purpose
of God's providence, in entrusting the record to four writers instead
of one, will trace the distinct spirit of each as really his own, and
will find the truest harmony in the concordant spiritual impression
they produce, under the guidance of the inspiration of the Holy
Ghost." (Dr. Smith's New Testament History, p. 178.)
The Literature of the second part of the Meridian Dispensation, viz.
"The Propagation of the Gospel" is found in the Acts of the Apostles,
and the Epistles and treatis that make up the balance of the New
Testament. History says:
"St. Luke's "Second Treatise" or Discourse, (The Acts) addressed to
Theophilus, bears a title apt to mislead the reader; a title certainly
not given it by its author. It contains no full account of the "Acts
of the Apostles." Most of them are never mentioned even by name, after
the list given in the first chapter; and the history of St. Paul is
not brought down to his death. Its true subject is the fulfillment of
the promise of the Father by the descent of the Holy Spirit, and the
results of that outpouring, in the diffusion of the Gospel among Jews
and Gentiles. It deals only with the beginning of this great theme;
and, having shown us the full establishment of Christ's Church, first
in the Holy Land, then in those Eastern and Grecian provinces of the
Roman empire which the Jews were wont to regard as representing the
whole Gentile world, and finally at Rome; it leaves all the future
progress of the Gospel to be recorded by the Church itself.
"And the point where the sacred history thus breaks off is marked by a
most striking change in the character of the records. There is a great
gulf between the last verses of the 'Acts' and the last allusions in
the Epistles of St. Paul, and the earliest authentic chapters of what
is called 'Ecclesiastical History.' The chasm is only bridged over by
traditions of uncertain value, in which even the martyrdom of St. Peter
and St. Paul is disfigured by childish legends, and worldly principles
are already seen at work in the kingdom of Christ." (Ibid, p. 378.)
It will greatly aid in understanding the doctrinal development of this
dispensation if it is remembered that the Gospels of the New Testament
were not written first, nor even the Acts of the Apostles; that most
likely some of the epistles of Paul form the older written documents
of the Meridian Dispensation (for the probable order in which these
epistles were written see Seventy's Year Book, No. I. note, pp. 88-9);
and, that while the Apostle of the Gentiles had the personal, verbal
narratives of some of the Apostles who were companions of the Master to
aid him in forming his conceptions of the Life and Mission of Christ,
he had no such written treasury as we now have in the four-fold story
of the Evangelists.
The literature of the Meridian Dispensation on the Western hemisphere
is found in the Book of Mormon. Prophetically (and it should be
remembered that prophecy is but reversed history) in the record on
the small plates of Nephi (the first 157 pages of the book), as also
in the abridged records of Mormon, more especially the Book of Alma
(12, 13 and 42nd chapters); and Historically in III Nephi, which has
not inappropriately been called "The Fifth Gospel," and "The American
Gospel" (See Lecture on the subject, "Defense of the Faith and the
Saints" pp. 371-399), because it details the ministry of the Christ in
the western hemisphere, and adds largely to views of the world-mission
of the Christ, the Christ.
_4. The Spirit of the Age at the Opening of the Meridian
Dispensation:_ The Editor of Dr. Jortin's "Remarks on Ecclesiastical
History," in a foot note, Commenting on the remark of his author to
the effect that it had often been observed that Christianity made its
appearance in the most proper time, and under a favorable concurrence
of circumstances, says: "With respect to the fitness of the time
at which Christianity made its appearance, the civilization, which
everywhere accompanied the progress of Roman conquest, was favorable
to the extension of a religion which the arms of the Caesars had
now achieved. The tendency of the Pagan superstitions to degrade
the human mind, and the demoralizing effects of the prevailing
Epicurism,--against which the severities of the Stoics and refinements
of the Platonists exercised, if any, the most trifling influence,--had
yet contributed to arouse all but the most abandoned to the necessity
of a reformation, and thus to prepare the way for the reception of
the doctrines of the Gospel, at a period when the union of so many
nations under one power would facilitate their propagation. It has been
said, indeed, that the gradual development of the powers of the human
understanding resulted, as it were, spontaneously in the Christian
system; but the time, however, fitted for the reception of the Gospel,
was altogether inadequate to its production. Not only was Christianity
before the age in which it appeared, but it has remained in advance of
the highest moral perfection to which the mind of man has yet attained,
or, without its aid, is capable of attaining." (Jortin on Ecclesiastical
History, p. 1).
_5. The Greatness of John the Baptist's Mission:_ "Among those
that are born of women, there hath not arisen a greater prophet than
John the Baptist: nevertheless, he that is least in the kingdom of
heaven is greater than he."
How is it that John was considered one of the greatest Prophets? His
miracles could not have constituted his greatness.
Firstly. He was intrusted with a divine mission of preparing the way
before the face of the Lord. Whoever had such a trust committed to him
before or since? No man.
Secondly. He was intrusted with the important mission, and it was
required at his hands to baptize the Son of Man. Whoever had the honor
of doing that? Whoever had so great a privilege and glory? Whoever led
the Son of God into the Water of baptism, and had the privilege of
beholding the Holy Ghost descend in the form of a dove, or rather the
sign of a dove, in witness of that administration? The sign of the dove
was instituted before the creation of the world, a witness for the Holy
Ghost, and the Devil cannot come in the sign of a dove. The Holy Ghost
is a personage, and is in the form of a personage. It does not confine
itself to the form of a dove, but in sign of a dove. The Holy Ghost
cannot be transformed into a dove; but the sign of a dove was given
to John to signify the truth of the deed, as the dove is an emblem or
token of truth and innocence.
Thirdly. John, at that time, was the only legal administrator in the
affairs of the kingdom there was then on earth and holding the keys
of power. The Jews had only to obey his instructions or be damned,
by their own law; and Christ himself fulfilled all righteousness in
becoming obedient to the law which he had given to Moses on the mount,
and thereby magnified it and made it honorable, instead of destroying
it. The son of Zachariah wrested the keys, the kingdom, the power, the
glory from the Jews, by the holy anointing and degree of heaven; and
these three reasons constitute him the greatest Prophet bom of a woman.
Second question: How was the least in the kingdom of heaven greater
than he?
In reply, I asked--Whom did Jesus have reference to as being the least?
Jesus was looked upon as having the least claim in all God's kingdom
and was least entitled to their credulity as a Prophet, as thought
kingdom, and was least entitled to their credulity as a Prophet, as
though he had said--"He that is considered the least among you is
greater than John--that is, myself." (Mill. Star, Vol. XX, pp. 455-6.)
_6. The Manner of Christ's Teaching:_ "Next to what our Saviour
taught may be considered the manner of his teaching; which was
extremely peculiar, yet, I think, precisely adapted to the peculiarity
of his character and situation. His lessons did not consist of
disquisitions; of any thing like moral essays, or like sermons, or
like set treatises upon the several points which he mentioned. When he
delivered a precept, it was seldom that he added any proof or argument;
still more seldom, that he accompanied it with, what all precepts
require, limitations and distinctions. His instructions were conceived
in short, emphatic, sententious rules, in occasional reflections, or
in round maxims. I do not think that this was a natural, or would
have been a proper method for a philosopher or a moralist; or that it
is a method which can be successfully imitated by us. But I contend
that it was suitable to the character which Christ assumed, and to
the situation in which, as a teacher, he was placed. He produced
himself as a messenger from Cod. He put the truth of what he taught
upon authority. In the choice, therefore of his mode of teaching, the
purpose by him to be consulted was impression; because conviction,
which forms the principal end of our discourses, was to arise in the
minds of his followers from a different source, from their respect to
his person and authority. Now, for the purpose of impression singly
and exclusively. (I repeat again that we are not here to consider the
convincing of the understanding), I know nothing which would have
so great force as strong ponderous maxims, frequently urged, and
frequently brought back to the thoughts of the hearers. I know nothing
that could in this view be said better, than 'Do unto others as ye
would that others should do unto you.' The first and great commandment
is, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God; and the second is like unto it.
Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. It must also be remembered,
that our Lord's ministry, upon the supposition either of one year or
three, compared with his work, was of short duration; that, within
this time, he had many places to visit, various audience's to address;
that his person was generally besieged by crowds of followers; that he
was, sometimes, driven away from the place where he was teaching by
persecution, and at other times, thought fit to withdraw himself from
the commotions of the populace. Under these circumstances, nothing
appears to have been so practicable, or likely to be so efficacious,
as leaving, wherever he came, concise lessons of duty. These
circumstances at least show the necessity he was under of comprising
what he delivered within a small compass. In particular, his sermon
upon the mount ought always to be considered with a view to these
observations. The question is not, whether a fuller, a more accurate
more systematic, or a more argumentative, discourse upon morals might
not have been pronounced; but whether more could have been said in
the same room, better adapted to the exigencies of the hearers, or
better calculated for the purpose of impression. Seen in this light it
has always appeared to me to admirable. Dr. Lardner thought that this
discourse was made up of what Christ had said at different times, and
on different occasions, several of which occasions are noticed in Saint
Luke's narrative. I can perceive no reason for this opinion I believe
that our Lord delivered this discourse at one time and place, in the
manner related by Saint Matthew, and that he repeated the same rules
and maxims at different times, as opportunity or occasion suggested
that they were often in his mouth, and were repeated to different
audiences and in various conversations.
"It is incidental to this mode of moral instruction, which proceeds
not by the proof but upon authority, not by disquisition, but by
precept, that the rules will be conceived in absolute terms, leaving
the application, and the distinctions that attend it to the reason of
the hearer. It is likewise to be expected that they will be delivered
in terms by so much the more forcible and energetic, as they have to
encounter natural or general propensities. It is farther also to be
remarked, that many of those strong instances, which appear in our
Lord's sermon, such as, 'If any men will smite thee on the right cheek,
turn to him the other also:' 'If any man will sue thee at law, and take
away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also:' 'Whosoever shall compel
thee to go a mile, go with him twain;' though they appear in the form
of specific precepts, are intended as descriptive of disposition and
character. A specific compliance with the precepts would be of little
value, but the disposition which they inculcate is of the highest. He
who should content himself with waiting for the occasion, and with
literally observing the rule when the occasion offered, would do
nothing or worse than nothing; but he who considers the character and
disposition which is hereby inculcated, and places that disposition
before him as the model to which he should bring his own, takes,
perhaps, the best possible method of improving the benevolence, and of
calming and rectifying the vices of his temper.
"If it be said that this disposition is unattainable, I answer, so is
all perfection; ought therefore a moralist to recommend imperfections?
One excellency; ought therefore a moralist to recommend imperfections?
never mistaken, or never so mistaken as to do harm. I could feign a
hundred cases in which the literal application of the rule, 'of doing
to others as we would that others should do unto us,' might mislead us;
but I never yet met with the man who was actually misled by it. Not
withstanding that our Lord bade his followers not to resist evil, and
'to forgive the enemy who should trespass against them, not till seven
times, but till seventy times seven,' the Christian world has hitherto
suffered little by too much placability or forbearance. I would repeat
once more, what has already been twice remarked, that these rules were
designed to regulate personal conduct from personal motives, and for
this purpose alone.
"I think that these observations will assist us greatly in placing
our Saviour's conduct, as a moral teacher, in a proper point of view;
especially when it is considered, that to deliver moral disquisitions
was no part of his design,--to teach morality at all was only a
subordinate part of it; his great business being to supply, what was
much more wanting than lessons of morality, stronger moral sanctions,
and clearer assurances of a future judgment." (Paley's View of the
Evidences of Christianity, pp. 151, 2, 3.)
For further reflections upon the excellence of the manner of the
Messiah's teaching, and especially for the consideration of added
strength and beauties to the principles of the Sermon on the Mount, in
the Book of Mormon, see Lecture on the Fifth Gospel (III Nephi) Defense
of the Faith and the Saints, pp. 383-389.
LESSON XXII.
(Scripture Reading Exercise.) THE STATE OF THE WORLD AT MESSIAH'S
ADVENT.
(A Discourse[A])
[Footnote A: This is a subject usually treated at great length
in nearly all Ecclesiastical Histories; so that information is
abundant. See "Mosheim, Ecclesiastical Institutes": also the same
author's "History of Christianity in the First Three Centuries;"
Schaff's "History of the Apostolic Church"; Neander's "History of the
Christian Religion" Vol. I; Milman "History of Christianity" Vol. 1;
Edersheisn's "Life and Times of the Messiah"; Vol. I, Introduction
and Book I, Dr. Smith's "New Testament History," Book I, especially
Appendix to Book I. Robert's "Outlines of Ecclesiastical History," Sec.
II and notes.]
NOTES.
_1. Suggestions to the Teacher:_ This subject could to advantage
be divided and assigned to two or even three speakers. Say I, The
Political state of the World: II, The Political Status of the Jews at
Messiah's Birth: III, The Religious state of heathen nations and of the
Jews at Messiah's Birth. Members should be urged to give something of
completeness to their treatis upon these and all subjects assigned to
them as lectures, or discourses.
_2. Suggestions to the Speaker:_ On the Importance of a Plan: On
the subject of constructing a plan for a discourse, Mr. Pittinger who
was quoted so frequently in our first Seventy's Year Book, says:
"No part of a speaker's work is more important than that of
constructing a good plan. If this is not well done the fullest success
is impossible. In speech all thoughts are expressed by the slow process
of successive words. If these are badly chosen and so arranged as to
carry forward the current of thought in the wrong direction, almost
endless hindrance and distraction may follow. And as these words,
in extempore speech, are given forth on the spur of the moment, it
becomes necessary to make such an arrangement that the proper idea to
be dissolved into words shall always be presented to the mind at the
proper time. In some cases this disposition of parts is very easy.
A course indicated by the very nature of the subject will sometimes
spring into view and relieve us of all further embarrassment. * * *
* * But more frequently this portion of the speaker's task will both
require and repay severe thought." ("Extempore Speech," p. 166.)
Do not forget our old formula in the matter of plans--an Introduction,
a Discussion, a Conclusion.
Of the Different Kinds of Plans: Our author, speaking of those plan he
considers of practical importance, says:
(a). The first of these may be called the narrative method. It is most
frequently used when the recital of some history forms the principal
part of the discourse. Certain leading events, either grouped together
according to their nature or following the order of time, furnish the
primary divisions. This kind of a discourse follows the same laws,
in the arrangement of the different parts, as histories, romances,
and narrative poems. The order of time is the most obvious method of
constructing it, but this order should not be adhered to when the story
can be better and more dramatically told by varying from it. Both
introduction and conclusion should be very carefully selected--the
former to arouse attention and direct it in the right course; the
latter to leave the strongest impression and the one most in harmony
with the object of the speaker.
(b). The second method is the textual, and is especially though not
exclusively adapted to sermons. In it a verse from the Bible, a
motto, a sentence used by an opponent, or some definite form of very
significant words, affords a basis for each part of the discourse. The
order of the discourse may, however, be different from that of the
words in the text, any change being allowable which secures more of the
advantages of the narrative or logical methods. When the text is itself
well known, a plan based upon it has an obvious advantage in assisting
the memory both of speaker and hearer, by suggesting each part of the
discourse at the proper time. When any lecture or oration has a formal
motto which sums up and fairly expresses the subject discussed, the
textual plan will be as well adapted to it as to a sermon.
(c). The logical or mathematical method is the third and probably the
most symmetrical form the plan may assume. A topic is taken, and after
the introduction, which may be the mere statement of the subject, or
of the relations of the speaker or of the audience to it, that subject
is unfolded with all the precision of a proposition in geometry. Each
thought is preliminary to that which follows, and the whole ends in the
demonstration of some great truth and the deduction of its legitimate
corollaries. This method is the best possible in those cases adapted to
it--particularly those in which some abstruse subject is to be unfolded
and proved.
(d). The last method we will describe proceeds by divisions and
subdivisions. It is the military method, for in it the discourse is
organized like an army, into corps, brigades, and regiments; or it
is like a tree, which divides into two or three principal branches,
and these again subdivide until the finest twigs are reached. All the
detached items that have been selected are brought into related groups
each governed by a central thought, and these again are held in strict
subordination to the supreme idea. A subject will many times arrange
itself almost spontaneously into several different parts, which thus
form the proper divisions, and these again may be easily analyzed into
their proper subdivisions. Even when this is not the case, we will see,
as we examine the jottings we have made while gathering our materials,
that a few of the ideas stand out in special prominence, and with a
little close study of relations and affinities all the others may be
made to group themselves around these. The individual ideas we put down
on the first study of the subject usually form the subdivisions, and
some generalization of them. It is not well to make the branches of a
subject too numerous or they will introduce confusion and fail to be
remembered. From two to four divisions with two or three subdivisions
under each, are in a majority of cases better than a large number. The
tendency to multiply them to a great extent, and then to name them in
the moment of delivery, in their order of firstly, secondly, etc., is
in a great measure responsible for the popular estimate of the dryness
of sermons, where this kind of plan prevails more than anywhere else."
(Extempore Speech, pp. 167-9.)
(e). Of the several kinds of discourses here alluded to no better
examples may be formed of the historical discourse than that of the
Christian martyr Stephen, Acts, vii; of the logical or argumentative
discourse Peter's Discourse on the Day of Pentecost. The nearest
approach to the Discourses based upon a text in the New Testament is
Paul's speech in Mars Hill, at Athens, Acts xvii:22-31.
_Clearness in Speeches:_ This subject has been referred to in
Lesson VI, XIII, XVI, and what is there said should here be reviewed
not only by those assigned especially to this lesson, but by the whole
class. One of the chief faults opposed to clearness is ambiguity. This
is defined as follows: "The term 'ambiguity' comes from the Latin
ambiguos, which means "wavering" or "uncertain," and an ambiguous
sentence is one containing a word, a phrase, or a clause, capable of
two or more interpretations." (Composition and Rhetoric, Herrick and
Damon, p. 302.)
As example of ambiguity the authority just quoted gives the following:
_Example:_ 1. We hold a grand raffle Friday for the benefit of
William Miller who lost his foot for a fine clock last week.
_Corrected:_ We hold a grand raffle Friday for a fine clock, for
the benefit of William Miller who lost his foot last week.
_Example:_ 2. Then he came into the room talking about the
relations between Smith and Johnson, and he said that if he didn't stop
that sort of thing very soon, he was sure to get into trouble.
_Corrected:_ Then he came into the room talking about the
relations between Smith and Johnson, and said that if the former didn't
stop irritating Smith very soon, he was sure to get into trouble.
_Example:_ 3. I only thought that he wouldn't go unless I bought
him off, not that he wouldn't go at all.
_Corrected:_ I thought only that he wouldn't go unless I bought
him off, not that he wouldn't go at all.
_Example:_ 4. The banker, though he trusted the teller, as is apt
to be the case with men of his sort, yet felt that the loss occurred at
his desk.
_Corrected:_ Though the banker, as is apt to be the case with men
of his sort, trusted the teller, yet he felt that the loss had occurred
at the latter's desk.
Commenting on the above our author says: "The first sentence seems to
say that Miller gave his foot in exchange for a fine clock. Sentence
two leaves in doubt whether the one who is to get into trouble is the
speaker, Smith, or Johnson. In three, "I only" might be taken to mean
"I alone." In four, it is uncertain whether such men as the banker
commonly trust all tellers, or whether this teller is the sort of man
whom most people trust."
It will be observed that the ambiguity of the above sentences are
chiefly the result of a bad arrangement of words or clauses rather than
the wrong use of words. The effort of the speaker, therefore, should be
to make such an arrangement of words and clauses in his sentences as to
clearly express his meaning.
LESSON XXIII.
(Scripture Reading Exercise.)
THE DIVINITY OF THE CHRIST.
ANALYSIS.
I. The Divinity of Jesus Established:
1. Called God in the Scriptures.
2. Jesus declares Himself to be God--the Son of God.
3. Jesus Christ to be worshiped, hence God.
4. Jesus Christ the Creator, hence God.
5. Jesus Christ equal with God, the Father,--hence God.
REFERENCES.
Isiah vii:14 in con. with Matt, i:23; Isaiah ix:6. Doc. and Cov.,
Sec. 93:1-18. Heb. i:8.
St. John v:19 and x:33-38. Matt, xxv:63, 44; and Matt, xxviii:18,
19. Note 1.
Heb. i:5,6; Phil. ii:9, 10.
St. John i:1-4, 14; Col. i:12-17; Rev. xiv; 7. Matt, xxviii:18, 19;
Phil, ii:6. Heb. iii:3. II Cor. iv:4. 4. Col. i:5, 19, also ii:9.
On all sub-divisions of the subject see "Mormon Doctrine of the Deity,"
pp. 187-194, and the notes in this lesson.
NOTES.
_1. Relationship of Jesus to God, the Father:_ It is to be
observed in passing that Jesus himself came with no abstract definition
of Cod Nowhere in his teachings can you find any argument about the
existence of God. That he takes for granted; assumes as true; and
from that basis proceeds as a teacher of men. Nay more; he claims God
as his Father. It is not necessary to quote texts in proof of this
statement; the New Testament is replete with declarations of that
character What may be of more importance for us at the present moment
is to call attention to the fact that God himself also acknowledged the
relationship which Jesus claimed. Most emphatically did he do so on the
memorable occasion of the baptism of Jesus in the river Jordan. You
remember how the scriptures, acording to Matthew, tell us that as Jesus
came up out of the water from his baptism, the heavens were opened,
and the Spirit of God descended like a dove upon him; and at the same
moment, out of the stillness came the voice of God, saying, "This is
my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." On another occasion the
Father acknowledges the relationship--at the transfiguration of Jesus
in the mount, in the presence of three of his apostles, Peter and James
and John, and the angels Moses and Elias. The company was overshadowed
by a glorious light, and the voice of God was heard to say of Jesus,
"This is my beloved Son; hear him.. Of this the apostles in subsequent
years testified, and we have on record their testimony. So that the
existence of God the Father, and the relationship of Jesus to him, is
most clearly show in these scriptures." (Mormon Doctrine of Deity, p.
12, 13.)
_2. Jesus Declared to be God:_ "But Jesus himself claimed to be
the Son of God and in this connection there is clearly claimed for him
divinity, that is to say, Godship. Let me read to you a direct passage
upon that subject; it is to be found in the gospel according to St.
John, and reads as follows:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God. * * * * * And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us,
(and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only Begotten of the
Father) full of grace and truth.
The identity between Jesus of Nazareth--"the Word made flesh"--and the
"Word" that was "with God from the beginning," and that "was God," is
so clear that it cannot possibly be doubted. So the Son is God, as well
as the Father. (Ibid, pp. 13, 14.)
_3. The Godhead--Composed of Three Distinct Persons:_ "These
three, the Father. Son, and the Holy Ghost, it is true, are spoken
of in the most definite manner as being God, but the distinction
of one from the other is also clearly marked in the scriptures, or
illustration take the circumstances connected with the baptism of
Jesus. There we may see the three distinct personalities most clearly.
The Son coming up out of the water from his baptism: the heavens
opening and the Holy Spirit descending upon him; while out of heaven
the voice of God is heard saying "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am
well pleased." Here three Gods are distinctly apparent. They are seen
to be distinct from each other. They appear-simultaneously, not as
one, but as three, each one being a different thing, so that however
completely they may be one in spirit, in purpose, in will they are
clearly distinct as persons--as individuals. In several instances in
the scriptures these three personages are accorded equal dignity in the
Godhead. An example is found in the commission which Jesus gave to his
disciples after his resurrection, when he sent them out into the world
to preach the Gospel to all nations. He stood in the presence of the
eleven, and said:
All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye, therefore and
teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Each of the three is here given equal dignity in the Godhead.
Again in the apostolic benediction:
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the
communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all. * * * * * These three
personages then are of equal dignity in the Godhead, according to the
teachings of the New Testament, and each is equally divine--equally
God. Hence Jesus is God equally with God the Father, and with the Holy
Ghost." (Ibid, pp. 15-6, 7.)
_4. What Think Ye of Christ?_ "Said Jesus to the Pharisees. What
think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The son of
David. He saith unto them. How then doth David in spirit call Him Lord,
saying: The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on My right hand, till I
make Thine enemies Thy footstool. If David then call him [that is, the
Christ] Lord, how is He his son. And no man was able to answer him a
word."
It seems to me that we have right here, what we might regard as the
beginning of the proclamation of the divinity of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And here let me say, in passing, that the world is waking up
to something of a comprehension of the necessity for affirming the
divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ. I have here a note in manuscript,
that I will read to you, a declaration from one of the first scientists
of our age, a Christian man who stands well advanced on the far-flung
line of modern Christian thought. Having called attention the humanity
of Jesus Christ, to His unity with the human race, and emphasizing
the fact that He is human, one of our race, after setting forth that
doctrine, this learned man says:
"The conception of Godhead formed by some devout philosophers and
mystics has quite rightly been so immeasurably vast, though still
assuredly utterly inadequate and necessarily beneath reality, that the
notion of a God revealed in human form--born, suffering, tormented,
killed--has been utterly incredible. 'A crucified prophet; yes; but
a crucified God! I shudder at the blasphemy,' is a known quotation
which I cannot now verify; yet that apparent blasphemy is the soul of
Christianity. It calls upon us to recognize and worship a crucified,
an executed, God. * * * The world is full of men: What the world wants
is a God. Behold the God! The divinity of Jesus is the truth which now
requires to be re-perceived to be illumined afresh by new knowledge, to
be cleansed and revivified by the wholesome flood of scepticism which
has poured over it; it can be freed now from all trace of groveling
superstition, and can be recognized freely and enthusiastically; the
divinity of Jesus, and of all noble and saintly souls, in so far as
they too have been inflamed by a spark of Deity--in so far as they too
can be recognized as manifestations of the Divine." (Sir Oliver Lodge
in Hibbert Journal for April, 1906, Art. "Christianity and Science.")
I say the world is waking up to the consciousness of their need of
having in concrete form a conception of God that appeals to the
understanding of men, and that is to be found in the revelations of
God. Paul was right when he said
"And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was
manifest ["manifested" is the marginal reading] in the flesh, justified
in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the gentiles, believed on
in the world, received up into glory."
This in plain allusion to the Christ, of course.
_5. God Revealed in the Person of Jesus Christ:_ "This completes
the survey I intended to make of this field. [Reference is made to a
review of prevailing ideas about God in the world at the advent of
Jesus.] Nowhere have we found a knowledge of the true and living God.
Nowhere a teacher who comes with definite knowledge of this subject of
all subjects;--a subject so closely related to eternal life, that to
know God is said in the scriptures to be life eternal; and of course,
the cor-life. We can form no other conclusion from the survey we
have taken of the world's ideas respecting the existence and nature
of God, than that forced upon us--the world stood in sore need of a
revelation of God. He whom the Egyptians and Indians sought for in
their Pantheism, must be made known. God, whom Confucius would have
men respect, but keep at a distance, must draw near. The "Alfader" of
the Goths, undefined, incomprehensible to them, must be brought out of
the northern darkness into glorious light. The God-idea that prevailed
among the Greek philosophers must be brought from the mists of their
idle speculations and made to stand before the world. He whom the Jews
were seeking to deny and forsake must be revealed again to the children
of men. And lo! when the vail falls from the revelation that God gives
of himself--what form is that which steps forth from the background
of the world's ignorance and mystery? A Man, as God lives! Jesus of
Nazareth--the great Peasant Teacher of Judea. He is God revealed
henceforth to the world. They who thought God impersonal, without form
must know him henceforth as a person in the form of man. They who have
held him to be without quality, must henceforth know him as possessed
of the qualities of Jesus of Nazareth. They who have regarded him
as infinitely terrible, must henceforth know him also as infinitely
gentle. Those who would hold him at a distance, will now permit him to
draw near. This is the world's mystery revealed. This is God manifested
in the flesh. This is the Son of God, who comes to reveal the Father,
for he is the express image and likeness of that Father's person,
and the reflection of that Father's mind. Henceforth when men shall
say, Show us the Father, he shall point to himself as the complete
revelation of the Father, and say, "He that hath seen me, hath seen the
Father also." Henceforth, when men shall dispute about the "being" and
"nature" of God, it shall be a perfect answer to uphold Jesus Christ
as the complete, perfect revelation and manifestation of God, and
through all the ages it shall be so; there shall be no excuse for men
saying they know not God, for all may know him, from the least to the
greatest, so tangible, so real a revelation has God given of himself in
the person and character of Jesus Christ. He lived his life on earth--a
life of sorrow and of gentleness, it's pathway strewn with actions
fraught with mercy, kindness, and love. A man he was, approved of God
among men, by miracles, and wonders and signs which God did by him.
Being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God,
men took and by wicked hands crucified and slew him, but God raised him
up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that
he should be holden of it; and exalted him on high at the right hand
of God, whence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead." (Mormon
Doctrine of Deity; pp. 185-6.)
LESSON XXIV.
(Scripture Reading Exercise.)
THE CHRISTIAN INSTITUTIONS.
ANALYSIS.
I. Ordinances:
1. Baptism.
2. Confirmation.
3. Eucharist.[A]
REFERENCES. 6
Heb. vi:1[B]; Acts ii:37-38. Acts viii:4-20. Note 1 and 2.
Matt, xxviii:19. Mark xvi:16. John iii:3-5. Heb. vi:2; II Cor. iii:6
cf. Acts xix:6; II Tim. i:6; Acts viii:15-20. Notes 3, 4.
Matt, xxvi:26-28. Mark xvi:22-24. Luke xxii:19, 20. John xiii. I
Cor. xi. 23-25. Note 5, 6.
[Footnote A: Eucharist. The Lord's Supper, a solemn rite commemorating
the dying of Christ for the salvation of men; the holy sacrament; the
communion of the body and blood of Christ. (Funk & Wagnall Diet.)]
[Footnote B: On all the above subdivisions the Bible Dictionaries, Kitto's
Biblical Literature, Smith's New Testament History, etc., can be
consulted to advantage, though it should always be remembered that the
utterances of these authorities are to be carefully weighed.]
NOTES.
_1. The Baptism of John and Christian Baptism:_ "The relation
of the baptism of John to the Christian baptism gave rise to a sharp
controversy in the sixteenth century. Zwingle and Calvin were in favor
of the essential equality of the two; while Luther, Melanchthon,
and the Catholic church (Concil. Trent. Sess. vii), maintained the
contrary. The only difference Calvin allowed was, that John baptized
in the name of the future Messiah, while the apostles baptized in that
of the Messiah already come. But this difference could be of little
moment; the less so, since a step towards the manifestation of the
Messiah was already made in the appearance of John himself (comp.
John i. 31). On the other hand, Calvin considers the most important
point of equality between the two to exist in the fact, that both
include repentance and pardon of sin in the name of Christ." (Kitto's
Cyclopaedia of Biblical Literature, p. 283.) Kitto's whole article may
be studied with profit.
The fact is that there was no difference between the baptism
administered by John and Christian baptism, except, as allowed by
Calvin, according to the above; one baptized in the name of a future
Messiah, and the other in the name of one already come. But general
baptism was for the same purpose in all dispensations--it was Christian
baptism--i. e. baptism for the remission of sins--baptism to which the
atonement of the Christ gave efficacy whether administered in view of
his anticipated coming or in realization of the fact of his having come
and completed his work of atonement.
_2. Baptism of the Disciples of Jesus:_ "Whether our Lord ever
baptized has been doubted. The only passage which may distinctly bear
on the question is John iv. l, 2, where it is said "that Jesus made
and baptized more disciples than John, though Jesus himself baptized
not, but his disciples." We necessarily infer from it, that, as soon
as our Lord began his ministry, and gathered to Him a company of
disciples, He, like John the Baptist, admitted into that company by the
administration of baptism. Normally, however, to say the least of it,
the administration of baptism was by the hands of his disciples. Some
suppose that the first-called disciples had all received baptism at the
hands of John the Baptist, as must have pretty certainly been the case
with Andrew (see John i. 35, 40); and that they were not again baptized
with water after they joined the company of Christ. Others believe that
Christ himself baptized some few of his earlier disciples, who were
afterwards authorized to baptize the rest. But in any case the words
above cited seem to show that the making of disciples and the baptizing
of them went together; and that baptism was, even during our Lord's
earthly ministry the formal mode of accepting his service and becoming
attached to his company." (Smith's Bible Dictionary, p. 235.)
_3. Confirmation:_ "The Laying on of Hands" was considered in
the ancient church as the 'Supplement of Baptism.' 1. Imposition of
hands is a natural form by which benediction has been expressed in all
ages and among all people. It is the act of one superior either by age
or spiritual position towards an inferior, and by its very form it
appears to bestow some gift, or to manifest a desire that some gift is
symbolically bestowed, as when guiltiness was thus transferred by the
high-priest to the scape-goat from the congregation (Lev. xvi. 21);
but, in general, the gift is of something good which God is supposed
to bestow by the channel of the laying on of hands. Thus, in the Old
Testament, Jacob accompanies his blessing to Ephraim and Manasseh with
imposition of hands (Gen. xlviii. 14); Joshua is ordained in the room
of Moses by imposition of hands (Num. xxvii. 18; Deut. xxxiv. 9);
cures seem to have been wrought by the prophets by imposition of hands
(2 K. v. ii); and the high priest, in giving his solemn benediction,
stretched out his hands over the people (Lev. ix. 22). The same form
was used by our Lord in blessing and occasionally in healing, and it
was plainly regarded by the Jews as customary or befitting (Matt.
xix. 13; Mark viii. 23, x. 16). One of the promises at the end of
St. Mark's Gospel to Christ's followers is that they should cure the
sick by laying on of hands (Mark xvi. 18); and accordingly we find
that Saul received his sight (Acts ix. 17) and Publius's father was
healed of his fever (Acts xxviii. 6) by imposition of hands. In the
Acts of the Apostles the nature of the gift or blessing bestowed by
Apostolic imposition of hands is made clearer. It is called the gift of
the Holy Ghost (viii. 17, xix. 6) * * * By the time that the Epistle
to the Hebrew was written we find that there existed a practice and
doctrine of imposition of hands, which is pronounced by the writer
of the Epistle to be one of the first principles and fundamentals of
Christianity, which he enumerates in the following order: (1) The
doctrine of Repentance; (2) of Faith; (3) of Baptism; (4) of _Laying
on of Hands;_ (5) of the Resurrection; (6) of Eternal Judgment (Heb.
vi. 1, 2). Laying on of Hands in this passage can mean only one of
three things--Ordination, Absolution, or that which we have already
seen in the Acts to have been practiced by the Apostles, imposition
of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost on the baptized. The meaning
of Ordination is excluded by the context. We have no proof of the
existence of the habitual practice of Absolution at this period nor of
its being accompanied by the laying on of hands. Everything points to
that laying on of hands which, as we have seen, immediately succeeded
baptism in the Apostolic age, and continued to do so in the ages
immediately succeeding the Apostles. * * * The Fathers, says Hooker,
"everywhere impute unto it that gift or grace of the Holy Ghost, not
which maketh us first Christian men, but, when we are made such,
assisteth us in all virtue, armeth us against temptation and sin. * *
* The Fathers therefore, being thus persuaded, held confirmation as an
ordinance Apostolic, always profitable in God's Church, although not
always accompanied with equal largeness of those external effects which
gave it countenance at the first." (Smith's Dictionary of the Bible,
Vol. I, p. 242-244.)
_4. The Time of Confirmation:_ "Originally Imposition of Hands
followed immediately upon Baptism, so closely as to appear as part of
the baptismal ceremony or a supplement to it. This is clearly stated
by Tertullian (De Bapt. vii, viii), Cyril (Catech. Myst. iii. I),
the author of the Apostolic Constitutions (vii. 43), and all early
Christian writers." (Smith's Bible Dictionary, pp. 242, 3, 4.)
_5. Eucharist:_ Paul's account of the establishment of this
Christian institution is perhaps the earliest written and the most
complete: "For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered
unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed
took bread; and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, take,
eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance
of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped,
saying, this cup is the new testament in my blood; this do ye, as oft
as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this
bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come."
_Comment on the Above:_ From Paul's description of the ordinance,
it is clear that the broken bread was an emblem of Messiah's broken
body; the wine an emblem of his blood, shed for sinful man; and his
disciples were to eat the one and drink the other in remembrance of
him until he should return; and by this ceremony show forth the Lord's
death. It was designed as a memorial of Messiah's great Atonement for
mankind, a token and witness unto the Father that the Son was always
remembered. It was to be a sign that those partaking of it were willing
to take upon them the name of Christ, to always remember him, and keep
his commandments. In consideration of these things being observed, the
saints were always to have the Spirit of the Lord to be with them. In
this spirit and without great ceremony the sacrament was administered
for some time in the early Christian church.
_7. Prayer of Consecration Given to the Nephites:_ "The manner
of the Elders and Priests administering the flesh and blood of Christ
unto the church. And they administered it according to the commandments
of Christ; wherefore we know the manner to be true; and the Elder or
Priest did minister it. And they did kneel down with the church, and
pray to the Father in the name of Christ saying, 'Oh God, the Eternal
Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son Jesus Christ, to bless
and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it,
that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness
unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take
upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him, and keep his
commandments which he hath given them, that he may always have his
Spirit to be with them. Amen." (Moroni iv. 3.)
"The manner of administering the wine. Behold, they took the cup, and
said, O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee, in the name of thy Son
Jesus Christ to bless and sanctify this wine to the souls of all those
who drink of it, that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy
Son, which was shed for them, that they may witness unto thee, O God,
the Eternal Father, that they do always remember him, that they may
have his Spirit to be with them. Amen." (Moroni v. 12.)
_Comment:_ Of the above prayer I may say what Arch Deacon Paley
has so well said of the Lord's Prayer: "For a succession of solemn
thoughts, for fixing the attention upon a few great points, for
suitableness, for sufficiency, for conciseness without obscurity, for
the weight and real importance of its petitions"--this prayer so far as
I am aware is without an equal excepting, perhaps, the Lord's prayer.
_8. Eucharist in the Second Century._ "When the Christians
celebrated the Lord's supper, which they were accustomed to do chiefly
on Sundays, they consecrated a part of the bread and wine of the
oblations, by certain prayers pronounced by the president, the bishop
of the congregation. The wine was mixed with water, and the bread
was divided into small pieces. Portions of the consecrated bread and
wine were commonly sent to the absent and the sick, in testimony of
fraternal affection towards them. There is much evidence that this
most holy rite was regarded as very necessary to the attainment of
salvation." (Mosheim's Ecclesiastical History, p. 137.)
LESSON XXV.
(Scripture Reading Exercise.)
THE CHRISTIAN INSTITUTIONS,--(Continued.)
ANALYSIS.
II. Organizations:
1. The Church.
(a) Preliminary Steps, Gathering and instructing Disciples.
(b) Call of the Twelve.
(c) Appointment of the Seventy.
(d) The Completed Organization.
2. The Mission of the Church.
REFERENCES.
Matt. iv:12-25. Matt. v-vii, and note 1.
Matt. iv:17-25. Mark i:14-22. Luke v:13-16. Luke x:1-11, 17-20.
cf. Seventy's Year Book I, pp. 3, 4. I Cor. xii:27-30. Seventy's Year
Book, No. I, pp. 2, 3. Notes 2, 3.
I Cor. xiii:27-30. Eph. iv:1-6., and note.
Seventy's Year Book No. I, pp. 13-4, notes 2, 3, 4, 5. See also note 4
Lesson xxiv.
NOTES.
_2. The Church:_ I. order to propagate the gospel, and teach,
encourage, instruct, preserve, and finally perfect those who accepted
it, Messiah organized his Church. He bestowed upon its members certain
great and precious spiritual gifts and graces, such as the power
to speak in new tongues and interpret them; to receive revelation,
to prophesy, to see visions, receive the visitation of angels, to
possess the gift of wisdom, knowledge, faith, discernment of spirits,
and healing the sick. The description of the Church organization in
the New Testament is extremely imperfect, owing, no doubt, to the
fragmentary character of the Christian annals. While the distinctions
between the respective offices in the Priesthood, and the definition
of the duties of each officer are even less satisfactory; still there
is enough written to enable us to get an outline of the wonderful
organization. Messiah, during his personal ministry, organized a
quorum of Twelve Apostles, to whom he gave very great powers and
authority, even to be witnesses of him among the people, to build
up his Church by the proclamation of the gospel, to heal the sick,
open the eyes of the blind, raise the dead, and cast out devils. He
likewise organized quorums of seventies, unto whom he gave similar
powers to those bestowed upon the apostles (c. f. Matt, x, with
Luke x). After his resurrection, Messiah was with his apostles and
disciples forty days, during which time he was teaching them all
things concerning the kingdom of God. Hence we have these men after
his ascension organizing branches of the church wherever they found
people who received their testimony. In some instances they ordained
elders to preside over these branches; and in other instances bishops
were appointed. Paul, in giving a description of the organization of the
church, says: "And God hath set some in the church, first apostles,
secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers; after that miracles, then
gifts of healing, helps, governments, diversities of tongues." Are
all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of
miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do
all interpret? The implied answer is that all are not apostles, nor
prophets, nor teachers, etc., in the church of Christ, but that the
whole body is fitly joined together and compacted by that which every
joint supplieth. Undoubtedly the whole organization grew out of the
instruction Jesus imparted to the Apostles, but it required time for
its foil development.
_3. The Church as Described in the New Testament:_ "The derivation
of the word 'church' is uncertain. * * * The word occurs twice, each
time in St. Matthew (Matt. xvi. 18, "On this rock will I build my
Church;" xviii. 17, "Tell it unto the Church.") In every other case
it is spoken of as the kingdom of heaven by St. Matthew, and as the
kingdom of God by St. Mark and St. Luke. St. Mark, St. Luke, and St.
John never use the expression kingdom of heaven. St. John once uses
the phrase kingdom of God (iii. 3). St. Matthew occasionally speaks
of the kingdom of God (vi. 33, xxi. 31, 43), and sometimes simply of
the kingdom (iv. 23, xiii. 19, xxiv. 14). In xiii. 41 and xvi. 28, it
is the Son of Man's kingdom. In xx 21, thy kingdom, i. e., Christ's.
In the one Gospel of St. Matthew the Church is spoken of no less
than thirty-six times as the Kingdom. Other descriptions or titles
are hardly found in the Evangelists. It is Christ's household (Matt.
x. 25). the salt and light of the world (v. 13, 15), Christ's flock
(Matt. xxvi. 31; John x. 1), its members are the branches growing on
Christ the Vine (John xv); but the general description of it, not
metaphorically, but directly, is that it is a kingdom. * * * The means
of entrance into it is Baptism (Matt, xxviii. 19). The conditions of
belonging to it are faith (Mark xvi. 16) and obedience (Matt, xxviii.
20). Participation in the Holy Supper is its perpetual token of
membership, and the means of supporting the life of its members (Matt.
xxvi. 26; John vi. 51; Cor. xi. 26). Its members are given to Christ by
the Father out of the world, and sent by Christ into the world; they
are sanctified by the truth (John xvii. 19); and they are to live in
love and unity, cognizable by the eternal world (John xiii. 34. xvii.
23)." Smith Dictionary of the Bible, Vol. 1., p. 453.
_4. Definitions of the Church:_ The Greek Church gives the
following: "The Church is a divinely instituted community of men,
united by the orthodox faith, the law of God, the hierarchy, and
the Sacraments" (Full Catechism of the Orthodox. Catholic, Eastern
Church, Moscow, 1839). The Latin Church defines it as, "The company
of Christians knit together by the profession of the same faith and
the communion of the same sacraments, under the government of lawful
pastors, and especially of the Roman bishop as the only Vicar of Christ
upon earth." (Bellarm. De Eccl. Mil. iii. 2; see also Devoti Inst.
Canon. 1, iv. Romae, 1818.) The Church of England, "A congregation
of faithful men in which the pure word of God is preached, and the
Sacraments he duly ministered according to Christ's ordinance in all
those things that of necessity are requisite of the same." (Art. xix.)
The Lutheran Church: "A congregation of saints in which the Gospel is
rightly taught and the sacraments rightly administered." (Confessio
Augustina, 1631, Art. vii.) The Confessio Helvetica: "A congregation of
faithful men called, or collected out of the world, the communion of
all saints." (Art. xvii.) The Confessio Saxonica: "A congregation of
men embracing the Gospel of Christ, and rightly using the Sacraments."
(Art. xii.) The Confessio Belgica: "A true congregation, or assembly of
all faithful Christians who look for the whole of their salvation from
Jesus Christ alone, as being washed by his blood, and sanctiled and
sealed by his Spirit." (Art. xvii.) (Smith's Dictionary of the Bible
Art Church.) (For our definition of "The Church," see Seventy's Year
Book, No. 1, p. 13.)
_4. Inadequacy of Foregoing Definitions:_ "These definitions
show the difficulty in which the different sections of the divided
Church find themselves in framing a definition which will at once
accord with the statements of Holy Scripture, and be applicable to
the present state of the Christian world. We have seen that according
to the Scriptural view the Church is a holy kingdom, established by
God on earth, of which Christ is the invisible King; it is a divinely
organized body, the members of which are knit together amongst
themselves, and joined to Christ, their Head, by the Holy Spirit,
who dwells in and animates it; it is a spiritual but visible society
of men united by constant succession to those who were personally
united to the Apostles, holding the same faith that the Apostles held,
administering the same sacraments, and, like them, forming separate,
but only locally separate, assemblies, for the public worship of God.
This is the Church according to the Divine intention. But as God
permits men to mar the perfection of his design in their behalf, and
as men have both corrupted the doctrines and broken the unity of the
Church, we must not expect to see the Church of Holy Scripture actually
existing in its perfection on earth. It is not to be found, thus
perfect, either in the collected fragments of Christendom, or still
less in any one of these fragments more than another may approach the
Scriptural and Apostolic ideal which existed only until sin, heresy,
and schism had time sufficiently to develop themselves to do their
work." (Smith's Bible Dictionary, p. 458.)
LESSON XXVI.
(Scripture Reading Exercise.)
CLIMATIC EVENTS OF THE MERIDIAN DISPENSATION.
ANALYSIS.
I. Conspiracy Against the Christ.
II. Death and Resurrection of the Christ.
III. Post-Resurrection Ministry of Messiah.
1. In Judea.
2. On the Western Hemisphere.
3. Among the "Lost Tribes."
REFERENCES.
Matt, xxvi; xxvii:1-25. Mark xiv; and xv:1-15. St. John xxii and
xxiii:1-27. St. John xviii.
St. John xix and xx:1-18 Notes 2, 5. Luke xxiii and xxiv. Mark xv and
xvi:1-8. Matt, xxvii and xxviii. Matt, xxviii:11-20. Mark xvi; St.
John xx:19-31. Luke xxiv:13-53. Acts i:1-14.
III Nephi chapters xi to xxx inclusive, cf. John x:15, 16. "The Fifth
Gospel," Defense of the Faith and the Saints, pp. 373-399.
III Nephi, chs. xv-xvi-xvii.
NOTES.
_1. The Agony in Gethsemane:_ "(Matt, xxvi; vers. 36-46, parallel
passages: Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:39-46.) This conflict presents our
Lord in the reality of His manhood, in weakness and humiliation, but
it is impossible to account for it unless we admit His Divine nature.
Had he been a mere man, His knowledge of the sufferings before Him
could not have been sufficient to cause such sorrow. The human fear
of death will not explain it. As a real man, He was capable of such a
conflict. But it took place after the serenity of the Last Supper and
sacerdotal prayer, and before the sublime submission in the palace
and judgment hall. The conflict, therefore, was a specific agony of
itself. He felt the whole burden and mystery of the world's sin, and
encountered the fiercest assaults of Satan Otherwise, in this hour
this Person, so powerful, so holy, seems to fall below the heroism of
martyrs in His own cause. His sorrow did not spring from His own life.
His memory or His fears, but from the vicarious nature of the conflict.
The agony was a bearing of the weight and sorrow of our sins, in
loneliness, in anguish of soul threatening to crush His body, yet borne
triumphantly, because in submission to His Father's will. Three times
our Lord appeals to that will, as purposing His anguish; that purpose
of God in regard to the loveliest, best of men, can be reconciled with
justice and goodness in God in but one way; that it was necessary for
our redemption. Mercy forced its way through justice to the sinner.
Our Lord suffered anguish of soul for sin, that it might never rest on
us. To deny this is in effect not only to charge our Lord with undue
weakness, but to charge God with needless cruelty. 'Surely He hath
borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows. ... He was wounded for our
transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of
our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.' Isa. 53:
4,5." (International Commentary, Matthew, p. 359.)