nature as, in any respect, an incongruous act of humiliation. For man
was made in the image of God; so that when Christ was made flesh,
without sin, he took upon himself that which, in some sense, was
congruous with his divine nature. His humiliation consisted, in part, in
his doing this; but more especially in his doing this for such a
purpose--for sinners; "in his being born, and that in a low condition,
made under the law, undergoing the miseries of this life, the wrath of
God, and the cursed death of the cross, in being buried and continuing
under the power of death for a time." Had there been no inherent
congruity between our nature and the divine, the human nature of
Christ, having accomplished its purpose of suffering and death, would
have been left in the grave. "But now is Christ risen from the dead;"
the body and the human soul, which were disunited when he hung upon the
cross, now constitute the same man, Christ Jesus. "The only Redeemer of
God's elect is the Lord Jesus Christ, who, being the eternal Son of God,
became man, and so was, and continues to be, God and man, in two
distinct natures and one person, forever." The latter part of this
answer of the Assembly's Shorter Catechism is thus substantiated by the
New Testament: "When he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall
see him as he is." In other words, he will be, when he appears, that
which he now is--will remain the same until his second coming. After
that, he will remain as he was before: "Jesus Christ, the same
yesterday, to-day, and forever." He is represented as holding an eternal
relation to the redeemed in his glorified nature: "The Lamb which is in
the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto
living fountains of waters." We might, indeed, suppose that the man
Christ Jesus would have an eternal recompense for his sufferings and
death in an everlasting union with the Godhead; nor can any one think,
with satisfaction, of a severance between his two natures, and of a
consequent humiliation, or deposition, of that human nature, which, at
the great day, will, for so long a time, have sustained such a
connection with the divine nature. For our present purpose, however,
which is to show the intrinsic dignity of the human nature, it would be
enough that it has been in such connection with the Godhead, and has
passed through such scenes, and sustained such vast responsibilities.
This is sufficient to prove that human nature is intrinsically capable
and great; and, indeed, it reveals to us as nothing else does, the real
dignity of our nature. Some, who have rejected the doctrine of Christ's
two natures, have written much and eloquently with regard to man's
greatness in creation. They, however, missed the very thing which
chiefly proves it; for all who believe in the Deity of Christ have a
proof and illustration of this great theme which trancend all others.
This idea, of future capability and exaltation for human nature, as
proved by the Saviour's incarnation, is brought to view in the second
chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews. The second Psalm is there quoted
as speaking of man: "Thou hast put all things under his feet." "But
now," the apostle says, "we see not yet all things put under him;" man,
as a race, has not reached his full destiny of glory and honor; but, in
the person of Christ, human nature has taken possession of its future
inheritance. We see not yet all things put under man, as a race; but "we
see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering
of death, crowned with glory and honor;"--a sign and pledge of our
destiny.
To the mind of Paul, the sight, in heaven, of what he was to become, set
forth by the glorified person of the Son of God, his Saviour and
infinite Friend, no doubt made the resumption of the body, at the last
day, the most desirable experience of which it was possible for him to
conceive. Paradise, with all its social pleasures, gates of pearl,
streets of gold, every thing, in short, external to him, must have
seemed, to the apostle, not worthy to be compared with the glory which
was to be revealed in him. An intelligent man is far more interested in
his own personal endowments, than in the accidental circumstances of his
situation. Every one, who is not degraded in his feelings, would prefer
to be enriched with natural, moral, and intellectual powers, rather than
be the richest of men, or an hereditary monarch, with inferior talents
and worth. To such a man as Paul, the possession of his complete,
glorified nature, at the resurrection, must, for this reason, have
seemed far better than all the pleasures or honors of the heavenly
world. That completed nature would constitute him a being wholly
perfected, invest him with a likeness to the Son of God, bring him into
still nearer union with that adorable Redeemer, who, Paul says, loved
him and gave himself for him, and for whom, he says, he had suffered the
loss of all things. The sight of the man Christ Jesus wearing Paul's
nature in a glorified state, no doubt lived and glowed in his memory
after his return to earth, and made him think of the resurrection as the
event, in his personal history, to which every thing else was
subordinate. He shows the interest which he felt in this event, when,
writing to the Romans, he says, "And not only they,"--that is, "the
creatures," or creation,--"but ourselves, also, which have the first
fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting
for the adoption, to wit, the redemption, of our body." In his address,
at Jerusalem, before his accusers and the people, he cried out, "Of the
hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question." It was
uniformly a prominent topic of his thoughts.
It is by no means impossible, nor improbable, judging from analogy, that
there may be, in the human soul, faculties which are slumbering, until
a glorified body assists in their development. Persons born blind have
the dormant faculty of seeing; the gift of the eye would bring it into
exercise. So of the other senses, and their related mental faculties.
With a glorified body, then, truly it doth not yet appear what we shall
be; but the thought itself is rapture, that our souls at present may be
as disproportioned to their future expansion, as the acorn is to the oak
of a century's growth, which is infolded now, and dormant, in the seed.
The addition of a body to the glorified spirit will, therefore, be a
help, and not an encumbrance. For we are not to suppose that the soul,
after having been for centuries in a state superior to its present
condition, would retrograde, in returning to the body. A common idea
respecting a body is, that it is necessarily a clog. True, by reason of
sin and its effects, it is now a "vile body;" and Paul speaks of it as
"the body of this death." But, even while we are in this world, a body
is an indispensable help to the soul. The disembodied spirit, probably,
is not capable of sustaining a full, active relation to a world of
matter; a material form is necessary to make its powers serviceable
here. This being so, there is certainly reason, from analogy, to suppose
that the addition of a spiritual body to the glorified soul will not
necessarily work any deterioration to the spirit. At all events, we
cannot suppose that the bliss of heaven will be suffered to diminish, by
remanding the emancipated spirit into connection with any thing which
will subtract from the state to which it will have arrived. There is a
law of progress in the divine government, by which the intelligent
universe will be forever advancing. We are to be changed "from glory to
glory;" not from a greater glory to a less, but into the same image with
Christ.
It is the opinion of some that every created being has a corporeal part,
and that God alone is perfectly a spirit. However this may be, it is
evident that the souls of believers after death, though advanced far
beyond their present earthly condition, and though they are "with
Christ," and though to die is gain, and though they are in the heaven of
heavens with Christ, (which is where the penitent thief went, and where
Paul had his revelation, and where Christ went when he died;--for Paul
uses the words "third heavens," and "Paradise," interchangeably,) are,
nevertheless, incomplete as to their natures, "waiting for the adoption,
to wit, the redemption of our body." Where in the Bible are we led to
suppose that they are detained in an inferior region, or that there are,
at most, only two redeemed human beings now in "heaven," viz., Enoch and
Elijah, or probably not even they? But a corporeal part, we may suppose,
is necessary to the fullest participation in the employments and
enjoyments of the spiritual world. Light requires atmosphere to modify
it for the human eye, which otherwise could not endure its brightness.
So it may be that a corporeal part is necessary to modify many of the
things which are unseen and eternal, that they may be apprehended by the
soul. Let no one say that matter must obstruct or dim the senses of the
soul; that a body must act as a veil to the spirit, and shut out much
knowledge. It is not so here. Matter helps us in the acquisition of
knowledge, as, for example, glass in optical instruments. The telescope,
with its lenses, gives the eye vast compass; the microscope gives it a
power, equally wonderful, of minute vision. True, in these cases it is
matter helping matter--glass assisting the eye; the analogy is not
perfect between this and the aid which the spiritual body may afford the
soul. But, if we remember that there is to be progression in the powers
and faculties of our nature, and that if a body is added to the
glorified spirit, it must be to assist it, to put it forward in its
acquisitions and enjoyments, we cannot resist the belief that the
addition of the new body to the soul will be a vast accession of power
and capability. If the eye and the mind can receive such aid from the
telescope here, who knows that the eye of the glorified body may not be
itself a telescope, increasing in its capability with the progress of
its being.
We may have some view of what the glorified body must necessarily be, in
thinking of it as a fit companion to the glorified spirit. The soul
having been in heaven for ages, and having grown in all spiritual
excellence, the body, to be a help to such a spirit, to be an occasion
of joy, and not of regret, must, of course, be in advance of our present
corporeal nature. What must the body of Isaiah, and of David, be, at the
resurrection, to correspond with the vast powers and attainments of
those glorified spirits? We could not believe, certainly we could not
see, how these bodies of ours could be made capable of such union, were
it not that, in the man Christ Jesus, we see our corporeal nature
capable of such transformation as to make it compatible for his human
mind, and indwelling Deity, to receive it into their ineffable union.
All this being so, we may, in some measure, conceive of the feelings
with which the souls in heaven anticipate the resurrection; and we cease
to wonder why Paul speaks of his resurrection as the great object of his
desire--not merely to be in heaven, but, being in heaven, with Christ,
to be in possession of a completed nature, like Christ's.
From the grave where it was sown in corruption, it will come forth in
incorruption; sown in dishonor, it will be raised in glory; sown in
weakness, it will be raised in power; sown a natural body, it will be
raised a spiritual body. It was "bare grain" when it fell into the
earth; but the corn, with its stalk, and leaves, and the curious ear,
with its silk, and its wrappings, the multiplication of the "bare grain"
into such a product, are an illustration of the apostle's words,--"Thou
sowest not that body that shall be;" hence, he argues, say not,
incredulously, "How are the dead raised, and with what body do they
come?" God giveth the grain a body as it hath pleased him; he can do
the same with regard to that part of man's nature which is committed for
a while to the earth. Let not the natural difficulties connected with
this subject make us sceptical. There are no more difficulties connected
with a grave than with a grape vine. Those distant twigs, on that dry
vine, begin to bud and blossom; grapes form upon them; it is filled with
clusters. Is there any thing in the resurrection more strange than this?
Twice, inspiration says to a man, "Thou fool!"--once, to a godless, rich
man, and, once, to him who is sceptical about the resurrection of the
body.
When the glorified spirit and the glorified body meet, the moment when
the investiture of the soul with its spiritual form takes place, and the
forcible divorce of the soul and body is terminated by new, strange
nuptials, there must be an experience which now defies all power of
imagination. We may have known, in this world, all the thrilling
experiences of which our natures here are capable; we shall also have
seen and felt what it is to awake in heaven, satisfied with Christ's
likeness; and all the new-born joys of heavenly sensations will have
seemed to leave us nothing to be experienced which can bring a new
rapture to the heart; yet when the body is raised, and the triumphant
spirit comes to put it on afresh, it will be an addition to all the past
joys of the heavenly state. As we look on one another, and see, in each
other's beauty and glory, an image of our own; as we remember how we
visited the graves of loved ones, and what thoughts and feelings we had
there, and then see those graves yielding forms like Christ's; as we see
the Saviour's person mirrored in ours on every side, and behold the
living changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, there will be an
exceeding great joy, such, perhaps, as the universe had never before
known. But to each of us the most perfect joy will be his own
consciousness, existence being then a rapture such as we never
experienced. Then the bird is winged, the jewel is set in gold, the
flower blooms, the harp receives all her strings, the heir is crowned.
No wonder that Paul said, looking through and beyond heaven, "If by any
means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead."
Perhaps we now think of the last day with dread, as a day of
consternation. It is not always that we can think of the heavens on
fire, the earth dissolved, the dead arising, and the judgment
proceeding, without some feeling of dismay. But in heaven, we shall long
have anticipated that day as the day of our complete triumph. The grave
will, till that time, have imprisoned one part of our nature. The curse
of the law will not have passed away entirely, and in every respect,
till all which belongs to us is redeemed from every natural, as well as
moral, consequence of sin. It will be an expectation of unmingled joy to
see this accomplished. The approach of the day will fill us with more
pleasure than the arrival of any other wished-for moment. We shall come
with Christ to judgment. "Them that sleep in Jesus will God bring with
him." We shall have a part in the glory of Christ, and be associated
with him; for, "Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world?"
"Know ye not that we shall judge angels?" What curious interest there
will be to receive back from the dust of the earth the dishonored,
corrupted, mouldered, wasted, perished body. In the Saviour, even, we
shall not have seen all the wonders of the resurrection from the dead;
for, "He whom God raised saw no corruption;" but we shall be raised from
corruption. To be clothed upon with that house which is from heaven, to
be a completed, perfected human being, will be, up to that time, the
greatest possible manifestation to us of divine wisdom and power.
The new body will bring with it sources of enjoyment which will be a
vast addition to the previous happiness of heaven. There will be perfect
satisfaction in every one with his own body--no consciousness of
defects, of deformity, of weakness. Comparisons of ourselves with others
will not excite dissatisfaction and envy; every one will be perfect of
his kind, and will differ in some things from every other, and will be
an object of love and admiration with all. We are astonished here with
the intellectual, oratorical, vocal powers of others, with their
knowledge, their talent, their skill; but there we shall no doubt be
filled also with astonishment at our own powers and acquisitions, and
thus we shall be more capable of appreciating and enjoying the
endowments of others. God is pleased to raise up one and another, from
time to time, with great powers to charm their fellow-creatures; and
thus he would lure us on to heaven, teaching us how much we can enjoy,
and how much we shall lose if we are not saved. Those who are deprived
of very many intellectual and social pleasures here, which they could
appreciate as well as their more favored friends, will soon have it made
up to them. By the likeness of their glorified nature to the human
nature of Christ, they are to be intimately associated with him forever.
This, of itself, is an assurance and pledge, that their heavenly
happiness will not be measured by their relative inferiority to their
brethren in this world. To a benevolent mind it is a great joy to think
of good people, who are deprived, in this world, of education and
culture, entering upon a career of boundless knowledge, rising to the
highest pitch of mental development, and enjoying it all the more for
their former disadvantages in their probationary state. "And, behold,
there are last which shall be first." Distinctions made here by
knowledge will be transient, like gifts of prophecy, and tongues; for it
is in this sense that it is said, "whether there be knowledge, it shall
vanish away." And when we look upon those dear children of God who have
long suffered under bodily deformity, and "have borne, and have had
patience, and have not fainted," we love to think of their glorified
bodies, and of that rich zest in the possession of them which will be
both the natural consequence, and the gracious reward, of their
patience; nay, we love to think that some special, personal beauty, some
peculiar grace and glory, may be given them by Him who so delights in
compensatory acts in nature, in providence, and in grace.
Was it not the object of the transfiguration, in part, to give the human
soul of Christ such an idea of his future glory in heaven, as to
strengthen him for his agony and death? Yes; for the heavenly visitants
"spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem." That
anticipation of his glorified nature was a part of "the joy set before
him." Let Christ on Tabor, and faith, do for us, with regard to present
bodily sorrows and sufferings, that which the transfiguration did for
Jesus in the days of his humiliation. "Who shall change our vile body,
that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the
working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself."
Through the long interval of death and the separate state, the
anticipation of the last day and of the resurrection will, no doubt,
be to the wicked a predominant source of terror. While the joyful
anticipations of it, in heaven, will be like the advancing steps of
morning, when there begin to be signs, in the tabernacle for the sun,
of that bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and of that strong man
rejoicing to run a race, and every thing will be astir with the notes
of preparation for that day, for which all other days were made, the
approach of it will be, to the lost, a deepening gloom, its arrival the
settling down of interminable night. Instead of entering into their
bodies with transport, as the righteous do, they will each be like a
prisoner removed from one jail to another with new bars and bolts. If
it be not unreasonable to suppose that the appearance of the body will
conform to the character, and if the bodies of Isaiah, and Paul, and
John must be seraphic, to correspond with their experience and
attainments, what must the bodies of the wicked be! They will have spent
centuries in sinning, and suffering, debased in every part, the image of
God supplanted by the image of him whose service they preferred to that
of a holy God and Saviour. What a moment will that be, when the sinner's
grave is opened by the last trumpet, and a hideous form rises to receive
a frantic spirit! "The harvest is the end of the world, and the reapers
are the angels." "As, therefore, the tares are gathered and burned in
the fire, so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall
send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all
things that offend, and them which do iniquity, and shall cast them into
a furnace of fire; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." "And
many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to
everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." There
will be separations at the graves of those who lay side by side in
death; many a tomb will yield up subjects both for heaven and for hell;
the differences in character, between the regenerate and unregenerate,
will there be made conspicuous in the correspondence of the risen body
to the soul, according as the soul shall have arrived at the grave from
a state of joy or of woe. Arrests will be made, there will be forcible
detentions, overpowering strength, disregard of entreaties, remorseless
rendings asunder of families, unclasping of embraces, and an
indiscriminate mixture of all classes among the wicked, indicated by the
command, "Bind ye the tares together, in bundles, to be burned." Nor
will this be worse for holy angels to witness, than it was to see those
sinners turn their backs on the Lord's supper, year after year. They
could treat their Saviour's dying agonies, and his blood, with perfect
neglect and contempt, through their love of the world and sin; now they
eat the fruit of their own way, and are filled with their own devices.
Our treatment of the Saviour will return upon our own heads. What a
change will be made in the ideas which many sentimentalists had of holy
angels, when they see them executing the terrible orders of their King!
and what an illustration it will give of the severity of justice,--the
rigors of its execution being compatible with the pure benevolence of
holy angels, because of God. We are constantly admonished that the
punishment of the wicked will be a great part of the proceedings on that
day. It is called "the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men."
"Behold, the Lord cometh, with ten thousands of his saints, to execute
judgment."
* * * * *
All this serves to invest the death of a dear Christian friend, in our
thoughts, with inexpressible peace and comfort. He, with his Redeemer,
can say, "My flesh, also, shall rest in hope." If we are confident that
a friend is gone to be with Christ, death is, even now, swallowed up of
life; and now the thought of what the soul is to inherit, both before
and after the resurrection, and its contrast with the experience of the
lost, should make us joyful in tribulation. True, we cannot, by any
artifice or illusion, make death itself cease to be a curse. Full of
beauty and consolation as it may be,--nay, we will call it
triumphant,--yet nothing saddens the mind, for the time, more than the
sight of true beauty. In heaven things beautiful will not make us sad;
nor will the remembrance of a past joy, which so inevitably has that
effect upon us here. We are beholding a sunset. Day is flinging up all
its treasures, as though it were breaking to pieces its pavilion forever
and scattering the fragments; and now, when all seemed past, one more
flood of glory streams over the scene, but only for a moment; then comes
a last touch of pathos, here and there, like a more distant farewell, a
whispered good night. Have tears never come unbidden, do we never feel
sad, at such a time? Is not the whole of life, past, present, and to
come, then tinged with sombre hues? and all because the dying day
expires with such beauty and peace. Not so when a storm suddenly brings
in night upon us. Then we are nerved and braced; we hear no minor key in
the voice of the departing day. It is perfectly natural, therefore, to
weep over our dead, even when every thing in their departure is
consolatory and beautiful. It is interesting to observe that it was even
when he was on his way to raise the dead body of his friend, and thus to
comfort the weeping sisters, that "Jesus wept."