process exhibited in history. The visible order of the universe and
the history of mankind are verging towards a consummation, a
catastrophe, which relatively to us must be regarded as an end.
It is no part of our task to discuss the intermediate stage through
which the kingdom of God is destined to pass: that stage in which
there is to be a supreme manifestation of moral evil, a culmination of
those tendencies and an outburst of those forces which already seem to
threaten not the framework merely, but the foundations of society. The
decay of Christian Churches, the profound corruption of social life,
the tyranny of materialistic lawlessness--these seem to be plainly
foretold in Scripture, and with a purpose: that of shielding men from
a moral despair which might paralyse their efforts, or undermine their
patience, as they witness the beginnings of these 'birth-pangs[580]'
of a new order. The Christian will ever guard against such a temper of
alienation, or self-isolation, from the world, as will lead him to
depreciate the national, political, or civil movements of his time.
For civilization is appointed to reach, through whatever convulsions,
an ethical consummation, the prospect of which must inspire strength
to labour, and patience to endure.
The last stage of the kingdom of God is one of glory, to be exhibited
in the perfection of the moral community. It is for this that creation
waits: to this, as the goal of history, that inspired prophecy points.
Two revealed truths are intended to guide our conception of this
prospect.
In the first place, the kingdom of God is to be finally _manifested_
in its true character[581]: an event which must involve momentous
consequences for the physical creation. Scripture sometimes speaks as
if beneath the outer semblance of visible nature there lay concealed
an inner glory, destined, when the semblance passes, to shine forth in
full radiance and splendour[582]. The truth is thus symbolically
conveyed that since man is the crown and lord of the physical
universe, his final emancipation will carry with it a corresponding
change in his outward environment. But this consummation, no less than
the progressive movement of mankind towards it, is due to the
deliberate working and intervention in history of God Himself.
Naturalism points to a precarious prospect of human happiness in the
future, as contingent upon 'a perfect adjustment of society[583].'
Christianity does not look to any improvement in material conditions,
nor to any social process, as likely to bring about an ideal state of
humanity. Neither the physical universe, nor man himself, can attain
to the goal of their development, or to the perfection of their
nature, apart from God[584].
Again, the kingdom of God is to be purified through _judgment_. The
exact nature of this judgment it is impossible for thought to
anticipate. But the teaching of revelation is at least so explicit as
to discredit any conception of the judgment which would confine its
operation to this present scene, or restrict its meaning to any merely
natural process. The judgment is, in fact, appointed for a definite
hour, and is prefigured in definite historical catastrophes. It will
be parallel to, but transcending, those manifestations of Divine power
in history which mankind has already experienced. And the effect of
this final intervention will be to put an end to that mixed condition
of human things which it is our tendency to accept and assume as
inevitable and perpetual. Out of God's kingdom will be gathered 'all
things that offend;' and the collective mass of humanity will be, with
whatever gradations in the stage of perfection attained by each
individual, a 'congregation of saints[585].' The principle of Good
will so achieve its final triumph.
When we further inquire, as we are impelled to do, what will be the
extent of this final triumph, we are met by the fact of our own
ignorance, and of Christ's reserve. His simple, severe statements seem
intended to discourage fruitless speculation. We are thrown back in
this as in other perplexities, on our unfailing assurance of God's
character, and on the faint analogies furnished by the present order
of things.
The Gospel speaks of a righteous dominion, the sphere of which is to
be without limit. We read of a gathering into the kingdom of all that
is in true harmony with its purpose. We find warrant for the belief in
an intermediate state in which imperfect character may be developed,
ignorance enlightened, sin chastened, desire purified. And yet we are
assured that the consequences of action and choice abide, and are
eternal in their issue; and we know that impenitence must finally, and
under awful conditions, separate the soul from God. But we have not
enough for a coherent system. All that we can affirm is that the
victory of Good seems to demand the preservation of all that has not
wilfully set itself in antagonism to Divine Love, Holiness, and Power.
We cannot think that helpless ignorance, or inevitable poverty of
character will finally sever a human soul from God. Analogy suggests
that there will be scope in a future dispensation for the healing
ministries, and inventive service of Love. So again, Scripture does
not expressly teach that the lost will for ever be in a state of
defiance and rebellion. Even in the awful state of final severance
from the Divine presence there is room for assent, order, acceptance
of penalty; and so far, _evil_, in the sense of the will antagonistic
to God's righteous Law--may have ceased to exist. Truth will have
prevailed; and all orders of intelligent creatures will render it
homage. The final issue will be seen, and the justice confessed, of
all those 'ways' of God which are 'unsearchable and past finding out.'
In a word, there will be a complete manifestation of supreme Holiness
and Love: of Him, whose 'mercy is over all His works,' and who will
continue to stand in direct relation to every soul that He has made,
revealing Himself to each either as loving Father or as righteous
Judge[586].
It must however be added that what is called 'Universalism' finds no
support either in the solemn statements of Jesus Christ, or in the
analogy of nature. Man's very power of choice implies the possibility
of a sinful state admitting neither of repentance nor of remedy; not
of repentance--for character, growing by separate acts of choice, may
become fixed and hardened in its persistent refusal of the good; not
of remedy--for, as even the Greek moralist, with all his belief in the
moulding power of law, confesses, there is a degree of moral
perversion 'incurable'--that namely which ensues when sin has finally
destroyed the faculties to which moral appeal is possible--desire,
fear, hope, affection, the sense of shame.
With the end of history corresponds that of the individual man. The
ultimate perfection of human character is not only regarded as
possible in Scripture--but is suggested by analogy[587]: and of the
conditions of perfected human nature, we are enabled to form some idea
partly by our knowledge of angelic beings, partly by a study of our
Lord's Humanity in its risen state[588].
i. Thus human personality, in its perfected form, implies a state of
_harmony_. As each element in human nature will be preserved in its
appropriate condition, so each will fulfil its rightful function[589].
The relation between body and spirit will be that which is ethically
the highest conceivable. In man will be represented, as in a
microcosm, a state of being in which the first creation has been
appropriated by, and made the organ of the Divine Spirit[590]. The
material body will become one perfectly subservient to, and expressive
of, the free movements of a purified spirit[591]. And to this state of
personality will belong a final harmony between moral law and freedom.
Human beings will have become 'partakers of the Divine Nature,' so far
as to experience in themselves the union of liberty, holiness, and
love:
Indulging every instinct of the soul
There where law, life, joy, impulse, are one thing[592].
ii. Perfection further implies a state of _glory_; a word which,
whether used of Christ Himself or of His followers, seems in the New
Testament to mean the outward manifestation of a holy character. The
gradual assimilation to God, which is the law of true human
development on earth, is the law of an unending progress. But in the
perfect state, character will find due splendour of outward
expression. Man's bodily frame will pass through successive stages
'from glory to glory,' to a semblance faithfully reflecting the inward
supernatural life[593]. And in the marvellous union of outward with
inward recreation consists the 'glory,' of which human nature is
capable.
iii. Perfection is consummated by blessedness. The conception of
_bliss_ as transcending _happiness_ (εὐδαιμονία) is peculiar to
Christian Ethics. Happiness is a word of earth, and represents a good
which may be attained independently of life in God. Bliss is
inseparable from a living relation to God. It implies union with God.
But though it is true that 'man possesses the plenitude of his
perfection in God,' the analogy of the present dispensation points to
a further element in 'blessedness,' namely, that of fellowship in a
moral community: the redeemed 'have fellowship one with another,' in
an 'indissoluble life[594].' In fact the perfection of the individual,
according to God's separate ideal for each, demands that of the moral
community. Blessedness thus means that state wherein, by a society of
renewed personal beings, 'the Highest Good is loved and enjoyed[595].'
This community of free and perfected beings, with God as its Centre,
is the revealed ethical consummation of our race. And as the
manifestation of God's kingdom is to Christians the supreme object of
aspiration, and the highest matter of prayer, so the effort to advance
and extend its sphere is the worthiest task that can be embraced by
the will. The conception of such a kingdom, to be made actual through
the exertion of human faculties co-operating with the invincible
energy of the Divine will, is the greatest thought that ever enriched
mankind. In the attempt to further the limits, or promote the welfare
of this kingdom, man finds his truest happiness, and his noblest field
of activity. For he is engaged in the same work as God Himself[596]:
he has the same interest in its accomplishment. He has found the
absolutely good sphere of effort and desire; all else in which men
busy themselves can only be ethically _good_ in proportion as it bears
on, or hastens the approach of, that 'one far off Divine event.'
VI. _Conclusion._
It is our Lord's method to present to men an ideal, before He descends
to the requirements of practical life. The Sermon on the Mount
describes the life of 'blessedness' before it treats of duty; and from
duty, passes to the means of holiness. Such an example suggests one or
two concluding reflections.
First we may recall the true bearing of a methodical inquiry into
Christian Ethics. The kingdom of God stands in contrast with, but in
special relation to, all modes and products of social activity. It
makes use of all the material which human life offers, or human
faculties supply, so far as it is capable of serving a Divine purpose,
or revealing any aspect of the Divine Life. For that Life having once
for all intervened in history, continues ever to appropriate and
hallow all that comes within the wide range of Its outflow; Education,
Criticism, Science, Art; Industry, Wealth; Law, Polity--all these are
capable of becoming ethical forces, of ministering to man's true end,
of contributing something to the highest life. Into the Holy City the
kings of the earth bring their glory and honour: and to a Christian
Church are addressed the far-reaching words, 'All things are
yours[597].'
There is in fact a 'world-appropriating' element in Christianity, as
the ethical religion; and it is essential that the significance of
this fact should be grasped, if Christian morality is to be rightly
apprehended, or fairly presented in systematic form.
Further, in advancing a claim to mould and regenerate human society,
the Christian Church can only continue to rely on her traditional
instrument,--the recreation of individual character. The social
movements which an enlightened Christian judgment approves, are those
gradual and irresistible changes which result from the slowly-reached
apprehension of some neglected moral truth, as it gradually commends
itself to individual consciences. And such movements are to be judged
as they display, or bear upon character. If for example a Christian
mistrusts the extravagant schemes of some forms of Socialism,--it is
not because he is insensible to the wrongs and miseries which suggest
a violent remedy, but because all such sweeping proposals would merge
the individual life, would repress and mar the fulness of that
organized social life which gains elements of richness and diversity
from the free play of individuality.
The study of ideals will also have suggested the relation which the
Church bears to modern life. The Church, we have seen, is the school
of human character; the nurse, therefore, of such civil and social
virtues as give stability to human institutions. In her midst, Divine
forces are really and manifestly at work, tending to bring about the
regeneration of mankind. And in connection with this view of the
Church, we need to observe the power of character; the practical
'supremacy of goodness,' or at least its tendency to be supreme; its
capacity to control and modify the pressure of circumstance. A
condition of all true thinking about the social future will surely be
a just estimate of _character_ as a social and industrial force; it is
a growing sense of this truth that is doing much to revolutionize our
economic theories. We are learning perhaps that manfulness, mercy,
self-control, pity are among the forces which must be taken into
account by social science.
And if the Church is a gift of God to mankind, and there be but one
end of all His gifts, namely, the restoration of His image in man, we
must believe that the fairest fruits of Christianity, and the
many-sided fulness of Christlike character, can appear only in those
who live loyal to the moral discipline of the Church, who are ruled by
her wisdom, chastened by awe of her beauty, penetrated by her spirit.
The kingdom of God is more--infinitely more--than an ideal condition
of human society; but we know that the kingdom, even in this limited
sense of the word, will be the heritage only of a nation 'bringing
forth the fruits thereof.'
[456] 1 S. Pet. i. 21 ὥστε τὴν πίστιν ὑμῶν καὶ ἐλπίδα εἶναι εἰς θεόν.
[457] Heb. i. 1.
[458] See Dorner, _Syst. of Christian Ethics_, § 35.
[459] Eph. i. 4.
[460] Cp. Plato, _Tim._ xxix. E.
[461] Athan. _de Incarn._ x.
[462] Clem. Alex. _Quis Dives_, etc. vii. ἀρχὴ καὶ κρηπὶς ζωῆ, ἐπιστήμη
θεοῦ, τοῦ ὄντως ὄντος ... ἡ μὲν γὰρ τούτου ἄγνοια θάνατός ἐστιν, ἡ δὲ
ἐπίγνωσις αὐτοῦ καὶ οἰκείωσις, καὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀγάπη καὶ ἐξομοίωσις,
μόνη ζωή.
[463] Aug. _de moribus Eccl._ xii.
[464] Athan. _cont. Gentes_, iii. describes the aversion of man from
God as beginning in 'self-contemplation' (ἑαυτοὺς κατανοεῖν ἤρξαντο).
[465] Ath. _c. Gent._ ii.
[466] Wace, _Boyle Lectures_, ser. 1, Lect. vii. Cp. Col. i. 28.
[467] 2 Cor. v. 4, 5 ὁ κατεργασάμενος ἡμᾶς εἰς αὐτὸ τοῦτο θεός.
[468] Lactant. _Div. Inst._ iii. 12, 'Haec vita praesens et corporalis
beata esse non potest, quia malis est subjecta per corpus.... Si cadit
_beatitudo_, ergo et _immortalitas_ cadit in hominem, quae beata est.'
[469] Eph. v. 1. Ep. _ad Diog._ x.
[470] Bp. Butler's sermons emphasize this side of the doctrine of
conscience, esp. the _Preface_. Cp. Flint, _Theism_, lect. vii.
[471] See Phil. i. 9, and Heb. v. 14 (the Greek).
[472] Rom. i. 21. Athan. _cont. Gentes_, iii-xi.
[473] Wace, _Boyle Lect._, ser. 1, Lect. II.
[474] Anselm, _Cur Deus Homo_, I. xii. 'Libertas non est nisi ad hoc
quod expedit aut quod decet.'
[475] See Martineau, _Types of Eth. Theory_, vol. i. 93; ii. 39 [Ed.
2]. Holland, _Creed and Character_, Serm. X.
[476] Aug. _de mor. Eccl._ xxi. '[Deo] solo dominante liberrimus.'
Observe that as freedom grows, the choice becomes more restricted by
the law πάντα ἔξεστιν, ἀλλ᾽ οὐ πάντα συμφέρει (1 Cor. x. 23). Cp.
Pet. Lomb. _Sent._ ii. xxv. 7.
[477] Cyp. _de op. et eleem._ i. 'Pater Filium misit ut _reparare_ nos
posset.' Such language is usual with the Fathers.
[478] The whole subject of sin, guilt, punishment is germane to our
subject, but for present purposes must be left on one side.
[479] Iren. iii. 18. 7 [Stieren] ἔδει γὰρ τὸν μεσίτην θεοῠ τε καὶ
ἀνθρώπων διὰ τῆς ἰδίας πρὸς ἑκατέρους οἰκειότητος εἰς φιλίαν καὶ
ὁμονοίαν τοὺς ἀμφοτέρους συναγαγεῑν, καὶ θεῷ μὲν παραστῆσαι τὸν
ἄνθρωποω, ἀνθρώποις δὲ γνωρίσαι τὸν θεόν.
[480] Heb. iii. 1. Cyp. _de idol. van._ xi. 'Quod homo est, esse
Christus voluit, ut et homo possit esse quod Christus est.'
[481] Bern, _de consid._ v. 1, 'Quid quod et inferioribus eges?...
Nonne praeposterum hoc et indignum? Plane superiorum quaedam injuria
est inferiorum operam desiderare: a qua injuria nemo hominum perfecte
vindicabitur nisi cum quisque evaserit in libertatem filiorum Dei.'
[482] S. Matt. vi. 33.
[483] S. Luke xvii. 21; S. Matt. xiii. 45 foll. (Parable of the
Pearl). Cp. Rom. xiv. 17 ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ ... ἐστιν ... δικαιοσύνη
καὶ εἰρήνη καὶ χαρὰ ἐν πνεύματι ἁγίῳ.
[484] Wace, _ubi sup._ Lect. VIII. Ambr. _de off. min._ ii. 3, 4.
[485] Aug. _de mor. Eccl._ xiii. 'Bonorum summa Deus nobis est; Deus
est nobis summum bonum.' _Ib._ xviii. 'Secutio Dei, beatitatis
appetitus est; consecutio, ipsa beatitas.'
[486] Thom. Aquin. _Summa_, i. iiᵃᵉ. Qu. i. 2, 'Illa quae rationem
habent seipsa movent ad finem, quia habent dominium suorum actuum per
liberum arbitrium.... Illa vero quae ratione carent tendunt in finem
propter naturalem inclinationem quasi ab alio mota, non autem a
seipsis, cum non cognoscant rationem finis; et ideo nihil in finem
ordinare possunt, sed solum in finem ab alio ordinantur.'
[487] See Godet, _Comm. on 1 Corinthians_ [Clark], vol. i. p. 236.
[488] S. Matt. xix. 28; S. Luke xxii. 30.
[489] S. John iii. 16.
[490] S. John iii. 33. See Dorner's _System of Ethics_ [Clark], § 47.
[491] 2 Cor. iv. 8; vi. 10. Cp. Rom. viii. 28.
[492] S. Matt. v. 48. Butler, _Serm._ 3 'Your obligation to obey this
Law is its being the Law of your nature.... The correspondence of
actions to the nature of the agent renders them natural.'
[493] Cp. Bp. Ellicott, _The Being of God_, p. 120.
[494] Rom. ii. 18 (γινώσκεις τὸ θέλημα) implies that when a man knows
God's _will_, he knows his _duty_.
[495] S. John ix. 4; iv. 34. Cp. vi. 40; S. Luke iv. 43. See also Rom.
xii. 2; Eph. v. 17, etc.
[496] The case of the young man (S. Matt. xix. 21) shews how
obligation is extended by contact with Christ, i.e. by closer relation
to God. The general principle is that each is bound to follow the law
of his personal perfection as it unveils itself to him. See Bengel _in
loc._ and cp. S. Luke xvii. 10.
[497] Wace, Lect. II.
[498] S. Matt. xvi. 25, 26. The discussion of 'Christian
consolations,' by Mr. Cotter Morison, _Service of Man_, overlooks the
fact that Christ's object was not to 'console' men, but to set before
them the truth, and the law of their own perfection. The
'consolations' of Christianity can be won only if they are never made
the _object_ of life. They are a _reward_, but never, in the higher
forms of Christian consciousness, an _aim_. See _Church Quart. Rev._,
Jan. 1888, p. 268.
[499] Witness the discussions on _fear_ commonly found in mediaeval
theology. Bruce, _Parabolic teaching of Christ_, p. 359 foll., has
some good remarks on this point. 'The parabolic form of instruction
does not afford scope for the play of the highest class of motives. It
is essentially popular wisdom, and it is the way of that which aims at
teaching the million, _to make action spring from homely motives_.'
[500] Butler, _Analogy_, i. 5.
[501] See H. S. Holland, _Creed and Character_, Serm. XVIII. Cp.
S. Matt. xxv. 21, Heb. xii. 2. Thom. Aquin. _Summa_, ii. iiᵃᵉ, xxviii.
[502] Sidgwick, _Outlines of the Hist. of Ethics_, chap. 3.
[503] Iren. iv. 16, § 3 [Stieren]. God appears in the decalogue
'praestruens hominem in suam amicitiam ... et ideo [verba] similiter
permanent apud nos, extensionem et augmentum sed non dissolutionem
accipientia per carnalem Eius adventum.' Thom. Aquin. _Summa_, i. iiᵃᵉ.
Qu. c. Art. 3, 'Omnia praecepta [moralia] legis sunt quaedam partes
praeceptorum decalogi.'
[504] Rom. vii. 14.
[505] S. Matt. xxii. 37. Cp. Aug. _de mor. Eccl._ xviii-xx; _de doc.
Christ._ i. 29.
[506] Aug. l.c. 'Maxime Ei propinquat [homo] subjectione ista qua
similis fit.'
[507] Thom. Aquin. _Summa_, i. iiᵃᵉ. c. 5, 'Principi communitatis tria
debet homo, fidelitatem, reverentiam, famulatum.' Cp. Butler,
_Analogy_, pt. ii. 1.
[508] Aug. _de disc. Christ._ iii. 'Proximus est omni homini omnis
homo,' etc.
[509] R. W. Dale, _The Ten Commandments_, p. 241. Cp. Thom. Aquin.
_Summa_, i. iiᵃᵉ. c. 6; Martineau, _Types_, etc., ii. 26.
[510] _Summa_, i. iiᵃᵉ. c. 5, 'Dilectio sui ipsius includitur in
dilectione Dei et proximi; in hoc enim homo vere se diligit quod se
ordinat in Deum.' _Ib._ ii. iiᵃᵉ. xix. 6, 'Homo se propter Deum, et in
Deo diligit.' Aug. _Serm._, ccxvi. 8, 'Amate quod eritis: eritis enim
filii Dei.' Pascal, _Pensées_, Art. xviii. 15, 'Que l'homme _s'aime_,
car il a en lui une nature capable de bien.' Cp. Butler, _Serm._ i.
etc.
[511] Sidgwick, _Outlines etc._, p. 108. Cp. Dorner, _System, etc._,
p. 459 [Clark].
[512] Aug. _de Civ. Dei_, xiv. 28.
[513] See Ex. xxi. 33 foll.; Deut. xxii. 9 foll.; Levit. xix. etc.
_Summa_, i. iiᵃᵉ. i. 2, 'Tota irrationalis natura comparatur ad Deum
sicut instrumentum ad agens principale.'
[514] Consider Gen. ix. 10. Cp. Gen. viii. 1; Prov. xii. 10, etc.
[515] Martensen, _Special Ethics (Indiv.)_, p. 278 [Clark].
[516] See Trench, _Mediaeval Church History_, Lect. XXVII. Cp. Plato,
_Phileb._ 64 E foll.
[517] _Ecce Homo_, c. x. Cp. S. John xxi. 25.
[518] It is significant that Mr. Cotter Morison in his _Service of
Man_ discusses personal types of Christian saintliness.
[519] Dorner, _System, etc._, p. 377.
[520] See some remarks on this tendency in Liddon, _Bampton Lectures_,
viii; and an Art. in the _Church Quart. Rev._, July, 1883, on 'Our
Lord's Human Example.' For what follows, cp. Martensen, _Ethics
(General)_, pp. 242, 256.
[521] Dean Church, Serm. on _Christ's Example_ [_Gifts of
Civilization_, Serm. III].
[522] R. H. Hutton, Essay on _the Incarnation and Principles of
Evidence_. Cp. the remarkable definition of Lactantius, _Div. Inst._
iii. 9, 'Pietas nihil aliud est quam _Dei parentis agnitio_.' _Ib._
10, 'Efficitur ut is agnoscat Deum, qui unde ortus sit, quasi
recordetur.'
[523] See Trench, _Syn. of the N.T._ § 42 (on ταπεινοφροσ). 'In His
Human Nature [Christ] must be the pattern of all humility, of all
creaturely _dependence_.... He evermore, as Man, took the place which
beseemed the creature in the presence of its Creator.'
[524] S. John xvi. 32.
[525] Martensen, _Ethics (General)_, p. 255. Cp. Job v. 23.
[526] Christ's earthly life and work are described summarily as
ὑπακόη, Rom. v. 19. Cp. Phil. ii. 8.
[527] Aug. _de Praed. Sanct._ xxx. 'An ... in Illo non libera voluntas
erat, ac non tanto magis erat, quanto magis peccare non poterat?'
Quoted by Liddon, _Bampt. Lect._ [ed. 11], note c.
[528] Aug. _de mor. Eccl._ xxiii. 'Fit ergo per caritatem ut
conformemur Deo.'
[529] Dorner, pp. 336, 388. Cp. _Ecce Homo_, p. 136.
[530] Arist. _Eth._ vii. 14. 8 remarks that human nature is not simple
(ἁπλῆ), adding ἐπεὶ, εἴ του ἡ φύσις ἁπλῆ εἴη ἀεὶ ἡ αὐτὴ πρᾶξις ἡδίστη
ἐσται. Διὸ ὁ θεὸς ἀεὶ μίαν καὶ ἁπλῆν χαίρει ἡδονήν, κ.τ.λ. Cp. Bk. x.
cc. 4. § 9, and 7. § 8.
[531] _Summa_, i. iiᵃᵉ. Qu. lxii. Art. 1. Cp. S. Matt. xix. 17.
[532] Abp. Trench.