"Jesus answered and said unto him, verily, verily, I say unto thee,
except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." John
iii. 3.
In our last, we have shown, that the _spiritual_ birth bears some
resemblance to a natural birth with which Jesus compared it--and as
the _first_ introduces us into this world, so the _second_ will
introduce us into the future and immortal world at the resurrection,
where we shall be as the angels of God in heaven, and "be the
_children_ of God _being the children of the resurrection_." There we
shall be completely free from sin and pain. There the gushing tear of
sorrow shall cease to flow, and the brow of disconsolate humanity be
ruffled no more.
We will now attend to the present effects that the truth of this birth
has upon us here, and notice at the same the phrase, "_kingdom of
God_."
The question now arises; do not some experience the new birth in this
life? They do. But in what sense do they experience it? Ans. By
_faith_. In this world we pass from death to life: not that we have
actually been in the grave and brought to life beyond it; but the
believer experiences this by faith. And _this faith_ has a most
powerful and happifying influence on his affections, and consequently
on his life and conduct. All, that God has revealed for the salvation
of the world--our justification, our sanctification, our new birth,
our heaven, our all--yes, all these important and heavenly changes are
summed up, and embraced in our immortal resurrection, will actually
take place through death; and while in this world we can embrace them,
_only by faith_.
The scriptures declare that "we walk by faith and, not by sight." Paul
says, "the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of
the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." Paul knew that
he had eternal life given him in Christ, before the world began, and
faith in that glorious truth produced a happiness--a divine life in
his heart, called the kingdom of God within. Let us notice these
several points.
1. First; "Christ rose again for our justification." Our justification
then exists in our resurrection state, and will _there_ in all its
reality take place. But cannot a man be justified _here_? Yes; he can
be justified _through faith_ in that truth.
2. Second; "By the which will, we are _sanctified_ through the
offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." Our
_sanctification_ then, by the will of God, will take place through
death. But cannot a man be _sanctified_ while _here_? Yes; he can be
sanctified _through faith in that truth!_
3. Third; Christ was "put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the
spirit." So in his resurrection he passed from death to life, and thus
revealed the truth that we shall also pass from death to life by the
power of God, and be like him who is the "first fruits." But cannot a
man pass from death to life while on earth? Yes; he can pass from
death to life _through faith in that truth_. Jesus says--"He that
heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting
life and shall not come into condemnation but is passed from death
unto life."
4. Fourth; our eternal life will be realized beyond death. "The things
that are not seen are spiritual and eternal." But can we not enjoy it
_here_? Yes; "He that believeth on the Son _hath_ everlasting life;"--
that is, he enjoys it faith.
5. Fifth; Christ was the "first born from the dead." So we also shall
pass the reality of the new birth by faith. But can we not enjoy it
here? John says--"For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world,
and this is the victory that overcometh world _even our faith_."
Thus it is evident that a man may in this life be _justified,
sanctified_, pass from _death to life, may enjoy eternal life_, and be
_born again_ through faith in _these several correspondent facts_. His
faith, however, can make them no more _certain_; because they _must
exist_, and be solemn and unalterable facts before he can be called
upon to believe them. The truth of the above _five facts_, we
perceive, are embraced in our resurrection. If we are not, in our
resurrection, to be _justified, sanctified, born again_, and obtain
eternal life, then we cannot be _justified, sanctified or born again
here_ through faith in those truths;--because there would be no such
truths in existence for us to exercise faith in. If the objector will
not allow these facts unalterably to exist _previous_ to believing,
what then will he call upon us to believe? Will he call upon us to
believe that we have an eternal life in Christ when no such fact
exists, and contend that our believing this lie will create the fact?
This would be the most ridiculous absurdity.
But the truth exists, and the believer by faith enjoys it before hand.
He enjoys it by anticipation, not in _reality_. It can be brought to
his understanding or experience no other way, only through the gospel
medium of faith. I challenge the objector to show me between the lids
of the new Testament, any regeneration, new birth, justification, or
sanctification, that has already taken place in any other sense than
through faith. All these things in their _reality_ are to take place
in our resurrection, when we shall be like the angels of God and by
faith we bring them present to our minds and enjoy them _here_. Dr.
Watts says--"Faith brings distant prospects home, Of things a thousand
years ago, Or thousand years to come." Paul, therefore, exhorts us to
forget the things that are behind, and reach forward to those that are
before--to press to the mark &c. because the reality--the object of
our faith lies before us. But persons, who do not understand the
operations of faith on the mind in view of its correspondent truth,
and who honestly believe that the new birth has in reality already
taken place with them, are always looking back to the time they were
born again, and telling over their "old experiences" Now this is right
in them, if they have passed through the _reality_; for every man
ought to look to the substance in which he exercises faith and hope.
But certainly the scriptures exhort us to look forward, and anchor our
faith and hope within the vail, where our forerunner hath for us
entered. It is therefore certain that the reality exists there, and is
yet to come. Such persons then, in looking back to their experience,
are mistaking the birth produced by faith for the real birth itself.
This is just as unreasonable as it would be to suppose that the
foretaste, we sometimes enjoy of immortal life, was that life itself.
It is true we at times enjoy a heaven on earth. But as it respects the
kingdom of immortal glory, "eye hath not seen, ear heard, neither hath
it entered into the heart of man to conceive the glory that shall be
revealed in us." The reality is therefore yet to come, and by faith we
receive only an antepast of its joys.
From the above observation we infer that, the resurrection is the only
gospel faith and hope of a future, happy conscious state of being.
When our minds are enlightened to see the mighty changes, that we
mortals are represented, in the scriptures of truth, as destined to
experience by being raised in a holy and deathless constitution, we
are then led to consider the resurrection of embracing all those
realities that we are called upon by Jesus Christ and his apostles to
embrace by faith and enjoy in this life. So great and sublime is the
gift of God, and so far surpassing thought does it magnify the
perfections of the divine character, and in so amiable a light does it
manifest his love to the children of men, that a living faith in its
reality cannot but obtain a salutary influence on our life and
conversation. So much stress did the apostles lay upon its importance,
that they went every where preaching the resurrection of the dead, as
the gospel of Christ.
There is one point we will here notice. All denominations acknowledge
that for any man _by faith_ to pass from death to life is a change for
the better. If so, then the _reality_, namely to pass from the sleep
of death to an immortal existence, must be a change for the better.
Because it is by believing that future reality we are said to have
passed from death to life here. The conclusion is unavoidable that the
_reality_ must correspond with its antepast _by faith_. To understand
this let us reverse it. Suppose it should be an established law in the
nature and constitution of things that all mankind should pass from
death to immortal misery in the future world. Let this be revealed and
proclaimed as an unchanging truth. As many as believed it would of
course pass from death to immortal misery in _faith_, which would lead
them to curse the being who made them, and destined them to this
unhappy end. It would be a change for the worse.
Our subject is now so far plain (according to our views) that the
phrase "_kingdom of God_" will be readily understood. Though it has,
by different writers, been made to bear many different significations,
yet we shall take the liberty to contend that it simply means as
follows--1. First an immortal existence beyond the grave brought to
light by the resurrection of Christ;--and 2. Second a belief in _that
reality_ is the kingdom of God we here enter and enjoy _by faith_.
Into this kingdom, infants, idiots and heathen and unbelievers do not
enter, because faith is the only condition. This is the kingdom of
heaven that men, blind leaders of the blind, shut up. They neither
enter themselves, nor suffer those that would enter to go in. They
keep the evidence of the reality out of sight so that men cannot look
beyond the vail to its brighter glories and enjoy its peaceful reign
in their hearts by faith. When faith is lost in certainty, _then_ this
kingdom will be delivered up, and to know shall be life eternal. This
definition we believe will hold good, and apply to any passage in the
New Testament where it may occur. Though some contend that it very
seldom has reference to an immortal existence, yet we strenuously
contend that there is no propriety in the phrase only in connexion
with such an existence. We cannot enter or be born into the kingdom of
God by faith, unless we admit the reality in the first place to have
an existence, any more than we could, by faith, enjoy eternal life
unless there is such a reality as eternal life beyond the grave. The
above, the reader will please to fix in his mind.
We now perceive that man drops into the sleep of death, and that the
resurrection, or new birth is his only hope of a future happy state of
existence, and is the only change that can free him from imperfection,
and sin, and make him a new creature in a new and immortal existence
beyond the grave.
We will here introduce an example to make our argument so far plain.
Suppose you were now in ignorance respecting the doctrine of life and
immortality through a resurrection. You know you must die, and
sincerely think that death will terminate your existence forever. You
see your children one after another laid upon their dying bed, and
with distraction shake the farewell hand of eternal separation, and
with the most solemn melancholy and wo, look forward to the period
when you must follow them down to the chambers of eternal silence, and
cease to be.
In this moment of dread solemnity and gloom, suppose some kind angel
should appear at the bed-side of your expiring child, and kindly
inquire, why are you troubled? You answer, because my children have
fallen!--the last of my infant train lies panting for breath, and the
dreadful hour has come when all those silken affections, that build
our hearts love, must be rent assunder, and in the awful bosom of
death, be extinguished forever!--Suppose your guardian angel smiling
over the ruins of death, should point you far beyond these changing
scenes, and with rapture exclaim, you shall meet this darling child
again and commingle with your little fallen flock in glory! You and
they and all mankind shall be born from the dead into the kingdom of
God, and be new creatures free from sin and pain, and "be the children
of God being the children of the resurrection." Jesus your Lord "was
the first born from the dead," and you shall pass from death to life
and live forever.
Now suppose you positively believed his words; could you not say in
the scripture form of the expression that through faith you was
already "passed from death to life?"--that you was born of faith, and
by faith was in the kingdom of God? You certainly could, and it would
in every sense of the word be true. Through faith, you would be
justified, through faith sanctified; through faith you would enjoy
eternal life--in fine, through faith you would be saved. This faith
would give love unmeasured to your Creator, and fill your soul with
joy unspeakable and full of glory. "Faith works by love, purifies the
heart and overcomes the world."
Reader, do you not love the Lord for his wonderful goodness to his
children? What glorious hopes are here! "and he that hath this hope in
him purifieth himself even as he is pure"--you now see why the gospel
rings with the word _faith_ from one end to the other.
The world previous to the coming of Jesus Christ had no knowledge of
immortality through a resurrection, into the kingdom of God. The
phrase "_born again_" is not mentioned in the Old Testament, and of
course means something more than a _conversion_. This subject will be
continued in our next.