ARTICLE VII.—THE THEISM OF JESUS.

CONCERNING spirit, Jesus taught that it is an essential element in the complex being of man and is clearly distinguished from the matter upon which it may act or within which it may abide. The flesh is one thing, the spirit another: the two are continually contrasted. Spirit is not produced by the body, it may exist apart from it and therefore cannot be dependent upon it for existence. When Jesus would designate spirit as incarnate, acting upon the body and in turn influenced by it, he calls it the soul. The soul of man is his spirit animating the body, energizing the functions of its different organs, regulating its appetites and controlling its desires; and through the body acting upon the world of matter and spirit about him and in return receiving impressions. The attributes of spirit are knowledge, feeling, will, conscience, personality and power. Spirit knowing, Jesus calls mind; spirit feeling, is the heart; spirit choosing, is the will; spirit discerning right and wrong and approving the right while it condemns the wrong, is conscience; spirit conscious that it knows, feels, wills and discerns. right and wrong, and conscious that itself thus acting is distinct from other spirit and from matter, is a person; while power is that preeminent attribute of spirit inherent in all knowledge, feeling, choosing, conscience and personality which originates action and is manifested and measured by the results produced. Christ taught, therefore, that spirit is not a mere abstraction, but a positive reality known by all men. Spirit cannot be seen with the natural eye, nor be grasped with the hand of flesh, nor be heard with the mortal ear: because eye, hand, ear are but matter which however highly organized can neither see, feel nor hear: these all are but instruments of spirit.

Man knows his own spirit and therefore only does he know his body, the material universe, the spirits of other men, the spirit of God. Christ's doctrine of the existence and spiritual nature of God is made by its author fundamental not only to all religion, but to morality as well. He was not content,

therefore, with merely asserting, God is a spirit, but sought to bring men to the profound conviction and vivid realization of the divine being.

He sought this end by the use of his own testimony, which was so remarkable that of itself it was sufficient for all who could appreciate it; for never disclosing the shadow of a doubt he speaks positively with the authority and convincing manner of an eye witness testifying out of his own personal and accurate knowledge. His testimony was confirmed both by his character and his works, since these were so manifestly good that all who knew him felt instinctively that such an one as he could neither deceive others nor be himself deceived.

He appealed to the Scriptures. Apart from all theories of its divine origin and inspiration the Old Testament is a fact: it is history, a record of human thought and deeds setting forth in vivid narration and profound exposition the traits of human nature, a reliable account of man during many centuries of intense action. Christ wisely appealed to this accepted authority to confirm his own testimony to the existence of God: for the book shows that belief in the existence of God is as old as the world and is universally present in the minds of men, shaping the destiny not only of countless individuals but also of nations and races.

Jesus showed men their belief in God by turning their minds to the contemplation of the natural world. He led his hearers to form the idea of the heavens and the earth together with all that they contain, as one whole, united into the system we call the universe, and to observe within it the manifest signs of adaptation and design; so that of their own accord they asked, "Whence came this?" They asked this question, because men intuitively believe that every effect and event must have an adequate cause and that adaptation involves a designing cause. When, therefore, Jesus taught that the universe was created, and that it was the creation of an almighty, self-existent spirit, the designer, originator, and preserver of all things, they were at once convinced that his answer was true. And the more they listened to his eloquent exposition of the book of nature, and from his point of view looked upon the heavens through the clear atmosphere of Olivet and the Galilean hills and snow

crowned Hermon, the more did they realize that God is; and with the Psalmist exclaim, "The heavens declare the glory of God!" The more they followed him along Jordan and across stormy Tiberias and into the solitudes of the desert, listening all the while to his discourses upon the reeds of the jungle, the fish of the sea, the stones of the wilderness, the more did they realize the truth so forcibly announced afterward by Paul that the eternal power and attributes of God are clearly seen, being understood by means of the things that are made. The more they attended while he spoke about pearls of ocean, fig-trees by the wayside, the rushing floods of rivers, the established rocks of the earth, the wheat and tares and other seeds growing mysteriously, and from time to time of innumerable objects from the whole realm of nature so admirably adapted and designed to illustrate and enforce spiritual truth as well as to please the curiosity and satisfy the bodily wants of men, the more fixed became their conviction and the more vivid the realization of the axiom of all religion and of all science, God exists.

Christ's appeal to human consciousness led men to the assured belief in the existence of God. The words of Jesus imply that the belief in an almighty power that killeth the body and punishes the wicked is a part of human nature and lies at the foundation of the mythology of the pagan, the superstition of the savage, and the ethical systems of the philosopher. Conscience is a fact involving the belief in an almighty person that knows the sins of men and punishes them. Conscience thus enables men to know God as really and as vividly as natural vision enables one to know the tree upon which he is gazing. But to such as enjoy the approbation of conscience there comes a personal consciousness and adequate knowledge of God that is in exact proportion to their purity of heart. Concerning these Jesus declared that they know the only true God; that this God dwells in their souls so as to be in constant intercourse with their spirits; that such are the children of God knowing him as their Father and finding in him present joy and abiding life.

Jesus convinced men that his doctrine of God was true by directing their attention to the magnificent system of religion and morality which he built upon it. He established Chris

tianity as a fact in the world, grounding it upon the one underlying principle, God is, out of which he made all doctrine and practice to come. The stability of the fabric proves the foundation. If the stream be sweet, the source cannot be bitter. If the fruit be good, the tree cannot be corrupt.

It would give a false impression to say that Jesus proved the existence of God. He was not accustomed to argue with men. He was no sophist or dialectician, manipulating premises and conclusions. He was a seer, revealing God to men by making a powerful appeal to his own testimony, to the authority of the Scriptures, to the book of nature, to the voice of conscience, and to the kingdom of heaven established on earth. He simply removed the veil, opened blind eyes, and said: Behold! The truth spiritually discerned needed no proof. He began with the spirit of man, and by clarifying that stimulated the spiritual man so that he might gain access to the right point of view and from its exalted position behold the truth in its own light and glorious reality.

This spiritualism of Jesus absorbed not only as doctrine, but especially as life is the solution of the mysterious questions that have perplexed humanity. When he spoke to the woman of Samaria there was something more than motion of lips and impact of moving atmosphere upon the ear. The soul of Jesus communed with that of his disciple: there was contact of spirit with spirit. The thoughts of Jesus were communicated to the mind of the woman; the powerful action of his conscience awakened her conscience to the sympathetic discernment of good and condemnation of wrong; his intense emotion aroused the heart of her whose feelings had become hardened by sin; his steadfast will influenced her will to submit to his powerful persuasion. With conscience at white heat, her mind brilliant with the flashing thoughts of truth, her heart all aglow with thrilling emotions and her will by its submission to righteousness endowed with a full baptism of power, the personality of the woman was so manifest to herself and the consciousness of the reality of her own spirit was so vivid and her knowledge of the presence of a spiritual being in human form before her of transcendent power and glory was so clear, that she was enabled intuitively to grasp in its fullness the profound

saying, "God is a spirit, and they that worship him must wor ship him in spirit and in truth."

Having thus convinced men that there is a God, Jesus tells who and what he is. God is a spirit. He is spirit. Spirit is the essence of his being in which all his attributes inhere. God is mind, feeling, will, conscience, power inherent in one spiritual person, the infinite spirit. He is self-existent, having life in himself. He is eternal, existing now and before the world and through the unending future. He is omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, the Creator,. Preserver, and Governor of all things. God worketh hitherto even up to and into the present, feeding the birds, clothing the grass, numbering the hairs of our head, hearing and answering prayer. Instead of being indifferent to men he is their Father. The fatherhood of God is one of the most prominent elements in Christ's conception of deity. God is our Father who is not only in heaven, but on earth in intimate union with the souls of individual men. The Father dwelleth with men. He is a Father even to prodigals, ready to welcome them to his presence. But God is a holy Father. Instead of approving sin he hates it with a perfect hatred. He will not allow the sinner to come before him in peace. Only the pure in heart can see God. He is a righteous Father, showing no partiality to any of his children; but rewards and punishes according to deeds. He is the God of truth. They that worship him must worship in spirit and in truth. They that serve him must serve him only and must glorify him with good works. He will have mercy and not sacrifice. The worship which he demands is that they should love him-a worship designed to develop all the powers and faculties of man's being to the utmost and to promote the highest welfare of the race. There is no provision for polytheism, or formal rites, or religion divorced from morality that it may be wedded to vice. Yet he is merciful as well as just and holy. He punishes the incorrigible with a righteous judgment; nevertheless he loves the world in spite of its wickedness and has provided a way whereby he may forgive men their trespasses. He is not simply the God of Abram, Isaac, and Jacob; nor of Israel only; but is the God of all mankind and dispenses to all his blessings on the same conditions. He