Christ Incarnate in the Christian Church.

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume III, Issue 10, 1 April 1913, Page 143

Christ Incarnate m the Christian Church.

In trying to appreciate the significance of the life of Christ it is necessary constantly to bear m mind that Christianity is no mere scheme for the salvation and perfecting of individuals. Christ lived and died, not only to save men, but man. The ultimate goal of Christianity is expressed by S. Paul, m Kphesians iv. 13, m the words, " Till we all come unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." He does not say, till we all come to perfect men, but to a perfect man. The words suggest Ithe truth that, as members incorporate m one body, men may aspire to a perfection, even the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ, which, as separate individuals, they could never hope to attain. The same truth is suggested by the closing words of S. Paul's prayer on behalf of his readers, at the end of the third chapter. He prays that " they may be strong to apprehend," together " with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth," that so they might l! be filled unto all the fulness of God." The words imply that " the fulness of God," the goal of the Christian life, is not to be attained by any individual as such, but must be sought m closest union " with all the saints."' The knowledge of Christ's love which is to lead on to this fulness' is too vast for any individual to grasp ; would he measure its breadth and length and height and depth he must do so> as a member of the universal Church. To go back to the words quoted before, " Till we all come to a perfect man." The life of Christ affords the only real explanation of their meaning. His life is a prophecy of what God intends man to become, and as such enables us to interpret the Divine purpose m human history. It is only m proportion as the life of Christ is understood that it becomes possible to interpret aright all human history. The traveller by night may pass throusrh the loveliest scenery, or visit the most impressive landscape, but as long as the darkness continues unbroken he remains unconscious of that which lies before him. .. Suddenly, however, as from the. dark cloud overhead there issues the vivid gleam of the lightning fl^sh, the Qutlines of the seen.c

before* .him .are revealed, and though the light has passed long ere he has caught the full force of what he has seen, he has at least learnt something of what to expect when the night shall have passed and the full light of the sun shall have been poured upon the scene. We have here an illustration, imperfect though it be m detail, of what the Incarnation has done m human history. Man, as we believe, was originally created innocent and m the image of God ; but during the long night of sin which followed its bright beginning that Divine likeness was more and more hidden and overclouded, till a t length men ceased to believe m the existence of the Divine nature within them, and selfishness became the ruling principle of their life. Then it was that across the midnight darkness of sin the life of Christ shone with a radiant brightness which served to reveal once more the Divine image m mian that sin had so nearly effaced, and at the same time to suggest the glorious future m store when the Sun of Righteousness should be completely manifested m the world; The thought suggested by the illustration is full of encouragement m looking forward to. the future. S. Paul never despaired of the destiny either of individuals or of the race. He treats the one perfect life which fias been lived m the world, m all its pnritv and perfection, as a prophecy of what : God intends men to become. The Gospel record, too, shows that He, who knew better than any one else the weakness and sinfulness of human nature, who, as we are told, needed not that any should testify of man because He knew what was m man, was never known to despair of man's future. The accomplishment of God's original intention for the human race as a whole, may have been delayed by the introduction of sin; but we dare not believe but that the original intention will one day be fully carried out. We can sympathise with the, divinely inspired confidence of the poet who could say— Neither vice nor guilt, Debasement i?mdergone by body or mind, Nor all the misery forced upon my siffht, Misery not lightly passed, but sometimes scanned Most feelingly, could overthrow my trust In what we may become,

ket us imaging- that an artist, Shaving made a magnificent vase, were to summon al]l his friends to see and . admire his work. Whilst •they are engaged m doing, so a rival artist, who has come under the disguise of a friend, moved with envy at the beauty and magnificence of what he beholds', seizes the vase m his hands, and, throwing to the ground, dashes it into a thousand pieces. Whilst the eyes of all are turned m astonishment and indignation upon what appears to them irreparable damage,, the original artist, alone unmoved, calmly bids them wait. All he asks is that they will allow him sufficient time, and he is prepared to undo the mischief which has been done. Days, months, years pass away, and still he bid's them wait, assuring them that all will be made right at last, but that meanwhile they must be content implicitly to accept his assurance. The harm so lightly accomplished will take long time and infinite patience to repair. But now at length the long awaited day arrives, and once more he bids his friends _ assemble to witness the restoration of his original work. And as they behold the vase which before they had seen broken into a thousand pieces, re-made out of those same pieces m such a way that nothing is lost of its original grace and beauty, they are filled with admiration for the skill and power of the artist, and to a far greater extent than if the' vase had never been broken at all. ( To he Continued )