Conversion of this kind is deep, radical and all-embracing. It involves the mind-thought: "Bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ (II. Cor., 10:5)." It involves the heart (mind), affection; hear Moses to Israel: "The Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul (Deut., 13:3)." Hear Jesus quoting Moses: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind (Matt., 22:37)." Again, He speaks: "If ye love me, keep my commandments (Jno., 14:15)." It involves the conscience -the Judge of man's strange existence: "Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned (I. Tim., 1: 5)." It involves the state or condition: "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (II. Cor., 5:17)." It involves the whole life: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service; and be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed, by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God (Rom., 12: 1, 2)." It involves the aspirations: "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God; set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth; for ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God (Col., 3:1-3)." It involves the destiny: "For bodily exercise profiteth little, but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come (I. Tim., 4:8)."

Such a revolution in a human being such a transition, such a translation, such a transformation, such an expansion can only be brought about by a miracle, by the putting forth of the Divine energy in an unusual manner; but that has been done already. It was done when God spoke to

66

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: "Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ (Gal., 3:16)." It was done when God spoke to and through Moses: And the Lord said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the Lord (Ex., 19:9)." It was done when God spoke to the prophets: "Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days (Acts, 3:24)." It was done when God spoke through His Son Jesus Christ: "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high (Heb., 1: 1-3)." It was done when God spoke through the apostles: "And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance (Acts, 2:4)."

It required a miracle-a continuous miracle from Eden to the death of the last apostle to make the message, but it requires no miracle to preach it now, or to believe and obey it.

This revolution of character has been required in all dispensations; the things to be done have changed gradually from the beginning to the day of Pentecost, when the full gospel was proclaimed, but the general idea of turning to God in mind and life has been required in all dispensations. Hear David: "All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee (Ps., 22:27)." It was predicted of John that he should turn many: "And

many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God; and he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord (Luke, 1: 16, 17)." Hear Peter: "But those things, which God before had showed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled; repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the time of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: whom the heaven must receive until the time of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began (Acts, 3: 18-21)."

In order to do this mighty work the Holy Spirit uses the seed of the kingdom, already ripe, in the written records and waiting to be sown!

CHAPTER XI.

The Holy Spirit and the Pre-eminence of Jesus.

Paul in his epistle to the Colossians sets Jesus on high as the head of the body which is the church; as the beginning; as the first born from the dead- yea, pre-eminent in all things: "And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the first born from the dead; that in all things he might have the pre-eminence (Col., 1: 18)." Jesus the Word - the Word was pre-eminent in creation; Moses testifies: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth; and the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters; and God said, Let there be light: and there was light (Gen., 1: 1-3)." Paul endorses Moses: "Who is the image of the invisible God, the first born of every creature: for by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: and he is before all things, and by him all things consist (Col., 1: 15-17)." Jesus the anointed-to be

was pre-eminent in Providence: "And did all drink the same spiritual drink, for they drank 'of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ (I. Cor., 10: 4)." Jesus the word is pre-eminent in prophecy. Hear Peter: "Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come upon you; searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow (I. Pet., I: 10, 11)." Again:

'And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus; worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy (Rev., 19:10)." Jesus the word is pre-eminent in the types and shadows of the law. Hear Paul: "Let no man therefore

judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days: which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ (Col., 2:16, 17)." Again: "For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer; for if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law: who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount (Heb., 8:3-5)." Again: "For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect (Heb., 10:1)." Jesus is pre-eminent in the Divine government; the government rests on His shoulder: "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace; of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this (Isa., 9:6, 7)." He upholds all things by the word of His power: "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in times past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; who being