ot t+ Doran arpe 4 Aone Parsi Teese ie *y : at Ms ni f i. fie) BIBLE STUDY sy DOCTRINES A New Method for Adult Bible and Teacher Training Classes By HENRY T. SELL, D.D. Each, Paper, Net, 50 cts. - Cloth, Net, 75 cts. Fourteen Books of Bible Studies 350,000 Copies Sold Studies of the Parables, Studies of Great Bible Cities. Studies of Famous Bible Women. Studies of Great Bible Characters. Studies in the Four Gospels. Bible Studies in Vital Questions. Studies in Early Church History. Studies in the Life of the Christian. Bible Studies in the Life of Paul. Bible Studies in the Life of Christ. Bible Studies by Doctrines. Bible Studies by Periods. Bible Studies by Books. Introductory Bible Studies. DR. SELL’S ‘‘ FIVE-MINUTE’’ SERIES Each, cloth, $1.25 Sermons in Stories. For Young Folks. Sermons in Objects. For Young Folks. Sermons in Action. For Young Folks. BIBLE STUDY py DOCTRINES TWENTY-FOUR STUDIES OF GREAT DOCTRINES EL UGIOAL BY ty REV MRENRY) To SELEY Dib: author of *‘ Supplemental Bible Studies,” “* Bible Study by Books,” “Bible Study by Periods,’ ‘Bible Studies in the Life of Christ,” “* Bible Studies in the Life of Paul,” and “* Studies in the Life of the Christian.” FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY NEW YORK : CHICAGO TORONTO Publishers of Evangelical Literature Ne ie ant y ‘ - Pi Wenps di Copyrighted, 1897, 1926, by Freune H. Revert Con ' : a 5 : } ey ’ 4 ‘ ' tir f * ‘ ‘ " A 7 é ‘ ‘ 4 - ~ FOREWORD—REVISED EDITION The interest, in the study of religion, is increasing. We see evidence of this in many quarters. All Christians ought to be able to give good and intelligent reasons for the faith that is in them; to know why they believe and upon what grounds. This book, ‘‘Bible Study by Doctrines,’’ which has passed through many editions and the demand is for more, gives brief summaries of the leading Christian beliefs. The attempt is made to show upon how many things the various bodies of Christians are united rather than to point out the differences. The standard of authority used is the Bible and the final appeal is to its pages. There are twenty-four studies. The topics, when presented rightly, to the class, will be found of great and absorbing interest. Reli- gious discussion is always lively because it comes so close home to us. There are five leading religious questions which are ever with us and which demand answers. They are asked by all men, everywhere. The twenty-four chapters of this book are expansions of them. We have, here, fruitful ground for the sowing of the seed in this volume. The five universal questions are: First: What was in the beginning? Is the world self-originated? iil iv FOREWORD—REVISED EDITION What relation has the universe to God? Is there a self-conscious personal God, who created all things? How is He manifested? Second: How did man come to be? How is he a product of God’s handiwork? What relation does God hold to him? What is the image of God in man? Third: How did sin come into this world? What does sin do toman? Fourth: How is man saved, or redeemed, from sin? What is the important and great work of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, in this connection? F2fth: Is man personally immortal? Can he survive the death of his earthly body ? The Bible gives straight and right answers to these questions. Hence the benefit to be derived, from ‘‘ Bible Study by Doctrines,’’ is that it sends the student to the Scriptures for the things he most needs to know. Bible Study by Doctrines is one book, out of The Twelve Bible Study Books, by the author. Each volume presents a complete and different course of Bible study with questions upon every lesson. These books are used extensively in Teacher Training and Adult Bible Classes, The Mid-Week Church Meeting, Young Peoples’ Societies, Y. M. C. A. and Y. W. C. A. Classes, Schools, Colleges and Private Study. Hi. ee New York, N. Y. ee ee ae eS a eek ea al eee CONTENTS. MPEEMDL VINE EGAN Miao ie) ve hire THE Brine or Gop THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD THe TRINITY THE Deity oF CHRIST PO AEVODN SOPERETE Pay hes tenes oh vekg ta eal ite REA LLON DESL ah eee tap Bota na) iia Aire ee PROVIDENCE ORIGIN AND NATURE OF MAN THE Law or Gop SIN AND ITS CONSEQUENCES . TuE CovENANTS THE THREEFOLD OFFICE OF CHRIST . THE MIRACLES OF CHRIST THe HUMILIATION AND EXALTATION OF SUEBINTE CA an ary oc Geng od cies CONTENTS FartH REGENERATION JUSTIFICATION .. . SANCTIFICATION . . THE SCRIPTURES .. PRAYER ees Tue Harty CHuRcH THE FUTURE STATE OF THE KINGDOM oF GoD THE SOUL 100 106 110 115 120 128 133 139 146 I. THE DIVINE PLAN. THE MAIN POINTS IN A PLAN. There are two; an end to be accomplished and’ the appropriate means to be used in the accomplish- ment of that end. An architect in planning a great building not only takes into consideration the purpose for which it is to be used but also the materials and metho‘ls of con- struction; he uses wise economy in the adaptation of means to anend. God as the great architect of the universe certainly has a plan in the making of the the world and man. The Scriptures everywhere re- present Him as having an end in view in all that He does: He is the Creator and Ruler of all. There is nothing too great, nothing too minute to be included in His government. (See Lesson VII on Creation.) GOD’S PLAN IN THE NATURAL WORLD. The heavens declare the glory of God and the fir- mament showeth His handiwork (Ps. 19: 1.) There is here no disorder and no confusion; yet to an ignorant man who looks up at the heavens upon a clear night and sees them thickly studded with stars in infinite profusion, there seems to be no systematic arrangement. 10 BIBLE STUDY BY DOCTRINES The study of nature shows a reign of law. There is not a leaf placed upon a giant tree or the tiniest plant but after a certain order; the student of these things can tell us beforehand, evenif he only sees the seed, how it will grow. The animal creation has been developed after a certain plan, there are a few great types and forms from which it does not vary; give a man skilled in these matters, but a single bone, and he will he will reconstruct the skeleton. The chemist is perfectly sure that acids and alkalies will act in the same way every time under the same conditions. All the “facts of nature stand in a certain relation to each other and will admit of no other.” No longer does the real seeker after truth in the natural world attempt to force nature into his preconceived ideas but he asks what are the facts and tries to discover the plan which these facts indicate. The astronomer seeks his facts in the heavens. The geologist in the rocks; the zoologist in animal life; the botanist in plant life. They study God’s thoughts after Him. God’s creation and control of the natural world is made a ground of confidence in Him. Christ spoke of the fowls of the air, the lilies of the field as under God’s care Matt. 6:26; 10:29; and if He cares for them how much more He thinks of us. But the light of nature is insufficient to show us God as we need to see and know Him. In the Bible, the material world and its phenomena are made secondary objects of interest to man’s spiritual state and needs and a supernatural reve- THE DIVINE PLAN 11 lation from God. This earth is the place where the great problem of redemption is worked out. GOD’S PLAN IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD. As God has a plan in the natural world so has He one in the spiritual world; a scheme of redemption; it is of great importance that it should be known and rightly apprehended. What is the relation of God to man and man to God? How does He look upon sin? What is the standard of righteousness? How can man be at peace with God? These and many ques- tions like them press for answers; they are not matters of idle thought but of grave consequence for what we determine about them makes our theology and “ our theology makes our religion,” and our religion rules our lives and conduct. What is the divine plan in the spiritual world and how can it be known? Men introduce confusion into this plan by setting up their own opinion as to its nature and workings instead of seeking the facts in the right quarter; it is as if an astronomer should seek to evolve a system of astronomy from his inner consciousness instead of from a study of the heavenly bodies. It is only through a supernatural revelation that we can know that God cares for man and that any sinner can be saved. As God has acted in the natural world so He acts in the spiritual world. The Bible is the history of the acts of God which reveal Him and redeem man. Christian doctrine is arrived at when we study and describe these acts. In this 12 BIBLE STUDY BY DOCTRINES spiritual world so many facts are beyond the reach of human experience and reason, that man can be sure of freedom from error only through a direct revela- tion from God, and thatis given to us in the Scrip- tures. Jf we would know the plan of salvation we must study this Word of God. It stands in the same relation to the seeker after spiritual truth as the strata of the earth do to the geologist. In the Bible are contained the truths which man is to arrange and classify. 1. Formally stated there have been three methods or attempts to find God’s plan and formulate it. (a) “The Speculative Method; this assumes certain principles and undertakes to determine from them what is and what must be.” He who follows this way exclusively will try to force Bible facts to con- form to his reason or preconceived notions. Here is a source of much trouble. (b) “The Mystical Method; mysticism is a matter of feeling.” He who adopts this method will try to make the Scrip- tures testify to what he feels to be true; feeling is placed before fact or truth. (c) “The Inductive Method”; this is the way in which the true scientist seeks for truth in the physical world; “principles are derived from facts and not impressed upon them; speculations unless sustained by facts are worthless,” It is unscientific for the theologian to assume a theory as to the nature of virtue, of sin, of liberty, of moral obligation, and then explain the facts of Scripture in accordance with his theories. His only proper course is to derive his theory of virtue, of sin, of liberty, of THE DIVINE PLAN 13 obligation, from the facts of the Bible.” Reason and feeling have their proper place but they need to be subordinate to facts. 2. Christ appealed to the Scriptures. Jno. 5: 45-47. Peter in his speech on the day of Pentecost confined himself to the revealed Word; so did Ste- phen in his address, Acts 7:2-56. Paul in all his epistles is simply dealing with the facts of Redemp- tion and applying them to the different conditions of life with which he came in contact. GOD‘S PLAN IN HIS WORD. In the Bible we find a mass of facts concerning the acts and words of God, the spiritual history, nature and life of man, and the relations between God and man. We have to collect, compare and classify these truths according to their inner connection to evolve as far as possible a complete and systematic review of the Christian religion. These facts and truths have been grouped by theo- logians under five heads: 1. Theology or facts and truths about God. The Being of God. The Attributes of God. The Trinity. The Divinity of Christ. The Holy Spirit. Creation, Providence, ete. 2. Anthropology or facts and truths about man. Origin and Nature of Man. Man’s Relation to the Law of God. Covenants. The Fall. Sin and its Consequences, etc. 3. Christology or facts and truths about Christ. 14 BIBLE STUDY BY DOCTRINES The Person of Christ. His Work and Office. His Humiliation and Exaltation, etc. 4, Soteriology or facts and truths about Salvation. Nature and Conditions of Salvation. (All that Christ does may also come in here, so that Christol- ogy is by some included in Soteriology.) The agen- cy of the Holy Spirit, Faith, Regeneration, Justifica- tion, Sanctification. The Means of Grace. The Scriptures, Prayer, The Sacraments, ete. 5. Eschatology or facts and truths about the Last Things, or the great events in which the kingdom of God reaches its consummation. To these subjects may also be added that of Eccle- siology, or facts and truths about the Church. In giving the Divine Religion to man, God in His revealed Word has omitted no essential thing. The subjects treated are of the greatest importance, and the most profound which can engage the atten. tion of man; they show God’s relation to the world, to man, to sin, and His desire to save all that will come unto Him. Certain points stand out very clearly. (a) God is supreme over nature and man; in Hischaracter He is perfectly holy, just, good and wise. (b) Emphasis is placed upon the Redemption of Man. The Bible devotes very brief space, a single chapter to the cre- ation of the universe, while all the rest is given to the plan of salvation. From the time man sinned in Eden God has been calling man to repentance and faith. Jno. 3:16. THE DIVINE PLAN 15 THE PURPOSE OF GOD’S PLAN. Is it the most happiness for the individual or the glory of God? What is the end sought? We are told to fear God and keep His commandments for this is the whole duty of man. Ecc. 12:13. Deut. 6:2. ‘Seek ye first the kingdom of God.” Matt. 6: 19-34. Everywhere the stress is placed upon loving and serving God first. Evidently the Bible sets before us that the end or purpose sought is the glory of God; to seek this is to set before us the highest good, justice, purity and holiness in this world or universe. The chief end to be accomplished in building a great ocean steamer is not beauty, that is incidental, but strength and adequate power for her work. The cause of much misery in this world is that men are selfishly placing before themselves their own happiness and pleasure as the goal towards which they are to bend all their energies, no matter who suffers; the great work of the world has never been done by men with such a purpose in life. Christ came not todo His own will but the will of the Father who sent Him and to glorify Him in the salvation of men. The great end is attained in the life of every man when he becomes like Christ—for- gets himself and seeks to glorify God in all that he thinks and does. But it must not be forgotten that the happiness of man and the glory of God are iden- tical. In seeking the glory of God man is seeking his highest happiness. Im sending Jesus Christ to 16 BIBLE STUDY BY DOCTRINES redeem man God shows His great desire for man’s welfare and happiness. John 3: 14-17. QUESTIONS. * What are the two chief points in every plan? What can be said of God’s plan in the natural world? What can be said of God’s plan in the spiritual world; how can this plan be known? What are the three methods by which men have attempted to find God’s plan? Did Christ appeal to the Scriptures? What can be said of God’s plan in His word? Name the five divi- sions. What is the purpose or end in God’s plan? II. THE BEING OF GOD. DEFINITION, “By Being is here meant what has real substantive existence.” Itis opposed to the thought of inexor- able fate, immutable law or blind force. God is aper- son. Ex. 3: 14. “God is a spirit infinite, eternal, and unchangeable «wi His being, wisdom and power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth.” This isthe Christian sense in which the word “God” is used. Jno. 4: 24. UNIVERSALITY OF A BELIEF IN GOD, 1. Thereis no formal demonstration in the Bible of the Being of God; it is everywhere taken for granted. The inspired writers assume that men have some knowledge of God and so address them. It is true that it is sometimes asserted that men do not know God but in that case the meaning is that they have lost through sin the knowledge of His true na- cure and will. Rom. 1:19-21-81. Eph. 4:18. Gal. 4:8. 1 Cor. 15: 34. 2. Itis an intuction of our nature. There is a morallaw written on the heart, this law implies a lawgiver; one upon whom man is dependent. Paul 17 18 BIBLE STUDY BY DOCTRINES speaks of this law which is written on the heart (Rom, 2: 14-15) and declares that where there is no revelation men shall be judged by this law. There is no satisfactory way to account for this universal belief in the existence of God except that such a be- lief is founded in the very constitution of man. 3, History confirms it. All nations and tribes have some form of religion or some belief, however vague, in the supernatural. Further, those peoples which have had the loftiest idea of God have had the noblest history. ARGUMENTS FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD. I. THE ONTOLOGICAL. “Tt is designed to show that the real objective ex- istence of God is involved in the very idea of such a Being.” Des Cartes put the argument in about this form: “We have the idea of an infinite perfect Being. As we are finite that idea could not have originated with us. As we are conversant only with the finite it could not have originated from anything around us. It must therefore have come from God whose existence is thus a necessary assumption.” Il, THE COSMOLOGIOAL. This argument has been stated as follows: “ Every effect must have an adequate cause. The world is an effect, therefore the world must have had a cause THE BEING OF GOD 19 outside of itself and adequate to account for its ex- istence.” The mind of man demands a sufficient cause for all things. This demand can only be satisfied by a self- existent being who is able to produce the universe and its phenomena. Gen. 1: 1-31. III. THE TELEOLOGICAL. It isthe argument from “ Design.” Design sup- poses a designer. The world everywhere exhibits marks of design. Therefore the world owes its exis- tence to an intelligent author. The machine, the book, the great building must have been in the minds of the men who brought them into the state of use- fulness, strength and beauty before they were con- structed; much more the world with its manifold eyvi- dences of intelligent design must have been in the mind of the great Creator before it came into exist- ence. Jno, 1:3. The tendency of the best thinkers at present is to point out the almost irresistible argument for design which it presented in the history of nature as a whole. KNOWLEDGE OF GOD. How can we know that God enters into relations with us? Howcan weknow Him? We cannot form a mental image of Him for He is infininite and we are finite. We can however have aright conception which is not an image. ‘We can think that God 20 BIBLE STUDY BY DOCTRINES is infinite and eternal” (See definition of God at the beginning of this lesson.) 1. The Bible shows that God can be known. Ps. 76:1. Is.11:9. Rom. 1:19, 20, 21,28. Our Lord teaches that eternal life consists in the knowledge of God and Jesus Christ whom He hath sent. Jno. 14: 6-11. 2. Man's moral nature demands it. All men have a conviction that they are accountable to a Superior Being who knows their thoughts and acts and will re- ward and punish accordingly. Matt. 25: 31-46. 3. The object of revelation is to make the per- sonal knowledge of God possible for every man in Jesus Christ. QUESTIONS. What is meant by the Being of God? Give a definition of God. What can be said of the universality of a belief in God? What is the standpoint ofthe Scriptures on the subject? Is it an intuition of our nature? Does history confirm it? Give the three well-known arguments for a belief in the existence of God? How can we know God? Ii, THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD. DEFINITION. The Divine Attributes are perfections which belong to the eternal nature of God; they are es sential to our idea of a Divine Being. In representing the Attributes there are two ex- tremes to be avoided: first, the tendency to make God a composite being composed of various elements and second, to so confound them that they all mean the same thing. Theologians hold that the At tributes differ not simply in our thought of Him, nor that they are only different modes in which God reveals Himself to us, but that they represent es- sential elements in His very natureor being. The Divine Substance itself is infinite, eternal and un- changeable. CLASSIFICATION. There are quite a number of classifications, one of the best known is as follows: “God is a self- existent and necessary Being. It is affirmed of Him I. That He is a Spirit. IJ. That as such He is in- finite, eternal and immutable. III. That He is in- finite, eternal and immutable. (a) InHis Being. (b) In all that belongs te His intelligence, namely 21 22 BIBLE STUDY BY DOCTRINES in His knowledge and wisdom. (c) Im all that be- longs to His will, namely His power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth. THE SPIRITUALITY OF GOD. “God is a Spirit.” Jno. 4: 24. None of the attributes of matter can be said to belong to Him. As a Spirit, God isa person. He is self-conscious, intelligent and voluntary in all His actions. He is not only an intelligent but a moral Being Heisa simple and not a compound Being. Man is subject to change and can gain or lose knowledge, power and holiness, God is not subject to change in His at- tributes and substance. He is immutable. The Bible everywhere represents God as a personal and spiritual Being. He spoke to Adam, Noah, Moses, and others. He says, “I am” “that is my name.” “Jam the Lord your God.” He represents Himself as merciful and gracious. He bids men pray to Him. He gives the well-known form; “Our Father which art in heaven.” He reveals Himself as a spirit with whom our spirits can hold intercourse and as one whom we can know in this way. INFINITY. “God is infinite in being because no limit can be assigned to His perfections and because He is present everywhere.” As one has stated it: “A being is said to be present wherever it perceives and acts. As God perceives and acts everywhere, He is said to be everywhere present.” THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD 23 1. The Infinity of God in relation to space is two- fold. His Immensity and Omnipresence. By God’s Immensity is meant that He is not bounded by the limitations of space. He is present everywhere and acts everywhere. By God’s Omnipresence is meant that He is equally present with all His creatures at all times and in all places. Eph.1: 238. Jer. 23: 24, Ps. 139: 7-12. Acts 17: 28. 2. The Infinity of God in relation to time. He dwells in the eternal now. As He is no more in one portion of space than in another so “ He does not exist in one period of duration more than another.” “ He is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever.” Heb. 13: 8. Ps. 90:2; 102: 25-27. Is. 57: 15; 44:6. 2 Pet.3:8. Rev. 1: 4. IMMUTABILITY. By this is meant that God is unchangeable in His substance and attributes. There can be no change in His power, holiness or wisdom. “ He is the Father of lights with whom there is no variableness neither shadow of turning.” Jas.1:17. Num. 23:19. Mal. Biber s oust, Prov. 19: 21., Is. 14: 24: 46: 9-10. Care must be taken not to confound Immuta- bility with Immobility. God is unchangeable but He is not inactive. He is on the contrary intensely and perpetually active. KNOWLEDGE. God has knowledge of all things and it is intuitive and immutable. ‘All things are naked and opened 24 BIBLE STUDY BY DOCTRINES unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” Heb.. 4:13... Ps... 189: 12>. Psi 94:9) Par 139ed-2, “The eyes of the Lord are in every place be- holding the evil and the good.” Proy. 15: 3. Ez. 11:5. Acts 15:18. Prov.15:11. God’s just judg- ments are founded upon His perfect knowledge. We pray to Him in faith because we believe that He knows what we say and understands our wants. WILL. This is the power of self-determination. It is a necessary attribute of God as a spirit and voluntary agent. fiverywhere in the Scriptures God is rep- resented as commanding, counseling, purposing, and decreeing. God does what He does by the self- determining power of His will. He is free to do or not to do. He is not acting from the necessity of His nature. Christians believe that the will of God is the final ground of moral obligation because that will is the expression of God’s nature and in it is re- vealed the demand of the infinite wisdom and good- ness. POWER. The Bible represents God as able to do every- thing He wills. Man must use means to accomplish his purposes, but with God means are not neces- sary. He wills and itisdone. Hesaid “ Let there be light and there was light.” Gen. 1: 3. This is the highest idea of power. Christ healed the sick at a word, Luke 13: 11-12. . Ps. 185: 6; .Tibses) THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD 25 Matt. 19:26. Gen. 17:1. Jer. 32: 17. God is not only Creator and Preserver but Sovereign of the world and all creation. “Thine is the Kingdom O Lord and Thou art exalted as head above all.” 1 Chr. 29:11. Is. 45:9. Matt. 20:15. This Sov. ereignty is absolute and immutable; “exercised in establishing all laws, physical and moral and in determining the nature and powers of the different orders of created beings.” HOLINESS. The root of this word Holiness is freedom from all impurity. God is represented in the Scriptures as the only being absolutely free from moral imperfec- tions. “ There is none Holy as the Lord.” 1 Sam. 2: 2. The Bible represents the Holiness of God as an object of worship rather than His knowledge or mowerenoev. to: 4,0 Ps, 99:93 1119. Hab, Te 13; JUSTICE. When we regard God in His dealings with His rational creatures we conceive of Him as perfectly just. Heis a righteous ruler; all His laws are holy, just and good. Ps. 97: 2; 7: 11. Gen. 18: 25. Job 8:3. Matt. 25:31-46. But all men have vio- lated God’s laws and deserve punishment. How can anyone stand before the perfect justice of God? The argument in the Epistle to the Romans is to this ef- fect that all men are sinners, that God is just, the guilty cannot satisfy justice; hence in order to be 26 BIBLE STUDY BY DOCTRINES reconciled to God the sinner must trust not in hig own righteousness but in Christ the righteous by whom God justifies and saves. GOODNESS. In the attribute of goodness is included God’s love to men, His mercy, benevolence and grace. This goodness is everywhere displayed. In nature there are no devices for the promotion of pain for its own sake. In Christ we have God’s love for sinful men most wonderfully set forth. Eph. 2:7. 1 Jno. 4; 7-11. The work of redemption through Christ is in order that sin, the cause of so much misery, might be destroyed. The exaltation of God in all things, and not the lifting up on high of man, is the end to be sought for; in this exaltation alone can the supreme goodness be manifested. For the glory of God is the highest happiness of man, TRUTH. The truth is that which can be relied upu». We believe God to be true because He is really that which He has announced Himself to be. He is faithful and immutable, we can rely upon His Word. His Word can never fail though heaven and earth pass away. “The truth of God is therefore the founda- tion of all religion.” We learn to place implicit confi- dence in God’s laws revealed in nature ; season follows season in regular order and effect comes after cause, we may also rely with perfect trust in God's Word re- vealed to us in the Scriptures. THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD 27 QUESTIONS. Give a definition of the attributes, what extremes are to be avoided? How may the attributes be classified? What is meant by the Spirituality of God? fhe Infinity? Immutability? Knowledge? Will? Power? Holiness? Justice? Goodness? Truth? IV, THE TRINITY INTRODUCTORY. There are three forms or aspects under which this doctrine has been treated. (a) The Biblical or what the Scriptures have to tell us. (b) The Church or the expressions of councils and ecclesiastical bodies, and (c) The Philosophical or the efforts which have been made to explain it on philosophical prin- ciples. THE BIBLICAL FORM. We have space only to consider this the most essen- tial form of the doctrine of the Trinity. This is not a speculative or abstract thought given to us as some- thing upon which to exercise our ingenuity but a practical doctrine revealed for the purpose of a more full knowledge of the Divine Being and the means of our salvation. We believe in a Divine Creator, a Divine Redeemer, and a Divine Sanctifier. They and their acts are bound up with our deepest religious convictions. THE SCRIPTURES TEACH THE UNITY OF GOD. The Bible asserts: There is one God (Deut. 6: 4) and besides Him there is no god. Is.42:8; 44:6. It 2 THE TRINITY 29 epposes the thought of many gods. “Thou shalt have no other gods before me,” (Ex. 20: 3) andthe idea of no god. “The fool hath said in his heart there is no God.” Ps. 53: 1. Yet we find that while the unity of the Divine Being is maintained, the name of God in the Book of Genesis at the very beginning of the Revelation is in the plural form and the personal pronouns are in the first person plural, ‘“ Let us make man in our image, after owr likeness.” Gen. 1:26. In the Old Testament a distinction is made between Jehovah and the angel of Jehovah; yet to each is given divine worship. The angel of Jehovah (Ex. 3: 2-5, Jos. 5: 13-15) is believed to be the Divine Son of God. The Spirit of God (The Holy Spirit) in Genesis (1: 2) is described as moving upon the face of the waters. Among the last words of Jesus was the com- mand to baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost. Matt. 28:19. As revelation ad- vances this doctrine of the Trinity becomes clearer. The work of the Father, the work of the Son, and the work of the Holy Spirit is more and more plain and distinct; See Jno. 14th chapter; yet the unity of the Godhead is everywhere upheld. DIVINE TITLES ARE GIVEN TO THE FATHER, SON, AND HOLY SPIRIT. Divine worship is rendered to each. Many pas- sages might be quoted to show that severally they are the objects of love and adoration. The Father is di- 30 BIBLE STUDY BY DOCTRINES vine. Gen. 17: 1. Ex.6:1-3. The Son is divine. Jno. 1: 1-4. Col.1:16. Rom.9:5. And the Holy Spirit is divine. Heb.9: 14. Ps. 189: 7-12. Jno, 14: 26; 15:26; 16: 7-15. Acts 2: 4. ACTS OF DIVINE POWER ARE ASCRIBED TO THE FATHER, SON, AND HOLY SPIRIT. They are declared in the Scriptures to possess the same substance and to have the same attributes, to be equal in power and glory. (See lessons upon The Attributes of God, The Deity of Christ, The Holy Spirit and the proof texts in connection with these lessons.) ‘To each is ascribed the act of the creation of the world. Gen. 1:1-2. Ps. 33:6. Col. 1: 13-17. PERSONALITY. The distinct personality of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is revealed. The Father say “I” the Son says “I” the Holy Spirit says “I.” This is made so plain that no proof texts need be quoted. The persons in the Godhead are not different rela- tions or modes of operations but persons. God the Father is specially prominent in the Old Testament. He promises through the prophets to send Christ as Messiah. The Son is specially prominent in the four Gospels. He does His wonderful work on earth for the redemption of man and departing promises to send the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is specially prominent in the Acts. He is referred to about fifty times. The disciples by the command of Christ wait THE TRINITY 31 for His appearing at Jerusalem. When He came, then came the Pentecost, and the grand work has been going on ever since that time. ORDER OF PRECEDENCE. While the Divine Being subsists in three persons and there is an equality in power and glory yet it is no less plain that the Father is first, the Son second and the Holy Spirit third. “There are certain acts and conditions predicated of one person of the Trinity that are never predicated of the others. Thus genera- tion belongs exclusively to the Father, filiation to the Son and procession to the Spirit.” Further: There are certain acts which are predominately referred to the Father, others to the Son, others to the Spirit. The Father creates, elects and calls; the Son redeems; and the Spirit sanctifies. Nore—For proof tex ts on the doctrine of the Trinity see Sub- ject Index in Teacher’s Bible under the titles of God the Fa‘her, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. QUESTIONS. What are the three forms under wkich the doctrine of the Trinity has been treated? What can be said specially of the Biblical form? What do the Scriptures teach about the unity of God? The divine titles givento the Father, Son and Holy Spirit? The Acts of Divine Powers? The Personality and the Order of Precedence in the Persons of the Trinity? Vi: THE DEITY OF CHRIST. The evidences for the Deity of Christ are so many that only a few, and those most commonly set forth, can be considered in the space allotted to this lesson. “The orthodox doctrine on this subject is that from eternity Jesus Christ has existed as the co-equal of and the Son of the Father, constituted of the same infinite self-existent essence with the Father and the Holy Ghost.” THE EVIDENCE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. The writings of the Old Testament are divided into Poetic, Prophetic, Didactic and Historical; in each we find the evidence clear, strong and _ positive. Christ Himself said (Luke 24: 25-27, 44) “All things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses and in the prophets and in the Psalms concerning me.” 1. The Historical books prepare for and point towards Him. The rites and ceremonies of the Levitical economy are comparatively meaningless until Christ is set in the midst of them. 2. 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