GOD'S PURPOSE IN NATURE.
By Floyd Bralliar
Man was God's crowning work in creation. In fact, the ultimate object of it all was that a high order of beings might live and reflect His glory. He created man in His image, that in man's life and government might be shown the principles of the government of heaven, so that all the universe might clearly see that God's government is just, and that Lucifer's charges were false. Being in the image of God, it was possible for man to develop all his faculties like those of his Creator, for his character was yet to be formed. This could only be done by knowing God; for “this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ [God in humanity], whom thou hast sent.” Now it is well known that you cannot teach one who was born blind, of color. One who is born deaf can comprehend nothing of sound. Even so “no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him.” Then, as now, the Son was the revealer; but it was not necessary for Him to become a man in order to reveal God to unfallen men. Yet He could not do this by word of mouth alone, as is clearly shown in the dealings with the angels at the time of the rebellion of Lucifer. Then, as now, man could only grasp new ideas through his senses, and reason from the seen to the unseen. “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” “Let the Lord be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.” “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handiwork.” “And he said, I beseech thee, show me thy glory. And He said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee.” “For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead.” I have brought these texts together because they show how Christ could reveal God to man. As we said before, it was the plan of God that man might know Him, in order to be like Him. Everything that was created on earth was for this purpose, though doubtless this was not the sole object of creation. Before anything existed in form, it existed in the mind of God. When He called for a tree, it was not the conjuring power in a particular sound that made it: it was the idea behind the word. So all things were mental products before they ever had any material existence. But a mind can only originate thoughts that are expressions of its own nature. So every thought of God that took material form is an expression of His nature. All objects are not expressions of the same side of His nature; but taken all together, when the creation was finished, they revealed Him as He was. By the angels, through the ministry of the Spirit, and by the personal visits of God himself, man was to be taught and instructed as the secrets of nature unfolded themselves to him. The earth was one great class room, and the illustrations were already drawn when man was placed upon it. The illustration was not the reality any more than the picture the human teacher places on the blackboard is the lesson he wishes it to illustrate. One who knew nothing of geometry might enter a class room decorated with all the figures necessary for the day's lesson, and draw an entirely wrong conclusion as to their purpose. Were he a machinist, he might conclude that they were plans for some machine; while an artist might see in them the perspective for a picture. Only one who understood geometry would see their real significance. So in the world; men who are infidels misinterpret the figures and see evolution; the purely business man sees only so much lumber or so much stone; but the child of God, who is really led by the Spirit of God, alone sees the real thing behind the object of which it is only a figure. But to do this we must be led by the Spirit of God, for “spiritual things are spiritually discerned.” We can no more go to worldly men to be taught nature, than we can go to such men to be taught the Bible. They may teach us some of the forms, just as an atheist might teach us the letters and words of which the Bible is made up, but they can never teach us the real thing. They may watch the flower grow, see where it bears its seeds, measure its size, taste it, note its color, make a picture of it, just as a child might make an exact copy of the geometric figure on the blackboard, and yet know nothing of the thing itself. The real thing is too deep for them. We need to have our eyes anointed with eye-salve that we may see; for surely those who expect to live to meet Him must know Him as He is here.