BY becoming a sinner man lost access to the tree of life, and so was prevented from living forever in sin—an alien from God. It is evident that the original life force given to the first pair was not intended to supply continued animation; otherwise, access to the tree of life would not have been necessary for the continuation of life. It follows, therefore, that when man was denied access to the tree of life, his power to live forever was entirely cut off, unless he could in some way regain the approach to that spring of life from which he had been excluded by sin. Gen. 3:22-24.
To remain in sin was to be barred from the tree of life and finally to perish. But God so loved the race, degraded tho it was, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever would believe in Him "should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16. The plan was to restore, through Christ, that which would have been received from the tree of life had man not forfeited his access to it. Christ was therefore the "living Bread," or the "Bread of life," sent down from heaven, to restore life to as many as would receive Him. John 6:33-35, 50, 51. From Christ's life man may receive an abundance of life, which can come from no other source. John 10:10.
Having been created in the image of God, man's moral powers were of course made perfect. His ability to continue in being, with the faculty of enjoying the delights of holy companionship, were dependent on that divine life from God by which he first came into conscious existence. Gen. 2:7. But when, through sin, that life was forfeited, every faculty which depended on it for sustenance, fell under decay. When the life actually departed, the senses became dormant, because they were left without motive power. In order, therefore, for man to permanently regain the use of these, he must become possessed again of that very life which alone can restore the image of God in him; otherwise he perishes.
Had Adam and his posterity retained the privilege of eating from life's tree, and carried out the injunction to "multiply, and replenish the earth" (Gen. 1:28), the birth by an earthly parent would have sufficed by which to live forever, because of the continual supply of life afforded by the tree of life. But when the race was cut off from that, which was the only source of life, it follows that, if no remedy were provided, man could hope for no extension of life. The effect of the first birth into life having been lost through sin, man must be born again, or re-created unto eternal life, because God can not attach to the corrupt old man His own power of existence, as that would be to associate it with sin, the very cause of its withdrawal from the race after He had bestowed it upon our first parents.
The gift of God in Christ, in order to relieve man's unfortunate plight, must, therefore, be the gift of eternal life. Rom. 6:23. In other words, it must be the restoration of man to the privileges of the tree of life, that he may eat and live forever. "In Him was life; and the life was the light of men." John 1:4. As the second Adam (1 Cor. 15:45), Christ appeared to restore that right which the first Adam lost to the race. Thus He was to be the medium through whom this right might be reclaimed.
In referring to the long-cherished promise of the Son of God to be the Saviour of the world, the prophet calls Him "Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isa. 9:6. As the everlasting Father, He begets men unto a life that is more "abundant" than that received from the natural father,—even everlasting life. This was the point Jesus sought to impress on the mind of Nicodemus, when He said, "Except a man be born again, he can not see the kingdom of God." John 3:3. The ritualistic services of the Jewish Church, of which Nicodemus was a ruler, did not comprehend this thought. It knew nothing of that transformation by the life of Christ which restores the sinner to the relation of a son of God (John 1:11), and so the words of the Saviour were a deep mystery to the worldly ruler.
To be in sin is to be under condemnation to death, and so to be counted already dead, in the economy of God. Eph. 2:1. But through faith in Christ, who is our life, such may be quickened, or made to live with Christ. Verse 5. This life is forced upon no one against his will. If any do not desire to regain the life lost through Adam (Rom. 5:12), their choice will be respected, according as is indicated by the course pursued during natural life. But whoever accepts this new birth from Christ, the everlasting Father, receives as a personal gift that which the race lost by Adam's forfeiture,—everlasting life.
To reject Christ is to reject the life He brings to a destitute world, for the reason that there is no source of continued life beyond this state of being, outside of the gift of Christ. "This is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." 1 John 5:11, 12. How plain this statement, and how important one's choice in view of it! How comforting it is also to those who give up all for Christ, as the apostle says: "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know [be assured] that ye have eternal life." Verse 13.
Without the new life from above to create anew the lost power of man's mind, he can not possibly comprehend God, and so of course can not live forever; for God is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:29), which will devour everything not in His own image (Deut. 5:25, 26; 1 John 3:2). So, in order to become a new creature, one capable of appreciating the works of God, with power to continue forever in His righteousness, one must be in Christ, that is, born in Him, and live in Him continually. 2 Cor. 5:17-21. To know God and Christ is eternal life (John 17:3), but the mind must be renewed in order to prove what is acceptable to God (Rom. 12:2).
It being true that the mind depends on being renewed through the new birth, for the highest use of its powers, it is quite evident that without the everlasting life imparted by the new birth, the conscious use of the mind can not continue forever. It also follows that when the natural life ceases, by which the mind is now operated, the mind's consciousness must also be suspended with it, until the loss of motive power has been regained. The further discussion of this point must wait for another paper.
J. O. CORLISS.
[The next article in this series is "Man's Condition in Death."]