Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Mar 20, 1893
Editorial.
By Editor
"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable."—2 Tim. 3:16.
"WHATSOEVER things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."
THE Holy Scriptures represent God as possessing infinite power, infinite wisdom, and infinite love. His power is a guarantee that he is able to keep us, his wisdom that he knows how to keep us, and his love that he will keep us. With such a guarantee of keeping power, surely we need not fear nor be afraid.
MEN do not make truth; they only discover it. Some phase of truth before undiscovered may be termed new truth, but in reality it is as old as the ages. Every truth which ever has been discovered, and every truth that may be discovered in the future, have been hid in Christ from the foundation of the world. He is the beginning and the ending, the fullness of all and in all.
WHEN disposed to criticise or judge uncharitably others who may have failed in some trial of their strength, it is well, in the words of the apostle, to "consider thyself lest thou also be tempted." Many who appear the most free from failures are "only strong through lack of test." Whenever we judge others unkindly, we do so because we judge what they have done by what we think we would do under similar circumstances. We thus not only make our own righteousness the standard of judgment, but we also make ourselves the judge, thereby usurping the prerogative of God. But could we see and know our own true standing, we might find that while we regard with abhorrence our brother for some real or fancied fault, we may have that in our own lives which in God's sight is ten times more grievous than our brother's failure. Then, too, did we but know our own utter weakness, we might realize that our failure upon the point that proved our brother's weakness would be far greater than his, were he but tempted and tried under the same circumstances and conditions. "Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again."
THE "liberty of the gospel" does not license us to commit sin. Many have a mistaken idea that the liberty to be found in Christ releases one from all obligation to keep the divine law. Such, however, but poorly understand the nature, scope, and power of the redemptive plan and the relation that the law and the gospel sustain to each other. When the disciple dwells in Christ, and Christ in the disciple, the law of God will be a delight, and the observance of its righteous requirements an abounding pleasure. As Christ obeyed the law while here in the flesh, so while dwelling by his Spirit in the heart of his followers will he do the same. And if his professed people are living their Christian life "by the faith of the Son of God," it will be the natural acts of their spiritual nature to observe the law of God. David says: "I walk at liberty because I keep thy precepts."
WHAT NEXT?
By Editor
WE have before stated that there was a demand now being made by prominent men in the churches that there should be a limit placed upon free speech. A notable example of this is an article in the North American Review for January, by the "Right Rev. Leighton Coleman, S.T.D., LL.D., Bishop of Delaware." He begins by saying:—
There is a discussion styled religious that is not legitimate. It is such as calls into question the fundamental principles of religion. Any discussion which involves disrespect to them transcends its proper bounds.
The Italics are ours. By "legitimate" Dr. Leighton does not mean according to the laws of courtesy. For he then raises the query as to whether there is a "form of religion which may be called national, and which its adherents may on that account consider entitled, so far as its fundamental principles are concerned, to limitation of debate." What reply does he give to this? It is this: "Yes. From the very beginning of its colonization, this country has distinctly recognized Christianity as its religion." "The Federal Constitution, taken together with 'the laws in pursuance thereof,' may be said to be founded not only upon, but in, Christianity—the existence of which is throughout presupposed."
The result of this colonial recognition of Christianity by law was manifest in the burning of witches, hanging of Quakers, and banishment of Baptists.
Dr. Coleman then cites in proof of his proposition the appointment of chaplains in the army and navy, the quasi-papal decision of Chancellor Kent, and some of the utterances of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, while utterly ignoring the organic utterances of the First Amendment to the Constitution and the treaty with Tripoli, which positively declare to the contrary, and which we have presented many times in the past. The doctor then draws the following conclusion:—
So, then, I repeat that a discussion which would include within its limits an attack upon the fundamental principles of Christianity is, so far as that attack is concerned, distinctly illegitimate.
We recognize this dogma when applied to civil affairs. When a citizen essays to bring into disrepute the fundamental principles of that form of government under which he is living, he is accounted a traitor, and is liable to arrest and punishment. . . . Is it not much more treasonable to bring into contempt the institutions and tenets of Christianity? . . . A perpetual limit must be placed to the questioning or denial by way of discussion of such things as are essential to Christianity.
The writer names some of these essentials,—the personality of Christ, fundamental belief in him as both God and man, "the two great sacraments," "baptism and the supper of the Lord."
He thinks that "an assault" upon the divinity of Christ is beyond the pale of "legitimate discussion," and he questions whether Christians may not, "with good grace, insist upon some limitations in this respect."
Another essential to Christianity, which the bishop does not name, but which is demanded by prominent men everywhere, is the institution of Sunday. In fact, the establishment of Sunday by law is demanded with an ardor, an intensity, on the part of thousands which are shown concerning no other political or religious question. Sunday is already established as a Christian institution by law in most of our States and in the nation. How long will it be ere it will indeed be considered treason to speak against, or even to call into question, the Christianity or the scripturalness of these tenets, or so-called institutions of Christianity.
Baptism and the Lord's Supper are Christian institutions clearly taught in the word of God as gracious privileges as well as duties incumbent upon all believers in Jesus. But Sunday is not, never was, nor ever can be, a Christian institution. Against these views of Dr. Coleman and many others for whom he speaks, we wish to protest, for the following reasons:—21. Some of the very institutions which are considered essential to Christianity are not only not Christian, but antichristian. This is especially true of the Sunday institution, as before mentioned. Sunday as a Sabbath or sacred day of any kind finds no warrant in the word of God. This is simply stating what many Sunday observers themselves admit. At its very best, standing alone, it is but will worship to observe the day. But it is worse than will worship; for it presents before the people as an institution of God and the Bible that concerning which the Lord has not spoken and which the Bible does not support. Thus it makes God a liar by declaring that God calls it Christian when he does not.
Further, God has given us a Sabbath in his word. That Sabbath is the seventh day. It is not only the Sabbath of God, but it is the Sabbath of our Lord Jesus Christ. God and Christ are one. God created the world through Christ. John 1:1-3; 1 Cor. 8:6. Christ created, and Christ therefore rested. The seventh-day Sabbath is therefore the Sabbath of Christ. Mark 2:28.
But more: The power that created the worlds is the power that re-creates man in the image of God, and sanctifies him by the truth. See Col. 1:14-19; Eph. 2:10, et al. The Sabbath of the Lord is therefore not only a memorial of Christ's creative power (Ps. 111:4; Ex. 20:8-11), but is also a sign to his people of his redeeming and sanctifying power (Eze. 20:12). Therefore to set forth Sunday as a Christian Sabbath is to set it against the only Sabbath or weekly holy day for which the Scriptures of truth give any warrant.
2. To put a limitation upon religious discussion is antichristian. Granting that the institutions named are Christian, the State has no right to meddle with them. The things of Christ cannot be enforced by civil law. Only in the Spirit of Christ, by the motive of faith and love, can the institutions of Christ be observed or his commandments obeyed. No outward observance honors Christ or his law, and any professed enforcement of the institutions or laws of God is not the enforcement of God's institutions and laws, but their counterfeit. God has made no man or set of men his vicegerent to execute judgment or enforce law. Jesus himself said, "I came not to judge the world, but to save the world." John 12:47. "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." John 3:17. To Peter, who drew his sword in his Master's defense, Jesus says, "Put up thy sword." Of those who should persecute and revile his disciples and thus revile him (Matt. 25:40), Jesus says: "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." Matt. 5:44. He said unto Pilate: "My kingdom is not of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight." The work of God is to be carried forward, the laws of God are to be obeyed, the institutions of Christianity are to be observed, not by means of any human law, not by the aid of any human law, but by the power of the gospel of Christ and the spirit of love. Therefore to attempt to enforce the religion of Christ, to compel by law outward regard for its institutions, is a perversion of Christianity; in fact, it is antichristian. It may be said to those who advocate such measures as Dr. Coleman outlines, just as Jesus said to his two rash disciples, "Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of." Certainly it is not the Spirit of Christ. And this would be just as true of a government as of a man; just as true now as it was then.
3. Civil government has no right to place any limits upon religious discussion or debate any more than to limit debate upon any social or educational question. Just as soon as such a law is passed, it involves a decision as to what are the fundamentals of religion, as to what speaking disrespectfully of them is, penalties for infractions of the law, rewards for information concerning the transgressor. Man would become suspicious of his neighbor; principles would yield to expediency and policy; inquisition would be instituted against those of other religious views; hypocrisy would be developed by putting a premium upon it, and the most honest, most outspoken people would suffer most. It has always been thus; it would be no different now. There are those who believe that Jesus was both divine and human, the very Son of the eternal God; but who would not admit that in all things he was the equal of the Father? Yet these, for quoting the very words of Jesus, might, under the limitations marked out by Dr. Coleman, be the very ones brought under the law and condemned as criminals, though the most sincere worshippers of Christ. He who did not believe in the Sunday institution and called it just what it is, unscriptural, papal, and pagan, let him be the most faithful Christian, would be condemned for bringing into disrespect the fundamentals of this counterfeit Christianity.
But the enemies of Christianity have a right to speak, and no man has a right to forbid them. They may transgress God's laws, blaspheme his name, malign and ridicule Christ, and much more, God can vindicate his own cause and make the wrath of man to praise him. As long as God is merciful, it becomes us to be. When the time comes, every man "shall give account of himself [not his neighbor] to God [not his nation]." Rom. 14:12. It is doubtless well intended, but the demand made by Dr. Coleman is founded in the very principles of the mystery of iniquity.
He admits that there is no fear that Christianity will suffer; it is to do good to the men who speak against what he holds to be its fundamental principles, that he asks laws to compel respect for him and his creed. He feels deeply concerned for the welfare of those who attack "Christianity, and so, to free them from danger," he "earnestly demands that a limit should be set," or, in other words, that their mouth must be stopped by civil gag law.
And this is just what we may expect. The Supreme Court of the United States has swept away the clauses in the First Amendment to the Constitution, which guarantee freedom of the press and declare that Congress shall not establish a religion. The court establishes the Christian religion and makes Congress the censor of the press. Freedom of speech yet remains, but a restraint of that liberty, a limitation of that right, is demanded; and will not the religiously blinded court yield to this demand? May God help every patriot to see how rapidly his liberties are slipping away; and may he help every Christian to see that all is not Christianity which is so called, and thus be led to seek it as it is in Jesus.
CHRIST AND THE SABBATH.
By William N. Glenn
WE learn from Ps. 33: 6 that "by the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth." In the first chapter of John we have a corroborative thought connected with the word: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made." Verses 1-3.
In the fourteenth verse this Word is specifically identified as follows: "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth." There is no dissent from the fact that the Word here spoken of is Christ. And of Christ, the "only begotten," we are told, in Col. 1: 15, 16, that he is "the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature," and that "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 not only were all things made by him, but "by him all things consist."
Men are apt to consider Christ only in connection with his earthly mission and his mediatorial office, ignoring the fact of his active existence and partnership with the Father from the beginning. By this short-sighted view they fail to fully realize their obligation to him as the joint author of all their blessings. To fully appreciate the blessing of creation, it must be viewed in the light of an opportunity to secure an eternal life in a sinless world, under the personal reign of King Emanuel.
It is argued in favor of a first-day Sabbath that it is in honor of Christ, in honor of his resurrection, in honor of redemption. But the seventh day having been set apart and hallowed as a memorial of creation, is not Christ, the Creator, honored in its observance? Again, what is redemption? We learn from the third chapter of 2 Peter that the present earth is to be destroyed, and that according to promise there will be a new earth. The promise is in Isa. 65: 17: "Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind."
This earth is under the curse of sin. When Adam transgressed, the curse came not only upon himself and posterity, but also upon his entire dominion. "Cursed be the ground for thy sake;" "thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee," were the words pronounced. Redemption, then, includes the redemption of the earth from the curse; and this will be brought about by a destruction of the old and creation of a new earth. The prophetic promise also adds: "But be ye glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for, behold, I307create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy."
The apostle John testifies concerning his own prophetic vision: "I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven." Rev. 21: 1, 2. This new Jerusalem is the city that Abraham looked for, "which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." Heb. 11: 10. But in connection with John's vision, he further says: "And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God." Rev. 21: 3.
We see from the foregoing that the new earth, which is to be the home of the redeemed, the New Jerusalem, which will be the holy capital of the new earth, and the people of God, who are to be the inhabitants of the new earth, are all to be re-created. Redemption is simply creation over again; and the Sabbath will continue to be, as it always has been, a memorial of creation. Of Israel (which will always be the name of God's people, because they prevail with God, Gen. 32: 28) the prophecy says: "For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord." Isa. 66: 22, 23.
Christ is the Creator and Re-creator (Redeemer), and the Sabbath which he hallowed and blessed in the beginning, "because that in it he had rested from all his work," is, and always will be, the memorial of creation.
W. N. G.
GOOD WORKS.
By Ellet Joseph Waggoner
BY ELDER E. J. WAGGONER.
THE Bible holds out no promise of a reward for laziness. In God's plan no provision is made for idleness. Heaven is pictured before us as a place of activity, and heavenly beings as untiring workers. The Saviour said, "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work" (John 5:17); and again, "I must work the works of Him that sent me" (John 9:4). Of the angels we read that they are all "ministering spirits sent forth to do service for the sake of them that shall inherit salvation." Heb. 1:14, Revised Version.
This being the case, it cannot be thought that those who are to inherit salvation should be idle. The apostle Paul labored with his hands, as an example to the believers, and left on record the divine commandment, "If any will not work, neither let him eat." 2 Thess 3:10, Revised Version. But the frequent exhortation to work is with special reference to spiritual things, rather than physical. Jesus said, "Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life." John 6:27. So the apostle Paul says that the reward will be given to those who patiently continue in well doing (Rom. 2:7); and the Saviour says: "Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." Rev. 22:12.
Again we read that Christ "gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a people for his own possession, zealous of good works." Titus 2:14, Revised Version. And again the Holy Spirit, through the apostle James, puts a premium upon good works, in these words: "But he that looketh into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and so continueth, being not a hearer that forgetteth, but a doer that worketh, this man shall be blessed in his doing." James 1:25. Many other texts might be quoted to show that the Christian life is to be one of activity, and that good works are not only necessary, but are the one indispensable requisite.
Works, and works alone, in the judgment, will determine a man's condition for eternity. God "will render to every man according to his works." Rom. 2:6. The question which the judgment will settle will not be, "What has this man believed?" nor "How has he felt?" but "What are his works?" There is no place for the cavil of those who think that they are enunciating a principle of which the Bible is ignorant, when they say, "God will not damn a good man for his opinions nor for his belief." People are neither condemned nor saved because of their opinions, but because of their deeds.
"What!" exclaims one, "are you going to deny the doctrine of justification by faith?"—Not by any means. I would go so far as to claim that the doctrine of justification by faith is the one great theme of the Scriptures, and that all other things are but parts of it. But the thing to be emphasized by the above remarks and quotations is that faith works. See Gal. 5:6. No truer statement was ever made than this, that "faith is not a sedative, but a stimulant." Faith is intensely active, and the source of all spiritual activity. While it is true that only a man's works will be considered in the judgment, it is equally true that the character of his works will be determined by his faith. Where there is no faith, there can be no enduring works.
The works which are acceptable to God are "good works." But perfect goodness resides in God alone. See Mark 10:18. The righteousness which we must have is God's righteousness. Matt. 6:33. Of his own ways God says: "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isa. 55:9. Who, then, can hope to present to God the good works that will be equal to his?—None but those who, like Paul's brethren, are ignorant of God's righteousness, would be presumptuous enough to think such a thing possible. Only God can do the works of God. Therefore when the Jews said to Christ, "What shall we do that we may work the works of God?" he replied, "This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." John 6:28, 29.
The words of Paul to the Philippians, "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling," are often quoted by those who forget the words immediately following, "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." Phil. 2:12, 13. God himself does the good works which, when exhibited in the lives of men, render them pleasing to him. So the Saviour said: "But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God." John 3:21.
How, then, do they appear in men? This is the "mystery of godliness." It is the mystery of "God manifest in the flesh." "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." John 1:1, 14. This was done to demonstrate the possibility of God's dwelling in human flesh. The mystery of the works of God being manifested in the lives of men, is simply the mystery of the incarnation.4In Christ dwelleth "all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." Col. 2:9. Therefore when Christ in his completeness dwells in the heart by faith, that person will be "filled with all the fullness of God." Eph. 3:17-19.
What words could be more full of comfort, and more suggestive of the infinite possibilities of the Christian life than these in Ps. 31:19: "O how great is Thy goodness which Thou hast laid up for them that fear Thee; which Thou hast wrought for them that trust in Thee before the sons of men!" Think of it! God himself has wrought the good works with which we are to appear before his throne. And how are we to get them?—Simply by trusting him; by appropriating those good works by faith. God himself comes to dwell with those who believe his word, and he lives out his own life in them. This thought is enough to fill every soul with love and joy and confidence.
The Christian life means an actual life. But life means activity. To live a godly life, therefore, means the living of a life in which the acts of God himself are manifested. The apostle Paul said: "But by the grace of God I am what I am; and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all," and then he added, "yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." 1 Cor. 15:10. And again: "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." Gal. 2:20.
The secret of the whole matter is to acknowledge that in us dwells no good thing, and that God alone is good; that we are nothing, but that he is everything; that we are weakness, but that power belongs to God, and that God has the power to manifest himself in the flesh to-day as well as eighteen hundred years ago, if we will but let him, and to submit ourselves to the righteousness of God. Exaltation comes only through self-abasement. Christian activity comes only through passive submission to God, as the clay is passive in the hands of the potter. "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy and for thy truth's sake."
The Image to the Beast
THERE is one expression in Rev. 13: 11-17 which points out most conclusively the correctness of the application of the two-horned beast symbol to the United States; and that is this: "Saying to them that dwell on the earth that they should make an image to the beast." Verse 14. To say nothing of the representative form of government implied in the words "them" and "they," the call to "make an image" is sufficient to identify the government. Papal Rome, represented by the first beast, was a union of Church and State. To make an image would be to form such a union. Every other government in the world has such a union. The call here is to a government which has not such a union, which has neither the original nor the likeness. Therefore the call is to this government, the only one in the world, until the year of grace 1892, which did not have such an image. That image is now formed; and the rest of the prophecy will be as surely fulfilled.
Christianity and World History
By James Martineau
The thorough interweaving of the roots of Christianity with the history of the world on which it has sprung, is at once a source of its power and an assurance of its divineness.—James Martineau.
BE PATIENT, LORD.
By Ada A. Mosher
BECAUSE I cannot cry to Thee,
Lord, leave me not to my despair;
Dear Christ, stay patiently by me;
I am not strong enough for prayer.
Like some poor stricken thing I come,
Too weak to moan my hurt to thee;
Thou understandeth, Lord, the dumb;
Be not less pitiful to me.
Grief's steel has broken in my heart
The cruel barb of its keen blade:
I know thy touch is gentlest, yet
Be patient, Lord, I am afraid.
Athrill with torture, anguish blind,
In human pain all else forgot,
I stretch mine arms thine own to find;
Oh, let their firmness fail me not!
Long, long ago, thy touch most sweet
Gave blind Bartimeus back the light;
Lord, I, a beggar at thy feet,
Plead with thee for my soul's dear sight—
That seeing thy pierced heart, whence poured
Life's last red drop on Calvary's hill,
And seeing on thy forehead, Lord,
The cruel thorns that crowned to kill,
The sight may touch diviner chord,
That cries out braver than my will,
And if thou wilt, remove it, Lord,
And if thou wilt, press deeper still.
—Ada A. Mosher.
WHAT IS MAN?
By George B. Thompson
BY ELDER GEORGE B. THOMPSON.
No GREATER theme could arrest the attention of man than that of himself. As he, by the slow development of his mental and physical powers, emerged from infancy to manhood and becomes capable of reasoning, intuitively his mind reverts to himself. Queries arise at every step the profound gloom of which science cannot dispel.
In all the diversified works of the great Architect there is nothing which presents a greater problem than man. What is he? How came he here? What lies beyond? What is life? Will it ever end? In answer to these queries the temple of nature can tell us nothing, and every human oracle is dumb.
We behold on every hand the ravages of the grim, remorseless tyrant, Death. His victims are silent and cold; every faculty of their being is extinguished beneath the touch of his icy hand. As we look upon his countless victims, we ask ourselves involuntarily the question, Is this their end, or will they live again?
A solemn question indeed, and how shall we know? None have ever passed the stern portals of the tomb, explored the mysterious regions beyond, and returned with the answer. The intense longing of the human soul will never be satisfied unless He who made man and placed him on the plane of human existence, has revealed to him his future. But this we fully believe God has done, and none need exclaim, like the skeptic Hobbs, when nearing his end, "I am taking a leap in the dark."
Our design in these articles is to answer the question, What is man? It is a question worthy of our most serious and candid consideration, and none can be true to themselves who allow prejudices or passion to bias them in their investigation. We are well aware that this subject has been the cause of many theological controversies; man is arrayed against man.
It is not, however, our purpose to follow the finespun arguments of theologies, or the cavils of skeptics into their lurking places, but simply to collate from God's revelation to man, the Bible, a few of its plain statements; before the sunlight of its truth, ignorance, superstition, and tradition will fall, and truth undimmed shine forth.
The question simply resolves itself into this, Is man mortal or immortal? He is either one, but not both. Which he is we will allow God in his word to tell us, and abide by his verdict.
Though the doctrine of inherent immortality is hoary with age, and numbers its adherents by millions, we refuse to accept it as true, but believe it to be the outgrowth of the serpent's lie in Eden, "Ye shall not surely die" (Gen. 3:4), derogatory to the Son of God, and antagonistic to every precept of the gospel. When God made man and placed him in the garden, he gave him free access to all the trees, but forbade him to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The penalty for eating of this was death. "In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." Gen. 2:17. And as soon as he ate thereof, his existence was forfeited, and the sentence of death lay upon him. The process of dissolution commenced. Then the Lord said: "Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever; therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the Garden of Eden; to till the ground from whence he was taken." Gen. 3:22, 23.
To have an unending existence he must eat of the "tree of life." If he was clothed with natural immortality, it would have been useless for God to drive him from the garden, and guard his approach to the tree of life. Did not his very existence depend on his eating of the tree of life?—Certainly. Has he done this since the fall?—No. Then how is it possible for him to have immortality within him now? Never having passed the flaming cherubim and eaten of the life-giving tree, he does not possess inherent immortality, and has no way to obtain it except through the gospel of the Son of God, which restores that which was lost by the fall. 2 Tim. 1:10.