Schoolmaster to Christ
GENESIS CHAPTERS 4 & 5
Schoolmaster to Christ
GENESIS CHAPTERS 4 & 5
Scripture Reading: Genesis 4 & 5 (KJV)
As the Book of Genesis opens before us, we are furnished with fresh evidence of the fact that we are traveling over the seed-plot of man's entire history.
In the persons of Cain and Abel, we have the first examples of a religious man of the world and a genuine man of faith. Born outside of Eden, the sons of fallen Adam, they had nothing natural to distinguish them one from the other. They were both sinners. Both had a fallen nature. In order that the reality of Divine grace and the integrity of faith may be fully and distinctly seen, we need a clear understanding of this point. If the distinction between Cain and Abel were founded in nature, then, as an inevitable conclusion, it follows that they were not the partakers of the fallen nature of their father, nor the participators in the circumstances of his fall; and, hence, there could be no room for the display of grace, and the exercise of faith.
Some teach that every man is born with qualities and capacities which, if rightly used, will enable him to work his way back to God. This is a plain denial of the fact so clearly set forth in the history now before us. Cain and Abel were not born inside Paradise. They were the sons of fallen Adam – not innocent. They came into the world as partakers of their father’s nature; it mattered not in what ways that nature might display itself, it was still nature; fallen, ruined, irremediable nature. "That which is born of the flesh is [not merely fleshly, but] flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is, [not merely spiritual, but] spirit" (John 3, emphasis added).
The life of Cain and Able furnished an opportunity for the distinctive qualities, capacities, resources, and tendencies of nature to manifest themselves. If, within itself, nature could recover its lost innocence, establishing itself again within the bounds of Eden, this was the moment for its display. But there was nothing of the kind. They were both lost. They were ‘flesh.’ They were not innocent. Adam lost his innocence and never regained it. He can only be looked at as the head of a fallen race, who, by his "disobedience," were made "sinners" (Rom. 5:19). As far as he was concerned, Adam became the corrupt source, from whence have emanated the corrupt streams of ruined and guilty humanity – the dead trunk from which the branches of a morally and spiritually dead humanity shot forth.
True, Adam was made a subject of grace, and the possessor and exhibitor of a lively faith in a promised Savior; but this was not natural, but entirely divine. And, since it was not natural, it was not within the range of nature's capacity to communicate it. It was not hereditary. Adam could not bequeath nor impart his faith to Cain or Abel. His possession of faith was simply the fruit of Divine love. It was implanted in his soul by Divine power; and he did not have divine power to communicate it to another. As a father, Adam was in a condition of ruin; his son could only be the same. We must, of necessity, partake of the nature of Him from whom we have sprung. "As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy" (1 Cor. 15:48).1
As the mode in which we derive a nature from the first man is by birth, so the mode in which we derive a nature from the Second man is by new birth. Being born, we partake of the nature of Adam; being "born again," we partake of the nature of Christ. A newly born infant, though entirely incapable of performing the act that reduced Adam to the condition of a fallen being, is, nevertheless, a partaker of his nature. The same is true of a newly born child of God – a newly regenerated soul, though having nothing whatever to do with the working out of the perfect obedience of "the man Christ Jesus," is, nevertheless, a partaker of His nature. True, sin is attached to the former nature; and attached to the latter, there is righteousness; man's sin, in the former case; God's righteousness in the latter. Yet, all the while there is actual, bona fide participation of a real nature, let the adjuncts be what they may. The child of Adam partakes of the human nature and its adjuncts; the child of God partakes of the Divine nature and its adjuncts. The former nature is according to "the will of man" (Jn. 1); the latter according to "the will of God;" as God’s Word teaches us, "Of his own will begat he us by the word of truth” (James 1:18).
Abel was not distinguished from his brother Cain by anything natural. The distinction between them was not grounded on anything in their nature or circumstances, for, as to these, "there was no difference." Therefore, what made the difference? The answer is as simple as the Gospel of the grace of God can make it. The difference was not in themselves, in their nature, or their circumstances; but in their sacrifices. This makes the matter simple, for the truly convicted sinner – for those of us who truly feel that we are not only partakes of a fallen nature, but are ourselves sinners. To us the history of Abel opens the only true ground of our approach to, our standing before, and our relationship with, God. It distinctly teaches us that we cannot come to God on the ground of anything in, of, or pertaining to, nature. We must seek outside of ourselves; in the person and work of another, the true and everlasting basis of our connection with the Holy, the Just, and only true God. The eleventh chapter of Hebrews sets the whole subject before us, in the most distinct and comprehensive way. ‘By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God bearing witness to his gifts; and by it he being dead yet speaketh.’ Here we are taught that it was not a question about the men, but their "sacrifice" – not the offerer, but his offering. Here is the grand distinction between Cain and Abel. Apprehending this point is important because therein lies the truth regarding any sinner's standing before God.
We now consider the offerings. ‘And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto Jehovah. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fruit thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel, and to his offering; but unto Cain and to his offering, he had not respect’ (Gen. 4:3-5).
This clearly reveals the difference before us: Cain offered Jehovah the fruit of a cursed earth, without any blood to remove the curse. Why did he present "An unbloody sacrifice?" Had he possessed the Divine principle of faith, it would have taught him, even at this early moment, that "Without shedding of blood, there is no remission" (Heb. 9). This is a great cardinal truth. The penalty of sin is death. Cain was a sinner, so, death stood between him and Jehovah. But, in his offering there was no recognition of this fact. Instead, he treated Jehovah as one who could accept the sin-stained fruit of a cursed earth.
All this, and much more, was involved in Cain's "unbloody sacrifice." He displayed ignorance regarding Divine requirements, pertaining to his own character and condition as a lost and guilty sinner, and in reference to the true state of the fruit he offered. No doubt, reason might say, "What more acceptable offering could a man present, than that which he had produced by the labor of his hands, and the sweat of his brow?" Reason (including man’s religious mind) may think this way; but God thinks quite differently; and true faith always agrees with God's thoughts. God teaches that there must be a sacrificed life, or else there can be no approach to Him – so faith believes.
Thus, when we look at the ministry of the Lord Jesus, we at once see that had He not died on the cross, we would have no relationship with God. True, "He went about doing good" all His life; but it was His death that rent the veil (Matt. 27:61). Nothing but His death could have done that. Had He continued to the present moment, "going about doing good," the veil would have remained, keeping God confined, and baring the worshipper's approach into "the holiest of all." Hence we can see the false ground on which Cain stood as an offerer and worshipper. An unpardoned sinner coming into the presence of Jehovah, presenting "an unbloody sacrifice," could only be regarded as guilty of the highest degree of presumption. True, he had toiled to produce his offering; but could a sinner's toil remove the curse and stain of sin – satisfying the claims of an infinitely holy God? Could it furnish a sinner proper ground of acceptance? Could it set aside the penalty due sin? Could it rob death of its sting, or the grave of its victory? Could it do any of these things? No; "Without shedding of blood is no remission." Cain's "unbloody sacrifice," like every other unbloody sacrifice, was worthless in the Divine estimation. It not only demonstrated ignorance of his personal condition, but also of the Divine character. "God is not worshipped with men's hands as though he needed anything." And yet Cain thought God could be approached in this way. Doesn’t every mere religionist think the same? Cain has had many millions of followers throughout the ages. Cain-worship abounds all over the world. It is the worship of every unconverted son; maintained by every false religious system.
Man would like to make God a receiver instead of a giver; but this cannot be; for, "it is more blessed to give than to receive;" and God must have the more blessed place. "Without all contradiction, the less is blessed of the better." "Who hath first given to him?" God can accept the smallest gift from a heart that has learned the deep truth contained in those words, “Of thine own have we given thee;" but, the moment a person presumes to take the place of the "first" giver, God's reply is, "if I were hungry, I would not tell thee;" for "He is not worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth to all life and breath and all things." The great Giver of "all things" cannot possibly "need anything." Praise is all that we can offer God; but this can only be offered in the full and clear intelligence that our sins are put away – by faith in the virtue of an accomplished atonement.2
We now consider Abel's sacrifice. "And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof." In other words, whether he fully understood it or not, Abel entered into the glorious truth that God could be approached by sacrifice; that there was such a thing as a sinner placing the death of another between himself and the consequence of sin. In short, this is the doctrine of the cross; the claims of God's nature and the attributes of His character were met by the blood of a spotless victim – a victim offered to meet God's demands, and the sinner's deep necessities. In the cross, the conscience of a sinner finds repose, because God is fully glorified.
Every convicted sinner must feel that death and judgment are before him, as "the due reward of his deeds;" that he can not accomplish or alter that destiny. He may toil and labor; he may, by the sweat of his brow, produce an offering; he may make vows and resolutions; he may alter his way of life; he may reform his outward character; he may be temperate, moral, upright, and religious; he may read, pray, and hear sermons. In short, he may do anything or everything that lies within the range of human competency; but, still, in spite of all that, "death and judgment" are before him. There is no way that he can disperse those two heavy clouds that have gathered on the horizon. There they stand; and, by all his doings, he can only live in the gloomy anticipation of the moment. Then, without notice, they will burst upon his guilty head. It is impossible for a sinner, by his own works, to place himself on other side of ‘death and judgment.’
However, in that cross the convicted sinner can behold a Divine provision for all his guilt and need. There, too, he can see death and judgment entirely removed from the scene, replaced by life and glory. For the true believer, Christ has cleared the prospect of death and judgment, filling it with life, righteousness, and glory. "He hath abolished death, and brought life and incorruptibility to light, through the gospel" (2 Tim. 1:10). He glorified God by forever putting away that which separated us from His holy and blissful presence. ‘He has put away sin’ – it is gone (Heb. 9:26). In type, all this is set forth in Abel's "more excellent sacrifice." Abel made no attempt to set aside his condition and proper place as a guilty sinner; no attempt to turn aside the edge of the flaming sword, forcing his way back to the tree of life; no presumptuous offering of an ‘unbloody sacrifice’; no presentation of the fruit of a cursed earth to Jehovah; he took the place of a sinner, and, as such, set the death of a victim between him and his sins; between his sins and the holiness a sin-hating God. Abel deserved death and judgment, but found a substitute.
It is the same with every helpless, self-condemned, conscience-smitten sinner. Christ is his substitute, his ransom, his most excellent sacrifice, his all. Like Abel, the sinner feels that the fruit of the ground could never avail; that were he to present to God the fairest fruits of earth, he would still have a sin-stained conscience, because "without shedding of blood is no remission." The richest fruits and the most fragrant flowers, in the greatest profusion, could not remove a single stain from the conscience. Nothing but the perfect sacrifice of the Son of God can give ease to the heart and conscience. True faith allows us to lay hold of Divine reality, to enjoy a peace the world can neither give nor take away. True faith puts the soul in possession of this peace.
"Being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom. 5:1). "By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain." This faith is something quite different from a mere feeling of the heart, or an assent of the intellect. Feeling is not faith. Intellectual assent is not faith. To make faith the mere assent of the intellect to a certain proposition makes it human, not Divine, reducing it to the level of man. Faith is an imperishable principle, emanating from an eternal source, even God Himself; it lays hold of God's truth, and sets the soul in God's presence.
Mere feeling and sentimentality can never rise above self the source from which they emanate; but faith has to do with God and His eternal Word – a living link, connecting the heart that possesses it with God who gives it. Human feelings, however intense; human sentiments, however refined, could not connect the soul with God. They are not divine or eternal, but human and evanescent. They are like Jonah's gourd, springing up in a night, and perishing in a night. Not so faith. That precious principle partakes of all the value, all the power, and all the reality of the source from whence it emanates, and the object with which it has to do. It justifies the soul (Rom. 5:1); it purifies the heart (Acts 15:9); it works by love (Gal. 5:6); it overcomes the world (1 John 5:4). Feeling and sentiment never could accomplish such results; they belong to nature and to earth, faith belongs to God and to heaven; they are occupied with self, faith is occupied with Christ; they look inward and downward, faith looks outward and upward; they leave the soul in darkness and doubt, faith leads it into light and peace; they have to do with one's own fluctuating condition, faith has to do with God's immutable truth, and Christ's eternally enduring sacrifice.
No doubt, true faith will produce spiritual feelings and truthful sentiments, but the fruits of faith must never be confused with faith itself. We are not justified by feelings, but simply by faith. Why? Because faith believes God when He speaks; it takes Him at His Word; it understands Him as He has revealed Himself in the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is life, righteousness, and peace. The sum of all present and eternal blessedness is to understand God as He is. When the soul finds God, it has found all it can possibly need, here or hereafter; but He can only be known by His own revelation, and by the faith which He Himself imparts – faith that always sees Divine revelation as its proper object.
In some measure, we can in this way enter into the meaning and power of the statement, "By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain." Cain offered an unbloody sacrifice because he lacked faith. On the other hand, by faith Abel offered both "blood, and fat," which, in type, set forth the presentation of the life and also the inherent excellency of the Person of Christ. "The blood," set forth the former; "the fat," shadowed forth the latter. Both blood and fat were forbidden to be eaten, under the Mosaic economy. The blood is the life; and man, under law, had no title to life. But, in the sixth chapter of John, we are taught that unless we eat blood, we have no life in us. Christ is the life. There is not a spark of life outside of Him. "In him was life," and in none else.
Jesus Christ gave up His life on the cross; and, when the blessed One was nailed to the cursed tree, sin was attached to that life by imputation. Hence, in giving up His life, He also gave up the sin attached thereto, so, it is effectually put away. This should help us better understand an expression used by our blessed Lord after His resurrection, "a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see we have." He did not say, "flesh and blood." Why? Because, in resurrection He had not assumed into His sacred person the blood He had shed on the cross as atonement for sin. "The life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar, to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood which maketh an atonement for the soul" (Lev. 17:11). Close attention to this point will help us better get a sense of the completeness of putting away sin by the death of Christ; and whatever tends to deepen our sense of that glorious reality, must, of necessity, establish peace and more effectual promoting of the glory of Christ through our testimony and service.
This is seen in the history of Cain and Abel, and that is, regarding the offering each presented. In each case, the question was not about the person of the offerer; but the character of his offering. Hence, of Abel we read that "God testified of his gifts." He did not bear witness to Abel, but to Abel's sacrifice. This distinctly fixes the proper ground of a believer's peace and acceptance before God.
There is a constant tendency in the heart to ground our peace and acceptance on something in or about self. As a result, we are constantly looking in, when the Holy Spirit wants us looking out. The question for every believer is not, "what am I" but, "what is Christ?" Having come to God "in the name of Jesus," he is wholly identified with Him, accepted in His name, and can no more be rejected than the One in whose name he has come. Before a question can be raised about the feeblest believer, it must be raised about Christ Himself. Since there is no question about Christ, the believer’s hope is established on an unmovable, eternal foundation. Being worthless sinners, we come in the name of Christ; we are identified with Christ. Therefore, we are accepted as Christ was accepted – bound up with Christ in the same bundle of life. God testifies, not of us, but of our gift, and our gift is Christ. This is most tranquillizing and consolatory. By true faith, it is our happy privilege to refer every objection and every objector to Christ, and His finished atonement. All our springs are in Him. In Him we boast. Our confidence is not in ourselves, but in Jesus Christ. We hang on His name, trust in His work, gaze on His Person, and wait for His return.
But the carnal mind displays enmity against this truth. Thus it was with Cain. "He was very wroth, and his countenance fell." That which filled Abel with peace, filled Cain with wrath. In unbelief, Cain despised the only way a sinner could come to God. He refused to offer blood, without which there can be no remission; and because he was not received, and because Abel was, "he was wroth, and his countenance fell." How else could it be? He would either be received with his sins, or without them; but since God could not receive him with them, and since he would not bring the blood which alone could make atonement; he was rejected. And, being rejected, he manifested the fruits of corrupt religion by persecuting and murdering the true witness; the accepted, justified man; the man of faith. By his rejection, Cain stands as the model and forerunner of false religionists. In every age, men have shown themselves ready to persecute on religious grounds. This is Cain-like. Justification – full, perfect, unqualified justification, makes God everything and man nothing: and man does not like this; it causes his countenance to fall, and draws out his anger. Not that he can provide reason for his anger; for, as we have seen, it is not a question of man, but of the ground on which he appears before God. Had Abel been accepted on the ground of himself, then Cain's wrath and his fallen countenance would have had some just foundation; but, because Abel was accepted on the ground of his offering – not him, but his gift, Cain’s wrath was without foundation. This is brought out in Jehovah's word to Cain: "If thou doest well,3 shalt thou not be accepted?" The well-doing refers to the offering. Abel did well by hiding himself behind an acceptable sacrifice. Cain did badly by bringing an offering without blood. Thus, Cain’s after-conduct was the result of his false worship.
"And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him." And so it has always been; the Cains have persecuted and murdered the Abels. In other words, man and his religion are the same; faith and its religion are the same: and wherever and whenever they have met, there has been conflict.
Cain's worship was false; his foundation was bad, making the superstructure erected thereon also bad. Having heard God pronounce judgment for murder Cain went forth from God’s blessed presence, and built a city. And, through his family came the cultivators of useful and ornamental sciences-agriculturists, musicians, and workers in metals. Through ignorance of the Divine character, he pronounced his sin too great to be pardoned.4 It was not that he actually knew his sin, but that he knew not God. He did not want pardon, because he did not want God. He had no true sense of his condition; no aspirations after God; no intelligence about the ground of a sinner's approach to God. He was radically corrupt – fundamentally wrong; all he wanted was to get away from the presence of God, and lose himself in the world and its pursuits. No doubt, he thought that he could live very well without God, and he therefore set about decorating the world for the purpose of making it a respectable place, and himself a respectable man therein, though in God's view it was under the curse, and he was a fugitive and a vagabond.
Such was ‘the way of Cain’ – such is ‘the way of Cain.’ Such persons are certainly not divested of the religious element in their character. They desire to offer something to God; to do something for Him. They think it right to present to God the results of their own toil; but are ignorant of themselves and God. While diligently seeking to improve the world, and make life agreeable in various ways; to deck the scene with the fairest colors, they reject God's remedy to cleanse. This is "the way of Cain" (Jude 11).
We need only look around to see how this prevails today. Though the world is stained with the blood of Jesus Christ, "a greater than" Abel; yet we see what an agreeable place man seeks in vain to make of it. As in Cain's day, man does not hear the cry of Abel's blood; his ear filled with other sounds than those which issue from Calvary; and his eye filled with other objects than a crucified Christ. The resources of man’s genius are aimed at rendering this world a virtual hot-house, producing fruits for which nature so eagerly longs. Not only are the wants of creature man supplied, but the inventive genius of the human mind constantly works to devise things the heart desires, earnestly striving to make life tolerable. For instance, some years ago, people were content to devote three or four days to complete a hundred mile journey; but today we drive it a couple of hours, and often complain if a few minutes late. Man must travel without fatigue, and hear news without exercising patience.5
In addition to all this, there is an abundance of religious systems, constructed for man's convenience, and man's exaltation. Man wants religion. Because it is respectable, he might be content to devote a small portion of his time one day a week to what he thinks and professes to be eternal interests – such is "the way of Cain."
How different the way of faith. In the holy energy of faith, Abel offered that which met the stain of sin, and met it thoroughly – met it divinely. He sought and found a refuge in God Himself; and instead of building an earthly city, he found a grave. On its surface, the earth displayed the genius and energy of Cain and his family, yet it was stained underneath with the blood of a righteous man. Let the worldly man remember this; let the man of God remember it; let the worldly-minded Christian remember it. The earth on which we tread is stained by the blood of the Son of God. The very blood that justifies the church condemns the world. The eye of faith can see the dark shadow of the cross of Jesus, looming over all the glitter and glare of this evanescent world. "The fashion of this world passeth away." This present scene (‘the way of Cain’) will soon be over.
We may run the eye over the contents of Chapter 5 and find therein the illuminating record of man's weakness, and subjection to the rule of death. He might live for many years, and "beget sons and daughters;" but, at last, it must be recorded that "he died." "Death reigned from Adam to Moses." "It is appointed unto men once to die." Man cannot get by this. He cannot disarm death of its terrible sting by anything within the range of his genius. By his energy, with all the comforts and luxuries of life he may produce, man cannot set aside the sentence of death.
But from where came this strange and dreaded thing called death? Paul gives us the answer: "By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin" (Rom. 5:12). Here we have the origin of death. It came by sin. Sin snapped asunder the link that bound the creature to the living God. When Adam sinned, man was handed over to the dominion of death – a dominion he has no power whatsoever to shake off. Here lies one of the many proofs of the fact of man's inability to meet God. There can be no fellowship between God and man, except in the power of life; but man is under the power of death; therefore, based on natural grounds, there can be no fellowship. Life can have no fellowship with death, no more than light with darkness, or holiness with sin. Man must meet God on new ground; on a new principle – faith. Faith enables man to recognize his own position, as "sold under sin", subject to death; while, at the same time, enabling him to apprehend God's character, as the dispenser of new life; life beyond the power of death; a life that can never be touched by the enemy, nor forfeited by us.
A risen, glorified Christ – a Christ victorious over everything that could be against us, marks the security of the faithful believer's life. Adams life was founded on his obedience; when he disobeyed, life was forfeited. But, having life in Himself, Christ came into this world and in every possible form fully met all the circumstances of man's sin; and, by submitting to death, destroyed him who had the power thereof, and, in resurrection, becomes the life and righteousness of all who truly believe in His most excellent name.
Satan cannot touch this life, either in its source, its channel, its power, its sphere, or its duration. God is its source; a risen Christ, its channel – the Holy Spirit its power; heaven its sphere; and eternity its duration. While, in one sense, it must be said, "in the midst of life we are in death," yet, in another sense it can be said, "in the midst of death we are in life." There is no death in the sphere into which a risen Christ introduces His people. How could there be? He has abolished it. It cannot be an abolished and an existing thing at the same time, and to the same people; but God's Word tells us it is abolished. Christ emptied the scene of death, filling it with life; therefore, it is not death, but glory that lies before the believer. The future is cloudless glory. True, it may be our lot to "fall asleep" – to "sleep in Jesus" – but that is not death, it is "life in earnest." Departing to be with Christ cannot alter our specific hope of meeting Christ in the air, to be with Him, and like Him, forever.
We have a beautiful exemplification of this in Enoch, the only exception to the rule of Genesis 5. The rule, "he died;" the exception, "he should not see death." "By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him; for before his translation be had this testimony, that he pleased God" (Heb. 11:5). Enoch was "the seventh from Adam”; and it is interesting to find, that death did not triumph over "the seventh;" but, in his case, God interfered and made him a trophy of His own glorious victory over the power of death. After reading “he died” six times in the sad record, the heart rejoices to find that the seventh did not die. When we ask why, the answer is, "by faith." Enoch lived by faith, and walked with God three hundred years. To walk with God must, necessarily, put one outside the sphere of this world's thoughts. Enoch realized this; for, in his day, the spirit of the world was manifested; and then, as now, it was opposed to all that was of God. The sons of Cain might spend their energies in the vain attempt to improve a cursed world, but Enoch found a better world and lived in the power of it.6 His faith was not given him to improve the world, but to walk with God.
Much is involved in these three words, "walked with God!" What separation and self-denial; what holiness and moral purity; what grace and gentleness; what humility and tenderness; yet what zeal and energy. What patience and long-suffering; yet what faithfulness and uncompromising decision. To walk with God comprehends everything within the range of the divine life, whether active or passive. It involves knowledge of God's character as He has revealed it. It also involves understanding our relationship to Him. It is not merely living by rules and regulations; or laying down plans of action; or going here and there to do this or that. To walk with God is far more than any or all of these things. It will sometimes place us against the thoughts of men, even our brethren, if they are not walking with God. Sometimes it may bring against us the charge of doing too much; other times, of doing too little; but the faith that enables one to "walk with God," enables him also to attach the proper value on the thoughts of man.
Thus, in Abel and Enoch we have valuable instruction regarding the sacrifice on which faith rests; and, regarding the prospect that hope now anticipates. At the same time, "the walk with God" takes in all the details of actual life that lie between those two points. ‘Lord will give grace and glory’; and between the grace that has been, and the glory that is to be, revealed, there is the happy assurance, that "no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly" (Ps. 84:11).
The cross and the return of the Lord form the termini of the church's existence on earth, and these termini are prefigured in the sacrifice of Abel, and the translation of Enoch. The church knows justification through the death and resurrection of Christ, and she waits for the day when He returns and receives her to Himself. She, "through the Spirit, waits for the hope of righteousness by faith" (Gal. 5:5).
Footnotes:
1 In Romans 5:12-21, the inspired apostle looks at the whole human race as comprehended under two heads. The fifteenth chapter of first Corinthians also furnishes instruction of a similar character. In the first man, we have sin, disobedience, and death. In The Second man, we have righteousness, obedience, and life. As we derive a nature from the former, so we also from the latter. No doubt, in each specific case, each nature will display its own peculiar energies; each manifesting its own peculiar powers. Still, there is the absolute possession of a real, abstract, positive nature.
2 Prayerfully read the following Scriptures: Psalm 1; Isaiah 1:11-18; Acts 17:22-34. Here the truth as to man’s true position before God, and also the proper ground of worship is distinctly laid down.
3 The LXX renders it, if thou offer correctly, (orthos prosenegkes).
4 The word used by Cain occurs in Psalm 32:1 whose transgression is forgiven. The LXX renders it aphethenai, to be remitted.
5 True, the Lord uses man’s inventions for the furtherance of His own gracious ends; and the Lord's servant also freely uses them; but that should not hinder us from recognizing the spirit originating and characterizing them.
6 It is evident that Enoch knew nothing whatever about “making the best of both worlds.” To him there was but one world. Thus it should be with us.
