This conception of heaven as the place of reali- ties, as distinct from earth as the place of shadows, is tin- ]>hilosophic presupposition of the .system of positive Christian thought contained in our Kpistle. It reminds us of I'lato and of I'hilo. Whether our author was acquainted with the writ- ings of either the Gentile or the Jewish philosopher is a question on which opinion differs, and on which a few remarks will bo offered at a later stage. The important matter is, not to iiscertain where he got this specul.itive concejition, but t-< note carefully the fact that it was in his mlml. and to keep it before our own minds in iiiter- ineting his wonLs. At no point in the Kpistle
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HEBREWS, EPISTLE TO
HEBREWS, EPISTLE TO
is it more necessary li> do so than at lliat n-riiark- able sentence in which tlie writer expresses his final deepest thought concerning the uaturo and worth of Christ's sacrifice.
{(j) Salvatidti. — From tlic doctrine of Christ's priestly otfice to the conception of saleatinn con- tained in our Epistle, llie transition is easy. Tlie author describes the '(freat salvation' variously, but always ni terms suggested by the primitive history of man as contained in the early chapters ot Genesis. He first represents It as consisting in lordship in the world to come, foumllng on a tiuotation from the Sih Psalui, which is a poetic eclio of the statement regarding man's |ilace in the world in tin 1'^ (I'li. "J*-"). Ne.xt he conceives it as deliverance from the power of death exercl.sed by the devil, with obvious alhision to tlie history of the Fall in (in ;!, wherein death is set forth as the penalty of sin (cli. 2'<- '^). Finally, he exhibits it as the full final realiz.ation of the divine idea and promise of rest, to which he applies the felicitous thounlit-siiggesting name Salihutixm (ffo/3/3aTi<r/uAs), so making tlie final bliss of redeemed man consist In entering Into the rest which tiod Himself en- joyed when He had tinishcd the work of creation (ch. 4', cf. Gn 2-). Taken together, the three con- ceptions suggest the thought of Paradise restored, the divine ideal of man and the world and their mutual relations realized in perin-tuity, man made veritably the lord of creation, delivend from the fear of death, no longer subject to servile tasks, but occujiied only in work compatible with perfect repo.se. From all the three points of view, salva- tion is a thing In the future. It is an apocalyptic vision. Fruition lies In the Beyond. Dominion, deathle.ssne.ss, and Sabbatism belong to the worlcl to come, and are objects of hope for those who bear the Christian name.
But salvation is not altogether in the future ; It Is a present good as well. Christians, as such, are conceived of as 'sanctified' (aviafi^f "O') -i'"! fi^'^n 'perfected.' These words, however, do not bear quite the .same meaning as that which we, familiar with the Pauline tlieology, are apt to attach to them. In the Epistles of St. Paul sanctification Is ctliical. and means making the Christian holy in heart and life. In the Epistle to the Hebrews this ethical sense appears (though the point has been disputed) occjvsionally to be traced, as in ch. 12"'- '*, but more commonly the term is used in a theocratic sense, to express the Idea of being put in right covenant relations with God, as in the text : ' Hy one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified' (10"). The sancti- fied In this theocratic sense are equivalent to St. Paul's 'justified.' In ch. 2'1 the word ayia^biumi should probably be taken in both senses. The statement the verse contains is of the nature of an axiom, to the effect that whatever parties stand to each other in the relation of sanctitier to sancti- fied are ipso facto • of one.' have one interest, form a brotherhood bound together by community of nature, experience, and privilege. The principle holds good, whether we understand the sanctifying function tlieocratically or ethically. If the func- tion of the sanctifier be to place the sanctified, i.e. those to be .sanctified, in right relations with God, then the more points of contact the better. There must be unity In God's sight, so that what He does Is done In the name of those He seeks to sanctify, and avails for their benefit. He must be one with them In death, as it is by His death that He makes propitiation for their sins. He must pos.sess, in common with them, humanity, for otherwise He could not die. Finally, He must be one with them in experience of trial and temp- tation, because thereby is evinced the sympathy that wins trust, and unless the priest is trusted
It is In vain that He transacts. l)n the othei hand, if the sanctifier's function be to make his clients ethically holy, then, again, the more points of contact between Him and them the better. In that ca.>ie, the sanctifying power lies in the example of the sanctifier: in His character. His history as a man. He makes men holy by reproducing In His own life the Ideal of human character, and bringing that ideal to bear on their minds by living a truly godly life under conditions similar to those under which they are phiced. In short. His power to sanctify ethically depends ou like- ness in nature, position, and experience.