1. The belieYer as the place of the abiding. — A somewhat peculiar expression is found in 1 Jn 2^, where we read : ' The anointing . . . abideth in you.' By xpto-/ia is meant the gift of the Holy Spirit (cf. 2 Co l^^), whose presence in the heart gives the believer an independent power of testing whatever teaching he receives (cf. ' He shall take of mine and shall show it unto you,' Jn 16'°).t In 1 Jn 2^* it is said that the word of God abideth in 'young men'; but it is also the meaning in v.^; while in S-'* Christ is mentioned as abiding in them ' by the Spirit.' In each passage we have a subtle instance of the perfectly natural way in which the operation of the risen Christ on the heart is identi- fied with that of the Spirit. The believer's soul is thus mystically thought of as the matrix in which the Divine energy of salvation, conceived of in its various aspects, is operative as a cleansing, saving, and conserving power, safeguarding it from error, sin, and unfaithfulness.
2. The abiding place of the believer. — In 1 Jn 2^ we have the promise that ' if the [word] heard from the beginning' remains in the believer's heart, he shall ' continue in the Son ' and in the Father (cf. 3^). This reciprocal relation between the implanted word and the human environment in which it energizes is peculiarly Johannine. Secondary forms of the same idea are found in 2^^ ('he that loveth his brother abideth in the light'), and in 3^^ ( ' he that hateth his brother abideth in death'). In 2^ we have the fact that the believer abides in Christ made the ground for a practical appeal for consistency of life, and in v.^ the reward of such living is that the believer * abideth for ever,' i.e. has eternal life. As a general principle, in the use of this word we find a striking union of the mys- tical and the ethical aspects of the Christian faith.
Literature.— G. G. Findlay, The Things Above, 1901, p. 237 ; G. H. Knight, Divine Upliftings, 1906, p. 85 ; F. von Hiigel, Eternal Life, 1912, p. 365 f.; and also the art. 'Abiding' in DCG, and the literature there cited.
E. Gbiffith-Jones. ABOMINATION (/SSAiO'/ia). — Like the word ' taste ' — originally a physical, then a mental term, — ' abomination ' denotes that for which God and His people have a violent distaste. It refers in the OT to the feeling of repulsion against pro- hibited foods (Lv 11^°, Dt 14^), then to everything
* Popular opinion, based on a well-known hjTnn (Par. 49i3f), very erroneously makes faith and hope pass away, only love abiding-.
t As indicated in HDB i. 101b, the words of 1 Jn227 gave rise to the practice of anointing with oil at baptism.
ABOUNDIN-G
ABKAHAM
connected with idolatry (Dt 7-^ Ko 2-- [Gr.]).* Thence it acquires a moral meaning, and together with fornication stigmatizes all the immoralities of heathendom (Rev IT'^ ^). Its intensest use is reserved for hypocrisy, the last otience against religion (Lk 16'*, Tit l'«. Rev 21-'^).
Sherwix Smith. ABOUNDING.— The English word 'abound' in the Epistles of the NT is the translation of the Gr. words irXeovdi'u} and wepLa-crevu}. There is nothing of special interest in these terms ; perhaps the former has the less lofty sense, its primary connotation being that of superfluity. As used by St. Paul, however, there seems little to choose between them, although it is worth noting that, where he speaks (Ro 5-") of the 'otience' and 'sin' abounding, he uses TrXeovdi'eiv. Yet he employs the same term in Ro 6' of the ' abounding of grace,' and in Ph 4^^ of the fruit of Christian giving. His favourite term, however, is Trepiaaevu} (in one case virepTrepiffffevw, 'overflow,' Ro 5^), whether he is speaking of the grace of God (Ro 5"), the sufferings of Christ (2 Co 1'), or the Christian spirit that finds expression in liberality (2 Co 8^ 9«), contentment (Ph 4^-- 1«), hope (Roo'*), service (1 Co 15^). This list of references is not exhaustive, but it is representative. These words and the way in which they are used give us a suggestive glimpse into —
1. The religious temperament of the Apostle. — His was a rich and overflowing nature, close-packed with vivid, ever-active qualities of mind and heart. His conception of the gospel would be naturally in accordance with the wealth of his psychic and moral nature ; he would inevitably fasten on such aspects of it as most thoroughly satisfied his own soul ; and he would put its resources to the full test of his spiritual needs and capacities. It is fortunate that Christianity found at its inception such a man ready to hand as its chief exponent to the primitive churches, and that his letters remain as a record of the marvellous way in which he opened his heart to its appeal, and of the manifold response he was able to make to that appeal. In all ages our faith has been conditioned by the human medium in which it has had to work. The ages of barrenness in Christian experience have been those Mhich have lacked richly-endowed per- sonalities for its embodiment and exposition ; and vice versa, when such personalities have arisen and have given themselves wholeheartedly to the Divine Spirit, there has been a ^^dde-spread efflor- escence of religious experience in the Church at large. Ordinary men and women are pensioners religiouslj', to a peculiar degree, of the great souls in the community. St. Paul, Origen, Augustine, Bernard, Luther, Wesley, etc., have been the focal points tlirough which the forces of the gospel have radiated into the world at large, and lifted its life to higher levels.