field to be ~athercd in. "Our vile bo,lies shall bo fashioned and made like unto bis glorious body." III. AN IJSFLUE~TIAL FACT. "For since by man camo death, by man ce.me also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.'' Between the influence of Adnm and that of Christ on the race, there is a resemblance and a contra.•t. 1. A resemblance. The resemblance is in its extensibility. Thouoh Adam's influence upon the race may be more extensive at present than that of Chri~t it is not more exte11sible. It has in it the power of extending over the whole rnce dow~ through all times, and it will so do. 2. A contra,t. 'l'he influence of the one is- destrnclive; the influenoe of the other, quickening. "As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be mnde ali,·e.'' If by death here bodily death is meant, then the idea is that Clirist will quicken to life all that have died. ilut what does it mean to be in Adam and in Christ? There is, at any rate, one sense which we can understand in which we arc in them ; that is, in the sense of character. \Vithout figure all men live in the characters of others-children live in the character of their parents, pupils in their· masters, the present generation in the preceding. The characters of the men of past ages constitute the moral atmosphere of existing men. In Adam's character, the· chnracter of selfishness, carnality, unbelief, all uuregenerate men live to-day; his prin- ciples pulsate in all hearts. In the character of Christ, in his self-sacrificing love, spotless purity, and holy reverence, 811 the godly live to-day. Now, those who live in the character of Adam must die, not merely in the sense of the dissolution of the soul from the body, but in the more awful sense of the dissolution of the soul from God; whereas. thnse who live in the character of Christ live by a vital connection with the eternal Fountain of all life. Tbe influence of Adam's character on the race is destructive; that of Christ's is quickening and resturative. " All shall be made alive." Shall there be a universal restoration? Vers. 24--28.-Clirist resigning his administration. "Then cometh the end," etc. By the "end" here, I presume, is to be meant the redemptive reign of Christ. It means, that when Christ, in the exercise of his mediatorial government, has subjugated all the powers of moral evil, he will deliver up his commission to God, who will then be acknowledged as the absolute Ruler of all. The following are some of the truths that the passage suggests : - 1. That the GOVERNMENT OF OUR WORLD IS ADMINISTERED DY CHRIST. The New Testament is full of the doctrine that Christ reigns over our world. This doctrine explains several otherwise inexplicable things in the history of man. 1. The perpetuation of the human race on the earth. Death was threatened on Adam the same day on which he should sin. He sinned, and died not that day, but lived for centuries, and became the father of an immense and ever-multiplying family. And why? The Biblical doctrine of mediation is the only principle that explains it. 2. The coexistence of sin and happiness in the same individual. Under the ~o~ernment of absol?'te righteousness, we should antecedently expect that such an assocrnt10n would never exist. "\Ve are told that there is perfect happiness in hcawn, and we can understand it, because perfect holiness is there. But here there are sir:i and happines~, c?mparative holi~ess a~d great suffering. The mediative government 1s the only prmc1ple that explams this. ::I. The offer of pardon and the application of remedial influences to the condemned and corrupt. Under a righteous government how is tl_iis to be expl~ined,? It is explicablo only on the ground that "he is exalted to be a Prmce and a Sav10ur, etc. ll. That Christ conducts the (Tovernment of our world IN onmm. TO ruT DOWN .ALL HUMAN EVILS. There are tw~ classes of evil referred to here. 1. Moral. "All rule, all authority and power." Siifal princip/e8 are the moral potentates of this world. Christ's government is to put them ,\own from governments, Churches, books, hearts, etc. 2. Physical. "The last enemy tliat shall be destroyed is death." Death is the totality of physical evils. Christ will destroy this. III. That when these evils arc entirely put down, CumsT WILL RESIG~ ms ADMIN"IS- TRATION IN'l'O THE HANDS OF 1·1rn EVEIII"\STl~G FATIIEII. The time will come when moral evil shall be entirely exterminated from the earth, and when death shall be swallowed up in victory. Christ, hnvin:; finished the work that was given him to do, resigns Lis office. " Then cometh the end." cu. xv. 1-iiS.J THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 407
IV. That when Christ shall have resigned his ndministration, GoD "WILL BE ALL rn !ALL." What does this mean? 1. He will treat all men after this on the around of their own moral merits. From the Fall up to thid period, he had treated the~ on the ,ground of Christ's mediation; but now, the mediation removed, each man shall reap the "fruit of his own doings." 2. All men after this will subjectively realize the absolute One as they have never before. 'Jhe atmosphere of their nature purified, he shall appear within them as the central orb, making the finite manifest and glorioll8 in the conscious light of the Infinite.