the dead apply to all? ,vas there to be a g~nernl resurrect.ion? From this point of \·iew, we see why in the present case ho laid such stress on his dying for our sins. It ·was not death as an ordinary termination of life, but death considered in this exclu- siYe instance as an atoning death, as a vicarious and expiatory offering, as a completo an<l perfect satisfaction to law an<l justice. It is this death that stands so closely related t-0 his resurrection, and through it to our resurrection. 'l'akin()' merely an ethical view of the matter, and confining ourselves to what Jesus of Naza~eth taught, and to the example of moral excellence he set before men, we can see no reason why he should have risen. He added nothing to morality, nothing to example, nothing to a high and self-sacrificing manhood, by returning to life and reappcarincr at sundry times to his disciples <luring the forty days. On the other hand, looking° at his death as penal- " for our sins "-we can understand why, if he was "delivered for our offences," he ~hould be "raised again for our justification." \Vithout the resurrection, we could not be assured whether he died simply and solely as a good man, the best of men, or. as the Son of God t-0 expiate our sins. If, indeed, law and justice have been satisfied by the sacrifice, let them express in an authoritative and sovereign manner, clear of all liability to misapprehension, and assuring to the most eager solicitude, that the penalty ltas been paid and a full pardon for guilt in man made possible. Precisely this was accomplished by Christ's resurrection, and thus the scars of Calvary, preserved upon his person, were shown to the disciples as the signs of victory over "hell and death." He rose, further- more, on" the third day." Though it was not Christ's habit to fix times and seasons, Jet he was careful to settle ibe day of his resurrection. .Again and again he announced the date of the event. Friends, in their overwhelming dismay, for~ot it, or if some remembered it, as the two who journeyed to Emmaus, it was clouded by grief and distrust. Foes remembered it and provided a guard for the sepulchre, and his foes \\'Cre the first to know that he bad risen, and that, too, from their own soldiers. There was no ethical reason for him to rise on the third day or on any other day, but, viewing his death as 1,enal, its purpose instantly answered when he died, we can see congruity between the two facts, " the third day " being his own appointment and a proof that he had died, not as a mere man, but as the eternal Son of God. St. Paul repeats, "according to the Scriptures," i.e. Christ's resurrection had been foretold. "Thou wilt not leave rn:v soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption" (Ps. xvi. J.0). Christ's death, burial, and resurrection hold together, and tbeir congruity is determined by the fact that "the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed." To these truths the apostle gave prominence in the open- ing of his argument. Logically, they had to assume that commanding position, and emotionally they could have no other. And therefore, "first of all," he delivered these ductrines. They took precedence of all else; they were the data for everything in Christianity; they were "the gospel." So that if he was about to d~vell ~n a topic which should evoke his power to the utmost, nor leave a faculty of his mmd disengaged nor a sensibility unmoved, he would "first of all," as he had done in his preaching, rest his whole cause on Christ dying and rising as the Redeemer of the human race.-L.
Vers. 5--11.-.Apostolic testimony to Christ's resun·ection, and testimony of others. A prominent feature of Cbrist':1 plan was to train the apostles to be his witnesses. Conceive what this involved: on their part, a discipline of the senses as inlets of the mind, close and patient attention, constant revisals of impressions, contentedn~ss under mystery, boldness of statement, heroism in adhering to testi~ony. Along w1_th these qualities, an experience of the truth in Christ as '.1- traasfor~1~g pow~r wa~ to impart a peculiar character to all they affirmed, so that Christ Jesus, hvmg, dywg, nsen,. exalted, "lorified, was to be seen in them as well as through the!Il. On the part of Christ, what ~ondescension and 6ympathy, what painstaking, what persistent efforts, were necessary to make these rude Galilcans competent to the duties ot testifiers! "Ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning." Tc, be messengers was not enou()'h; they were to be witnesses also, for the" Holy Ghost sho.11 come upon you: and ye ~hall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judma, and iu l:iamaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth." These men felt tliat they were Christ's chosen witnesses, and that their testimony was the chief a~ency employed by tile Spirit to save the world. It was natural, then, for St. Paul to begin his argument oH. xv. 1-68.J THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 513