Sis Control over all Creatures. The divine authority of Christ is manifest in the control which He claimed over all his people and over all creatures. All power was and is in his hands. His ministers are under his direction ; He sends one here and another there. All Paul's labors and journey- ings were performed under his continued guidance. This is but an illustration of the universal and absolute control which He constantly exercises over the whole universe. The angels in heaven are his messengers, and the course of human history, as well as the cir- cumstances of every individual man, is determined by Him. • So also is the eternal destiny of all men in his hands. I will reward ever}- man. He says, according to his works. (Matt. xvi. 27, and Rev. xxii. 12.) " Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name ? and in thy name have cast ' out devils ? and in thy name done many wonderful works ? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you : depart from me, ye that work iniquity." (Matt. vii. 22, 23.) In the last day, at the " time of harvest, I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them : but gather the wheat into my barn.'" (Matt. xiii. 30.) And in ver. 41, " The Son of Man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniq- uity ; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire : there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." The king in that day will say, " Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels : for I was a hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:" for "inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not unto me." It is the attitude, therefore, in which men stand to Christ (provided they have heard his name), which is to determine their destiny in the last day. Sinning against Christ, denying or rejecting Him, is denying or rejecting God. Our Lord therefore uniformly places Himself in the relation of God to the souls of men, claiming the same authority over them, the same right to decide their destiny, and repi'esenting all sin as committed against Himself. Thus also He says, that it were better for a man to have a millstone hung about his neck, and he cast into the midst of the sea, than to offend one of the little ones who believe on Him. " Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of Man also confess before the angels of God : but he that denieth me before men, shall be denied before the angels of God." (Luke xii. 8, 9.) " He that loveth
602 PART I. — THEOLOGY. [Ch. VH. — Divtnity of Chkist.
father or mother, .... son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." Such supreme love is due to God alone, and Christ in claiming this love from us, places Himself before us as God.
D. The Nature of his Promises. The same is plain from the nature of his promises. Christ promises to his people blessings which none but God has either the ri^ht or the power to bestow. He promises to forgive sin. It is intuitively certain that God only can forgive sin ; He is our moral governor ; it is against Him that all sin is committed, and He only has the right to remit its penalty. When therefore Christ says to the soul. Thy sins are forgiven. He exercises a divine prerogative. Even the Man of Sin, who sitteth in the temple of God and exalteth himself above all that is called God, claims no more than the judi- cial authority of deciding when the conditions of pardon at the bar of God have been fulfilled. He assumes, in relation to the divine law, the relation which a human judge sustains to the law of the land. A judge does not acquit or condemn on his own authority. The authority is in the state or sovereign power. The judge merely determines whether the grounds of condemnation are pres- ent or not. But as the sovereign against whom sin is committed, Christ has the right to pardon or to punish. Again, He promises the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist announced his approach as one who was to baptize the people with fire and with the Holy Ghost. And accordingly it is recorded that He did send down on his disciples, especially on the day of Pentecost, power from on high. It had been predicted that God would pour out his Spirit on all flesh ; and that prophecy the Apostle Peter teaches was fulfilled when Christ, exalted at the right hand of God, shed forth his gifts on his waiting disciples. In his farewell discourse to the Apostles, He said, I will send you another Comforter, even the Spirit of truth, who shall abide with you forever. All the sanctifying influences, as well as all the gifts of teaching and of miracles which the Cliurch has ever enjoyed, come from the Lord Jesus Christ. He gives the Spirit to every one severally as He will. " Unto every one of us," says Paul, " is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ." (Eph. iv. 7.) He promises to hear and answer the prayers of his people in all ages and in all parts of the world. " Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, I will do it." " Wherever two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." " Lo I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." He thus promises his continued presence to his dis