when on earth and which he represents, constitute the standard by which human character and conduct are tried in this and all worlds now and evermore. And so of the phrase, "of whose kingdom there shall be no end." Very true, if by his kingdom we understand the supremacy of those divine, eternal principles which he enunciated and urged as the true impregnable bases of all thought and conduct in individual, social, and civil life, and with which he was so closely identified. But if by his kingdom Christ's personal rule or authority is meant, the phrase is to be taken with considerable qualification, as Paul very plainly shows when he says, Then cometh the end when he (Christ) shall have delivered up the kingdom to God even the Father." "And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all. I Cor. xv. 24, 28. This statement is in my judgment far better than that of the Nicene formula. And in this form I heartily accept the doctrine involved. Clauses 13, 14, 15, 16. "And in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who together with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified; who spoke by the Prophets." These clauses I group together as I did the preceding five because they are closely related to each other, treating as they do of one common subject, the Holy Ghost. As they stand and as they were intended to be under stood by the Nicene fathers, the doctrine they embody is neither Scriptural, rational, or true. It assumes that the Holy Ghost is absolutely a Divine Person, co-ordinate with the Father and the Son, the Lord and Giver of Life, to be adored and glorified accordingly. But there is not a single passage in the Bible which thus describes what is termed the Holy Ghost. It is uniformly repre. sented as the outflowing divine spirit — a manifestation or communicable part of God Himself, whereby He becomes a conscious living presence in the soul of man and in human life. It carries with it to be sure a certain sort of mental and moral personality, but it is a derived, subordinate personality, not an aboriginal, independent one. The Holy Ghost is never in the Scriptures regarded as wholly separable from God, the Father, nor yet as co-equal with Him in originating or creating any thing. It is simply an emanation from God, His manifestive agency in the administration of the affairs of the spiritual universe in informing, inspiring, and qualifying for their appointed work, Prophet, Apostle, and even Christ himself. Abundant Scripture quotations might be transferred to these pages in support of this view, but space will not allow. Nor is it necessary with intelligent readers of the Old and New Testaments. Clause 17. "And one Holy Catholic and Apostolical Church." Whatever truth there may be in an abstract, spiritual sense in this dictum it is in no wise an essential element of New Testament faith. As it stands in the creed and has been held by the devotees of that creed it is a sheer ecclesiastical assumption, fruitful of bigotry, schism, religious warfare and persecution. The claim made for it is unreasonable and preposterous. There is a sense in which there is one holy, catholic, Apostolic church a body composed of those of all beliefs, in all lands, throughout all ages, who, under the leadership of Jesus, cherish his spirit, share his fellowship, do his work, and build up his kingdom in the world. But it is not to this church that the creedmakers of Nice and their followers refer, and their declaration merits only denial and refutation on the part of all true disciples of the Nazarene. Clause 18. "I confess one baptism for the remis sion of sins." As interpreted by the exposition of the Nicene confession this teaches peremptorily that water baptism puts away a person's sins and renders him regenerate. This is not New Testament doctrine at all. John the forerunner of Christ indicated the true view of baptism when he said, "I indeed baptize you with water, but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost." And Peter sets the matter of water baptism in its true light when he declares its use to be "not the putting away of the filth of the flesh but the answer of a good conscience towards God." The plain testimony of the great teacher as well as that of Paul and other New Testament authors is that regeneration is effected only by the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Water baptism is at best but a sign or symbol of inward purification, but it is often only a sign with no reality behind it. Clauses 19, 20. "And I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come." There is nothing intrinsically objectionable in this complex statement of the doctrine of Immortality, save perhaps its general indefiniteness and consequent liability to provoke interminable speculation on the nature of the resurrection of the dead and the conditions and characteristics of life in the world to come, which my own manifesto, heretofore given, in large measure precludes by its greater precision and completeness. (See page 184.) I have thus concluded my analysis of the Nicene confession of faith, comparing it in certain respects with my own, and am content to submit the result to the considerate judgment of those interested in the great questions of Christian life who may come after me. In my next discourse I shall examine other formularies of doctrine which have been held in high regard in certain branches of the church during many centuries of its history. Meantime may the Holy Spirit of truth enlighten us and guide us into all truth; yea and forevermore. DISCOURSE XVIII. THE APOSTLES' AND ATHANASIAN CREEDS; "Now we have received not the spirit of the world but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual."-1 Cor. ii. 12, 13. The Apostles' Creed, so named, which I am to notice first in this discourse, is of uncertain origin. and date. Next to that of Nicea, already considered, it is, without much doubt, the oldest formulated statement of belief known to Christendom. For many centuries it was supposed to antedate the Nicene confession, adopted in the year 325, being deemed the production of those early promulgators of the Gospel whose name it bears, each of whom was said to have contributed one of its clauses. "Very likely its author was willing it should be thus regarded, as were multitudes of church dignitaries and their blind satellites after him. "All, however," says Mosheim, "who have the least knowledge of antiquity look upon this opinion as entirely false and destitute of all foundation." "There is much reason and judgment," he adds, "in the opinion of those who think this creed. was not all composed at once, but from small begin |