Part 1 (1/2)
Some Essentials of Religion.
by J. C. Roper and E. J. Bidwell and H. M. Little and D. T. Owen and A. J. Doull.
FOREWORD
These chapters have not been written for hurried reading; they are studies of Central and Vital Truths, for those who wish to think them out again under the guidance of the Church.
JOHN CHARLES, OTTAWA.
Note:--In placing these books before Church people through the churches no financial gain is contemplated for anyone concerned. Those who are initiating the Library, and all the writers, are content if the Church they serve is benefited thereby.
G.o.d OUR FATHER
By The Rt. Rev. J. C. Roper, LL.D., D.D. Bishop of Ottawa.
VITAL IMPORTANCE OF THE TOPIC
The first word of the Layman's Library may properly be a message from Laymen. These are the terms of it.
”The hope of a brotherhood of a humanity reposes on the deeper spiritual truth of the Fatherhood of G.o.d. In the recognition of the fact of that Fatherhood and of the divine purpose of the world, which are central to the message of Christianity, we shall discover the ultimate foundation for the reconstruction of an ordered and harmonious life for all men.”
These words have a theological ring about them. They are however the words not of theologians, but of representative and responsible statesmen in conference on urgent questions of public welfare. The message was issued by the premiers of Great Britain and of all British Dominions to all citizens of the British Empire. It forms a remarkable confession of faith in the spiritual basis of human life. The peace of the world depends on goodwill among men, and goodwill among men rests on spiritual forces, and of these forces the source of all and the greatest of all is the fact of G.o.d our Father and of His gracious purpose for the world.
WHERE CAN WE LEARN OF G.o.d?
All who wish to know G.o.d truly must put themselves to school under Christ the Master. A wonderful school it is. Little children are at home in it and the greatest minds among men find in it always something new to learn. The wonder of the school and the power of it lie not only in the personality of the Teacher but in the fact also that He Himself is what He teaches. What Jesus Christ was G.o.d is. The revelation of G.o.d we possess in Christ is a revelation that is personal and complete. ”This is life eternal to know Thee the only true G.o.d and Jesus Christ Whom Thou hast sent.”
This does not mean that the knowledge of G.o.d--or even of G.o.d as Father--is the exclusive possession of Christians. A long line of Hebrew prophets, called and inspired by the spirit of G.o.d, revealed G.o.d's Name and will and attributes in different ways and in different portions to generation after generation of His chosen people. It was the special privilege of Israel to receive the oracles of G.o.d. Christ Jesus, Whose coming the prophets foretold, took over the revelation of G.o.d that each had given, corrected it where it had been misapprehended, endorsed it, set it in order, and completed it. In the fulness of the knowledge of G.o.d that had been given them Israel stood unique among the nations. Nevertheless other races had some knowledge of Him also. G.o.d has not anywhere or at any time left Himself without witnesses. In our cla.s.sical studies we heard of Jupiter or Zeus ”Father of men and of G.o.ds”. Greeks of old in their philosophic search for unity, Hindoos in their longing for absorption into the divine, Chinese in the moral precepts of Confucius, Mohammedans in the constant call to prayer which they obey, all bring before us religions that are sincere in their adhesion to one or other of the great truths about G.o.d which they have discovered.
I stood one night on the deck of a s.h.i.+p on the ocean. The moon was at the full and was s.h.i.+ning in a cloudless sky. The light penetrated everywhere. No part of the wide expanse of water was beyond its reach, and yet straight before me was a broad pathway of light reaching as far as I could see. So bright was this pathway, that compared with it on this side and on that all else seemed to be in darkness.
Some rays of the knowledge of G.o.d are recognized in all the great world religions. Along the line of the prophets of Israel the light of G.o.d's self-revelation shone with special brightness, sometimes waxing it is true and sometimes waning, until the day dawned and Christ the Sun of righteousness arose.
This is what St. Paul means when he tells the Christians at Corinth that G.o.d Who commanded the light to s.h.i.+ne out of darkness has s.h.i.+ned in their hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of G.o.d in the face of Jesus Christ.
WHAT DO WE KNOW OF G.o.d?
But what is the knowledge of G.o.d that has been revealed? We find it in the Old Testament gradually unfolded, in the New Testament perfected.
What truths does it contain? We must approach this question with humility and reverence. He of Whom we are thinking is the Living G.o.d.
We are in His presence while we think and speak of Him. The whole splendour of G.o.d's Being is beyond us. He is the Creator and Lord of all. Nevertheless, if we are guided by the Revelation He has given us in Holy Scripture, we can wholly trust our thoughts of Him as far as they carry us, just because they are not our own but have been given us by Him.
G.o.d IS PERSONAL