(Scripture Reading Exercise.)

THE CHARACTER OF GOD REVEALED IN JESUS CHRIST.

SPECIAL TEXT: "God was manifested on the flesh (margin), justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." I Tim. ii:16.

NOTES.

The notes of this Lesson are taken from two discourses by the author: one the "Mormon Doctrine of Deity"; the other "Jesus Christ, the Revelation of God," hence the personal character and direct address style that appears in the notes.

1. The Humility of God Manifested Through Jesus Christ: First of all, I call your attention to the deep, the profound humility of God; His great condescension in living among men, as He did, for their instruction; and from that circumstance would draw to your attention the lesson of humility His life teaches. The heights of glory to which Jesus had attained, the power and dignity of His position in the heavenly kingdom, of course, cannot be comprehended by us in our present finite condition, and with our limited knowledge of things. Great and exalted as we might think Him to be, you may depend upon it He was exalted infinitely higher than that. Then when you think of one living and moving in the courts of heaven and mingling in the councils of the Gods, consenting to come down to this earth and pass through the conditions that Jesus passed through, do you not marvel at His humility? To be born under such circumstances as would enable wicked man to cast reflection upon His very birth! (St. John viii:41.) To be born, too, in a stable, and to be cradled in a manger! To grow up a peasant, with a peasant's labor to perform, and a peasant's fare to subsist upon from childhood to manhood—do you not marvel at this great humility, at this great condescension of God? And by His humility, are not men taught humility, as they are taught it by no other circumstance whatsoever?

2. The Obedience of God Manifested Through Jesus Christ: Of His youth, we know but little; but the little we know reveals a shining quality, either for God or man to possess. You must remember, in all our consideration of the life of Messiah, one great truth, which comes to us from the scriptures in an incidental way, viz., that "In His humiliation His judgment was taken from Him." (Acts viii:33.) As the veil is drawn over our minds when our pre-existent spirits come into this world and we forget the Father and mother of the spirit world, and the positions we occupied there, so, too, with Jesus; in His humiliation His judgment was taken from Him; He knew not at first whence He came, nor the dignity of His station in heaven. It was only by degrees that He felt the Spirit working within Him and gradually unfolding the sublime idea that He was peculiarly and pre-eminently the Son of God in very deed. When at Jerusalem, about twelve years of age, He began to be conscious of the suggestions of the Spirit within Him, that he had a work to do in the world for His Father, and hence allowed the caravan with which He had come from distant Galilee to Judea to start upon the return journey without Him, much to the perplexity and sorrow of His supposed father, Joseph, and His mother, Mary. They missing Him, returned and found Him in the temple disputing with the doctors and lawyers. They reprimanded Him, as they would reprimand any boy guilty of similar conduct; but when they reproved Him, He answered, "Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business." He began to understand His mission. The spirit promptings were at work in His soul. And while ultimately the spirit was given without measure unto Him (John iii:24), it was not so at first, for "He received not of the fulness at the first, but received grace for grace." (Doc. and Cov., Sec. 93: 12, 13.) The child Jesus "grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him. * * * And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." (Luke ii; 40, 52.) But notwithstanding, Jesus, at twelve years of age, and earlier, began to experience the operations of the Spirit calling His soul to His mission, still we are told that He returned with His parents to Galilee, "and was subject unto them," He who had given the law, "Honor thy father and thy mother," in this act exemplified the honor that He entertained for that law, in His practice of it.

We next see Him coming to the banks of Jordan, where a prophet of God is baptizing—one of those strange, eccentric men, who lived for the most part in the wilderness, whose food was locusts and wild honey, and whose clothing was the skins of wild animals; and yet through all this eccentricity, through all this oddness of character, shone the divine powers of God in this messenger, and multitudes of people were gathered by his preaching to the Jordan, where he baptized them for the remission of their sins. By and by, Jesus comes and demands baptism at this man's hands; and as he enters the water, the prophet stays Him, and says, "I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to me?" Already, doubtless, shining through this "expression of God,"—this Jesus of Nazareth,—the servant of the Lord, in attune, through the spirit of inspiration, with the very God who was approaching Him, felt the divinity of His presence, and would fain acknowledge His own inferiority. What was the reply? "Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness." He Who had said that men must be baptized for the remission of sins, though Himself sinless, would honor that law by obedience unto it. Thus we learn that God not only gives law, but He obeys law.

3. The Compassion and Impartiality of God: Jesus was possessed of infinite compassion. The incidents that I shall relate to you, in support of this statement, are in quotations that are free, and yet, I think, justified by the spirit of the several occasions. After all, it is the spirit that giveth life; the letter killeth; so let us look at these things in the spirit of them. You see Him one day with some of His disciples approaching the little village of Nain, "His raiment dusty and His sandals worn." As they draw near, the gate is opened and a funeral procession marches out. The mother of the young man whose body is being borne by his neighbors to the final resting place, walks feebly and weeping beside the bier, desolate in her loneliness. As Jesus saw that poor woman in the midst of her sorrow, His heart—I pray you think of it, for we are speaking of God when we speak of Jesus Christ, the Creator of heaven and earth—the heart of God is moved with compassion towards this woman. He stops the bier, takes the dead by the hand, and says, "Young man, I say unto you, Arise." And he arose. Jesus Christ gave this woman back her son. It was an act of beautiful compassion, one of many, which illustrates how tender and sympathetic is the heart of our God!

Nor was His ministry confined exclusively to the poor, to the widows, to the lonely. He despised not rulers, nor the rich, because they were rich; but was willing, if only they could put themselves in a position to receive the manifestations of His compassion—He was willing to minister unto them. This is proved in the case of Jairus, one of the rulers of the Jews, and a man of great wealth. You will remember that he came running to the Master with his sorrow—his daughter was lying dangerously ill at home; and such was his faith that if the Master would but speak the word, she would be healed. While yet he spake, one of his servants came running, saying, "Thy daughter is dead: trouble not the Master." But Jesus heeded not the word of the servant. He had heard Jairus' cry of faith, and responsive to that faith-cry, he made His way to the home of the ruler, put out those who were unbelieving, and taking the maid by the hand, gave her back to the gladness of life, into the arms of the joyous father. The faith of that rich man was as great as the faith of any we meet with in all the ministry of the Lord. So, wealth is not necessarily a hindrance to faith. God is as close to the faithful rich as to the faithful poor, and as ready to grant them his mercy, according to their faith. I sometimes think we make a mistake when we would flout those who are rich and put them outside the pale of God's mercy and compassion because of what may be nothing but a prejudice—which in reality may be envy—of the rich.

While on the way to the ruler's house, another incident happened that is very remarkable. A woman in the throng, a long time afflicted with a grievous ailment, said in her heart as she saw Him pass, "If I may but touch His garment, I shall be whole." Accordingly, she crowded her way forward, dropped upon her knee, clutched the garment, and received the divine power from Him which cleansed her body and healed her completely. Jesus, observing that something had happened to him, turned to the apostles, and said, "Who touched Me?" They replied, "Master, the multitude throng Thee and press Thee, and sayest thou, Who touched ME?" as if that was not to be expected in such a crowd. But, said Jesus, but "I perceive that virtue is gone out of me." What was it? Simply that through this poor woman's faith—who supposed herself so far removed from God that she dare not come into His presence and ask for the blessing she desired, but undertook to obtain it by indirect means—through her faith and touching the garment of the Lord—the healing virtues passed from God to her in such a tangible manner that He felt their departure, just as some of you elders, when administering to one who was full of faith have felt your spiritual strength and life go out from you, leaving you weak and almost helpless, but giving healthful life to the afflicted. I speak to men who have experience in these things, and I know that scores of you could bear witness to the truth of this phenomenon. If our lives can but touch the life of God, such is His nature that we shall partake of the virtues that go out from Him.

What shall I say of lepers that crowded into Messiah's presence, and who, notwithstanding the loathsomeness of their disease, found sympathy and help from contact with him? What of the blind, the lame, the halt? Why, let us not speak of them; for though it is a great thing that their bodies should be healed, and they should go through the community singing the praises of Him who had restored them, there are better things to speak of—the healing of men's souls, the purifying of their spirits.

4. God's Treatment of Sinners: Let us ask, rather, how did Jesus Christ—God—deal with sinners? I take one incident that has always appealed very strongly to me, and illustrates the spirit in which Christ deals with sinners; for this God of ours is peculiarly the friend of sinners, not because of their sins, however, but in spite of them; and because of His compassion upon those so unfortunate as to be under the bondage of sin. The over-righteous Pharisees of Christ's time would not on any account come in contact with sinful men, lest they themselves should be polluted. They gathered the robes of their sanctity about them, and considered themselves in such close relation with God that they could afford to despise His poor, unfortunate, sinful children, instead of holding out the hand that would bring them from the kingdom of darkness into the brightness and glory of the kingdom of God. But not so with Jesus Christ. When He was accused by this class of men of mingling with publicans and sinners, His answer to them was, "They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." As if He had said, you who are righteous and have no need of healing for sin, stand by yourselves; My mission is not to you, but to those who have need of God's help. Such was the spirit of His answer. The incident to which I refer as illustrative of His compassion for sinners, is this: The Jews were always on the alert to entrap the Messiah's feet and bring Him into contradiction with the law of Moses. The law of Moses, as first given to Israel, was that if any should be found in adultery they should be stoned to death; but the Rabbis, by nice discriminations of words, practically had rendered that law a dead letter, by reason of which the adulterers in Israel escaped the punishment that God had decreed against them. Therefore, they thought if they could take a person who unquestionably had been guilty of this crime and bring him or her into the presence of Jesus, they would either bring Him in conflict with the law of Moses, or with the tradition of the elders, and in either case would have sufficient cause to denounce Him before the people. So they found a woman, caught in the act; they dragged her through the streets, and cast her at His feet. "Master," said they, "this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned; but what sayest Thou?" He replied, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." One by one they slunk away, until the woman was left alone with Jesus. When Jesus looked around and saw none but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?" "No man, Lord," she said. Then Jesus said: "Neither do I condemn thee: go and sin no more." That is how God deals with sinners. It is written that God cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance, and that is true, he cannot; but how about the sinner? Why, He may look upon the sinner with infinite compassion. While sin must always be hateful, yet will He help and love the sinner, if he will but go his way and sin no more. Such is our human weakness, and so nearly the level upon which we all move, that there is none of us but will plead mightily for mercy; and, thank God, we shall not plead in vain; for, while our Judge cannot look upon sin with any degree of allowance, his heart goes out in compassion and love to men, and He will help them to overcome sin, to fight a good fight, to keep the faith, and at last enable them to win the crown of righteousness in the kingdom of God.

5. God's Toleration: Jesus, moreover, was tolerant. You will recall the circumstance of His having to go through Samaria, and you remember that the Samaritans hated the Jews, and Jesus was a Jew. Some of His disciples went into a village of Samaria, through which Jesus would have to pass, and sought to make arrangements for the Master to stay over night; but the Samaritans closed their doors against Him. They had heard of Him; He was a Jew; and in the narrowness of their minds they would not admit the hated Jew into their homes. This very much angered the disciple John, who loved Jesus dearly. He was one of the "sons of thunder," and possessed of a spirit that could love; and being strong in love, as is often the case—I was going to say as is always the case—he was likewise strong in hating. He was the type of man that does both heartily. Hence, he went to the Master and asked Him if he might not call down fire from heaven upon those Samaritans for thus rejecting the Master. Jesus replied: "Ye know not what spirit ye are of. The Son of Man came to save, not to destroy." A broadness, a liberality truly glorious.

Jesus was properly broad minded—liberal. On one occasion some of the disciples found one casting out devils in the name of Jesus, and they forbade him, because he followed not the Master. When they came into the presence of Jesus, they reported this case and told what they had done. Jesus said, "Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in My name, that can lightly speak evil of me." Then He gave the other half of that truth, "He that is not for Me is against Me," by saying, "For he that is not against us is for us." Thus He corrected the narrow-mindedness of His own apostles.

6. The Love of God: "He that loveth not, knoweth not God: for God is love:—and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God and God in him." (I John iv: 8-16).

"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world, through Him, might be saved." (John iii: 14-18).

I can think of no greater evidence of God's love than that exhibited in the act of permitting his Son, Jesus Christ, to come to the earth and suffer as He did for the sins of the world, that they might not suffer if they would but conform to His laws, and thus accept the terms of Salvation. (Doc. & Cov., Sec. 19). It would seem, too, that the same attribute of love exists in the breast of the Son, for the sacrifice He made for the redemption of the world was a voluntary act. He was not compelled to make the Atonement, but of His own free will He volunteered to become our ransom. (Pearl of Great Price, p. 41.) He himself testified: "Therefore doth My Father love me, because I lay down My life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of My Father." (John x: 17, 18.)

Thus, the atonement of Jesus, for the children of men, was a voluntary act; and His death and suffering for the world, was the strongest expression of love it is possible to conceive—"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John xv: 13).

7. The Justice and the Severity of God: "Justice and judgment are the habitation of Thy Throne." (Psalms lxxxix:14.) "A just God and a Savior." (Isaiah xlv: 21). "Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold thy king cometh unto thee: He is just and having salvation." (Zach. ix:9). "A God of Truth, and without iniquity, just and right is He." (Deut. xxxii:4).

Notwithstanding all God's mercy, as manifested through the Christ, His tolerance, His patience and gentleness, there were times when He Who was so infinitely merciful, could also be infinitely just; He Who was so infinitely compassionate, could be infinitely severe. I give you an instance of it. He had struggled long and hard with those hypocrites, the Scribes and Pharisees; and finally the voice of justice and reproof, as it is to be found in God, speaks forth through Jesus Christ, and this is what He said: "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation." (Matt. xxiii:13, 14.)

That is not so gentle: Listen again: "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? And, whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? * * * Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, and say, if we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up, then, the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?" (Matt. xxiii:15-33).

And this from that gentle, compassionate man! The voice of God in its severity speaks through these tones, and bids us understand that it must be a terrible thing to fall under the displeasure of God. Think of the infinite difference between that sweet compassion which He has for the penitent sinner, and this severe but just arraignment of those who persist in their sins! A warning to all men to beware of the justice of God, when once it shall be aroused!

8. God Completely Revealed Through Christ: Jesus Christ is God manifested in the flesh, proved to be so from the scripture; the character of God is revealed in the wonderful life that Jesus, the Son of God, lived on earth; in it we see God in action; and from it we see the gentleness, the compassion, the love, and also the justice and severity of God. Jesus Christ is God; and He is also man; but I deplore those sectarian refinements which try to tell us about the humanity of Jesus being separate from the divinity of Jesus. He Himself made no such distinctions. He was divine, spirit and body, and spirit and body was exalted to the throne of His Father, and sits there now with all the powers of the Godhead residing in Him bodily, an immortal, glorified, exalted man! The express image and likeness God of the Father; for as the Son is, so is the Father. Yet when the Latter Day Saints announce to the world that we believe God to be an exalted man, we are told that we are blasphemers. But as long as the throne of Jesus Christ stands sure, so long as His spirit remains in His immortal body of flesh and bones, glorified and everlasting, shall keep His place by the side of the Father, so long will the doctrine that God is an exalted man hold its place against the idle sophistries of the learned world. The doctrine is true. It cannot be unthroned. A truth is a solemn thing. Not the mockery of ages, not the lampooning of the schoolmen, not the derision of the multitude, not the blasphemy of the world, can affect it; it will always remain true. And this doctrine, announced by Joseph Smith to the world, that God is an exalted man, that Jesus Christ is the revelation of God to the world and that He is just like his Father, and that those who are His brethren may become as He is, when they have walked in His footsteps—that is a doctrine that will stand sure and fast as the throne of God itself. For Jesus Christ was God manifested in the flesh. He was the revelation of God to the world. He was and is and ever will remain an exalted man. He is, and always will remain, God.