BY WHOM IS THE WORLD TO BE CON

VERTED?

THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST DESTINED TO BECOME UNIVERSAL.

Every one who receives the Bible as "given by inspiration of God," must believe that it will be all verified through the working of that infinite wisdom and power with which he makes all things to conspire for the fulfilment of his purposes, so that though heaven and earth may pass away, one jot or tittle of all he has said shall in no wise pass away till all be fulfilled.

Every believer in the Bible must therefore be convinced that the kingdom of Christ is destined to extend its spiritual conquests, until it shall include within its dominion all kingdoms and nations. Nothing can be more explicit than the repeated declarations of this purpose, contained in the word of God. "I will declare the decree. The Lord (i. e. Jehovah) hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask me and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.'

is a part of the covenant which has been entered into between the Father and the Son in "the counsel of peace that was was between them both." Therefore all nations and kings are commanded, at their peril, to recognize and be in subjection to Christ. (Psalm ii; see also Psalm cx.) This is no doubtful interpretation. Of this same decree we have another account by the prophet Daniel (vii. 13, 14, 27); "I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds (the myriad host) of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions (or rulers) shall serve him."

This dominion was assumed and established by our Lord Jesus Christ, who laid its foundation in his finished work of obedience unto death, and secured its ultimate and certain accomplishment by his resurrection from the dead, his ascension into heaven, and his resumption, as "Head over all things for the Church," of that "glory which he had with the Father

from before the foundations of the world." When, therefore, after his resurrection, our Saviour appeared to the members of his kingdom, as far as then existing, who were gathered together by his special appointment, he said unto them: "All power is given unto me in heaven and on earth: go ye therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, of the Holy Ghost."

We repeat, therefore, our declaration, that every man who believes in the Bible, and in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Saviour of the world, must also believe that the kingdom of Christ is destined to be universal.

Everything about it is universal, and nothing local, national, temporary, or exclusive. Christ, its King and Redeemer, is "the Saviour of all men," and "the propitiation for our sins. and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." As "God our Saviour, he will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth." He gave himself, therefore, a ransom for all to be testified in due time unto all.

The knowledge of this Saviour, and of the propitiation made by him for the sins of all in the world who believe upon him, is the gospel, the good spell-"the glad tidings which shall be to all people,"-"good will toward men." As this gospel is "everlasting," so it is universal, and to be proclaimed "unte them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people."

The provisions, the promises, the commands, the obligations, the ordinances, the sacrifices, the benefits, and blessings of this kingdom are equally and alike for all men. It has no respect for persons, and makes no exceptions. It regards every man as a sinner, and guilty before God, and sweeps with the "besom of destruction" all the sublunary distinctions and differences among men. In the administration of this kingdom "there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female," there is neither high nor low, rich nor poor, wise nor foolish, learned nor ignorant, Saxon nor Celtic, European, Asiatic, African, nor American. "All are one" out of Christ, equally helpless and hopeless; and "all are one in Christ," "for all are the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus."

This great fundamental truth, which levels all human distinctions in one common type of sin and misery, and melts all human relationships into one common brotherhood, and one common fatherhood-God in Christ-is made_equally certain by negative, as well as by positive, teaching. For as Christ is the Saviour of all men, so that whosoever of the sons of men believeth on him shall not perish, but have everlasting life, so also is it declared from heaven that "neither is there salvation

in any other, for there is none other name under heaven, given among men," by which any man can be saved. He, therefore, that believeth not on the Son of God (be he who or what he may) shall be damned. He is even condemned already, because he hath not believed on the only-begotten Son of God, and the wrath of God abideth on him.

But further as this kingdom of Christ is thus universal in its provisions and in its administration, so is it uniform in the mode by which men secure the appropriation of its blessings. Salvation can be appropriated by any human being, only through the exercise of faith. This is the only possible medium by which that which is external to the soul, that which is spiritual, invisible, or founded upon the testimony of another, can become ours. Christ and his salvation can, therefore, become the joyful experience of any soul only through faith, by which, though now it sees not Christ, yet, believing upon him, it rejoices with joy unspeakable, and full of giory. The exercise of faith, in order to salvation, is thus made essentially prerequisite, not by any arbitrary arrangement on the part of God, nor by anything peculiar in the gospel, but by the very constitution of the human mind, and of the world around it. All knowledge, and therefore all conduct,-for this depends on knowledge, and all the happiness or misery of life, are based ultimately on the principle of faith.

But as faith results from the certainty of testimony and the authority and veracity of the testator, in order to its possible exercise, that testimony and that authority must be present to the mind. Man, as a rational being, can only believe when he has what he regards as sufficient authority for what is believed. He may be grossly deluded and deceived, but he believes, because ignorant of, or unwilling to admit, the delusion. For a man, therefore, to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and in salvation through him, and to have that peace with God which is the consequence of such faith, he must necessarily possess sufficient knowledge of Christ and of the salvation he has accomplished. This is what so logically, so philosophically, and, at the same time, so authoritatively, taught by the Apostle Paul (Rom. x. 13). After stating the universality of the gospel, and that faith is the only condition made necessary for its reception, "for whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved," he goes on to ask, "How, then, shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe on him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? So, then, faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the (preaching of the) word of God."

In every point of view, therefore, in which they can be considered, the kingdom of Christ and the gospel of the kingdom,

(whether we regard them as founded on the decree of God or as established by Christ,) with all their provisions, promises, means of grace, and mode of appropriation, are universal, adapted to man as man, free and full to all alike, and offering to every creature, in all the world, the unspeakable gift of God's only begotten Son, so that whosoever believeth in him may not perish, but have everlasting life.

May it not, then, be laid down as a first principle, and incontrovertible truth, that every one who truly believes the Bible, and in Christ as the Saviour of the world, must also believe that his kingdom and gospel are designed to be as universal as the family of man?

THIS UNIVERSALITY OF THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST TO BE BROUGHT ABOUT THROUGH THE INSTRUMENTALITY OF MAN.

We proceed to make another remark, and that is, that, as in accordance with the wil! and word of God, the kingdom and gospel of Christ are designed to be universal, and as all the resources and attributes of Deity must be considered as pledged for the fulfilment of this purpose, every one who truly believes the Bible, and in Christ as there revealed, must believe that this universality will be brought about through the agency of man.

This is the only way by which, in consistency with man's nature, as a free, rational, and responsible being, and in accordance with the analogy of God's government in the natural world, the kingdom of Christ can become universal.

We might conceive it possible for God miraculously to convey the gospel of this kingdom, by angelic or human agency, to every nation, singly and individually. But besides being in contrariety to the whole analogy of the divine government, such a method would be contrary to the generic, fundamental laws of unity, simplicity, and representation. It would involve an unnecessary multiplication of causes for the production of a desired result, in contrariety to those great laws, by each of which, singly and alone, we see innumerable results constantly secured. It would break up the human race into individuals, in violent opposition to every organic principle of human nature, and of the divine procedure in all departments of the natural world; and it would contradict that principle of representation by which the many are bound together under one law, one centre of influence, one head or representative. This law is found lying at the foundation of all order, both in the natural and moral government of God, in the family, the community, the state, the kingdom, and the world at large, and is the basis of all association, intercourse, and business between different individuals and countries.