The work of the Holy Spirit - pagina 373

XXVI.

The

Mystical Union with Immanuel. " Christ in you the hope of glory."— Col.

i.

27.

The union

of believers with Christ their Head is not effected bydivine-human life-tincture into the soul. There is no divine-human life. There is a most holy Person, who unites in Himinstilling a

self the divine rt«^the human life; but both natures continue unmixed, unblended, each retaining its own properties. And since there is no divine-human life in Jesus, He can not instil it into us.

We do heartily acknowledge that there is a certain conformity and similarity between the divine nature and the human, for man was created after the image of God wherefore St. Peter could say, " That we become partakers of the divine nature " (2 Peter i. 4) but, according to all sound expositors, this means only that unto the ;

;

sinner are imparted the attributes of goodness and holiness, which he originally possessed in his own nature in common with the di-

vine nature, but which he lost by

Compared with the nature animals and of devils, there

is

sin.

of material things,

and with that of indeed a feature of conformity and

similarity between the divine and human natures. But this may not be understood as obliterating the boundary between the divine nature and the human. And, therefore, let this glorious word of St. Peter no longer be abused in order to justify a philosophic system which has nothing in common with the soberness and simplicity of Holy Scripture.

What

become partaker of the divine nature " is called in another place, to become the children of God. But altho Christ is the Son of God, and we are called the children of God, this does not make the Sonship of Christ and our sonship to stand on the same plane and to be of the same nature. We are but the adopted children, altho we have another descent, while He is the St.

Peter calls

" to

and eternal Son. While He is essentially the eternal Son, partaker of the divine nature, which in the unity of His Person He actual

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