Page:Studies in the Scriptures - Series I - The Plan of the Ages (1909).djvu/207

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will be in a glorious vessel appropriate f> it the spirit- ual body.

We have seen that the human nature 5s a likeness of the spiritual. (Gen. 3 J *) For instance, God has a will, so have men and angels ; God has reason and memory, so have his intelligent creatures angels and men. The charadler of the mental operations of each is the same. With the same data for reasoning, and under similar conditions, these dif- ferent natures are able to arrive at the same conclusions. Though the mental faculties of the divine, the angelic and the human natures are similar, yet we know that the spir- itual natures have powers beyond and above the human- powers which result, we think, not from different faculties, but from the wider range of the same faculties and the dif- ferent circumstances under which they operate. The hu* man nature is a perfect earthly image of the spiritual nature, having the same faculties, but confined to the earthly sphere, and with ability and disposition to discern only so much beyond it as God sees fit to reveal for man's benefit and happiness.

The divine is the highest order of the spiritual nature \ and how immeasurable is the distance between God and his creatures ! We are able to catch only glimpses of the glory of the divine wisdom, power and goodness as in pan- oramic view he causes some of his mighty works to pass before us. But we may measure and comprehend the glory of perfect humanity.

With these thoughts clearly in mind, we are able to ap- preciate how the change from the human to the spiritual nature is effected, viz., by carrying the same mental powers over to higher conditions. When clothed with the heaven- ly body, we shall have the heavenly powers which belong to that glorious body; and we shall have the range O r thought and scope of power which belong to it,

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