Page:Studies in the Scriptures - Series I - The Plan of the Ages (1909).djvu/91

 alluded to, that the Christ "includes all anointed of the Spirit, he says: "For as many of you as have been bap- tized into Christ have put on Christ ;. \ . and if ye be Christ's then are YE [together with Jesus] Abraham's seed, and heirs, according to the promise" made to Abraham. (Verses 27, 29.) Following up the same Hoe of reasoning, he shows (Gal. 4) that Abraham was a type of Jehovah, Sarah a type of the covenant or promise, and Isaac a type of Christ (head and body); and then adds, "We, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise." (Verse 28.) Thus the plan of God was hidden in types until the Gospel age began the development of the Christ.

There has existed a necessity for keeping this mystery hidden, else it would not have been so kept. It was nec- essary, because to have revealed the plan in full to man- kind would have been to frustrate it. Had men known, they would not have crucified either the Lord of glory or the Church which is his body, (i Cor. 2 : 8.) Not only would the death of Christ, as the price of man's redemption, have been interfered with, had not the plan been kept a mystery from the world, but the trial of the faith of the Church, as sharers in the sufferings of Christ, would thereby have been prevented also; for "The world knoweth xis not [as his joint -heirs] because [for the same reason that] it knew him not" i John 3:1.

Not only is the plan of God, and the Christ which is the very embodiment of that plan, a great mystery to the world, but the peculiar course in which this little flock is called to walk marks its members as "peculiar people." It was a mystery to the world that a person of so much ability as Jemis of Nazareth should spend his time and talent as he did, whereas, if he had turned his attention to politics, law, merchandise or popular religion, he might have become great - jid respected* In the opinion of men he foolishly

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