to the Hebrews misunderstand or misapply it when he quoted it? Certainly not; on the contrary, the very nature of his argument proves that he rightly understood it, and it is only because we wrongly translate his quotation, as well as the original passage, that the force and point of his argument is lost. He is engaged in proving the superiority of the Eternal Son over the angels; and laying hold of the fact, which both the Jew and the Greek well knew, that in both languages the word angel means simply a messenger, he shews that their office, being only ministerial, places them on a level no higher than the elements of nature that are sometimes employed to perform their work. They are messengers of mercy and ministers of vengeance, but God can make the winds to perform the one duty, and flames of fire the other. In our present translation, "He maketh His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire," we are utterly at a loss to perceive any force of argument. God is a spirit; and if the angels were made to partake of this spirituality of nature, instead of being humbled by the statement they would rather be exalted, by having ascribed to them a nature which, in one respect, resembles God himself.

It must be observed, however, that when translated into English, the passage in the Hebrews must necessarily suffer, in consequence of our word angel not being the same word which we always use for messenger. In Greek it is so, or nearly so. Thus, we read in Luke vii. 24, "And when the angels' of John were departed;" or in the ninth chapter and 52d verse, "Jesus sent 'angels' before his face; and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him." It is this which gives a peculiarity to the passage in Hebrews, because the word ayyéλos is an exact translation of the

Hebrew. Both words mean an angel and a messenger, as our word minister means both a servant and a clergyman; so that there is a singular appropriateness in the quotations when we remember this circumstance.

There remains, however, the third passage in Heb. i. 4; which, it must be acknowledged, is not so easily disposed of: "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?"

There can be no doubt that if this had been the only statement regarding the angels, the presumption would have been that they are nothing more than spirits; nevertheless, it does not necessarily and logically imply that they are not possessed of spiritual bodies: the mere assertion that they are spirits, is consistent with either hypothesis. They may be embodied spirits, or unembodied spirits, or disembodied spirits. Logically they are not the less spirits because they have bodies, more especially if their bodies be spiritual bodies. For example, Paul, when contrasting the first and second Adam, says (1 Cor. xv. 45), " And so it is written, The first Adam was made a living soul, the last Adam was made a quickening spirit." We shall have occasion to examine this passage more particularly when we come to speak of the resurrection body; it is only necessary at present, to refer to it as proving that the angels may have bodies, notwithstanding that they are called spirits. When Paul speaks of Christ being a quickening spirit, he does not mean to imply that he had no body for although had this been the only passage in Scripture on the subject, we should have been warranted in presuming that probably he was a spirit and had no body; yet, as we have abundance of proof in other passages that he had a body, composed of "flesh and bones," even after his resurrection, we cannot permit such a passage

as this to bear a meaning which would be inconsistent with other Scripture. We must, therefore, explain this passage in the Hebrews, consistently with the numerous other passages whose testimony it is impossible to misunderstand.

On the whole, therefore, we have every reason to believe that the angels are embodied spirits, and that though they may be possessed of qualities peculiar to spiritual bodies, they are not the less material, but, like Christ after His resurrection, possessed of flesh and bones, as he called the disciples to witness that he had.

CHAPTER XVII.

THE SPIRITUAL BODY.

All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.

There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual (1 Cor. xv. 39, 44, 46). SUCH is the information given us by an inspired writer regarding the relations of the natural and the spiritual body. The whole passage (1 Cor. xv.) is worthy of a most careful examination: we have extracted three verses, which more distinctly bear a scientific value.

From them we are warranted in inferring, first, that the human body has two distinct modifications-the natural and the spiritual states; both of them normal, and yet so different, that our knowledge of the one gives us little help in understanding the qualities and functions of the other. We may also infer from the 46th verse that there is an order of development in the two states. The first, which is the natural (or soul) state, is capable of having the second, or spiritual state developed from it: the second, or spiritual state has also this peculiarity, that while it is incapable of originating either itself or the natural state, it is capable of being developed as a more advanced and more perfect mode of existence. These statements which we have quoted bear very much the character of scientific propositions.

Having ascertained that the spiritual body has a normal character, so that its functions are not to be regarded as miraculous, we turn to other parts of Scripture to ascertain what those functions are.

The resurrection body of Christ is the only human body, in its spiritual state, whose functions are exhibited to us in Scripture; but there are passages which link that nature, not only with the future resurrection bodies of the saints, but also with the spiritual bodies of the angels:

But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept (1 Cor. xv. 20).

And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly (1 Cor. xv. 49).

Beloved, now are we the sons of God; and it doth not yet appear what we shall be but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is (1 John iii. 2).

For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body (Phil. iii. 20, 21).

These passages prove that Christ's spiritual body is a type and specimen of the bodies of the saints at the resurrection; the following passages prove that the bodies of the saints at the resurrection will be like the angels of God:

For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven (Matt. xxii. 30).

When they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven (Mark xii. 25).

The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage:

But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels (loáyyeλo); and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection (Luke xx. 34-36).

This statement is profusely illustrated in Scripture his