Gal. v. 22. 1 Tim. i. 5. Gen. ii. 16, that destroy the harmony of society, and in common language are called-diabolical. Now, no one can allow that the man in the image of God, could be influenced by those passions which render his character diabolic, and which are perceived in the brute creation, over which it was decreed he should rule and have dominion! The new testament, therefore, reveals the actions which proceed from the living soul, the image of God; which are "love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, faith, temperance, truth, charity out of a pure heart, and a good conscience: "-and these actions were the fruits of the tree of life, in the midst of the garden!" Let us now see the commandment given. "And the Lord God commanded the man, saying,-Of every tree of the garden, thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the know·ledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die." We have already seen the fruits, or actions of the pure soul, in which they were created: and we have here the two principles set forth from the beginning of the world, and seen in the actions of mankind throughout the several ages of it-the good and the evil. Therefore, to partake of evil, to die, the soul must degenerate, or become of another nature, in order to fulfil the sentence for disobedience; as the Holy Spirit of God, which gave the dignity they possessed, could not die. St. Paul, explaining the regeneration of our souls by the grace of the Holy Spirit, through Jesus Christ, says: "For since by man came 1 Cor. xv. 24. death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in" the spirit of "Adam all die; even so in" the spirit of “Christ, shall all be made alive:"-"For to be carnally Rom. viii. 6. minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace!"- "The last enemy that shall 1 Cor. xv. 26. be destroyed, is death." In the epistle of St. Paul to the Hebrews, is an explanation of this enemy of mankind Heb. li. 14. Gen. fi., 4 that is to be destroyed,, through the regeneration by the Holy Spirit of God, which restores their minds and souls to their primitive purity. He says: "Forasmuch then, as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he, Jesus, also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil: and deliver them, who, through fear of death, were all their life-time subject to bondage," by the reign of the devil in their hearts. "And the serpent said unto the woman, ye shall not surely die: for God doth know, that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also to her husband with her; and he did eat.” "And the Lord God called unto Adam, and Gen. iii. 9. said unto him, Where art thou? and he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid." Without attending to the figurative language, we must to the essentials. From whence did his fear arise?-It could not arise from the spirit, in which he was created, of conscious innocence ; but, from an accusing spirit on his conscience that made him afraid of a superior! The new testament, being professedly explanatory of the hidden mysteries of the old, informs us, that fear is created by the malignant passions, or that spirit of evil which influences man to commit actions forbidden by the law of God, and operates on our consciences, or upon the general nervous system, in creating fear. For St. John, in explaining our nature, by which we know the purity or impurity of ourselves, says, "There is no fear in love: God is" the spirit of "love." The fear therefore arose from guilt, derived from that evil spirit operating on his conscience, after tempting him to commit the action forbidden John viii. 7. Tim. i. 7. Rom. viii. 15. Gen. iii. 13. by the commandment of God: and, in the same That the Holy Spirit of God does not cause the fear we are subject to, is also evident from the words of Saint Paul," For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” Again, "For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again, to fear; but ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." "And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? and the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat." |