power and glory. Such a supposition is opposed to the very nature of the absolute. But this latter does nevertheless lay itself open to such an influence in so far as it henceforth lives not for itself, but in loving devotion to the human nature, which He has determined to take up into complete communion with Himself. This decree was fulfilled ideally, as we have seen, already in eternity by the eternal incarnation of the Son, and also when by virtue of this decree He actually appeared on the earth, in the flesh, by taking upon Himself our human nature; whilst at the same time, the Father was well pleased with Him, the Son of man, and through Him, with humanity; so it becomes clearly manifest, how God continues His eternal, trinitarian life, not in Himself, but through His Son, in and with the creature formed in His image. But this love union of God with humanity in His beloved Son, came to its completion for the first time in His elevation to a seat at the right hand of the throne in heaven. Inasmuch as the Son of God lives no longer as mere God, but also as man in the communion of His Father in heaven, so also must His humanity, although under the limitation of a creature, take part in the threefold activity of God. But just by this means has this latter acquired a new significance and new life-contents. For as Christ has gone into the heavens, He has taken with Him there the entire fruit of His life in the flesh, and of His holy death for mankind at large; and resting on this, as its ground, His mediatorial activity, whereby He again reconciled to God our fallen humanity; unites itself with his demiurgic activity, by which He governs heaven and earth. His natural creative energy has in this way been enlarged into a spiritual one, and not the reverse; for this latter continues without interruption in eternity, and His government of the world becomes a restoration and a completion of the kingdom of God. And this indicates an essentially higher development of the activity of His life, as it also brings with it a higher stadium for the life of humanity and of the world.

During the servant-form of His life on earth there was in connection with the relative separation of the two forms of His

existence, likewise a relative separation or division in His twofold activity. His mere demiurgic work had indeed preserved the natural stability of the world, but He must leave the power of sin, which had been brought in, to continue unresolved. On the other hand, in His state of humiliation, He had, it is true, borne our misery with us and for us, but He was not able at once to apply to us the blessing of this His compassionate love; because for this purpose a divinely conditional power was requisite, which, as mere man, He did not possess. But now since the Son of God by virtue of His exaltation, has united His activity in heaven as the Son of God and as the Son of Man, the creative energies of his Logos-existence within the sphere of His mediatory work as the Son of Man pass over into a real new creation of humanity on the one hand, and on the other, the mediatory powers of His humanity unite with His demiurgic activities as the Son of God in the spiritualizing of nature, in a real glorification of the world.

It is clear how in this way the union of God and man in Jesus Christ is brought about. His self-consciousness as the God-Man is one that is no longer divided by the limits of time and space, but one that exists in pure unity. His love gushes forth at the same time from a divine and human heart, and all His life-powers and attributes bear a pure divine-human character. In this union of both forms of life He is truly our high priest and shepherd, the Lord who will judge the world at the time appointed, the head of His Church, which he will perfect in His kingdom.* As the God-man Himself He verily stands in the life-circle of the divine trinity ;t the life which He had from all eternity from the Father, He receives also as man, and the Holy Ghost, who goeth forth from Him eternally as the Son, proceedeth no less from Him as the Son of Man; the love itself, with which the Father eternally loves the Son, applies in the same degree to His humanity; and so also He loves the Father in the unity of the Holy Ghost, re

turning His love from a human as well as a divine heart and fulfilling His will in His kingdom with human as well as divine

powers.

In this eternal, heavenly theanthropism of the Son, the mystery of love has then also completed itself. That perfect union and unity, which is the end of love and which, whilst it holds within the limits of self-protection, and is reached in the way of perfect self-devotion by mutual participation and communication, is here truly and absolutely realized between God and humanity as well as the creation generally. What the divine love willed from eternity, and is the ground and end of the creation, that is here in principle fulfilled for all eternity. The God-man is the personal life centre of the kingdom of God, in which His love is spread abroad in its entire fulness and glory. From Him proceeds all the love, which in this kingdom unites God with his creature, the creature with God, and all creatures with one another; from Him go forth the powers of the Spirit, which spiritually renews the world, brings it into perfect harmony of life and completes its inward and outward glory; and from Him flows forth into the creation the divine life, so as to unite it with God in a glorified state.* In him eternity becomes one with time, and time is taken up in eternity. In him heaven has come down upon the earth, and the earth is elevated into an heavenly existence; He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, He that is and that was and that is to come, the Almighty, whose are the kingdoms of the world, and who shall reign from everlasting to everlasting. Amen.

John xiv. 16.

† Rev. i. 8.

Rev. xi. 15.

ART. VIII.-THE PRESBYTERIAN THEORY OF CHRISTIAN

BAPTISM.

IN the October number of the Presbyterian Quarterly and Princeton Review, there is an article on Infant Baptism which professes to set forth the Presbyterian theory on this subjeet, and it is endorsed as such by the editors of the Review in the following words: "We are quite clear that the main positions taken by Mr. White" (the author of the article), "are in accord with our standards, when their meaning is fairly elicited by a comparison of their various parts, and that these in turn are in accord with the Scriptures.'

We will first give the theory and then make some criticisms upon it.

1. Baptism is the official initiatory rite of the visible Church. This is the first point. The writer distinguishes this character of the sacrament from (a) that public confession of Christ before men that our Lord so pointedly commands, and (b) from the door," which he erroneously makes synonymous with entering the Church.

2. Baptism symbolizes, and thus has implied reference to, that radical change in the soul that we commonly call "regeneration." This proposition the writer fortifies by a number of Scripture passages. John iii. 5; Acts ii. 38; Rom. vi. 3, 4; Gal. iii. 27; Col. ii. 12; Col. iii. 1; Tit. iii. 5.

3. Baptism, as a sacrament, is an instrument and medium, through which the Holy Ghost conveys to those by whom it is worthily received, spiritual grace.

That Baptism is such an instrument and medium of the Holy Ghost, the writer says, is to be inferred from the frequent connection in the Scriptures of the ideas of baptism with water and with the Spirit. The references are Matt. iii. 11; Acts ii. 38; Acts xix. 5, 6; 1 Cor. xii. 13. He adds: That grace of some sort is conveyed to those who worthily receive baptism is denied only by those, who hold the very lowest view of the sacraments.

Then follows a quotation from Hodge's Theology, Vol. III. p. 589 to the following effect: "Baptism is not only a sign and seal, it is also a means of grace, because in it the blessings which it signifies are conveyed, and the promises of which it is the seal are assured or fulfilled to those who are baptized, provided they believe. Unless the recipient of this sacrament be insincere, baptism is an act of faith, it is an act in which and by which he receives and appropriates the offered benefits of the redemption of Christ."

In the next place, the writer gives us the "conditions in the recipient prerequisite to the administration of baptism, which are the following:

1. Membership in the visible Church.

2. Presumptive Regeneration.

3. Capability of receiving spiritual grace.

The first condition as applicable to infants is established by numerous references to the Old Testament and the New.

In regard to the second, he says: "Baptism, as we have seen, symbolizes regeneration, but presumptive regeneration is all that we can predicate of any candidate, whether old or young," and then goes on to show, that "the regeneration of infants is possible," that "this moral change wrought by the Holy Ghost is possible in the case of children of believers, and that Scripture expressions encourage us to expect it." "Facts in the Church favor the belief, that the children of believers are to be presumed to be regenerate till the contrary appears." churches that baptize infants do so upon the ground that they may be regenerated in infancy."

"All

The third condition follows from admitting the second; for if infants are capable of being regenerated, as implying a moral change, then they must be capable of receiving spiritual grace. We quote here as highly significant the further comments of the editor of the Presbyterian Review on this article.

"We deem the doctrinal aspect of the subject important, because of its practical bearings upon Christian nurture and training. In our view God's covenant TO BE A GOD to our children, and the consequent annexation of the sacramental