John 1:10-11 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.… The coming of Christ had — I. AN OBJECT. 1. Men had lost sight of God. Some had lost it. Others had never had it. All were destitute of it except a small class of Hebrew believers. Three kinds of sin had blinded, corrupted, usurped the human soul. (1) Self-admiration,which makes a rebel of the intellect; (2) Self-will of the conscience; (3) Self-indulgence of the passions.Curiosity was all that was left as the highest aim in science; war, in enterprise; and a sensuous enthusiasm for the beautiful in art. Alexandria, Rome, and Athens represented these three ambitions. 2. In losing God, man had lost himself. Faith in God and the dignity of man went down together. With Divine worship fell human rights and liberties. Seneca stood for the world's idea of learning; Caesar, for its idea of politics; Corinth, for its idea of pleasure. 3. The object of the Advent, therefore, was to restore to man his God and Father, and himself. II. A METHOD. Not by creating a religious capacity, but by quickening men with trust and love. 1. Not first by a book: that would have reached not one in ten thousand, nor him in his heart. 2. Not chiefly by oral instructions, which have to be certified to the understanding before they can inspire faith. 3. Not by a mere creature-image of Deity, for that would have been only adding another to the old Pantheon of idolatries. 4. This infinite goodness, this One Spirit of God, must come in a life. Christ must be the Son of the Father; must touch humanity and enter into it; must wear its flesh; must lift its load; must partake its experience; must be tempted with it; must be seen, nay, felt, suffering for it. This will complete the manifestation. This will be, not an education, not an inspiration, not a human self-elevation, which neither history nor logic hints at; but a coming of Heaven to earth; a theophany, or manifesting of God. This is perfect compassion, and effectual relief. This gets the sundered souls together. Even stolid and blinded eyes will behold their Lord. This will move, and melt, and convince of sin, and arouse to holiness. III. A MOTIVE. There could be but one (John 3:16). (Bp. Huntington.) Parallel Verses KJV: He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.WEB: He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world didn't recognize him. |
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