God having devised the Plan and manifested the Truth and instituted the Means of Redemption, the inquiry naturally presents itself, "In what way would He put the Plan into operation and give efficiency to the means of Grace." We cannot suppose that God would put His own institution beyond His power, or that He would leave it to be managed by the imperfect wisdom and the limited power of human wisdom. God would not prepare the material and devise the plan, adapt the parts to each other, furnish the instruments for building and then neglect to supervise and complete the structure. God has put none of His works beyond His power, and especially in a plan by which He is the Author, and Architect. Reason suggests that He would guide it to its completion. The inquiry is, by what agency and in what way would the power of God be exerted in carrying into efficient operation upon the souls of men, the system of saving mercy. In relation to the character of the agency, the solution is clear that the agency by which the plan of Salvation would be carried forward to its ultimate completion, would be spiritual in its nature, because God is a spirit, and the soul of man is a spirit, and the end to be accomplished is to lead men to worship God in spirit and in truth. As to the manner of the spirit's operation, some things belong to that class of inquiries upon which the mind may exert its power in vain. The mode by which God communicates life to anything in the vegetable, animal or spiritual world, lies beyond the reach of the human intellect. But although man cannot understand the ways of the Divine mind in communicating life, yet the manifestations of life, and the medium through which it operates, are subjects open to human examination. Whether the influence of the spirit be directly upon the soul, or mediately, by means of truth, the end accomplished would be the same. The soul might be quickened to see and feel the power of truth, or by the spirit, truth might be rendered powerful to effect the soul. When one wishes to make an impression in wax, the wax must be softened, or the seal must be made hot before the impression can be made; both may be done, the effect is the same. It is necessary not only that the metal should be prepared to receive the impression of a die, but the die must be prepared and adapted to the kind of metal, that the image and superscription of the government may be placed upon it. So it is in the processes of the spiritual world. Mankind must be prepared for the die. The truth of the Gospel System must be revealed and adapted to the material, and the image to be impressed upon human nature, the Lord Jesus Christ. =============
H. M. Henderson, New Pine Creek, Lake County, Oregon [Eastern Baptist Association of California and Oregon Minutes, 1890. Document was re-typed by Robert Cullifer, Folsom, CA and used with permission. Scanned and formatted by Jim Duvall.]
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