The Historic Movement Towards Spirituality
The succession which is indicated by the words — Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, is neither nominal nor accidental, it is a philosophical progress and culmination. Any transposition of this order would be felt to be irregular and impossible, — violent, unnatural, and self-destructive. When we think ourselves back towards the origin of things, we are conscious of the keenest dissatisfaction with all mere terms that get no farther than the approbation of the strictly critical faculty; we want something more; something for which we cannot hit the exact word, but for want of which the heart often aches and cries. Then is suggested the biblical word, Father, and with it comes at least a promise of satisfaction; it is felt to be the true start-point, having difficulties of its own no doubt, but difficulties that may be overcome. The Fatherhood is not emotional, but causative and sovereign paternity. Logic can do but little towards its explanation; the mind must accept this idea of fatherhood as the mind accepts itself, a mystery certainly, but not greater except in degree than the silent, invisible, spiritual life that is in every man. But fatherhood is a plural or inclusive term: immediately it sug-The Historic Movement tozvai’ds Spirittiality. 1 1
^ests the idea of childhood, and childhood is realised most conspicuously and impressively in the sonship of Jesus Christ; but sonship such as this, involving manifestation or visible expression, is, as we have just urged, beset with peculiar risks; provided, therefore, that it go barely far enough to establish itself as an indisputable fact in human history, the sooner it is withdrawn from ocular criticism, the less will the world be tantalised, and distracted by the exercise of its own imperfect physical senses. This manifestation and withdrawment are exclusively characteristic of Jesus Christ. He was here lonoenoug;h to remove all doubt as to His personal identity, yet He withdrew Himself immediately that He had secured for His personality an unquestioned place in human history. Nothing more was to be gained by His visible continuance on earth; His bodily mission had been wholly fulfilled, and therefore He “vanished out of the siorht” of men. But what of the future of His work? Then, according to Christian teaching, was to come manifestation without visibility; instead of bodily presence, there was to be a new experience of life, spirituality, insight, sensibility, and sympathy almost infallible in holy instinct. In one word, the. Holy Man was to be followed by the Holy GJiost.
This idea of a philosophical rather than a merely arbitrary succession, is strictly consistent with the fact that the whole movemeut of history, in all that is vital and pertnanent, is a movement from the outward ajid visible to the inward and spiritual: this we” claim to be true of all history, not merely of any particular section or bias, — it is true of civilization in all its endurinor elements. ‘A brief indication of facts will make this clear.
1. The order of Creation, as detailed in the account e:iven in Genesis, is -a movement towards the spiritual. The succession runs thus: Light, firmament, dry land, seas, the fruit-tree yielding fruit, sun, moon, and stars, the moving creature that hath life, and fowl flying in the open firmament of heaven, cattle, creeping thing, and beast of the earth; if we pause here we shall be dissatisfied, because of a sense of incompleteness: there has, indeed, been an onward movement, but expectation will be mortified if the scene close at this point. We know the rest: “God said. Let us make man in our image and in our likeness,” — that was the highest point of spirituality attainable within the first idea of creation; yet it was but a promise.
2. The biblical order of Jiimian recovery (apart altogether from any theological construction of it) is also a movement towards spirituality. Beginning with the Levitical ritual, what could be more objective, or more thoroughly penetrated with all the elements of the most violent tragedy? Exaction follows exaction, as if the uttermost farthing alone would mitigate the severity of the inexorable demand. The sin-offering, the trespass-offering, the burnt-ofiering, the peace-offering; the baptisms, the incenses, and the eternal flow of blood, represent the most sensuous and exhausting system of mediation. Could aught be farther from the point of spirituality? Every day opening with fire and blood; every evening darkening around an altar specially consecrated for its quiet and solemn hours; the Sabbath having its double sacrifice; the new moon to have its sacrifice of bullocks and rams; until it was made plain that in God’s estimate of sin, Lebanon itself was not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering. In moving forward to the Incarnation, we take an immense step along the line whose final point is spirituality, yet even there we are still distinctly upon the carnal line. How to escape it? How to pass to the highest homage? The answer is as full of pathos as of truth: the final Representative of sensuous worship must Himself fee the Revealer of spiritual life. Jesus Christ did not pass away as a figure complete in itself; He ascended that He might conduct His work from a higher level and by a more energetic and universal agency. Henceforth we know not even Jesus Christ “after the flesh,” for the fleshly Christ has Himself placed mankind under the tuition of a spiritual monitor.
3. The order of written testimony, though in some respects apparently accidental, moves in precisely the same direction. From picture and symbol we pass to spiritual meanings; through the noise and fury of war we pass into the quietness and security of moral civilization; through the porch of miracles and mighty signs and wonders we enter the holy place of truth and love; from the erratic and most startling course of Matthew’s genealogical table we pass into John’s gospel, where the Word meets us without one stain of earth upon its robe of light. The quality of John’s gospel requires the very place that has been assicrned to it in the New Testament. It is infinitely better that it should be preceded by the synoptic gospels, in which the attention of the world is boldly challenged by activity, spectacle, and a quickly-moving scene of divers strange things, such as had never been seen even in Israel. In the gospel by John, spiritual teaching, promise, devotion, comfort, and sanctification, are dominant, though publicity and mighty deed are certainly not wanting. John interprets and completes his predecessors. He seems to say, “You have heard what the evangelists have had to tell, and have seen the wonderful things which they remember of their Master’s ministry, now let me explain the deep meaning of the whole.” Thus he comes in his proper place. From Malachi to Matthew is but a step; but to get from Malachi to John, you have to cross the universe. I John’s gospel is waiting until the Church becomes j mature enough to understand it. It waits without perturbation. Meanwhile there is no lack of interest in Matthew and Mark and Luke; yet they I are but the genesis of which the fourth gospel is the apocalypse. Matthew shows x fact; John reveals the tnitk: Matthew pourtrays on canvas; John puts his word into’ the heart. Only relatively so, of course; for in Matthew there is a mystery of godliness, as in John there is a panorama of activity.
4. The whole lazv is a movement towards spirituality. From the minuteness of microscopic bye-laws men have passed to a spiritual sense of moral distinctions. Every moment of the Jew’s time, and every act of the Jew’s life, was guarded by a regulation. Amidst our spiritual light, such regulations could not be re-established without awakening the keenest resentment. The great tables of bye-laws have been taken down, because the Spirit of Order and of Truth has been given. What is true of law is equally true of all institutionalism, — its pr(jgress is from a crude outline towards completeness of purpose and critical accuracy of statement, with a due reserve of defensive reply in the event of a serious assault. The original scheme was probably very imperfect, open to hostility at every point, and inadequate to the occasion to which it primarily, addressed itself; then came criticism and re-consideration; modification and re-adjustment came quickly afterwards; the very wording of the purpose was more keenly set, with a view to unexpressed opposition or distrust; in short, the crude outline was wrought out into intellectual and spiritual completeness and beauty; so much so, that a comparison between the first prospectus and the last is like a comparison between a rough pencil sketch and a fully coloured picture. And this very word “picture” suggests that even in the department of art the law of progression towards spirit uality prevails; the best pictures and statuar)’’ do all but live; though standing out with startHng inde* pendence from all other earthly things, they seem to have around them somewhat of the mystery oi eternity, now tender, now awful, connected by invisible threadlets with the Infinite, and abounding inexhaustibly with suggestion to the observer, whose eye is alight with true life.
Probably these illustrations of the doctrine that the whole movement of history has gone persistently in the direction of spirituality, will be accepted or rejected according to the theological prejudices of the reader; but their practical value will be determined by the fact that precisely the same movement takes place in the consciousness and experience of every progressive life. Every man can test this doctrine for himself, — the doctrine, namely, that the growth of manhood is a growth towards spirituality. The child grows towards contempt of its first toys; the youth reviews the narrow satisfactions of* his childhood with pity; the middle-aged man smiles, halfsneeringly, as h’e recalls the conceits of his youth; t and the hoary-haired thinker lives already amid the I peace and joy of Invisible scenes, or if he go back, living in memory rather than in expectation, it is so ideally as to divest his recollections of all that was [transient and unlovely. It is worth while to halt a moment that we may see the bearing of this common fact upon the special doctrine under examination. In ai)proaching the mystery of the Holy Ghost, we may be but approaching the highest
The HisioT-ic Movement towards Spirituality. 1 7
expression of a mystery which Is continually ruling I the whole economy of human progress. Whatever we may believe about the personality of the Holy Ghost, we cannot get away from the fact of spirituality in our own consciousness. The spiritual world of the wise man increases every day; and, strangely enough, in point of coincidence, that very increase becomes to him what the Holy Ghost becomes to the Church, namely, a Comforter; so much so, that the wise man is never desolate, nor can any fool trouble the depths of his peace. This is the first testament between man and God; is it not meant to introduce a higher covenant y To the intellectual man, the Christian appeal -is this: You have a spiritual conscioiisiiess, to which Jesus Christ would add a spiritual personality; you have the spirit of interpretation, add to it the spirit of sanctification; you have received the preliminary baptism, receive also the Holy Ghost.
These suggestions point to the conclusion that the Holy Ghost Is the reasonable completion of theological revelation, and as such His ministry Is an impregnable proof of the reasonableness of Christianity. In the person of Jesus Christ truth was outward, visible, and most beautiful: In the person of the Holy Ghost truth is inward, spiritual, all-transfiguring. By the very necessity of the case the bodily Christ could be but a passing figure; but by a gracious mystery He caused Himself to be succeeded by an eternal Presence, “even the Spirit of Truth, which abidcth for ever.” It is claimed, then, on behalf of Christianity, that there is a Holy Ghost, and to this doctrine is invited not only the homage of the heart but the full assent of the most robust and dispassionate understanding.