The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1903, Page 6

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

⤓ Download .txt · copy text

’ bodies of the other creatures, we

6 ‘The Lutheran Pioneer.

The First Article.

Or Max.

holy and righteous and knew God, it follows

| that they were also perfectly happy.
God is the almighty Maker of heaven and |
earth. God has made the heavens and all the our first parents when they listened to Satan | books to read.

But alas! this image of God was lost by

| of His essence and His will. But if they were overtake them. When I asked him if he knew

| how to read, he told me that he did, and that
jhe had been taught inthe Institute for the
Blind in this city. I asked him if he had any
He replied, yes, he had one

host of them, He has made the earth and all | and ate of the forbidden fruit. The children) or two, and that if I desired one he could get

it contains. The sun, the moon, and the stars, | of Adam and Eve were not in the image of | it for me from the Institute.

I then wished

the grasses, the herbs, and the trees, the fishes, | God, but in the image of their sinful parents. | to know if he would like to have another book,
the birds, the creeping things, and the beasts, | And this image of God will never be perfectly | one of which perhaps he had known nothing;

they are all the handiwork of God. But the
foremost creature of God on earth is man.

Therefore we confess: ‘‘I believe that God| to face in the heavenly paradise will this per- | him a copy of the Gospel of St. Jobn.

has made me and all creatures.’’

regained by the children of Adam in this
world. Not until we again see God from face

edge and happiness be our own.
Yet a beginning towards the restoration of

/and he replied that he would. The boy led
him, following me into the store. I handed
He at

| fect holiness and righteousness, perfect know]- | once began to read, and expressed great sur-
While God created all other creatures of the|
earth by the mere power of His Word, He, so|

|prise; it was so new and wonderful to him.
| As he was reading aloud and sitting near

to speak, took greater pains in making man. | the image of God is already made here on|the door, the persons passing in the street
For in the first chapters of the Bible we read | earth in those who believe in Jesus Christ. | were soon attracted by the sight, and one after
that God formed man out of the earth and/| These believers, though sinful in themselves, | another stopped to hear. They had evidently

blew a living breath into his
nostrils. All these circumstances
go to prove that God attached
particular importance to the cre-
ation of man.

The body of man is most won-
derfully made. With head erect,
his eye looks not downward but
upward. If we but compare the
body of man with its limbs to the

see at once that he occupies the
highest plane in creation.

But besides the body, God has
also given us a soul, a rational
soul. And this soul has been
endowed with reason and senses.
What the eyes and ears are to
the body, reason is to the soul.
By means of my reason my soul
sees and hears. By means of our
reason we may see proofs of the
Creator in His creatures, and
may hear what God tells us in
His Word. But as the body has
not only eyes and ears, so the
soul is not only endowed with
reason. God has given it many
other senses, or powers, such as memory,
judgment, will, the sensibilities, and the like.

But the Bible tells us even more. Gen.
1, 27 we read that God made man in His own
image; and it is, above all, this fact that
places man aboye every other creature of
God’s hand. :

Wherein did this image of God consist?
Eph. 4, 23. 24 the Apostle admonishes the be-
lieyers: ‘‘Put ye on the new man, which after
God is created in righteousness and true holi-
ness,’” and Col. 3, 10 he says to the Chris-
tians: ‘Ye have put on the new man, which
is renewed in knowledge after the image of

questions.’

_ Him that created him.”? From these two pas-

Sages we learn wherein the image of God con-

sisted. Our first parents were perfectly holy.
_ They were without stain or flaw. They were
perfectly righteous; all they did was in per-

“fect conformity with God’s wish and will.
Theirs was also a perfect knowledge of God,

- JESUS IN THE TEMPLE.

**Jt came to pass, that after three days they found Him in the temple,
sitting in the midst of the Doctors, both hearing them and asking them

Luke 2, 46.

are in possession of the righteousness of God
for Jesus’ sake, and they are also happy in
the knowledge that God is their Father in
Christ Jesus the Beloved. ¥. J. L.

—————> + <4 o +
An Impressive Scene.

What blessings and mercies already have
come from the recent publication of the Gospel
of John in raised letters in Portuguese the
following account of an impressive scene at
the Bible store, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from
Mr. Tucker, will show:

A few days ago, just as I walked out of the
door of our Bible store, my attention was at-
tracted to a blind man passing on the opposite
side of the street, being led by a boy. I had
gone but a few steps when the inquiry arose
in my mind whether or not he might be able
to read according to the system for the blind,
and under the impulse I was led to turn and

never before seen a blind person
reading. By and by I asked him
to read the ninth chapter, giving
an account of the opening of the
eyes of the man born blind.
About twenty-five persons had
gathered around him. He was
greatly delighted and interested
in the story, and the hearers
seemed as much interested now
in what he was reading as they
had been at first in seeing him
read. It was a scene of much
interest for quite a while. Many
heard from him, who for the first
time in his life was reading the
wonderful truths of life and sal-
vation, messages of God’s love
to man as manifested in the gift
of His Son. This blind man went
on his way rejoicing, carrying
with him this treasure. He said
to me that it would be a great
pleasure to read this book; that
many times he had nothing to
do, and he could now occupy
his time reading those beautiful
stories. He lives on one of the
islands that dot the Bay of Rio de Janeiro.
He told me that he has several blind friends,
whom he will tell about this beautiful book.

In this connection, I wish to add that I have
never had more grateful expressions from any
persons than have come from the blind who
have received copies of the Gospel of St. John.

Bible Society Record.

my —— - o> ee

The Brilliancy of the Gospel.

In the Gospel the grace of God is given us,
and all our own endeavors are rejected. It
establishes the glory of God in such a way
that no man can boast of his own ability, but
he must give all honor to God and confess
that it is due alone to the love and goodness
of God if we are saved. Behold, this divine
glory, this divine honor is the very brilliancy
of the Gospel. —Zuther.