“Did your minister attend the discussion?”
“He did; and he says he went there to learn what could be said in favor of such a doctrine. He is sure he can convince all that it is as false as sin. One of my neighbors says he shall send for Manford to reply to him. But he cannot preach in our church. He may be sure of that.”
CHAPTER VIII.
Debate in Lafayette—Die in Adam—Alive in Christ—This World and World to Come—Battle Ground—In Monticello—A Reply—A Preacher Whipped—D. Vines—S. Oyler—I. M. Westfall—B. F. Foster in Indiana—Revival Poetry—Ladoga Camp-Meeting—Worship God—In Michigan City—An Episcopal Preacher—A Wet Ride—Debate in Dayton—Discussion in Jefferson—Everlasting Punishment—End of the World—Second Coming of Christ—Eternal Life—Meaning of Everlasting.
Soon after this, I had an oral debate in Lafayette, with Mr. Jeffries, Protestant Methodist, of that place, which continued four days. One of my principal proof-texts was 1 Corinthians, 15th chapter. I spoke as follows: This is one of the longest chapters in the New Testament, and in it the apostle discourses on very important subjects—on life and death, mortality and immortality, the earthy nature and heavenly nature. There are two general statements in this chapter. 1st. We must all die in Adam. 2d. We shall all be made alive in Christ. I will notice these statements in the order I have named them.
1st. We must all die. “As in Adam all die.” This does not say we must die because a man by the name of Adam did so and so, six thousand years ago. Adam is a Hebrew word, and signifies man. Job says, “Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble.” In the original it reads, Adam, instead of man. That Adam simply means man, or mankind, is evident from the account of the creation of our race, in Genesis. “Let us make man (Adam) in our image, after our likeness, and let them have dominion.” Here the plural verb shows that the word Adam is employed collectively, meaning mankind. “And God created the man (the Adam) in his own image: in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” Here both the application of “male and female” to the Adam, and the plural pronoun at the end of the verse shows that the man is used generically, and that it is equivalent to the first of mankind. The word Adam, then, was not a proper name, but an appellative noun for the human species; its application to the first man, as his proper name, was subsequent and secondary. Hence when the apostle says, “As in Adam all die,” he means, As in the Adamic nature, the earthy, corruptible, mortal nature, all die. Adam means mortal man, and all mankind die in that nature.
2d. The other statement is contained in the same verse—“Even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” “Made alive in Christ,” is contrasted with “die in Adam;” and as Adam means the earthy nature, so Christ means the heavenly nature. Here is universal death in the earthy nature, and universal life in heavenly nature. All die on earth and all shall live in heaven. But in the Adamic nature is the germ of the Christ-like nature, as in the corn is the germ of the future stock. In this chapter the apostle gives this beautiful analogy thus: “But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?” In answering these questions the apostle shows, that the germ of the heavenly man is in the earthy man. “Thou fool! that which thou sowest is not quickened except it die.” The seed corresponds to the mortal body; the germ corresponds to the spirit in man; and as the sowing of the seed develops the germ into a beautiful and vigorous plant, to bask in the sunshine, inhale the air, and drink the dews of heaven, so the death of the mortal body quickens the indwelling spirit, and it enters with renewed vigor on its immortal and heavenly life. The seed then is an emblem of man; its resurrection an emblem of man’s resurrection. Who can deny a resurrection when the world is so full of emblems pointing man to that great fact in his own destiny. “So,” says the apostle, referring to this beautiful illustration, “is the resurrection of the dead”—all the dead, all who die in the earthy nature. In the words, “It is sown,” the writer seems to refer to the seed sown in the ground, still making it an emblem of man. Mankind sown in corruption, dishonor, are raised incorruptible, glorious. The second body is more glorious than the first, as the rose is more glorious than the seed. These citations show what the apostle means by the words, “made alive in Christ;” and remember, that all who die in the Adamic nature are thus to be made alive.
“Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father,” etc. (See verses 24-28). Here we learn what is to be destroyed. 1. “All rule.” 2. “All authority.” 3. “All power.” 4. “Death.” And mark you, that death is the LAST enemy. My friend asserts, that death is NOT the last enemy, but that beyond death, and IN HELL, there are legions of enemies to be the everlasting tormentors of countless millions of mankind. If the gentleman is correct, death is not the last enemy, but rather the first real enemy, and opens the door to the fires, furies, and demons of perdition, which will burn and lash their victims world without end. Let it also be noted, that the last enemy is to be DESTROYED. The apostle continues his statements concerning the subjugation of all things to God thus: “And when all things shall be subdued to God, then shall the Son himself be subject to him, that put all things under him that God may be all in all.” This is the END to which mankind are tending, and this consummation will surely be realized. All sin, error, suffering and death, shall be abolished; all mankind subdued to God, and God ALL IN ALL. The sum of this chapter then is this—all mankind are mortal, corruptible, and must die; death is destruction to the body, but life to the soul; glory, honor and immortality, are the rich inheritance of mankind.
“The apostle,” replied Mr. J., “teaches the resurrection of the body, not of the spirit, and I admit that he teaches the resurrection of all the dead, and when that shall be effected the absent spirits will claim their long lost bodies.”
I rejoined: The gentleman tells us, that the writer of this chapter teaches the resurrection of the bodies of all the dead. If he is correct, God will raise the bodies of saints and sinners, Jews and Gentiles, incorruptible, glorious, heavenly, and when that shall be done, he will unlock hell, and take the deformed, corrupt, wretched spirits, that have been imprisoned in that foul dungeon for thousands of years, and perhaps millions of ages, and put them into those beautiful, glorious, heavenly bodies. That would be a union of perfect purity with total depravity, a marriage of heaven and hell, and two bodies so totally unlike would fly asunder like fire and water. The truth is, the apostle speaks not of the resurrection of this mortal body, these bones and muscles, this flesh and blood, but of the man—the inner, spiritual, real man. This body is necessary, while we are denizens of earth. By means of it the spirit is connected with the outer world, but when we shall be dwellers of the spirit land, we shall have no further use of these mortal tabernacles.