"THE DIVINE NATURE"

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 593, 26 July 1933, Page 6

"THE DIVINE NATURE"

SERMON AT ST. LUKE'S THE CALL TO SERVICE THROUGH CHRIST'S EXAMPLE ' - ARCHDEASON'S ADDRESS l "That ye might be partakers of the Divine nature" (II Pet. 1, 4), was the text taken by Archdeacon F. W. Chatterton preacliing at St. Luke's on Sunday. "What a wonderful ray of light shone out from these words of St. Peter upon the dark world of those first ages of our Christian era," said the speaker. "It has taken the world a long time to grasp this lesson, that God has provided all that is needed to enable us to become 'partakers of the Divine nature;' for as St. Peter, guided by the Spirit of God, points out to us (what he had himself been taught by Christ) that it is God's will that we should reach this height, and the means by which this is to be accomplished, he goes on to say, is through the great and precious promises which are included in the Gospel message — promises of forgiveness, promises of restoration and renewal, promises of Divine grace and help to meet all needs, and promises of future bliss. "These are the constructive truths that are revealed to us, to counteract the destructive elements that are

everywhere obvious in the physical and moral and spiritual atmosphere which surrounds us. "(a) In the physical world we are made aware of germs of disease doing their deadly work on the bodies of men — and this extends to the vegetabl6 world where the numberless pests cause havoc and destruction to the fruits of the earth which are in- . tended for man's food. | "(b) In the intellectual world are j the false theories and erroneous | ideas which so often blind the minds of men to the truth, and produce ; chaos and confusion in the mental outlook of large portions .of mankind. "(c) In the moral and spiritual world are those spiritual forces of evil which work upon the moral nature of man and lead to every form of evil which destroys human happiness and degrades man's nature, even to ■ its sinking at times to depths lower ! than the level of the animal. "Now, what does all this mean? Blinded Vision "Are we merely impotent, passive, predetei'mined, helpless babes, the sport of cynical agencies that plan our destruction; the storm-tossed froth and foam of the ocean cast upon the beach of time, to disappear into oblivion, and leave notliing either to rejoice in or to mourn over? A thousand times, no! Although from the careless, indifferent and utterly superficial way in which many try to live, it might seem so — as it might also seem so to the blinded vision of some of .our sceptical philisophers. "On the surface it is true, this condition of things seems so out of harmony with the mind and character of the beneficent Creator of whom the Bible tells us that 'He saw everything that He had made and behold it was very good.' In spite, however, of all that has been said to the. contrary, this Divine verdict is in harmony with an instinct within us which sees a potentiality for good which is destined to be realised in process of time, and already shows itself in everwidening circles, which in spite of its ebb and flow, will ultimately prevail, even though we may still have to pass through periods of suffering before the lesson is fully understood. In our outlook upon the universe we are not looking at a completed work, but on a half-finished one which contains within it, as our Christian faith reminds us, the promise of ultimate completion according to the Divine plan. Beyond this human thought cannot reach. The Divine Instinct "To the every simplest believer in God and in good, such a view is the only one worthy of Him who made us. Any other view would contradict those Divine instincts planted within us which bring forth noble thoughts, and give us a vision of eternal realities; it would mock those deeper longings of the heart which we cannot think were ever intended to remain unsatisfied; it would be contrary to the whole tenor of Divine revelation, and above all contrary ,to the message of hope, which is the very essence of the gospel of Christ. "No, indeed. The picture we have loolced at is a true one. as far as it goes, but it is only half the picture. There is the other half which we do well to give great heed to. It is the inspiring half, which the world so much needs, and which can alone inspire confidence in God and man. "There is, even now, a beautiful and fruitful world in spite of pests — there are healthy, strong and vigorous constitutions in spite of germs, bacteria and other destructive forces that are at work. And there are beautiful characters full of holy activi-. ties and divine qualities in spite of all the agencies of evil that assault the morals and nature of man. There is an escape from 'the corruption

that is in the world through lust,' and that we discover as we learn^the secret of 'becoming partakers of the Divine nature.' The Work of the Churdh "This is the work of Christ to point out this way of escape — to reproduce that divine character in men and women which is the purpose of God. It was for this that Christ founded His Church. Its means of grace, its services, its teaching are all intended for this end. There is absolutely no other society or organisation that can take its place, though many do . not seem to realise this. They little realise how much they owe to it, and how far its spirit has permeated our civilisation. It needs a more loyal support from its members than it often gets — and above all it needs that its principles and its teaching are applied to every department of life. Only so can its witness in the world be truly effective and only so will the dark places of the earth be illuminated with the light of the everhastening gospel. "That is where our responsibility comes in — God has given to us 'all things that pertain to life and godliness.' "These things are to be found in the Christian message which contains 'exceeding great and precious promises.' "It is as we believe and accept those promises, that we become 'par-; takers of the Divine nature,' and are thus enabled 'to escape the corruption that is in the world through lust'."