That is a great mistake, for he says, "I keep my body under . lest while I preach to others, I myself become a castaway." Neither Paul nor any one else will ever be delivered from this body of sin and death until Christ changes this vile body and fashions it like unto his glorious body; then the law of sin and death will be extinguished, for the bodies of the saints made perfect are forever free from the operations of that law.

But Paul continues (in chapter 8), "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit, For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death, For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit." Now in this statement Paul informs us why God sent his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, or in other words, why he was made partaker of flesh and blood like his brethren; namely, that by a sacrifice for sin, he might condemn sin in the flesh. Now how could Jesus by his death condemn sin in the flesh, if there were no sin in his own flesh to condemn? It would be impossible.

Now the manner in which Christ by his death condemned sin in the flesh is as follows: he obeyed his Father's commands and resisted sin even unto blood. His own flesh recoiled from the ignominious death upon the cross, but he endured the cross, and despised the shame. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so was the Son of man lifted up. The serpent is the symbol of sin in the flesh, therefore when Christ died upon the cross in obedience to his Father's commands, then the law of sin which was in his flesh, was destroyed; for when he was raised from the dead, sin was dead and buried and left behind. He overcame, and was raised immortal, free from the law of sin and death. "Death hath no more dominion over him "; and as sin was condemned and destroyed in his own body, so will he condemn and destroy sin in the bodies of all his brethren when he raises them from the dead to die no more.

Now Paul has used two parallel expressions, which, when properly put together and understood, show clearly that what he calls, "sin in the flesh" in one place, in another place he calls, "the Devil," as follows: first (Rom. 8:3), "God sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and by a sacrifice for sin condemned sin in the flesh" (that is, destroyed sin in the flesh); second (Heb. 2:14), "For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same, that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil."

In these two parallel passages, Paul tells us that Christ took upon himself our nature; first, that by death, he might condemn sin in the flesh; and second, that through death he might destroy the Devil. Now as Christ did not come to die for two different purposes, therefore it follows that sin in the flesh, and the Devil, are one and the same thing.

Now this demonstrates a very important fact for the benefit of the Scripture student who desires to inform himself correctly on this important Scrip

ture question, for here the truth is established, that the principle of sin or lust in the flesh, called also the "law of sin in our members," is personified by the inspired writers, and called in plain language, "The Devil." The Apostle also speaks of him in his letter to the Ephesians; referring to their past condition before they knew and had obeyed the truth, he says to them (Eph. 2:1-3), "In times past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air "; and adds in explanation, "The spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience"; and he carries the interpretation still further, and says, "Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past, in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind." These words of Paul are very plain and conclusive on this matter. Moreover, what he here calls, "a prince," he elsewhere (in his second letter to the Corinthians, 4: 4) calls a god, saying, "If our gospel is hid, it is hid to them that are lost, in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them."

THE DEVIL AS A GOD

The Devil Paul defines as the god of this world, who blinds the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. Therefore they who do not believe the true gospel, no matter how devout they may be, in their ignorance are nevertheless the Devil's children and worshippers. Again, "I had not known sin, but by the law, for I had not known lust, except the law had said thou shalt not covet." A covetous man, therefore, is one who bows down before lust and worships the Devil as his God; for whatever occupies the chief place in a man's heart, is his object of worship; and the Devil is the spirit which now worketh in the children of disobedience, who walk after the lusts of the flesh.

THE DEVIL AS A PRINCE

Sin is spoken of as a reigning prince in Paul's letter to the Romans, where he says to them, "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof " (6: 12); and again (verse 14), "For sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are not under the law, but under grace." These people had been under the power of the god of this world, but when they did, as Paul says, obey from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered unto them, they were made free from sin, and became the servants of righteousness, and had their fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life; for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Eternal life is not innate in man, but is the gift of God to them only who believe and obey him. Again, when Jesus had about finished his work, and the time drew nigh when he must die in obedience to his Father's command, he said to his disciples (John 14:30), "Hereafter I will not talk much with you, for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me."

Now sin and lust as manifested in the covetous and hypocritical scribes, Pharisees, and chief priests, and rulers of Israel, who knew Christ not, nor

yet the voices of the prophets, and moved by envy, and the spirit of evil, were about to arrest and put Christ to death, and in view of this, Jesus said, "The prince of this world cometh, but," says Jesus, "he hath nothing in me." Jesus had committed no breach of the law; he had defrauded no man; he had done violence to nonę, and as Paul testified in the synagogue at Antioch (Acts 13:28), "And though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate, that he should be slain"; for after Pilate had examined him, he said to his accusers, "I find no fault in him at all." And so the prince of this world, as manifested in the children of wickedness, could find no cause of death in him.

Again Jesus said touching the things which should be accomplished by his death (John 12:31-32), “Now is the judgment of this world, Now shall the prince of this world be cast out, and I, if I be lifted up, shall draw all men unto me." This is a very deep and important statement. How was

the judgment of this world to concentre in Christ's being lifted up from the earth? And how was the prince of this world to be cast out by that act? In this way: Christ took our nature upon himself, and therefore had within himself the same spirit of evil to restrain, and keep under, that we have, and he had, moreover, to encounter and resist the spirit of evil as it was manifested in his enemies, who were seeking his life. And on the other hand, he had his Father's command to obey, to lay down his life, by the hand of the enemy, and the avenger, for the sins of the world.

His flesh recoiled at the trial. He saw before him his murderers, that he was to be robed in robes of mock royalty, to be crowned with thorns, to be spit upon, to be taken to the place of execution, to be stripped of his garments, and nailed to the cross, and hanged up by his lacerated flesh, with malefactors, a spectacle to angels and men, and to die upon his wounds. And with this terrible ordeal to pass through, Matthew tells us that, coming to Gethsemane with his disciples he said to them, "Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder." And taking with him Peter, and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, "My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death. And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, If it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he went again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, If this cup may not pass from me except I drink it, Thy will be done." Luke the beloved physician adds, "And there appeared an angel unto him strengthening him, and being in an agony, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground."

The first Adam yielded to temptation and failed to obey the express command of God, and so brought sin into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men; for in Adam all sinned. And now came the trial of the second Adam, for he had just as specific a command to obey as did the first. Jesus was commanded to lay down his life under these terrible conditions, to redeem the called by his blood, and every step he had to take was marked out by his Father long before he appeared upon the scene of action. And now, what was the result of all this? He died and was buried, but he did not corrupt, for it was written of him, "Thou wilt not

suffer thine holy one to see corruption," although he was three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, that is, in the grave; but on the third day he was quickened by the spirit into life and immortality in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. The principle of sin and death was extinguished in his body by this operation of the almighty power of God, as Paul says in writing to the Ephesians that he "prayed that the eyes of their understanding might be enlightened by the Father of glory, that they might see what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to his mighty power which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places." Sin was now condemned and destroyed in his flesh. That principle of evil in man's flesh called the Devil, was cast out.

Jesus said, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3: 14-15). What parallel was there between the lifting up of the serpent, and the lifting up of the Son of man? The serpent is a symbol of sin in the flesh, that is, the Devil in the flesh; therefore when the Son of man was lifted up, sin in the flesh was lifted up, and nailed to the cross; so when Christ died and was buried, and was raised from the dead immortal, free from the law of sin in his members, the Devil was dead. The prince of this world was cast out, else how could Paul's words be true, where he said, "As the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same." And we inquire, For what purpose? Paul answers, That through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the Devil."

Again Jesus said to his apostles (John 16:7-11), "It is expedient for you that I go away, for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you, but if I depart, I will send him unto you, and when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they believe not on me; of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged."

To understand these words of Christ, we must remember the Scripture in the sixty-eighth Psalm, which said of Christ, "Thou hast ascended on high (referring to his ascension into heaven after his resurrection), thou hast led captivity captive, thou hast received gifts for men." These gifts were the gifts of the Holy Spirit, called by Jesus, the Comforter. These gifts of the Holy Spirit would never have been given to men, if Jesus had not ascended into heaven to his Father, as the Scriptures required, and therefore as Jesus said, "If I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you, but if I depart, I will send him unto you."

Now when the Holy Spirit was sent down from heaven after Christ's ascension there, he says that it was to serve three purposes: to reprove, or convince the world, of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. First, of sin, he says, "because they believe not on me "; that is, Christ had been raised from the dead, and ascended on high, and the spirit that he sent down by which signs, wonders, and miracles were wrought in his name was proof positive that he was alive again, and accepted of God, and his enemies were con

demned and convinced of sin thereby. Second, of righteousness, because, "I go to the Father, and ye see me no more." The Scripture had said of Christ, "Sit thou at my right hand until I make thy foes thy footstool." Therefore when he sat down on his Father's throne, his disciples could see him no more, and the spirit which he sent down from there bore witness of his righteousness, for without that he could not have been accepted there. Third, of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. Christ, by a sacrifice for sin, had condemned sin in the flesh; that is, the prince of this world was judged, condemned and cast out, so far as the person of Christ was concerned, and will be cast out of his brethren when they put on immortality, by resurrection, as their Lord and master had already done, all of which the spirit was sent down from on high to convince men of.

THE DEVIL AS A FATHER

Jesus, by the spirit that was given him, as John the Baptist said, without measure, possessed the power to discern the hearts of all, so that any vain, flattering words, or superficial pretense, had no influence with him; and therefore it is written of him, "Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did; but Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man because he knew what was in man (John 2: 23-25). On another occasion it is said (John 8:30), "As he spake these words many believed on him "; but Jesus, knowing how superficial and ephemeral this belief in him was, said unto them which professed to believe in him, "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed, and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." This quickly manifested what was in them, for they replied, "We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man; how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?" Jesus replied emphatically, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin; and the servant abideth not in the house for ever, but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. I know that ye are Abraham's seed, but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you. I speak that which I have seen with my Father, and ye do that which ye have seen with your Father." This Jesus said to persons who had just professed to believe on him. "Then they answered, Abraham is our Father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham, but now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God; this did not Abraham. Ye do the works of your Father. They replied, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me, for I proceeded forth and came from God, neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word." Then said Jesus, "Ye are of your Father the Devil, and the lusts of your Father ye will do."

This important conversation between Christ and the children of the Devil shows very clearly what the Devil is, and all do well to carefully study the truth on this question, as it is set forth by an unerring authority. He said