equivalent expression--the life of unselfishness:
"that they which live might henceforth live not unto themselves." The
"dead" of the first verse are "they that live" of the second.
The form of thought finds its exact parallel in Romans vi. 10, 11.
Two points claim our attention:--
I. The vicarious sacrifice of Christ.
II. The influence of that sacrifice on man.
I. The vicariousness of the sacrifice is implied in the word "for". A
vicarious act is an act done for another. When the Pope calls himself
the vicar of Christ, he implies that he acts for Christ. The vicar or
viceroy of a kingdom is one who acts for the king--a vicar's act
therefore is virtually the act of the principal whom he represents; so
that if the Papal doctrine were true, when the vicar of Christ
_pardons_, Christ has pardoned. When the viceroy of a kingdom has
published a proclamation or signed a treaty, the sovereign himself is
bound by those acts.
The truth of the expression _for all_, is contained in this fact, that
Christ is the representative of Humanity--properly speaking, the
representative of human nature. This is the truth contained in the
emphatic expression, "Son of Man." What Christ did _for_ Humanity was
done by Humanity, because in the name of Humanity. For a truly
vicarious act does not supersede the principal's duty of performance,
but rather implies and acknowledges it. Take the case from which this
very word of vicar has received its origin. In the old monastic times,
when the revenues of a cathedral or a cure fell to the lot of a
monastery, it became the duty of that monastery to perform the
religious services of the cure. But inasmuch as the monastery was a
corporate body, they appointed one of their number, whom they
denominated their vicar, to discharge those offices for them. His
service did not supersede theirs, but was a perpetual and standing
acknowledgement that they, as a whole and individually, were under the
obligation to perform it. The act of Christ is the act of
Humanity--that which all Humanity is bound to do. His righteousness
does not supersede our righteousness, nor does His sacrifice supersede
our sacrifice. It is the representation of human life and human
sacrifice--vicarious for all, yet binding upon all.
That He died for all is true--
1. Because He was the victim of the sin of all. In the peculiar
phraseology of St. Paul, he died unto sin. He was the victim
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