QUES. 30.-Kindly say, in your question page, whether it is the Lord's face or the believer's that is said to be open whether it is the in 2 Cor. 3 :18.
ANS. It is the believer's face. It is a contrast between the glory of the ministration of death shining on the face of Moses, and that of life and righteousness shining on the face of Jesus Christ. The people cannot look on the first glory; it condemns them all. Every man in Israel, therefore, must needs veil his face. Instead of this, Moses veils his own, which is practically the face of all Israel.
Not so with the ministration of grace which Christ brings. It bestows life and righteousness on man in which to meet God in perfect peace. We fear no more ; we draw nigh with uncovered face. And while the ministry of death comes to an end, this abides. We are brought by it face to face with God for ever and ever.
QUES. 31.-Three books on "Sickness among Saints," by Philip Mauro, were recently sent me, and they have greatly puzzled me. His reasoning seems logical. He says, "You cannot trust God and medicine." I surely desire to trust God ; but am I distrusting Him in using a remedy for my ills? A word from you would he very welcome ; and that not to me alone, but, I am quite sure, to not a few others.
ANS.-First of all, Mr. Mauro has a false notion of sickness, based on a false interpretation of Horn. 8 :11. The quickening of our mortal bodies mentioned in that passage he places at the present time, instead of that of the first resurrection. Of course, if our bodies are already quickened by the Spirit that dwells in us, we have no business to be sick at all. Being sick must be because of some evil way we are in, and therefore a guilty thing. If this be the case, medicine is, of course, not what we need, but confession.
That sickness is sometimes the visitation of God upon His children for evil indulged in there is no doubt. James 5 :16 refers to this; and when this is the case no medicine will be blessed of God till the sin is confessed. But this certainly was not the case with Timothy, to whom the apostle prescribes a remedy for his "often infirmities" (1 Tim. 5:23), Nor with Epaphroditus, who, for the work of the Lord, was sick nigh unto death (Phil. 2 :25-30). Nor with Hezekiah, for whose recovery the prophet Isaiah prescribes a remedy (Isa. 38 :21).
The real fact is that sickness is as truly the result of man's fall as death itself; and while both sickness and death may be used of God for specific judgment on some of His offending children (1 Cor. 11:29-32), they are as natural to fallen man, whether redeemed or unredeemed, as hunger and thirst are to created man.
If we humbly own our fallen state, we shall humbly own death and sickness as our lot here. We shall humbly thank God for preserving our life day by day, and as truly thank Him for any remedy which His providence has prepared for the relief of our ills. We will not run to the physician and medicine as if they were our hope. We will not put our trust in them, nor exalt them above their true place. We will thank God for the skillful physician and for the effective remedy, as we thank God for the faithful minister of Christ, though it is Christ Himself in whom alone we trust.
We do not question for a moment what you say of Mr. Mauro's Christian character, nor do we love him less for refusing his theories in this matter or in others.
We would commend for your reading " Faith's Resource in Sickness," by S. E. (5 cts., or 2 12d.), a most excellent pamphlet on this subject.
QUES. 32.-We know that infants go to heaven ; but once in heaven, are they infants still, or have they become adults?
ANS.-Scripture seems to give us little or no direct information on the subject. From 1 Cor. 13 :12 we learn that all these will be in perfection. With ns adult believers who have enjoyed here already the things of God, the state of perfection is more easily understood, but what will constitute the perfection of babes we are unable to say.