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diff --git a/43685-0.txt b/43685-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0aa466e --- /dev/null +++ b/43685-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12597 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 43685 *** + +Transcriber's note: + + Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). + + Text enclosed by equal signs is in bold face (=bold=). + + + + + +THE LITERATURE AND HISTORY OF NEW TESTAMENT TIMES + + +PART I: + +The Historical Background of +Christianity + +The Early History of +Christianity + +by + +JOHN GRESHAM MACHEN + + + + + + + +Philadelphia, Pa. +The Presbyterian Board Of Publication and Sabbath School Work + + + + +CONTENTS + + + PAGE + + Introduction 3 + + LESSON + + 1. The New Testament 5 + + 2. The Roman Background of Christianity 10 + + 3. The Greek Background of Christianity 15 + + 4. The Jewish Background of Christianity: + I. Palestinian Judaism 21 + + 5. The Jewish Background of Christianity: + II. The Judaism of the Dispersion 26 + + 6. The Messiah 31 + + 7. The Book of The Acts 36 + + 8. The Cross and the Resurrection the Foundation of + Apostolic Preaching 41 + + 9. The Beginnings of the Christian Church 46 + + 10. The First Persecution 51 + + 11. The First Gentile Converts 56 + + 12. The Conversion of Paul 60 + + 13. The Church at Antioch 67 + + 14. The Gospel to the Gentiles 75 + + 15. The Council at Jerusalem 81 + + 16. The Gospel Carried Into Europe 86 + + 17. Encouragement for Recent Converts 92 + + 18. The Conflict with the Judaizers 97 + + 19. Problems of a Gentile Church 103 + + 20. The Apostle and His Ministry 109 + + 21. The Gospel of Salvation 115 + + 22. Paul's Journey to Rome 120 + + 23. The Supremacy of Christ 124 + + 24. The Church of Christ 129 + + 25. Christ and His Followers 133 + + 26. Training New Leaders 138 + + 27. A Presentation of Jesus to Jewish Christians 147 + + 28. A Graphic Sketch of the Life of Jesus 154 + + 29. A Greek Historian's Account of Jesus 158 + + 30. The Testimony of the Beloved Disciple 165 + + 31. The Jesus of the Gospels 174 + + 32. A Document of the Jerusalem Church 178 + + 33. Jesus the Fulfillment of the Old Testament 184 + + 34. Christian Fortitude 189 + + 35. The Christian's Attitude Toward Error and Immorality 194 + + 36. The Life of the Children of God 198 + + 37. The Messages of the Living Christ 203 + + 38. A Vision of the Final Triumph 209 + + 39. Review 213 + + 40. The Church and the World 219 + + 41. The Christian Message 225 + + 42. The Word and the Sacraments 231 + + 43. Prayer 238 + + 44. The Congregation 244 + + 45. The Relief of the Needy 249 + + 46. Organizing for Service 255 + + 47. A Mission for the World 261 + + 48. The Christian Ideal of Personal Morality 266 + + 49. Christianity and Human Relationships 271 + + 50. The Christian Use of the Intellect 277 + + 51. The Christian Hope and the Present Possession 282 + + 52. Retrospect: the First Christian Century 287 + + + Copyright, 1915, by John Gresham Machen + + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +The general purpose of this course of lessons has been set forth in +the introduction to the Student's Text Book. There is a tendency +in the modern Church to neglect the study of Bible history. Such +neglect will inevitably result in a loss of power. The gospel is a +record of something that has happened, and uncertainty about the +gospel is fatal weakness. Furthermore the historical study of the +apostolic age--that age when divine revelation established the +great principles of the Church's life--is the best corrective for +a thousand vagaries. Much can be learned from modern pedagogy; but +after all what is absolutely fundamental, both for teacher and for +student, is an orderly acquaintance with the Bible facts. + +The Teacher's Manual, therefore, is intended not merely to offer +suggestions as to methods of teaching, but primarily to supplement +the teacher's knowledge. A teacher who knows only what he actually +imparts to the class is inevitably dull. The true teacher brings +forth out of his treasure things new and old. + +The sections in the Teacher's Manual, since they are intended to +be supplementary, should not be read until after careful attention +has been paid to the corresponding sections in the Student's Text +Book. Moreover, both sections together are of course in themselves +insufficient. They should be supplemented by other reading. +Suggestions about reading have been put at the end of every lesson. +Here, however, a few general remarks may be made. + +Davis' "Dictionary of the Bible" and Purves' "Christianity in the +Apostolic Age," which have been recommended even to the student, +will be to the teacher almost invaluable. The earnest teacher +will also desire to refer to good commentaries on The Acts. The +commentaries which have been mentioned in connection with the +individual lessons are based upon the English Bible; but every +teacher who has any knowledge of Greek, however slight, should use, +instead, the commentary of Knowling, in "The Expositor's Greek +Testament." For the life of Paul, Lewin's "Life and Epistles of St. +Paul" and the similar book of Conybeare and Howson are still very +valuable for their vivid and extended descriptions of the scenes of +the missionary journeys. A similar service is rendered, in more +up-to-date form, by the various works of Ramsay. Stalker's "Life of +St. Paul" is a good handbook. M'Clymont's "New Testament and Its +Writers" contains instructive, though very brief, introductions +to all of the New Testament books. Hastings' "Dictionary of the +Bible" and "Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels" number among +their contributors many writers of many opinions. They are rich in +references to the vast literature of modern Biblical discussion. + +The writer of this course has derived information from many +quarters. Definite acknowledgment of indebtedness, since no +originality is claimed, may be regarded as unnecessary. It is a +pleasure, however, to render special thanks to Rev. Professor +William Park Armstrong, D. D., of Princeton Theological Seminary, +whose wise counsel has been of incalculable assistance at many +points. + +The actual presentation of the lessons will, of course, vary +according to the needs of the classes and the preferences of the +teachers. The Student's Text Book may often provide a convenient +order of presentation. That book is intended not merely to be read, +but also to be studied. It is to be regarded as a sort of outline of +the course. + +The "topics for study" are intended to serve a double purpose. In +the first place, they will test the student's knowledge of the +lesson material; in the second place, they will afford encouragement +to special investigation. Individual topics may often be assigned +for thorough treatment to individual students, while the class as a +whole may use all the topics as guides to a general knowledge. + +Personal interest in the individual students is of the utmost +importance. Instruction has a tenfold value when it is backed by +friendship. The relation of the students to the Church should +be a matter of especial concern. If any member of the class has +not confessed his faith in Christ, the study of this year offers +abundant opportunity for a word in season. Our study reveals the +Church as a divine institution. Shall we then stand aloof? + +In this course the teacher has the opportunity of introducing +young people of maturing minds to the historical study of the New +Testament. There could be no more inspiring task. Carried about with +every wind of doctrine, the Church is sadly in need of an assured +anchorage. That anchorage should be sought in history. Ignorance is +weak; sound knowledge, sought with prayer, and blessed by the Spirit +of God, will lead to a more stalwart and more intelligent faith. + + + + +LESSON I + +THE NEW TESTAMENT + + +This is an introductory lesson. It should be used, first of all, to +answer intelligent general questions about the New Testament. Some +of these questions will be discussed briefly under Sections 1 to 3, +below. + +The historical study of the New Testament, based upon a study of +the circumstances under which the individual books were written, +will probably be new to many of the students. The new point of view +should be used to awaken interest. The climax of the lesson should, +however, be a presentation of the unity of the New Testament as the +very Word of God to us. Historical study should be made--and can be +made--subservient to reverent and thankful obedience. + + +1. THE ORIGIN AND MEANING OF THE NAME + +The English word "testament" comes from a Latin word. The equivalent +Greek word is hard to translate. As used in the Greek Bible it may +mean either "covenant" or "testament." Usually it should probably be +translated "covenant." + +The phrase "new covenant" occurs about five times in the New +Testament. In none of these passages does the phrase refer to the +"New Testament" in our sense. It designates a new relationship into +which men have been received with God. The old covenant was made, +through the mediatorship of Moses, with the Hebrew nation; the new +covenant, hinted at in prophecy, Jer. 31:31, and instituted by the +Lord Jesus, I Cor. 11:25, was made with all those, of every tribe +and tongue and people and nation, who should through faith accept +the salvation offered by Christ. Those who believe become, like +Israel of old, God's chosen people, and enter into the warmth and +joy of the divine communion. The names "old and new covenants," +then, were applied first to these two special relationships into +which God entered with men. Afterwards the names were applied to the +books in which the conditions of those relationships were set forth. +Perhaps it would have been better if we had started to say "New +Covenant" where we now say "New Testament." At any rate the idea +alluded to in the name is the inspiring idea, realized in Christ, +of an alliance with God. The New Testament is the divine treaty by +the terms of which God has received us rebels and enemies into peace +with himself. + + +2. ONE BOOK, OR A COLLECTION OF BOOKS? + +In the first place, the New Testament may be treated in every +respect as a single book. That course is adopted by many of the most +devoted lovers of the Bible. By them the Bible is treated simply +as a textbook of religion. Passages are quoted indiscriminately +from all parts of it, without much regard to the context. The wide +differences of form and of spirit among the various books are +ignored. The historical implications of the books are of course +accepted as true, but practically they are left quite unassimilated. + +Now let us be quite plain about one thing. The men who use the Bible +in this way are right in the main point. They treat the Bible as the +guide of life for time and for eternity. And if by the use of the +Bible we can come into communion with God, we can afford to miss a +good many other things. Nevertheless, the Bible is as a matter of +fact not a mere textbook of religion, and if we treat it as such we +miss much of its richness. If the Bible were merely a systematic +treatise, it would be far easier to interpret. The interpreter +would be spared a great deal of trouble, but the burden would be +heaped upon the preacher. As it is, the Bible is itself a preacher, +because it is in such close contact with the actual experience of +men of flesh and blood. Its general teachings are given us in large +measure only through the medium of history, through the medium +of example. In order to arrive at the general truths, therefore, +intellectual labor is often necessary. God has made things harder +for the intellect that he may strike home the more surely to the +heart. If Paul had written a systematic theology, the New Testament +way of salvation might in some ways have been plainer than it is. +It would have been plain to the intellect, but it would have needed +interpretation to the heart. Conviction can be wrought only by +the immediate impact of personal life. The theology of Paul, of +itself, might be a dead thing; the religious experience of Paul, +interwoven with his theology, and bared before us in the epistles, +is irresistible. + +In the second place, the historical form of the Bible may be +considered at the expense of its spiritual content. The Bible may +be treated simply as a storybook. Such a method of treatment is +exceedingly common to-day. "The Bible as literature" is its slogan. +This treatment has simply missed the main point altogether. It +is incomparably inferior to that treatment which takes the Bible +as a mere textbook of religion. The Bible as an addition to the +world's history or the world's literature has, indeed, considerable +educational value. But it does not give eternal life. + +A third method is possible, and that third method is right. The +historical and literary form of the Bible is recognized to the full. +But it is regarded not as an end in itself, but as a means to an +end. Historical study is necessary not only to establish to the +modern man the saving facts of the gospel, but also to do justice +to the dramatic narrative form in which God has revealed to us his +eternal will. + +It is nearer the truth, then, to say that the New Testament is +a single book than to say that it is a collection of books. Its +parts differ widely among themselves, in authorship, in date, in +circumstances, in aim. Those differences must be studied carefully, +if the full meaning is to be obtained. But widely as the New +Testament writings differ among themselves, they differ yet far more +widely from all other books. They presented themselves originally to +the Church with a divine authority, which is foreign to the ordinary +writings of men. That authority has been confirmed through the +Christian centuries. Those who have submitted their lives to the New +Testament have never been confounded. The New Testament has been to +them the voice of God. + + +3. THE FOUR DIVISIONS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT + +(1) THE GOSPELS.--Christianity is based upon historical facts. +Attempts, it is true, are often made to separate it from history. +But they are bound to result in failure. Give up history, and +you can retain some things. But you can never retain a gospel. +For "gospel" means "good news," and "good news" means tidings, +information derived from the witness of others. In other words, it +means history. The question whether religion can be independent of +history is really just the old question whether we need a gospel. +The gospel is news that something has happened--something that +puts a different face upon life. What that something is is told +us in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. It is the life and death and +resurrection of Jesus Christ. + +(2) THE BOOK OF THE ACTS.--The Book of The Acts is a history of the +extension of Christianity from Jerusalem out into the Gentile world. +It represents that extension as guided by the Spirit of God, and +thus exhibits the divine warrant for the acceptance of us Gentiles, +and for the development of the Christian Church. It provides the +outline of apostolic history without which we could not understand +the other New Testament books, especially the epistles of Paul. It +illustrates to the full what has been said above about the value of +the historical form in which the Bible teaching is presented. By +reading this vivid narrative we obtain an impression of the power of +the Holy Spirit which no systematic treatise could give. + +(3) THE EPISTLES.--The Epistles of the New Testament are not just +literature put in an epistolary form, but real letters. It is true +that the addresses of some of them are very broad, for example, +those of James and of I Peter; and that some of them contain no +specific address at all, for example, Hebrews and I John. But the +great majority of them, at least, were written under very special +circumstances and intended to be read first by very definite people. + +The chief letter-writer of the New Testament was the apostle Paul. +To a certain extent he used the forms of letter-writing of his time, +just as everyone to-day begins a letter with "Dear Sir." Within the +last twenty years a great number of Greek private letters, dating +from about the time of Paul, have been discovered in Egypt, where +they have been preserved by the dry climate. It is interesting to +compare them with the letters of Paul. There are some striking +similarities in language; for both these letter-writers and Paul +used the natural language of daily life rather than the extremely +artificial language of the literature of that period. To a certain +extent, also, Paul used the same epistolary forms. The differences, +however, are even more instructive than the resemblances. It is +true, the Pauline epistles are not literary treatises, but real +letters. But on the other hand they are not ordinary private letters +intended to be read and thrown away, like the letters that have +been discovered in Egypt. Most of them were intended to be read +originally in churches. It is natural, then, that they should have +been written in a loftier style than is to be found in mere business +communications and the like. And if Paul uses the epistolary forms +of his time he uses them in an entirely new way. Even the mere +openings of the epistles are made the vehicle of Christian truth. +"Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus +Christ"--there is nothing like that in contemporary letter-writing. +The openings of the Pauline epistles form an interesting study. +They are varied with wonderful skill to suit the varied character +and subject matter of the letters that follow. Paul is never merely +formal. + +The letters of Paul differ widely among themselves. The Epistle +to the Romans is almost a systematic exposition of the plan of +salvation. Philemon is concerned with a little personal matter +between Paul and one of his converts. But even where Paul is most +theological he is personal, and even where he is most personal, he +is faithful to his theology. Theology in him is never separate from +experience, and experience never separate from theology. Even petty +problems he settles always in the light of eternal principles. Hence +his letters, though the specific circumstances that gave rise to +them are past and gone, will never be antiquated. + +(4) THE APOCALYPSE.--The Christian life is a life of hope. Inwardly +we are free, but our freedom is not yet fully realized. We are in +danger of losing our hope in the trials or in the mere humdrum of +life. To keep it alive, the Apocalypse opens a glorious vision of +the future. The vision is presented in symbolical language. It is +not intended to help in any calculation of the times and seasons. +But it shows us the Lamb upon the throne--and that is enough. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": articles on +"Bible," "Canon of the New Testament," "Covenant," "New Testament," +and "Testament." + + + + +LESSON II + +THE ROMAN BACKGROUND OF CHRISTIANITY + + +Christianity is not a human product. It is not to be explained by +what preceded it on the earth. It is a new beginning in history, an +immediate exercise of the divine power. + +But though Christianity was not produced by men, it operates upon +men, and upon men subject to all the ordinary conditions of earthly +life. Primitive Christianity, then, which we shall study this year, +cannot be understood fully without an examination of the historical +conditions under which it arose. + +In the class, the lesson should probably be approached through +the New Testament examples of the general principles which are +outlined in the lesson helps. Examples will be found in the passages +assigned in the Student's Text Book, and others should be sought for +elsewhere. + + +1. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE EMPIRE + +By the middle of the first century before Christ the power of the +Roman republic extended around the Mediterranean Sea. Victories +abroad, however, were accompanied by serious troubles at home. The +increase of wealth and the importation of slave labor had produced +unfortunate social conditions. The realm had become too large +to be administered adequately by the old republican government. +Individuals sometimes obtained practical control of affairs, and +the state was torn by civil wars. Finally, in 49 B. C., Julius +Cæsar entered Rome at the head of an army, and Roman liberty was at +an end. After the assassination of Cæsar in 44 B. C., there was a +succession of civil wars, and then, by the victory of Actium in 31 +B. C., Octavius, who later assumed the name of Augustus, became sole +ruler. Augustus died in A. D. 14. + +Subsequent emperors during the first century were: Tiberius (A. D. +14-37), Caligula (A. D. 37-41), Claudius (A. D. 41-54), Nero (A. +D. 54-68), Galba, Otho and Vitellius (A. D. 69), Vespasian (A. D. +69-79), Titus (A. D. 79-81), Domitian (A. D. 81-96), Nerva (A. D. +96-98), Trajan (A. D. 98-117). + + +2. ROMAN ADMINISTRATION UNDER THE EMPIRE + +The general advantages of the Roman imperial government have been +considered in the Student's Text Book. It will here be advisable +to consider one or two features a little more in detail. Much of +what follows can be illustrated from the New Testament; for the +acquaintance of New Testament writers, especially of Luke, with +Roman administration is not only accurate but also minute. The +students should be encouraged to seek New Testament illustrations +for themselves. + +(1) THE PROVINCES.--The provinces of the empire are to be +distinguished from the territories of subject kings or princes. +The latter were quite subservient to Rome, but were given more +independence of administration. A good example of such a subject +king, theoretically an ally, but in reality a vassal, was Herod the +Great, who ruled over all Palestine till 4 B. C. + +The provinces themselves were divided into two great +classes--imperial provinces and senatorial provinces. + +The imperial provinces were under the immediate control of the +emperor. They were governed by "legates," who had no regular term of +office, but served at the emperor's pleasure. The imperial provinces +were those in which, on account of unsettled conditions, or for the +defense of the empire, large bodies of troops had to be maintained. +Thus, by keeping the appointment of the legates exclusively in +his own hands, the emperor retained the direct control of the +all-important power of the army. A good example of an imperial +province is the great province of Syria, with capital at Antioch. +Palestine was more or less under the supervision of the Syrian +legate. + +Districts different from the great imperial provinces, but, like +them, under the immediate control of the emperor, were governed by +"procurators." Judea, from A. D. 6 to A. D. 41, and from A. D. 44 +on, is an example. + +The senatorial provinces were governed by "proconsuls," chosen by +lot from among the members of the Senate. The proconsuls served for +only one year. Even over these provinces and their governors the +emperor retained the fullest supervisory authority. The senatorial +provinces composed the central and more settled portions of the +empire, where large standing armies would not be needed. Examples +are Achaia, with capital at Corinth, and Cyprus with capital at +Paphos. Proconsuls of both of these provinces are mentioned in the +New Testament by name. + +(2) LOCAL GOVERNMENT.--The Romans did not attempt to introduce +perfect uniformity throughout the empire. The original Greek unit of +political life was the city, and Greek cities were scattered over +the east before the Roman conquest. With regard to local affairs, +many of the cities retained a certain amount of independence. It +is interesting to observe the local peculiarities of the cities +described in The Acts. + +In addition to the Greek cities, many of which were more or less +"free" in local affairs, many "Roman colonies" had been established +here and there throughout the empire. The original colonists were +often veterans of the Roman armies. Of course the populations soon +came to be mixed, but Roman traditions were cultivated in the +colonies more than elsewhere. A number of the cities of The Acts +were colonies, and one, Philippi, is expressly declared to be such. +Acts 16:12. In that city the Roman character of the magistrates +appears clearly from the Lucan narrative. There were "prætors" and +"lictors." + +(3) ROMAN CITIZENSHIP.--Before New Testament times Roman citizenship +had been extended to all Italy. Italy, therefore, was not a province +or group of provinces, but was regarded as a part of Rome. Outside +of Italy Roman citizenship was a valuable special privilege. It +raised a man above the mass of the provincial population. Some of +the advantages of it appear clearly in the New Testament narrative. +Because Paul was a Roman citizen he was legally exempt from the most +degrading forms of punishment, and had a right to appeal to the +court of the emperor. Roman citizenship was sometimes acquired by +money, but Paul inherited it from his father. + + +3. ROMAN RELIGION + +Under the empire, Rome was possessed of a state religion. The +ancient gods of the republic were retained. There were great +divinities like Jupiter and Mars, and there were numberless private +divinities of individual households. The ancient religion had, +indeed, undergone modifications. New divinities in plenty had been +received. But the reception of the new did not involve abolition +of the old. On the contrary, the gods of other peoples could be +accepted just because they were regarded as nothing but the Roman +gods under different names. Thus, long before the Christian era, +there had been a thoroughgoing identification of the gods of Greece +with the gods of Rome. The Greek Zeus, for example, was identified +with the Roman Jupiter; the Greek Ares with the Roman Mars. The gods +of countries other than Greece were also received, though, as far as +the city of Rome was concerned, with some conservatism. + +In the Roman world, religion was a national affair. Worship of the +national gods was not only piety, but also patriotism. Patriotism +and religion were inseparably connected. Support of the gods of +Rome, even where personal faith in them had been undermined, was +considered to be the duty of every loyal citizen. + +The political aspect of Roman religion appears most clearly in the +worship of the Roman emperors. This remarkable development appears +from the beginning of the empire. Augustus, indeed, refused to +receive divine honors, at least in the west. But in the east even he +was worshiped, and as time went on the reluctance of the emperors +disappeared. Some of the worst of the emperors were most insistent +upon their own divinity. + +Perhaps the first impulse of the modern man is to regard the Cæsar +cult simply as a particularly despicable form of flattery. In +reality it was more than that. It was not established by imperial +edict. It was not dictated primarily by servile fear. The Greek +inhabitants of the empire really regarded Augustus as their saviour. +And so he was, as far as any man could be. He saved them from the +miseries of civil war, and from the rapacity of the degenerate +republic; he gave them peace and happiness. And they responded by +regarding him as a god. + +To them it was natural. To them it was nothing new. Alexander the +Great had been regarded as a god long before the Christian era. His +successors in Syria and in Egypt had also received divine honors. +To the genuine Romans, the thing did not come so easy. The Cæsar +cult, at least at first, was not developed in the west. But even the +Romans could worship the emperor's "genius" or spirit, and from that +to the actual worship of the emperor was but a step. Essential to +the whole process of deification, both in Rome and in the east, was +the close connection in ancient thinking between deity and humanity, +and between religion and the state. If patriotism is religion, then +the king is a god. + +The Cæsar cult was the most palpable incorporation of the state +religion. Worship of the emperor, therefore, might well be the +test of loyalty to Rome. It could be practiced by skeptics and +philosophers. It could be practiced by the devotees of all +religions--save two. Jews and Christians alone could not bow at the +emperor's shrine, for their God was a God who could brook no rival. +He was not merely the greatest among many. He was the only Lord, +Maker of heaven and earth. + + +4. THE ROMAN EMPIRE AND SUBSEQUENT HISTORY + +Between Christianity and the Roman state, with its official +religion, a life-and-death struggle was inevitable. But in the +providence of God it was delayed. The empire was used not to crush +Christianity but to open the world before it. + +But was the empire really identical with the world? It seemed so +to the Romans and to the Greeks. To them the empire was the world. +And they were right. Not, of course, in a literal sense. In the +first century after Christ, vast civilizations--for example the +civilization of China--were already in existence. There were great +peoples of whom the Romans had never heard. But Roman arrogance +has at last been vindicated. For Rome was in reality the key to +subsequent history. Rome was the parent of Europe, and Europe +is moving the world. Even China is at last being opened to the +civilization of Rome. The Romans were right. He who could master +Rome would be master, one day, of the world. + +It has been a long process. But God's plans are sure. Christianity +appeared at the one time when the world was open before it. By the +power of the divine Spirit it conquered the empire. The empire +dominated its barbarian conquerors. The barbarians are the parents +of modern civilization. Modern civilization is invading the earth's +remotest bounds. China, at last, is within our ken. Realms long +closed have at last been opened. Another great opportunity! An +opportunity for greed and selfishness! An opportunity for a dismal +skepticism! And an opportunity for the Church of God! + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Hastings, "Dictionary of the Bible": Adeney, +article on "Cæsar"; Gwatkin, articles on "Roman Empire," and "Rome." +Hastings, "Encyclopædia of Religion and Ethics": Iverach, article +on "Cæsarism." Westcott, "The Two Empires," in "The Epistles of St. +John," pp. 250-282. Ramsay, "The Cities of St. Paul," pp. 48-81. + + + + +LESSON III + +THE GREEK BACKGROUND OF CHRISTIANITY + + +The purpose of the present lesson is to make the student feel that +the gospel was from the beginning a real gospel in a real world. If +we isolate the early preaching from its environment, we make it seem +like an unreal thing. Study of New Testament times makes the New +Testament itself become a more living, a more interesting book. + +In the Student's Text Book an outline of the Hellenistic age has +been provided. It has been supplemented below by illustrative +material. But in the class the lesson can probably be best +approached from the side of the New Testament itself. In what +languages is the Bible written? How did the New Testament come to +be written in Greek? What other languages are mentioned in the New +Testament? What light do these passages shed upon the linguistic +conditions of the time? What is the attitude of the apostles toward +Greek thought? Is that attitude altogether unfavorable, or did the +early missionaries ever lay hold upon the higher aspirations of +their Gentile hearers (Athens)? Where did the missionaries come into +contact with heathen superstition? (Several fine examples in The +Acts). What was the moral condition of the Greco-Roman world? How +was the Hellenistic age like our own? Why did God send our Lord just +in the first century? What was the social condition of the early +Christians? Do you think that was an advantage or a disadvantage? +What men of higher position are mentioned in the New Testament? +Questions like these will serve to relate the general expositions +in the lesson helps to the New Testament itself. The lesson helps +are intended to provide merely the presuppositions necessary for +intelligent study. God working for real men in a real world--that is +the subject of the lesson. + + +1. THE HELLENISTIC AGE + +The Greek world culture which prevailed after the conquest of +Alexander was widely different from the Greek life of the classical +period. The earlier period is called the "Hellenic" period, the +later period is designated as "Hellenistic." When Greek thought +made itself master of the world, it became mingled with numberless +foreign elements. The mixture appears most clearly, perhaps, in +the sphere of religion. Polytheism was capable of indefinite +expansion. New gods could easily be identified with the old, or else +be received along with them without a conflict. The religion of +the Greco-Roman world is therefore different from that of ancient +Greece. It is a curious mixture of the most diverse beliefs. +Nevertheless, the whole deserves to be called Hellenistic, because +even the most strikingly non-Grecian elements were usually subjected +more or less to the subtle molding of the Greek spirit. + +The Hellenistic age used to be despised, but among modern scholars +it is coming into its own. Its literary products are admittedly +inferior to the glories of the earlier age, but even in literature +its achievements are not to be despised, and in other spheres it is +supreme. Notably in mathematics and in natural science it was the +golden age. Euclid, the geometrician, lived three centuries before +Christ. + +The learning of the Hellenistic age was centered in Alexandria in +Egypt, a city which had been founded by Alexander the Great. Athens +had, perhaps, ceased to possess the primacy. That fact is typical +of the time. Greek culture had ceased to belong to Greece in the +narrower sense. It had become a possession of the world. The great +library of Alexandria was a sign of the times. The Hellenistic age +was an age of widespread learning. + +When Rome became master of the eastern world, conditions were not +fundamentally changed. Rome merely hastened a process that was +already at work. Already the nations had been brought together by +the spread of Greek culture; Roman law merely added the additional +bond of political unity. The Roman legions were missionaries of an +all-pervading Hellenism. + +The Greco-Roman world was astonishingly modern. It was modern in its +cosmopolitanism. In our own time the nations have again been brought +together. The external agencies for their welding are far more +perfect to-day than they were under the empire. Even the Roman roads +would be but a poor substitute for the railroad and the telegraph +and the steamship. But on the other hand we lack the bond of a +common language. In some ways the civilized world was even more of a +unit in the first century than it is to-day. + +The cosmopolitanism of the Roman Empire was a God-given opportunity +for the Church. In a cosmopolitan age, if a man has something +to say, he will not lack for an audience. His message will be +understood in one place as well as in another. The lesson is obvious +for the Church of to-day. Again God has opened the world before us. +If we have a message, in God's name let us proclaim it while yet +there is time. + + +2. THE GREEK BIBLE + +The Church originated in Palestine. The first missionaries were +native Jews. Yet even they had been affected by the cosmopolitanism +of the time. Even they could use Greek, in addition to their native +language. And Paul, the greatest of the missionaries, though a Jew, +was a citizen of a Greek city. The Church from the beginning was +able to speak to the larger world. + +One difficulty might possibly have arisen. The Christian mission +was not carried on merely by the oral word. From the beginning +Christianity was a religion with a Book. And that Book was not +Greek. On the contrary it was intensely un-Grecian. The Old +Testament is intolerant of heathen ideas. It is deeply rooted in the +life of the chosen people. How could a Hebrew book be used in the +Greek world? + +The difficulty might have been serious. But in the providence of +God it had been overcome. The Old Testament was a Hebrew book, but +before the Christian era it had been translated into Greek. From the +beginning Christianity was provided with a Greek Bible. It is always +difficult to make a new translation of the Bible. Every missionary +knows that. The introduction of a new translation takes time. It +was fortunate, then, that a Greek-speaking Church had a Greek Bible +ready to hand. + +Everything was prepared for the gospel. God's time had come. Roman +rule had brought peace. Greek culture had produced unity of speech. +There was a Greek world, there were Greek-speaking missionaries, and +there was a Greek Bible. In the first century, the salvation that +was of the Jews could become a salvation for the whole world. + + +3. THE PAPYRI + +The world in which the gospel was proclaimed is deserving of careful +study. How shall it be investigated? + +The most obvious way is to study the literature of the period. +Until recent years that was almost the only way. But that method +is partial at best. For literature is after all but an imperfect +measure of any age. The society that is found in books is an +idealized society, or at any rate it is the society of the great. +The plain man is unrecorded. His deeds are not deemed worthy of a +place in history. + +Within the last thirty years, however, the plain people of the +ancient world have come remarkably into view. They are revealed to +us in the "non-literary papyri." + +"Papyri" are pieces of papyrus. Papyrus was the common writing +material of antiquity up to about A. D. 300, when vellum, or +parchment, came into general use. Unfortunately papyrus, which was +made from the pith of the papyrus plant, is not a very durable +substance, so that ancient papyri have been preserved until +modern times only under exceptionally favorable conditions. These +conditions are found in Egypt, where the dry climate has kept the +papyrus from disintegration. + +In Egypt, within the last thirty years, have been discovered large +numbers of papyrus sheets with Greek writing. Of these the "literary +papyri" contain simply parts of books. They differ from other copies +of the works in question only in that they are usually older than +the vellum manuscripts. The "non-literary papyri," on the other +hand, are unique. They are private documents of all sorts--receipts, +petitions, wills, contracts, census returns, and most interesting +of all, private letters. It was usually not intended that these +documents should be preserved. They were simply thrown away upon +rubbish heaps or used as wrappings of mummies. They have been +preserved only by chance. + +The non-literary papyri are important first of all in the study +of language. They exhibit the language of everyday life, as +distinguished from the language of literature. The language of +literature always differs more or less from the language used on +the street, and the difference was particularly wide in the Greek +of the Hellenistic period. The books of the time were modeled to a +considerable extent upon the ancient classics, but the actual spoken +language had been changing. Hence the literary language had become +exceedingly artificial. + +Up to within the last few years, the literary language alone could +be studied. The books of the period were preserved, but the language +of daily life was gone. Now, however, the papyri supply what was +lacking. In them there is no attempt at style. They are composed in +the language which was employed in the ordinary affairs of life and +preserve the actual spoken language of every day. + +At this point a remarkable fact must be noticed. The language of +the New Testament is more like the language of the non-literary +papyri than it is like the language of contemporary literature. +The papyri indicate, therefore, that the New Testament is composed +in the natural living language of the time rather than according +to the canons of an artificial rhetoric. The artlessness of the +New Testament has sometimes been regarded as a reproach. Instead, +it is a cause for rejoicing. The simplicity of the gospel would +only be concealed by niceties of style. The greatness of the New +Testament is independent of literary art. It would be a mistake, +however, to suppose that the New Testament, because it is composed +in the language of the people, is characterized by anything like +cheapness or vulgarity. On the contrary its simplicity is the noble +simplicity of truth. In the New Testament the spoken language of the +Greco-Roman world, in all its living freshness, becomes a worthy +vehicle for the sublimest thoughts. + +The non-literary papyri, then, reproduce for us the spoken language +of the time as distinguished from the artificial language of +literature. But that does not exhaust their importance. They afford +a knowledge not only of language, but also of life. Through them +ordinary people are revealed in the ordinary relations of every day. +In them, the ancient world has been made to live again. + +A few examples (see the book of Professor Milligan mentioned at +the end of the lesson) will serve to indicate the character of the +papyrus letters. + +The following boy's letter (of the second or the third century after +Christ) is written in very bad grammar, but is for that reason all +the more lifelike. (The translation is taken from Grenfell and Hunt, +"Oxyrhynchus Papyri," Part i., p. 186.) + +"Theon to his father Theon, greeting. It was a fine thing of you +not to take me with you to the city! If you won't take me with you +to Alexandria I won't write you a letter or speak to you or say +good-by to you; and if you go to Alexandria I won't take your hand +nor ever greet you again. That is what will happen if you won't take +me. Mother said to Archalaus, 'It quite upsets him to be left behind +(?).' It was good of you to send me presents ... on the 12th, the +day you sailed. Send me a lyre, I implore you. If you don't, I won't +eat, I won't drink; there now!" + +The following invitation to dinner, of the second century after +Christ, throws light upon I Corinthians (the translation taken from +Professor Milligan): + +"Antonius, son of Ptolemæus, invites you to dine with him at the +table of the lord Serapis in the house of Claudius Serapion on the +16th at 9 o'clock." + +"The lord Serapis" is a god. Even an ordinary dinner party seems +thus to be regarded as the table of Serapis. Under such conditions +the Christian life must have been hard to lead. No wonder the +Corinthian Christians had to ask Paul questions. Even the ordinary +affairs of life were intimately connected with a false religion. +What should the attitude of the Christians be? Where should they +draw the line in associating with their heathen friends? + + +4. A REAL GOSPEL IN A REAL WORLD + +The people that are introduced to us so intimately in the papyri +are probably very fair representatives of the people among whom the +gospel was first proclaimed. In that cosmopolitan age the society +of Egyptian towns was probably not so very different from that of +Corinth. The people of the papyri are not the great men of the time; +they are just plain folk. But the early Christians were also usually +not of exalted social position, though there were exceptions. "Not +many wise after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble" were +called. I Cor. 1:26. Many of the early Christians were slaves, many +were humble tradesmen. The same classes appear in the papyri. In the +papyri we are introduced into the private lives of the men to whom +the gospel was proclaimed. Seeing, but unseen, hidden as by a magic +cap, we watch them in their most intimate affairs. And we come away +with a new feeling of the reality of early Christian history. These +men were not so very different from ourselves. They were real men +and women, living in a real world. And they needed a real gospel. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Hastings, "Dictionary of the Bible," extra volume: +Ramsay, article on "Religion of Greece," pp. 109-156, especially +pp. 135-156. Milligan, "Selections from the Greek Papyri," (with +translations). Deissmann, "The Philology of the Greek Bible," pp. +1-63, 144-147. Ramsay, "The Cities of St. Paul," pp. 1-47. Browning, +"Cleon," (vol. iv, pp. 115-122 of the Riverside Edition.) + + + + +LESSON IV + +THE JEWISH BACKGROUND OF CHRISTIANITY + +I. PALESTINIAN JUDAISM + + +1. SOURCES + +The New Testament is one of the chief sources of information about +the Palestinian Judaism of the first century. Other important +sources are the works of Josephus, a first-century Jewish historian, +and the Mishna. The Mishna is a collection of Jewish interpretations +of the Mosaic law. In its written form it is thought to have been +produced at the end of the second century, but it contains a mass of +earlier material which had been preserved by oral tradition. + + +2. OUTLINE OF JEWISH HISTORY + +After the conclusion of the Old Testament period the Jewish nation +had undergone important changes. If, therefore, the Judaism of the +first century is to be understood, the student must have in mind at +least a bare outline of the history between the Testaments. + +Old Testament history closes with the rebuilding of the walls of +Jerusalem and the reorganization of the national life which took +place under Ezra and Nehemiah in the fifth century before Christ. +At that time Judah, or "Judea," was the only part of Palestine +which was occupied by the Jews, and they occupied it only as +vassals--though with independence in internal affairs--of the kings +of Persia. + +The Persian dominion continued for over a century. Then, in the +latter part of the fourth century before Christ, Judea was conquered +by Alexander the Great. For some hundred years after the death of +Alexander, the country was a bone of contention between the kings of +Egypt and the kings of Syria--that is, between the Ptolemies and the +Seleucids. At the beginning of the second century before Christ the +king of Syria won a permanent victory. + +Under the Ptolemies and at first under the Seleucids, as well +as under the Persians, the Jews enjoyed a considerable measure +of independence in the management of their own affairs. Their +religion, in particular, was left quite unmolested. But the +assimilation which was not being accomplished by force was being +accomplished by peaceful influences. The all-pervasive Greek culture +of the period was making itself felt in Palestine as well as +elsewhere. Judea seemed to be in danger of being Hellenized. + +Under the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes of Syria (175-164 B. C.), +however, the policy of toleration was suddenly interrupted. +Antiochus tried to stamp out the Jewish religion by force. The +result was a heroic uprising led by Mattathias and his sons, who +are called the Maccabees. The tyranny of Antiochus had caused a +mighty popular reaction against the Hellenizing party among the +Jews. Devotion to the religion of Israel with exclusion of foreign +influences was ever afterwards the dominant tendency in Jewish +history. + +The Maccabees were at first wonderfully successful against +overwhelming odds; and when the opposing forces seemed at last to +have become too powerful, internal conflicts at the Syrian court +gave the Jewish patriots that independence which they could probably +not otherwise have maintained. Rulers belonging to the Maccabean +dynasty governed the Jewish nation for about a hundred years, during +most of which period they were independent. Their territory at first +embraced only Judea, but was gradually enlarged over the other parts +of Palestine. Galilee, which--since the destruction of the northern +Israelitish kingdom centuries before--had become predominantly +Gentile, was Judaized under Aristobulus I in 104-103 B. C. Before +the time of Christ it had become thoroughly Jewish. + +Unfortunately the worldly power of the Maccabees had brought +worldliness of spirit. The first revolt had been undertaken from a +lofty religious motive, in order to maintain the worship of Jehovah. +As the years went on, the Maccabean rulers became increasingly +engrossed in the extension of political power. Allying themselves +with the aristocratic party among the Jews, they came to favor the +extension of those Greek influences--though not in the sphere of +religion--which at first they had opposed. Under Queen Alexandra +(76-67 B. C.) it is true, there was a reaction. The strictly Jewish, +anti-Hellenistic party again became dominant. But under Alexandra's +successors there was civil strife, and the all-conquering Romans +found the country an easy prey. Pompey took possession of Jerusalem +in 63 B. C. + +The years that followed saw the gradual rise of the family of +Herod the Great, who, as vassal of the Romans, became king of all +Palestine in 37 B. C. and ruled until 4 B. C. Herod was an Idumæan, +not a genuine Jew. Idumæa, however, the country to the south of +Judah, had been Judaized some time before. Herod was at heart a +Hellenist. He built Greek theaters and amphitheaters not only in the +numerous Greek cities in or near Palestine, but also in Jerusalem +itself. Nevertheless he was wise enough to support the Jewish +religion and generally to respect the customs of the people. His +magnificent rebuilding of the temple was probably intended chiefly +to win popular favor. + +At Herod's death, his territory was divided among his sons. +Archelaus was given Judea, Antipas--the "Herod" of Jesus' public +ministry--received Galilee and Perea, with the title of "Tetrarch," +and Philip received certain territories to the east of Galilee. +Archelaus was banished in A. D. 6, Antipas was banished in A. D. +39, and Philip died in A. D. 33. After the banishment of Archelaus, +Judea was administered by Roman procurators till A. D. 41, when all +Palestine was given to Herod Agrippa I. Acts 12:1-4,18-23. After A. +D. 44, procurators were again in control. + +The misgovernment of the procurators led to the great revolt in A. +D. 66. After four years of war, Jerusalem was taken by the Roman +army in A. D. 70. The temple was destroyed, and the offering of +sacrifices ceased. The destruction of the temple marks an epoch in +Jewish history. Henceforth the national center was gone. + +There was another uprising in A. D. 132-135, but that was the last. +A Gentile city was erected on the ruins of Jerusalem, and for a +considerable time at least the Jews were forbidden even to enter its +precincts. + + +3. ADMINISTRATION AND PARTIES + +After the return from the Exile, the priests occupied a position +of leadership. The high priest, whose office was hereditary, was +practically head of the Jewish state. With him was associated a +council, composed of members of the priestly aristocracy. This state +of affairs prevailed during the Persian and Greek periods. Under the +Maccabees the power of the high priest reached its highest point. +For after a time the Maccabean rulers themselves assumed the title +of high priest, and still later the title of king. The high priest, +then, under the Maccabees, was also king. Under Herod the Great, on +the contrary, the high priesthood sank to its lowest ebb. Herod made +and unmade high priests at pleasure. + +The council associated with the high priest was, under Alexandra, +opened to the members of the strict anti-Hellenistic party. At the +time of Christ it included both Pharisees and Sadducees. + +These parties became distinct at the time of the Maccabees. The +Sadducees--the origin of the name is not altogether clear--were +the aristocratic party, hospitable to Greek culture. The Pharisees +were the strict Jewish party, devoted to the law, and opposed to +foreign influences. The name "Pharisee" means "separated." The +Pharisees were "separated" from the mass of the people by a stricter +observance of the Mosaic law. At first the Pharisees supported the +Maccabean leaders; for the Maccabean revolt was in the interests +of the Jewish religion. But when the Maccabees became engrossed in +worldly politics and susceptible to Greek influences the Pharisees +opposed them. At the time of Christ the essential characteristics of +the parties remained unchanged. + + +4. LANGUAGE + +Some centuries before Christ, Hebrew had ceased to be the ordinary +language of Palestine. As the language of the Old Testament it +continued to be studied. Old Testament passages in Hebrew were +read in the synagogue. Hebrew was used also to some extent as the +language of learned discussion. But for all ordinary purposes its +place had been taken by Aramaic, a language of the Semitic family +closely related to Hebrew. At the time of Christ Aramaic was the +spoken language of the Palestinian Jews. Even in the synagogues, +the Old Testament passages, after having been read in Hebrew, +were translated orally into the language which the people could +understand. + +But, since the time of Alexander the Great, another language had +made its way into Palestine along with Aramaic. This was the Greek. +The kingdoms into which Alexander's empire was divided were Greek +kingdoms. Two of them, Syria and Egypt, bore rule alternately over +Palestine. With the Greek government came Greek culture and the +Greek language. Then, under Antiochus Epiphanes, there was a mighty +reaction. Thereafter religion, at least, was kept altogether free +from Greek influences. + +In other spheres, however, under the Maccabean kings and still more +under the Romans, Greek culture effected an entrance. At the time +of Christ there were typical Greek cities not only to the east of +the Jordan in Decapolis, where magnificent ruins even to-day attest +the ancient Greco-Roman civilization, and not only along the coast +of the Mediterranean, but even within the confines of Palestine +proper. With some truth Palestine in the first century may be called +a bilingual country. Greek and Aramaic were both in use. + +Aramaic was the language of the mass of the people. Many, no doubt, +could speak no other language. But if a man desired to make his way +in the world in any public capacity or in trade he would be obliged +to learn the cosmopolitan language of the time. No doubt very many +could speak both languages. + +Jesus and his apostles belonged to those circles which were least +affected by the encroachments of Greek civilization. The whole +atmosphere of the Gospels is as un-Greek as could be imagined. As is +proved by the presence of Aramaic words even in our Greek Gospels, +Aramaic was undoubtedly the language in which the gospel was +originally proclaimed. Aramaic was the language of Jesus' boyhood +home, and Aramaic was the language of his intercourse with the +disciples and of his public preaching. + +It is perfectly possible, however, that even Jesus may have used +Greek upon rare occasions, for example in conversation with Pilate, +the Roman procurator. His disciples, after the resurrection, +found themselves at the head of a Greek-speaking community. The +early Church in Jerusalem was composed not only of "Hebrews," but +also of "Grecians," or Hellenists. Acts 6:1. The Hellenists were +Greek-speaking Jews of the dispersion who were sojourning more or +less permanently in the holy city. The apostles seem to have entered +upon their new functions without difficulty. Some knowledge of +Greek, no doubt, all of them brought with them from their Galilean +homes, and their knowledge would be increased through practice. It +is not surprising then that several of the original apostles and two +of the brothers of Jesus were the authors of Greek books of the New +Testament. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Riggs, "A History of the Jewish People," especially +pp. 105-116, 143-153, 215-231. Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": +articles on "Council," "Pharisees," "Sadducees," "Synagogue," +"School," "Scribe," "Aramaic," and "Hebrew." The outline of Jewish +history and institutions which is provided in the lesson helps for +this lesson and the following is dependent especially upon the large +German work of Schürer. + + + + +LESSON V + +THE JEWISH BACKGROUND OF CHRISTIANITY + +II. THE JUDAISM OF THE DISPERSION + + +The presentation of the lesson in class may be begun somewhat in +the manner suggested in the Student's Text Book. The student should +be made to appreciate the practical problem of a missionary in a +new city. Various solutions of the problem may be adopted. The +missionary may simply engage in conversation with individuals in the +street, or he may hire a room and advertise his preaching. In any +case the securing of an audience is usually no easy matter. It is +difficult to know how to begin. + +The case might naturally have been the same with Paul and his +companions when, for example, after the journey up from Perga they +arrived at Pisidian Antioch. Complete strangers were perhaps not +much better received in those days than they are now. How could +the missionaries get a hearing for their message? In some cases, +they might simply take their stand in the market place and talk +to the passers-by. Paul tried that method in Athens. It might do +when nothing better offered. But fortunately there was usually a +far better opportunity. The synagogue offered an audience. What is +more, it offered just exactly the most promising audience that could +possibly have been secured. + +The scene in the synagogue at Pisidian Antioch is typical of what +happened again and again. The student should be made to appreciate +the remarkable liberality and informality of the synagogue customs. +There seem to have been no set preachers. Any Jew who really had a +message could be heard. He needed only to go in and sit down. Acts +13:14. Paul and Barnabas had no difficulty in making their fitness +known. "Brethren," said the rulers of the synagogue, "if ye have any +word of exhortation for the people, say on." Acts 13:15. They had a +word of exhortation indeed. "Jesus is the Messiah for whom you are +waiting. He has died for your sins. He has risen from the dead, and +is now alive to save you." It was a powerful word, and it bore fruit. + +The native Jews, it is true, soon came out in opposition. The +reasons for their opposition are not far to seek. Jealousy was an +important factor. Christianity was evidently too radical a thing +to be simply a sect of Judaism. If allowed to continue, it would +destroy the prerogatives of Israel. It could not be controlled. Its +success was too great. On that next Sabbath in Pisidian Antioch, +"almost the whole city was gathered together to hear the word of +God." The Jewish mission had never had a success like that. "When +the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with jealousy." +Christianity had taken away the heritage of Israel. + +In one way the Jewish opposition displayed genuine insight into the +situation. Christianity was really destined to be a fatal rival to +the older Judaism. What took place on a small scale at Antioch was +repeated on the larger stage of history. When the Christian mission +began, Judaism was a successful missionary religion. Soon afterwards +it had withdrawn hopelessly into its age-long isolation. Various +causes contributed to this result. The destruction of the national +life in Palestine and the increasing influence of the strict +rabbinical schools both had an important part. But at least one +factor in the process was the competition of the Christian Church. +Christianity offered the world everything that Judaism could offer, +and more. It offered the knowledge of the one God, and the lofty +morality, and the authoritative Book. In addition, it offered a way +of redemption--and the men of that time were preëminently seekers +after redemption--through the sacrifice of Christ. It offered all +these things, moreover, without requiring any relinquishment of +purely national characteristics. Christianity did not demand union +with any one race. It had a gospel for the world. + +No wonder, then, that those who had been attracted by Judaism now +became adherents of Christianity. The Jews were filled with envy. +It was natural from their point of view, but it was a sad mistake. +Had they themselves accepted the gospel, the gospel would have been +to their glory. How glorious was the mission of Israel! A blessing +to the whole world! Far better than any narrow particularism! But +they were not willing to accept the message. Nevertheless, despite +their opposition, the Church should not forget the debt which she +owes to Israel. The dispersion was like the Judaism of Palestine. +In both cases the men themselves were opposed to the gospel. But in +both cases they had preserved the deposit of divine truth. Judaism, +despite itself, opened the way for the Christian Church. + +One service which the dispersion rendered to Christianity has been +illustrated by the scene at Pisidian Antioch. That service was the +providing of an audience. Another service was the assurance of +legal protection. This may be illustrated by another incident in +The Acts--the appeal to Gallio. Acts 18:12-17. There the opposition +of the Jews appears in all its bitterness. No doubt that opposition +was a serious hindrance to the work of the Church. Just because +Christianity was regarded as a Jewish sect, the Christians were +subject to persecution by the Jewish authorities. But persecutions +by the Jews, annoying though they were, were far less serious than +opposition on the part of the Roman authorities. And the latter was, +at first, conspicuously absent. Gallio's decision is a fair example +of the general attitude of the Roman magistrates. Christianity, as +a Jewish sect, was allowed to go its way. Judaism, despite itself, +afforded the Church legal protection. + +Beginning with these two striking scenes, the teacher may proceed to +the more general presentation of the lesson. In what follows, the +outline of the Student's Text Book will be supplemented at one or +two points. + + +1. THE CAUSES AND EXTENT OF THE DISPERSION + +Deportations of Jews to foreign countries took place at various +times. The most famous of those deportations was carried out by +Nebuchadnezzar after his conquest of Judah, about 600 B. C. Many +of Nebuchadnezzar's captives did not join in the return under the +Persian monarchy, but remained permanently in the east and formed +the nucleus of the large Jewish population of Mesopotamia. When +Pompey conquered Palestine in the first century before Christ, he +carried many Jews as slaves to Rome. Afterwards they were liberated, +and formed a large Jewish colony at the capital of the empire. These +are merely examples. Part of the dispersion was due to forcible +exile. + +Other causes have been mentioned in the Student's Text Book. It +is a question, however, whether all of these causes combined +are sufficient to account for the extraordinary growth of the +dispersion. Schürer believes that the vastness of the Jewish +population presupposes the merging of large bodies of proselytes +into the Jewish people. He also believes, however, that these +thoroughgoing conversions were less numerous in New Testament times +than they had been before. + +Harnack calculates that at the time of the death of Augustus there +were from four million to four and a half million Jews in the Roman +Empire, including about seven hundred thousand in Palestine, and +that, if that estimate be correct, then the Jews formed perhaps +some seven per cent of the total population. Of course, Harnack is +himself the first to admit that such calculations are exceedingly +uncertain. But so much at least is clear--the Jews in the first +century were surprisingly numerous. + + +2. THE SEPTUAGINT TRANSLATION AND THE LANGUAGE OF THE NEW TESTAMENT + +The name "Septuagint," derived from the Latin word for "seventy," +has been applied to the Alexandrian translation of the Old Testament +in reference to an ancient story about its origin. According to +this story, the translation was made by seventy-two men summoned +from Jerusalem by Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of Egypt, in order to +add the Jewish law to the royal library at Alexandria. The story +is certainly not true in details, and is probably not even correct +in representing the translation as destined primarily for the +royal library. More probably the translation was intended for the +Greek-speaking Jews of Egypt. + +The Septuagint is a translation of the Hebrew Old Testament into +the Greek world language of the period, and into the popular, +spoken form of that language, not into the literary form. The +translation differs widely in character in the different books, +for many different translators had a part in it. Some of the books +are translated with such slavish literalness as to be almost +unintelligible to a Greek. Everywhere, indeed, the influence of the +Hebrew original makes itself felt to some degree. Hebrew idioms are +often copied in the translation instead of being remolded according +to the peculiarities of the Greek language. + +The Septuagint exerted an important influence upon the language of +the New Testament. The Septuagint was the Greek Bible of the New +Testament writers, and the influence of a Bible upon language is +very strong. A good example is afforded by the influence of the King +James Version upon the whole development of modern English. It is +not surprising, therefore, that as the Septuagint was influenced by +Hebrew, so the language of the New Testament also displays a Semitic +coloring. That coloring was induced partly by the Septuagint, but +it was also induced in other ways. Part of the New Testament, for +example the words of Jesus, goes back ultimately to an Aramaic +original. All the New Testament writers except one were Jews, +and had spoken Aramaic as well as Greek. No wonder, then, that +their Greek was influenced by the Semitic languages. This Semitic +influence upon the language of the New Testament is not so great as +was formerly supposed, but it cannot be ignored. The New Testament +is written in the natural, non-literary form of the Greek world +language. That is the main thing to be said. But upon this base is +superposed an appreciable influence of Hebrew and Aramaic. + +The importance of the Septuagint for the early Christian mission was +inestimable. Every pioneer missionary knows how difficult it is to +create the vocabulary necessary to express new religious ideas. In +the case of the earliest Christian mission, that labor had already +been done. It had been done by the Jews of Alexandria. By the +Septuagint, the great ideas of the Old Testament--and upon these +ideas Christianity was based--had already been put into a Greek +form. The Christian Church needed only to develop what had been +begun. The Church made good use of her opportunity. The influence of +the Septuagint upon the religious vocabulary of the New Testament +writers was profound. The Septuagint had provided a vocabulary which +was understood already by great masses of people--by the Jews of the +dispersion and by the hosts of the "God-worshipers" who attended +the synagogues. Naturally the Christian missionaries used the words +which people could understand. + + +3. CONCLUSION + +The Judaism of the dispersion was a wonderful preparation for the +gospel. Israel ought to be regarded with gratitude and sympathy. But +the ultimate object of gratitude is God. + +The Church was founded in a time of opportunity. The Roman +Government had brought peace. The Greek language had welded the +nations together. The dispersion of the Jews had prepared the way. +These things did not come by chance. The nations were instruments in +the hand of God. But instruments for what? A mighty, age-long plan! +Centuries of preparation! At last the Saviour came. But did he come +for naught? Or is he Saviour of you and me? + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Edersheim (revised by White), "History of the +Jewish Nation," pp. 45-79. "The Jewish Encyclopedia": Reinach, +article on "Diaspora." Hastings, "Dictionary of the Bible": Schürer, +article on "Diaspora," extra volume, pp. 91-109. + + + + +LESSON VI + +THE MESSIAH + + +The teaching of this lesson may be begun with Acts 2:17-21. Surely +the outpouring of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost was something +new. Yet even that was explained by a reference to prophecy. And the +reference is of remarkable aptness and beauty. + +The Pentecostal speech of Peter is full of the appeal to prophecy. +Primarily, indeed, the claims of Jesus are supported by the direct +testimony to his resurrection. Without the facts, of course appeal +to prophecy would have been useless; for it was just the wonderful +correspondence of the facts with the prophecies that could induce +belief. Along with the direct testimony to the facts went the appeal +to prophecy. The promised king of David's line at last has come. +Acts 2:30; II Sam. 7:12,13; Ps. 89:3,4; 132:11. And David's son +is David's Lord--David's Lord and ours. Acts 2:34,35; Ps. 110:1; +compare Matt. 22:41-46. + + +1. THE NEW TESTAMENT APPEAL TO PROPHECY + +This speech of Peter is typical of the preaching of the early +Church. The appeal to prophecy was absolutely central in the +presentation of the gospel. Proof of that fact does not need to be +sought. It is written plain on the pages of the New Testament. Old +Testament prophecy was found to apply not merely to one side of +the work of Christ, but to all sides. Israel had looked not merely +for a king, but also for a prophet and a priest. Peter, after his +first arrest, for example, could appeal to the notable prophecy of +Deuteronomy: "A prophet shall the Lord God raise up unto you from +among your brethren, like unto me." Acts 3:22; Deut. 18:15,19. The +author of Hebrews could appeal to the priest after the order of +Melchizedek, Heb. 5:6; Ps. 110:4, and to the symbolic sacrifices of +the temple which found their fulfillment on Calvary. + +The appeal to prophecy extended even to those things which were +most distinctive of the Christian message. "I delivered unto you +first of all," says Paul, "that which also I received: that Christ +died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was +buried; and that he hath been raised on the third day according to +the scriptures." I Cor. 15:3,4. Here the death and the resurrection +of Christ are both declared to be according to the Scriptures. That +means that they were the subject of prophecy. But the death and the +resurrection of Christ were the fundamental elements of the gospel. +The gospel, then, in the form of prophecy, is to be found in the Old +Testament. + +What Old Testament passages has Paul here in mind? With regard +to the death for our sins, the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah +was probably in his mind. That passage was being read by the +Ethiopian when Philip met him, and Philip made the passage a +basis for preaching about Jesus. Acts 8:27-35. With regard to the +resurrection, it is natural to think of Ps. 16:10. Paul himself +quoted that passage in his speech at Pisidian Antioch. Acts 13:34-37. + +The appeal to prophecy did not begin with the apostles. It was +initiated by Jesus himself. "To-day," said Jesus at Nazareth after +the reading of Isa. 61:1,2, "hath this scripture been fulfilled +in your ears." A large claim! No wonder they found it difficult +to accept. When John the Baptist asked, "Art thou he that cometh, +or look we for another?" it was to "the works of the Christ" that +Jesus appealed. Matt. 11:2-6; Isa. 35:5,6; 61:1. These are merely +examples. Throughout, Jesus represented himself and his kingdom as +the fulfillment of the ancient promise. "O foolish men," he said to +the disciples on the way to Emmaus, "and slow of heart to believe +in all that the prophets have spoken! Behooved it not the Christ to +suffer these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning from +Moses and from all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the +scriptures the things concerning himself." Luke 24:25-27. + + +2. THE MESSIANIC HOPE A PREPARATION FOR THE GOSPEL + +When the gospel was preached to pure Gentiles, a great deal of +preliminary labor had to be done. Under what title should the +claims of the Saviour be presented? "Christ" to the Gentiles was +almost meaningless, till explained. "Son of God" was open to sad +misconception. There were "sons of God" in Greek mythology, but they +were not what the early Christians meant to show that Jesus was. +These difficulties were overcome, and speedily. Gentile Christians +were imbued with a lofty and adequate conception of the Lord. The +labor was great, but it was gloriously accomplished. + +In this labor, however, the missionaries were assisted by the +synagogues of the Jews. In the synagogues, "Christ" was no new term, +and no new conception. In the synagogues, one proposition needed +first to be proved, "This Jesus ... is the Christ." Acts 17:3. If +that were proved, then the rest would follow. The Jews knew that +the Messiah was Lord and Master. Identify Jesus with him, and all +the lofty claims of Jesus would be substantiated. How the identity +was established may be observed in the speech of Peter on the day +of Pentecost, or in the speech of Paul at Pisidian Antioch. Acts +13:16-43. + +It will be remembered that the synagogues attracted not merely Jews +but also Gentiles. The Gentile "God-fearers," as well as the Jews, +were acquainted with the Messianic hope. Even the Gentile mission, +therefore, was prepared for by the prophets of Israel. + + +3. THE PERMANENT VALUE OF PROPHECY + +The appeal to prophecy, however, was not merely valuable to +the early Church. It is of abiding worth. It represents Jesus +as the culmination of a divine purpose. The hope of Israel was +in itself a proof of revelation, because it was so unlike the +religious conceptions of other nations. The covenant people, the +righteous king, the living God, the world-wide mission--that is +the glory of Israel. The promise is itself a proof. But still +more the fulfillment. The fulfillment was an unfolding. Wonderful +correspondence in detail--and far more wonderful the correspondence +of the whole! The promise was manifold. Sometimes the Messiah is +in the foreground. Sometimes he is out of sight. Sometimes there +is a human king, sometimes Jehovah himself coming to judgment; +sometimes a kingdom, sometimes a new covenant in the heart; +sometimes a fruitful Canaan, sometimes a new heaven and a new +earth. But manifold though the promise, Christ is the fulfillment +of it all. "How many soever be the promises of God," in Christ is +the yea. II Cor. 1:20. There is the wonder. In Christ the apparent +contradictions of the promise become glorious unity, in Christ the +deeper mysteries of the promise are revealed. Christ the keystone +of the arch! Christ the culmination of a divine plan! That is the +witness of the prophets. It is a witness worth having. + + +4. THE MESSIANIC HOPE OF LATER JUDAISM + +After the close of the Old Testament, the promise did not die. +It was preserved in the Scriptures. It continued to be the life +of the Jewish nation. But it was not only preserved. It was also +interpreted. Some of the interpretation was false, but much of it +was true. The Jewish interpretation of the Old Testament promise is +worthy of attention. What did the Jews of the first century mean by +the Messiah, and what did they mean by the Messianic age? + +In the first place, they retained the hope of a king of David's +line--a human king who should conquer the enemies of Israel. When +it was held in a one-sided form this was a dangerous hope. It led +logically to materialistic conceptions of the kingdom of God and to +political unrest. It led to the effort of the Jews to take Jesus +by force and make him a king. John 6:15. It led to the quarrel of +the disciples about the chief places in the kingdom. Matt. 18:1-4; +Mark 9:33-35; Luke 9:46,47. This conception of the Messiah had to be +corrected by Jesus. "My kingdom is not of this world." John 18:36. + +Yet even where the Messiah was conceived of as an earthly ruler, +the spiritual hope was by no means always and altogether lost. The +"Psalms of Solomon," for example, Pharisaic psalms of the first +century before Christ, though they look for an earthly ruler, +picture him as one who shall rule in righteousness. "And a righteous +king and taught of God is he that reigneth over them; And there +shall be no iniquity in his days in their midst, for all shall be +holy and their king is the Lord Messiah" (Ps. Sol. xvii, 35, 36. See +Ryle and James, "Psalms of the Pharisees," especially pp. 137-147). +No iniquity in the days of the Messiah! That is true understanding +of the Old Testament, even joined with the political ideal. + +In the second place, however, the Messianic age is sometimes in +later Judaism conceived of as purely supernatural. The Messiah is +not an earthly ruler, merely helped by God, but himself a heavenly +being, a preëxistent "Son of Man," judge of all the earth. The +Messianic age is ushered in not by human warfare, but by a mighty +catastrophic act of God. Not a liberated Canaan is here the ideal, +but a new heaven and a new earth. + +This transcendental, supernaturalistic form of the Messianic hope +appears in the "Book of Enoch" and other "apocalypses." Its details +are fantastic, but it was by no means altogether wrong. In many +respects it was a correct interpretation of the divine promise. +The new heavens and the new earth are derived from Isa. 65:17. The +doctrine of the two ages was accepted by Jesus and by Paul--for +example Matt. 12:32; Gal. 1:4; Eph. 1:21. The heavenly "Son of Man" +goes back to Dan. 7:13,14. The Book of Enoch was not altogether +wrong. Its use of the title "Son of Man" prepared for the title +which Jesus used. + +Finally, the Messianic hope was held in a pure and lofty form by +the "poor of the land"--simple folk like those who appear in the +first two chapters of Luke. In the hymns of Mary and Zacharias and +Simeon, purely political and materialistic conceptions are in the +background, and the speculations of the apocalypses do not appear. +The highest elements of prophecy are made prominent. "For mine eyes +have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of +all peoples; a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory +of thy people Israel." Luke 2:30-32. In those circles, the hope of +Israel burned still and pure. + +Later Judaism thus preserved the manifoldness of prophecy. There was +exaggeration and there was one-sidedness; but in Judaism as a whole +the promise was preserved. One element at most was forgotten--the +suffering servant and his sacrificial death. The death of the +Messiah was no easy conception. The disciples had difficulty with +it. When Peter heard of it, he took Jesus, and began to rebuke him. +Matt. 16:22. The lesson was not easy, but it had to be learned. And +it was worth learning. The cross is the heart of the gospel. + +Thus in Jesus nothing was left out, except what was false. The +whole promise was preserved. The revealer of God, the ruler of the +kingdom, the great high priest, the human deliverer, the divine +Lord--these are the elements of the promise. They find their union +in Christ. Leave one out, and the promise is mutilated. Such +mutilation is popular to-day. The whole Christ seems too wonderful. +But the Church can be satisfied with nothing less. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Beecher, "The Prophets and the Promise," pp. +173-420. + + + + +LESSON VII + +THE BOOK OF THE ACTS + + +The teaching of the lesson may be begun with some very simple +questions. If rightly put, they will open up a fresh way of +looking at a New Testament book. The way will thus be prepared for +considering the deeper elements of the lesson. If interest can be +aroused in the book itself, the contents of the book, in the lessons +which follow, will be studied with much livelier attention. + + +1. AUTHORSHIP + +Who wrote the book of The Acts? How do you know? The former question +will probably be answered without difficulty, but the latter may +reveal difference of opinion. Many of the students will know that +The Acts was written by the same man as the Gospel of Luke. But that +does not settle the question. How do you know that Luke was written +by Luke? The name does not occur in the Gospel itself. The title, +"According to Luke," was probably added later. So, in order to +determine the authorship both of Luke and of The Acts, recourse must +be had to Christian tradition. + +Fortunately, however, tradition in this case is quite unimpeachable. + +In the first place, although the author of The Acts is not named in +the book, yet the book is not an anonymous work. Undoubtedly the +name of the author was known from the beginning. For the book is +dedicated to an individual, Theophilus. Evidently Theophilus knew +who the author was. Information about the author could thus be had +from the start. If, therefore, Luke did not really write The Acts, +some one has removed the name of the true author and substituted +"Luke" in place of it. That is an exceedingly unlikely supposition. + +In the second place, it is evident quite independently of any +tradition that the book was written by an eyewitness of part of +Paul's missionary journeys. This fact appears from the so-called +"we-sections" of the book. In certain portions of the narrative +the author uses the first person instead of the third. Of this +peculiarity there is only one satisfactory explanation. The author +uses the first person when he is describing the experiences in which +he himself had a part. When, for example, the author says, not, +"They made a straight course to Samothrace," but "We made a straight +course," Acts 16:11, he means that he was present on that voyage. +This natural supposition is confirmed by the character of the +"we-sections." These sections are full of such a wealth of artless +detail that no one but an eyewitness could possibly have written +them. + +The only possible way of avoiding the conclusion that a companion +of Paul wrote the book of The Acts is to maintain that although +such a man wrote the "we-sections" some one else wrote the rest of +the book. But that is unlikely in the extreme. If a later author +had been simply using as a source a diary of a companion of Paul, +he would surely either have told us he was quoting, or else have +changed the first person to the third. By leaving the third person +in he would simply have been producing nonsense. Everyone knew who +the author of the book was. The book is dedicated to a definite +man. The author evidently could not have palmed himself off as +a companion of Paul even if he would. And if he desired to do +it, he would not have chosen this remarkable way of doing it. Of +course if he had been a mere thoughtless compiler he might have +copied his source with such slavish exactness as to leave the "we" +in without noticing that in the completed work it would produce +nonsense. But he was most assuredly not a mere compiler. If he used +sources, he did not use them that way. The book shows a remarkable +unity of style. Modern research has demonstrated that fact beyond +peradventure. There is a remarkable similarity of style between the +"we-sections" and the rest of the book. Only one hypothesis, then, +does justice to the facts. The author of the "we-sections" was also +the author of the whole book. When he comes to those parts of the +narrative in which he himself had a part, he says very naturally +"we," instead of "they." + +The book of The Acts, then, was written by a companion of Paul. That +fact stands firm, even apart from any tradition. And that is the +really important fact. If the book was written by an eyewitness, the +particular name of the eyewitness is comparatively unimportant. But +the tradition as to the name is without doubt correct. There is not +the slightest reason for calling it in question. What the book of +The Acts itself says about its author fits exactly what Paul says +about Luke. + + +2. DATE + +The authorship of The Acts is certain. The date, however, is not so +clear. The book was written by Luke. But when was it written? The +latter question cannot be answered with perfect precision. At least, +however, since the book was written by Luke, it must have been +written during the lifetime of a companion of Paul. A. D. 100, for +example, would be too late, and A. D. 90 would be unlikely. A good +deal can be said for putting the date at about A. D. 63. This early +date would explain the abrupt ending of the book. + +One of the most curious things about The Acts is that the narrative +is suddenly broken off just at the most interesting point. The +trial of Paul is narrated at very great length, but we are not +told how it came out. The final decision, the climax of the whole +long narrative, is just at hand; but with regard to it we are +left altogether in suspense. Was Paul released? Was he condemned +and executed? The author does not say. His silence requires an +explanation. + +The simplest explanation would be that Luke wrote his book at the +very point of time where the narrative is broken off. Of course he +could not tell us any more if nothing more had happened. He brought +his narrative right up to date. Nothing more was possible. + +It is true, other explanations may be proposed. + +(a) It has been suggested, for example, that The Acts closes so +abruptly because the author was saving something for another work. +As The Acts is the continuation of the Gospel of Luke, so a third +work, it is said, was planned as the continuation of The Acts. But +even so, it seems rather strange that the author should not have +given at least a hint of the outcome of that trial in order to take +the edge off our curiosity. He has done something like that at the +conclusion of his Gospel; why not also at the conclusion of The Acts? + +(b) But perhaps the ending is not so abrupt as it looks. The +author's purpose, it is said, was not to write a biography of Paul, +but to show how the gospel spread from Jerusalem to Rome. When +Rome was reached, then the narrative was broken off. Biographical +details--even the most interesting details about the most +interesting character--were ruthlessly excluded. The plan of the +book had been accomplished. For this explanation there is much to be +said. But the trouble with it is that especially in the latter part +of the book the author as a matter of fact does show considerable +interest in biographical details. The trial and shipwreck of Paul +are narrated with a fullness which is quite out of proportion to +the rest of the history. After such a full account of the trial, it +remains rather strange that the author has said not a word about the +outcome. + +Either of these last two explanations is perfectly possible. +Possibly The Acts was written as late as A. D. 80. But the early +date at least explains the peculiar ending best of all. + + +3. SOURCES + +Where did Luke get the materials for his work? Did he use written +sources as well as oral information? The question has been discussed +at very great length, but without much uniformity in the results. If +he used written sources, at least he used them skillfully, placing +upon them the imprint of his own style. The book possesses genuine +unity. + +The really important fact about the sources of the book of The +Acts is a negative fact. Whatever the sources were, the Pauline +epistles were not among them. Compare the passages where Paul and +Luke narrate the same events--for example Gal., chs. 1, 2, with +the corresponding passages in The Acts--and it becomes evident +that the two narratives are entirely independent. Luke did not use +the Pauline epistles in writing his book. That is an exceedingly +significant fact. It shows that The Acts is an independent witness. +What is more, it strengthens materially the argument for the early +date of The Acts. The Pauline epistles at a very early time began +to be collected and used generally in the Church. In A. D. 100, +for example, they would certainly have been used by anyone who was +writing an account of Paul's life. Since, therefore, the book of The +Acts does not use them, that book must have been written earlier, +and probably very much earlier. Even in A. D. 80, it would perhaps +have been strange that the epistles should not have been used. + + +4. PURPOSE + +The proper purpose of a historian is to tell the truth. And Luke +was a genuine historian. His own account of his method, Luke 1:1-4, +shows that he knew the meaning of historical research, and the +character of his books bears this out. Luke did not permit any +desire of putting Christianity in a good light, or of defending one +kind of Christianity against another, to interfere with the primary +duty of truthfulness. + +That does not mean, however, that the book of The Acts is like some +modern university dissertations--written simply and solely in order +to say some new thing, whether interesting or no. No great historian +goes to work that way. Of course Luke had an interest in his subject +matter. Of course he was convinced that Christianity was a great +thing, and was full of enthusiasm in narrating its history. In that +he was perfectly right. Christianity really was a great thing. The +best celebration of its greatness was a narration of the facts. +Christian faith is based on fact. Luke wrote, not only in the Gospel +but also in The Acts, in order that his readers might know the +certainty concerning the things wherein they were instructed. Luke +1:4. + + +5. LITERARY CHARACTERISTICS + +The author of The Acts was well acquainted with the Old Testament. +He was able to catch the spirit of the primitive Palestinian church. +His books exhibit the influence of the Semitic languages. But he +was also capable of a Greek style which would have passed muster +in the schools of rhetoric. Luke 1:1-4, for example, is a typical +Greek sentence. Evidently Luke could move with ease in the larger +Greek world of his time. His references to political and social +conditions are extraordinarily exact. His narrative is never lacking +in local color. He knows the proper titles of the local officials, +and the peculiar quality of the local superstitions. His account +of the shipwreck is a mine of information about the seafaring of +antiquity. Evidently he was a keen observer, and a true traveler +of a cosmopolitan age. His narrative is characterized by a certain +delightful urbanity--an urbanity, however, which is deepened and +ennobled by profound convictions. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Warfield, "Acts, Timothy, Titus and Philemon," in +"The Temple Bible," pp. i-xxvii. Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": +Purves, article on "Acts of the Apostles." Purves, "Christianity +in the Apostolic Age," pp. 1-8. M'Clymont, "The New Testament and +Its Writers," in "The Guild Text Books," pp. 41-46. Hastings, +"Dictionary of the Bible": Headlam, article on "Acts of the +Apostles." + + + + +LESSON VIII + +THE CROSS AND THE RESURRECTION THE FOUNDATION OF APOSTOLIC PREACHING + + +1. THE RESURRECTION A FACT OF HISTORY + +Which of the books of the New Testament contain the evidence for +the resurrection of Jesus? That question will serve to begin the +teaching of the lesson. In answer to it, the students will probably +mention the four Gospels. To the Gospels, however, should be added +especially the First Epistle to the Corinthians. + +The passage in First Corinthians is deserving of very careful +attention. For, unlike the Gospels, that epistle can be dated to +within a year or so. It was written only about twenty-five years +after the crucifixion. Even though possibly some of the Gospels +were written still earlier, the precision with which the epistle +can be dated makes its witness particularly valuable. Furthermore, +the author of the epistle is well known. No one doubts that First +Corinthians was written by Paul, and Paul is the best-known man of +apostolic times. Evidently his witness to the facts is of the utmost +value. + +Paul himself was a direct witness of the resurrection. He saw the +risen Lord. I Cor. 9:1; 15:8. In I Cor. 15:1-8, however, he does not +content himself with his own witness, but reproduces the testimony +of others in an extended list. That testimony had come to Paul by +ordinary word of mouth. "I delivered unto you first of all," says +Paul, "that which also I received." In what follows there is a list +of the appearances of the risen Christ. "He appeared to Cephas; +then to the twelve; then he appeared to above five hundred brethren +at once, of whom the greater part remain until now, but some are +fallen asleep; then he appeared to James; then to all the apostles; +and last of all, as to the child untimely born, he appeared to me +also." Evidently these appearances are not conceived of merely as +"visions," but as events in the external world. The mention of the +burial, v. 4, is a plain hint that what Peter and the rest saw was +the body of Jesus raised from the tomb. + +That view of the matter is amply confirmed in the Gospels and in +the book of The Acts. In the Gospels, we are told that the tomb was +found empty on the morning of the third day after the crucifixion. +It was found empty by some women and by Peter and John. Since the +tomb was empty, the body which appeared to the disciples had some +connection with the body which had been taken down from the cross. +Furthermore, the Gospels and The Acts make the bodily character of +the appearances abundantly plain. Jesus did not merely appear to the +disciples at a distance. He walked with them on the road to Emmaus. +He broke bread with them. He came into the very midst of them when +they were assembled in a room. Thomas could even touch his hands +and his side. These are merely examples. Clearly the testimony +of the disciples is testimony not to mere spiritual experiences, +but to the bodily presence of the Lord. It may be admitted that +the body was a glorified body. After his resurrection Jesus was +freed from the limitations of his earthly life. Nevertheless, he +was not merely a "spirit." Luke 24:39. There was some real, though +mysterious, connection between the glorified body and the body that +had been laid in the tomb. The New Testament attests not merely the +immortality of Jesus, but his resurrection. + +The resurrection, in these days, is hard to accept. For it is a +miracle. Against any miracle there is a tremendous presumption. In +this case, however, the presumption has been overcome. It has been +overcome by the character of Jesus. It is in the highest degree +unlikely that an ordinary man should rise from the dead; but it +is not unlikely that Jesus should have risen. The resurrection is +unique. But so is the life of Jesus of Nazareth. The two wonders +support one another. Explain away the testimony to the resurrection, +and your task is not done. You must also explain away that sinless +life. If Jesus rose from the dead he had a unique experience. But +that is to be expected. For Jesus himself was unlike any other of +the children of men. There are mysteries in his life that have never +been explained. + +The resurrection of Jesus is a well-attested fact of history. The +proof of it is cumulative. Any one of the proofs might be regarded +as insufficient when taken alone, but when taken together they are +overpowering. The sinless, unearthly character of Jesus separates +him from the rest of men, so that probabilities which apply to +others do not apply to him. His mysterious self-consciousness +involves so lofty a claim, that if he was not divine he was +a megalomaniac--he whose calmness and strength have left an +impression which the centuries have done nothing to efface! The +specific testimonies to the empty tomb and to the plain bodily +appearances of the risen Lord are independent and varied. Finally, +unless the resurrection be a fact, the very origin of the Christian +Church becomes an insoluble mystery. The resurrection alone can +explain the sudden transformation of a company of weak, discouraged +men into the conquerors of the world. + +The resurrection of Jesus is a fact of history. It is not an +aspiration of the heart. It comes ultimately through the testimony +of the senses. The apostles came forward with a piece of plain +information. They were witnesses to a fact in the external world. +That fact has put a new face upon life. It is good news of salvation. + + +2. THE RESURRECTION CONFIRMED BY EXPERIENCE + +The resurrection is a fact of history. Accept it as true, and you +can have hope for time and for eternity. At this point, however, +some men experience a difficulty. How can the acceptance of a +historical fact satisfy the longing of our souls? Must we stake our +salvation upon the intricacies of historical research? Surely some +more immediate certitude is required. + +The objection would be valid if history stood alone. But history +does not stand alone. It has suffered from a false isolation. +A Christian certitude that is founded solely upon history is +insufficient. History is necessary, but not sufficient. We need +history, but we need something else as well. + +A historical conviction of the resurrection of Jesus is not the end +of faith, but only the beginning. If faith stops there, it will +never stand the fires of criticism. We are told that Jesus lives. So +much is a matter of testimony, a matter of history. If we believe +the witness, then we can have hope. But the religious problem of our +lives has not yet been solved. Jesus lives. But what good is it to +us? If he lives, we need to find him. We need to find him, and we +can find him. We accept the message of the resurrection enough to +make trial of it. And making trial of it, we find that it is true. +Jesus is found to be alive, for he makes answer to our prayer, and +heals us. We never could have come to him unless we had accepted +the historical evidence for the resurrection. But starting with +that historical belief we went on to the blessed experience of +salvation. Christian experience cannot do without history. But it +adds to history that directness, that immediateness, that simplicity +of conviction, which delivers us from fear. We began with history. +But we went on to experience. "Now we believe, not because of thy +speaking: for we have heard for ourselves, and know that this is +indeed the Saviour of the world." + + +3. THE DEATH + +Jesus is alive. If we find him, he will heal us. But how shall we +find him? In the New Testament we receive instruction. + +In the New Testament a strange fact stares us in the face. The New +Testament seems far more concerned with the death of Jesus than +with the details of his life. Learned men have tried in vain to +explain that curious fact. In elaborate treatises they have sought +the explanation. But it is really very simple. The New Testament +emphasizes the death of Jesus because that is what Jesus did for +us--or rather, coming after his perfect obedience to the law, it is +the culmination of what he did for us. In the account of Jesus' life +we are told what Jesus did for others. That account is absolutely +necessary. Without it we should never have been interested in Jesus +at all. But it is to us a means to an end, not an end in itself. +We read in the Gospel what Jesus did for others. For one he placed +his fingers in the ears and said, "Be opened"; to another he said, +"Arise, take up thy bed, and walk"; to another, "Thy sins are +forgiven." These things are what Jesus did for others. But what has +he done for us? The answer of the New Testament is plain. For us he +does not say, "Arise and walk." For us--he died. That mysterious +thing which was wrought on Calvary--that was his work for us. The +cross of Christ is a mystery. In the presence of it theology walks +after all with but trembling, halting footsteps. Learning will never +unlock its meaning. But to the penitent sinner, though mysterious, +though full of baffling riddles, it is plain enough. On the cross +Jesus dealt with our sin. Our dreadful guilt, the condemnation of +God's law--it is wiped out by an act of grace. It seemed inseparable +from us. It was a burden no earthly friend could bear. But Christ +is Master of the innermost secrets of the moral world. He has +accomplished the impossible, he has borne our sins. + +By the cross he has healed us. But through whom does he apply the +healing touch? Through no one, save his Spirit. For he is here +himself. If we are seekers for him, then this day our search is +over. + +The death of Christ, in the modern Church, is often subordinated. +Exclusive emphasis is laid upon the holy example and teaching of the +Galilean prophet. The modern theologians would be right if there +were no such thing as sin. If there were no such thing as guilt, and +if there were no such thing as a dreadful enslaving power of evil, +then a noble ideal might be sufficient. But to talk about an ideal +to a man under the thralldom of sin is a cruel mockery. + +Sin may indeed be glossed over. Let us make the best of our +condition, we are told, let us do the best we can, let us simply +trust in the all-conquering love of God. Dangerous advice! By it a +certain superficial joy of life may be induced. But the joy rests +upon an insecure foundation. It is dangerous to be happy on the +brink of the abyss. Permanent joy can come only when sin has been +faced honestly, and destroyed. It has been destroyed by the death +and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. + +It is true that God is loving. He has manifested his love, however, +better than by complacency toward sin. He has manifested it by the +gracious gift of a Saviour. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Denney, "The Death of Christ." Orr, "The +Resurrection of Jesus." Crawford, "The Doctrine of Holy Scripture +Respecting the Atonement." + + + + +LESSON IX + +THE BEGINNINGS OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH + + +The author of The Acts has given a wonderful picture of the early +days of the Christian Church. The teacher should endeavor to present +the picture before the mental vision of the class. History should +not be studied merely as a dry record of events. The events should +be seen as well as understood. They can be seen by what is called +the historical imagination. The term "imagination" often contains a +suggestion of unreality. But that is a secondary use of the word. +"Imagination" means "picturing." You can make a picture of what +really happened as well as of what happened only in fiction. The +historical imagination is a very important faculty in the student of +the New Testament. In many persons it is almost wholly lacking. But +fortunately it may be acquired. + +In the lessons that follow, great stress should be laid upon +the simple memorizing of the course of events. Advanced study, +or topical study, is useless unless it is based upon an orderly +acquaintance with the contents of The Acts. History comes +first--then the interpretation of the history. + +The dominant note in the early chapters of The Acts is the note of +joy. After the three dark days of discouragement, after the quiet +period of waiting, the life of the Church suddenly bursts forth with +power. Everything is fresh and new. Difficulties and dangers have +not yet emerged. Even persecution is lacking. The Church enjoys +favor with the people. Thousands are converted in a day. + + +1. THE GIFT OF TONGUES + +The gift of tongues, as it was exercised on the day of Pentecost, is +not altogether an isolated phenomenon. It appears also elsewhere in +The Acts, Acts 10:46; 19:6, though it may be doubted whether in all +three cases it assumed exactly the same form. In the First Epistle +to the Corinthians, Paul discusses the gift at considerable length. +I Cor., ch. 14. It is interesting to compare that passage with the +passage in the second chapter of The Acts. + +There are a number of resemblances between the two. Both Paul +and Luke represent the gift of tongues as a supernatural thing, +a special endowment from the Spirit of God. Both Paul and Luke, +furthermore, represent the gift as an ecstatic, temporary expression +of spiritual exultation rather than as a faculty intended to be +practically useful in the work of the Church. On the other hand, +there are such marked differences between the two accounts as to +make it evident that the gift as it was manifested at Pentecost was +very considerably different from that which was exercised in the +church at Corinth. + +The speaking with tongues as Paul describes it was a kind of +ejaculation, expressive of the religious life of the speaker, but +incomprehensible to others. In order, therefore, to make the gift +edifying to the congregation at large there had to be some one +else present who was in possession of another gift, the gift of +interpretation. The speaking with tongues at Pentecost, however, +was a miraculous use of various languages. Some have supposed +that Luke is describing rather a new language, which possessed +the supernatural quality of being understood by men of various +nationalities. The most natural interpretation of the passage, +however, is that which has just been suggested. The disciples, +filled with the Spirit, spoke some in one language and some in +another, or perhaps the same individuals used different languages at +successive moments. The outsiders received various impressions of +the strange phenomenon. Some, mocking, declared that the disciples +were drunk. These, we may suppose, were men who came into contact +with those disciples who were speaking some language known only +to another group among the hearers. The general impression seems +to have been wonder at the miraculous gift. The gift of tongues +provided an opportunity for the first Christian preaching. In just +this form it was perhaps never repeated. It was a unique gift +provided for an absolutely unique occasion. + + +2. THE SPEECHES + +Ancient historians often put imaginary speeches into the mouths +of their characters. The speeches were intended to represent not +what was actually said but what might have been said under the +circumstances. This procedure of the historians was not intended +to deceive the readers. It was merely a literary form, a method of +vivid description. + +Luke, however, seems not to have allowed himself even the license +which was regarded as allowable by the best historians of antiquity. +The speeches in The Acts are apparently either verbatim reports of +what was actually said, or else summaries based upon trustworthy +tradition. If they had been composed freely by the historian himself +their characteristic differences and their perfect adaptation to +different occasions would be difficult to explain. + +The speeches of Peter and of the earliest disciples, in particular, +are very different from those of Paul. They contain a number of +features which occur either not at all or only rarely in the rest +of the New Testament. The designation of Jesus as "the Servant," +for example, a designation taken from the latter part of Isaiah, is +characteristic of these speeches. Another characteristic designation +of Jesus is "Prince" or "Prince of life." Acts 3:15; 5:31. In +general, the representation of Jesus in the early chapters of The +Acts is just what might have been expected under the circumstances. +At the beginning of the Church's life, everything is simple and easy +of comprehension even by outsiders. The apostles represented Jesus +first as a man approved of God by the miracles which he had wrought. +To have delivered up such a man to death was itself a grievous sin. +But that was not all. This Jesus who was crucified had been raised +from the dead; and both in his death and in his resurrection he +had fulfilled the Messianic predictions of the ancient prophets. +He was then nothing less than the Christ. Now, too, his period of +humiliation was over. He had been given the full powers of Lordship. +From him had come the wonder-working Spirit. It will be observed +that these speeches, though they begin with what is simplest and +easiest of acceptance by an outsider, really contain, at least in +germ, the full doctrine of the divine Christ. + + +3. THE CONVERTS + +The body of disciples who were assembled before the day of Pentecost +consisted of only about one hundred and twenty persons. Acts 1:15. +After the notable sermon of Peter, which was spoken in explanation +of the gift of tongues, three thousand were converted. A little +later the Church possessed five thousand men. Acts 4:4. + +The outward sign of conversion was baptism. "Repent ye," said Peter, +"and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto +the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the +Holy Spirit." Baptism was not altogether new. It had been practiced +not only among converts to Judaism, but especially by John the +Baptist. Christian baptism, however, is sharply distinguished from +the baptism of John. Mark 1:7,8; Acts 18:25; 19:1-6. Both were +expressive of repentance. But Christian baptism was connected +specifically with Jesus, and also with the bestowal of the Spirit. + +Baptism was "in the name of Jesus Christ," or "into the name of the +Lord Jesus." It was the sacrament by which the convert signified +his cleansing from sin and his entrance into that peculiarly close +relation to Christ which is of the essence of Christian experience. +In itself, of course, the rite of baptism is useless. But when +accompanied by faith it is a means of real blessing. Baptism, like +the other Christian sacrament, the Lord's Supper, was instituted +by Christ himself. Matt. 28:19. In The Acts the full trinitarian +formula of baptism is not given. "In the name of Jesus Christ" is +sufficient to designate the sacrament. + + +4. JOY AND FEAR + +The mysterious power that was working among the disciples was +beneficent. It accomplished miracles of healing. As in the case +of Jesus himself so now among his disciples the Spirit of God was +manifested in the expulsion of demons. Matt. 12:28; Acts 5:16. The +Spirit was manifested also in the healing of disease. + +One cure, in particular, is narrated with a wealth of vivid detail. +The healing of the lame man led to the opposition of the Sanhedrin. +It led also to favor among the people. All the people ran together +in Solomon's porch greatly wondering. Acts 3:11. Peter and John took +no credit for what they had done. They attributed the miracle solely +to the power of Jesus. It was the same Jesus against whom the crowd +had shouted, "Crucify him, crucify him," only a few weeks before. +Surely a reason for remorse rather than joy! But God is gracious. +Through Jesus, the crucified One, salvation was offered even to the +murderers. Repentance was followed by rejoicing. The envy of the +Sanhedrin was held in check. A notable miracle had been wrought. + +That miracle was not isolated. Many signs and wonders were wrought +by the hands of the apostles. The people even "carried out the +sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that, as +Peter came by, at the least his shadow might overshadow some one of +them." Acts 5:12-15. Perhaps we are to understand that that method +of seeking cure was actually successful. Certainly it was an unusual +method. But God adopts unusual methods at unusual times. He adapts +his mercy to the needs of men. + +The general impression left by the early chapters of The Acts is an +impression of light and gladness. There is opposition, but it is +powerless against triumphant joy. One incident, however, introduces +a discordant note. It is the incident of Ananias and Sapphira. + +The early Church was animated by a spirit of self-sacrifice. Many of +the disciples sold their possessions and devoted the price to the +common good. One of those who did so was Joseph Barnabas, who was to +be prominent in the subsequent history. + +A certain man, Ananias, however, and Sapphira his wife, after they +had sold their possession kept back part of the price. In itself +that was not necessarily wrong. Their sin was the sin of deception. +They pretended to have given all, though they had really given only +a part. A more destructive sin could scarcely have been imagined. +They had lied unto the Holy Spirit. Such conduct would bring +contempt upon the Church. Ananias and Sapphira discovered that God +cannot be trifled with. And the judgment wrought upon them inspired +fear in all who heard. + +It is well that this incident has been recorded. It prevents a +one-sided impression of the Church's life. The power that animated +the Church was beneficent. But it was also terrible and mysterious +and holy. In the presence of it there was joy. But that joy was +akin to fear. "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the +living God." The lesson is of permanent value. The Spirit of God +must be received with joy. But not with a common joy. Not with the +joy of familiarity. But rather with the wondering, trembling joy of +adoration. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Purves, "Christianity in the Apostolic Age," pp. +21-46. Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": articles on "Weeks, Feast +of" and "Temple." "The Cambridge Bible for Schools": Lumby, "The +Acts of the Apostles," 1880, pp. 1-61. "The Bible Commentary," vol. +ii: Cook, "The Acts of the Apostles," pp. 351-386. Ellicott, "A +New Testament Commentary for English Readers," vol. ii: Plumptre, +"The Acts of the Apostles," pp. 1-28. Rackham, "The Acts of the +Apostles," pp. 1-69. These commentaries will be designated hereafter +by the names of the authors only. + + + + +LESSON X + +THE FIRST PERSECUTION + + +The persecution which arose in connection with Stephen marks a +turning point in the history of the Church. Up to that time, the +disciples had been content, for the most part, with laboring in +Jerusalem. Now they were forced out into a broader field. One result +of the persecution was the geographical extension of the Church. + +Another result was perhaps even more important. The extension +caused by persecution was not merely geographical; it was also, +perhaps, intellectual and spiritual. The Church was really from the +beginning in possession of a new religious principle, but at first +that principle was not fully understood. Persecution probably helped +to reveal the hidden riches. The Pharisees were keener than the +disciples themselves. Hostility sharpened the vision. The disciples +themselves were still content to share in the established forms +of Jewish worship; but the Pharisees saw that they were really +advocates of a new principle. Christianity, unless it were checked, +would supersede Judaism. The Pharisees were right. Jealous fear +detected what ancestral piety had concealed. + +The hostility of the Jews perhaps helped to open the eyes of the +Church. No doubt, a development was already at work. Persecution +was the result as well as the cause of the new freedom. Stephen +was persecuted possibly just because his preaching went beyond +that of Peter. With or without persecution, the Church would have +transcended the bounds of the older Judaism. It contained a germ of +new life which was certain to bear fruit. But persecution hastened +the process. It scattered the Church abroad, and it revealed the +revolutionary character of the Church's life. + +With the coming of Jesus a new era had begun. Judaism had before +been separate from the Gentile world. That separation had been due +not to racial prejudice, but to a divine ordinance. It had served +a useful purpose. Jewish particularism should never be despised; +it should be treated with piety and gratitude. It had preserved +the precious deposit of truth in the midst of heathenism. But its +function, though useful, was temporary. It was a preparation for +Christ. Before Christ it was a help; after Christ it became a +hindrance. + +Persecution was not the beginning of the new freedom. Freedom was +based upon the words of Jesus. It had become plainer again, perhaps, +in the teaching of Stephen. Furthermore, if freedom was not begun by +the persecution, it was also not completed by it. The emancipation +of the Church from Judaism was a slow process. The unfolding of that +process is narrated in The Acts. Even after the Church was scattered +abroad through Judea and Samaria, much remained to be done. +Cornelius, Antioch, Paul were still in the future. Nevertheless, +the death of Stephen was an important event. It was by no means the +whole of the process; but it marks an epoch. + +The gradual rise of persecution should be traced in class--first +the fruitless arrest of Peter and John and their bold defiance; +then the arrest of the apostles, the miraculous escape, the +preaching in the temple, the re-arrest, the counsel of Gamaliel, +the scourging; then the preaching of Stephen and the hostility of +the Pharisees. The opposition of the Sadducees was comparatively +without significance. The Sadducees were not Jews at heart. They +might persecute the Church just because the Church was patriotically +Jewish. But the Pharisees were really representative of the existing +Judaism. Pharisaic persecution meant the hostility of the nation. +And it implied the independence of the Church. If the disciples were +nothing but Jews, why did the Jews persecute them? + +In what follows, a few details will be discussed. + + +1. THEUDAS AND JUDAS + +Judas the Galilean, mentioned by Gamaliel, Acts 5:37, appears also +in Josephus. His insurrection occurred at the time of the great +enrollment under Quirinius, the Syrian legate. This enrollment was +different from that which brought Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem at +the time of the birth of Jesus. Luke 2:2-5. That former enrollment +occurred before the death of Herod the Great in 4 B. C. Luke 1:5; +Matt. 2:1. The enrollment to which Gamaliel referred was carried out +after the deposition of Archelaus in A. D. 6. + +With regard to Judas all is clear. But Theudas is known only from +Acts 5:36. The Theudas who is mentioned in Josephus is different, +for his insurrection did not occur till about A. D. 44, after +the time of Gamaliel's speech. Gamaliel was referring to some +insurrection of an earlier period. The name Theudas was common, and +so were tumults and insurrections. + + +2. THE SEVEN + +It has been questioned whether the seven men who were appointed to +assist the apostles were "deacons." The title is not applied to +them. The narrative does, indeed, imply that they were to "serve +tables," Acts 6:2, and the Greek word here translated "serve" is the +verb from which the Greek noun meaning "deacon" is derived; but the +same word is also used for the "ministry [or service] of the word" +in which the apostles were to continue. V. 4. The special technical +use of the word "deacon" appears in the New Testament only in Phil. +1:1; I Tim. 3:8,12. Compare Rom. 16:1. + +Nevertheless, though the word itself does not occur in our passage, +it is perhaps not incorrect to say that the seven were "deacons." +Their functions were practically those of the diaconate; their +appointment, at any rate, shows that the apostles recognized the +need of some such office in the Church. It is not quite clear what +is meant by the expression, to "serve tables." The reference is +either to tables for food, or else to the money tables of a banker. +If the former interpretation be correct, then the deacons were to +attend especially to the management of the common meals. Even then, +however, the expression probably refers indirectly to the general +administration of charity, a prominent part of the service being +mentioned simply as typical of the whole. + + +3. THE SYNAGOGUES + +The Greek word translated "Libertines" in Acts 6:9 comes from the +Latin word for "freedmen." The freedmen here mentioned were probably +descendants of Jews taken by Pompey as slaves to Rome. The Jewish +opponents of Stephen therefore included Romans, men of eastern and +middle north Africa, and men of eastern and western Asia Minor. +These foreign Jews, when they settled in Jerusalem, had their own +synagogues. It is doubtful how many synagogues are mentioned in our +passage. Luke may mean that each of the five groups had a separate +synagogue, or he may be grouping the men of Cilicia and Asia in one +synagogue. The wording of the Greek perhaps rather favors the view +that only two synagogues are mentioned--one consisting of Libertines +and men of Cyrene and Alexandria, and the other consisting of +Cilicians and Asians. + + +4. THE SPEECH OF STEPHEN + +In defending himself, Stephen gave a summary of Hebrew history. At +first sight, that summary might seem to have little bearing upon the +specific charges that had been made. But the history which Stephen +recited was a history of Israel. "You are destroying the divine +privileges of Israel"--that was the charge. "No," said Stephen, +"history shows that the true privileges of Israel are the promises +of divine deliverance. To them law and temple are subordinate. From +Abraham on there was a promise of deliverance from Egypt. After +that deliverance another deliverance was promised. It is the one +which was wrought by Jesus. Moses, God's instrument in the first +deliverance, was rejected by his contemporaries. Jesus, the greater +Deliverer, was rejected by you. We disciples of Jesus are the true +Israelites, for we, unlike you, honor the promises of God." + +Other interpretations of the speech have been proposed. For example, +some find the main thought of the speech to be this: "The wanderings +of the patriarchs and the long period of time which elapsed before +the building of the temple show that true and acceptable worship of +God is not limited to any particular place." At any rate, the speech +requires study--and repays it. + +What was said in the last lesson about the speeches of The Acts +in general applies fully to the speech of Stephen. The very +difficulties of the speech, as well as its other peculiarities, help +to show that it represents a genuine tradition of what, in a unique +situation, was actually said. + + +5. MARTYRDOM + +The word "martyr" is simply the Greek word for "witness." That +is the word which is translated "witness" in Acts 1:8. "Ye shall +receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall +be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judæa and Samaria, +and unto the uttermost part of the earth." There, of course, there +is no special reference to dying for the sake of Christ. It is +primarily the ordinary verbal testimony which is meant. The special +meaning "martyr" is not often attached to the Greek word in the New +Testament. Probably even in Acts 22:20, where the word is applied to +Stephen, it is to be translated "witness" rather than "martyr." + +Martyrdom, then, is only one kind of witnessing. But it is a very +important kind. Men will not die for what they do not believe. When +Stephen sank beneath the stones of his enemies he was preaching a +powerful sermon. The very fact of his death was a witness to Christ. +The manner of it was still more significant. Stephen, crying in the +hour of death, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit," Stephen dying with +words of forgiveness on his lips, "Lord, lay not this sin to their +charge," was a witness indeed. + +The Church can never do without that kind of witnessing. True, +it may not now often appear as actual martyrdom. But bravery is +needed as much as ever--bravery in business, men who will not say, +"Business is business," but will do what is right even in the face +of failure; bravery in politics, men to whom righteousness is +more than a pose; bravery in social life, men and women who will +sacrifice convention every time to principle, who, for example, +will maintain the Christian Sabbath in the face of ridicule. Modern +life affords plenty of opportunities for cowardice, plenty of +opportunities for denying the faith through fear of men. It also +affords opportunities for bravery. You can still show whether you +are of the stuff that Stephen was made of--above all, you can show +whether you are possessed by the same Spirit and are a servant of +the same Lord. + + +6. THE RESULT OF THE PERSECUTION + +The persecution resulted only in the spread of the gospel. Gamaliel +was right. It was useless to fight against God. The disciples were +in possession of an invincible power, and they knew it from the very +beginning. When Peter and John returned from their first arrest, +the disciples responded in a noble prayer. Acts 4:24-30. Herod +and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, +gathered together against Jesus, had accomplished only what God's +hand and God's counsel foreordained to come to pass. So it would be +also with the enemies of the Church. When the disciples had prayed, +"the place was shaken wherein they were gathered together; and they +were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spake the word of God +with boldness." The answer to that prayer was prophetic of the whole +history of the Church. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Purves, "Christianity in the Apostolic Age," +pp. 40-42, 47-55. Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": articles on +"Gamaliel," "Theudas," "Judas" (6), "Deacon"; Purves, article on +"Stephen." Ramsay, "Pictures of the Apostolic Church," pp. 44-65. +Rackham, pp. 69-111. Lumby, pp. 61-97. Plumptre, pp. 28-47. Cook, +pp. 386-406. + + + + +LESSON XI + +THE FIRST GENTILE CONVERTS + + +This lesson treats of a number of steps in the extension of the +gospel. The beginning is the purely Jewish Church that is described +in the first chapters of The Acts; the goal is the Gentile +Christianity of Paul. Gentile Christianity was not produced all at +once. The extension of the gospel to Gentiles was a gradual process. +The present lesson is concerned only with the early stages. The +teacher should present the lesson in such a way as to emphasize the +main feature of the narrative. The main feature is the central place +assigned to the Holy Spirit. Though the extension of the gospel to +the Gentiles was a process, that process was due not to mere natural +development, but to the gracious leading of God. + +As was observed in Lesson X, Stephen perhaps introduced into the +Church a more independent attitude toward the existing Judaism. +There is no reason, indeed, to suppose that he thought either of +preaching to Gentiles or of forsaking the ceremonial law. But +possibly he did venture to exhibit the temporary and provisional +character of the temple worship as compared with the promises of +God. Indirectly, therefore, though certainly not directly, Stephen +opened the way for the Gentile mission. + +The persecution was another step in the process. It scattered the +Jews abroad into regions where Gentiles were more numerous than in +Jerusalem, and served perhaps also to reveal to the Church itself +its incompatibility with Pharisaic Judaism. + +The evangelization of Samaria was another important step. Though the +Samaritans were only half Gentiles, they were particularly detested +by the Jews. In preaching to them, the disciples were overcoming +Jewish scruples, and thus were moving in the direction of a real +Gentile mission. The baptizing of the Ethiopian may have been +another step in the process. + +The most important event, however, was the conversion of Cornelius +and his household. Here the issue was clearly raised. Cornelius did +not, like the Ethiopian, depart at once after baptism to a distant +home. His reception into the Church was a matter of public knowledge. + +Luke was well aware of the importance of the story about Cornelius. +That appears from the minuteness with which the story is narrated. +After it has been completed once, it is repeated, at very +considerable length, as a part of Peter's defense at Jerusalem. The +effect is as though this incident were heavily underscored. + +The importance of the Cornelius incident appears also in the +fact that it gave rise to criticism. Apparently this was the +first serious criticism which the gradually widening mission had +encountered within the Church. There is no suggestion of such +criticism in the case of the preaching in Samaria. But now a much +more radical step had been taken. Peter had eaten with uncircumcised +men. Acts 11:3. A more serious violation of Jewish particularism +could hardly have been imagined. + +In defense, Peter appealed simply to the manifest authorization +which he had received from God. That authorization had appeared +first of all in the visions which Peter and Cornelius had received, +with other direct manifestations of the divine will, and also more +particularly in the bestowal of the Spirit. If the Spirit was given +to uncircumcised Gentiles, then circumcision was no longer necessary +to membership in the Church. In the narrative about Cornelius, there +is a remarkable heaping up of supernatural guidance. Vision is +added to vision, revelation to revelation. The reason is plain. A +decisive step was being taken. If taken by human initiative, it was +open to criticism. The separateness of Israel from other nations was +a divine ordinance. Since it had been instituted by God, it could +be abrogated only by him. True, Jesus had said, "Make disciples of +all the nations." Matt. 28:19. But the how and the when had been +left undecided. Were the Gentiles to become Jews in order to become +Christians, and was the Gentile mission to begin at once? Those were +grave questions. They could not be decided without divine guidance. +That guidance was given in the case of Cornelius. + +Peter's defense was readily accepted. "And when they heard these +things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then to +the Gentiles also hath God granted repentance unto life." The active +opposition to the Gentile mission did not arise until later. But how +could that opposition arise at all? Since God had spoken so clearly, +who could deny to the Gentiles a free entrance into the Church? +After the case of Cornelius, how could any possible question arise? + +As a matter of fact--though it may seem strange--the acceptance of +Cornelius did not at first determine the policy of the Church. That +incident remained, indeed, stored up in memory. It was appealed to +years afterwards by Peter himself, in order to support the Gentile +Christianity of Paul. Acts 15:7-9,14. But so far as the practice +of the Jewish Church was concerned, the Cornelius incident seems +to have remained for a time without effect. The bestowal of the +Spirit upon Cornelius and his friends was regarded, apparently, as +a special dispensation which fixed no precedent. Before engaging in +further preaching to Gentiles, the Church was waiting, perhaps, for +manifestations of the divine will as palpable as those which had +been given to Peter and to Cornelius. + +This attitude is rather surprising. It must be remembered, +however, that for the present the Church was fully engrossed in +work for Jews. Undoubtedly, a Gentile work was to come, and the +Cornelius incident, as well as what Jesus had said, was regarded +as prophetic of it, Acts 11:18; but the time and the manner +of its institution were still undetermined. Were the Gentile +converts generally--whatever might be the special dispensation for +Cornelius--to be required to submit to circumcision and become +members of the chosen people? This and other questions had not yet +even been faced. Engrossed for the present in the Jewish mission, +the Church could leave these questions to the future guidance of God. + +In what follows, a number of special points will be briefly +discussed. + + +1. PHILIP + +After the baptism of the Ethiopian, "the Spirit of the Lord caught +away Philip; and the eunuch saw him no more, for he went on his way +rejoicing. But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he +preached the gospel to all the cities, till he came to Cæsarea." The +meaning of these words is not perfectly plain. Are we to understand +that Philip was carried away to Azotus by a miracle, or is nothing +more intended than a sudden departure under the impulsion of the +Spirit? The latter interpretation is not at all impossible. What +has been emphasised in the whole narrative is the strangeness, the +unaccountableness of Philip's movements. This appears particularly +in the sudden separation from the eunuch. The eunuch expected +further conference with Philip but suddenly Philip rushed off, as +though snatched away by a higher power. All through this incident, +there is something strangely sudden and unexpected about Philip's +movements. Human deliberation evidently had no part in his actions. +He was under the immediate impulsion of the Spirit. + +The narrative leaves Philip at Cæsarea, and there he appears years +afterwards, at the time of Paul's last journey to Jerusalem. Acts +21:8,9. Luke was at that time one of the company, and may have +received directly from Philip the materials for the narrative in the +eighth chapter of The Acts. Philip appears in Christian tradition, +but there is some confusion between Philip the evangelist and Philip +the apostle. + + +2. SIMON MAGUS + +Simon the sorcerer, or "Simon Magus," is an interesting figure. +He has laid hold of the fancy of Christendom. From his name--with +reference to Acts 8:18,19--the word "simony" has been coined to +designate the sin of buying or selling any sort of spiritual +advantage. Simon is very prominent in Christian tradition, where he +is regarded as the fountainhead of all heresy. + + +3. CORNELIUS + +Cornelius was a "centurion," or captain of a company in the Roman +army consisting of about one hundred men. The "Italian band" to +which he belonged was apparently a "cohort," composed of soldiers +from Italy. Cornelius was stationed at Cæsarea, the residence of the +procurators of Judea. With the favorable description of his attitude +to the Jews and to the Jewish religion, Acts 10:2, should be +compared what Luke, in his Gospel, records about another centurion. +Luke 7:4,5. These are sympathetic pictures of the "God-fearing" +adherents of Judaism, who formed so important a class at the time of +the first Christian preaching. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Purves, "Christianity in the Apostolic Age," +pp. 59-67, 91-98. Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": articles on +"Samaria," "Samaritan," "Philip" (7), "Simon" (9), "Cæsarea," +"Cornelius." Ramsay, "Pictures of the Apostolic Church," pp. 66-104. +Rackham, pp. 111-124, 141-163. Lumby, pp. 97-108, 122-142. Plumptre, +pp. 47-55, 63-73. Cook, pp. 407-413, 419-430. + + + + +LESSON XII + +THE CONVERSION OF PAUL + + +Christianity a supernatural thing and a gift of God's grace--that is +the real theme of the lesson. The theme is brought home by means of +an example, the example of the apostle Paul. + +The religious experience of Paul is the most striking phenomenon +in the history of the human spirit. It really requires no defense. +Give it sympathetic attention, and it is irresistible. How was it +produced? The answer of Paul himself, at least, is plain. According +to Paul, his whole religious life was due, not to any natural +development, but to an act of the risen Christ. That is the argument +of the first chapter of Galatians. He was advancing in Judaism, he +says, beyond his contemporaries. He was laying waste the Church. +And then suddenly, when it was least to be expected, without the +influence of men, simply by God's good pleasure, Christ was revealed +to him, and all was changed. The suddenness, the miraculousness of +the change is the very point of the passage. Upon that marvelous act +of God Paul bases the whole of his life work. + +Shall Paul's explanation of his life be accepted? It can be accepted +only by the recognition of Jesus Christ, who was crucified, as a +living person. In an age of doubt, that recognition is not always +easy. But if it be refused, then the whole of Pauline Christianity +is based upon an illusion. That alternative may well seem to be +monstrous. The eighth chapter of Romans has a self-evidencing power. +It has transformed the world. It has entered into the very fiber of +the human spirit. But it crumbles to pieces if the appearance on +the road to Damascus was nothing but a delusive vision. Let us not +deceive ourselves. The religious experience of Paul and the whole +of our evangelical piety are based upon the historical fact of the +resurrection. But if so, then the resurrection stands firm. For the +full glory of Pauline Christianity becomes a witness to it. The +writer of the epistle to the Romans must be believed. But it is that +writer who says, "Last of all ... he appeared to me also." + +The wonder of the conversion can be felt only through an exercise +of the historical imagination. Imagine the surroundings of Paul's +early life in Tarsus, live over again with him the years in +Jerusalem, enter with him into his prospects of a conventional +Jewish career and into his schemes for the destruction of the +Church--and then only can you appreciate with him the catastrophic +wonder of Christ's grace. There was no reason for the conversion of +Paul. Everything pointed the other way. But Christ chose to make of +the persecutor an apostle, and the life of Paul was the result. It +was a divine, inexplicable act of grace--grace to Paul and grace +to us who are Paul's debtors. God's mercies are often thus. They +are not of human devising. They enter into human life when they are +least expected, with a sudden blaze of heavenly glory. + +In the review of Paul's early life various questions emerge. They +must at least be faced, if not answered, if the lesson is to be +vividly presented. + + +1. PAUL AT TARSUS + +In the first place, what was the extent of the Greek influence +which was exerted upon Paul at Tarsus? The question cannot be +answered with certainty, and widely differing views are held. It is +altogether unlikely, however, that the boy attended anything like +an ordinary Gentile school. The Jewish strictness of the family +precludes that supposition, and it is not required by the character +of Paul's preaching and writing. It is true that he occasionally +quotes a Greek poet. I Cor. 15:33; Titus 1:12; Acts 17:28. It is +true again that some passages in Paul's letters are rhetorical--for +example, I Cor. 1:18-25; ch. 13--and that rhetoric formed an +important part of Greek training in the first century. But Paul's +rhetoric is the rhetoric of nature rather than of art. Exalted +by his theme he falls unconsciously into a splendid rhythm of +utterance. Such rhetoric could not be learned in school. Finally, it +is true that Paul's vocabulary is thought to exhibit some striking +similarities to that of Stoic writers. But even if that similarity +indicates acquaintance on the part of Paul with the Stoic teaching, +such acquaintance need not have been attained through a study of +books. + +However, the importance of Paul's Greek environment, if it must +not be exaggerated, must on the other hand not be ignored. In the +first place, Paul is a consummate master of the Greek language. +He must have acquired it in childhood, and indeed in Tarsus could +hardly have failed to do so. In the second place, he was acquainted +with the religious beliefs and practices of the Greco-Roman world. +The speech at Athens, Acts 17:22-31, shows how he made use of +such knowledge for his preaching. In all probability the first +impressions were made upon him at Tarsus. Finally, from his home in +Tarsus Paul derived that intimate knowledge of the political and +social relationships of the men of his day which, coupled with a +native delicacy of perception and fineness of feeling, resulted in +the exquisite tact which he exhibited in his missionary and pastoral +labors. The Tarsian Jew of the dispersion was a gentleman of the +Roman Empire. + +That Aramaic, as well as Greek, was spoken by the family of Paul is +made probable by Phil. 3:5 and II Cor. 11:22. The word "Hebrew" in +these passages probably refers especially to the use of the Aramaic +("Hebrew") language, as in Acts 6:1, where the "Hebrews" in the +Jerusalem church are contrasted with the "Grecian Jews." "A Hebrew +of Hebrews," therefore, probably means "an Aramaic-speaking Jew and +descended from Aramaic-speaking Jews." In Acts 21:40; 22:2 it is +expressly recorded that Paul made a speech in Aramaic ("Hebrew"), +and in Acts 26:14 it is said that Christ spoke to him in the same +language. Conceivably, of course, he might have learned that +language during his student days in Jerusalem. But the passages just +referred to make it probable that it was rather the language of his +earliest home. From childhood Paul knew both Aramaic and Greek. + + +2. THE INNER LIFE OF PAUL THE RABBI + +The most interesting question about Paul's life at Jerusalem +concerns the condition of his inner life before the conversion. Paul +the Pharisee is an interesting study. What were this man's thoughts +and feelings and desires before the grace of Christ made him the +greatest of Christian missionaries? + +The best way to answer this question would be to ask Paul himself. +One passage in the Pauline epistles has been regarded as an answer +to the question. That passage is Rom. 7:14-25. There Paul describes +the struggle of the man who knows the law of God and desires to +accomplish it, but finds the flesh too strong for him. If Paul is +there referring to his pre-Christian life, then the passage gives +a vivid picture of his fruitless struggle as a Pharisee to fulfill +the law. Many interpreters, however, refer the passage not to the +pre-Christian life but to the Christian life. Even in the Christian +life the struggle goes on against sin. And even if Paul is referring +to the pre-Christian life, he is perhaps depicting it rather as it +really was than as he then thought it was. The passage probably does +not mean that before he became a Christian Paul was fully conscious +of the fruitlessness of his endeavor to attain righteousness by the +law. Afterwards he saw that his endeavor was fruitless, but it is +doubtful how clearly he saw it at the time. + +It would, indeed, be a mistake to suppose that Paul as a Pharisee +was perfectly happy. No man is happy who is trying to earn +salvation by his works. In his heart of hearts Paul must have +known that his fulfillment of the law was woefully defective. +But such discontentment would naturally lead him only farther on +in the same old path. If his obedience was defective, let it be +mended by increasing zeal! The more earnest Paul was about his law +righteousness, the more discontented he became with his attainments, +so much the more zealous did he become as a persecutor. + +Some have supposed that Paul was gradually getting nearer to +Christianity before Christ appeared to him--that the Damascus +experience only completed a process that had already begun. There +were various things, it is said, which might lead the earnest +Pharisee to consider Christianity favorably. In the first place, +there was the manifest impossibility of law righteousness. Paul had +tried to keep the law and had failed. What if the Christians were +right about salvation by faith? In the second place, there were +the Old Testament prophecies about a suffering servant of Jehovah. +Isa., ch. 53. If they referred to the Messiah, then the cross might +be explained, as the Christians explained it, as a sacrifice for +others. The stumblingblock of a crucified Messiah would thus be +removed. In the third place, there was the noble life and death of +the Christian martyrs. + +These arguments are not so weighty as they seem. Paul's +dissatisfaction with his fulfillment of the law, as has already +been observed, might lead to a more zealous effort to fulfill the +law as well as to a relinquishment of the law. There seems to be +no clear evidence that the pre-Christian Jews ever contemplated a +death of the Messiah like the death of Jesus. On the contrary the +current expectation of the Messiah was diametrically opposed to +any such thing. And admiration of the Christian martyrs is perhaps +too modern and too Christian to be attributed to the Pharisee. +The fundamental trouble with this whole argument is that it proves +merely that the Pharisee Paul ought to have been favorably impressed +with Christianity. So he ought, but as a matter of fact he was not +so impressed, and we have the strongest kind of evidence to prove +that he was not. The book of The Acts says so, and Paul says so +just as clearly in his letters. The very fact that when he was +converted he was on a persecuting expedition, more ambitious than +any that had been attempted before, shows that he was certainly +not thinking favorably of Christianity. Was he considering the +possibility that Christianity might be true? Was he trying to stifle +his own inward uncertainty by the very madness of his zeal? Then, +in persecuting the Church, he was going against his conscience. But +in I Tim. 1:13 he distinctly says that his persecuting was done +ignorantly in unbelief, and his attitude is the same in his other +epistles. If in persecuting the Church he was acting contrary to +better conviction, then that fact would have constituted the chief +element in his guilt; yet in the passages where he speaks with the +deepest contrition of his persecution, that particularly heinous sin +is never mentioned. Evidently, whatever was his guilt, at least he +did not have to reproach himself with the black sin of persecuting +Christ's followers in the face of even a half conviction. + +Accordingly, the words of Christ to Paul at the time of the +conversion, "It is hard for thee to kick against the goad," Acts +26:14, do not mean that Paul had been resisting an inward voice of +conscience in not accepting Christ before, but rather that Christ's +will for Paul was really resistless even though Paul had not known +it at all. Christ's loving plan would be carried out in the end. +Paul was destined to be the apostle to the Gentiles. For him to try +to be anything else was as useless and as painful as it is for the +ox to kick against the goad. Christ will have his way. + +Thus before his conversion Paul was moving away from Christianity +rather than toward it. Of course, in emphasizing the suddenness of +the conversion, exaggerations must be avoided. It is absurd, for +example, to suppose that Paul knew nothing at all about Jesus before +the Damascus event. Of course he knew about him. Even if he had been +indifferent, he could hardly have failed to hear the story of the +Galilean prophet; and as a matter of fact he was not indifferent +but intensely interested, though by way of opposition. These things +were not done in a corner. Paul was in Jerusalem before and after +the crucifixion, if not at the very time itself. The main facts in +the life of Jesus were known to friend and foe alike. Thus when in +the first chapter of Galatians Paul declares that he received his +gospel not through any human agency but directly from Christ, he +cannot mean that the risen Christ imparted to him the facts in the +earthly life of Jesus. It never occurred to Paul to regard the bare +facts as a "gospel." He had the facts by ordinary word of mouth from +the eyewitnesses. What he received from the risen Christ was a new +interpretation of the facts. He had known the facts before. But they +had filled him with hatred. He had known about Jesus. But the more +he had known about him, the more he had hated him. And then Christ +himself appeared to him! It might naturally have been an appearance +in wrath, a thunderstroke of the just vengeance of the Messiah. +Probably that was Paul's first thought when he heard the words, "I +am Jesus whom thou persecutest." But such was not the Lord's will. +The purpose of the Damascus wonder was not destruction but divine +fellowship and world-wide service. + + +3. PAUL'S EXPERIENCE AND OURS + +In one sense, the experience of Paul is the experience of every +Christian. Not, of course, in form. It is a great mistake to +demand of every man that he shall be able, like Paul, to give day +and hour of his conversion. Many men, it is true, still have such +a definite experience. It is not pathological. It may result in +glorious Christian lives. But it is not universal, and it should +not be induced by tactless methods. The children of Christian homes +often seem to grow up into the love of Christ. When they decide +to unite themselves definitely with the Church, the decision need +not necessarily come with anguish of soul. It may be simply the +culmination of a God-encircled childhood, a recognition of what +God has already done rather than the acquisition of something new. +But after all, these differences are merely in the manner of God's +working. In essence, true Christian experience is always the same, +and in essence it is always like the experience of Paul. It is no +mere means of making better citizens, but an end in itself. It is no +product of man's effort, but a divine gift. Whatever be the manner +of its coming, it is a heavenly vision. Christ still lives in the +midst of glory. And still he appears to sinful men--though not now +to the bodily eye--drawing them out of sin and misery and bondage +to a transitory world into communion with the holy and eternal God. + +The result of Paul's vision was service. How far his destination as +apostle to the Gentiles was made known to him at once is perhaps +uncertain. It depends partly upon the interpretation of Acts +26:14-18. Are those words intended to be part of what was spoken at +the very time of the conversion? There is no insuperable objection +to that view. At any rate, no matter how much or how little was +revealed at once, the real purpose of Christ in calling him was +clearly that he should be the leader of the Gentile mission. Gal. +1:16. He was saved in order that he might save others. It is so +normally with every Christian. Every one of us is given not only +salvation, but also labor. In that labor we can use every bit of +preparation that is ours, even if it was acquired before we became +Christians. Paul, the apostle, used his Greek training as well as +his knowledge of the Old Testament. We can use whatever talents we +possess. The Christian life is not a life of idleness. It is like +the life of the world in being full of labor. But it differs from +that life in that its labor is always worth while. Connection with +heaven does not mean idle contemplation, but a vantage ground of +power. You cannot move the world without a place to stand. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Purves, "Christianity in the Apostolic Age," pp. +68-85. Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": article on "Damascus." +Ramsay, "Pictures of the Apostolic Church," pp. 113-120; "St. Paul +the Traveller and the Roman Citizen," pp. 29-39; "The Cities of +St. Paul," pp. 85-244 (on Tarsus). Conybeare and Howson, "The Life +and Epistles of St. Paul," chs. ii and iii. Lewin, "The Life and +Epistles of St. Paul," chs. i and iv. Stalker, "The Life of St. +Paul," pp. 1-42. Rackham, pp. 124-135, 421-424, 462-470. Lumby, pp. +108-116, 302-307, 344-349. Plumptre, pp. 55-61, 150-152, 165-167. +Cook, pp. 413-417, 498-500, 516-519. + + + + +LESSON XIII + +THE CHURCH AT ANTIOCH + + +Christianity originated in an obscure corner of the Roman Empire, in +the midst of a very peculiar people. At first, it was entirely out +of relation to the larger life of the time. The atmosphere of the +Gospels is as un-Greek as could be imagined; the very conception of +Messiahship is distinctively Jewish. + +Yet this Jewish sect soon entered upon the conquest of the empire, +and the Jewish Messiah became the Saviour of the world. Starting +from Jerusalem, the new sect spread within a few decades almost +to the remotest corners of the civilized world. This remarkable +extension was not the work of any one man or group of men. It seemed +rather to be due to some mysterious power of growth, operating in +many directions and in many ways. In this manifold extension of the +gospel, however, the central event of to-day's lesson stands out +with special clearness. Christianity began as a Jewish movement, +quite incongruous with the larger life of the empire. What would be +the result of its first real contact with the culture of the time? +This question was answered at Antioch. + +At Antioch, the principles of the Gentile mission had to be +established once for all--those principles which have governed the +entire subsequent history of the Church. The extension of the gospel +to the Gentiles was not a mere overcoming of racial prejudice, +for the separateness of Israel had been of divine appointment; it +involved rather the recognition that a new dispensation had begun. +Primitive Christianity was not governed merely by considerations of +practical expediency; it sought justification for every new step +in the guidance of the Spirit and in the fundamental principles of +the gospel. The development of those fundamental principles was +necessary in order to show that Christianity was really more than +a Jewish sect. Then as always, religion without theology would +have been a weak and flabby thing. Christianity is not merely an +instrument for the improving of social conditions, but rather an +answer to the fundamental questions of the soul. It can never do +without thinking, and Christian thinking is theology. + +Fortunately the church at Antioch did not long remain without a +theologian. Its theologian was Paul. Paul was not the founder of the +church at Antioch; but the theology of Paul was what gave to that +church its really fundamental importance in the history of the world. + +The lesson for to-day is of extraordinary richness and variety. +Much can be learned, for example, from the characters of the story. +Barnabas, with his generous recognition of the great man who was +soon to overshadow him; those obscure men of Cyprus and Cyrene, not +even mentioned by name, whose work at Antioch was one of the great +turning points of history; Agabus, the prophet, and the charitable +brethren of Antioch; Rhoda, the serving girl, and the prayerful +assembly in the house of the mother of Mark--every one of these +teaches some special lesson. One lesson, moreover, may be learned +from them all--God is the real leader of the Church, and true +disciples, though different in character and in attainments, are all +sharers in a mighty work. + +In what follows, an attempt will be made to throw light upon a few +of the historical questions which are suggested by the narrative in +The Acts, and to picture as vividly as possible the scene of these +stirring events. + + +1. THE ACTS AND THE PAULINE EPISTLES + +The differences between the narrative in The Acts and the account +which Paul gives of the same events have caused considerable +difficulty. This very difficulty, however, is by no means an unmixed +evil; for it shows at least that Luke was entirely independent of +the Epistles. If he had employed the Epistles in the composition +of his book he would surely have avoided even the appearance of +contradicting them. The divergences between The Acts and the Pauline +Epistles, therefore, can only mean that Luke did not use the +Epistles when he wrote; and since the Epistles came to be generally +used at a very early time, The Acts cannot have been written at so +late a date as is often supposed. But if the book was written at an +early time, then there is every probability that the information +which it contains is derived from trustworthy sources. + +Thus the very divergences between The Acts and the Pauline Epistles, +unless indeed they should amount to positive contradictions, +strengthen the argument for the early date and high historical +value of the Lucan work. The independence of The Acts is supported +also by the complete absence of striking verbal similarity between +the narrative in The Acts and the corresponding passages in the +Epistles. Even where the details of the two accounts are similar, +the words are different. The few unimportant coincidences in +language are altogether insufficient to overthrow this general +impression of independence. + +The most natural supposition, therefore, is that in The Acts and in +the Epistles we have two independent and trustworthy accounts of the +same events. This supposition is really borne out by the details of +the two narratives. There are differences, but the differences are +only what is to be expected in two narratives which were written +from entirely different points of view and in complete independence +of one another. Contradictions have been detected only by pressing +unduly the language of one source or the other. Thus, in reading The +Acts alone, one might suppose that Paul spent the whole time between +his conversion and his first visit to Jerusalem in Damascus, and +that this period was less than three years; but these suppositions +are only inferences. Apparently Luke was not aware of the journey to +Arabia; but an incomplete narrative is not necessarily inaccurate. +Again, in the account of that first visit to Jerusalem, the reader +of The Acts might naturally suppose that more than one of the Twelve +was present, that the main purpose of the journey was rather to +engage in preaching than to make the acquaintance of Peter, and +that the visit lasted longer than fifteen days; and on the other +hand, the reader of Galatians might perhaps suppose that instead +of preaching in Jerusalem Paul remained, while there, in strict +retirement. Again, however, these suppositions would be inferences; +and the falsity of them simply shows how cautious the historian +should be in reading between the lines of a narrative. Finally, the +differences between Paul and Luke are overbalanced by the striking +and undesigned agreements. + +In Galatians, Paul does not mention the visit which he and Barnabas +made in Jerusalem at the time of the famine. This conclusion has +been avoided by those scholars who with Ramsay identify the "famine +visit" with the visit mentioned in Gal. 2:1-10. The more usual view, +however, is that Gal. 2:1-10 is to be regarded as parallel, not with +Acts 11:30; 12:25, but with Acts 15:1-30. The second visit mentioned +by Paul is thus identified with the third visit mentioned by Luke. +Paul did not mention the famine visit because, as was probably +admitted even by his opponents in Galatia, the apostles at the time +of that visit were all out of the city, so that there was no chance +of a meeting with them. The subject under discussion in Galatians +was not Paul's life in general, but the relation between Paul and +the original apostles. + + +2. THE PREACHING TO "GREEKS" + +In Acts 11:20, the best manuscripts read "spake unto the Hellenists" +instead of "spake unto the Greeks." The word "Hellenist" usually +means "Grecian Jew." Here, however, if this word is to be read, it +must refer not to Jews, but to Gentiles; for the contrast with the +preaching to Jews that is mentioned just before, is the very point +of the verse. Perhaps at this point the manuscripts which read +"Greeks" (that is, "Gentiles") are correct. In either case, the +meaning is fixed by the context. These Jews of Cyprus and Cyrene, +when they arrived at Antioch certainly began to preach regularly to +Gentiles. + + +3. PETER'S ESCAPE FROM PRISON + +In Acts 12:1-24, Luke brings the account of affairs in Jerusalem up +to the time which has already been reached in the narrative about +Antioch. The journey of Barnabas and Paul to Jerusalem, Acts 11:30; +12:25, supplied the connecting link. While the church at Antioch was +progressing in the manner described in Acts 11:19-30, a persecution +had been carried on in Jerusalem by Herod Agrippa I. The escape of +Peter is narrated in an extraordinarily lifelike way. Evidently +Luke was in possession of first-hand information. The vividness of +the narrative is very significant. It shows that the unmistakable +trustworthiness of The Acts extends even to those happenings which +were most clearly miraculous. The supernatural cannot be eliminated +from apostolic history. + + +4. ANTIOCH + +Antioch on the Orontes was founded by Seleucus Nicator, the first +monarch of the Seleucid dynasty, and under his successors it +remained the capital of the Syrian kingdom. When that kingdom was +conquered by the Romans, the political importance of Antioch did +not suffer. Antioch became under the Romans not only the capital of +the province Syria but also the residence of the emperors and high +officials when they were in the east. It may be regarded as a sort +of eastern capital of the empire. + +The political importance of Antioch was no greater than its +commercial importance. Situated near the northeastern corner of the +Mediterranean Sea, where the Mediterranean coast is nearer to the +Euphrates than at any other point, where the Orontes valley provided +easy communication with the east and the Syrian gates with the west, +with a magnificent artificial harbor at Seleucia, about twenty miles +distant, Antioch naturally became the great meeting point for the +trade of east and west. It is not surprising that Antioch was the +third city of the empire--after Rome and Alexandria. + +The city was built on a plain between the Orontes on the north +and the precipitous slopes of Mount Silpius on the south. A great +wall extended over the rugged heights of the mountain and around +the city. A magnificent street led through the city from east to +west. The buildings were of extraordinary magnificence. Perhaps as +magnificent as the city itself was the famous Daphne, a neighboring +shrine and pleasure resort, well-known for its gilded vice. + +The dominant language of Antioch, from the beginning, had been +Greek. The Seleucids prided themselves on the Greek culture of +their court, and Roman rule introduced no essential change. Of +course, along with the Greek language and Greek culture went a +large admixture of eastern blood and eastern custom. Like the other +great cities of the empire, Antioch was a meeting place of various +peoples, a typical cosmopolitan center of a world-wide empire. The +Jewish population, of course, was numerous. + +Such was the seat of the apostolic missionary church. Almost lost +at first in the seething life of the great city, that church was +destined to outlive all the magnificence that surrounded it. A new +seed had been implanted in the ancient world, and God would give the +increase. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Purves, "Christianity in the Apostolic Age," +pp. 85-90, 98-110. Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": articles on +"Agabus," "Antioch," "Arabia," "Aretas," "Barnabas," "Herod" (3). +Ramsay, "St. Paul the Traveller and the Roman Citizen," pp. 40-69; +"Pictures of the Apostolic Church," pp. 121-128. Lewin, "The Life +and Epistles of St. Paul," chs. v, vi and vii. Conybeare and Howson, +"The Life and Epistles of St. Paul," ch. iv. Stalker, "The Life of +St. Paul," pp. 44-63. Lumby, pp. 116-122, 142-155, 307-309. Cook, +pp. 416-418, 430-433, 500, 501. Plumptre, pp. 60-62, 73-79, 152. +Rackham, pp. 136-141, 163-184. + + + + +Part II: + +Christianity Established Among +the Gentiles + +The Principles and Practice +of the Gospel + + + + +LESSON XIV + +THE GOSPEL TO THE GENTILES + + +It was a dramatic moment when Paul and Barnabas, with their helper, +set sail from Seleucia, on the waters of the Mediterranean. Behind +them lay Syria and Palestine and the history of the chosen people; +in front of them was the west. The religion of Israel had emerged +from its age-long seclusion; it had entered at last upon the +conquest of the world. + +The message that crossed the strait to Cyprus was destined to be +carried over broader seas. A mighty enterprise was begun. It was an +audacious thought! The missionaries might well have been overpowered +by what lay before them--by the power of a world empire, by the +prestige of a brilliant civilization. How insignificant were their +own weapons! Would they ever even gain a hearing? But though the +enterprise was begun in weakness it was begun in faith. At their +departure from Antioch the missionaries were "committed to the grace +of God." + +The account of this first missionary journey is one of the most +fascinating passages in The Acts. The interest never flags; incident +follows incident in wonderful variety. In reading this narrative, +we are transplanted into the midst of the ancient world, we come +to breathe the very atmosphere of that cosmopolitan age. In the +lesson of to-day the teacher has an unusual opportunity. If he uses +it well, he may cause the Bible story to live again. Absolutely +essential to that end is the judicious use of a map--preferably +something larger than the small sketch map of the Text Book. A +travel narrative without a map is a hopeless jumble. The map is an +aid both to memory and to imagination. Tracing the route of the +missionaries on the map, the teacher should endeavor to call up the +scenes through which they passed. The student should be made to see +the waters of the Mediterranean, with the hills of Cyprus beyond, +the interminable stretches of the Roman roads, the lofty mountains +of the Taurus, the perils of rivers and the perils of robbers, the +teeming population of the countless cities--and through it all the +simple missionaries of the cross, almost unnoticed amid the turmoil +of the busy world, but rich in the possession of a world-conquering +gospel and resistless through the power of the living God. + + +1. THE PROPHETS AND TEACHERS + +Both prophecy and teaching were gifts of the Spirit. I Cor. +12:28-31. Prophecy was immediate revelation of the divine plan or +of the divine will; teaching, apparently, was logical development +of the truth already given. Which of the men who are mentioned in +Acts 13:1 were prophets and which were teachers is not clear. If any +division is intended it is probably between the first three and the +last two. For this grouping there is perhaps some slight indication +in the connectives that are used in the Greek, but the matter is not +certain. Perhaps all five of the men were possessed of both gifts. + +Lucius was perhaps one of the founders of the church, for he +came from Cyrene. Compare Acts 11:20. Manaen is an interesting +figure. He is called "foster-brother" of Herod the tetrarch. The +word translated "foster-brother" is apparently sometimes used in +a derived sense, to designate simply an intimate associate of a +prince. If that be the meaning here, then at least one member of the +church at Antioch was a man of some social standing. In Antioch, +as in Corinth, probably "not many wise after the flesh, not many +mighty, not many noble" were called, I Cor. 1:26; but in Antioch as +in Corinth there were exceptions. The Herod who is here meant is +Herod Antipas, the "Herod" of the Gospels. + + +2. ELYMAS + +When the Jewish sorcerer is first mentioned he is called +Bar-Jesus--that is, "son of Jesus," Jesus being a common Jewish +name. Then, a little below, the same man is called "Elymas the +sorcerer," and the explanation is added, "for so is his name by +interpretation." Apparently the new name Elymas is introduced +without explanation, and then the Greek word for "sorcerer" is +introduced as a translation of that. The word Elymas is variously +derived from an Arabic word meaning "wise," or an Aramaic word +meaning "strong." In either case the Greek word, "magos," for which +our English Bible has "sorcerer," is a fair equivalent. That Greek +word is the word that appears also in Matt. 2:1,7,16, where the +English Bible has "Wise-men"; and words derived from the same root +are used to describe Simon of Samaria in Acts 8:9,11. The word +could designate men of different character. Some "magi" might be +regarded as students of natural science; in others, superstition and +charlatanism were dominant. + + +3. SAUL AND PAUL + +At Acts 13:9 Luke introduces the name "Paul"--"Saul, who is also +called Paul." Previously the narrative always uses the Jewish name +"Saul"; after this "Paul" appears with equal regularity, except in +the accounts of the conversion, where in three verses a special, +entirely un-Greek form of "Saul" is used. Acts 22:7,13; 26:14. Since +in our passage in the original the name of the proconsul, Paulus, is +exactly like the name of the apostle, some have supposed that Paul +assumed a new name in honor of his distinguished convert. That is +altogether unlikely. More probable is the suggestion that although +Paul had both names from the beginning, Luke is led to introduce the +name Paul at just this point because of the coincidence with the +name of the proconsul. Even this supposition, however, is extremely +doubtful. Probably the Roman name, which Paul uses invariably in +his letters, is introduced at this point simply because here for +the first time Paul comes prominently forward in a distinctly Roman +environment. + + +4. PAUL AND BARNABAS + +Connected with this variation in name is the reversal in the +relation between Paul and Barnabas. Previously Barnabas has been +given the priority; but immediately after the incident at Paphos the +missionaries are designated as "Paul and his company," Acts 13:13, +and thereafter when the two are mentioned together, Paul, except at +Acts 14:12,14; 15:12,25, appears first. In the presence of the Roman +proconsul, Paul's Roman citizenship perhaps caused him to take the +lead; and then inherent superiority made his leadership permanent. + + +5. THE RETURN OF JOHN MARK + +The reasons for John Mark's return from Perga to Jerusalem can +only be surmised. Perhaps he was simply unwilling, for some reason +sufficient to him but insufficient to Paul, to undertake the +hardships of the journey into the interior. Certainly it was an +adventurous journey. Paul was not always an easy man to follow. + +The severity of Paul's judgment of Mark was not necessarily so great +as has sometimes been supposed. One purpose of the second journey +was to revisit the churches of the first journey. Acts 15:36. +Whether for good or for bad reasons, Mark, as a matter of fact, +had not been with the missionaries on a large part of that first +journey, and was, therefore, unknown to many of the churches. For +this reason, perhaps as much as on account of moral objections, Paul +considered Mark an unsuitable helper. In his later epistles Paul +speaks of Mark in the most cordial way. Col. 4:10; Philem. 24; II +Tim. 4:11. In the last passage, he even says that Mark was useful to +him for ministering--exactly what he had not been at the beginning +of the second missionary journey. + + +6. HARDSHIPS AND PERSECUTIONS + +It is evident from II Cor. 11:23-27 that Luke has recorded only a +small fraction of the hardships which Paul endured as a missionary +of the cross. The tendency to lay exaggerated stress upon martyrdom +and suffering, which runs riot in the later legends of the saints, +is in The Acts conspicuous by its absence. Of the trials which are +vouched for by the unimpeachable testimony of Paul himself, only +a few may be identified in the Lucan narrative. It is natural, +however, to suppose that some of the "perils of rivers" and "perils +of robbers" were encountered on the journey through the defiles of +the Taurus mountains from Perga to Pisidian Antioch, and the one +stoning which Paul mentions is clearly to be identified with the +adventure at Lystra. In II Tim. 3:11 Paul mentions the persecutions +at Antioch, Iconium and Lystra. + + +7. GEOGRAPHY OF THE FIRST JOURNEY + +The first missionary journey led the missionaries into three Roman +provinces: Cyprus, Pamphylia and Galatia. The name "Galatia" had +originally designated a district in the north central part of Asia +Minor, which had been colonized by certain Celtic tribes several +centuries before Christ. By the Romans, however, other districts +were added to this original Galatia, and in 25 B. C. the whole +complex was organized into an imperial province under the name +Galatia. In the first century after Christ, therefore, the name +Galatia could be used in two distinct senses. In the first place, in +the earlier, popular sense, it could designate Galatia proper. In +the second place, in the later, official sense, it could designate +the whole Roman province, which included not only Galatia proper, +but also parts of a number of other districts, including Phrygia and +Lycaonia. Of the cities visited on the first missionary journey, +Pisidian Antioch--which was called "Pisidian" because it was near +Pisidia--and Iconium were in Phrygia, and Lystra and Derbe in +Lycaonia; but all four were included in the province of Galatia. +Many scholars suppose that the churches in these cities were the +churches which Paul addresses in the Epistle to the Galatians. That +view is called the "South Galatian theory." Others--adherents of +the "North Galatian theory"--suppose that the epistle is addressed +to churches in Galatia proper, in the northern part of the Roman +province, which were founded on the second missionary journey. This +question will be noticed again in connection with the epistle. + + +8. TIME OF THE FIRST JOURNEY + +Luke gives very little indication of the amount of time which was +consumed on this first journey. The hasty reader probably estimates +the time too low, since only a few incidents are narrated. The +rapidity of the narrative should not be misinterpreted as indicating +cursoriness of the labor. The passage through Cyprus, Acts 13:6, was +probably accompanied by evangelizing; the extension of the gospel +through the whole region of Antioch, v. 49, must have occupied +more than a few days; the stay at Iconium is designated as "long +time," Acts 14:3; the change of attitude on the part of the Lystran +populace, v. 19, was probably not absolutely sudden; not only Lystra +and Derbe but also the surrounding country were evangelized, v. +6; and finally the missionaries could hardly have returned to the +cities from which they had been driven out, v. 21, unless the heat +of persecution had been allowed to cool. Perhaps a full year would +not be too high an estimate of the time that was occupied by the +journey, and still higher estimates are by no means excluded. + + +9. THE SCENE AT LYSTRA + +The account of the incident at Lystra is one of those inimitable +bits of narrative which imprint upon The Acts the indisputable +stamp of historicity. Lystra, though a Roman colony, lay somewhat +off the beaten track of culture and of trade; hence the extreme +superstition of the populace is what might be expected. It may seem +rather strange that Paul and Barnabas should have been identified +with great gods of Olympus rather than with lesser divinities or +spirits, but who can place a limit upon the superstition of an +uncultured people of the ancient world? The identification may +have been rendered easier by the legend of Philemon and Baucis, +which has been preserved for us by Ovid, the Latin poet. According +to that legend, Zeus and Hermes appeared, once upon a time, in +human form in Phrygia, the same general region in which Lystra was +situated. Zeus and Hermes are the gods with whom Barnabas and Paul +were identified; the English Bible simply substitutes for these +Greek names the names of the corresponding Roman deities. The temple +of Zeus-before-the-city and the preparations for sacrifices are +described in a most lifelike way, in full accord with what is known +of ancient religion. We find ourselves here in a somewhat different +atmosphere from that which prevails in most of the scenes described +in The Acts. It is a pagan atmosphere, and an atmosphere of ruder +superstition than that which prevailed in the great cities. The +"speech of Lycaonia," v. 11, is an especially characteristic touch. +Apparently the all-pervading Greek was understood at Lystra even by +the populace; but in the excitement of their superstition they fell +very naturally into their native language. + +As in the case of Peter's release from prison, so in this incident, +wonderful lifelikeness of description is coupled with a miracle. The +scene at Lystra is unintelligible without the miraculous healing of +the lame man, with which it begins. It is impossible, in The Acts as +well as in the Gospels, to separate the miraculous from the rest of +the narrative. The evident truthfulness of the story applies to the +supernatural elements as well as to the rest. The early Christian +mission is evidently real; but it is just as evidently supernatural. +It moved through the varied scenes of the real world, but it was not +limited by the world. It was animated by a mysterious, superhuman +power. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Purves, "Christianity in the Apostolic Age," pp. +111-122. Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": articles on "Cyprus," +"Antioch" (2), "Iconium," "Lystra," "Derbe," "Galatia." Hastings, +"Dictionary of the Bible": Muir, article on "Cyprus"; Massie, +article on "Bar-Jesus"; Headlam, article on "Paulus, Sergius"; +Ramsay, articles on "Antioch in Pisidia," "Iconium," "Lystra," +"Derbe," "Galatia." Ramsay, "St. Paul the Traveller and the Roman +Citizen," pp. 64-129; "The Cities of St. Paul," pp. 247-419; +"Pictures of the Apostolic Church," pp. 129-153. Lewin, "The Life +and Epistles of St. Paul," chapter viii. Conybeare and Howson, "The +Life and Epistles of St. Paul," chapters v and vi. Stalker, "The +Life of St. Paul," pp. 65-71. Lumby, pp. 155-183. Cook, pp. 437-451. +Plumptre, pp. 79-93. Rackham, pp. 194-238. + + + + +LESSON XV + +THE COUNCIL AT JERUSALEM + + +The lesson for to-day deals with one of the most important events in +apostolic history. At the Jerusalem council the principles of the +Gentile mission and of the entire life of the Church were brought +to clear expression. If the original apostles had agreed with the +Judaizers against Paul, the whole history of the Church would have +been different. There would even have been room to doubt whether +Paul was really a disciple of Jesus; for if he was, how could he +come to differ so radically from those whom Jesus had taught? As a +matter of fact, however, these dire consequences were avoided. When +the issue was made between Paul and the Judaizers, the original +apostles decided whole-heartedly for Paul. The unity of the Church +was preserved. God was guiding the deliberations of the council. + + +1. THE ACTS AND GALATIANS + +The treatment of to-day's lesson in the Student's Text Book is +based upon the assumption that Gal. 2:1-10 is an account of the +same visit of Paul to Jerusalem as the visit which is described in +Acts 15:1-29. That assumption is not universally accepted. Some +scholars identify the event of Gal. 2:1-10, not with the Apostolic +Council of Acts 15:1-29, but with the "famine visit" of Acts 11:30; +12:25. Indeed, some maintain that the Epistle to the Galatians not +only contains no account of the Apostolic Council, but was actually +written before the council was held--say at Antioch, soon after the +first missionary journey. Of course this early dating of Galatians +can be adopted only in connection with the "South Galatian theory"; +for according to the "North Galatian theory" the churches addressed +in the epistle were not founded until after the council, namely at +the time of Acts 16:6. + +Undoubtedly the identification of Gal. 2:1-10 with Acts 11:30; +12:25, avoids some difficulties. If Gal. 2:1-10 be identified +with Acts 15:1-29, then Paul in Galatians has passed over the +famine visit without mention. Furthermore there are considerable +differences between Gal. 2:1-10 and Acts 15:1-29. For example, if +Paul is referring to the Apostolic Council, why has he not mentioned +the apostolic decree of Acts 15:23-29? These difficulties, however, +are not insuperable, and there are counter difficulties against the +identification of Gal. 2:1-10 with the famine visit. + +One such difficulty is connected with chronology. Paul says +that his first visit to Jerusalem took place three years after +his conversion, Gal. 1:18, and--according to the most natural +interpretation of Gal. 2:1--that the visit of Gal. 2:1-10 took place +fourteen years after the first visit. The conversion then occurred +seventeen years before the time of Gal. 2:1-10. But if Gal. 2:1-10 +describes the famine visit, then the time of Gal. 2:1-10 could not +have been after about A. D. 46. Counting back seventeen years from +A. D. 46 we should get A. D. 29 as the date of the conversion, which +is, of course, too early. + +This reasoning, it must be admitted, is not quite conclusive. The +ancients had an inclusive method of reckoning time. According to +this method three years after 1914 would be 1916. Hence, fourteen +plus three might be only what we should call about fifteen years, +instead of seventeen. Furthermore, Paul may mean in Gal. 2:1 that +his conference with the apostles took place fourteen years after the +conversion rather than fourteen years after the first visit. + +The identification of Gal. 2:1-10 with the famine visit is not +impossible. But on the whole the usual view, which identifies the +event of Gal. 2:1-10 with the meeting at the time of the Apostolic +Council of Acts 15:1-29, must be regarded as more probable. The +Apostolic Council probably took place roughly at about A. D. 49. The +conversion of Paul then should probably be put at about A. D. 32-34. + + +2. THE JUDAIZERS + +Conceivably the question about the freedom of the Gentiles from the +law might have arisen at an earlier time; for Gentiles had already +been received into the Church before the first missionary journey. +As a matter of fact, indeed, some objection had been raised to the +reception of Cornelius. But that objection had easily been silenced +by an appeal to the immediate guidance of God. Perhaps the case of +Cornelius could be regarded as exceptional; and a similar reflection +might possibly have been applied to the Gentile Christians at +Antioch. There seemed to be no danger, at any rate, that the +predominantly Jewish character of the Church would be lost. Now, +however, after a regular Gentile mission had been carried on with +signal success, the situation was materially altered. Evidently the +influx of Gentile converts, if allowed to go on unhindered, would +change the whole character of the Church. Christianity would appear +altogether as a new dispensation: the prerogatives of Israel would +be gone. The question of Gentile Christianity had existed before, +but after the first missionary journey it became acute. + +Perhaps, however, there was also another reason why the battle +had not been fought out at an earlier time. It looks very much as +though this bitter opposition to the Gentile mission had arisen only +through the appearance of a new element in the Jerusalem church. +Were these extreme legalists, who objected to the work of Paul and +Barnabas--were these men present in the Church from the beginning? +The question is more than doubtful. It is more probable that these +legalists came into the Church during the period of prosperity +which followed upon the persecution of Stephen and was only briefly +interrupted by the persecution under Herod Agrippa I. + +These Jewish Christian opponents of the Gentile mission--these +"Judaizers"--must be examined with some care. They are described not +only by Luke in The Acts but by Paul himself in Galatians. According +to The Acts, some of them at least had belonged to the sect of the +Pharisees before they had become Christians. Acts 15:5. + +The activity of the Judaizers is described by Luke in complete +independence of the account given by Paul. As usual, Luke contents +himself with a record of external fact, while Paul uncovers the +deeper motives of the Judaizers' actions. Yet the facts as reported +by Luke fully justify the harsh words which Paul employs. According +to Paul, these Judaizers were "false brethren privily brought in, +who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ +Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage." Gal. 2:4. By calling +them "false brethren" Paul means simply that they had not really +grasped the fundamental principle of the gospel--the principle +of justification by faith. They were still trying to earn their +salvation by their works instead of receiving it as a gift of God. +At heart they were still Jews rather than Christians. They came in +privily into places where they did not belong--perhaps Paul means +especially into the church at Antioch--in order to spy out Christian +liberty. Gal. 2:4. Compare Acts 15:1. + +The rise of this Judaizing party is easy to understand. In +some respects the Judaizers were simply following the line of +least resistance. By upholding the Mosaic law they would escape +persecution and even obtain honor. We have seen that it was the +Jews who instigated the early persecutions of the Church. Such +persecutions would be avoided by the Judaizers, for they could +say to their non-Christian countrymen: "We are engaged simply in +one form of the world-wide Jewish mission. We are requiring our +converts to keep the Mosaic law and unite themselves definitely +with the people of Israel. Every convert that we gain is a convert +to Judaism. The cross of Christ that we proclaim is supplementary +to the law, not subversive of it. We deserve therefore from the +Jews not persecution but honor." Compare what Paul says about the +Judaizers in Galatia. Gal. 6:12,13. + + +3. THE APOSTOLIC DECREE + +At first sight it seems rather strange that Paul in Galatians does +not mention the apostolic decree. Some have supposed that his words +even exclude any decree of that sort. In Gal. 2:6 Paul says that +the pillars of the Jerusalem church "imparted nothing" to him. Yet +according to The Acts they imparted to him this decree. The decree, +moreover, seems to have a direct bearing upon the question that +Paul was discussing in Galatians; for it involved the imposition of +a part of the ceremonial law upon Gentile Christians. How then, if +the decree really was passed as Luke says it was, could it have been +left unmentioned by Paul? + +There are various ways of overcoming the difficulty. In the first +place it is not perfectly certain that any of the prohibitions +contained in the decree are ceremonial in character. Three of +them are probably ceremonial if the text of most manuscripts of +The Acts is correct. Most manuscripts read, at Acts 15:29: "That +ye abstain from things sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and +from things strangled, and from fornication; from which if ye keep +yourselves, it shall be well with you." Here "things offered to +idols" apparently describes not idolatrous worship, but food which +had been dedicated to idols; and "blood" describes meat used for +food without previous removal of the blood. This meaning of "blood" +is apparently fixed by the addition of "things strangled." Since +"things strangled" evidently refers to food, probably the two +preceding expressions refer to food also. According to the great +mass of our witnesses to the text, therefore, the apostolic decree +contains a food law. A few witnesses, however, omit all reference +to things strangled, not only at Acts 15:29 but also at v. 20 and +at ch. 21:25. If this text be original, then it is possible to +interpret the prohibitions as simply moral and not at all ceremonial +in character. "Things offered to idols" may be interpreted simply +of idolatry, and "blood" of murder. But if the prohibitions are +prohibitions of immorality, then they cannot be said to have +"imparted" anything to Paul; for of course he was as much opposed to +immorality as anyone. + +However, the more familiar form of the text is probably correct. +The witnesses that omit the word "strangled" are those that attest +the so-called "Western Text" of The Acts. This Western Text differs +rather strikingly from the more familiar text in many places. The +question as to how far the Western Text of The Acts is correct is a +hotly debated question. On the whole, however, the Western readings +are usually at any rate to be discredited. + +In the second place, the difficulty about the decree may be overcome +by regarding Gal. 2:1-10 as parallel not with Acts 15:1-29 but with +Acts 11:30; 12:25. This solution has already been discussed. + +In the third place, the difficulty may be overcome by that +interpretation of the decree which is proposed in the Student's Text +Book. The decree was not an addition to Paul's gospel. It was not +imposed upon the Gentile Christians as though a part of the law were +necessary to salvation. On the contrary it was simply an attempt +to solve the practical problems of certain mixed churches--not +the Pauline churches in general, but churches which stood in an +especially close relation to Jerusalem. This interpretation of the +decree is favored by the difficult verse, Acts 15:21. What James +there means is probably that the Gentile Christians should avoid +those things which would give the most serious offense to hearers of +the law. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Purves, "Christianity in the Apostolic Age," pp. +125-166. Lightfoot, "Saint Paul's Epistle to the Galatians," pp. +123-128 ("The later visit of St. Paul to Jerusalem"), 292-374 ("St. +Paul and the Three"). Ramsay, "St. Paul the Traveller and the Roman +Citizen," pp. 48-60, 152-175. Lewin, "The Life and Epistles of St. +Paul," ch. ix. Conybeare and Howson, "The Life and Epistles of St. +Paul," ch. vii. Stalker, "The Life of St. Paul," pp. 108-118. Lumby, +pp. 185-200. Cook, pp. 451-458. Plumptre, pp. 93-101. Rackham, pp. +238-259, 263-270. + + + + +LESSON XVI + +THE GOSPEL CARRIED INTO EUROPE + + +From the rich store of to-day's lesson only a few points can be +selected for special comment. + + +1. TITUS AND TIMOTHY + +At Lystra, Paul had Timothy circumcised. Acts 16:3. This action +has been considered strange in view of the attitude which Paul had +previously assumed. At Jerusalem, only a short time before, he had +absolutely refused to permit the circumcision of Titus. Evidently, +too, he had regarded the matter as of fundamental importance. Had +Titus been circumcised, the freedom of the Gentile Christians would +have been seriously endangered. + +The presence of Titus at the Apostolic Council is mentioned only by +Paul in Galatians. It is not mentioned in The Acts. Indeed, Titus +does not appear in The Acts at all, though in the epistles he is +rather prominent. This fact, however, really requires no further +explanation than that the history of Luke is not intended to be +exhaustive. The restraint exercised by the author of The Acts has +already been observed, for example, in a comparison of the long list +of hardships in II Cor. 11:23-27 with what Luke actually narrates. +The helpers of Paul whom Luke mentions are usually those who +traveled with him. Titus was sent by Paul on at least one important +mission, II Cor. 7:13,14, but was apparently not his companion on +the missionary journeys. Luke does not concern himself very much +with the internal affairs of the churches, and it is in this field +that Titus is especially prominent in the epistles. With regard +to the presence of Titus in Jerusalem, the different purposes of +the narratives in Galatians and in The Acts must be borne in mind. +The non-circumcision of Titus, so strongly emphasized by Paul, was +merely preliminary to the public action of the church in which Luke +was interested. Luke has thought it sufficient to include Titus +under the "certain other" of the Antioch Christians who went up with +Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem. + +The different policy which Paul adopted in the case of Timothy, as +compared with his policy about Titus, is amply explained by the wide +differences in the situation. + +In the first place, when Titus was at Jerusalem, the matter of +Gentile freedom was in dispute, whereas when Timothy was circumcised +the question had already been settled by a formal pronouncement of +the Jerusalem church. After Paul had won the victory of principle, +he could afford to make concessions where no principle was involved. +Timothy was recognized as a full member of the Church even before +his circumcision. Circumcision was merely intended to make him a +more efficient helper in work among the Jews. + +In the second place--and this is even more important--Timothy +was a half-Jew. It is perhaps doubtful whether Paul under any +circumstances would have authorized the circumcision of a pure +Gentile like Titus. But Timothy's mother was Jewish. It must always +be borne in mind that Paul did not demand the relinquishment of +the law on the part of Jews; and Timothy's parentage gave him at +least the right of regarding himself as a Jew. If he had chosen to +follow his Gentile father, the Jews could have regarded him as a +renegade. His usefulness in the synagogues would have been lost. +Obviously the circumcision of such a man involved nothing more than +the maintenance of ancestral custom on the part of Jews. Where no +principle was involved, Paul was the most concessive of men. See +especially I Cor. 9:19-23. The final relinquishment of the law on +the part of Jews was rightly left to the future guidance of God. + + +2. THE ROUTE THROUGH ASIA MINOR + +The difficulty of tracing the route of the missionaries beyond +Lystra is due largely to the difficulty of Acts 16:6. A literal +translation of the decisive words in that verse would be either +"the Phrygian and Galatian country" or "Phrygia and the Galatian +country." According to the advocates of the "South Galatian theory," +"the Galatian country" here refers not to Galatia proper but to +the southern part of the Roman province Galatia. "The Phrygian +and Galatian country" then perhaps means "The Phrygo-Galatic +country," or "that part of Phrygia which is in the Roman province +Galatia." The reference then is to Iconium, Pisidian Antioch and +the surrounding country--after the missionaries had passed through +the Lycaonian part of the province Galatia (Derbe and Lystra) they +traversed the Phrygian part of the province. The chief objection +to all such interpretations is found in the latter part of the +verse: "having been forbidden of the Holy Spirit to speak the word +in Asia." It looks as though the reason why they passed through +"the Phrygian and Galatian country" was that they were forbidden to +preach in Asia. But South Galatia was directly on the way to Asia. +The impossibility of preaching in Asia could therefore hardly have +been the reason for passing through south Galatia. + +Apparently, therefore, the disputed phrase refers rather to some +region which is not on the way to Asia. This requirement is +satisfied if Galatia proper is meant--the country in the northern +part of the Roman province Galatia. When they got to Pisidian +Antioch, it would have been natural for them to proceed into the +western part of Asia Minor, into "Asia." That they were forbidden +to do. Hence they turned north, and went through Phrygia into +Galatia proper. When they got to the border country between Mysia +and Galatia proper, they tried to continue their journey north into +Bithynia, but were prevented by the Spirit. Then they turned west, +and passing through Mysia without preaching arrived at last at the +coast, at Troas. + +Nothing is said here about preaching in Galatia proper. But in Acts +18:23, in connection with the third missionary journey, it is said +that when Paul passed through "the Galatian country and Phrygia" he +established the disciples. There could not have been disciples in +the "Galatian country," unless there had been preaching there on the +previous journey. On the "North Galatian" theory, therefore, the +founding of the Galatian churches to which the epistle is directed +is to be placed at Acts 16:6, and the second visit to them, which +seems to be presupposed by the epistle, is to be put at Acts 18:23. +If it seems strange that Luke does not mention the founding of these +churches, the hurried character of this section of the narrative +must be borne in mind. Furthermore, the epistle seems to imply +that the founding of the churches was rather incidental than an +original purpose of the journey; for in Gal. 4:13 Paul says that +it was because of an infirmity of the flesh that he preached the +gospel in Galatia the former time. Apparently he had been hurrying +through the country without stopping, but being detained by illness +used his enforced leisure to preach to the inhabitants. It is not +impossible to understand how Luke came to omit mention of such +incidental preaching. On the second missionary journey attention is +concentrated on Macedonia and Greece. + + +3. THE MOVEMENTS OF SILAS AND TIMOTHY + +When Paul went to Athens, Silas and Timothy remained behind in +Macedonia. Acts 17:14. They were directed to join Paul again as soon +as possible. V. 15. In Acts 18:1,5 they are said to have joined him +at Corinth. The narrative in The Acts must here be supplemented by +the First Epistle to the Thessalonians. What Luke says is perfectly +true, but his narrative is not complete. According to the most +natural interpretation of I Thess. 3:1-5, Timothy was with Paul in +Athens, and from there was sent to Thessalonica. The entire course +of events was perhaps as follows: Silas and Timothy both joined +Paul quickly at Athens according to directions. They were then sent +away again--Timothy to Thessalonica, and Silas to some other place +in Macedonia. Then, after the execution of their commissions, they +finally joined Paul again at Corinth. Acts 18:5; I Thess. 3:6. Soon +afterwards, all three missionaries were associated in the address of +First Thessalonians. + + +4. PAUL AT ATHENS + +In Athens Paul preached as usual in the synagogue to Jews and +"God-fearers"; but he also adopted another and more unusual +method--he simply took his stand without introduction in the +market place, and spoke to those who chanced by. This method was +characteristically Greek; it reminds us of the days of Socrates. + +In the market place, Paul encountered certain of the Epicurean +and Stoic philosophers. Both of these schools of philosophy had +originated almost three hundred years before Christ, and both were +prominent in the New Testament period. In their tenets they were +very different. The Stoics were pantheists. They conceived of the +world as a sort of great living being of which God is the soul. The +world does not exist apart from God and God does not exist apart +from the world. Such pantheism is far removed from the Christian +belief in the living God, Maker of heaven and earth; but as against +polytheism, pantheism and theism have something in common. Paul in +his speech was able to start from this common ground. In ethics, the +Stoics were perhaps nearer to Christianity than in metaphysics. The +highest good they conceived to be a life that is led in accordance +with reason--that reason which is the determining principle of the +world. The passions must be conquered, pleasure is worthless, the +wise man is independent of external conditions. Such an ethic worked +itself out in practice in many admirable virtues--in some conception +of the universal brotherhood of mankind, in charity, in heroic +self-denial. But it lacked the warmth and glow of Christian love, +and it lacked the living God. + +The Epicureans were materialists. The world, for them, was a +vast mechanism. They believed in the gods, but conceived of them +as altogether without influence upon human affairs. Indeed, the +deliverance of man from the fear of the gods was one of the purposes +of the Epicurean philosophy. The Epicureans were interested chiefly +in ethics. Pleasure, according to them, is the highest good. It +need not be the pleasure of the senses; indeed Epicurus, at least, +the founder of the school, insisted upon a calm life undisturbed by +violent passions. Nevertheless it will readily be seen how little +such a philosophy had in common with Christianity. + +The conditions under which Paul made his speech cannot be determined +with certainty. The difficulty arises from the ambiguity of +"Areopagus." "Areopagus" means "Mars' hill." But the term was also +applied to the court which held at least some of its meetings on +the hill. Which meaning is intended here? Did Paul speak before +the court, or did he speak on Mars' hill merely to those who were +interested? On the whole, it is improbable at any rate that he was +subjected to a formal trial. + +The speech of Paul at Athens is one of the three important speeches +of Paul, exclusive of his speeches in defense of himself at +Jerusalem and at Cæsarea, which have been recorded in The Acts. +These speeches are well chosen. One of them is a speech to Jews, +Acts 13:16-41; one a speech to Gentiles, Acts 17:22-31; and the +third a speech to Christians, Acts 20:18-35. Together they afford +a very good idea of Paul's method as a missionary and as a pastor. +As is to be expected, they differ strikingly from one another. Paul +was large enough to comprehend the wonderful richness of Christian +truth. His gospel was always the same, but he was able to adapt the +presentation of it to the character of his hearers. + +At Athens, an altar inscribed TO AN UNKNOWN GOD provided a starting +point. The existence of such an altar is not at all surprising, +although only altars to "unknown gods" (plural instead of singular) +are attested elsewhere. Perhaps the inscription on this altar +indicated simply that the builder of the altar did not know to which +of the numberless gods he should offer thanks for a benefit that he +had received, or to which he should address a prayer to ward off +calamity. Under a polytheistic religion, where every department of +life had its own god, it was sometimes difficult to pick out the +right god to pray to for any particular purpose. Such an altar was +at any rate an expression of ignorance, and that ignorance served as +a starting point for Paul. "You are afraid that you have neglected +the proper god in this case," says Paul in effect. "Yes, indeed, +you have. You have neglected a very important god indeed, you have +neglected the one true God, who made the world and all things +therein." + +In what follows, Paul appeals to the truth contained in Stoic +pantheism. His words are of peculiar interest at the present day, +when pantheism is rampant even within the Church. There is a great +truth in pantheism. It emphasizes the immanence of God. But the +truth of pantheism is contained also in theism. The theist, as well +as the pantheist, believes that God is not far from every one of us, +and that in him we live and move and have our being. The theist, as +well as the pantheist, can say, "Closer is he than breathing, and +nearer than hands and feet." The theist accepts all the truth of +pantheism, but avoids the error. God is present in the world--not +one sparrow "shall fall on the ground without your Father"--but +he is not limited to the world. He is not just another name for +the totality of things, but an awful, mysterious, holy, free and +sovereign Person. He is present in the world, but also Master of the +world. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Purves, "Christianity in the Apostolic Age," pp. +177-197. Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": articles on "Troas," +"Philippi," "Thessalonica," "Athens," "Areopagus," "Stoics," +"Epicureans," "Corinth," "Gallio," "Silas." Ramsay, "St. Paul the +Traveller and the Roman Citizen," pp. 175-261; "Pictures of the +Apostolic Church," pp. 197-239. Lewin, "The Life and Epistles of +St. Paul," chs. x, xi, and xii. Conybeare and Howson, "The Life +and Epistles of St. Paul," chs. viii, ix, x, xi, and xii. Stalker, +"The Life of St. Paul," pp. 71-81. Lumby, pp. 200-239. Cook, pp. +458-476. Plumptre, pp. 101-124. Rackham, pp. 260-263, 271-331. For +information about the recently discovered Gallio inscription, see +"The Princeton Theological Review," vol. ix, 1911, pp. 290-298: +Armstrong, "Epigraphical Note." + + + + +LESSON XVII + +ENCOURAGEMENT FOR RECENT CONVERTS + + +The Pauline Epistles fall naturally into four groups: (1) the +epistles of the second missionary journey (First and Second +Thessalonians); (2) the epistles of the third missionary journey +(Galatians, First and Second Corinthians and Romans); (3) the +epistles of the first imprisonment (Colossians and Philemon, +Ephesians and Philippians); (4) the epistles written after the +period covered by The Acts (First Timothy, Titus and Second Timothy). + +Each of these groups has its own characteristics. The first group +is characterized by simplicity of subject matter, and by a special +interest in the second coming of Christ. The second group is +concerned especially with the doctrines of sin and grace. The third +group displays a special interest in the person of Christ and in +the Church. The fourth group deals with organization, and with the +maintenance of sound instruction. + + +1. SIMPLICITY OF THE THESSALONIAN EPISTLES + +The reason for the peculiarities of First and Second Thessalonians +has often been sought in the early date of these epistles. On the +second missionary journey, it is said, Paul had not yet developed +the great doctrines which appear at later periods of his life. This +explanation may perhaps contain an element of truth. Undoubtedly +there was some progress in Paul's thinking. Not everything was +revealed to him at once. The chief cause, however, for the +simplicity of the Thessalonian epistles is not the early date but +the peculiar occasion of these epistles. Paul is here imparting +his first written instruction to an infant church. Naturally he +must feed these recent converts with milk. The simplicity of the +letters is due not to immaturity in Paul but to immaturity in the +Thessalonian church. After all, at the time when the Thessalonian +epistles were written, the major part of Paul's Christian +life--including the decisive conflict with the Judaizers at Antioch +and Jerusalem--lay already in the past. + +At any rate the simplicity of the Thessalonian epistles must not be +exaggerated. In these letters the great Pauline doctrines, though +not discussed at length, are everywhere presupposed. There is the +same lofty conception of Christ as in the other epistles, the same +emphasis upon his resurrection, the same doctrine of salvation +through his death. I Thess. 1:10; 5:9,10. + + +2. THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST + +Undoubtedly the second advent, with the events which are immediately +to precede it, occupies a central position in the Thessalonian +epistles. A few words of explanation, therefore, may here be in +order. + +Evidently the expectation of Christ's coming was a fundamental part +of Paul's belief, and had a fundamental place in his preaching. "Ye +turned unto God from idols, to serve a living and true God, and to +wait for his Son from heaven"--these words show clearly how the hope +of Christ's appearing was instilled in the converts from the very +beginning. I Thess. 1:9,10. To serve the living God and to wait for +his Son--that is the sum and substance of the Christian life. All +through the epistles the thought of the Parousia--the "presence" or +"coming"--of Christ appears as a master motive. I Thess. 2:19; 3:13; +4:13 to 5:11,23,24; II Thess. 1:5 to 2:12. + +This emphasis upon the second coming of Christ is explained if Paul +expected Christ to come in the near future. The imminence of the +Parousia for Paul appears to be indicated by I Thess. 4:15: "For +this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we that are +alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall in no wise +precede them that are fallen asleep." This verse is often thought to +indicate that Paul confidently expected before his death to witness +the coming of the Lord. Apparently he classes himself with those who +"are left unto the coming of the Lord" as over against those who +will suffer death. In the later epistles, it is further said, Paul +held a very different view. From Second Corinthians on, he faced +ever more definitely the thought of death. II Cor. 5:1,8; Phil. +1:20-26. A comparison of I Cor. 15:51 with II Cor. 5:1,8 is thought +to indicate that the deadly peril which Paul incurred between the +writing of the two Corinthian epistles, II Cor. 1:8,9, had weakened +his expectation of living until Christ should come. After he had +once despaired of life, he could hardly expect with such perfect +confidence to escape the experience of death. The possibility of +death was too strong to be left completely out of sight. + +Plausible as such a view is, it can be held only with certain +reservations. + +In the first place, we must not exaggerate the nearness of the +Parousia according to Paul, even in the earliest period; for in II +Thess. 2:1-12 the Thessalonians are reminded of certain events that +must occur before Christ would come. The expression of the former +epistle, I Thess. 5:2, that the day of the Lord would come as a +thief in the night, was to be taken as a warning to unbelievers to +repent while there was yet time, not as a ground for neglecting +ordinary provision for the future. In Second Thessalonians Paul +finds it necessary to calm the overstrained expectations of the +Thessalonian Christians. + +Furthermore, it is not only in the earlier epistles that expressions +occur which seem to suggest that the Parousia is near. Rom. 13:11; +Phil. 4:5. And then it is evident from II Cor. 11:23-29 and from +I Cor. 15:30-32 that Paul had undergone dangers before the one +mentioned in II Cor. 1:8,9, so that there is no reason to suppose +that that one event caused any sudden change in his expectations. + +Lastly, in I Cor. 6:14 Paul says that "God both raised the Lord, and +will raise up us through his power." If that refers to the literal +resurrection, then here Paul classes himself among those who are to +die; for if he lived to the Parousia, then there would be no need +for him to be raised up. + +It is therefore very doubtful whether we can put any very definite +change in the apostle's expectations as to his living or dying +between First Corinthians and Second Corinthians. A gradual +development in his feeling about the matter there no doubt was. +During the early part of his life his mind dwelt less upon the +prospect of death than it did after perils of all kinds had made +that prospect more and more imminent. But at no time did the +apostle regard the privilege of living until the Parousia as a +certainty to be put at all in the same category with the Christian +hope itself. Especially the passage in First Thessalonians can +be rightly interpreted only in the light of the historical +occasion for it. Until certain members of the church had died, the +Thessalonian Christians had never faced the possibility of dying +before the second coming of Christ. Hence they were troubled. Would +the brethren who had fallen asleep miss the benefits of Christ's +kingdom? Paul writes to reassure them. He does not contradict their +hope of living till the coming of Christ, for God had not revealed +to him that that hope would not be realized. But he tells them +that, supposing that hope to be justified, even then they will have +no advantage over their dead brethren. He classes himself with those +who were still alive and might therefore live till Christ should +come, as over against those who were already dead and could not +therefore live till Christ should come. + +Certain passages in the epistles of Paul, which are not confined to +any one period of his life, seem to show that at any rate he did +not exclude the very real possibility that Christ might come in +the near future. At any rate, however, such an expectation of the +early coming of Christ was just as far removed as possible from the +expectations of fanatical chiliasts. It did not lead Paul to forget +that the times and the seasons are entirely in the hand of God. It +had no appreciable effect upon his ethics, except to make it more +intense, more fully governed by the thought of the judgment seat of +Christ. It did not prevent him from laying far-reaching plans, it +did not prevent his developing a great philosophy of future history +in Rom., chs. 9 to 11. How far he was from falling into the error he +combated in Second Thessalonians! Despite his view of the temporary +character of the things that are seen, how sane and healthy was his +way of dealing with practical problems! He did his duty, and left +the details of the future to God. Hence it is hard to discover what +Paul thought as to how soon Christ would come--naturally so, for +Paul did not try to discover it himself. + + +3. THE PERSONS ASSOCIATED IN THE ADDRESS + +Almost always other persons are associated with Paul in the +addresses of the epistles. With regard to the meaning of this +custom, extreme views should be avoided. On the one hand, these +persons--usually, at any rate--had no share in the actual +composition of the epistles. The epistles bear the imprint of one +striking personality. On the other hand, association in the address +means something more than that the persons so named sent greetings; +for mere greetings are placed at the end. The truth lies between +the two extremes. Probably the persons associated with Paul in the +address were made acquainted at least in general with the contents +of the epistles, and desired to express their agreement with what +was said. In the Thessalonian epistles Silas and Timothy, who had +had a part in the founding of the Thessalonian church, appear very +appropriately in the address. + +A question related to that of the persons associated in the +addresses is the question of the so-called "epistolary plural." +The epistolary plural was analogous to our "editorial we" it was +a usage by which the writer of a letter could substitute "we" for +"I" in referring to himself alone. In many passages in the letters +of Paul it is exceedingly difficult to tell whether a plural is +merely epistolary, or whether it has some special significance. For +example, whom, if anyone, is Paul including with himself in the "we" +of I Thess. 3:1? In particular, the question often is whether, when +Paul says "we," he is thinking of the persons who were associated +with him in the address of the epistle. On the whole it seems +impossible to deny that Paul sometimes uses the epistolary plural, +though his use of it is probably not so extensive as has often been +supposed. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Purves, "Christianity in the Apostolic Age," pp. +197-203. Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": Purves (supplemented), +article on "Thessalonians, Epistles to the." Hastings, "Dictionary +of the Bible": Lock, articles on "Thessalonians, First Epistle to +the" and "Thessalonians, Second Epistle to the." M'Clymont, "The +New Testament and Its Writers," pp. 47-57. Ramsay, "Pictures of the +Apostolic Church," pp. 240-246. Stalker, "The Life of St. Paul," pp. +85-107. Ellicott, "A New Testament Commentary for English Readers," +vol. iii, pp. 125-170: Mason, "The Epistles of Paul the Apostle to +the Thessalonians." "The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges": +Findlay, "The Epistles to the Thessalonians." Zahn, "Introduction +to the New Testament," vol. i, pp. 152-164, 203-255. Milligan, "St. +Paul's Epistles to the Thessalonians." The two last-named works are +intended primarily for those who have some knowledge of Greek, but +can also be used by others. + + + + +LESSON XVIII + +THE CONFLICT WITH THE JUDAIZERS + + +1. APOLLOS + +Before the arrival of Paul at Ephesus an important event had +taken place in that city--the meeting of Aquila and Priscilla +with Apollos. Apollos was a Jew of Alexandrian descent. He had +already received instruction about Jesus--perhaps in his native +city. Of all the great cities of the Roman Empire Alexandria alone +was approximately as near to Jerusalem as was Syrian Antioch. The +founding of the church at Alexandria is obscure, but undoubtedly it +took place at a very early time. At a later period Alexandria was +of the utmost importance as the center of Christian learning, as +it had been already the center of the learning of the pagan world. +Until instructed by Aquila and Priscilla, Apollos had known only +the baptism of John the Baptist. Apparently one important thing +that he had lacked was an acquaintance with the peculiar Christian +manifestation of the Holy Spirit. He seems to have been trained +in Greek rhetoric, whether the word translated "eloquent" in Acts +18:24 means "eloquent" or "learned." Apollos did not remain long +in Ephesus, but went to Corinth, where, as can be learned from +First Corinthians as well as from The Acts, his work was of great +importance. + + +2. GALATIANS A POLEMIC + +After studying first the Thessalonian epistles and then Galatians +in succession the student should be able to form some conception +of the variety among the epistles of Paul. Certainly there could +be no sharper contrast. First and Second Thessalonians are simple, +affectionate letters written to a youthful church; Galatians is +one of the most passionate bits of polemic in the whole Bible. We +ought to honor Paul for his anger. A lesser man might have taken a +calmer view of the situation. After all, it might have been said, +the observance of Jewish fasts and feasts was not a serious matter; +even circumcision, though useless, could do no great harm. But Paul +penetrated below the surface. He detected the great principles that +were at stake. The Judaizers were disannulling the grace of God. + + +3. THE ADDRESS. GAL. 1:1-5 + +The addresses of the Pauline epistles are never merely formal. Paul +does not wait for the beginning of the letter proper in order to say +what he has in mind. Even the epistolary forms are suffused with the +deepest religious feeling. + +The opening of the present letter is anticipatory of what is to +follow. Dividing the opening into three parts--the nominative (name +and title of the writer), the dative (name of those to whom the +letter is addressed), and the greeting--it will be observed that +every one of these parts has its peculiarity as compared with the +other Pauline epistles. + +The peculiarity of the nominative is the remarkable addition +beginning with "not from men," which is a summary of the first +great division of the epistle, Paul's defense against the personal +attack of his opponents. Since the Epistle to the Galatians is +polemic from beginning to end, it is not surprising that the very +first word after the bare name and title of the author is "not." +Paul cannot mention his title "apostle"--in the addresses of First +and Second Thessalonians he had not thought it necessary to mention +it at all--without thinking of the way in which in Galatia it was +misrepresented. "My apostleship," he says, "came not only from +Christ, but directly from Christ." + +The peculiarity of the dative is its brevity--not "beloved of God, +called to be saints," or the like, but just the bare and formal "to +the churches of Galatia." The situation was not one which called for +pleasant words! + +The greeting is the least varied part in the addresses of the +Pauline epistles. The long addition to the greeting in Galatians is +absolutely unique. It is a summary of the second and central main +division of the epistle, Paul's defense of his gospel. "Christ has +died to free you. The Judaizers in bringing you into bondage are +making of none effect the grace of Christ, manifested on the cross." +That is the very core of the letter. In all of the Pauline epistles +there is scarcely a passage more characteristic of the man than the +first five verses of Galatians. An ordinary writer would have been +merely formal in the address. Not so Paul! + +The exultant supernaturalism of the address should be noticed. +This supernaturalism appears, in the first place, in the sphere of +external history--"God the Father, who raised him from the dead." +Pauline Christianity is based upon the miracle of the resurrection. +Supernaturalism appears also, however, in the sphere of Christian +experience--"who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver +us out of this present evil world." Christianity is no mere easy +development of the old life, no mere improvement of the life, but a +new life in a new world. In both spheres, supernaturalism is being +denied in the modern Church. Pauline Christianity is very different +from much that is called Christianity to-day. + +Finally, this passage will serve to exhibit Paul's lofty view +of the person of Christ. "Neither through man," says Paul, "but +through Jesus Christ." Jesus Christ is here distinguished sharply +from men and placed clearly on the side of God. What is more, even +the Judaizers evidently accepted fundamentally the same view. Paul +said, "Not by man, but by Jesus Christ"; the Judaizers said, "Not by +Jesus Christ, but by man." But if so, then the Judaizers, no less +than Paul, distinguished Jesus sharply from ordinary humanity. About +other things there was debate, but about the person of Christ Paul +appears in harmony even with his opponents. Evidently the original +apostles had given the Judaizers on this point no slightest excuse +for differing from Paul. The heavenly Christ of Paul was also the +Christ of those who had walked and talked with Jesus of Nazareth. +They had seen Jesus subject to all the petty limitations of human +life. Yet they thought him divine! Could they have been deceived? + + +4. THE PURPOSE OF THE EPISTLE. GAL. 1:6-10 + +The thanksgiving for the Christian state of the readers, which +appears in practically every other of the Pauline epistles, is here +conspicuous by its absence. Here it would have been a mockery. The +Galatians were on the point of giving up the gospel. There was just +a chance of saving them. The letter was written in a desperate +crisis. Pray God it might not be too late! No time here for words of +thanks! + +In vs. 6-10, Paul simply states the purpose of the letter in a few +uncompromising words: "You are falling away from the gospel and I am +writing to stop you." + + +5. PAUL'S DEFENSE OF HIS APOSTOLIC AUTHORITY. GAL. 1:11 to 2:21 + +After stating, Gal. 1:11,12, the thesis that is to be proved in this +section, Paul defends his independent apostolic authority by three +main arguments. + +In the first place, vs. 13-24, he was already launched upon his +work as apostle to the Gentiles before he had even come into any +effective contact with the original apostles. Before his conversion, +he had been an active persecutor. His conversion was wrought, +not, like an ordinary conversion, through human agency, but by an +immediate act of Christ. After his conversion it was three years +before he saw any of the apostles. Then he saw only Peter (and +James) and that not long enough to become, as his opponents said, a +disciple of these leaders. + +In the second place, Gal. 2:1-10, when he finally did hold a +conference with the original apostles, they themselves, the very +authorities to whom the Judaizers appealed, recognized that his +authority was quite independent of theirs, and, like theirs, of +directly divine origin. + +In the third place, Gal. 2:11-21, so independent was his authority +that on one occasion he could even rebuke the chief of the original +apostles himself. What Paul said at that time to Peter happened to +be exactly what he wanted to say, in the epistle, to the Galatians. +This section, therefore, forms a transition to the second main +division of the epistle. It has sometimes been thought surprising +that Paul does not say how Peter took his rebuke. The conclusion has +even been drawn that if Peter had acknowledged his error Paul would +have been sure to say so. Such reasoning ignores the character of +this section. In reporting the substance of what he said to Peter, +Paul has laid bare the very depths of his own life. To return, after +such a passage, to the incident at Antioch would have been pedantic +and unnecessary. Long before the end of the second chapter Paul +has forgotten all about Peter, all about Antioch, and all about +the whole of his past history. He is thinking only of the grace of +Christ, and how some men are trampling it under foot. O foolish +Galatians, to desert so great a salvation! + + +6. PAUL'S DEFENSE OF HIS GOSPEL. GAL. 3:1 to 5:12 + +Salvation cannot be earned by human effort, but must be received +simply as a free gift: Christ has died to save us from the curse of +the law: to submit again to the yoke of bondage is disloyalty to +him--that is the great thesis that Paul sets out to prove. + +He proves it first by an argument from experience. Gal. 3:1-5. You +received the Holy Spirit, in palpable manifestation, before you ever +saw the Judaizers, before you ever thought of keeping the Mosaic +law. You received the Spirit by faith alone. How then can you now +think that the law is necessary? Surely there can be nothing higher +than the Spirit. + +In the second place, there is an argument from Scripture. Not those +who depend upon the works of the law, but those who believe, have +the benefit of the covenant made with Abraham. Vs. 6-22. + +In the third place, by the use of various figures, Paul contrasts +the former bondage with the present freedom. Gal. 3:23 to 4:7. The +life under the law was a period of restraint like that of childhood, +preliminary to faith in Christ. The law was intended to produce the +consciousness of sin, in order that the resultant hopelessness might +lead men to accept the Saviour. Vs. 23-25. But now all Christians +alike, both Jews and Gentiles, are sons of God in Christ, and +therefore heirs of the promise made to Abraham. Vs. 26-29. Being +sons of God, with all the glorious freedom of sonship, with the +Spirit crying, "Abba, Father," in the heart, how can we think of +returning to the miserable bondage of an external and legalistic +religion? Gal. 4:1-11. + +In the fourth place, Paul turns away from argument to make a +personal appeal. Vs. 12-20. What has become of your devotion to me? +Surely I have not become your enemy just because I tell you the +truth. The Judaizers are estranging you from me. Listen to me, my +spiritual children, even though I can speak to you only through the +cold medium of a letter! + +In the fifth place, Paul, in his perplexity, bethinks himself of +one more argument. It is an argument that would appeal especially +to those who were impressed by the Judaizers' method of using the +Old Testament, but it also has permanent validity. The fundamental +principle, says Paul, for which I am arguing, the principle of +grace, can be illustrated from the story of Ishmael and Isaac. +Ishmael had every prospect of being the heir of Abraham. It seemed +impossible for the aged Abraham to have another son. Nature was on +Ishmael's side. But nature was overruled. So it is to-day. As far as +nature is concerned, the Jews are the heirs of Abraham--they have +all the outward marks of sonship. But God has willed otherwise. +He has chosen to give the inheritance to the heirs according to +promise. The principle of the divine choice, operative on a small +scale in the acceptance of Isaac, is operative now on a large scale +in the acceptance of the Gentile church. + +Finally, Paul concludes the central section of the epistle by +emphasizing the gravity of the crisis. Gal. 5:1-12. Do not be +deceived. Circumcision as the Judaizers advocate it is no innocent +thing; it means the acceptance of a law religion. You must choose +either the law or grace; you cannot have both. + + +7. THE RESULTS OF PAUL'S GOSPEL. GAL. 5:13 to 6:10 + +In this third main division of the epistle Paul exhibits the +practical working of faith. Paul's gospel is more powerful than the +teaching of the Judaizers. Try to keep the law in your own strength +and you will fail, for the flesh is too strong. But the Spirit is +stronger than the flesh, and the Spirit is received by faith. + + +8. CONCLUSION. GAL. 6:11-18 + +This concluding section, if not the whole epistle, was written +with Paul's own hand. V. 11. In his other letters Paul dictated +everything but a brief closing salutation. + +In the closing section, Paul lays the alternative once more before +his readers. The Judaizers have worldly aims, they boast of worldly +advantages; but the true Christian boasts of nothing but the cross. +Christianity, as here portrayed, is not the gentle, easy-going +doctrine that is being mistaken for it to-day. It is no light thing +to say, "The world hath been crucified unto me, and I unto the +world." But the result is a new creature! + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Purves, "Christianity in the Apostolic Age," pp. +203-213. Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": article on "Ephesus"; +Purves, articles on "Galatia" and "Galatians, Epistle to the" +(supplemented). Hastings, "Dictionary of the Bible": Ramsay, article +on "Ephesus"; Dods, article on "Galatians, Epistle to the." Ramsay, +"St. Paul the Traveller and the Roman Citizen," pp. 262-282; +"Pictures of the Apostolic Church," pp. 247-269, 293-300. Lewin, +"The Life and Epistles of St. Paul," chs. xii, xiii. Conybeare and +Howson, "The Life and Epistles of St. Paul," chs. xii, xiii, xiv, xv +and xvi. Stalker, "The Life of St. Paul," pp. 82-84, 108-118. Lumby, +pp. 239-266. Cook, pp. 476-485. Plumptre, pp. 124-136. Rackham, pp. +331-370. M'Clymont, "The New Testament and Its Writers," pp. 70-76. +Ellicott, "A New Testament Commentary for English Readers," vol. +ii, pp. 419-468: Sanday, "The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the +Galatians." "The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges": Perowne, +"The Epistle to the Galatians." Zahn, "Introduction to the New +Testament," vol. i, pp. 164-202. Lightfoot, "Saint Paul's Epistle +to the Galatians." The two last-named works are intended primarily +for those who have some knowledge of Greek, but can also be used by +others. + + + + +LESSON XIX + +PROBLEMS OF A GENTILE CHURCH + + +Christianity, according to Paul, is an escape from the world. Gal. +1:4. All human distinctions are comparatively unimportant. "There +can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither bond nor free, +there can be no male and female." Gal. 3:28. Such a doctrine might +seem logically to lead to fanaticism. If the Christian is already a +citizen of heaven, may he not be indifferent to the conditions of +life upon this earth? Such a conclusion was altogether avoided by +Paul. In First Corinthians Paul is revealed as the most practical of +men. All human distinctions are subordinate and secondary--and yet +these distinctions are carefully observed. Paul was a man of heroic +faith, but he was also possessed of admirable tact. + +It is not that the one side of Paul's nature limited the other; +it is not that common sense acted as a check to transcendental +religion. On the contrary, the two things seemed to be in perfect +harmony. Just because Paul was inwardly so entirely free from the +world, he was also so wise in dealing with worldly affairs. The +secret of this harmony was consecration. Human relationships, when +consecrated to God, are not destroyed, but ennobled. They cease, +indeed, to be an end in themselves, but they become a means to +Christian service. The Christian man has no right to be indifferent +to the world. If he is, he is no true son of the God who made the +world, and sent the Lord to save it. The Christian, like the man of +the world, is profoundly interested in the conditions of life on +this earth. Only, unlike the man of the world, he is not helpless +and perplexed in the presence of those conditions; but from his +vantage ground of heavenly power, he shapes them to the divine will. +He is interested in the world, but he is interested in it, not as +its servant, but as its master. + +So in First Corinthians Paul lays hold of certain perplexing +practical problems with the sure grasp of one who is called to rule +and not to serve. Everything that he touches he lifts to a higher +plane. In his hands even the simplest things of life receive a +heavenly significance. + +The problems that are discussed in First Corinthians stood in a +special relation to the environment of the Corinthian church. Most +of them were due to the threatened intrusions of Greek paganism. +They are closely analogous, however, to the problems which we have +to solve to-day. Paganism and worldliness are not dead. The Church +still stands in the midst of a hostile environment. We can still use +the teaching of Paul. That teaching will now be examined in a few of +its important details. + + +1. THE PARTIES + +Paul mentions four parties that had been formed in the Corinthian +church--a Paul-party, an Apollos-party, a Cephas-party and a +Christ-party. These parties do not seem to have been separated +from one another by any serious doctrinal differences, and it +is impossible to determine their characteristics in detail. In +the section where the party spirit is discussed, Paul blames the +Corinthians for intellectual pride. This fault has often been +connected with the Apollos-party. Apollos was an Alexandrian, and +probably had an Alexandrian Greek training. He might therefore have +unconsciously evoked among some members of the Corinthian church an +excessive admiration for his more pretentious style of preaching, +which might have caused them to despise the simpler manner of Paul. +Even this much, however, is little more than surmise. At any rate, +Apollos should not be blamed for the faults of those who misused his +name. He is praised unstintedly by Paul, who was even desirous that +he should return at once to Corinth. I Cor. 16:12. Paul blames the +Paul-party just as much as any of the other three. + +The Peter-party was composed of admirers of Peter, who had either +come to Corinth from the scene of Peter's labors elsewhere, or +simply had known of Peter by hearsay. It is unlikely that Peter +himself had been in Corinth, for if he had Paul would probably have +let the fact appear in First or Second Corinthians. The Christ-party +is rather puzzling. A comparison with the false teachers who are +combated in Second Corinthians has led some scholars to suppose that +it was a Judaizing party, which emphasized a personal acquaintance +with the earthly Jesus as a necessary qualification of apostleship. +In that case, however, Paul would probably have singled out the +Christ-party for special attack. More probably these were simply men +who, in proud opposition to the adherents of Paul, of Apollos and +of Cephas, emphasized their own independence of any leader other +than Christ. Of course, the watchword, "I am of Christ," if used in +a better spirit, would have been altogether praiseworthy, and indeed +Paul desires all the parties to unite in it. I Cor. 3:21-23. + +Perhaps it is a mistake to attribute to these parties anything like +stability. On the whole, the passage gives the impression that it is +not the individual parties that Paul is condemning, but the party +spirit. That party spirit was manifested by watchwords like those +which are enumerated in I Cor. 1:12, but that that enumeration was +meant to be complete, does not appear. The whole effort to determine +the characteristics of the individual parties--an effort which has +absorbed the attention of many scholars--should perhaps be abandoned. + +Paul's treatment of the party spirit exhibits his greatness not +only as an administrator, but also as a writer. The subject was +certainly not inspiring; yet under Paul's touch it becomes luminous +with heavenly glory. The contrast of human wisdom with the message +of the cross, I Cor. 1:18-31, where a splendid rhythm of language +matches the sublimity of the thought, the wonderful description of +the freedom and power of the man who possesses the Spirit of God, +the grand climax of the third chapter, "For all things are yours; +whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or +death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye +are Christ's; and Christ is God's"--these are among the passages +that can never be forgotten. + + +2. THINGS SACRIFICED TO IDOLS + +The question of meats offered to idols, which Paul discusses in I +Cor. 8:1 to 11:1, was exceedingly intricate. To it Paul applies +several great principles. In the first place, there is the principle +of Christian freedom. The Christian has been delivered from +enslaving superstitions. Idols have no power; they cannot impart +any harmful character to the good things which God has provided +for the sustenance of man. In the second place, however, there is +the principle of loyalty. The fact that idols are nothing does not +render idol-worship morally indifferent. On the contrary, idolatry +is always sinful. If the eating of certain kinds of food under +certain conditions involves participation in idolatry then it is +disloyalty to the one true God. The joint operation of the two +principles of freedom and of loyalty seems to lead in Paul's mind +to the following practical conclusion:--The Christian may eat the +meat that has been offered to idols if it is simply put on sale in +the market place or set before him at an ordinary meal; but he must +not take part with the heathen in specifically religious feasts. The +whole question, however, is further viewed in the light of a third +principle--the principle of Christian love. Even things that are in +themselves innocent must be given up if a brother by them is led +into conduct which for him is sin. Christ has died for that weaker +brother; surely the Christian, then, may not destroy him. Thus +love, even more than loyalty, limits freedom--but it is a blessed +limitation. The principles here applied by Paul to the question of +the Corinthian Christians will solve many a problem of the modern +Church. + + +3. SPIRITUAL GIFTS + +The principle of Christian love, with the related principle of +toleration, is applied also to another set of problems, the problems +with regard to the exercise of spiritual gifts. The passage in which +Paul discusses these problems, aside from its spiritual and moral +teaching, is of singular historical interest. It affords a unique +picture of the devotional meetings of an apostolic church. The +characteristic of these meetings was the enthusiasm which prevailed +in them. Paul is not at all desirous of dampening that enthusiasm. +On the contrary the gifts in question were in his judgment really +bestowed by the Holy Spirit. Even the gift of tongues, which Paul +limits in its operation, is in his judgment of genuine value. +Indeed, he himself had exercised it even more than the other +Christians. I Cor. 14:18. This last fact should correct any unworthy +impression which we might have formed with regard to the gift. If +speaking with tongues was practiced by Paul, then it was no mere +unhealthy emotionalism. We are to-day unable to understand it fully, +but in the apostolic Church it was a real expression of Christian +experience. + +Paul desires, not to dampen the enthusiasm of the Corinthian church, +but merely to eliminate certain harmful by-products of that which +was in itself altogether excellent. The first principle which he +applies is the principle of toleration. There is room in the Church +for many different kinds of workers. "There are diversities of +gifts, but the same Spirit." The principle is often neglected in the +modern Church. Toleration, indeed, is on everyone's lips; but it +is not the kind of toleration that Paul means. It is often nothing +more than indifference to the great verities of the faith. Such +toleration would have met with nothing but an anathema from Paul. +The toleration that Paul is commending is a toleration, not with +regard to matters of doctrine, but with regard to methods of work. +Such toleration is often sadly lacking. Some advocates of missions +think that almost every Christian who stays at home is a coward; +some good, conservative elders, on the other hand, have little +interest in what passes the bounds of their own congregation. Some +Christians of reserved habits are shocked at the popular methods +of the evangelists; some evangelists are loud in their ignorant +denunciation of the Christian scholar. In other words, many very +devout Christians of the present day act as though they had never +read the twelfth chapter of First Corinthians. + +The principle of toleration, however, culminates in the principle of +love. If there must be a choice between the exercise of different +gifts, then the choice should be in favor of those gifts which are +most profitable to other men. Finally, even the highest spiritual +gifts are not independent of reason. I Cor. 14:32,33. That is a +far-reaching principle. Some modern Christians seem to think that an +appeal to the inward voice of the Spirit excuses them from listening +to reasonable counsel. Such is not the teaching of Paul. + + +4. THE RESURRECTION + +The error which is combated in the fifteenth chapter of the epistle +could hardly have been a denial, in general, of continued existence +after death, but was rather a denial of the resurrection of the body +as over against the Greek doctrine of the immortality of the soul. +In reply, Paul appeals to the resurrection of Jesus. The appeal +would seem to be futile unless Paul means that the resurrection of +Jesus was a bodily resurrection. If the appearances of Jesus were no +more than incorporeal manifestations of his spirit, then obviously +the believer in a mere immortality of the soul remained unrefuted. +In this chapter there is an advance over the simple teaching of +First Thessalonians. Here the character of the resurrection body +comes into view. The resurrection body will have a real connection +with the old body--otherwise there would be no resurrection--but the +weakness of the old body will be done away. There is continuity, but +also transformation. + + +5. INCIDENTAL INFORMATION ABOUT JESUS + +Certain passages in First Corinthians, which are introduced only in +an incidental way, as illustrations of the principles which are +being applied, are of inestimable historical value. These passages +include not only the great autobiographical passage in the ninth +chapter, where Paul illustrates from his own life the limitation +of the principle of freedom by the principle of love, but also two +all-important passages which refer to the life of Christ. + +It is generally admitted that First Corinthians was written at about +A. D. 55. The eleventh chapter of the epistle gives an account of +the institution of the Lord's Supper, in which Jesus teaches the +sacrificial significance of his death; and the fifteenth chapter +gives a list of the appearances of Jesus after his resurrection. The +information contained in these passages was not invented by Paul; +indeed he distinctly says that it was "received." In A. D. 55, then, +not only Paul, but also the Church generally believed that Jesus' +death, according to his own teaching, was sacrificial, and appealed +in support of his resurrection to a wealth of competent testimony. +But from whom had Paul "received" these things? Hardly from +anyone except those who had been Christians before him--in other +words, from the Palestinian church. We have here an irremovable +confirmation of the Gospel view of Jesus. First Corinthians is a +historical document of absolutely priceless value. + +The incidental character of these historical passages is especially +noteworthy. It shows that Paul knew far more about Jesus than he +found occasion in the epistles to tell. If he had told more, no +doubt the Gospel picture of Jesus would have received confirmation +throughout. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Purves, "Christianity in the Apostolic Age," pp. +213-221. Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": article on "Apollos"; +Purves and Davis, article on "Corinthians, Epistles to the." +Hastings, "Dictionary of the Bible": Robertson, article on +"Corinthians, First Epistle to the." M'Clymont, "The New Testament +and Its Writers," pp. 58-64. Ellicott, "A New Testament Commentary +for English Readers," vol. ii, pp. 281-356: Shore, "The First +Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians." "The Cambridge +Bible for Schools": Lias, "The First Epistle to the Corinthians." +Zahn, "Introduction to the New Testament," vol. i, pp. 256-306. +"The International Critical Commentary": Robertson and Plummer, "A +Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the First Epistle of St. Paul +to the Corinthians." The two last-named works presuppose a knowledge +of Greek. + + + + +LESSON XX + +THE APOSTLE AND HIS MINISTRY + + +1. ADDRESS AND THANKSGIVING. II Cor. 1:1-11 + +In First Corinthians the obscure Sosthenes is found to be associated +with Paul in the address of the epistle; in Second Corinthians it +is Timothy, one of the best-known of the helpers of Paul. Even if +that mission of Timothy to Corinth which is mentioned in First +Corinthians had resulted in failure, Timothy's usefulness in the +church was not permanently affected. + +After the address, comes, as is usual in the Pauline Epistles, +an expression of thanksgiving to God. This time, however, it is +not thanksgiving for the Christian state of the readers, but +thanksgiving for Paul's own escape from danger. The absence of +thanksgiving for the readers does not mean here, as in the case of +Galatians, that there was nothing to be thankful for in the church +that is being addressed, for the whole first section of the letter +is suffused with a spirit of thankfulness for the Corinthians' +return to their true allegiance; it means rather simply that the +thought of the deadly personal danger, and of the remarkable escape, +were for the moment in the forefront of Paul's thought. Even that +personal matter, however, was used by Paul to fortify his readers +against similar trials, and especially to strengthen still further +the bonds of sympathy which had at last been restored between him +and them. + +What this danger was from which Paul had just escaped cannot be +determined. It is as much a puzzle as the fighting with beasts +at Ephesus, which Paul mentions in I Cor. 15:32. Neither one nor +the other can very well be identified with the trouble caused by +Demetrius the silversmith, Acts 19:23-41, for there Paul does not +seem to have been in deadly danger. Some suppose that the fighting +with beasts is literally meant; that Paul was actually exposed to +the wild beasts in the arena and escaped only in some remarkable +way. It should be observed that Paul does not say, with regard to +the danger mentioned in Second Corinthians, that it occurred in +Ephesus, but only that it occurred in Asia. The expression, "weighed +down," in II Cor. 1:8 perhaps points to some form of illness rather +than to persecution. + + +2. THE APOSTLE AND THE MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION. II Cor. 1:12 to +7:16 + +Immediately after the thanksgiving for his escape from death, +Paul begins the defense of his ministry. After the suspense of +the previous days, he feels the need of reviewing the methods +and motives of his labor among the Corinthians, in order that +the last vestige of suspicion may be removed. This he does in an +unrestrained, cordial sort of way, which reveals the deepest secrets +of his heart, and culminates here and there in grand expositions of +the very essence of the gospel. + +First, in just a passing word, ch. 1:13,14, he defends his letters +against that charge of obscurity or concealment which is hinted at +elsewhere in the epistle. Compare ch. 4:1-4; 11:6. + +Next, he defends himself against the charge of fickleness in +his journey plans. At some time, probably during or after the +unsuccessful visit alluded to in ch. 2:1, Paul had formed the plan +of returning to Corinth by the direct route. This plan he had not +carried out, and his abandonment of it apparently confirmed the +impression of weakness which had been left by the unsuccessful +visit. "He is very bold in letters," said his opponents, "but when +he is here he is weak, and now he is afraid to return." It was a +petty criticism, and a lesser man might have answered it in a petty +way. But Paul was able to lift the whole discussion to a loftier +plane. His answer to the criticism was very simple--the reason +why he had not returned to Corinth at once was that he did not +want to return again in grief and in severity; for the sake of the +Corinthians themselves he wanted to give them time to repent, before +the final and fatal issue should be raised. Characteristically, +however, Paul does not content himself with this simple answer; +indeed he does not even begin with it. A specific explanation of the +change in his plans would have refuted the criticism immediately +under consideration, but Paul felt the need of doing far more than +that. What he desired to do was to make not only this criticism, +but all similar criticisms, impossible. This he does by the fine +reference to the positive character of his gospel. "You say that I +am uncertain in my plans, that I say yes and no in one breath. Well, +the gospel that I preached, at any rate, was no such uncertain thing +as that. My gospel was a great 'Yes' to all the promises of God." +Such a method of refutation lifts the reader far above all petty +criticisms to the great things of Paul's gospel. + +Yet this reference to great principles is no mere excuse to avoid +the simple question at issue. On the contrary, Paul is perfectly +frank about the reason why he had not gone to Corinth as he had +intended. It was out of love to the Corinthian church, and this had +also prompted the writing of a severe letter. Here, ch. 2:5-11, +Paul refers to the offender whose case had been made a test at +the time of the recent painful visit. This offender was probably +different from the incestuous person who is so sternly dealt with +in I Cor. 5:1-5. His offense is thought by many to have been +some personal insult to Paul, II Cor. 2:5, but this is not quite +certain. At any rate, whatever his original offence, Paul's demand +for his punishment had become a test of the loyalty of the church. +At first the demand had been refused, but now the majority of the +congregation has agreed and the man himself is deeply repentant, so +that Paul is only afraid lest severity may go too far. It is hardly +worth while saying that the character of Paul was entirely free from +vindictiveness. When the discipline of the Church would permit it, +Paul was the first to propose counsels of mercy. + +The reference to the epistles of commendation which had been used +by Paul's opponents in Corinth, ch. 3:1, has been made the basis of +far-reaching conclusions about the whole history of the apostolic +age. From whom could the opponents have received their letters of +introduction? Only, it is said, from Palestine, and probably from +the original apostles. This conclusion is hasty, to say the least. +It should be noticed that not only letters to the Corinthian church +but also letters from the church are apparently in mind. V. 1. If, +then, the Corinthian church had been asked to supply these false +teachers with letters of commendation, perhaps the other churches +that had supplied them with letters were no nearer to Jerusalem than +Corinth was. + +The mention of these letters of commendation introduces one of the +grandest passages in the New Testament. "I," says Paul, by way of +transition, "do not need any letters of commendation. My work is +sufficient commendation. What I have accomplished in the hearts of +men is an epistle written by the Spirit of God." Then follows the +magnificent exposition of the ministry of the new covenant. That +ministry is first contrasted with the old dispensation, perhaps +with reference to an excessive valuation, by the opponents, of a +continued Judaism in the Church. The old covenant was glorious, +but how much more glorious is the new! The old was a ministry of +condemnation, but the new is a ministry of justification. The old +was a ministry of an external law, the new is a ministry of the +life-giving power of the Spirit of God. There is no reason any +longer for concealment. The Spirit brings freedom and openness and +light. + +This treasure is held indeed in earthen vessels. The recent danger +that Paul has passed through, as well as the overpowering hardships +of his life, make him painfully conscious of human weakness. But +that weakness is blessed which in all the fuller glory reveals the +all-conquering power of God. The Christian need never despair, for +by the eye of faith he can detect those unseen things which are +eternal. The present body may be dissolved, but the resurrection +body will be ready. Indeed, even if the Christian by death is +separated for a time altogether from the body, he need not fear. To +be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. + +The climax of the whole glorious passage is the brief exposition +of the ministry of reconciliation which begins with ch. 5:11. Here +we are introduced to the secret of the remarkable life which is +revealed in Second Corinthians and in the other epistles of Paul. +Reconciliation with God through the death of Christ in our behalf +and in our stead, consequent freedom from sin and from the world, a +new and glorious life under the favor of God--these are the things +that Paul experienced in his own life, these are the things that he +preached to others, regardless of all hardship and criticism, and +these are the things, now and always, which contain the real springs +of the Church's power. + +After an uncompromising warning against impurity and worldliness, +delivered from the lofty vantage ground that has just been reached, +the apostle gives expression once more to the joy that he has +received from the good news which Titus brought him; and then +proceeds to an entirely different matter. + + +3. THE COLLECTION. II Cor., chs. 8, 9 + +Two whole chapters of the epistle are devoted to the collection +for the Jerusalem church. The history of this matter, so far as it +can be traced, is briefly as follows: At the time of the Jerusalem +council, the pillars of the Jerusalem church had requested Paul to +remember the Jerusalem poor. At the time when First Corinthians was +written, Paul had already started a collection for this purpose +in the churches of Galatia, and in First Corinthians he asks the +Corinthians to take part. I Cor. 16:1-4. In Second Corinthians +he announces that the churches of Macedonia have contributed +bountifully, II Cor. 8:1-5, and urges the continuance of the +collection in Corinth. Finally, in the Epistle to the Romans, which +was written from Corinth only a short time after Second Corinthians, +he mentions the collection in Macedonia and Achaia, announces his +intention of journeying to Jerusalem with the gifts, and asks the +Roman Christians to pray that the ministration may be acceptable to +the Jerusalem church. Rom. 15:25-27,31,32. + +With his customary foresight, Paul made careful provision for +the administration of the gifts, in order to avoid all possible +misunderstanding or suspicion. For example, the churches are to +choose delegates to carry their bounty to Jerusalem. I Cor. 16:3. +Possibly the delegates are to be identified with the persons who are +named in Acts 20:4. Luke does not mention the collection, but it is +alluded to in Acts 24:17. + +Paul's treatment of the collection in II Cor., chs. 8, 9, was not +only adapted to accomplish its immediate purpose, but also has been +of high value to the Christian Church. These chapters have assured +to the right use of wealth a place of real dignity among the forms +of Christian service. + + +4. THE OPPONENTS. II Cor., chs. 10 to 13 + +The striking change of tone at ch. 10:1 is amply explained by the +change of subject. In the first part of the epistle, Paul has been +thinking of the return of the majority of the congregation to their +allegiance; now he turns to deal with the false teachers who have +been causing all the trouble. It is still necessary to meet their +attacks and remove every vestige of influence which they may still +have retained over the church. Their attack upon Paul was of a +peculiarly mean and unworthy character; the indignation which Paul +displays in these chapters was fully justified. + +The opponents were certainly Jews, and prided themselves on the +fact. Ch. 11:22. But it does not appear with certainty that they +were Judaizers. If they were intending to come forward with any +demand of circumcision or of observance of the Mosaic law, such +demand was still kept in the background. Indeed, there is no +indication that the doctrine that they preached was different in +important respects from that of Paul. In particular, there is no +indication that they advocated a different view about Jesus. One +verse, ch. 11:4, has, indeed, been regarded as such an indication, +but only by an exceedingly doubtful interpretation. Probably the +other Jesus whom the opponents preached existed only in their own +claim. They said merely, "Paul has kept something back," v. 6, +margin; ch. 4:3; "we alone can give you adequate information; we +alone can proclaim the true Jesus, the true Spirit and the true +gospel." In reality, however, they had nothing new to offer. Paul +had made the whole gospel known. + +It is further not even quite clear that the opponents laid stress +upon a personal acquaintance with the earthly Jesus, and so played +the original apostles off against Paul. The expression "chiefest +apostles," ch. 11:5, is clearly nothing more than an ironical +designation of the false teachers themselves. It is true, the false +teachers claimed to belong in a special sense to Christ, ch 10:7, +and to be in a special sense "ministers of Christ." Ch. 11:23. But +it is not at all clear--despite ch. 5:16--that the connection which +they claimed to have with Christ was that of personal acquaintance, +either directly or through their authorities, with the earthly +Jesus. Finally, these false teachers cannot with any certainty be +connected with the Christ-party of First Corinthians. + +The chief value of the last four chapters of the epistle is the +wealth of autobiographical material which they contain. Against the +insidious personal attacks of the opponents, Paul was obliged to +speak of certain personal matters about which he might otherwise +have been silent. Had he been silent, the Church would have been the +loser. To know the inner life of the apostle Paul is to know Christ; +for Paul was in Christ and Christ was in Paul. What could compensate +us for the loss of II Cor. 12:7-10? Through these words the bodily +weakness of Paul has forever been made profitable for the strength +of the Church. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Purves, "Christianity in the Apostolic Age," pp. +221-225. Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": Purves and Davis, article +on "Corinthians, Epistles to the." Hastings, "Dictionary of the +Bible": Robertson, article on "Corinthians, Second Epistle to the." +M'Clymont, "The New Testament and Its Writers," pp. 65-69. Beet, +"A Commentary on St. Paul's Epistles to the Corinthians," seventh +edition, pp. 1-20, 317-542. Ellicott, "A New Testament Commentary +for English Readers," vol. ii, pp. 357-417: Plumptre, "The Second +Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians." "The Cambridge +Bible for Schools": Lias, "The Second Epistle to the Corinthians." +Zahn, "Introduction to the New Testament," vol. i, pp. 307-351. The +last-named work presupposes a knowledge of Greek. + + + + +LESSON XXI + +THE GOSPEL OF SALVATION + + +The Epistle to the Romans, though it is not merely a systematic +treatise, is more systematic than any other of the Pauline Epistles. +Unlike the epistles that preceded it, it was written in a period of +comparative quiet between two great stages in the apostle's work. +Not unnaturally, therefore, it contains something like a summary of +Paul's teaching. The summary, however, does not embrace the whole +of the Pauline theology, but only one important department of it. +The nature of God, for example, and the person of Christ, are not +discussed in the Epistle to the Romans. Of course Paul held very +definite views upon these subjects, and these views are presupposed +on every page of the epistle--especially the loftiest possible +conception of the person of Christ lies at the background of this +entire account of Christ's work--but such presuppositions do not +in this epistle receive an elaborate exposition. The real subject +of the first eight chapters of Romans is not theology in general, +but simply the way of salvation. How can man be saved--that is the +question which Paul answers in this epistle. + +Obviously the question is of the utmost practical importance. +The Epistle to the Romans is absolutely fundamental for the +establishment of Christian faith. This estimate, which was formerly +a matter of course, has in recent years unfortunately fallen into +disrepute. The Epistle to the Romans, after all, it is said, is +concerned with theology, whereas what we need is simple faith. We +must return from Romans to the Gospels, from Paul to Christ. The +words of Jesus, recorded in the Gospels, are thus emphasized to the +prejudice of the teaching of the apostle. + +This tendency should be resisted with the utmost firmness. It +is striking at the very vitals of the Church's life. After all, +Jesus came, as has been well said, not to say something, but to do +something. His words are very precious, we could never do without +them; but after all they are subsidiary to his deeds. His life +and death and resurrection--these are the things that wrought +salvation for men. And these great saving acts could not be fully +explained till after they had been done. For an explanation of them, +therefore, we must turn not only to the Gospels but also to the +epistles, not only to Jesus but also to Paul. Paul was in a special +sense our apostle; like us, he had never known the earthly Jesus. +Just for that reason, through the divine revelation that was granted +him, he could guide all subsequent generations to the risen Christ. +The Epistle to the Romans, more fully perhaps than any other book, +points out the meaning of the death and resurrection of Christ. It +does not, indeed, solve all mysteries; but it reveals enough to +enable us to believe. + + +1. THE EDICT OF CLAUDIUS + +The edict of Claudius which expelled the Jews from Rome was +certainly not permanently effective; indeed there are some +indications that it was modified almost as soon as it was issued. +But although it did not keep the Jews out of Rome, it may at least +have hastened the separation between Judaism and Christianity. +If the conflict between the two, as a conflict within Judaism, +had given rise to the hostile edict, then, as has plausibly been +suggested, the separation might be in the interests of both parties. +If the church were kept separate from the synagogue, the Jews would +be protected from dangerous disorders and from the opposition +which would be encountered by a new and illegal religion, and the +Christians, on the other hand, would be protected from the Claudian +edict against the Jews. + + +2. ADDRESS, THANKSGIVING AND SUBJECT. Rom. 1:1-17 + +The address of the Epistle to the Romans is remarkable for the long +addition which is made to the name of the author. Paul was writing +to a church which he had never seen. His excuse for writing was to +be found only in the gospel with which he had been intrusted. At the +very start, therefore, he places his gospel in the foreground. Here, +however, it is rather the great presupposition of the gospel which +is in mind--Jesus Christ in his double nature. One who has been +commissioned to preach to the Gentiles the gospel of such a Christ +may certainly address a letter to Rome. + +In connection with the customary thanksgiving, Paul mentions his +long-cherished desire of visiting the Roman Christians. He desires +to impart unto them some spiritual gift--no, he says, rather he +desires to receive from them as well as to give. The correction is +characteristic of Paul. Some men would have felt no need of making +it. As a matter of fact, Paul was fully in a position to impart +spiritual gifts. But he was afraid his readers might feel hurt--as +though the apostle thought they could make no return for the benefit +which the visit would bring them. It is an exquisite bit of fine +discernment and delicate courtesy. But like all true courtesy, it +was based on fact. Paul was really not a man to decline help and +comfort from even the humblest of the brethren. + +In vs. 16, 17, the theme of the epistle is announced--the gospel +the power of God unto salvation, the gospel which reveals a +righteousness of God that is received by faith. The meaning of "a +righteousness of God" has been much disputed. Some think that it +refers to the righteousness which is an attribute of God. More +probably, however, it is to be interpreted in the light of ch. 10:3; +Phil. 3:9. It then refers to that right relation of man to God which +God himself produces. There are two ways of receiving a sentence +of acquittal from God the Judge. One is by keeping the law of God +perfectly. The other is by receiving through faith the righteousness +of Christ. The former is impossible because of sin. The latter +has been made possible by the gift of Christ. As sinners, we are +subject to the punishment of death. But that punishment has been +paid for us by Christ. We therefore go free; we can start fresh, +with the consciousness of God's favor. We are "justified"--that +is, "pronounced righteous"--not because we are free from sin, but +because by his grace God looks not upon us but upon Christ. We have +been pronounced righteous, but not on account of our own works. We +possess not our own righteousness but "a righteousness of God." + +This righteousness of God is received by faith. Faith is not a work, +it is simply the willingness to receive. Christ has promised by +his death to bring us to God. We may not understand it all, but is +Christ to be believed? Study the Gospel picture of him, and you will +be convinced that he is. + +Justification by faith, then, means being pronounced righteous by +God, although we are sinners. It might seem to be a very dangerous +doctrine. If we are pronounced righteous whether we are really +righteous or not, then may we not go on with impunity in sin? Such +reasoning ignores the results of justification. Faith brings more +than forgiveness. It brings a new life. In the new life sin has +no place. The Christian has broken forever with his old slavery. +Though perfection has not yet been attained in practice, it has +been attained in principle, and by the power of the Spirit all sin +will finally be removed. The Christian cannot compromise with sin. +Salvation is not only from the guilt of sin, but also from the +power of it. The sixth chapter of Romans leaves no room for moral +laxness. + + +3. ROMANS AND GALATIANS + +It is interesting to compare Romans with Galatians. The subject of +the two epistles is the same. Both are concerned with salvation +by faith alone, apart from the works of the law. In many passages +the two are parallel. The fuller exposition in Romans is often +the best commentary upon the briefer statements of Galatians. For +example, the words: "What then is the law? It was added because +of transgressions"--very obscure as they stand in Galatians--are +explained by Rom. 5:20; ch. 7. In tone, however, the two epistles +are widely different. Galatians is written in view of one definite +attack upon the gospel; Romans is a general exposition summing up +the results of the conflict. When Paul wrote Galatians he was in the +thick of the battle; at the time of Romans he had fought his way +through to the heights. + +The Epistle to the Romans, however, is no cold, purely logical +treatise. Theology here is interwoven with experience. No exposition +can do justice to this wonderful letter. To read about it is +sometimes dull; but to read it is life. + + +4. THE PAULINE PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. Rom., chs. 9 to 11 + +Chapters 9 to 11 of this epistle are interesting in a great many +ways. They are interesting, for example, in their tremendous +conception of the mystery of the divine will. The ninth chapter of +Romans is a good corrective for any carelessness in our attitude +toward God. After all, God is a mystery. How little we know of his +eternal plan! We must ever tremble before him. Yet it is such a God +who has invited us, through Christ, to hold communion with himself. +There is the true wonder of the gospel--that it brings us into +fellowship, not with a God of our own devising, not with one who +is a Father and nothing else, but with the awful, holy, mysterious +Maker and Ruler of all things. The joy of the believer is the +deepest of all joys. It is a joy that is akin to holy fear. + +These chapters are also interesting because they attest the +attachment of Paul to the Jewish people. Where is there a nobler +expression of patriotism than Rom. 9:1-5? Exclusive attention to the +polemic passages where Paul is defending the Gentile mission and +denying the efficacy of the Mosaic law, have produced in the minds +of some scholars a one-sided view of Paul's attitude toward Israel. +Paul did not advocate the destruction of the identity of his +people. He believed that even the natural Israel had a part to play +on the stage of history. These chapters of Romans, together with +some other passages in the epistles, such as I Cor. 9:20, confirm +what the Book of The Acts tells us about Paul's willingness, when no +principle was involved, to conform to Jewish custom. + + +5. INTEGRITY OF THE EPISTLE + +The genuineness of the Epistle to the Romans is undoubted, but its +"integrity" has been questioned. The epistle was certainly written +by Paul, but was it all, as we now have it, originally part of one +letter? By many scholars the greater part of the sixteenth chapter +is supposed to have originally formed part of an epistle of Paul +written not to Rome but to Ephesus. The chief argument for this +hypothesis is derived from the long list of names in ch. 16:3-15. +Could Paul have had so many personal acquaintances in a church which +he had never visited? The argument is not conclusive. Just because +Paul could not appeal in his letter to any personal acquaintance +with the Roman church as a whole, it would be natural for him to +mention at least all the individuals in the church with whom he +stood in any sort of special relation. Furthermore, the frequency +of travel in the Roman Empire must be borne in mind. Many persons +whom Paul had met on his travels would naturally find their way to +the capital. Finally, Aquila and Priscilla, though they had recently +lived in Ephesus, I Cor. 16:19, may easily have resumed their former +residence in Rome. Acts 18:2; Rom. 16:3-5. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Purves, "Christianity in the Apostolic Age," pp. +226-231. Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": Purves, (supplemented) +article on "Romans, Epistle to the." Hastings, "Dictionary of the +Bible": Robertson, article on "Romans, Epistle to the." M'Clymont, +"The New Testament and Its Writers," pp. 77-82. Gifford, "The +Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans." Ellicott, "A New Testament +Commentary for English Readers," vol. ii, pp. 193-280: Sanday, "The +Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans." "The Cambridge Bible for +Schools": Moule, "The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans." +"The International Critical Commentary": Sanday and Headlam, "A +Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans." +Zahn, "Introduction to the New Testament," vol. i, pp. 352-438. The +two last-named works presuppose a knowledge of Greek. + + + + +LESSON XXII + +PAUL'S JOURNEY TO ROME + + +The material of this lesson is so extensive that only the barest +summary can be attempted in the class. The great features of the +narrative should be made to stand out clear--the bitter opposition +of the Jews, the favorable attitude of the Roman authorities, the +journey to Rome. Before the lesson is over the student should have +a deeper impression of the character of Paul--his perfect ease +and tactfulness in the various relations of life, his unswerving +boldness where the gospel was concerned, his inexplicable +power. Finally, the peculiar quality of the narrative should be +appreciated. These chapters contain the two longer "we-sections" of +The Acts. + + +1. THE JOURNEY TO TROAS + +At first Paul had intended to sail direct from Corinth to Syria, but +a plot of the Jews caused him to change his plan. Acts 20:3. It has +been suggested that the ship upon which he was intending to sail may +have carried non-Christian Jews, going to the approaching feast in +Jerusalem, v. 16, who could have done him harm upon the voyage. By +choosing the route through Macedonia he averted the immediate danger. + +The use of the first person plural begins again at Acts 20:5. It +was broken off at ch. 16:17. Luke had parted from Paul at Philippi +on the second missionary journey; and it is at Philippi that he now +appears again. The following journeys, in which Luke himself took +part, are narrated with the utmost vividness and minuteness. The +narrative amounts practically to a diary--in some sections every day +is accounted for. + +The departure from Philippi took place "after the days of unleavened +bread," that is, after the passover week. Acts 20:6. From the +account of the subsequent journey it is not quite possible to tell +whether Paul actually succeeded in carrying out his plan of being in +Jerusalem at Pentecost. Pentecost, it will be remembered, came fifty +days after the beginning of the passover week. + + +2. TROAS + +The description of the last evening at Troas, when Paul prolonged +his discourse in the lighted room, is one of the inimitably vivid +scenes of The Acts. Probably we are to understand that Eutychus, who +fell down from a window in the third story, was really killed and +not merely stunned. Verse 10 might seem to indicate that he was only +stunned, but the last words of v. 9 point rather to actual, and not +merely apparent, death. The miracle is paralleled by the raising of +Dorcas by Peter. Acts 9:36-42. + + +3. THE ELDERS OF EPHESUS + +When Paul told the elders that they would see his face "no more," or +perhaps rather "no longer," Acts 20:25,38, he did not necessarily +mean that he would certainly never return to Ephesus. For a period +of years, at any rate, he was intending to transfer his labors +to the west; his return to Ephesus, therefore, was at all events +uncertain. His long activity at Ephesus, which had occupied the +better part of the past three years, was for the present at an end. +From the Pastoral Epistles it appears that as a matter of fact Paul +did visit Ephesus again after his release from the first Roman +imprisonment. + + +4. ARRIVAL IN PALESTINE + +At Tyre and at Cæsarea, Paul received warnings against visiting +Jerusalem. These warnings came through the Spirit, Acts 21:4,11, but +not in the sense that the Holy Spirit commanded Paul not to go. The +meaning is that the Spirit warned him of the dangers that were to +befall him. In meeting these dangers bravely he was acting in full +accordance with the divine will. + +At Acts 21:18 the use of the first person plural ceases, because +Luke had no immediate part in the events that followed. It is +natural to suppose, however, that he remained in Palestine, for he +joined Paul again in Cæsarea, at the beginning of the journey to +Rome. For the events of Paul's imprisonment in Jerusalem and in +Cæsarea he had first-hand information. + +The vow in which Paul took part at the request of James was at least +similar to the Nazirite vow described in Num. 6:1-21. Not all the +details of such vows are perfectly clear. Paul himself, on his own +account, had assumed a similar vow on his second missionary journey, +Acts 18:18--unless indeed, as is grammatically possible, the words +in that passage refer to Aquila rather than to Paul. + +It was not true, as the Christians of Judea had been led to +think, that Paul taught the Jewish Christians of the dispersion +to forsake the law of Moses, though he was insistent that the +Gentile Christians must not adopt that law. It was not even true +that he himself had altogether given up keeping the law, though +the exigencies of his Gentile work required him to give it up very +often, and though he regarded himself as inwardly free from the +law. His willingness to take part in a Jewish vow in Jerusalem is +therefore not surprising. His action on this occasion was fully +justified by the principles of his conduct as described in I +Cor. 9:20,21. The keeping of the law was not for Paul a means of +obtaining salvation. Salvation was a free gift of God, through the +death of Christ. But for the present the general relinquishment of +the law and abandonment of the distinctive customs of Judaism on +the part of Jewish Christians was not required. Paul was willing to +leave that question to the future guidance of God. + +It is somewhat surprising that the Book of The Acts mentions the +great collection for the Jerusalem church only incidentally, in the +report of a speech of Paul. Acts 24:17. The interest of Luke in this +part of the narrative is absorbed in the relations between Paul +and the non-Christian Jews and the Roman authorities. The internal +affairs of the Church are left for the most part out of account. The +Acts and the Pauline Epistles, here as so often, must be allowed to +supplement each other. Luke gives a vivid picture of the external +events, and a clear view of the relations of Christianity to the +outside world; while Paul affords us a deeper insight, in some +respects at least, into the inward development of the Church's life. + + +5. PAUL BEFORE AGRIPPA + +The famous reply of Agrippa to Paul, Acts 26:28, is exceedingly +difficult to translate and to interpret. The translation in the +Revised Version is by no means certainly correct. The words may +mean, "A little more of this persuasion will make me a Christian!" +or else, "You seem to think that the little persuasion you have used +is sufficient to make me a Christian." In any case, the sentence +displays a certain perplexity on the part of the king. He certainly +does not mean that he is on the point of accepting Christianity--his +words have a half-ironical tone--but on the other hand his interest +is aroused. The same thing is probably to be said for Festus. He +said, "Paul, thou art mad; thy much learning is turning thee mad," +but he said it with a loud voice as though he were agitated. There +was something uncanny about this prisoner! + + +6. THE ACCESSION OF FESTUS + +The dates of many events in the apostolic age have usually been +fixed by counting from the accession of Festus. Unfortunately, +however, that event itself cannot be dated with certainty. Some put +it as late as A. D. 61, others as early as A. D. 55. If the date +A. D. 60 be provisionally adopted, then Paul's arrest in Jerusalem +occurred in A. D. 58, and his arrival in Rome in A. D. 61. The +conclusion of the narrative in The Acts would then fall in the year +A. D. 63. It will be remembered that the proconsulship of Gallio +now affords an additional starting point for a chronology of the +apostolic age. + + +7. LATER HISTORY OF THE JERUSALEM CHURCH + +After the meeting between Paul and James, which is narrated in +Acts 21:17-26, the Jerusalem church, at least so far as any direct +narrative is concerned, disappears from the pages of the New +Testament. It will be observed that in the account of Paul's last +visit, only James, the brother of the Lord, and "the elders" are +mentioned as representatives of the church. Possibly some of the +twelve apostles may be included under the term "elders," but it is +also perfectly possible that the apostles were all out of the city. + +James, the brother of the Lord, continued to be the head of the +Jerusalem church until he was martyred--in A. D. 62, or, as others +suppose, in A. D. 66. Before the war which culminated in the capture +of Jerusalem in A. D. 70, the Christians of the city fled to Pella +beyond the Jordan. From that time, on, though the Christians +returned after the war, Jewish Christianity was quite uninfluential. +The supremacy of the Jerusalem church was gone. But that church had +already rendered a priceless service. It had laid the foundations +of Christendom. It had sent forth the first missionaries. And it +had preserved the record of Jesus' life. The Synoptic Gospels, in +substance at least, are a product of the Jerusalem church. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Purves, "Christianity in the Apostolic Age," pp. +160-166, 231-239. Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": articles on +the many persons and places mentioned in the narrative, especially +"Felix," "Festus," and "Herod" (4). Ramsay, "St. Paul the Traveller +and the Roman Citizen," pp. 283-362; "Pictures of the Apostolic +Church," pp. 270-285, 310-364. Lewin, "The Life and Epistles of St. +Paul," vol. ii, chs. ii, iii, iv, v, and vi. Conybeare and Howson, +"The Life and Epistles of St. Paul," chs. xx, xxi, xxii, xxiii, +xxiv and xxv. Stalker, "The Life of St. Paul," pp. 121-133. Lumby, +pp. 266-380. Cook, pp. 485-534. Plumptre, pp. 136-184. Rackham, pp. +370-513. + + + + +LESSON XXIII + +THE SUPREMACY OF CHRIST + + +1. THE EPISTLES OF THE THIRD GROUP + +With the lesson for to-day, we are introduced to the third group +among the epistles of Paul. The epistles of the second group, which +were written during the third missionary journey, are concerned +with the problem of sin and salvation; the epistles of the third +group are interesting especially for their teaching about the +person of Christ and about the Church. A period of about three or +four years separates the last epistle of the second group from the +first epistle of the third. Most of this interval had been spent +by Paul in captivity. Undoubtedly, during this period of enforced +leisure, there had been development in Paul's thinking, but it +is very difficult to determine exactly wherein that development +consisted. The differences of the third group of epistles from the +second are due to the difference in the readers at least as much as +to a difference in Paul himself. It is hard to say just how much of +Colossians and Ephesians Paul would have been incapable of writing +during the third missionary journey. + +At any rate, the epistles of the captivity differ from those of the +former group in being for the most part quieter in tone. During +the third journey Paul had had to continue the great battles of +his career against various forms of Judaizing error. Christianity +at one time seemed to be in danger of being reduced to a mere +form of Judaism; the free grace of God was being deserted for a +law religion; faith was being deserted for works. In Galatia, the +question of principle had been uppermost; in Corinth, the personal +attack upon Paul. Everywhere, moreover, the gospel of salvation by +faith was exposed to misconception. Pagan license was threatening to +creep into the Church. Unless it could be kept out, the legalists +would have some apparent show of reason on their side. Taking it +all in all, it had been a hard battle. But it had been gloriously +fought, and it had been won. Now Paul was able to turn his attention +to new fields of labor and to new problems. + + +2. THE CHRISTOLOGY OF COLOSSIANS + +The Epistle to the Colossians is peculiarly "Christological." More +fully and more expressly than in any other of his letters Paul here +develops his view about the person of Christ. Even here, however, +this teaching is incidental; it was simply Paul's way of refuting +certain errors that had crept into the Colossian church. Except for +those errors Paul would perhaps never have written at length, as +he does in Col. 1:14-23, about the relation of Christ to God and +to the world. Yet in that case his own views would have been the +same, and they would have been just as fundamental to his whole +religious life. In the epistles, which are written to Christians, +Paul takes many things for granted. Some of the things which are +most fundamental appear only incidentally. Just because they were +fundamental, just because they were accepted by everyone, they did +not need to be discussed at length. + +So it is especially with the person of Christ. From the first +epistle to the last, Paul presupposes essentially the same view +of that great subject. Practically everything that he says in +Colossians could have been inferred from scattered hints in the +earlier epistles. From the beginning Paul regarded Jesus Christ +as a man, who had a real human life and died a real death on the +cross. From the beginning, on the other hand, he separated Christ +sharply from men and placed him clearly on the side of God. From +the beginning, in other words, he attributed to him a double +nature--Jesus Christ was always in Paul's thinking both God and man. +Finally, the preëxistence of Christ, which is so strongly emphasized +in Colossians, is clearly implied in such passages as Gal. 4:4; and +his activity in creation appears, according to the best-attested +text, in I Cor. 8:6. + +Nevertheless, the more systematic exposition in Colossians is of +the utmost value. It serves to summarize and explain the scattered +implications of the earlier epistles. Christ according to Paul is, +in the first place, "the image of the invisible God." Col. 1:15. +He is the supreme Revealer of God, a Revealer, however, not merely +by words but by his own nature. If you want to know what God is, +look upon Christ! In the second place, he is "the firstborn of all +creation." Of itself that phrase might be misconstrued. It might be +thought to mean that Christ was the first being that God created. +Any such interpretation, however, is clearly excluded by the three +following verses. There Paul has himself provided an explanation +of his puzzling phrase. "The firstborn of all creation" means that +Christ, himself uncreated, existed before all created things; he was +prior to all things, and, as befits an only son, he possesses all +things. Indeed he himself was active in the creation of all things, +not only the world, and men, but also those angelic powers--"thrones +or dominions or principalities or powers"--upon whom the errorists +in Colossæ were inclined to lay too much emphasis. He was the +instrument of God the Father in creation. And he was also the end of +creation. The world exists not for its own sake, but for the sake +of Christ. Especially is he the Head of the Church. His headship +is declared by his being the first to rise from the dead into that +glorious life into which he will finally bring all his disciples. In +a word, the entire "fulness" of the divine nature dwells in Christ. +That word "fulness" was much misused in the "Gnostic" speculations +of the second century. It is barely possible that the word had +already been employed in the incipient Gnosticism of the Colossian +errorists. If so, Paul by his repeated use of the word in Colossians +and Ephesians, is bringing his readers back to a healthier and +simpler and grander conception. + + +3. THE PERSON OF CHRIST AND THE WORK OF CHRIST + +In Col. 1:20-23, Paul bases upon the preceding exposition of the +nature of Christ a noble description of Christ's work. The work +which has been intrusted to Christ is nothing less than that of +reconciling the creation unto God. Through sin, an enmity had been +set up between God and the work of his hands. That enmity applies +primarily of course to the sinful persons themselves. They are +under God's wrath and curse. Sin is not a trifle. It cannot simply +be treated as though it had never been. If God be righteous, then +there is such a thing as a moral order. The wrath of God rests upon +the sinner. But by the sacrifice of Christ, that enmity has been +wiped out. Christ has paid the awful penalty of sin. Christ has +brought the sinner again near to God. The enmity and the following +reconciliation concern primarily the men who have sinned. But they +also apply to the whole world. The ground has been cursed for man's +sake. The end of the reconciliation will be a new heaven and a new +earth. The groaning and travailing of the creation will one day have +an end. Compare Rom. 8:18-25. + +This brief description of the work of Christ in Col. 1:20-22; +2:10-15, can be richly paralleled in the earlier epistles. What now +needs to be emphasized is that the Pauline view of Christ's work +depends absolutely upon the Pauline view of Christ's person. All +through the epistles of Paul the life and death and resurrection +are represented as events of a cosmic significance. But they can +have such significance only if Christ is the kind of being that is +described in the Epistle to the Colossians. The glorious account +of salvation, which runs all through the epistles and forms the +especial subject of the second group, is unintelligible if Christ +were merely an inspired prophet or merely the greatest of created +things. It becomes intelligible only if Christ is "the image of +the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation." The mysterious +Christology of Colossians lies at the very heart of Christian faith. + + +4. THE EPISTLE TO PHILEMON + +The Epistle to the Colossians, though addressed to a church that +Paul had never visited, is full of warm-hearted affection. Paul +could hardly have been cold and formal if he had tried. He was a man +of great breadth of sympathy. Hence he was able to enter with the +deepest interest into the problems of the Colossian Christians--to +rejoice at their faith and love, to lament their faults, and to +labor with whole-souled devotion for their spiritual profit. + +The simple, unconstrained affection of Paul's nature, however, had +freer scope in the delightful little letter to Philemon. Philemon +apparently was a convert of Paul himself. Philem. 19. He was not +a man with whom Paul had to be on his guard. Paul is perfectly +confident that Philemon will fully understand the motives of his +action and of his letter. + +The letter is addressed to Philemon primarily, but also to Apphia +and to Archippus and to the church in Philemon's house. We are +here introduced into a Christian household of the apostolic age. +Apphia was probably Philemon's wife and Archippus perhaps his son. +Evidently Archippus held some sort of office in the Colossian +church. "Say to Archippus," says Paul in a strangely emphatic way, +at the very end of the Epistle to the Colossians, "Take heed to the +ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfill +it." We should like to know what the ministry was which Archippus +had received. At any rate, we hope that he fulfilled it. It was a +solemn warning which he received--a warning which might well have +made him tremble. We also may well take the warning to heart. Our +task of imparting Bible truth is no light responsibility. To us +also the warning comes, "Take heed to the ministry which thou hast +received in the Lord, that thou fulfill it." + +The letter is addressed not only to Philemon and his family, but +also to the "church" which met in his house. This "church" was a +part of the Colossian congregation. In the early days, when it was +difficult to secure meeting places, well-to-do Christians frequently +offered the hospitality of their own homes. A certain Nympha or +Nymphas--the name varies in the manuscripts--performed this service +in Laodicea, Col. 4:15, Aquila and Priscilla in Corinth, I Cor. +16:19, and also Gaius in the same city. Rom. 16:23. + +The Epistle to Philemon exhibits that perfection of courtesy and +delicacy of feeling which has been observed again and again in +Paul. A man of coarser feeling might have kept Onesimus with him +until receiving the response of Philemon. In that case no doubt +Philemon would have replied not only that Onesimus was forgiven, +but that Paul might retain the benefit of his services. But Paul +saw clearly that that would have made Philemon's goodness seem to +be of necessity and not of free will. Philem. 14. There was only +one really fine, honorable, high-toned way of dealing with the +situation, and that was the way which Paul adopted. + +The letter is informal and affectionate. There is even apparently a +little delicate play on the name Onesimus, which means "helpful." +Once Onesimus belied his name, but now he has become helpful again. +Philem. 11. In v. 20, also, where Paul says, "Let me have joy +of thee," he uses a word which comes from the same root as that +which appears in the name of the slave. Nevertheless, despite all +informality, Paul has succeeded, here as always, in lifting the +matter to a lofty plane. Paul was a man who ennobled everything that +he touched. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Purves, "Christianity in the Apostolic Age," pp. +241-246. Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible," articles on "Colossæ," +"Hierapolis" and "Laodicea": Purves, articles on "Colossians, +Epistle to the" and "Philemon" (supplemented). Hastings, "Dictionary +of the Bible": Ramsay, articles on "Colossæ," "Hierapolis," and +"Laodicea"; Murray, article on "Colossians, Epistle to the"; +Bernard, articles on "Philemon," and "Philemon, Epistle to." +M'Clymont, "The New Testament and Its Writers," pp. 91-98. Ellicott, +"A New Testament Commentary for English Readers," vol. iii: Barry, +"The Epistles of Paul the Apostle to the Ephesians, Philippians, and +Colossians," pp. 1-8, 96-124; "The Epistle of Paul to Philemon," pp. +265-274. "The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges": Moule, "The +Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon." Zahn, "Introduction to +the New Testament," vol. i, pp. 439-479. Lightfoot, "Saint Paul's +Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon." The two last-named +works are intended primarily for those who have some knowledge of +Greek, but can also be used by others. + + + + +LESSON XXIV + +THE CHURCH OF CHRIST + + +The special effort in the lessons of the second quarter has been +to produce some lively impression of the wonderful variety among +the letters of Paul. That variety is due largely to the variety in +the occasions of the letters. Just because Paul entered with such +sympathy into the varying circumstances of his many churches, the +letters of Paul reflect the wonderful manifoldness of life. + +Nevertheless, it is also an advantage that at least one letter is +largely independent of any special circumstances whatever. This is +the case with the epistle which is to be studied to-day. The Epistle +to the Ephesians is addressed to a definite group of churches, but +that group is addressed not with regard to its own special problems, +but simply as representative of Gentile Christianity in general. For +once Paul allows his thoughts to flow unchecked by the particular +needs of his readers. + + +1. STYLE OF EPHESIANS + +The purpose of Ephesians, therefore, is quite different from the +purpose of any other of the Pauline Epistles. To the difference in +purpose corresponds a difference in style. The style of Ephesians is +characterized especially by long sentences, heaped full of an almost +bewildering wealth of thought. This characteristic had appeared +to some extent even in the earliest epistles--compare II Thess. +1:3-10--but in Ephesians it becomes more pronounced. Ephesians +1:3-14, for example, is only one sentence, but it is a world in +itself. Apparently in this epistle Paul has allowed his mind and +heart to roam unchecked over the whole realm of the divine economy. +This freedom might conceivably be thought to involve a sacrifice of +logical symmetry and of euphonic grace, but at any rate it possesses +a certain beauty and value of its own. Ephesians may lack the +splendid rhythm of the first chapter of First Corinthians or the +eighth chapter of Romans, but on the other hand these tremendous +periods, with their heaping-up of majestic phrases, serve admirably +to express the bewilderment of the soul in the presence of divine +wonders. Human language is inadequate to do full justice to the +grace of God. In Ephesians, we see an inspired apostle striving +to give utterance in human language to things which in their full +reality are unspeakable. + + +2. COLOSSIANS AND EPHESIANS + +The Epistle to the Ephesians is strikingly similar to the Epistle +to the Colossians, not only in thought, but also in many details of +language. Another case of striking similarity between two epistles +of Paul was encountered in First and Second Thessalonians. There +the two similar letters were written both to the same church, +though at no very great interval of time. The similarity was due +to the desire which Paul felt of reiterating, with some additions +and explanations, the teaching of his former letter. In the case +of Ephesians and Colossians the similarity is even more easily +explained. These two epistles were written to different churches at +the same time. What more natural than that the same thoughts and to +some extent the same words should appear in both? Only, the teaching +which in Colossians is directed against a definite form of error is +in Ephesians reproduced in freer, more general form. The relation +between the two epistles is somewhat like that which exists between +Galatians and Romans. In Galatians, the doctrine of salvation by +faith appears in conflict with the opposing error; in Romans, the +same doctrine finds expression, but this time in quieter, more +systematic development, after the conflict is over. The similarity +between Galatians and Romans is, however, not so close as that +between Colossians and Ephesians--partly because the contrast of +spirit is not so striking in the latter case, Colossians being far +less bitterly polemic than Galatians; and more particularly because +a considerable interval separates Romans from Galatians, whereas +Colossians and Ephesians were dispatched by the same messenger. + + +3. THE ADDRESS OF EPHESIANS. EPH. 1:1,2 + +In the Student's Text Book, it has been shown that the words "at +Ephesus" in the first verse may perhaps be no part of what Paul +wrote, but a later addition. It cannot be claimed, however, that the +problem of the address has been completely solved. Without the words +"at Ephesus," the address becomes very difficult. "To the saints +that are and the faithful in Christ Jesus" hardly seems to make +sense. The Greek words might be construed perfectly well to mean, +"To the saints who are also faithful in Christ Jesus," but that is +a rather unusual expression. The suggestion has been made that in +the first copies of the epistle a blank space was left after "the +saints that are," to be filled in with the names of the particular +churches of the group which is addressed. Every church among the +group would thus receive a copy with its own name inserted. The +hypothesis is not altogether satisfactory. Probably we shall simply +have to admit that there is an unsolved problem here. + + +4. THANKSGIVING FOR THE PLAN OF SALVATION. EPH. 1:3-14 + +Before the customary thanksgiving for the Christian state of the +readers, Paul inserts here, in accordance with the nature of this +epistle, a general thanksgiving for the whole Church, which is +applied especially to the readers only at the very end. The passage +contains a wonderful summary of the whole of salvation, but it +begins with the plan of God and it closes with the glory of God. +God is the beginning and end of all things. His mysterious decree +is the cause of our being chosen for salvation, and his own glory +is the ultimate object in view. Men are often rebellious against +such a God-centered view of things. Predestination is an unpopular +doctrine. But it was at any rate the doctrine of Paul, and it lay +at the roots of his experience. It is sometimes hard for us to +write God so large in our thoughts. Because we think of him merely +as a somewhat greater man, we are inclined to reject the doctrine +which attributes all things to the workings of his will and to the +furtherance of his glory. If, however, we could think of him, not +only as a person, but also as an infinite, eternal and holy person, +then we should murmur no longer, but should, with Paul, burst forth +in praise of the inscrutable wonder of his grace. The glory of a +merciful God has involved for its full unfolding the salvation of +guilty sinners. God's glory finds its full expression only when he +is revealed as the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. + + +5. THANKSGIVING AND PRAYER FOR THE READERS. EPH. 1:15 to 2:10 + +Beginning with thanksgiving for the present faith and love of the +readers, Paul passes at once to a prayer that they may be given +understanding to appreciate the wonderful salvation which has +been celebrated in the preceding section, especially the mighty +Saviour who has been bestowed upon the Church. Then the greatness +of the present salvation, not only of Gentiles, but also of Jews, +is celebrated by a contrast with the previous condition of sin and +misery. The blessed change has been due, not to anything in man, but +simply and solely to the grace of God, received by faith. + + +6. RECEPTION OF THE GENTILES. EPH. 2:11-22 + +Here the contrast between past and present is applied especially to +the Gentiles. Formerly they were excluded from the people of God. +But now by the death of Christ the "middle wall of partition" has +been broken down. Gentiles and Jews have now a common access to the +Father. + + +7. THE MINISTRY OF PAUL. EPH., ch. 3 + +This reception of the Gentiles is the work that has been intrusted +especially to Paul. It is a glorious ministry, far too great for +human strength. It can be fulfilled only through the grace of God. +The full mystery of God's grace, concealed for many generations, has +at last been revealed. The first half of the epistle is fittingly +closed by a doxology. + + +8. LIFE IN THE CHURCH. EPH., chs. 4 to 6 + +This section may be called the practical part of the epistle. It +exhibits the results in holy living which proceed from the glorious +gospel which has just been proclaimed. Even in the "practical" +part, however, the great doctrines of God's grace are so constantly +finding renewed expression that it is difficult to separate one part +from the other. Paul never separated moral precepts from the great +truths which give them force. Let the readers live like citizens of +the commonwealth of God, and members of the body of Christ! + +Naturally, in this part of the epistle the unity of the +Church--which is perhaps the central theme of the whole--is +especially emphasized. The first half of the fourth chapter, for +example, is a magnificent hymn to Christian unity. Even in the midst +of the directions for the various relationships of life the great +theme of Christ and the Church, under the figure of husband and +wife, is brought again into view. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Purves, "Christianity in the Apostolic Age," pp. +246-249. Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": Purves and Davis, article +on "Ephesians, Epistle to the." Hastings, "Dictionary of the Bible": +Lock, article on "Ephesians, Epistle to." M'Clymont, "The New +Testament and Its Writers," pp. 99-103. Ellicott, "A New Testament +Commentary for English Readers," vol. iii: Barry, "The Epistles of +Paul the Apostle to the Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians," +pp. 9-60. "The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges": Moule, +"The Epistle to the Ephesians." Zahn, "Introduction to the New +Testament," vol. i, pp. 479-522. Robinson, "St. Paul's Epistle to +the Ephesians." The two last-named works are intended primarily for +those who have some knowledge of Greek, but can also be used by +others. + + + + +LESSON XXV + +CHRIST AND HIS FOLLOWERS + + +The Epistle to the Philippians is the only one of the letters of +Paul which is addressed to an approved church with whom he stood +on terms of untroubled intimacy and affection. In Galatians and +both the Corinthian epistles, serious errors in the churches +addressed, as well as unscrupulous personal criticism, lend a +tone of bitterness to the apostle's words; Romans, Colossians +and perhaps "Ephesians" are addressed to churches which he had +never seen. In some ways the little letter to Philemon is very +similar to Philippians. Both Philippians and Philemon display the +same perfect confidence in the readers, the same perfection of +courtesy, the same tone of untroubled cordiality. But Philemon is +addressed primarily to an individual, and Philippians to a church; +Philemon confines itself almost exclusively to one little personal +matter, while Philippians discusses a variety of topics. Among the +letters addressed to churches, perhaps the First Epistle to the +Thessalonians is more similar to Philippians, at least in tone, than +is any of the others. Like Philippians it is animated by a deep +satisfaction with the readers, and a certain pleasing simplicity +of manner. But here again of course there are wide differences. +First Thessalonians is addressed to an infant church, which has +just passed through its first trial, and needs the most elementary +instruction; in Philippians Paul is writing to old friends, to +a church which for ten years has endured bravely the hardships +incident to the Christian profession, and has shared in fullest +sympathy the joys and sorrows of the apostle's life. + +During the ten years, moreover, which have elapsed between First +Thessalonians and Philippians, there has been a change in the +apostle himself, as well as in his readers. Those years of conflict +and labor and meditation and suffering have borne fruit in the +apostle's own thinking. His gospel was the same from the beginning, +but the expression of it has become richer and maturer and nobler +with the advancing years. Philippians is a wonderful letter. +Simplicity and profundity are here combined. This simple letter of +thanks, with its delicate courtesy and tactful admonition, has +engaged the profoundest study of the theologians, and touched the +grandest chords of the Christian heart. + + +1. THE ADDRESS. Phil. 1:1,2 + +The address of Philippians is remarkable because of the mention of +bishops and deacons, which occurs in this way in no other of the +Pauline Epistles. Possibly, as has been suggested, these officers +are here mentioned because they had had a special part in sending +the gifts of the church. It is important to observe that there was +a plurality of bishops in the Philippian church. At a later time, +when the "bishops" were exalted above the other presbyters, there +was only one bishop in every church. In The Acts and in the Pauline +Epistles, "bishop" and "presbyter" appear plainly as nothing more +than two names for exactly the same office. + +It should be noticed that the title "apostle," which appears at the +beginning of all the other Pauline Epistles addressed to churches, +except First and Second Thessalonians, the two earliest, is lacking +in the address of Philippians. Perhaps in writing to such a devoted +church Paul considered it unnecessary to mention his apostleship +as he had regularly done in his epistles since the denial of it in +Galatia. On account of the peculiar nature of the Philippian church, +the Epistle to the Philippians partakes somewhat of the informality +and intimacy of such a letter as that to Philemon, where the title +is also lacking in the address. + +Very naturally Timothy is associated with Paul in the address of +the epistle, for he had been one of Paul's companions in founding +the Philippian church. At what time Timothy had come to Rome we do +not know. His name appears also in the address of Colossians and of +Philemon. Luke, although he had journeyed with Paul to Rome, and was +in Rome at the time when Colossians and Philemon were written, Col. +4:14; Philem. 24, was apparently absent at the time of Philippians; +for since he, like Timothy, had assisted in founding the Philippian +church, and perhaps had even remained in Philippi for years after +the departure of the others, he would probably have been associated +in the address, or at least would have sent greetings, if he had +been at hand. + + +2. THE THANKSGIVING. Phil. 1:3-11 + +As might have been expected, the thanksgiving for the Christian +state of the readers is in this epistle of unusual cordiality. In +the mention of their "fellowship in furtherance of the gospel from +the first day until now," there is perhaps a delicate allusion to +the material assistance which they had sent him from time to time +and especially a little while before the writing of the letter; +but such material assistance was for Paul of course not the only, +or even the principal, manifestation of their fellowship. Here as +often, the thanksgiving runs over into a prayer--and this time it is +a prayer of singular beauty and depth. + + +3. PROGRESS OF AFFAIRS IN ROME. Phil. 1:12-30 + +In this section, Paul hastens to relieve the minds of his readers +about the course of events in Rome. Even his bonds, and the jealousy +of certain preachers, have resulted only in the furtherance of the +gospel. With regard to the outcome of his trial, there is every +reason to be hopeful. For his part he would prefer to depart and to +be with Christ, but there is still work for him to do. And whether +he is present or absent, let the Philippians give him joy by living +in a manner worthy of the gospel, and by being steadfast in the +persecutions which are bound to come to them as well as to him. +It is a high privilege not only to believe in Christ, but also to +suffer for him. + + +4. EXHORTATION TO UNITY. Phil. 2:1-18 + +With the utmost earnestness, Paul here appeals to his readers to +keep their Christian life free from selfishness and quarreling. The +stupendous "Christological" passage of the epistle, vs. 5-11, which +has given rise to endless discussion, is introduced merely in an +incidental way, in order to strengthen the apostle's exhortation. So +it is frequently in the letters of Paul. The apostle was always able +to make the profoundest verities of the faith immediately effective +in conduct. Theology in Paul was never divorced from practice. +The converse of the proposition, however, is also true. If Paul's +theology did not exist apart from practice, neither did his practice +exist apart from theology. It is the latter proposition which needs +to be emphasized to-day. Modern liberalism has sometimes endeavored +to reproduce Paul's religion apart from his theology; but the effort +has resulted in failure. + +The example of Christ which Paul holds up before his readers +is briefly as follows: Originally Christ not only existed in +the form of God--that is, was in full possession of the divine +attributes--but also lived in glory, in a way befitting deity. +Instead, however, of keeping hold of this heavenly glory, he humbled +himself by becoming man. He laid aside, not indeed his divine +attributes, but the enjoyment of his divine glory. He who was Lord +of all took the form of a servant like other men. And even more. His +obedience extended even to death, and to the shameful death of the +cross. But after humiliation came exaltation. God gave to him a name +that is above every name. At the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, +in earth and in heaven, to the glory of God the Father. + + +5. THE MISSION OF TIMOTHY AND OF EPAPHRODITUS. Phil. 2:19-30 + +The personal appeal with which the preceding section closed leads +Paul to speak of the plans which he has for the comfort and help of +the readers. Timothy will be sent as soon as the issue of Paul's +trial is definitely in view; Epaphroditus will return to Philippi at +once. + + +6. WARNING AGAINST OPPONENTS. Phil., ch. 3 + +The men who are rebuked in very vigorous language in the former +part of this section evidently placed an excessive emphasis upon +circumcision and connection with the people of Israel. Perhaps also +they were advocates of a law righteousness. V. 9. The most obvious +suggestion is that they were Judaizers like those in Galatia, or +at least like the opponents of Paul in Corinth. Paul's account +in vs. 4-6 of the Jewish advantages, fully equal to those of his +opponents, which he counts as nothing in view of the superior +advantages of faith in Christ, is strikingly similar to II Cor. +11:21,22. If, however, Paul is here referring to Judaizers, it +looks as though they were at least as cautious as the opponents in +Corinth about presenting the claims of the law. At any rate, the +danger of a legalistic propaganda either in Philippi or in Rome does +not seem to be very seriously in view. Apparently the acute stage +of the Judaistic controversy is over. It is possible that Paul is +referring to Jews rather than Jewish Christians. We must remember +that Judaism in the first century was still an active missionary +religion. A Jewish propaganda, with stress upon circumcision and law +righteousness, might conceivably become, even in Philippi, where the +Jews seem not to have been numerous, a serious danger, if not to the +stability, at least to the rapid extension, of the Christian Church. + +Finally, it is uncertain whether "the enemies of the cross of +Christ," Phil. 3:18, are the same as those who are combated in the +former part of the section. + +Fortunately these various uncertainties do not affect the lofty +teaching of this part of the epistle. Whoever the opponents were, +what Paul says in opposition to them is the thing of real value. +In the wonderfully terse, complete, vigorous description of the +Christian salvation and of the Christian life which Paul gives in +ch. 3:7-14,20,21, the long years of the Judaistic controversy have +borne glorious fruit. The final, eternal truth of God, in classic +statement, has at last emerged triumphant from the conflict. + + +7. EXHORTATION, ACKNOWLEDGMENT, GREETINGS AND BENEDICTION. Phil., +ch. 4 + +The principal contents of this section have been discussed in the +Student's Text Book. First Paul applies the general exhortation to +unity, Phil. 2:1-11, to the case of Euodia and Syntyche, and adds +certain other brief exhortations. The "true yokefellow" of ch. 4:3 +probably refers to Epaphroditus, the bearer of the epistle. Then, +in a characteristically delicate and worthy manner, he acknowledges +the gift of the Philippians. Next, in just a word, he transmits, +along with his own, the greetings of his immediate companions, and +of the Roman church in general, especially of those members who were +connected, as slaves or officials, with the immediate service of the +emperor. Finally, with a brief benediction, the epistle closes. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Purves, "Christianity in the Apostolic Age," pp. +249-251. Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": Purves (edited) article +on "Philippians." Hastings, "Dictionary of the Bible": Gibb, article +on "Philippians, Epistle to the." M'Clymont, "The New Testament and +Its Writers," pp. 83-90. Ellicott, "A New Testament Commentary for +English Readers", vol. iii: Barry, "The Epistles of Paul the Apostle +to the Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians," pp. 61-90. "The +Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges": Moule, "The Epistle to +the Philippians." Zahn, "Introduction to the New Testament," vol. i, +pp. 522-564. Lightfoot, "Saint Paul's Epistle to the Philippians." +The two last-named works are intended primarily for those who have +some knowledge of Greek, but can also be used by others. + + + + +LESSON XXVI + +TRAINING NEW LEADERS + + +The emphasis which the Pastoral Epistles lay upon sound instruction +and upon orderly government is sometimes looked upon with distaste. +Orthodoxy and organization are thought to be destructive of +religious fervor. In the New Testament, however, the two aspects +of the Church's life appear side by side. In the New Testament, +enthusiasm and sanity are united. And the New Testament is right. +Religion is a concern of every individual soul--the final decision +must be made by every man in the immediate presence of his God--but +normally no man can do without association with his fellows. +The Church is a great permanent community. It is not merely an +aggregation, but an institution. To break away from its restraints +may be attractive, it may produce a certain temporary impression of +zeal and new life; but in the long run the old way is usually best. + +The Pastoral Epistles, however, are sometimes thought to indicate +an unfortunate change in Paul himself as well as in the Church. +Some students would prefer to know only the Paul of Galatians and +Corinthians and Romans. This judgment is one-sided. The Pastorals +do not contradict, but supplement, the earlier letters. The earlier +period, no doubt, is the more inspiring; there is nothing in the +Pastoral Epistles like the first few chapters of First Corinthians, +or the fifth chapter of Second Corinthians, or the eighth chapter +of Romans. These passages are overpowering in the intensity of +their eloquence; the later letters are soberer, graver, more +matter-of-fact. These latter qualities, however, are much needed +in the Church. The Church needs enthusiasm; but she also needs +gravity and sanity. Her function is not merely evangelistic; it +is also conservative and educational. In both functions Paul was +a leader. The quiet gravity of the Pastoral Epistles supplements +the glories of Galatians and Romans. Only when these last epistles +are added to the others can the many-sided greatness of Paul be +fully appreciated. Exaggerations, moreover, should be avoided. The +soberness of the Pastorals is not commonplace. Back of the details +of organization, back of the concern for sound instruction, there +can be detected throughout the glow of the Pauline gospel. The +Pastoral Epistles, like the other letters of Paul, are a perennial +fountain of Christian life. + +The Second Epistle to Timothy was clearly the last of the extant +epistles of Paul; but the order of First Timothy and Titus cannot be +certainly determined. The difficulty of reconstructing the history +implied by the Pastoral Epistles reveals anew the supreme value of +The Acts. After the conclusion of the Lucan narrative the historian +is almost helpless. From about A. D. 63 on into the second century, +the history of the Church is shrouded in profound darkness, with +gleams of light only here and there. + + +1. THE FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY + +At the time when First Timothy was written, Paul had recently made a +journey to Macedonia. I Tim. 1:3. Perhaps he had gone thither from +Ephesus, though the words do not make that perfectly clear. At any +rate, he had directed Timothy to remain in Ephesus, where he hoped +to join him before long. In case of delay, however, he writes the +epistle. Chs. 3:14,15; 4:13. + +On a previous occasion, perhaps by word of mouth when he had been +in Ephesus, he had warned Timothy to put a stop to certain false +teaching in the Church, and the warning is now reiterated in the +epistle. The exact nature of this teaching is somewhat difficult +to determine. Apparently it had been concerned with the Jewish +law. Ch. 1:7-11. Compare Titus 1:10,14. Like the false teaching at +Colossæ, it seems not to have been directly subversive of the truth +of the gospel. At least, however, it diverted attention from the +great things of the faith to useless questionings. I Tim. 6:4. The +myths and endless genealogies, ch. 1:4, compare 4:7, were perhaps +elaborations of the Old Testament history. Whether the ascetic +tendency which is combated in ch. 4:3,8, is connected with this same +teaching, is not certain, but is on the whole perhaps probable. + +The first reference to the false teaching, ch. 1:3-10, leads Paul +to speak of the norm by which it could be combated. Vs. 11-20. That +norm was the gospel with which he had been intrusted. The bestowal +of the gospel had changed him from a blasphemer and persecutor +into an apostle. The gospel had been bestowed purely by the free +grace of Christ, and its content was the salvation which Christ +offers. A doxology to God, v. 17, is natural whenever that gospel +is mentioned. That gospel will overcome all error, and if attended +to diligently will prevent disasters like that which has befallen +Hymenæus and Alexander. + +In the second chapter, Paul insists upon gravity and order in +the public worship of the Church. In the prayers which are to be +offered, the civil authority is not to be forgotten, even though it +be non-Christian. The sympathies of the Christian must be broad. God +desires all men to come to a knowledge of the truth. + +The highest regular officers of the Church are in the third chapter +called "bishops." It is abundantly evident, however--especially from +Titus 1:5,7--that "bishop" is only another name for "presbyter" or +"elder." At a later time the term "bishop" was applied to an officer +who had the supreme oversight over a church and to whom the elders +were subject. These conditions did not prevail at the time of the +Pastoral Epistles. At first sight, indeed, it might seem as though +Timothy and Titus themselves were "bishops" in the later sense of +the word. But this also is false. Timothy and Titus do not appear +at all as officers of individual congregations. They had oversight +over a plurality of churches, and evidently their authority was +special and temporary. They did not fill an office which was +intended to become permanent in the Church, but were simply special +representatives of the apostle. As the apostles had no successors, +so no man after the apostolic age had a right to assume the +functions of Timothy and Titus. + +The fourth chapter calls attention to the revelation of the Holy +Spirit, probably through the lips of Christian prophets, that in the +future there would appear apostates from the faith. The errorists +who are combated in vs. 7-10 are apparently to be regarded as +forerunners, still within the Church, of the more open apostasy +which is one day to follow. + +The institution of the "widows," which is discussed in the fifth +chapter, is to us somewhat obscure. Evidently those who were +accounted "widows," being helpless, were entitled to support by the +church. The necessity of sound teaching, with emphasis upon the +really fundamental things of the faith, is again insisted upon; and +certain false teachers are accused of practicing or inculcating +piety as a means of worldly gain. Ch. 6:3-10. The last warning +of the epistle characteristically concerns vain babblings and +oppositions of a so-called knowledge. Probably these errors are +connected in some way with those which are combated in the first +section of the epistle. In the final words, "Grace be with you," the +"you" in the Greek, according to the best attestation, is plural; +and in the corresponding passages at the end of Titus and of Second +Timothy, it is certainly plural. This may furnish an indication--to +be added to more general considerations--that the Pastoral Epistles +were intended not merely for those to whom they are formally +addressed, but also to the churches under their care. + + +2. THE EPISTLE TO TITUS + +The address of the Epistle to Titus is noteworthy for the long +addition to the title of the author, which is to be compared with +the similar addition in Romans. + +At the time when the epistle was written, Paul had recently been +with Titus in Crete. Paul had not labored on that island before +the first Roman imprisonment. His journeys in the east between +the two imprisonments therefore involved something more than the +revisitation of former fields. The reason why Titus was left behind +in Crete was somewhat similar to the reason why Timothy, according +to First Timothy, was told to remain in Ephesus. Titus was to +give attention to organization, and to the maintenance of sound +instruction. + +Like Timothy, Titus is given the power of establishing presbyters, +and of establishing them not merely in one church but in various +churches. The function of the presbyter was that of "bishop" or +"overseer." Titus 1:5-7. In vs. 9-16, the close connection of +organization with sound doctrine becomes particularly apparent. One +important function of the presbyters was to counteract the errors +which were springing up. The account of the errorists in Crete is +perhaps in some respects clearer than that which is given of the +related phenomenon in Ephesus. The false teachers were animated +by a love of gain. V. 11. Some of them were Jews or proselytes. +V. 10. They had a fondness for Jewish fables. Apparently, also, +they tried to atone for a lack of real inward purity by an outward +asceticism. Vs. 15, 16. They were concerned with vain questionings +and genealogies and legal disputes. These last are perhaps to be +regarded as casuistic discussions like those which play such a large +part in Jewish tradition. + +The Epistle to Titus is somewhat richer than First Timothy in +personal details. After Titus has been relieved in Crete by Artemas +or Tychicus, who may soon be sent, he is to join Paul in Nicopolis. +Tychicus, it will be remembered, had served as Paul's messenger +during the first imprisonment. He was the bearer of Colossians +and Ephesians. The Nicopolis where Paul is intending to pass the +approaching winter, is probably the chief of the many cities of that +name, the Nicopolis in Epirus. Zenas, a lawyer otherwise unknown, +and the well-known Apollos, who appears so prominently in The +Acts and in First Corinthians, are to be furnished in Crete with +everything that they need for their further journey. + + +3. THE SECOND EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY + +The First Epistle to Timothy and the Epistle to Titus are in many +respects strikingly similar. A certain strong family resemblance +extends also to Second Timothy. Evidently all three of the Pastoral +Epistles belong to the same general period of Paul's life, and were +intended to subserve similar purposes. Second Timothy, however, as +compared with the other two, exhibits some marked peculiarities. + +The personal element, in particular, is in this letter much +more prominent. Second Timothy contains a wealth of interesting +biographical details about Timothy, about Paul, and about a very +considerable number of other persons. Some of these last are known +only from this epistle; others have been brought to our attention +again and again. + +In Second Timothy Paul appears as a prisoner, no doubt at Rome. +This time there seems to be little hope of his release. Apparently +his imprisonment is not of long standing. Only recently he has been +at Corinth and at Miletus. II Tim. 4:20. He speaks in one place of +his first defense. V. 16. Some suppose that this is a reminiscence +of the trial which had taken place years before, during the first +imprisonment. More probably it refers to some preliminary hearing +which had only recently been held. Paul is oppressed with a sense +of loneliness, even more than during the first imprisonment. There +was no one to stand by him at his first hearing. For one reason +or another, his intimate associates have been scattered--some of +them, no doubt, for good and sufficient reasons, but Demas, at any +rate, out of an unworthy love of the world. Luke, fortunately, is +still with him; and Timothy, with Mark, is urged to come before +the winter. Vs. 11, 21. Mark seems to have changed since he turned +back from the work at Perga. At the beginning he was rebuked for +desertion; but now at the end he is one of the few faithful ones. + +It is not quite clear where Timothy was when the letter was +addressed to him. The greeting to Priscilla and Aquila might seem +to point to Ephesus. They had lived there before; perhaps they +returned thither after a residence in Rome. Rom. 16:3. If Timothy +was in Ephesus, then Tychicus, who was sent thither, II Tim. 4:12, +was probably expected to linger by the way; otherwise his sending +would be no news to the reader of the letter. Something is to be +said, perhaps, for the view that Timothy was not at Ephesus, but +perhaps at Lystra, his original home. + +The Second Epistle to Timothy contains warnings against false +teaching similar to those which appear in First Timothy and Titus. +But the characteristic feature of the letter is to be found in +the references to the apostle's own life. Even the warnings +and admonitions are brought into relation to these. Paul does +not hesitate to point to himself as an example for his beloved +followers. He does so, without a touch of vain glory, in the +simple consciousness of a divine commission. Second Timothy is +a letter of farewell, in which reminiscence and exhortation are +characteristically blended. It is a farewell from the apostle, +primarily for Timothy, though he is expecting to see Timothy again, +but also for all of the Pauline churches. The letter has taken +deep hold of every generation in the history of the Church. The +fitting end of a life of true service, the calm facing of death, +the certainty of heavenly communion with the Lord--these are the +things above all others that have been learned from the last of the +epistles of Paul. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Purves, "Christianity in the Apostolic Age," +pp. 252-261. Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": Purves, articles +on "Timothy" and "Titus." M'Clymont, "The New Testament and Its +Writers," pp. 104-115. Lewin, "The Life and Epistles of St. Paul," +vol. ii, chs. vii, viii, ix, x and xi. Conybeare and Howson, "The +Life and Epistles of St. Paul," ch. xxvii. Stalker, "The Life of St. +Paul," pp. 133-136. Warfield, "Acts, Timothy, Titus and Philemon," +in "The Temple Bible," pp. xxvii-xliii. Ellicott, "A New Testament +Commentary for English Readers," vol. iii, pp. 171-264: Spence, "The +Pastoral Epistles of St. Paul." "The Cambridge Bible for Schools and +Colleges": Humphreys, "The Epistles to Timothy and Titus." Zahn, +"Introduction to the New Testament," vol. ii, pp. 1-133. The last +named work is intended primarily for those who have some knowledge +of Greek, but can also be used by others. + + + + +PART III: + +The Presentation and Defense of +Christianity + + + + +LESSON XXVII + +A PRESENTATION OF JESUS TO JEWISH CHRISTIANS + +The Gospel According to Matthew + + +The Gospel of Matthew is probably, as has been said, the most +important book that was ever written. Its importance is due to the +information which it contains about Jesus Christ. More fully perhaps +than any other one book, the Gospel of Matthew has preserved the +knowledge of Jesus. + +Whatever be the future of the Church, the life of Jesus will now +always remain the central fact of history. Even the secondary +influence of Jesus is incalculable; even if none were left to own +him as Lord and Master, still he would remain incomparably the most +influential man that has ever lived. As a matter of fact, however, +such a condition has never existed and never will exist. From the +very beginning the life of Jesus made itself felt through those who +accepted him, to the exclusion of all others, as the supreme Lord of +their lives. If Jesus had been regarded merely as a quiet teacher +of ethics, the Gospel of Matthew never would have been written, and +probably the very name of Jesus would have perished. The wonderful +influence of Jesus, which has transformed the world from darkness to +light, which alone gives promise of a final reign of righteousness, +has been exerted through the instrumentality, not of admirers, but +of disciples. Jesus has been a Teacher only because he has been a +Master. + +To make Jesus Master in the lives of men was the purpose of the +Gospel of Matthew, and it is the purpose of our study of the book. +The Gospel was not written with merely scientific interest; it was +not written merely to preserve certain gems from the lips of an +inspired teacher. The ultimate purpose of the book was to make men +fall at Jesus' feet with the words, "My Lord and my God." Such a +purpose is not inconsistent with the most scrupulous truthfulness. +Adoration of Jesus can be induced best of all, not by fanciful +elaboration, but by sober fact. In the case of Jesus, truth was more +glorious by far than the boldest fiction. + +To make Jesus Lord and Saviour is the purpose of our work as +teachers. That purpose cannot be attained by exhortation or by +threatening, but only by impartation of knowledge. To know Jesus is +to trust him and adore him. Many readers of the Gospels never attain +to the true knowledge. Their failure is due to various causes--to +moral laxness, to preconceived opinions, to spiritual dullness. +One obstacle, however, is of a simpler kind. One thing that stands +in the way of a real understanding of the Gospels is the habit +of piecemeal reading. We read the Gospels bit by bit instead of +allowing the whole to make its impression. We do not see the wood +for the trees. Jesus is concealed from us by his individual acts. +The Gospels should be read as well as studied--read rapidly, like +an ordinary book, preferably in some rational form of printing +where verse numbers and all editorial matters are relegated to the +margin and the lines stretch across the page. These things may seem +to be trivialities, and certainly they are not essential. What is +essential--not in place of detailed study, but in addition to it--is +a rapid reading of the Gospels, by which, through the exclusion of +all non-essentials, the mysterious, holy person of Jesus is brought +simply and freshly before the wondering soul. Not to know about +Jesus, but to know him, is the prime object of our study. To know +about him is a valuable part of education; but to know him is life +eternal. + + +1. MEANING OF "GOSPEL" + +The Greek word for "gospel" means "good news." Nowhere in the New +Testament, however, is that word applied to a book. There is no +reference in the New Testament to a "Gospel" of Matthew or of Mark +or of Luke or of John. In the New Testament the word "gospel" has a +more general reference. It designates the "good news" which lies at +the basis of Christian preaching, however that news may be known. +Christianity is based upon "a piece of information." The subject of +that information is the life and death and resurrection of Jesus +Christ. Without Christ we should have been hopeless, but Christ has +saved us. Information about what he has done for us, however that +information be conveyed, is the gospel. + +This broad use of the word "gospel" appears even in the titles +"Gospel according to Matthew," "Gospel according to Mark," "Gospel +according to Luke," and "Gospel according to John," which are not +due to the original authors of the books. "Gospel according to +Matthew" did not originally mean the same thing as "Gospel of +Matthew." It did not mean the Gospel which Matthew produced, but the +one Gospel of Jesus Christ as Matthew narrated it. Matthew, Mark, +Luke and John produced simply four accounts of the same thing. That +common subject of the four accounts is the gospel, the good news, of +what Jesus Christ has done for his followers. + +At a very early time, however, books which had the gospel as their +subject came themselves to be designated as "Gospels." The usage is +convenient, and will be freely adopted in these textbooks. We may +speak indiscriminately of the "Gospel according to Matthew" and of +the "Gospel of Matthew." + + +2. AUTHORSHIP OF THE FIRST GOSPEL + +=(1) Not Indicated in the Gospel Itself.=--The Gospel of Matthew +should be sharply distinguished from those books which themselves +make definite claims as to their authorship. The Epistle to the +Romans, for example, claims to have been written by the apostle +Paul. If it was not written by Paul, it is a forgery. The book of +The Acts, also, though it does not mention the name of the author, +claims at least--through the use of the first person plural--to have +been written by some companion of the apostle Paul. Even the Gospel +of John, as we shall see, really affords clear indications about +its own authorship. The Gospel of Matthew, on the other hand, lays +no claim to any particular authorship. We might believe that it was +written by some other person than Matthew and yet be perfectly loyal +to the book itself. The self-witness of the book is confined merely +to a claim of truthfulness. If we believe that the record which the +book contains is true, then we might, in perfect loyalty to the +Gospel, believe that it was written by some one like Luke or Mark, +outside of the company of the apostles. Such a view, however, would +display an unreasonable distrust of Christian tradition. + +=(2) Papias on the First Gospel.=--The earliest extant information +about the authorship of the First Gospel is to be found in a +fragment which Eusebius, the church historian of the fourth century, +has preserved from a lost work of Papias. Papias was bishop of +Hierapolis in Asia Minor in the former half of the second century. + +The fragment from Papias, which is found in Eusebius, Church +History, iii, 39, 16, may be translated as follows: + +"Matthew accordingly wrote [or compiled] the oracles in the Hebrew +dialect, and everyone translated them as he was able." + +It seems pretty evident that Papias is here referring to the First +Gospel. Some, indeed, have supposed that he means by "the oracles" +a writing composed almost exclusively of sayings of Jesus, which +formed merely one of the sources of our First Gospel. This view is +probably incorrect. Papias could designate the Gospel of Matthew +as "the oracles" either because of the large place which sayings +of Jesus have in this Gospel, as compared, for example, with the +Gospel of Mark, or else because the whole Gospel, both speeches +and narrative, was of divine, oracular authority. The view that +"according to Matthew" in the ancient title and in Christian +tradition means not that Matthew wrote the book, but that it is +based in some way ultimately on his authority, is opposed by the +analogy of Mark. As we shall see, the Gospel of Mark, in early +tradition, was referred ultimately to the authority of Peter; if, +therefore, "according to" was used in the sense indicated above, the +Second Gospel would have been called the Gospel "according to Peter" +instead of the Gospel "according to Mark." + +The testimony of Papias involves two principal assertions: in the +first place, that Matthew wrote the First Gospel; and in the second +place, that he wrote it in the "Hebrew" language. + +The former assertion, which is supported by a striking consensus of +early writers, has already been considered. The latter is much more +puzzling. + + +3. WAS THE FIRST GOSPEL ORIGINALLY ARAMAIC? + +=(1) Meaning of "Hebrew."=--By "the Hebrew dialect," Papias no doubt +means Aramaic rather than what we call Hebrew. The term "Hebrew" +was applied to both of the two closely related languages. Compare +Acts 21:40. It is exceedingly unlikely that a Gospel would have been +written in Hebrew; for before the time of Christ that had ceased to +be the living language of Palestine. What Papias asserts, then, is +that Matthew wrote in Aramaic. + +=(2) "Everyone Translated Them as He Was Able."=--Papias asserts +further that everyone translated the oracles as he was able. These +words may be interpreted in various ways. Perhaps they mean that +every man who used the original of Matthew had to translate it for +himself; or perhaps that the Gospel was translated orally in the +churches, as the Jews translated the Hebrew Old Testament into +Aramaic in the synagogues; or perhaps that a number of written +translations of the Gospel were made. At any rate Papias seems to +imply that the condition which he here describes had come to an end +when he wrote. Some one Greek form of the Gospel had gained general +acceptance; the time when everyone translated as he was able was at +an end. + +(3) Value of the Tradition.--The tradition of an Aramaic original +of Matthew is not preserved merely by Papias, but appears in a +considerable number of early writers. How far the other writers +are independent of Papias is a disputed question. The tradition +may be variously estimated. Some have supposed that it is entirely +correct--that our Greek Gospel of Matthew is a translation, by +Matthew himself or by some one else, of an Aramaic work: others +have supposed that the tradition is altogether false--for example, +that an Aramaic translation of the Greek Gospel was mistaken for an +original from which the Greek Gospel had been translated: others +hold intermediate views--for example, that one of the sources of +our Greek Gospel was written in Aramaic. An important objection to +the view that there was an Aramaic original of Matthew is that the +Greek Gospel looks more like an original Greek work than like a +translation. The tradition of the Aramaic Matthew places before us +one of the unsolved problems of New Testament criticism. + +One thing is certain--the language of the Gospel of Matthew, like +that of the other Gospels, has a strong Aramaic coloring. This, +however, does not require the hypothesis that our Matthew was +translated from an Aramaic original. Undoubtedly, however our +Greek Matthew was written, there was a time in the early days of +the Church when the tradition of the life of Christ was carried +on chiefly or wholly in the Aramaic language. The words of Jesus, +at any rate, as they appear in our Gospels, have at some time or +other undergone translation; for Jesus taught in Aramaic. The +Aramaic coloring of the Gospels is one of the evidences of their +trustworthiness. Though written in Greek, they are evidently rooted +deep in the original Palestinian soil. + + +4. DATE + +The date of the Gospel cannot be determined with accuracy. Some +indication, however, is afforded by the assertion of Irenæus, of the +latter part of the second century, that Matthew published his Gospel +while Peter and Paul were preaching at Rome. Even if this assertion +should prove not to be absolutely correct, it would exhibit an early +tradition for the years between about A. D. 60 and 70 as the date of +the Gospel. This tradition is confirmed by the widespread view among +early writers that Matthew was written before Mark; for Mark is now +generally admitted to have been written before the destruction +of Jerusalem in A. D. 70. There is really no serious objection to +the traditional dating of Matthew. It was probably written in the +sixties of the first century, and probably, as tradition says, in +Palestine. + +There are traces of the use of the Gospel in writers of the early +half of the second century. On the other hand, there is no clear +indication that it was used by any New Testament writer. The absence +of citations from our Gospels in the epistles of Paul would tend to +indicate that in the very earliest period the gospel tradition was +carried on by word of mouth rather than by books. + + +5. THE APOSTLE MATTHEW + +In the four lists of the apostles, Matt. 10:2-4; Mark 3:16-19; Luke +6:13-16; Acts 1:13, Matthew is designated by the bare name, except +in his own Gospel, where he appears as "Matthew the publican." In +Matt. 9:9, his call is narrated. In the parallel passages in Mark +and Luke, Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27,28, the name of the publican who was +called is given only as "Levi." Without the Gospel of Matthew we +should not have been able to identify Levi and Matthew. Evidently +the apostle had two names, as was the case with so many others +of the persons mentioned in the New Testament. After his call, +Matthew made a great feast for Jesus. Luke 5:29; compare Mark +2:15. Matthew himself, alone among the Synoptists, does not even +make it perfectly clear that it was he in whose house Jesus sat at +meat. The peculiarities of the First Gospel in what is said about +Matthew become significant when the authorship is known. Of course +of themselves they would be quite insufficient to indicate who the +author was. The assertion by early writers that Matthew wrote the +Gospel, was based not upon indications in the Gospel itself, but +upon independent tradition. + + +6. "THE BOOK OF THE GENERATION OF JESUS CHRIST" + +The first verse of the Gospel is evidently based upon the formula, +occurring for the first time at Gen. 5:1, which marks off the +divisions of the book of Genesis. It is most naturally regarded as +a heading for the genealogy that follows in Matt. 1:2-17. There +is only one objection to that view. In Genesis "the book of the +generations of Adam," or "the generations of Shem" or the like, +introduces an account, not of ancestors of the persons in question, +but of their descendants. In Matt. 1:2-17, on the contrary, we have +an account not of descendants of Jesus, but of ancestors. This +objection has led some scholars to regard Matt. 1:1 as the title +not of the genealogy but of the whole Gospel. The title would then +represent Jesus as the beginning of a new race, or of a new period +in the history of humanity. + +This interpretation is unnecessarily subtle. It should rather be +admitted that there is a difference between the phrase in Genesis +and that in Matthew. The difference is very natural. In the case of +Abraham the descendants were in view; in the case of the Messiah, +the ancestors. Adam and Noah and Abraham were bearers of a promise; +Christ was the culmination. Genesis looks forward; Matthew looks +back. The difference in the use of the phrase is natural and +significant. + +The title, with the whole genealogy, is significant of what is to +follow. At the very start, the ruling thought of Matthew's Gospel +finds expression. Jesus is son of David, and son of Abraham; he is +the culmination of the divine promise. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Purves, "Christianity in the Apostolic Age," +pp. 270-272, 290-293. Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": Purves +(supplemented), articles on "Gospel" and "Matthew." M'Clymont, +"The New Testament and Its Writers," pp. 1-20. Stevens and Burton, +"A Harmony of the Gospels." Ellicott, "A New Testament Commentary +for English Readers," vol. i: Plumptre, "The Gospel According to +St. Matthew, St. Mark, and St. Luke," pp. xli-xliii, 1-186. Zahn, +"Introduction to the New Testament," vol. ii, pp. 367-427, 506-601. +The last-named work is intended primarily for those who have some +knowledge of Greek, but can also be used by others. + + + + +LESSON XXVIII + +A GRAPHIC SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF JESUS + +The Gospel According to Mark + + +The Gospel of Mark contains scarcely any material which is not also +contained in one or both of the other two Synoptic Gospels. The +loss of Mark would not diminish appreciably the number of facts +that we know about Jesus. Nevertheless, the Second Gospel is of the +utmost importance; for although it narrates for the most part only +the same facts as are also narrated elsewhere, it narrates them in +a different way. Indeed the very brevity of the Gospel adds to its +special value. A picture is sometimes the more impressive by being +limited in extent. Read the Gospel of Mark, not piecemeal but as a +whole, and you obtain an impression of Jesus which can be obtained +from no other book. + + +1. THE TRADITION + +=(1) Papias on Mark.=--As in the case of Matthew, so in that of Mark +it is Papias of Hierapolis who provides the earliest information +about the production of the Gospel. Again also the words of Papias +are quoted by Eusebius (Church History, iii, 39, 15). The passage +from Papias is as follows: + +"This also the presbyter said: 'Mark, on the one hand, being +an interpreter of Peter, wrote accurately as many things as he +remembered, yet not in order, the things which were either said +or done by the Lord.' For neither did he hear the Lord nor did +he follow him, but afterwards, as I said, he followed Peter, who +carried on his teaching as need required but not as though he were +making an ordered account of the oracles of the Lord; so that Mark +committed no fault when he wrote some things as he had remembered +them. For he had one care--that he should not leave out anything +of the things that he had heard, or represent anything among them +falsely." + +=(2) Antiquity of the Papian Tradition.=--It will be observed +that Papias is here represented as quoting from "the presbyter." +Probably, however, it is only the first sentence that is quoted; the +rest seems to be an explanation by Papias himself. By "presbyter," +or "elder," Papias means not an officer in the Church, but a man of +an older generation. The tradition is therefore very ancient. Papias +himself lived in the former half of the second century; a man of a +still older generation would probably have acquired his information +about Mark well before A. D. 100. Such information is not to be +lightly rejected. + +(3) Mark an Interpreter of Peter.--According to the presbyter, Mark +was an "interpreter" of Peter. If the word be taken strictly it +means that Mark translated the words of Peter from one language into +another--probably from Aramaic into Greek. On the whole, however, it +is not probable, in view of linguistic conditions in Palestine and +in the Church, that Peter would be unable to speak Greek. Perhaps, +then, the sentence means that Mark was merely the mediator, in a +general sense, of Peter's preaching. He presented the teaching +of Peter to those who had not had the opportunity of hearing it +themselves. Perhaps the meaning is that he had done so formerly by +word of mouth. Perhaps, however, it is rather the Gospel itself that +is referred to. By writing the Gospel Mark became an interpreter or +mediator of the preaching of Peter. + +At any rate, whatever meaning be given to the word "interpreter," +the general sense of the sentence--especially when taken in +connection with the following explanation by Papias is fairly clear. +Mark derived the information for his Gospel not from personal +acquaintance with the earthly Jesus, but from association with Peter. + +(4) Mark Not Written "In Order."--The presbyter said further that +although Mark wrote accurately what he heard from Peter, he did not +succeed in giving "in order" an account of the things that Jesus +did and said. Evidently the historical incompleteness, the lack of +uninterrupted sequence, of the Gospel of Mark is here in view. + +But by what standard is the Gospel judged? It can hardly be by +the standard of Matthew, for Matthew pays even less attention to +temporal sequence than Mark does. The order in Luke also is by no +means in all respects more strictly chronological than that in Mark. +Only one standard satisfies the requirements of the presbyter's +words--the standard provided by the teaching of John. John was the +great leader of the Church of Asia Minor. His teaching naturally +formed the standard of authority in that region. Perhaps at the time +when the presbyter expressed his judgment on Mark the Gospel of +John had already been written, so that one Gospel could be compared +with the other; perhaps, however, it was merely the oral teaching +of John, afterwards embodied in the Gospel, which afforded the +basis of comparison. The Gospel of John alone provides something +like a chronological framework of the public ministry of Jesus: +John alone mentions the early Judean ministry; John alone narrates +the successive visits of Jesus to the feasts in Jerusalem. If, as +is possible, "the presbyter" of Papias was none other than John +himself, then of course the whole matter becomes especially plain. +John knew that there were important omissions in the Gospel of Mark; +he probably observed, for example, that that Gospel if taken alone +might readily create the impression that the ministry of Jesus +lasted only one year instead of three or four. No doubt he corrected +this impression in his oral teaching; certainly he corrects it in +his Gospel. In commending the Gospel of Mark, John would naturally +call attention to its chronological incompleteness. + + +2. THE HEADING + +Like the Gospel of Matthew, the Gospel of Mark opens not with a +sentence, but with a heading. As in the former case, however, the +exact reference of the heading is uncertain. "The beginning of the +gospel of Jesus Christ" may, in the first place, mean merely, "Here +begins the gospel of Jesus Christ." "The gospel of Jesus Christ" +would then be simply the story about Christ that is narrated in the +book that follows. + +In the second place, the phrase may be taken as a description of +the contents of the book. The whole of Jesus' life would then be +described as the beginning of that proclamation of the gospel which +was afterwards continued by the apostles and by the Church. + +In the third place, the phrase may be merely a heading for the +section that immediately follows, for Mark 1:2-8, or for vs. 2-13. +In this case the preaching of John the Baptist, with or without the +baptism of Jesus, the descent of the Spirit, and the temptation, +would be described as the beginning of, as preliminary to, the +proclamation of the gospel, which is mentioned in vs. 14, 15. + +Perhaps the first interpretation is to be preferred as being the +simplest, though it must be admitted that the phrase is a little +puzzling. + + +3. MARK THE MISSIONARY GOSPEL + +It is significant that the Gospel of Mark begins not with the birth +and infancy of Jesus, but with the ministry of John the Baptist +and the subsequent preaching of Jesus in Galilee. Mark seems to +be following with great exactness the scheme of early apostolic +preaching as it is laid down in Acts 10:37-43. Apparently Mark is +preëminently the missionary Gospel; it contains only those things +which had a place in the first preaching to unbelievers. That does +not mean that the things which Mark omits are necessarily less +important than the things which it contains. Mark gives a summary, +not exactly of the most important things about Jesus, but rather of +the things which unbelievers or recent converts could most easily +understand. Hence the omission of the mystery of the birth, of the +profound teaching of the early Judean ministry, of the intimate +instructions to the disciples. These things are of fundamental +importance. But they can best be understood only after one has first +acquired a thorough grasp of the public ministry, and of the death +and resurrection. + +The Second Gospel, judged by purely formal standards, cannot +be called exactly a beautiful book. It lacks the rhythm of Old +Testament poetry, and the grace of the Gospel of Luke. But its +rough, vigorous naturalness conveys a message of compelling power. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": Purves (edited) +article on "Mark." M'Clymont, "The New Testament and Its Writers," +pp. 21-26. Stevens and Burton, "A Harmony of the Gospels." Ellicott, +"A New Testament Commentary for English Readers," vol. i: Plumptre, +"The Gospel according to St. Matthew, St. Mark, and St. Luke," pp. +187-234. "The Cambridge Bible for Schools": Maclear, "The Gospel +according to St. Mark." Zahn, "Introduction to the New Testament," +vol. ii, pp. 427-506, 601-617. The last-named work is intended +primarily for those who have some knowledge of Greek, but can also +be used by others. + + + + +LESSON XXIX + +A GREEK HISTORIAN'S ACCOUNT OF JESUS + +The Gospel According to Luke + + +The purpose of the Gospel of Luke was, the author says in his +prologue, that Theophilus might know the certainty concerning +the things wherein he had been instructed. These words involve +recognition of a fundamental need of the Church, which is to-day +often ignored. After interest in Christianity has been aroused, +after faith has been awakened, the Christian feels the need of a +deeper intellectual grounding of the faith that is in him. This +feeling is perfectly legitimate; it should not be stifled; the +expression of it should not be treated necessarily as sinful doubt. + +The treatment of these natural questionings is one of the most +important problems that faces the teachers of the present course. We +are dealing with young men and women of maturing minds, many of whom +can no longer be satisfied with the unthinking faith of childhood. +If Christianity is to remain permanently a force in their lives it +must be related to their entire intellectual equipment; it must be +exhibited as a reasonable thing, which is consistent with a sane and +healthy view of the world. In other words, we are dealing with the +problem of religious doubt, which is almost an inevitable stage in +the development of intelligent Christians of the present day. + +Undoubtedly the problem is often very unwisely handled. By hearing +every natural expression of their doubt unmercifully decried as +rebellion against the Word of God, many intelligent young people +are being driven into hopeless estrangement from the Church. It is +useless to try to bully people into faith. Instead, we ought to +learn the method of the Third Gospel. + +Very possibly Luke was facing the very same problem that is before +us teachers to-day--very possibly Theophilus, to whom the Gospel +and The Acts were dedicated, was a young man who had grown up in +the Church and could now no longer be satisfied with the vague and +unsystematic instruction that had been given him in childhood. At +any rate, whether he was a young man grown up in the Church, or +a recent convert, or merely a Gentile interested in Christianity, +he was a person of intellectual interests, and those interests are +treated by the evangelist not with contempt but with the utmost +sympathy. The Gospel was written in order that Theophilus might +"know the certainty" of those things wherein he had been instructed. + +That might be regarded as the motto for the entire course of study +which we have undertaken this year. It should be our aim to lay +before young people of the Church the certainty of the things +wherein they have been instructed--to enable them to substitute +for the unreasoning faith of childhood the profound convictions of +full-grown men and women. Moreover, exactly like the author of the +Third Gospel, we are endeavoring to accomplish this aim, not by +argument, but by an orderly presentation of "those matters which +have been fulfilled among us." A simple historical presentation of +the facts upon which Christianity is founded is the surest safeguard +of Christian faith. + + +1. THE PROLOGUE + +Alone among the Synoptists Luke gives his readers some direct +information about the methods of his work. Luke 1:1-4; Acts 1:1,2. +This information, which was barely touched upon in the Student's +Text Book, must here be considered somewhat more in detail. + +=(1) Luke Not an Eyewitness from the Beginning.=--From the prologue +to the Gospel, Luke 1:1-4, it appears, in the first place, that Luke +was not an eyewitness of the events that he narrates--at least he +was not an eyewitness "from the beginning." + +=(2) His Predecessors.=--In the second place, it appears that he +had had predecessors in his task of writing an account of early +Christian history. Apparently, however, none of these previous works +were produced by an apostle or by an eyewitness of the earthly +ministry of Jesus. The previous writers, like Luke himself, were +dependent upon the testimony of the eyewitnesses. The Gospel of +Matthew, therefore, since it was written by an apostle, was not one +of the works to which reference is made. This conclusion is amply +confirmed by a comparison of Matthew with Luke. Evidently, at least, +the two are entirely independent. If Luke refers to the First Gospel +in the prologue, at any rate he made no use of it. + +=(3) Was Mark One of the Predecessors?=--The Gospel of Mark, on +the contrary, answers to the description of the previous works. +It was written not by an eyewitness, but by one who listened to +eyewitnesses. Perhaps, therefore, it was one of the many works to +which Luke refers. If so, it may well have been used by Luke in +the preparation of his own Gospel. This supposition is by no means +excluded by a comparison of the two books. As a matter of fact, the +great majority of modern scholars suppose that the writer of the +Third Gospel made use of the Gospel of Mark. All that can here be +asserted is that this view, though not required by what Luke says in +his prologue, is perfectly consistent with it. + +=(4) Luke's Attitude Toward the Predecessors.=--It should be +observed that Luke attaches no blame whatever to the efforts of +his forerunners. When he says that they had "taken in hand" or +"attempted" to write accounts of certain things, he does not imply +in the slightest that their attempts had been unsuccessful. He means +simply to justify his own procedure by a reference to what had +already been done. "My effort at writing an account of the origin +of Christianity," he says in effect, "is no strange, unheard-of +thing. I have had many predecessors." Such a reference to the work +of predecessors was in antiquity a common literary form. At the +very beginning of his work, Luke displays the effects of his Greek +literary training. + +Of course, however, although Luke attaches no blame to his +predecessors, he would not have undertaken a new work if he had +thought that the old satisfied all needs. Evidently he hoped to +accomplish by his own book something that his predecessors had not +accomplished or had accomplished only in part. + +=(5) The Subject of the Gospel.=--Finally, therefore, Luke informs +his readers what his own peculiar methods and purposes were. The +main subject of the Gospel is not described with any definiteness in +Luke 1:1-4, but it appears in the retrospect at the beginning of the +second work. There the subject of the Gospel is designated as "all +that Jesus began both to do and to teach, until the day in which he +was received up, after that he had given commandment through the +Holy Spirit unto the apostles whom he had chosen." Acts 1:1,2. The +subject of the Gospel, in other words, was the earthly life of Jesus. + +=(6) Completeness of the Narrative.=--In treating this subject, Luke +had striven, he says, Luke 1:3, first of all for completeness. In +his investigations he had followed all things from the beginning. +This feature appears plainly in the Gospel. Instead of beginning as +Mark does, with the public ministry of Jesus, Luke first gives an +account of the birth and infancy, and not content with that, he +goes back even to events preceding the birth not only of Jesus, but +also of his forerunner. + +=(7) Accuracy.=--In the second place, Luke says that he had striven +after accuracy. Here again the Gospel justifies the claim of its +author. The effort after precision may be seen perhaps especially in +such a passage as Luke 3:1,2, where there is an elaborate dating of +the beginning of John the Baptist's ministry. + +=(8) Orderly Arrangement.=--The effort at orderly arrangement, +which forms a third part of the claim which the author makes, +was, especially in the Gospel, limited by the material that was +at hand. Evidently in Palestine in the early period, the memory +of the earthly ministry of Jesus was preserved not in a connected +narrative, but in isolated anecdotes. It was impossible, therefore, +even for a historian like Luke to maintain a chronological +arrangement throughout; where chronological arrangement was +impossible he was obliged to be satisfied with an arrangement +according to logical affinities. This logical method of arrangement, +however, is not resorted to by Luke so much as by Matthew; and for +considerable sections of his narrative he was able to gratify his +historian's desire for recounting events in the order in which they +happened. + +=(9) Luke a Historian.=--Detailed examination of the prologue should +not be allowed to obscure the outstanding fact that the sum of what +Luke here attests is a genuine historical aim and method in the +composition of his work. Of course, history in Luke's mind did not +exist for its own sake. The Gospel of Luke is not a mere scientific +dissertation. On the contrary, the history which is narrated was +to the author a thing of supreme value. But it was valuable only +because it was true. There is not the slightest evidence that +Luke was a bad historian because he was a good Christian. On the +contrary, he was a Christian just because he was a historian. In +the case of Jesus, knowledge of the real facts is the surest way to +adoration. + +=(10) Is Luke 1:1-4 a Prologue to both the Gospel and The +Acts?=--The first four verses of the Gospel of Luke may be taken as +a prologue either to the Gospel alone or else to the entire work, +including both the Gospel and The Acts. The latter view, since the +subject is described in v. 1 only in very broad terms, is not to +be rashly rejected. No doubt, however, in the prologue Luke was +thinking especially of the former part of the work--the part for +which he was dependent altogether upon the testimony of others. The +first verses of The Acts link the two parts close together. Their +connection has been obscured by the traditional arrangement of our +New Testament books. But that arrangement is altogether advisable. +The former part of the Lucan work certainly belongs among the +Gospels; and of the Gospels the Gospel of John must certainly be +placed last, as being supplementary to the others. + + +2. TYPICAL PASSAGES + +The characteristics of the Gospel of Luke may perhaps be presented +more vividly than by the general description in the Student's Text +Book, by an examination of a few typical passages. The two such +passages which we shall choose somewhat at random, are the narrative +of the birth and infancy in Luke 1:5 to 2:52, and the parable of the +Prodigal Son. Ch. 15:11-32. Both of these are without any parallel +in the other Gospels. Matthew provides an infancy narrative, but it +is concerned for the most part with events different from those that +appear in Luke. + +=(1) The Narrative of the Birth and Infancy.=--It has often been +observed that the characteristic Greek sentence of the prologue, +Luke 1:1-4, is immediately followed by the most strongly Hebraistic +passage in the New Testament. The Semitic style of Luke 1:5 to 2:52 +becomes explicable only if Luke was here making use of Palestinian +sources, either oral or written. This conclusion is confirmed by +the whole spirit and substance of the narrative. In this narrative +as clearly as anywhere else in the New Testament we find ourselves +transplanted to Palestinian soil. + +The early date of the narrative is as evident as its Jewish +Christian and Palestinian character. There is here no reference +to concrete events in the later history of the Church. Messianic +prophecy appears in its Old Testament form uncolored by the details +of the fulfillment. Evidently this narrative is no product of the +Church's fancy, but genuine history told in the very forms of speech +which were natural to those who participated in it. + +The first two chapters of Luke are in spirit really a bit of the Old +Testament continued to the very threshold of the New. These chapters +contain the poetry of the New Testament, which has taken deep hold +of the heart and fancy of the Church. + +In this section of his Gospel, Luke shows himself to be a genuine +historian. A biographer is not satisfied with narrating the public +life of his hero, but prefaces to his work some account of the +family, and of the birth and childhood. So our understanding of the +ministry of Jesus becomes far deeper when we know that he grew up +among the simple, devout folk who are described in the first two +chapters of Luke. The picture of Mary in these chapters, painted +with an exquisite delicacy of touch, throws a flood of light upon +the earthly life of the Son of Man. + +Beauty of detail, however, must not be allowed to obscure the +central fact. The culmination of the narrative, undoubtedly, is +to be found in the stupendous mystery of Luke 1:34,35. Far from +being an excrescence in the narrative, as it has sometimes been +represented in an age of rampant naturalism, the supernatural +conception of Jesus is the very keystone of the arch. In this +central fact, Matthew and Luke, totally independent as they are, are +perfectly agreed. By this fact Jesus is represented, more clearly +perhaps than by anything else, as not a product of the world but a +Saviour come from without. + +=(2) The Prodigal Son.=--The parable of the Prodigal Son, simple +though it is, has often been sadly misinterpreted. It has been +thought to mean, for example, that God pardons sin on the basis +simply of human repentance without the necessity of the divine +sacrifice. All such interpretations are wide of the mark. The +parable is not meant to teach how God pardons sin, but only the fact +that he does pardon it with joy, and that we ought to share in his +joy. + +Misinterpretation of the parable has come from the ignoring of its +occasion. The key to the interpretation is given in Luke 15:1,2. +Jesus was receiving publicans and sinners. Instead of rejoicing at +the salvation of these poor, degraded sons of Abraham, the Pharisees +murmured. In rebuke, Jesus spoke three parables. One of them, +the parable of the Lost Sheep, is reported also by Matthew, ch. +18:12-14; but the last two, the parables of the Lost Coin and of the +Prodigal Son, appear only in Luke. + +The teaching of all three of these parables is exactly the same. The +imagery varies, but the application is constant. That application +may be expressed very simply: "God rejoices at the salvation of a +sinner; if, therefore, you are really sons of God, you will rejoice +too." In the parable of the Prodigal Son, however, the application +is forced home more poignantly than in either of the other two. In +that parable alone among the three, the Pharisees could see--in the +elder brother--a direct representation of themselves. + +The incident of the elder brother, sometimes regarded as a mere +detail, really introduces the main point of the parable. Everything +else leads up to that. The wonderful description of the joy of the +father at the prodigal's home-coming is all intended as a contrast +to the churlish jealousy of the brother. The elder brother was as +far as possible from sharing in the father's joy. That showed that +he was no true son. Though he lived under the father's roof, he +had no real inward share in the father's life. So it was with the +Pharisees. They lived in the Father's house; they were, as we should +say, members of the Church. But when salvation, in the person of +Jesus, had at last come to the poor, sinful outcasts of the people, +the Pharisees drew aside. God rejoiced when the publicans crowded in +to Jesus; but the Pharisees held back. That showed that after all +they were not, as they thought, true sons of God. If they had been, +they would have shared God's feeling. + +It should be noticed that the parable ends with an invitation. The +elder brother is not harshly rebuked by the father, but tenderly +urged to come in still. Will the invitation be accepted? The +question is not answered; and there lies the crowning beauty of the +parable. The Pharisees are still given a chance. Will they still +share the joy of God at the return of his lost children? They must +answer the question for themselves. + +And we, too, have the same question to answer. If we are really +children of God, then we shall not despise the outcasts and the +sinners, but shall rejoice with him at their salvation. The parable +is characteristic of the Gospel of Luke. Of course, Luke did not +compose it. Nothing in the Gospels bears more indisputably the +marks of Jesus' teaching. But from the rich store of Palestinian +tradition Luke sought out those things which displayed sympathy for +the downtrodden and the sick and the sinful. It was an inestimable +service to the Church. Shall we heed the message? God rejoices at +the salvation of a sinner. Shall we be sharers in his holy joy? + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": Purves (edited), +article on "Luke." M'Clymont, "The New Testament and Its Writers," +pp. 27-32. Stevens and Burton, "A Harmony of the Gospels." Ellicott, +"A New Testament Commentary for English Readers," vol. i: Plumptre, +"The Gospel According to St. Matthew, St. Mark, and St. Luke," pp. +235-365. Zahn, "Introduction to the New Testament," vol. iii, pp. +1-173. The last-named work is intended primarily for those who have +some knowledge of Greek, but can also be used by others. + + + + +LESSON XXX + +THE TESTIMONY OF THE BELOVED DISCIPLE + +The Gospel According to John + + +1. THE EVANGELIST A WITNESS + +The author of the Fourth Gospel was a great man. He was great, +however, not as a philosopher or as a religious genius, but as +an apostle; not as the originator of great ideas, but as one who +received the teaching of another. He was great, not as one who +created a profound theology, but as one who could understand the +Lord Jesus Christ. The "Johannine theology" is the theology not of +John but of Jesus. So at least John himself represents it. He claims +to be not a theologian, but a witness. The value of his book depends +upon the truth of his witnessing. If the Johannine picture of Christ +is the creation of the author's genius, it commands admiration; but +only if it is a true picture of the historic Jesus can it offer +eternal life. + +Is the Jesus of the Fourth Gospel fiction or fact, a splendid +product of religious genius or a living Saviour? + +Few questions have caused profounder agitation in the modern Church. +The question cannot be separated from the question of authorship. +Clearly if the book was written by an intimate friend of Jesus, its +witness must be true. Who wrote the Fourth Gospel? This question is +of vital importance. + + +2. THE TRADITION + +At the close of the second century--the earliest period from +which any really abundant Christian literature outside of the New +Testament has been preserved--the tradition about the authorship +of the Gospel was practically unanimous. Even the one small and +uninfluential sect that disagreed practically supports the common +view, for its denial was evidently based upon objections to +the contents of the Gospel and not at all upon any independent +information. + +=(1) Irenæus and Polycarp.=--Of the three important writers of +the close of the second century, all of whom attest the Johannine +authorship of the Gospel, Irenæus deserves special mention. Irenæus +spent his early life in Asia Minor, but afterwards became the +leader of the Church in Gaul. Before he left Asia Minor he had +some very interesting associations. One of them was with Polycarp, +bishop of Smyrna, who was martyred in A. D. 155. Polycarp would be +an important figure merely on account of the early period in which +he lived; but what makes his testimony supremely valuable is his +personal association with John. Irenæus himself in his early youth, +before he had left Asia Minor, had heard Polycarp discoursing about +the things he had heard John say. Polycarp, then, was a personal +disciple of John, and Irenæus was a personal disciple of Polycarp. +Only one link, therefore, separated Irenæus from John. Moreover, +since Irenæus in his youth had lived in Asia Minor, the very place +of John's residence, it is natural to believe that what he heard +Polycarp say about John could be supplemented in other ways. + +Now beyond any reasonable doubt whatever, Irenæus supposed that +the John of whom he had heard Polycarp speak was none other than +John the apostle, the son of Zebedee. If that supposition was +correct, then the connection between Irenæus and the apostle John +was exceedingly close; and when Irenæus exhibits an absolutely +unwavering belief that the Fourth Gospel was written by the apostle, +it is very unlikely that he was mistaken. He had known one of the +personal disciples of John; he himself had lived in Asia Minor +where John had been the well-known leader of the Church, and where +the Fourth Gospel, no matter who wrote it, was almost certainly +produced. When, therefore, he asserts, not as something new, but +as a thing which he had known from the beginning, that the Fourth +Gospel was written by the apostle John, surely he must be believed. + +This conclusion has been avoided by the hypothesis that the John +about whom Polycarp spoke was not really, as Irenæus supposed, John +the son of Zebedee, but another John, a certain John the presbyter, +who was not one of the twelve apostles at all. The unnaturalness +of such an hypothesis appears on the surface. Could a native of +Asia Minor who had repeatedly heard Polycarp speak about the John +in question, and who had many other opportunities for acquainting +himself with the traditions of the church in Asia Minor--could such +a man, together with all his contemporaries, have come to labor +under so egregious a misapprehension? + +=(2) Other Attestation.=--The testimony of Irenæus to the Fourth +Gospel is of particular importance, on account of Irenæus' +connection with Polycarp. But it is only one detail in a remarkable +consensus. When the most widely separated portions of the Church +before the close of the second century all agreed that the Fourth +Gospel was written by John the son of Zebedee, their common belief +could not have been of recent origin. Earlier writers, moreover, by +their use of the Gospel attest at least its early date. + + +3. THE TESTIMONY OF THE GOSPEL ITSELF + +The tradition which attributes the Fourth Gospel to John the son of +Zebedee is confirmed by the testimony of the Gospel itself. Although +the book does not mention the name of its author it clearly implies +who he was. + +=(1) Indirectness of the Testimony.=--This testimony of the Gospel +itself is all the more valuable because it is indirect. If the name +John had been mentioned at the beginning, then it might conceivably +be supposed that an unknown author had desired to gain a hearing for +his work by putting it falsely under the name of a great apostle. +As it is, the inference that the author claims to be John the son +of Zebedee, though certain, does not force itself upon the careless +reader. A forger would not thus, by the indirectness of his claim, +have deprived himself of the benefits of his forgery. + +The testimony of the Gospel to its author must now be considered. + +=(2) The Author an Eyewitness.=--In the first place, almost at +the very beginning, we observe that the author claims to be an +eyewitness of the life of Jesus. "We beheld his glory," he says in +John 1:14. By beholding the glory of Christ he evidently does not +mean merely that experience of Christ's power which is possessed +by every Christian. On the contrary, the glory of Christ, as it is +intended by the evangelist, is fully explained by such passages as +ch. 2:11. The miracles of Jesus--palpable, visible events in the +external world--are clearly included in what is meant. It will be +observed that in ch. 1:14 it is very specifically the incarnate +Christ that is spoken of. The evangelist is describing the condition +of things after "the Word became flesh." Evidently, therefore, it +was the earthly life of Jesus which the evangelist claims to have +"beheld." + +This conclusion is confirmed by I John 1:1-4. Scarcely anyone doubts +that the First Epistle of John was written by the man who wrote +the Gospel. When, therefore, the author of the epistle speaks of +"that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, +that which we beheld, and our hands handled, concerning the Word +of life," evidently these words have significance for the Gospel +also. The author fairly heaps up expressions to show, beyond all +possibility of misunderstanding, that he had come into actual +physical contact with the earthly Jesus. + +=(3) The Unnamed Disciple of John 1:35-42.=--The author of the +Fourth Gospel, then, clearly claims to be an eyewitness of the +earthly life of Christ. Further indications identify him with a +particular one among the eyewitnesses. In John 1:35-42, an unnamed +disciple of Jesus is mentioned. "One of the two," it is said in v. +40, "that heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon +Peter's brother." Who was the other? There is some reason for +thinking that he was one of the two sons of Zebedee. But the matter +will become clearer as we proceed. + +Another question is why this disciple is not mentioned by name. The +Fourth Gospel is not chary of names. Why, then, is the disciple who +appears so prominently along with Andrew and Simon not mentioned +by name? Only one plausible explanation suggests itself--the +explanation that the unnamed disciple was the author of the Gospel, +who, through a feeling common in the literature of antiquity, as +well as of our own time, did not like to mention his own name in +the course of his narrative. We have already observed that the +author claims to be an eyewitness of the life of Christ. John 1:14. +When, therefore, near the beginning of the narrative a disciple of +Jesus is introduced, rather mysteriously, without a name, when, +furthermore, events in which this disciple was immediately concerned +are narrated with unusual vividness and wealth of detail, vs. 35-42, +the conclusion becomes very natural that this unnamed disciple is +none other than the author himself. + +=(4) The Beloved Disciple.=--This conclusion, it must be admitted, +so far as this first passage is concerned, is nothing more than a +likely guess. But by other passages it is rendered almost certain. + +In John 13:21-25, a disciple is mentioned as leaning on Jesus' +breast and as being one whom Jesus loved. This disciple is not +named. But who was he? Evidently he was one of the twelve apostles, +for only the apostles were present at the Supper which is described +in chs. 13 to 17. The disciple "whom Jesus loved," however, was not +only among the Twelve; he was evidently among the innermost circle +of the Twelve. Such an innermost circle appears clearly in the +Synoptic Gospels. It was composed of Peter and James and John. The +beloved disciple was probably one of these three; and since he is +clearly distinguished from Peter, ch. 13:24, he was either James or +John. + +The introduction of an unnamed disciple, which seemed significant +even in John 1:35-42, becomes yet far more significant in the +present passage. In the account of the Last Supper, a considerable +number of the disciples are named--Peter, Judas Iscariot, Thomas, +Philip, Judas not Iscariot--yet the disciple who is introduced with +especial emphasis, whose very position at table is described with a +wealth of detail far greater than is displayed in the case of any +of the others, is designated merely as "one of his disciples, whom +Jesus loved." The strange omission of this disciple's name can be +explained only if he was the author of the book. Clearly the painter +has here introduced a modest portrait of himself in the midst of his +great picture. + +Passing by John 18:15,16, where "the other disciple" is probably +the author, and ch. 19:26,27, where the repetition of the strange +designation, "the disciple ... whom he [Jesus] loved," confirms the +impressions derived from ch. 13:21-25, we discover another important +indication in ch. 19:35. "And he that hath seen hath borne witness, +and his witness is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye +also may believe." "He that hath seen" can scarcely refer to anyone +other than the beloved disciple who was mentioned just before as +standing by the cross. In the present verse, this beloved disciple +is represented as the one who is now speaking. The identification +of the beloved disciple with the author of the Gospel, which was +implied before, here becomes explicit. + +In John 20:1-10, "the other disciple whom Jesus loved" is of course +the same as the one who appears in ch. 13:21-25; 19:26,27,35. + +=(5) Testimony of the Appendix.=--In John 21:7,20-23, the beloved +disciple appears again, and in v. 24 he is identified, in so many +words, with the writer of the Gospel. In this verse the first person +plural is used; other persons seem to be associated with the author +in commending the Gospel to the attention of the Church. This +phenomenon is explained if the twenty-first chapter be regarded as +a sort of appendix, perhaps added at the request of a circle of +friends. It will be observed that ch. 20:30,31 forms a fit ending to +the book; what follows therefore appears the more like an appendix, +though it was certainly written by the author's own hand and +published before his death along with the rest of the book. + +=(6) Why Are John and James Not Mentioned by Name?=--The conclusion +of our investigation is that the author of the Fourth Gospel +indicates clearly that he was either one or the other of the two +sons of Zebedee. This conclusion is confirmed by the curious +circumstance that neither one of these men is mentioned in the +Gospel by name. How did they come to be omitted? They were in the +very innermost circle of Jesus' disciples; many apostles far less +prominent than they are named frequently on the pages of the +Gospel. There can be only one solution of the problem: one at least +of these men is, as a matter of fact, introduced in the Gospel as +the beloved disciple, and the reason why he is introduced in such a +curiously anonymous way and why his brother also is not named, is +that the author felt a natural delicacy about introducing his own +and his brother's name into a narrative of the Lord's life. + +One statement that has just been made requires qualification: it is +not quite true that the sons of Zebedee are not designated by name +in the Gospel. They are not indeed called by their individual names, +but in ch. 21:2, they are designated by the name of their father. +Possibly this slight difference of usage between chapter 21 and the +rest of the Gospel has something to do with the fact that chapter 21 +seems to be an appendix. + +=(7) The Author Was Not James, but John.=--The author of the Fourth +Gospel, then, identifies himself with one or the other of the sons +of Zebedee. As to which one of the two is meant there cannot be the +slightest doubt. James the son of Zebedee was martyred in A. D. 44. +Acts 12:2. There is abundant evidence that the Fourth Gospel was not +written so early as that; and John 21:20-23 apparently implies that +the author lived to a considerable age. Evidently, therefore, it is +John and not James with whom the author identifies himself. + +=(8) Is the Gospel's Own Testimony True?=--Thus the singularly +strong tradition which attributes the Fourth Gospel to John the +son of Zebedee is supported by the independent testimony of the +book itself. Conceivably, of course, that testimony might be false. +But it is very hard to believe that it is. It is very hard to +believe that the author of this wonderful book, who despite all +the profundity of his ideas exalts in a very special manner the +importance of simple testimony based upon the senses, John 19:35; I +John 1:1-4, has in a manner far subtler and more heinous than if he +had simply put a false name at the beginning palmed himself off as +an eyewitness of the Saviour's life. Many learned men have found it +possible to accept such a view; but the simple reader of the Gospel +will always be inclined to dissent. The author of this book has +narrated many things hard to be believed. But there are still found +those who accept his solemn testimony; there are still found those +in whom the purpose of the book is achieved, who through this Gospel +believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and believing have +life in his name. John 20:31. + + +4. TRADITIONAL TIME AND PLACE AND PLAN + +The tradition about the Fourth Gospel is not confined to the bare +fact of Johannine authorship; it has preserved certain other very +interesting information. + +(=1=) =The Ephesian Residence.=--For example, tradition represents +the Fourth Gospel as written after the other three Gospels and at +Ephesus. The evidence for the Ephesian residence of the apostle John +is singularly abundant and weighty; and the contrary evidence which +has been thought to attest an early death of John is exceedingly +weak. At first, John, like the others of the original apostles, +remained in Palestine. He appears in Jerusalem a little before A. +D. 50 at the Apostolic Council. Gal. 2:9. At some subsequent time, +perhaps at the outbreak of the Jewish war in A. D. 66, he journeyed +to Asia Minor and there for many years was the revered head of the +Church. He lived indeed until the reign of Trajan, which began in A. +D. 98. + +(=2=) =The Gospel of John Supplementary to the Synoptic +Gospels.=--According to tradition, the Gospel of John was not +only written after the Synoptic Gospels, but was intended to be +supplementary to them. This information is amply confirmed by +the Gospel itself. Evidently John presupposes on the part of his +readers a knowledge of the Synoptic account. This explains his +peculiar choice of material--for example, his omission of most of +the Galilean ministry, and of such events as the baptism and the +institution of the Lord's Supper. It explains also, for example, a +verse like John 3:24: "For John was not yet cast into prison." The +Synoptic Gospels begin their account of the ministry of Jesus with +what happened after the imprisonment of John the Baptist. Mark 1:14. +Readers of Mark might even receive the impression that Jesus had +not begun his teaching till after that time. John corrects any such +impression in ch. 3:24. + +If, then, the Gospel of John is intended not to compete with the +Synoptic Gospels, but to supplement them, in what direction does the +supplementing move? What is it that John adds to what had already +been told? Here, again, tradition affords us useful hints. + +Eusebius, in the early part of the fourth century, writes as follows +(Church History, iii, 24, 7-13, translated by McGiffert, in "Nicene +and Post-Nicene Fathers," second series, vol. i, p. 153): + +"And when Mark and Luke had already published their Gospels, they +say that John, who had employed all his time in proclaiming the +Gospel orally, finally proceeded to write for the following reason. +The three Gospels already mentioned [Matthew, Mark and Luke] having +come into the hands of all and into his own too, they say that he +accepted them and bore witness to their truthfulness; but that +there was lacking in them an account of the deeds done by Christ +at the beginning of his ministry. And this indeed is true. For +it is evident that the three evangelists recorded only the deeds +done by the Saviour for one year after the imprisonment of John +the Baptist, and indicated this in the beginning of their account. +For Matthew, after the forty days' fast and the temptation which +followed it, indicates the chronology of his work when he says: 'Now +when he heard that John was delivered up he withdrew from Judea into +Galilee.' Mark likewise says: 'Now after that John was delivered up +Jesus came into Galilee.' And Luke, before commencing his account +of the deeds of Jesus, similarly marks the time, when he says that +Herod, 'adding to all the evil deeds which he had done, shut up +John in prison.' They say, therefore, that the apostle John, being +asked to do it for this reason, gave in his Gospel an account of the +period which had been omitted by the earlier evangelists, and of +the deeds done by the Saviour during that period; that is, of those +which were done before the imprisonment of the Baptist. And this is +indicated by him, they say, in the following words: 'This beginning +of miracles did Jesus'; and again when he refers to the Baptist, in +the midst of the deeds of Jesus, as still baptizing in Ænon near +Salim; where he states the matter clearly in the words: 'For John +was not yet cast into prison.' John accordingly, in his Gospel, +records the deeds of Christ which were performed before the Baptist +was cast into prison, but the other three evangelists mention the +events which happened after that time. One who understands this can +no longer think that the Gospels are at variance with one another, +inasmuch as the Gospel according to John contains the first acts +of Christ, while the others give an account of the latter part of +his life. And the genealogy of our Saviour according to the flesh +John quite naturally omitted, because it had been already given by +Matthew and Luke, and began with the doctrine of his divinity, which +had, as it were, been reserved for him, as their superior, by the +divine Spirit." + +According to Eusebius, then, John intended to treat the time before +the imprisonment of the Baptist as the Synoptists treated the time +after that event. We have already noted the element of truth in this +observation. Of course it is not the only observation that needs to +be made. Much of what John narrates occurred after the imprisonment +of the Baptist. + +According to Clement of Alexandria, of the close of the second +century, who here reports what had been said by his predecessors in +Alexandria, John, seeing that "bodily" matters had been treated by +the Synoptists, supplemented their work by writing a "spiritual" +Gospel. In this testimony also there is no doubt an element of +truth. It is true that the Fourth Gospel reproduces certain profound +elements in the teaching of Jesus which in the earlier Gospels +appear only incidentally. + +The oral tradition which forms the chief basis of the Synoptic +Gospels was rooted deep in the earliest missionary activity of the +Church. Especially, perhaps, in the Gospel of Mark, but also in +Matthew and Luke, we have for the most part those facts about Jesus +and those elements of his teaching which could appeal at once to +simple-minded believers or to outsiders. The Gospel of John, on the +other hand, drawing, like the others, from the rich store of Jesus' +teaching and Jesus' person, has revealed yet deeper mysteries. In +this profound book, we have the recollections of a beloved disciple, +at first understood only imperfectly by the apostle himself, but +rendered ever clearer by advancing experience, and firmly fixed by +being often repeated in the author's oral instruction of the Church. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible," article on "John" +(7): Purves, article on "John, Gospel according to St." M'Clymont, +"The New Testament and Its Writers," pp. 33-40. Stevens and Burton, +"A Harmony of the Gospels." Westcott, "The Gospel according to St. +John: The Authorized Version with Introduction and Notes." "The +Cambridge Bible for Schools": Plummer, "The Gospel According to St. +John." Browning, "A Death in the Desert" (vol. iv, pp. 191-206 of +the Riverside Edition). Zahn, "Introduction to the New Testament," +vol. iii, pp. 174-355. The last-named work is intended primarily +for those who have some knowledge of Greek, but can also be used by +others. + + + + +LESSON XXXI + +THE JESUS OF THE GOSPELS + + +It is possible to speak of "the Jesus of the Gospels" only if the +Gospels are in essential agreement. If the features of the four +portraits are so different that they never could have been united +really in the same person, then there is no such thing as a Jesus of +the Gospels, but only a Jesus of Matthew and a Jesus of Mark and a +Jesus of Luke and a Jesus of John. + + +1. AGREEMENT AMONG THE SYNOPTISTS + +Among the Synoptic Gospels, at any rate, no such difference exists. +Though every one of these Gospels possesses its own characteristics, +the peculiarities are almost negligible in comparison with the +underlying unity. There is certainly such a thing as "the Synoptic +Jesus." His words and deeds are narrated in each of the Gospels in a +different selection and in a different style, but the characteristic +features are everywhere the same. + + +2. THE SYNOPTISTS AND JOHN + +With regard to the Fourth Gospel, the matter is not quite so +plain. The contrast between the Synoptists and John has already +been noticed. It forces itself upon even the most casual reader. +Difference, however, is not necessarily contradiction. It may be +due to a difference in the point of view. Both the Synoptists and +John give a true picture of Jesus; the same features appear very +different when viewed from different angles. + + +3. DIVINITY AND HUMANITY + +At any rate, if there is a contradiction between the first three +Gospels and the Gospel of John, the contradiction is by no means +easy to formulate. It cannot be said, for example, simply that the +Synoptists present a human Jesus and John a divine Jesus. Whatever +the differences among the four Gospels, all four agree at least in +two essential features. All four present Jesus, in the first place +as a man, and in the second place as something more than a man. + +(=1=) =Humanity in the Synoptists.=--The former feature is perhaps +especially clear in the Synoptists. According to the first three +Gospels, Jesus led a genuine human life from birth to death. As +a child he grew not only in stature, but also in wisdom. He was +subject to human parents and to the requirements of the Jewish law. +Even after the inauguration of his ministry the human conditions of +his life were not superseded. He was even tempted like other men. +He grew weary and slept. He suffered hunger and thirst. He could +rejoice and he could suffer sorrow. He prayed, like other men, and +worshiped God. He needed strengthening both for body and for mind. +No mere semblance of a human life is here presented, but a genuine +man of flesh and blood. + +(=2=) =Humanity in John.=--But if the Jesus of the Synoptists is +a true man, how is it with the Jesus of John? Does the Fourth +Gospel present merely a heavenly being who walked through the world +untouched and unruffled by the sin and misery and weakness that +surrounded him? Only a very superficial reading can produce such +an impression. The Fourth Gospel indeed lays a supreme emphasis +upon the majesty of Jesus, upon his "glory" as it was manifested in +works of power and attested by God himself. But side by side with +these features of the narrative, as though to prevent a possible +misunderstanding, the author presents the humanity of Jesus with +drastic touches that can scarcely be paralleled in the Synoptists +themselves. It is John who speaks of the weariness of Jesus at the +well of Samaria, ch. 4:6; of the human affection which he felt for +Lazarus and Martha and Mary, ch. 11:3,5,36, and for an individual +among the disciples, ch. 13:23; of his weeping, ch. 11:35; and +indignant groaning, v. 38; and of his deadly thirst. Ch. 19:28. As +clearly as the other evangelists John presents Jesus as a man. + +(=3=) =Divinity in John.=--In the second place, all four Gospels, if +they present Jesus as a man, also present him as something far more +than a man. With regard to the Gospel of John, of course the matter +is unmistakable. The very first verse reads: "In the beginning was +the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Jesus +according to John was plainly no product of the world, but God come +in the flesh. John 1:14. The teaching of Jesus himself, as it is +reported in the Fourth Gospel, is concerned with the relation of +perfect unity that exists between the Father and the Son. + +(=4=) =Divinity in the Synoptists.=--In the Synoptists the +supernatural character of Jesus is somewhat less on the surface. +His teaching, as the Synoptists report it, is largely concerned not +directly with his own person, but with the kingdom that he came to +found. Even his Messiahship is often kept in the background; the +demons are often commanded not to reveal it. + +A closer examination, however, reveals the essential unity between +the Synoptists and John. If the supernatural character of Jesus +appears in the Synoptists less plainly on the surface, it is really +no less pervasive at the center. It does not so often form the +subject of direct exposition, but it is everywhere presupposed. The +doing by Jesus of what only God can do, Mark 2:5,7; the sovereign +way in which he legislates for the kingdom of God, Matt. 5:17-48; +his unearthly holiness and complete lack of any consciousness of +sin; the boundlessness of his demand for obedience, Luke 9:57-62; +his expected freedom from limitations of time and place, Matt. +28:20; the absolutely central place which he claims for himself +as ruler and judge; the substantiation of all his lofty claims +by wonderful power over the forces of nature--these are only +indications chosen almost at random of what is really plain upon +every page of the Synoptic Gospels, that the Jesus who is there +described is no mere human figure but a divine Saviour of the world. +The invitation of Matt. 11:28-30, which is typical of the Synoptic +teaching, would have been absurd on the lips of anyone but the Son +of God. + +Moreover, the divine nature of Jesus is not merely implied in the +Synoptic Gospels; there are times when it even becomes explicit. +The relation of perfect mutual knowledge that exists between Jesus +and the Father, Matt. 11:27, reveals a perfect unity of nature. The +Jesus of the Synoptists, as well as the Jesus of John, might say, "I +and the Father are one." + + +4. THE MANNER OF JESUS' TEACHING + +The Synoptic Gospels, therefore, imply everywhere exactly the same +Jesus who is more expressly presented in the Gospel of John. If, +then, there is a contradiction between the Synoptists and John, +it can be concerned only with the manner of Jesus' teaching. The +Synoptists as well as John present Jesus as a supernatural person, +it is said, but unlike John they represent him as keeping his own +person in the background. + +Even here, however, maturer consideration shows that the difference +does not amount to anything like contradiction. May not the same +person have spoken the discourses of the Fourth Gospel and also +those of the Synoptists? It must be remembered that the ministry +of Jesus was varied, and that the first three evangelists confine +themselves almost exclusively to one phase of it. In the public +Galilean ministry, which the Synoptists describe, it was necessary +for Jesus to keep even his Messiahship for a time in the background. +Publication of it, owing to the false political conception which +the Jews had of the Messiah's work, would have been fatal to Jesus' +plan. Here, as so often, the Fourth Gospel explains the other +three. After the feeding of the five thousand, John tells us, the +crowd wanted to take Jesus by force and make him a king. John 6:15. +Popularity was dangerous. Jesus could not proclaim himself publicly +as the Messiah, until by explaining the spiritual nature of the +kingdom he had prepared the people for the kind of Messiah which it +was his mission to be. + +Of course, it is difficult for us to understand at every point just +why Jesus acted as he did. All that we are now maintaining is that +the considerations just adduced, and others like them, show that it +is perfectly conceivable that Jesus, before his intimate disciples +and in Jerusalem and at a special crisis, John, ch. 6, adopted +a method of teaching which in the greater part of the Galilean +ministry he considered out of place. There is room in a true +narrative of Jesus' life both for the Synoptists and for John. + + +5. THE COMPREHENSIVENESS OF JESUS + +Jesus was many-sided. He was Lawgiver, he was Teacher, he was +Healer, he was Ruler, he was Saviour. He was man and he was God. The +Gospels have presented him in the richness of his mysterious person. +Modern historians are less comprehensive. They have been offended +at the manifoldness of the Gospel picture. They have endeavored to +reduce Jesus to the level of what they can comprehend. But their +effort has been a failure. After the supposed contradictions have +been removed, greater contradictions remain; and the resulting +figure is at any rate too small to account for the origin of +Christianity. The partial Jesus of modern criticism, despite his +comparative littleness, is a monstrosity; the comprehensive Jesus of +the Gospels, though mysterious, is a self-evidencing and life-giving +fact. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": Purves, article +on "Jesus Christ." Warfield, "The Lord of Glory," pp. 125-173. +Robertson, "Epochs in the Life of Jesus." Stalker, "The Life of +Jesus Christ." Denney, "Jesus and the Gospel." Andrews, "The Life of +Our Lord." + + + + +LESSON XXXII + +A DOCUMENT OF THE JERUSALEM CHURCH + +The Epistle of James + + +1. THE CHRISTIANITY OF JAMES + +The Epistle of James has been called the least Christian book in +the New Testament. Superficially this judgment is true. The name of +Jesus occurs only twice in the epistle, James 1:1; 2:1, and there +is no specific reference to his life and death and resurrection. A +close examination, however, reverses the first impression. + +(=1=) =James and the Synoptic Discourses.=--In the first place, +the ethical teaching of James is permeated by the spirit of Jesus. +Even the form of the epistle displays a marked affinity for the +discourses of the Synoptic Gospels, and the affinity in content is +even more apparent. Many striking parallels could be cited; but +what is more convincing than such details is the indefinable spirit +of the whole. The way in which James treats the covetousness, the +pride, the heartlessness, the formalism, the pettiness and the +meanness of his readers, is strikingly similar to the way in which +his Master dealt with the Pharisees. James does not indeed actually +cite the words of Jesus; but the absence of citations makes the +underlying similarity all the more significant. The writer of this +epistle did not live at a time when the knowledge of the words of +Jesus was derived from books; rather he had himself listened to the +Master--even though he was not at first a disciple--and was living +in a community where the impression of Jesus' teaching and Jesus' +person was still fresh in the memory of those who had known him on +earth. + +(=2=) =James and Christian Doctrine.=--In the second place, +moreover, the Christianity of James is religious as well as ethical. +Of course it could not be like the teaching of Jesus if it were +merely ethical; for everything that Jesus taught even about the +simplest matters of human conduct was determined by the thought +of the heavenly Father and by the significance of his own person. +But by the religious character of the Epistle of James even more +than this is meant. Like all the writers of the New Testament +James was well aware of the saving significance of Jesus' death +and resurrection. For him as well as for the others, Jesus was +Lord, ch. 1:1, and a Lord who was possessed of a heavenly glory. +Ch. 2:1. James, as well as the others, was waiting for the second +coming of Christ. Ch. 5:8. He does not directly refer to the saving +events that form the substance of Christian faith; but he takes +them everywhere for granted. The word of truth through which the +disciples have been formed by God, ch. 1:18, the implanted word, +v. 21, that needs ever to be received anew, can hardly be anything +else than the apostolic gospel as it was proclaimed in the earliest +speeches of Peter which are recorded in The Acts, and as it found +its rich unfolding in the teaching of Paul. Just because that gospel +in our epistle is presupposed, it does not need to be expounded +in detail. The men to whom James was writing were not lacking in +orthodoxy. If they had been, he would have set them right, and we +should have had another exposition of the gospel. As a matter of +fact their fault was in practice, not in theory; and it is in the +sphere of practice that they are met by James. The epistle would +be insufficient if it stood alone. It does not lay the foundation +of Christian faith. But it shows how, upon that foundation, may be +built not the wood, hay and stubble of a wordy orthodoxy, but the +gold and silver and precious stones of an honest Christian life. + +This epistle, then, might be misleading if taken by itself; but it +becomes salutary if it is understood in its historical connections. +Far from disparaging Christian doctrine--as the modern Church is +tempted to suppose--it builds upon doctrine. In that it agrees with +the whole of the Bible. Christianity, as has been finely said, is +a life only because it is a doctrine. Only the great saving events +of the gospel have rendered possible a life like that which is +described in the Epistle of James. And where the gospel is really +accepted with heart as well as mind, that life of love will always +follow. + + +2. DATE AND AUTHENTICITY OF THE EPISTLE + +The view which will be held about the date of the Epistle of James +will depend very largely upon the interpretation of the passage +about faith and works. James 2:14-26. In that passage, some of the +same terms appear as are prominent in connection with the great +Judaistic controversy in which Paul was engaged from the time of +the Apostolic Council to the time of the third missionary journey. +Three views have been held with regard to the date of the Epistle +of James. The epistle may be regarded as written (1) before the +Judaistic controversy arose, (2) during that controversy or while it +was still fresh in men's minds, or (3) long after the controversy +had been settled. + +(=1=) =The Intermediate Date.=--The second of these three views may +be eliminated first. This intermediate view has the advantage of +placing the epistle within the lifetime of James. It can treat the +epistle as authentic. It has furthermore the advantage of explaining +the coincidences between James 2:14-26 and Rom., ch. 4. For if the +epistle was written at the very close of the lifetime of James--say +about A. D. 62, or, following Hegesippus, A. D. 66--the author may +have become acquainted with the Epistle to the Romans. + +But the difficulties of this view far overbalance the advantages. +If James was writing with Galatians and Romans before him, then +apparently in ch. 2:24 he intends to contradict those epistles. As +a matter of fact, however, as is shown in the Student's Text Book, +he does not really contradict them, but is in perfect harmony with +them. He has therefore gone out of his way in order to introduce a +formal contradiction of the great apostle to the Gentiles although +there is no real contradiction of meaning at all! What could he +possibly gain by such useless trouble-making? If James really wanted +to combat Paul's doctrine of justification by faith, he would have +done so very differently; and if he did not want to combat it, he +would certainly not have uselessly created the appearance of doing +so. + +Perhaps, however, James 2:14-26 is a refutation not of Paul but of +a misunderstanding of Paul. This also is very improbable. If the +passage was a refutation not of Paul but of a misunderstanding of +Paul, why did James not say so? Why did he not distinguish Paul +clearly from his misinterpreters? Instead he has indulged uselessly +in a formal contradiction of Paul, and has in refutation of a +misunderstanding of Paul not even used the abundant materials which +Paul himself could offer! And where was such a misunderstanding of +Paul possible in Jewish Christian circles of A. D. 62? + +What makes every form of this intermediate dating impossible is the +total absence from the epistle of any reference to the question of +the conditions upon which Gentiles were to be received into the +Church. In A. D. 62 this question had recently been the subject of +bitter controversy. At that time no one could have touched upon the +closely related topic of faith and works as James does and yet have +ignored so completely the controversial question. + +Evidently, therefore, the epistle was written either before the +Judaistic controversy arose or else long after it was over. + +(=2=) =The Late Date.=--The latter view makes the epistle a +pseudonymous work--it assumes that an unknown author has here tried +to enhance the influence of his work by putting it under the +name of the first head of the Jerusalem church. This is of itself +sufficient to refute the late dating. For the procedure of the +supposed falsifier is quite incomprehensible. He has chosen James as +the alleged author only because of the lofty position which James +held, and yet he has designated him in the first verse merely as a +simple Christian! The procedure of real forgers is very different. + +There are also, however, other objections to the late dating. +Would any writer in the second century, when the authority of Paul +was well established, have ventured to introduce such an apparent +contradiction of Paul as appears in James 2:24? In a writer of A. +D. 150 we should have had formal agreement with Paul and material +disagreement; in the Epistle of James we have formal disagreement +and material harmony. Apparent contradiction of expression combined +with perfect unity of thought is a sure sign of independence. The +Epistle of James has made no use of the epistles of Paul. + +Against this conclusion may be urged only the coincidence that +James and Paul both use the example of Abraham, and cite the same +verse, Gen. 15:6, with regard to him. But it must be remembered +that to every Jew Abraham offered the most obvious example in all +the Scriptures. It is possible, too, that the faith and works of +Abraham had in pre-Christian Jewish circles already been the subject +of controversy. Furthermore, James does not confine himself to +Abraham, but introduces Rahab also, who is not mentioned by Paul. +The coincidence between Paul and James is quite insufficient to +overbalance the clear evidence of independence. + +(=3=) =The Early Date.=--Only one hypothesis, then, suits the facts. +The Epistle of James was clearly written before the Judaistic +controversy became acute at the time of the Apostolic Council. In +the second chapter of the epistle, James has used the same terms +that became prominent in that controversy, but he has used them in +refuting a practical, not a theoretical, error--an error that is +related only indirectly to the great subject of Galatians and Romans. + + +3. UNDERLYING UNITY OF THE EPISTLE + +At first sight the Epistle of James seems to possess very little +unity. Topic follows topic often with little apparent connection. +But the connection between the individual sections is closer than +appears at first; and the epistle as a whole possesses at least a +perfect unity of spirit. + +(=1=) =Reality in Religion.=--The ruling tone of the epistle, +which may be detected beneath all the varying exhortations, is a +certain manly honesty, a certain fierce hatred of all sham and cant +and humbug and meanness. James is a stern advocate of a practical +religion. + +(=2=) =Supremacy of Religion.=--It must be noticed, however, that +the religion of this writer is none the less religious because it is +practical. James is no advocate of a "gospel of street-cleaning." On +the contrary he insists with characteristic vehemence upon personal +piety. The same writer who has been regarded as emphasizing works at +the expense of faith, who might be hailed as a leader of those who +would make religion terminate upon man rather than God, who might +be thought to disparage everything but "social service"--this same +writer is one of the most earnest advocates of prayer. James 1:5-8; +4:2,3; 5:14-18. This apostle of works, this supposed disparager +of faith, is almost bitter in his denunciation of unbelief! Ch. +1:6-8. God, not man, according to James, is the author of every +perfect gift. V. 17. Prayer is the remedy both for bodily and for +spiritual ills. Ch. 5:14-18. James lends no countenance to the +modern disparagement of religious devotion. The same uncompromising +severity with which he lashes an inactive religion is also applied +just as mercilessly to an irreligious activity. Ch. 4:13-15. James +does not attack religion in the interests of reality; he attacks +unreality in the interests of religion. + + +4. CONTENTS OF THE EPISTLE + +The opening of the epistle, like that of the letters contained in +Acts 15:23-29; 23:26-30, is constructed according to the regular +Greek form. + +After the opening, James speaks first of trials or temptations. +Rightly used they will lead to perfection. If, however, there +is still imperfection, it can be removed by prayer to God. The +imperfection which is here especially in view is an imperfection +in wisdom. Apparently the readers, like the Pharisees, had laid +an excessive stress upon knowledge. The true wisdom, says James, +can be obtained not by human pride, as the readers seem to think, +but only by prayer. Prayer, however, must be in faith--there must +be no wavering in it. Pride, indeed, is altogether blameworthy. +If there is to be boasting, it should certainly be not in earthly +wealth but in those spiritual blessings which often reverse earthly +distinctions. Returning to the subject of temptations, James insists +that in their evil they do not come from God, but from the depths +of man's own desires. From God comes no evil thing, but every +perfect gift; and in the gospel God has bestowed upon us his richest +blessing. + +That gospel must be received with all diligence. It will exclude +wrath and insincerity. True religion consists not merely in hearing +but in doing; good examples of the exercise of it are the visitation +of the fatherless and widows and the preservation of one's own +personal purity of life. + +Faith in Christ, James continues in similar vein, excludes all undue +respect of persons. Indeed God in his choice of those who should +be saved has especially favored the poor. The rich as a class are +rather the oppressors of the Christians. Surely then the Christians +should not favor rich men for selfish reasons. The law of love will +exclude all such unworthy conduct. + +That law of love requires an active life. Faith, if it be true +faith, leads to works. Away with a miserable faith that is expressed +only in words! + +Words, indeed, are dangerous. The tongue is a prolific source of +harm. Evil speech reveals the deep-seated corruption of the heart. +The readers must be careful, therefore, about seeking the work of a +teacher. The true wisdom, which fits a man to teach, is not of man's +acquiring, but comes from God. + +Quarreling--which was produced especially by the inordinate ambition +among the readers to pose as teachers--must be counteracted by +submission to God. + +The constant thought of God excludes all pride in human planning. +Especially the rich must reflect upon the transitoriness of earthly +possessions and above all must be sure that their wealth is honestly +gained. + +Finally, patient waiting for the Lord, the example of the Old +Testament saints, and the earnest practice of prayer will make +effective all the exhortations of the epistle. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Purves, "Christianity in the Apostolic Age," pp. +123-138. Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": Warfield, articles on +"James" and "James, Epistle of." M'Clymont, "The New Testament and +Its Writers," pp. 123-129. Knowling, "The Epistle of St. James." +"The Cambridge Bible for Schools": Plumptre, "The General Epistle of +St. James." Zahn, "Introduction to the New Testament," vol. i, pp. +73-151. The last-named work is intended primarily for those who have +some knowledge of Greek, but can also be used by others. + + + + +LESSON XXXIII + +JESUS THE FULFILLMENT OF THE OLD TESTAMENT + +The Epistle to the Hebrews + + +1. PAUL NOT THE AUTHOR + +(=1=) =The Tradition.=--At Alexandria in the latter part of the +second century Paul was thought to be the author of the Epistle +to the Hebrews; but in North Africa a little later Tertullian +attributed the epistle to Barnabas, and in other portions of the +Church the Pauline authorship was certainly not accepted. In the +west, the Pauline authorship was long denied and the inclusion of +the epistle in the New Testament resisted. At last the Alexandrian +view won universal acceptance. The Epistle to the Hebrews became an +accepted part of the New Testament, and was attributed to Paul. + +Clement of Alexandria, who had apparently received the tradition of +Pauline authorship from Pantænus, his predecessor, himself declares +that Hebrews was written by Paul in the "Hebrew" (Aramaic) language, +and was translated by Luke into Greek. The notion of a translation +by Luke was based upon no genuine historical tradition--Hebrews +is certainly an original Greek work--but was simply an hypothesis +constructed to explain the peculiarities of the epistle on the +supposition that it was a work of Paul. + +(=2=) =The Value of the Tradition.=--The tradition of Pauline +authorship is clearly very weak. If Paul had been the author, +it is hard to see why the memory of the fact should have been +lost so generally in the Church. No one in the early period had +any objection to the epistle; on the contrary it was very highly +regarded. If, then, it had really been written by Paul, the Pauline +authorship would have been accepted everywhere with avidity. The +negative testimony of the Roman church is particularly significant. +The epistle was quoted by Clement of Rome at about A. D. 95; yet +at Rome as elsewhere in the West the epistle seems never in the +early period to have been regarded as Pauline. In other words, just +where acquaintance with the epistle can be traced farthest back, +the denial of Pauline authorship seems to have been most insistent. +If Clement of Rome had regarded Paul as the author, the history of +Roman opinion about the epistle would have been very different. + +On the other hand, on the supposition that there was originally no +tradition of Pauline authorship, the subsequent prevalence of such +a tradition is easily explained. It was due simply to the evident +apostolic authority of the epistle itself. From the start, Hebrews +was felt to be an authoritative work. Being authoritative, it would +be collected along with other authoritative works. Since it was +an epistle, and exhibited a certain Pauline quality of spirit and +subject, it would naturally be associated with the other works of +the greatest letter writer of the apostolic age. Being thus included +in a collection of the Pauline Epistles, and being regarded as of +apostolic authority, what was more natural than to attribute it +to the apostle Paul? Such, very possibly, was the origin of the +Alexandrian tradition. + +This tradition did not win immediate acceptance, because the rest +of the Church was still aware that the epistle was not written by +Paul. What led to the final conquest of the Pauline tradition was +simply the character of the book itself. The question of Pauline +authorship, in the case of this book, became connected with the +question of apostolic authority. The Church had to choose between +rejecting the book altogether, and accepting it as Pauline. When +she finally adopted the latter alternative, undoubtedly she chose +the lesser error. It was an error to regard the epistle as the work +of Paul; but it would have been a far greater error to exclude +it from the New Testament. As a matter of fact, though the book +was not written by Paul, it was written, if not by one of the +other apostles, at least by an "apostolic man" like Mark or Luke. +Scarcely any book of the New Testament bears clearer marks of true +apostolicity. + +(=3=) =Internal Evidence.=--The argument against Pauline +authorship which is derived from tradition is strongly supported +by the contents of the epistle itself. In the first place, it is +exceedingly doubtful whether Paul could have spoken of himself as +having had the Christian salvation confirmed to him by those who had +heard the Lord. Heb. 2:3. Knowledge of the earthly life of Jesus +was indeed conveyed to Paul by ordinary word of mouth from the +eyewitnesses; but the gospel itself, as he insists with vehemence +in Galatians, was revealed to him directly by Christ. In the second +place, the style of the epistle is very different from that of Paul, +being, as we shall see, far more carefully wrought. In the third +place, the thoughts developed in Hebrews, though undoubtedly they +are in perfect harmony with the Pauline Epistles, are by no means +characteristically Pauline. It is a little hard to understand, +for example, how Paul could have written at such length about the +law without speaking of justification by faith or the reception +of Gentiles into the Church. This last argument, however, must +not be exaggerated. Undoubtedly Paul would have agreed heartily +to everything that Hebrews contains. Paul and the author of this +epistle have developed merely somewhat different sides of the same +great truth. + + +2. WHO WAS THE AUTHOR? + +If Paul did not write the Epistle to the Hebrews, who did write it? +Prodigious labor has been expended upon this question, but with +very little result. In ancient times, Barnabas, Luke and Clement of +Rome, were each regarded as the author. Of these three views the +first is most probable; the second is exceedingly unlikely; and +the last is clearly impossible. Whoever wrote the epistle, Clement +certainly did not. The letter which we possess from his pen is +immeasurably inferior to the apostolic writings to which Hebrews +certainly belongs. Clement was a humble reader of Hebrews, not the +author of it. Luther was inclined to regard Apollos as the possible +author of Hebrews; and of all the many suggestions that have been +made, this is perhaps the best. Undoubtedly the circumstances +and training of Apollos were in a number of respects like those +which might naturally be attributed to the author of the epistle. +Apollos was closely associated with Paul, and perhaps at a later +time with others of the apostles, just as might be expected of the +author of an apostolic work such as Hebrews. On the other hand, +like the author of the epistle, he was not an eyewitness of the +life of Jesus. Compare Heb. 2:4. Like the author of the epistle he +was no doubt acquainted with Timothy. Compare ch. 13:23. He was +an "eloquent" or "learned" man, Acts 18:24, who might well have +produced the splendid rhetoric of the epistle. He was a Jew and +mighty in the Scriptures, as was also the author of Hebrews. He +was a native of Alexandria, the university city of the period, and +the seat of a large Jewish community, where just that combination +of Greek rhetorical training with Scriptural knowledge which is +exhibited in the epistle is most naturally to be sought. + +These indications, however, can merely show that Apollos might +conceivably have written the epistle; they do not show that he did +write it. The authorship of this powerful work will always remain +uncertain. How little we know, after all, of the abounding life of +the apostolic Church! + + +3. WHERE WERE THE READERS? + +In the Student's Text Book, it has been shown that the readers +of the epistle were probably members of some rather narrowly +circumscribed community. Where this community was is by no means +clear. The one indication of place which the epistle contains +is ambiguous. In ch. 13:24 it is said, "They of Italy salute +you." These words may mean that the author is in Italy and sends +greetings from the Christians of that country, or they may mean that +the author is outside of Italy and sends greetings from Italian +Christians who happened to be with him. In the latter case, probably +the readers were in Italy; for otherwise they would have no special +interest in the Italian Christians. All that we can say is then that +the epistle was probably written either from Italy or to Italy. If +it was written from Italy, then since the readers were Jews, it is +natural to seek them in Palestine. The Palestinian Christians were +"Hebrews" in the narrower, linguistic sense of the word, as well as +in the broader, national sense. The ancient heading of the epistle +thus comes to its full rights. On the other hand the Palestinian +hypothesis faces some rather grave difficulties. If the readers are +to be sought in Italy, then perhaps they formed a Jewish Christian +community in Rome or in some other Italian city. The question cannot +be settled with any certainty. The destination of the epistle is an +even greater riddle than the authorship. + + +4. WHEN WAS THE EPISTLE WRITTEN? + +The Epistle to the Hebrews was certainly written before A. D. 95, +for at about that time it was quoted by Clement of Rome. The mention +of Timothy in ch. 13:23 perhaps does not carry us much farther, for +Timothy, who was a grown man at about A. D. 50, Acts 16:1-3, may +have lived till the end of the first century. The epistle, however, +does not bear any of the marks of late origin. The question of date +is closely connected with the question whether in the epistle the +temple at Jerusalem is regarded as still standing. This question +cannot be settled with certainty. But on the whole the continuance +of the Levitical ceremonies seems to be assumed in the epistle, +and at any rate there is no clear reference to their cessation. +Probably therefore the Epistle to the Hebrews was written before the +destruction of Jerusalem in A. D. 70. + + +5. HEBREWS A LITERARY WORK + +The Epistle to the Hebrews is a product of conscious literary art. +The rhetoric of Paul is unconscious; even such passages as the +first few chapters of First Corinthians or the eighth chapter of +Romans may have been composed with the utmost rapidity. The author +of Hebrews probably went differently to work. Such sentences as +Heb. 1:1-4, even in an inspired writer, can only be the result of +diligent labor. By long practice the writer of Hebrews had acquired +that feeling for rhythm and balance of phrase, that facility in +the construction of smooth-flowing periods, which give to his +epistle its distinctive quality among the New Testament books. +Greek rhetoric of the Hellenistic age, freed from its hollow +artificiality, is here laid under contribution for the Saviour's +praise. + +The presence of such a book in the New Testament is highly salutary. +Devout Christians in their enthusiasm for the simplicity of the +gospel are sometimes in danger of becoming one-sided. They are +sometimes inclined to confuse simplicity with ugliness, and then to +prize ugliness for its own sake. It is perfectly true that the value +of the gospel is quite independent of æsthetic niceties, and that +the language of the New Testament is for the most part very simple. +But it is not true that the simplicity of the New Testament has +anything in common with the bad taste of some modern phraseology, or +that eloquence is of itself evil. The Epistle to the Hebrews shows +by a noble example that there is such a thing as Christian art. The +majestic sentences of this ancient masterpiece, with their exquisite +clearness and liturgic rhythm and uplifting power, have contributed +inestimably to the Christian conception of the Saviour. The art of +Hebrews is not art for art's sake, but art for the sake of Christ. +Literary perfection is here combined with profound genuineness and +apostolic fervor; art is here ennobled by consecration. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Purves, "Christianity in the Apostolic Age," pp. +164, 165, 265-267, 286-289. Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": +Purves, article on "Hebrews, Epistle to the." M'Clymont, "The New +Testament and Its Writers," pp. 116-122. Ellicott, "A New Testament +Commentary for English Readers," vol. iii, pp. 275-348: Moulton, +"The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews." Westcott, "The +Epistle to the Hebrews." Zahn, "Introduction to the New Testament," +vol. ii, pp. 293-366. The two last-named works are intended +primarily for those who have some knowledge of Greek, but can also +be used by others. + + + + +LESSON XXXIV + +CHRISTIAN FORTITUDE + +The First Epistle of Peter + + +1. SEPARATION FROM THE WORLD + +The First Epistle of Peter is the epistle of separateness. The +modern Church is in grave danger of forgetting the distinctiveness +of her gospel and the glorious isolation of her position. She is +too often content to be merely one factor in civilization, a means +of improving the world instead of the instrument in creating a new +world. + +The first readers of the epistle were subject to a similar danger, +though it arose from a somewhat different cause. To-day we are no +longer subject to persecution; but the danger is fundamentally +the same. The world's friendship may be even more disastrous than +the world's hatred. The readers of First Peter were tempted to +relinquish what was distinctive in their faith in order to avoid +the hostility of their heathen neighbors; we are tempted to do the +same thing because the superficial respectability of modern life +has put a gloss of polite convention over the profound differences +that divide the inner lives of men. We, as well as the first readers +of the epistle, need to be told that this world is lost in sin, +that the blood of Christ has ransomed an elect race from the city +of destruction, that the high privileges of the Christian calling +demand spotless purity and unswerving courage. + +(=1=) =The Character of the Persecution.=--The character of the +persecution to which the readers of the epistle were subjected +cannot be determined with perfect clearness. It is not even certain +that the Christian profession in itself was regarded officially as +a crime. Apparently charges of positive misconduct were needed to +give countenance to the persecutors. I Peter 2:12. The Christians +needed to be warned that there is no heroism in suffering if the +suffering is the just punishment of misdeeds. Chs. 2:20; 4:15. What +particular charges were brought against the Christians it is of +course difficult to determine. Perhaps they were sometimes charged +with gross crimes such as murder or theft. But a more frequent +accusation was probably "hatred of the human race," or the like. The +Christians were thought to be busybodies. In setting the world to +rights they seemed to meddle in other people's affairs. In claiming +to be citizens of a heavenly kingdom, they seemed indifferent or +hostile to earthly relationships. As subjects of the emperor and of +his representatives, the Christians were thought to be disloyal; as +slaves, they seemed disobedient. + +(=2=) =Duties of Earthly Life.=--In view of these accusations, +Peter urges his readers to avoid all improper employment of their +Christian freedom. Christian freedom does not mean license; +Christian independence does not mean indifference. There is no +reason why a good Christian should be a bad citizen, even of a +heathen state, ch. 2:13-17, or an unprofitable servant, even of +a harsh master, vs. 18-25, or a quarrelsome wife, even of an +unconverted husband. Ch. 3:1-6. On the contrary, Christians must +approve themselves not only in the spiritual realm, but also in the +ordinary relationships of this life. + +(=3=) =Application to Modern Conditions.=--Here again the lesson is +important for the present day. Now as always fervent realization of +the transcendent glory of Christianity tends sometimes to result +in depreciation of ordinary duties. Men of exceptional piety +sometimes seem to feel that civilization is unworthy of their +attention, even if it is not actually a work of Satan. Of all such +vagaries the First Epistle of Peter is the best corrective. Truth +is here admirably guarded against the error that lurks at its root. +The very epistle that emphasizes the separateness of the Church +from the world, that teaches Christian people to look down upon +earthly affairs from the vantage ground of heaven, is just the +epistle that inculcates sober and diligent conduct in the various +relationships of earthly life. In the effort at a higher morality, +the simple, humble virtues that even the world appreciates should +not be neglected; piety should involve no loss of common sense. Now +as always the Christian should be ready to give a reason for the +faith that is in him; now as always he should be able to refute +the slanders of the world; now as always he should commend his +Christianity by his good citizenship. Only so will the example of +Christ be fully followed. Jesus was in possession of a transcendent +message; but he lived the life of a normal man. The Christian, too, +is a man with a divine mission; but like his Master he must exercise +his mission in the turmoil of life. He must not be a spoilsport at +feasts; his is no desert rôle like John the Baptist's. Christianity +has a mission from without; but its mission is fulfilled in loving +contact with the world of men. + +(=4=) =The Christian's Defense.=--The Christians who suffered +persecution should first of all, according to Peter, defend +themselves to the very best of their ability. They should do their +best to remove dishonor from the name of Christ. They should show +the baselessness of the accusations which are brought against +them. Then, if they still suffer, it will be clearly suffering for +Christ's sake. Such suffering is glorious. It is a test from which +faith emerges strong and sure, ch. 1:7; it is true conformity to the +example of Christ. Chs. 2:21-24; 3:18; 4:1,13. + + +2. THE DATE OF THE PERSECUTIONS + +From the persecutions presupposed in First Peter no very certain +conclusion can be drawn with regard to the date of the epistle. +A late date has sometimes been inferred from such passages as I +Peter 4:16. Christians were not punished as Christians, it is said, +until the beginning of the second century, and especially no such +persecution was carried out in the early period throughout the whole +empire. Ch. 5:9. + +This argument breaks down at a number of points. In the first +place, as has already been observed, it is by no means clear that +First Peter presupposes a persecution of the Christians simply as +Christians. Apparently special charges of immorality were still in +the foreground, though these charges were often mere pretexts in +order to secure the punishment of members of the hated sect. + +In the second place, it is not clear exactly when Christians first +began to be punished as "Christians" by the Roman authorities. +Undoubtedly the legal basis for such persecution was present as +soon as Christianity began to be regarded as separate from Judaism. +Judaism had a legal status; Christianity, strictly speaking, had +none. + + +3. DEPENDENCE AND ORIGINALITY + +First Peter is clearly dependent upon a number of the Pauline +Epistles, and apparently also upon the Epistle of James. The +dependence, however, is by no means slavish; the epistle possesses +marked characteristics of its own. As compared with Paul, for +example, First Peter is somewhat simpler both in thought and in +expression. No mere imitator, but a genuine personality, speaks to +us from the noble simplicity of these pages. + + +4. COMPARISON WITH THE SPEECHES OF PETER + +It is interesting to compare this epistle with the early +speeches of Peter that are recorded in The Acts. Part of the +difference--similarities also have been pointed out--no doubt, +was due to the difference in the persons addressed. In those early +speeches, Peter was preaching to unconverted Jews, and had to +content himself with a few outstanding facts. In the epistle, he +was addressing Christians, before whom he could lay bare the deep +things of the faith. Nevertheless, the passing years had brought a +change in Peter himself. Upon him as upon everyone else the mighty +influence of Paul made itself felt; and even the revelation which +came directly to him was progressive. The essence of the gospel +was present from the beginning; but the rich unfolding of it which +appears in First Peter was the product of long years spent in an +ever-widening service. + + +5. THE STYLE OF THE EPISTLE + +The style of First Peter, though not at all rhetorical, like that +of Hebrews, is smooth and graceful. It has often been considered +strange that a fisherman of Galilee should have been so proficient +in Greek. But probably we have an exaggerated notion of the poverty +and roughness of the first disciples of Jesus. Undoubtedly they had +not enjoyed a rabbinical education; in the technical Jewish sense +they were "unlearned and ignorant men." Acts 4:13. Nevertheless, +they clearly did not belong at all to the lowest of the population; +Peter in particular seems to have been possessed of considerable +property. Furthermore, it must be remembered that Greek culture +in the first century was making itself felt very extensively in +Galilee. No doubt Peter could use Greek even before he left Galilee, +and in the course of his later life his linguistic attainments must +have been very greatly improved. It is by no means impossible that +he wrote First Peter entirely without assistance. + + +6. SILVANUS + +In order, however, to account for the linguistic excellence of this +epistle, and in particular for the striking difference between it +and Second Peter, a rather attractive hypothesis has been proposed. +In I Peter 5:12, Peter says: "By Silvanus, our faithful brother, as +I account him, I have written unto you briefly." Undoubtedly these +words may designate Silvanus merely as the messenger who carried +the letter to its destination. Compare Acts 15:23. It is also +possible, however, that Peter meant to say that Silvanus had written +the letter under his direction. In that case the thought would be +due altogether to Peter; but the form, to some extent at least, +would be the work of Silvanus. The hypothesis, of course, is only +plausible, not necessary. There are other ways of accounting for the +peculiarities of the epistle. + +In all probability, the Silvanus of First Peter is the same as +the Silvanus of the Pauline Epistles and the Silas of The Acts. +If so, his association with Peter is altogether natural; he was +originally a member of the Jerusalem church. If, in accordance with +the hypothesis which has just been mentioned, Silvanus was really +concerned in the composition of the epistle, the choice of such a +man for the task was, as has been pointed out by the chief advocate +of the hypothesis, exceedingly wise. Silvanus, who had been a +companion of Paul and his associate in founding many of the churches +of Asia Minor, would be just the man who could find the right tone +in writing to the churches to which the epistle is addressed. + + +7. MARK + +The appearance of Mark in I Peter 5:13 confirms the strong tradition +which makes Mark a disciple of Peter and associates him with Peter +in the production of the Second Gospel. The only two individuals +whom Peter mentions in his First Epistle were both natives of +Jerusalem, and both, during part of their lives, companions of +Paul. The unity of the apostolic Church was preserved not only by a +unity of spirit, but also by the changing associations of Christian +workers. + + +8. FORTITUDE IN THE MODERN CHURCH + +The First Epistle of Peter has a varied message to the Church of +to-day. Even in its exhortations to bravery and steadfastness it is +very much needed. We are not subject to persecution by the state, +but still there are a thousand circumstances of life in which we +need to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, casting all +our anxiety upon him, because he careth for us. Ch. 5:6,7. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Purves, "Christianity in the Apostolic Age," +pp. 267, 275-282. Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": Warfield +(supplemented), article on "Peter." M'Clymont, "The New Testament +and Its Writers," pp. 130-136. Ellicott, "A New Testament Commentary +for English Readers," vol. iii, pp. 385-436: Mason, "The First +Epistle of St. Peter." Zahn, "Introduction to the New Testament," +vol. ii, pp. 134-194. The last-named work is intended primarily for +those who have some knowledge of Greek, but can also be used by +others. + + + + +LESSON XXXV + +THE CHRISTIAN'S ATTITUDE TOWARD ERROR AND IMMORALITY + +The Second Epistle of Peter and the Epistle of Jude + + +1. AUTHENTICITY + +The Second Epistle of Peter and the Epistle of Jude are among +the least known and most seriously questioned parts of the New +Testament. Even in ancient times their authenticity was disputed; in +the third and fourth centuries there were some at least who desired +to exclude them from the New Testament. These ancient doubts have +been continued in the modern Church. By very many scholars of the +present day, Second Peter and Jude are assigned to second-century +writers who falsely assumed the names of an apostle and of a brother +of the Lord. + +Against such views as these, a number of arguments might be +employed. But the strongest argument of all is provided by +the self-witness of the epistles themselves. Second Peter, in +particular, not only lays claim to apostolic authorship in the +address, but is written throughout in the name of an apostle. Either +it was really written by an apostle or else it was a deliberate +fraud. The latter alternative is excluded by the epistle itself. +Second Peter does not look at all like a pseudonymous work, but is +a weighty bit of writing, full of the sincerest moral earnestness. +Both Second Peter and Jude ring true, with the genuine apostolic +note. + + +2. SECOND PETER AND FIRST PETER + +Resemblances have often been pointed out among all three divisions +of the New Testament material attributed to Peter. Second Peter has +been shown to resemble not only First Peter, but also the speeches +of Peter as they are reported in The Acts. Such similarities of +course point to a common authorship. It cannot be denied, however, +that differences stand side by side with the similarities. In the +comparison of the epistles with the speeches, such differences are +of course not surprising. The total difference of subject and the +wide interval of time provide an amply sufficient explanation. But +how is it with the difference between Second Peter and First Peter? + +(=1=) =Difference of Purpose and Subject.=--In the first place, the +difference may be partly explained by the difference of purpose and +subject. First Peter is a presentation of the glories of the faith +in order to encourage Christians under trial and make them feel +their separateness from the world; Second Peter is a solemn warning +against dangerous perverters of the life of the Church. + +(=2=) =Difference of Time.=--In the second place, a considerable +interval of time may separate the two epistles. Here we find +ourselves on uncertain ground. On the whole it is perhaps better to +put the epistles near together at the close of Peter's life. + +(=3=) =Work of Silvanus.=--In the third place, recourse may be had +to the hypothesis, mentioned in the last lesson, which attributes a +considerable share in the composition of First Peter to Silvanus. + +(=4=) =Conclusion.=--Finally, there may be still further +possibilities of explanation which cannot now be detected. The +differences of style and of thought between the two epistles of +Peter are far from sufficient to show diversity of authorship, and +it must be remembered that similarities are to be balanced against +the differences. + + +3. VALUE OF SECOND PETER AND JUDE + +Although Second Peter and Jude are not so familiar as most of the +New Testament, yet even these two brief epistles have entered deep +into the mind and heart of the Church. + +(=1=) =Expressive Phrases.=--Even the inimitably expressive phrases +and sentences that have been derived from the epistles have produced +no small enrichment of Christian life. The "exceeding great and +precious promises," and the "partakers of the divine nature" of II +Peter 1:4, the chain of virtues in vs. 5-7, the "make your calling +and election sure" of v. 10, the "sure word of prophecy" of v. 19, +the description of inspired prophecy in vs. 20, 21--"no prophecy of +the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy +came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake +as they were moved by the Holy Ghost"--the "vexed his righteous +soul" of ch. 2:8, the "railing accusation" of v. 11; Jude 9, the +"stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance" of II Peter 3:1, +the "not willing that any should perish, but that all should come +to repentance" of v. 9, the "faith which was once delivered unto +the saints" of Jude 3, the magnificent doxology of vs. 24, 25--a +review of these passages as they appear in the King James Version +will bring some realization of the profound influence which even the +most obscure books of the New Testament have exerted both upon the +English language and upon the character of Christian men. + +The influence of Second Peter and Jude, however, is not merely +the influence of isolated phrases. The epistles as a whole have a +distinctive message for the Church. That message is twofold. It +embraces in the first place an emphasis upon authority, and in the +second place an insistence upon holiness. + +(=2= =)The Emphasis Upon Authority.=--The adversaries who are +combated in Second Peter and Jude were impatient of restraint. +Apparently they distinguished themselves, as possessing the Spirit, +from the ordinary Christians, as being merely "natural." Jude 5, 19; +II Peter 2:12. They appealed to their own deeper insight, instead of +listening to what apostles and prophets had to say. In reply, Peter +and Jude insisted upon the authority of the Old Testament prophets, +and upon the authority of the apostles, which was ultimately the +authority of Christ. See especially II Peter 3:2. + +A similar insistence upon authority is greatly needed to-day. +Again men are inclined to appeal to an inward light as justifying +freedom from ancient restraints; the Christian consciousness is +being exalted above the Bible. At such a time, renewed attention +to Second Peter and Jude would be salutary. False notions are rife +to-day with regard to apostolic authority. They can be corrected +by our epistles. Peter as well as Paul exerts his authority not in +an official or coldly ecclesiastical way, but with an inimitable +brotherliness. The authority of the apostles is the authority of +good news. Subjection to such authority is perfect freedom. + +The authority which Peter and Jude urge upon their readers is a +double authority--in the first place the authority of the Old +Testament, and in the second place the authority of Christ exerted +through the apostles. For us, however, the two become one. The +apostles, like the Old Testament prophets, speak to us only through +the Bible. We need to learn the lesson. A return to the Bible is the +deepest need of the modern Church. It would mean a return to God. + +(=3=) =Insistence Upon Holiness.=--The second characteristic of +Second Peter and Jude is the insistence upon holiness. Religion +is by no means always connected with goodness. In the Greco-Roman +world, the two were often entirely separate. Many pagan cults +contained no ethical element whatever. The danger was therefore very +great that Christianity might be treated in the same way. The early +Christians needed to be admonished ever and again that their God was +a God of righteousness, that no unclean thing could stand in his +presence. + +Insistence upon holiness is in itself no peculiarity of Second +Peter and Jude. It runs all through the New Testament. But in these +epistles it is directed more definitely perhaps than anywhere else +against the opposite error. The opponents of Peter and Jude did +not merely drift into immorality; they defended it on theoretical +grounds. They were making a deliberate effort to reduce Christianity +to the level of a non-ethical religion. Such theoretical defense of +immorality appears, indeed, in a number of places in the apostolic +Church. A certain party in Corinth, for example, made a wrong +use of Christian freedom. But what is more or less incidental in +First Corinthians forms the main subject of Second Peter and Jude. +Christianity is here insisting upon its thoroughly ethical character. + +At first sight the message might seem obsolete to-day. We always +associate religion with morality; we can hardly understand how the +two ever could have been separated. It is to be feared, however, +that the danger is not altogether past. In our thoughts we preserve +the ethical character of Christianity. But how is it with our lives? +How is it with our religious observances? Are we not constantly in +danger of making religion a mere cult, a mere emotional excitement, +a mere means of gaining earthly or heavenly advantages, a mere +effort to bribe God by our worship? The danger is always with us. +We need always to remind ourselves that Christian faith must work +itself out in holy living. + +Peter in his second epistle has provided us with one important means +to that end. It is the thought of Christ's coming. There can be no +laxness in moral effort if we remember the judgment seat of Christ. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Purves, "Christianity in the Apostolic Age," +pp. 267-270, 282-285. Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": Warfield +(supplemented), article on "Jude." M'Clymont, "The New Testament and +Its Writers," pp. 137-143. Ellicott, "A New Testament Commentary +for English Readers," vol. iii, pp. 437-463, 505-519: Plummer, +"The Second Epistle of St. Peter" and "The Epistle of St. Jude." +Zahn, "Introduction to the New Testament," vol. ii, pp. 194-293. +The last-named work is intended primarily for those who have some +knowledge of Greek, but can also be used by others. + + + + +LESSON XXXVI + +THE LIFE OF THE CHILDREN OF GOD + +The Epistles of John + + +1. AUTHORSHIP OF THE FIRST EPISTLE + +The First Epistle of John does not contain the name of its author. +According to tradition, however, it was written by the apostle +John, and tradition is here supported by the characteristics of the +epistle itself. The author of the epistle was evidently the same as +the author of the Fourth Gospel. The marked similarity in style can +be explained in no other way. Even the careless reader observes that +the style of the Fourth Gospel is very peculiar. Short sentences are +joined to one another with the utmost simplicity; the vocabulary is +limited, but contains expressions of extraordinary richness; the +total effect is singularly powerful. These same characteristics, +though they are so peculiar, appear also in the epistle. There is +the same simplicity of sentence structure, the same use of such +terms as "life" and "light" and "love," the same indescribable +spirit and tone. Yet the epistle is no slavish imitation of the +Gospel--differences stand side by side with the similarities. These +two works are evidently related, not as model and copy, but as +living productions of the same remarkable personality. + + +2. TESTIMONY OF AN EYEWITNESS + +As in the Gospel, so also in the epistle the author presents himself +clearly as an eyewitness of the life of Jesus, I John 1:1-3; 4:14; +as in the Gospel he lays stress upon simple testimony. Even those +things which have just been noticed as characteristic of his style +are connected ultimately with the teaching of Jesus. In both Gospel +and epistle, the beloved disciple has reproduced what he heard +in Galilee and in Judea, though in both he has made the memory a +living, spiritual fact. + + +3. DESTINATION AND DATE + +The First Epistle of John is perhaps scarcely to be called an +epistle at all. Practically all the characteristics of a letter are +missing. There is no address; there is no greeting at the close; +there are no personal details. The readers are indeed referred to +in the second person; but preachers as well as letter-writers say, +"you." First John is a sort of general address written probably to +some extended group of churches. + +These churches are probably to be sought in Asia Minor. Throughout +the epistle the readers are addressed in a fatherly tone. See, for +example, ch. 2:1. Evidently the writer was well known as a sort of +patriarch throughout an extended region. Such conditions prevailed +in Asia Minor after the apostle John had begun to reside at Ephesus. +Trustworthy tradition as well as the New Testament informs us of a +period in the apostle's life when he had outlived all or most of +the other apostles and was revered as the head of the Asian church. +At some time within this period--probably nearer the end than the +beginning--the First Epistle of John was written. + + +4. THE FALSE TEACHERS + +The form of error against which the epistle is directed becomes +clearest, perhaps in ch. 4:2,3. The false teachers had denied that +Jesus Christ was come in the flesh. This may be interpreted in +several different ways. + +(=1=) =Docetism.=--In the first place, John may mean that the +opponents simply denied the reality of the earthly life of Jesus. +Such a form of error is by no means unknown in the history of the +Church. It is called "Docetism." According to Docetism the Son of +God did not really live a human life--with human sufferings and a +human death--but only appeared to do so. + +(=2=) =Cerinthus.=--In the second place, the meaning of the passage +may be that the opponents denied the unity of the person of Jesus +Christ. Compare ch. 2:22. Some persons in the early Church supposed +that there were two separate persons in the figure that is described +in the Gospels. A heavenly being, the Christ, it was thought, united +himself with the man Jesus at the time when the dove descended after +the baptism. Matt. 3:16,17. Such was the view of Cerinthus, who is +declared by tradition to have been an opponent of the apostle John +at Ephesus. It has been suggested, therefore, that it was actually +Cerinthus, with his disciples, who is combated in the First Epistle +of John. + +(=3=) =Denial of the Incarnation.=--Both Cerinthus and the Docetists +denied the reality of the incarnation--both denied that the Son of +God actually assumed a human nature and lived a complete human life. +According to Cerinthus and others like him, the Christ stood only +in somewhat loose relation to the man Jesus. He was united with him +only late in life, he left him before the crucifixion. On this view, +it was not the Christ who lay in the manger at Bethlehem, it was not +the Christ who suffered on the cross. Cerinthus, like the Docetists, +kept the Son of God out of any close relation to the world and to us. + +(=4=) =John's Reply.=--Against some such view as one of these, John +was concerned to establish the reality of the incarnation--the truth +that "the Word became flesh." In the Gospel, that truth underlies +the whole of the narrative; in the First Epistle it is directly +defended against the opposing error. It is defended first of all +by an appeal to what the writer had seen and heard. "We knew Jesus +in Palestine," says John in effect, "and we can testify that Jesus +himself was none other than the Christ, the Son of God." I John, +1:1-4. + +(=5=) =John, the Opponents, and Cerinthus.=--The false teachers who +are combated in the epistle had apparently withdrawn from the Church +and formed a separate sect. I John 2:19. Their separateness of mind +and heart and life had found expression in open schism. Whether +they are to be identified with disciples of Cerinthus is at least +doubtful. False speculation about the person of Christ no doubt +assumed many forms in the closing years of the first century. + + +5. CONNECTION BETWEEN THE SECOND AND THE THIRD EPISTLE + +In III John 9, the apostle tells Gaius that he had written "somewhat +unto the church." This letter to the church may have been written +at some previous time. It is also possible, however, that it was +written together with the letter to Gaius. The Greek word for +"I wrote" admits of that interpretation. If that interpretation +be correct, then John perhaps means to say that although he has +written a letter to the church he could not in that letter urge +the hospitable reception of the missionaries. For the present, the +influence of Diotrephes was too strong. The letter to the church had +to be concerned with other matters. + +If this view of the letter mentioned in III John 9 be adopted, then +the Second Epistle of John corresponds to the description. The +Second Epistle is addressed to a church, and it is written with +some reserve. If "certain" of the children of "the elect lady" +were walking in truth, II John 4, the inference is that others +were conducting themselves very differently. Evidently there was +danger of false teaching among the readers. Hospitality to men like +Demetrius and his companions could hardly be expected of such a +church. If hospitality should be practiced, it was only too likely +to be hospitality to men of a very different stamp. Vs. 10, 11. + +Possibly, therefore, the Second Epistle of John is actually the +letter that is referred to in III John 9, a letter to the church +of which Gaius was a member. This hypothesis is supported by +the striking formal similarity of the two letters. They are of +almost exactly the same length; the openings and especially the +conclusions, II John 12, 13; III John 13, 14, are couched in almost +exactly the same terms. They look very much like twin epistles, +written on two sheets of papyrus of the same size. + +Of course the hypothesis is by no means certain. Perhaps the +letter referred to in III John 9 was a previous letter bespeaking +hospitality, which had failed of its effect. When the apostle saw, +from the answer or lack of answer to the previous letter, that the +church was ill disposed, he had recourse to an individual member of +it. Even in this case, however, it remains probable that our two +epistles were written at about the same time. + + +6. VALUE OF THE SHORTER EPISTLES + +These last two epistles of John do not deserve the neglect which +they have sometimes suffered. Despite their brevity--they are the +shortest books of the New Testament--they are instructive in a +number of ways. + +(=1=) =Historical.=--It is exceedingly interesting, for example, +to compare them with the private letters of the same period which +have recently been discovered in Egypt--see Lesson III, Teacher's +Manual, in this course. In form, the opening of the Third Epistle +is very much in the manner of the papyrus letters. Compare, for +example, with III John 1-4 the following opening of a letter of the +second century after Christ: "Apion to Epimachus his father and lord +heartiest greetings. First of all I pray that you are in health and +continually prosper and fare well with my sister and daughter and +my brother. I thank the lord Serapis...." (The translation is that +of Professor Milligan. See p. 20 of Teacher's Manual, Part I, of +this course.) The differences, however, are even more instructive +than the resemblances. What was said in Lesson I about the epistles +of Paul applies in full measure to the epistles of John. Even the +epistolary forms are here modified so as to be the vehicle of a new +message and a new spirit. + +Furthermore, the two epistles, especially Third John, cast a flood +of light upon the internal development of the Church. In one +respect indeed the historical significance of the Third Epistle has +sometimes been exaggerated. It is not true that we have here the +emergence of the monarchical episcopate--that is, the preëminence +of one presbyter, called a "bishop," over his brother presbyters. +Diotrephes does not appear clearly as a bishop. At about A. D. 110 +in the epistles of Ignatius the episcopate is very prominent; but +Third John belongs to an earlier period. + +Nevertheless, this concrete picture of the internal affairs of +a late first-century church is absolutely unique. The period is +very obscure; these few brief lines illumine it more than pages of +narrative. The traveling preachers of Third John are particularly +interesting. Similar missionaries appear also in the "Didache," a +sort of church manual which may probably be dated in the early part +of the second century. In that later period, however, care had to be +taken lest the hospitality of the churches should be abused. "But +let every apostle," says the writer--the word "apostle" is used in +a very broad sense to designate wandering preachers--"who comes to +you be received as the Lord. He shall remain, however, no more than +one day, or if necessary two. If he remains three days he is a false +prophet." Such precautions, we may be sure, were not needed in the +case of Demetrius and his companions. + +(=2=) =Practical.=--Despite its individual address and private +character, the Third Epistle of John is not an ordinary private +letter. Like all the books of the New Testament, it has a message +for the entire Church. The devout reader rises from the perusal of +it with a more steadfast devotion to the truth and a warmer glow of +Christian love. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Purves, "Christianity in the Apostolic Age," +pp. 272-274, 294-308. Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": Purves +(supplemented), article on "John, Epistles of." M'Clymont, "The New +Testament and Its Writers," pp. 144-149. Ellicott, "A New Testament +Commentary for English Readers," vol. iii, pp. 467-502: Sinclair, +"The Epistles of St. John." Westcott, "The Epistles of St. John." +Zahn, "Introduction to the New Testament," vol. iii, pp. 355-384. +The two last-named works are intended primarily for those who have +some knowledge of Greek, but can also be used by others. + + + + +LESSON XXXVII + +THE MESSAGES OF THE LIVING CHRIST + +The Book of Revelation (First Lesson) + + +1. THE APOCALYPSE AND THE GOSPEL OF JOHN + +In the Student's Text Book it was maintained that the Apocalypse was +written by John the son of Zebedee. The strongest objection to this +view is to be found in the striking difference of language and style +which exists between the Apocalypse on the one side and the Gospel +and Epistles of John on the other. The style of the Apocalypse is +extraordinarily rough; in it the most elementary laws of Greek +grammar are sometimes disregarded. Such peculiarities appear +scarcely at all in the Gospel; the language of the Gospel, though +simple, is perfectly grammatical. + +This observation has led many scholars to decide that the Gospel and +the Apocalypse never could have been written by the same person; +the argument, indeed, was advanced as early as the third century by +Dionysius of Alexandria. Those who thus deny the unity of authorship +do not all reject either one book or the other as authoritative; +some suppose that the John whose name appears in the Apocalypse, +though not the same as John the son of Zebedee, was a genuine +prophet. + +The evidence, however, for attributing all the Johannine books to +the son of Zebedee is exceedingly strong. If the Apocalypse is to +be attributed to some one else, tradition is very seriously at +fault, and it is also very difficult to see how another John could +have introduced himself to the churches of Asia Minor in the way +that the author does at the beginning and end of the book without +distinguishing himself from the greater man of the same name who +was residing at Ephesus at the very same time. The Apocalypse +must therefore be assigned to the son of Zebedee unless there is +absolutely unimpeachable evidence to the contrary. + +Such evidence is not really forthcoming. The difference of style +between the Apocalypse and the Fourth Gospel is capable of +explanation. + +(=1=) =Possible Difference of Date.=--In the first place, it might +be explained by a wide difference of date. If the Apocalypse was +written at about A. D. 68, then an interval of some twenty-five +years or more separates it from the Gospel. Such an interval would +allow plenty of time for the style of the author to change. When the +Galilean fisherman first left his home in Palestine, his command +of the Greek language might conceivably be slight; whereas after a +long residence in Asia Minor, as leader of a group of Greek-speaking +churches, the roughness of his style would be removed. Hence the +un-Greek, strongly Hebraistic usages of the Apocalypse would in the +Gospel naturally give place to a correct, though simple style. + +This hypothesis, however, is beset with serious difficulties. It +is difficult to suppose that the Apocalypse was written before the +closing decade of the first century. Some passages, it is true, have +been strongly urged in favor of the early date. Particularly the +reference to the seven kings in Rev. 17:10 has been thought by many +excellent scholars to be decisive. The reference to the seven hills +in the preceding verse seems to show that the "beast" represents +Rome; the seven kings therefore naturally represent Roman emperors. +The fifth emperor, beginning with Augustus, was Nero. If at the time +when the book was written five were fallen, one was and the other +was not yet come, v. 10, the book must apparently have been written +under Nero's successor. His successor, Galba, reigned only a few +months: the book was therefore written in A. D. 68 or 69. Or if the +very brief reigns of Galba, Otho and Vitellius be not counted, then +the book was written between A. D. 69 and 79, during the reign of +Vespasian. + +The passage remains, however, so obscure that it is very doubtful +whether any one interpretation of it should be allowed to +overbalance the evidence for the later date. Such evidence is +abundant. Most weighty of all, perhaps, is the strong tradition +which places the Apocalypse in the closing years of Domitian. It +is hard to believe that that tradition is seriously at fault. The +condition of the Church, moreover, as it is presupposed in the book, +is more naturally to be sought at A. D. 95 than twenty-five years +earlier. The persecution, for example, which the writer describes, +seems far more like the persecution under Domitian than it is like +the outbreak which was occasioned by the cruelty of Nero. + +=(2) The Difference of Subject.=--If the later date be accepted, +then the Gospel and the Apocalypse were written in the same period +of the apostle's life, and the difference of style cannot be +explained by a difference of date. Another explanation, however, is +sufficient. The difference between the two books may be explained +by the total difference of subject. The Gospel is a narrative of +Jesus' life, written with abundant opportunity for reflection; the +Apocalypse is a record of wonderful visions, where stylistic nicety +would have marred the immediateness of the revelation. The very +roughness of the Apocalypse is valuable as expressing the character +of the book. In the Gospel, John brought to bear all his power of +reflection and of expression; in the Apocalypse, he wrote in haste +under the overpowering influence of a transcendent experience. + +The grammatical irregularities of the Apocalypse, moreover, often +create the impression that they are intentional. They belonged, +apparently, to an apocalyptic style which to a certain extent had +already been formed; they were felt to be suited to the peculiar +character of the work. + +Finally, it must not be forgotten that side by side with the +differences of style there are some remarkable similarities. The +underlying unity of thought and expression points to unity of +authorship. + + +2. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE APOCALYPSE + +(=1=) =A Record of Visions.=--In what has just been said, the +dominant peculiarity of the Apocalypse has already been indicated. +The Apocalypse is no careful literary composition, pieced together +from previous works of a similar character. On the contrary, it is a +record of genuine revelations. Before writing, the seer was "in the +Spirit." + +(=2=) =Influence of the Old Testament.=--Nevertheless, although +the Apocalypse is a record of visions, and was written consciously +under the impulsion of the Spirit, it is by no means uninfluenced +by previous works. To a degree that is perhaps not paralleled by +any other New Testament book, the Apocalypse is suffused with the +language and with the imagery of the Old Testament. Though there is +not a single formal quotation, the Old Testament Scriptures have +influenced almost every sentence of the book. Particularly the books +of Ezekiel and Daniel, which, like the Apocalypse, are composed +largely of the records of visions, have supplied much of the imagery +of the New Testament work. + +This wide-spread influence of the Old Testament upon the Apocalypse +is by no means surprising. The Apocalypse is based upon direct +revelation, but direct revelation is not necessarily out of relation +to everything else. On the contrary, it uses the language which its +recipients can understand; and part of the language of the apostle +John was the phraseology and imagery of the Old Testament. + +It has already been hinted that works very similar in form to the +Apocalypse are to be found in the Old Testament. This apocalyptic +form was continued in a number of Jewish works written after the +conclusion of the Old Testament canon. Superficially these works +bear considerable resemblance to the New Testament Apocalypse; +but closer examination reveals profound differences. The Jewish +apocalypses appeared under assumed names--the most important of +them under the name of Enoch--while John is so firmly convinced of +having received genuine revelation that he requires no such spurious +authority for his work. The similarity between our Apocalypse and +its extra-canonical Jewish predecessors and contemporaries is a +similarity at most of form; in spirit and content the difference is +incalculable. Unlike these other works, the Apocalypse is a genuine +prophecy. + + +3. THE MESSAGES TO THE SEVEN CHURCHES + +The so-called letters to the seven churches were never intended to +be circulated separately. From the beginning the letters formed part +of the Apocalypse, which was addressed to all seven of the churches. +From the beginning, therefore, each of the letters was intended to +be read not only by the church whose name it bears, but also by all +the others. The seven churches, moreover, are representative of the +Church at large. + +Nevertheless, despite the universal purpose of the letters, they +are very concrete in the information that they provide about the +churches in Asia Minor. Like the Second and Third Epistles of John +they illumine an exceedingly obscure period in the history of +Christianity. + +(=1=) =The "Angels" of the Churches.=--Some details in the letters, +it is true, are to us obscure. What, for example, is meant by the +"angels" of the churches to which the several letters are addressed? +The Greek word translated "angel" may also mean simply "messenger." +Conceivably, it might designate merely a congregational officer. +Many have supposed that it designates a bishop. In the epistles +of Ignatius, which were written not very many years after the +Apocalypse, the term "bishop" is applied to an officer who had +supreme authority over a congregation including the presbyters. The +appearance of these "angels" or "messengers" in the Apocalypse has +been urged as proof that John as well as Ignatius recognized the +institution of the episcopacy. + +Surely, however, the matter is more than doubtful. The Greek word +used, whether it be translated "angel" or "messenger," is a very +strange designation of a bishop. Moreover, in the rest of the +Johannine literature there is no recognition of the episcopacy. In +the Third Epistle of John, for example, even if Diotrephes had set +himself up as a bishop--which is itself exceedingly doubtful--his +claim is certainly not accepted by the apostle. + +On the whole, it seems better to regard the "angels" to which the +seven letters of the Apocalypse are addressed merely as ideal +representatives of the churches--representatives conceived of +perhaps as guardian angels. Compare Matt. 18:10. + +(=2=) =The Nicolaitans.=--Another puzzling question concerns the +"Nicolaitans" who appear in several of the letters. The name itself +is obscure. By tradition it is connected with that Nicolaüs of +Antioch who was one of the seven men appointed in the early days of +the Jerusalem church to attend to the administration of charity. +Acts 6:5. The tradition may possibly be correct. If it is correct, +then Nicolaüs, in his later life, had not justified the confidence +originally reposed in him. + +At the first mention of the Nicolaitans, in the letter to Ephesus, +Rev. 2:6, nothing whatever is said about their tenets. Their error, +however, was not merely theoretical, but practical, for it was their +"works" that the Lord is represented as hating. In the letter to +Pergamum, the Nicolaitans are probably meant in v. 14. Like Balaam, +they enticed the people of God to idolatry and impurity. The form +which their idolatry took was the eating of meats offered to idols. +The question of meats offered to idols was no simple matter. In the +First Epistle to the Corinthians Paul had permitted the eating of +such meats under certain circumstances, but had sternly forbidden it +wherever it involved real or supposed participation in idolatrous +worship. The form in which it was favored by the Nicolaitans +evidently fell under the latter category. In a time of persecution, +the temptation to guilty compromise with heathenism must have been +insidious; and also the low morality of the Asian cities threatened +ever and again to drag Christian people back into the impure life of +the world. + +In the letter to Thyatira, also, "the woman Jezebel" is apparently +to be connected with the same sect, for the practical faults in +Thyatira and in Pergamum were identical. Jezebel, the Phoenician +wife of Ahab, was, like Balaam, a striking Old Testament example +of one who led Israel into sin. It is significant that the woman +Jezebel in Thyatira called herself a prophetess. Rev. 2:20. This +circumstance seems to indicate that the Nicolaitans had excused +their moral laxness by an appeal to special revelations. The +impression is confirmed by v. 24. Apparently the Nicolaitans had +boasted of their knowledge of the "deep things," and had despised +the simple Christians who contented themselves with a holy life. At +any rate, whatever particular justification the Nicolaitans advanced +for their immoral life, they could not deceive the all-searching eye +of Christ. Their "deep things" were deep things, not of God, but of +Satan! + +Who is meant by "the woman Jezebel"? Some interpreters, who suppose +that the "angel" of the church was the bishop, regard Jezebel as +a designation of the bishop's wife. This whole interpretation is, +however, beset with serious difficulty. Perhaps "the woman Jezebel" +does not refer to an individual at all, but is simply a figurative +designation of the Nicolaitan sect. The description of the coming +retribution in vs. 21-23 seems to be highly figurative. + +It will be observed that the sin of the churches at Pergamum +and Thyatira was not limited to those who actually accepted the +Nicolaitan teaching. Even to endure the presence of the guilty +sect was the object of the Lord's rebuke. Toward the works of the +Nicolaitans only hatred was in place. Rev. 2:6. That is a solemn +lesson for modern indifferentism. Tolerance is good; but there are +times when it is a deadly sin. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Purves, "Christianity in the Apostolic Age," +pp. 274, 308-312. Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": Purves +(supplemented), article on "Revelation." M'Clymont, "The New +Testament and Its Writers," pp. 150-155. Milligan, "Lectures on the +Apocalypse" and "Discussions on the Apocalypse." Ellicott, "A New +Testament Commentary for English Readers," vol. iii, pp. 523-641: +Carpenter, "The Revelation of St. John." Ramsay, "The Letters to +the Seven Churches of Asia." Plumptre, "A Popular Exposition of the +Epistles to the Seven Churches of Asia." Swete, "The Apocalypse of +St. John." Zahn, "Introduction to the New Testament," vol. iii, pp. +384-449. The two last-named works are intended primarily for those +who have some knowledge of Greek, but can also be used by others. + + + + +LESSON XXXVIII + +A VISION OF THE FINAL TRIUMPH + +The Book of Revelation (Second Lesson) + + +1. THE INTERPRETATIONS OF THE APOCALYPSE + +The interpretations of the Apocalypse may be divided into four +classes. + +(=1=) =Unfulfilled Prophecies.=--According to one method of +interpretation, the prophecies of the book are all unfulfilled. In +the last days there will be a mighty revival of evil like that which +is symbolized by the dragon and the beast and the false prophet, +there will be plagues and woes like those which are described in +connection with the seals and the trumpets and the bowls, and there +will be a triumph of God's people and an eternal blessedness of the +new Jerusalem. This interpretation would place the Apocalypse out of +analogy with the other prophecies of the Bible. Prophecy is seldom +out of all connection with the immediate present. Even where the +prophetic vision reaches to the very end of time, the fulfillment +or the preparation for the fulfillment is usually represented as +beginning at once. In the Apocalypse, as in other prophecy, there is +evident reference to the circumstances of the original readers. + +(=2=) =Contemporary Events.=--A second method of interpretation goes +to an opposite extreme. By this method the prophecies of the book +are thought to be concerned merely with events of the writer's own +age. "The beast" is the Roman Empire; "Babylon" is the city of Rome; +the author expected the destruction of both to take place within +a few years' time. In its thoroughgoing form this interpretation +also is to be rejected. It degrades the Apocalypse to the level of +a mistaken prediction, and reduces the self-evidencing glories of +the book to trivialities. Evidently the outlook of the seer was +far broader and far more spiritual than it is represented by the +advocates of this interpretation. + +(=3=) =The Whole History of the Church.=--By a third method of +interpretation, the first two methods are combined. The book is +written distinctly in view of conditions of the first century, its +predictions concern partly the immediate future; but there is also +an outlook upon remoter ages. By this interpretation the prophecies +are held to provide an epitome of the whole of history from the +first coming of Christ to his second coming. + +(=4=) =Mixture of Discordant Traditions.=--A fourth method of +interpretation, which has become influential in very recent years, +abandons all hope of discovering a unitary message in the book, and +proceeds to divide it into its component parts. The analysis was +carried on first by literary criticism. An older work of the time +of Nero was supposed to have been revised at a later period; or +non-Christian Jewish works were supposed to have been incorporated +in the present work by a Christian compiler. This sort of literary +criticism has in the last few years given place sometimes to a +subtler method. Investigation is now directed to the materials of +which the book is composed, whether those materials were embodied +in previous literary works or only in previous traditions. The +ultimate source of much of the material is found in Babylonia or +other eastern countries; this material is thought to be not always +in accord with the context into which in our Apocalypse it has been +introduced. + +This method must emphatically be rejected. It contains, indeed, +an element of truth. Undoubtedly the Apocalypse makes use of +already-existing materials. But these materials are, for the most +part at least, of genuinely Hebrew origin; and they have been +thoroughly assimilated for the purposes of the present prophecy. +The Apocalypse is not a compilation full of contradictions, but a +unitary work, with one great message for the Church. + +(=5=) =Wrong Use of the Third Method.=--Of these four methods of +interpretation the third has been adopted in the Student's Text +Book. The prophecies of the Apocalypse concern the entire history of +the Church. Undoubtedly this interpretation is subject to abuse. It +has been employed in the interests of special controversy, as when +the Protestants saw in the scarlet woman a representation of papal +Rome. + +(=6=) =Principles, Not Individual Facts.=--All such abuses may be +avoided, however, if the interpreter will remember that the book +deals with great principles, rather than with individual facts. The +beast is neither the Roman Catholic Church, nor the religion of +Mohammed, nor the Turkish Empire. Undoubtedly it expressed itself in +some phases of each of those institutions. But no one of them can be +identified with it outright. The beast of the Apocalypse is nothing +less than the blatant, godless power of worldly empire, however that +power may be manifested. At the time of John it was manifested +especially in the empire of Rome. Even Rome, however, cannot be +identified with the beast entirely without qualification. Even Rome +had its beneficent side. John as well as Paul, even in the fire +of persecution, might have expressed the thought of Rom. 13:1-7. +Peter also wrote in the midst of persecution; yet Peter could say, +"Be subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether +to the king, as supreme; or unto governors, as sent by him for +vengeance on evil-doers and for praise to them that do well." I +Peter 2:13,14. + +The other side of Rome's power, it is true, was prominent at the +close of the first century. More systematically than before, +Rome had begun to persecute the Church of God. By the demand of +emperor-worship she had tried to put her stamp upon the followers of +Jesus. Through her priesthood she had endeavored to lead men astray. +In these things she was a manifestation of the beast. As such she +was execrated and resisted to the death by every loyal Christian. +There could be no hope of compromise. Hope lay rather in the power +of God. God would give the just reward; God would give the final +victory. Such was the message of the Apocalypse. + +The message is of perennial value. The beast is not yet dead. His +methods are different, but still he oppresses the Church. Wherever +his power is felt--whether in ruthless oppression or impious warfare +or degrading superstition--there the prophecy of John is a comfort +and an inspiration to the people of God. + +Undoubtedly this method of interpretation, which detects in the book +principles rather than individual facts, involves a reduction in the +amount of direct information which the Apocalypse may be thought to +give. A detailed account, whether of the progress of the Church, or +of the final catastrophe, is by this interpretation no longer found +in the book. + + +2. THE THOUSAND YEARS + +At one point at least, this conclusion has been regarded by many +devout Christians as involving a serious loss. That point is +concerned with the thousand years of Rev. 20:1-8. According to the +interpretation that has just been advocated, the thousand years are +merely a symbol for the time of the present Christian dispensation, +and the rule which the saints are represented as bearing with +Christ probably refers to the condition of the blessed dead up to +the final resurrection. To many devout readers of the Bible this +interpretation seems to be an impoverishment of the prophet's +words. In reality, they maintain, the passage predicts a return of +Jesus to earth before the final judgment, and a long period of his +blessed sway. + +Undoubtedly this more literal interpretation of the millennium seems +at first sight to be required by certain phrases of the passage. +But the highly figurative character of apocalyptic language must +always be borne in mind. Numbers, in the Apocalypse, are usually +symbolic; so it may be with the thousand years. During the present +dispensation Satan is in one sense bound, and in another sense he +is free. In principle he has been conquered; but in the sphere of +worldly power he continues to work his wrathful will. + + +3. THE CHRISTIAN HOPE + +One thing at least is clear. No interpretation of the Apocalypse is +correct if it fails to do justice to the hope of Christ's return. +If the figurative interpretation weakens our expectation of that +dread meeting with the Lord, then it is untrue to the mind of the +Spirit. There are difficulties connected with the idea of a literal +millennium; but such difficulties are inconsiderable in comparison +with those that result from any rationalizing, any explaining away, +of the universal Christian hope. The Apocalypse, according to any +right interpretation, is a vision of final triumph. + +That triumph is a triumph of Christ. Back of all the lurid imagery +of the book, back of the battles and the woes, and back of the +glories of God's people, stands the figure of the Saviour. With him +the book began, and with him, too, it ends. He is the same who lived +the life of mercy and of glory on earth, the same who died for our +sins on the cross. To the Lamb all power is given--all power in +heaven and on earth. By him all enemies are conquered; by him the +whole earth will be judged. To those who bear the mark of the beast +he is an Avenger; to his Church he is an ever-living Saviour. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--The reading suggested under Lesson XXXVII is +intended for both of the lessons on the Apocalypse. + + + + +LESSON XXXIX + +REVIEW + + +This review lesson is fully as important as any other lesson of +the first three quarters. Without reviewing, the study of history +is unproductive; only a review can make of the facts a permanent +possession. The story of the apostolic age, as it is narrated in the +work of Luke, is really very simple; it becomes confusing only when +it is imperfectly mastered. A little time spent in turning over the +pages of the Lucan narrative, or even of the Student's Text Book, +will accomplish wonders. + + +1. UNANSWERED QUESTIONS + +The New Testament account of the apostolic age is indeed only +fragmentary. Many questions must be left unanswered. Of the original +twelve apostles only Peter and the sons of Zebedee and Judas +Iscariot receive in The Acts anything more than a bare mention; and +even the most prominent of these disappears after the fifteenth +chapter. What did Paul do in Arabia and in Tarsus? What was the +origin of the great church at Alexandria? Who founded the church +at Rome? These questions, and many like them, must forever remain +unanswered. + +If, moreover, even the period covered by The Acts is obscure, far +deeper is the darkness after the guiding hand of Luke has been +withdrawn. For the death of the apostle Paul, there is only a meager +tradition; the latter years of Peter are even more obscure. For the +important period between the release of Paul after his first Roman +imprisonment and the death of the apostle John at about the end of +the first century, anything like a connected narrative is quite +impossible. + + +2. THE NERONIAN PERSECUTION + +A few facts, however, may still be established. The Roman historian +Tacitus tells of a persecution of the Christians at Rome at the +time of the burning of the city in A. D. 64. The emperor Nero, +suspected of starting the fire, sought to remove suspicion from +himself by accusing the Christians. The latter had already become +unpopular because of their peculiar ways, and were thought to be +guilty of abominable crimes; but the cruelty of Nero almost exceeded +the wishes of the populace. The Christians were put to death under +horrible tortures. Many were burned, and their burning bodies served +as torches to illumine the emperor's gardens. + +The beheading of Paul has often been brought into connection with +this persecution, but more probably it occurred a few years later. +Paul had been released from his first imprisonment, and his second +imprisonment, at the time of the Neronian outbreak, had not yet +begun. + +The extent of the Neronian persecution cannot be determined with +certainty. Probably, however, although there was no systematic +persecution throughout the empire, the provinces would not be +altogether unaffected by what was happening at Rome. The causes of +popular and official disfavor were always present; it required only +a slight occasion to bring them actively into play. + + +3. THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM + +Even more important than the Roman persecution of A. D. 64 was the +destruction of Jerusalem in A. D. 70. At the outbreak of the war +which culminated in that catastrophe, the Jerusalem Christians took +refuge in Pella, east of the Jordan; Jerusalem ceased to be the +center of the Christian Church. After the war, the Jerusalem church +never regained its old position of leadership; and specifically +Jewish Christianity, suffering by the destruction of the national +Jewish life, ceased to be influential in Christian history. + + +4. THE PROGRESS OF THE GOSPEL + +From the years between the destruction of Jerusalem and the closing +years of the century, scarcely any definite incidents can be +enumerated. Undoubtedly the missionary activity of the Church was +continuing; the gospel was making rapid progress in its conquest of +the empire. In this missionary activity probably many of the twelve +apostles were engaged; but details of their work are narrated for +the most part only in late tradition. + + +5. JOHN AT EPHESUS + +At some time--whether before or after A. D. 70 is uncertain--the +apostle John went to Ephesus, and there became the leader of +the Asian church. Detailed information about his position and +the churches under his care is provided not only in trustworthy +tradition--especially that which comes through Irenæus from +Polycarp, the hearer of John--but also in the writings of John +himself. The two shorter epistles of John, though each embraces +only a small page, are extraordinarily rich in information about +congregational matters, and even more instructive are the seven +messages of the Apocalypse. By means of the latter the moral +condition of the church in Asia Minor is characterized with a +vividness that is scarcely to be paralleled for any other period of +the apostolic age. + + +6. THE PERSECUTION UNDER DOMITIAN + +During the latter part of the residence of John in Asia Minor there +was an important event in the history of the Church. This was the +outbreak of the persecution under Domitian--a persecution which +apparently exceeded in extent, if not in severity, every persecution +that had preceded it. Under Domitian the Roman authorities became +definitely hostile; apostasy from Christ was apparently demanded +systematically of the Christians--apostasy from Christ and adhesion +to the imperial cult. The latter, in the Apocalypse, is represented +as an example of the mark of "the beast"; the Roman Empire, as would +have been unnatural in the days of Paul, appears in that book as an +incorporation of Satanic power. The long conflict between the Church +and the empire had at last begun. Which side would be victorious? In +the Apocalypse the answer is plain. The Lord himself was fighting +for his Church! + + +7. THE NEW TESTAMENT GOSPEL + +Our knowledge of the apostolic age, though fragmentary, is +sufficient--sufficient not indeed for a complete history, but for +the requirements of Christian faith. The information provided in the +New Testament makes up in quality for what it lacks in quantity. Its +extraordinary vividness and concreteness possesses a self-evidencing +value. The life of the apostle Paul--revealed with unmistakable +fidelity--is itself a sufficient bulwark against historical +skepticism; it involves inevitably the supernatural Christ. The +gospel is no aspiration in the hearts of dreamers; it is a real +entrance of divine power into the troubled battle field of human +history. God was working in the apostolic Church, God is speaking in +the New Testament--there is the summation of our study. + + + + +PART IV: + +The Apostolic Church and the +Church of To-Day + + + + +LESSON XL + +THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD + + +The apostolic Church, as was observed in the Student's Text Book, +found itself from the beginning in the midst of an environment more +or less actively hostile. If we had been in Jerusalem at about the +year 30, we should have observed a small group of disciples of +Jesus, outwardly conforming to Jewish customs, but inwardly quite +different from their countrymen. In Corinth and in other pagan +cities of the Greco-Roman world, the contrast between the Church and +its environment was even more striking; these cities were sunk in +superstition and vice; the Church was leading, in the eyes of the +world, a very peculiar life. + +The presence of a common enemy led in the apostolic age to a closer +union among the Christians themselves, and so it will always be. +When Christian people realize the power of the enemy against whom +they are all fighting, then they will have no time to fight among +themselves. The Christian life is a warfare against sin--sin in +a thousand deadly forms. In such a warfare, if we are to be good +soldiers, we must all stand shoulder to shoulder. + +The apostolic Church was waging an audacious warfare against the +intrenched forces of heathenism and sin. Fortunately it had a +Leader; and by that Leader alone it won the victory. The Leader was +Christ. The primary relation of the soldier is the relation to the +commander; the relation of the individual soldiers to one another +is dependent upon that. So we shall study to-day the lordship +of Christ; by that study, the work of the whole quarter will be +introduced. + + +1. TERMS DESCRIPTIVE OF DISCIPLESHIP + +The lordship of Christ may profitably be studied by an examination +of some of the various names which in the New Testament are applied +to the Church and its individual members. The individual titles +should be studied first. After all, the Church exists for the +individual believer rather than the individual believer for the +Church. The primary relation is the relation between Christ and +the individual soul. Brotherhood comes only through the union of +individuals with a common Lord. + +(=1=) "=Christians.="--Probably the first title that occurs to us +to-day to designate the individual members of the Church is the +title "Christian"; yet as a matter of fact that title appears only +three times in the New Testament, and then only as it was taken from +the lips of unbelievers. In accordance with the explicit testimony +of Acts 11:26, the name was given for the first time at Antioch; +it had no place, therefore, in the early Jerusalem church. A +moment's thought will reveal the reason. The name "Christians" would +have meant to a Jew adherents of the "Christ," or the "Messiah." +Obviously no Jew would have applied such a name specifically to the +disciples of Jesus; for all the Jews, in one sense or another, were +adherents of the Messiah. The Jews were adherents of him by way of +anticipation; the disciples thought he had already appeared; but all +earnest Jews alike would have rejoiced to be called by his name. + +Evidently the name was applied in Antioch by the pagan population. +The Church had become so clearly separate from Judaism that a +separate name for it was required. The name "Christian" suggested +itself very naturally. "Jesus Christ" was forever on the lips of +these strange enthusiasts! "The Christ" was indeed also spoken of +by the Jews, but only careful observers would necessarily be aware +of the fact. The Messianic hope was an internal concern of the +synagogues, with which outsiders would usually have little to do. +The new sect, on the other hand, brought the title "Christ" out from +its seclusion; "Christ" to these enthusiasts was something more than +a title, it was becoming almost a proper name; like "Jesus," it +was a designation of the Founder of the sect, and accordingly the +adjective derived from it could be used to designate the sect itself. + +In Acts 26:28, the name appears as used by Agrippa; in I Peter +4:16, also, it is evidently taken from the lips of the opponents +of the faith. The Christians, however, Peter implies, need not be +ashamed of the name which has been fastened upon them. Rather let +them strive to be worthy of it! It is the highest honor to be called +by the name of Christ; and if they are true "Christians," their +confession will redound to the glory of God. + +In modern times, the name is often misapplied; the use of it is +broadened and weakened. Nations are declared to be Christian +although only a very small percentage of their citizens really +deserve the name; teaching is called Christian though it is +only similar in some respects to the teaching of Christ. Such a +use of terms should be avoided wherever possible; the original +poignancy of the designation should be restored. Properly speaking, +"Christian" means not "like Christ" but "subject to Christ." A +Christian is not one who admires Christ or is impressed with +Christ's teaching or tries to imitate Christ, but one to whom Christ +is Saviour and Lord. + +Are we willing to be known as "Christians" in that sense? At the +time of First Peter, it would have been a serious question; an +affirmative answer would have meant persecution and perhaps death. +But it is also a serious question to-day. Confession of Christ +involves solemn responsibilities; dishonor to the "Christian" means +dishonor to Christ; the unworthy servant is a dishonor to his +Master. But let us not fear; Christ is Helper as well as Lord. + +(=2=) "=Disciples.="--The earliest designation of the followers of +Jesus was "disciples" or "learners"; during the earthly ministry +perhaps scarcely any other designation was commonly used. Jesus +appeared at first as a teacher; the form of his work was somewhat +like that of other teachers of the Jews. Nevertheless, although he +was a teacher from the beginning, he was also from the beginning +something more. He had not only authority, but also power; he was +not only Teacher, but also Saviour. His followers were not merely +instructed, but were received into fellowship; and that fellowship +made of them new men. "Disciples" in the Gospels is more than +"learners" or "students"; it is a fine, warm, rich word; the Teacher +was also Friend and Lord. + +The same term was continued in the early Palestinian Church, and the +resurrection had brought an incalculable enrichment of its meaning. +The "disciples" were not merely those who remembered the words of +Jesus, but those who had been redeemed by his blood and were living +now in the power of his Holy Spirit. If we use the term, let it be +in the same lofty sense. Let us be learners, indeed; let us hear the +words of Jesus, as they are recorded in the Gospels; but let us hear +them not from a dead teacher, but ever anew from the living Lord. + +(=3=) "=Saints.="--A third designation is "saints." This term is +used as a title of the Christians in Acts 9:13,32,41; 26:10, and +frequently in the epistles of Paul and in the Apocalypse. Its use +in the New Testament is very different from some uses of it that +appeared at a later time. The Roman Catholics, for example, employ +the term as a title of honor for a number of persons carefully +limited by the Church; Protestants often designate by it persons +of exceptional purity or goodness. In the New Testament, on the +contrary, the title "saints" is clearly applied to all Christians. + +In the original Greek the word is exactly the same as a word meaning +"holy"; it is simply the adjective "holy" used as a noun. "Saints," +therefore, really means "holy persons." Unfortunately, however, the +word "holy," as well as the word "saint" has undergone modifications +of usage. "Holy," in the Bible, is not simply another word for +"good" or "righteous," but expresses a somewhat different idea. It +has the idea of "sacred" or "separate"--separate from the world. God +is holy not merely because he is good, but because he is separate. +Undoubtedly his goodness is one attribute--perhaps the chief +attribute--that constitutes the separateness; but other attributes +also have their place. His omnipotence and his infinitude, as well +as his goodness, make him "holy." + +The word "holy" or "saint" as applied to Christians has +fundamentally the same meaning. Believers are "holy" because they +are in communion with the holy God and therefore separate from the +world. Undoubtedly the most obvious element in their separateness +is their goodness; the moral implications of the term "holy" are +sometimes so prominent that the specific meaning of the word seems +obscured. But that specific meaning is probably never altogether +lost. Christians are called "saints" because they are citizens, not +of the present evil world, but of a heavenly kingdom. + +The familiar word, thus interpreted, has a startling lesson for the +modern Church. Can modern Christians be called "saints," in the +New Testament sense? Are we really separate from the world? Are we +really "a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, +a peculiar people" (A. V.)? Do we really feel ourselves to be +strangers and pilgrims in the earth? Or are we rather salt that has +lost its savor? Have we become merged in the life of the world? + +(=4=) "=Brethren.="--A fourth designation is concerned, not with +the relation of the believer to Christ or to the world, but with +the relation of believers among themselves. That designation +is "brethren." It is a very simple word; it requires little +explanation; the rich meaning of it will be unfolded in the whole of +this quarter's study. + +(=5=) "=Church.="--After studying the New Testament terms that +denote the disciples of Jesus individually, it will now be well to +turn for a moment to the chief designation of the body of disciples +considered as a unit. That designation is "church," or in the Greek +form, "ecclesia." + +The word "ecclesia" is in itself a very simple term indeed. It +is derived from the verb "call" and the preposition "out." An +"ecclesia" is a body of persons called out from their houses to a +common meeting place, in short it is simply an "assembly," and an +assembly of any kind. This simple use of the word is found in Acts +19:32,39,41; the Greek word which is there translated "assembly" is +exactly the same word as that which is elsewhere translated "church." + +Even before New Testament times, however, the word had begun to +be used in a special, religious sense. Here, as so often, the +Septuagint translation of the Old Testament prepared the way for New +Testament usage. In the Septuagint the word "ecclesia" was used to +denote the solemn assembly of the people of Israel. That assembly +was of course religious as well as political; for Israel was a +theocratic nation. Hence it was no abrupt transition from previous +usage when the New Testament writers selected the word "ecclesia" to +denote the Christian congregation. + +In the New Testament, the word is used in various ways. In the +first place, it designates the body of Christians who lived in +any particular place. So, for example, the epistles of Paul are +addressed to individual "churches." In the second place, however, +the word designates the whole body of Christians throughout the +world. This usage is prominent in the Epistle to the Ephesians, +but it also appears even in the Gospels, in the memorable words of +Jesus at Cæsarea Philippi. Matt. 16:18. It is a wonderfully grand +conception which is thus disclosed by the familiar word. "The +Church" is a chosen people, ruled by the Lord himself, a mighty +army, engaged, not in earthly warfare, but in a spiritual campaign +of salvation and love. + +(=6=) "=The Kingdom of God.="--One further conception requires at +least a word. What is meant by "the kingdom of God"? This conception +is evidently related to the conception of "the Church," but the +two are not identical. The kingdom of God is simply that place or +that condition where God rules. As the kingdom of Cæsar was the +territory over which Cæsar held sway, so the kingdom of God is the +realm where God's will is done. In one sense, of course, the kingdom +of God embraces the whole universe, for nothing is beyond the reach +of God's power. But in the New Testament the term is used in a far +deeper sense; it is used to denote the realm where God's will is +done, not of necessity, but by willing submission. Wherever human +hearts and wills are in true accord with the will of God, there the +"kingdom" has come. + +In one sense the kingdom of God belongs to the future age. It is +never realized fully upon earth; there is here always some lurking +trace of sinful resistance. Nevertheless, in the New Testament the +kingdom is by no means always represented as future. Though it has +not yet been fully realized, it is already present in principle; it +is present especially in the Church. The Church gives clear, though +imperfect, expression to the idea of the kingdom; the Church is a +people whose ruler is God. + +Entrance into the Church is not to be obtained by human effort; it +is the free gift of God through the Lord Jesus Christ. No other gift +is so glorious. If we are members of that chosen people, we need +fear nothing in heaven or on earth. + + +2. PRACTICAL CONCLUSIONS + +Two lessons should be conveyed by our study of to-day: in the first +place the lesson of separateness, and in the second place the lesson +of unity. Neither can be truly learned without the other. There can +be no true Christian unity if individual members of the Christian +body make common cause with the unbelieving world. A knowledge +of the common enemy will draw us all into closer fellowship. +That fellowship need not necessarily be expressed in a common +organization; but it will be expressed at least in a common service. +Separateness from the world will not mean leaving the world to its +fate; the Christian salvation will be offered freely to all. But +the gravity of the choice should never, by any false urbanity, be +disguised. It is no light difference whether a man is within the +people of God or without; there is a definite line of demarcation, +and the passing of it means the transition from death into life. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": articles on +"Church," "Disciple," "Christian." Hastings, "Dictionary of +the Bible": Gayford, article on "Church." Hort, "The Christian +Ecclesia." Charteris, "The Church of Christ." Westcott, "The +Two Empires: The Church and the World," in "The Epistles of St. +John," pp. 250-282. "The Epistle to Diognetus," introduction and +translation in Lightfoot, "The Apostolic Fathers," pp. 487-489, +501-511. Erdman, "Coming to the Communion." + + + + +LESSON XLI + +THE CHRISTIAN MESSAGE + + +1. A PHILOSOPHY, OR A TESTIMONY? + +In the Student's Text Book the Christian message has been +represented as primarily a piece of good news, a story of something +that happened. That representation does not pass unchallenged +to-day. Many suppose that the message of the apostles was concerned +simply with reflection upon eternal truths. For centuries, it is +said in effect, men had been reflecting upon the problems of God and +the world and sin; what the apostles did in Jerusalem and elsewhere +was simply to provide better instruction on these great themes; +Jesus had taught men that God is a Father, the apostles simply +continued his teaching. + +Such a view, of course, can be held only by rejecting or distorting +the testimony of the New Testament. If the book of The Acts is +correct, if Paul is correct, then the preaching that founded the +apostolic Church was not better instruction about old facts, but +information about a new fact. Before Jesus came, the world was +lost under sin; but Jesus lived and died and rose again, and gave +salvation to all who would receive. According to the New Testament, +Jesus did not come to tell men that they were God's children; he +came to make them God's children. John 1:12; Gal. 4:3-5. Without +him they were under God's wrath and curse; but by faith in him, by +acceptance of his sacrifice of himself for them, by receiving from +his Spirit the power to believe, they could call God Father. On the +day of Pentecost Jesus was presented as more than a Teacher; he was +presented as a Saviour. + + +2. THE EFFECTS OF THE MESSAGE + +=(1) In the Apostolic Age.=--The effects of that presentation have +been considered briefly in the Student's Text Book, and what was +said there might easily be supplemented. The conversion of the three +thousand was only a beginning. The new spirit of the Christian +community, the brotherly love and holy joy of the disciples, indeed +everything that will be treated in the lessons of the quarter, +were the result of a simple piece of news. By the wise men of the +world--then as now--the message was despised, but "the foolishness +of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than +men." I Cor. 1:25. + +This lesson offers a singular opportunity to the teacher. The +Christian message in the apostolic Church was a message of power. +The story of its progress is full of dramatic vigor; it appeals +even to the non-Christian historian. The story of the apostolic age +is full of surprises--the sudden transformation of bitter Jewish +enemies into humble disciples; the triumphant spread of the faith +when everything seemed opposed; the establishment of Christian +churches in the very centers of pagan vice; the astonishingly +rapid preparation for the conquest of the empire; and all this +accomplished not by worldly wisdom, but by simple men who only had a +bit of news--a bit of news, and God! + +=(2) In the History of the Church.=--The triumphs of the gospel, +however, were not confined to the age of the apostles. The apostolic +age was prophetic of the Christian centuries. There were many +days of darkness; but the Church always emerged again triumphant. +So it will be to-day. God has not deserted his people; he will +attest his truth with the power of his Spirit; there is no room +for discouragement. One thing, however, should be remembered; the +victories of the Church are victories, not of brilliant preachers, +not of human wisdom or human goodness, but of the cross of Christ. +Under that banner all true conquests move. + + +3. THE PRESENTATION OF THE MESSAGE + +The Christian message was presented in the apostolic Church in many +different ways. The gospel was everywhere essentially the same, +but the presentation of it was adapted to the needs of particular +hearers, and the understanding of it became ever more complete under +the illumination of the Holy Spirit. It is interesting to collect +the various types of missionary speeches that are found in the New +Testament. + +=(1) The Missionary Preaching of the Jerusalem Church.=--The early +chapters of The Acts preserve a number of speeches that were +addressed to Jews. As might have been expected, these speeches +are intended primarily to prove the Messiahship of Jesus. If that +could be proved, then--among the Jews--the rest would follow. The +Messiahship was proved first by an appeal to the Scriptures, and +second by the fact of the resurrection. Even the death of Jesus on +the cross, which was to the Jews a stumblingblock, was predicted by +the prophets, and so served to prove that Jesus was the promised +One. The resurrection was also predicted; and the resurrection was +established first by the simple testimony of eyewitnesses and second +by the wonderful works of the living Christ. + +These early speeches contain only a little of the full truth of +the gospel. In them, for example, the significance of the death +of Christ as an atonement for sin is not fully explained. Such +omissions were due no doubt to two causes. + +(a) Limitations Due to the Hearers.--In the first place, the +peculiar needs of the hearers had to be considered. The hearers were +Jews; to them the death of the Messiah was an unheard-of paradox; +to them the cross was a stumblingblock. Before the inner meaning of +the crucifixion could be explained, obviously the objections derived +from it needed to be overcome. The first task of the missionaries +was to show that Jesus, although he had been crucified, was the +Messiah. That was done by an appeal to prophecy and to the plain +fact of the resurrection. After conviction had thus been produced, +it would be time enough to show that what was at first regarded as a +stumblingblock was really the supreme act of divine grace. + +(b) Limitations Due to an Early Stage of Revelation.--The omissions +in the early speeches were due, however, not merely to the peculiar +needs of the hearers, but also to limitations in the knowledge +of the apostles. Christian truth was not all revealed at once; +undoubtedly the full explanation of the cross, the full exposition +of the atonement, was revealed only when the disciples could bear +it. Such is the divine method, even in revelation. The disciples +were brought gradually, by the gracious leading of the Holy Spirit, +into ever richer knowledge of the truth. + +(c) The Significance of the Cross.--Nevertheless, the meagerness +of the early teaching must not be exaggerated. In the very first +missionary speech of Peter, Jesus was represented as "delivered +up by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God." Acts +2:23. What happened "by the determinate counsel ... of God" was +no meaningless chance; the crucifixion was not a victory of evil +over God, it must have had some beneficent purpose. Furthermore, +Jesus himself had explained what that purpose was. He had spoken +of giving his life a ransom for many, Mark 10:45; still more +plainly, on the last solemn passover evening, he had represented +his death as sacrificial. These words were certainly not forgotten +in the Jerusalem church; they were called to mind in the repeated +celebration of the Lord's Supper, and must have formed the subject +of meditation. The Jerusalem Christians knew that Jesus' death was a +death on their behalf. + +(d) The Lordship of Jesus.--The lordship of Jesus, moreover, was +fully recognized from the very beginning. The risen Christ had +ascended into glory, and had poured forth his mighty Spirit. The +believer was no mere learner of the words of a dead teacher; he was +called into communion with a Lord and Saviour. Such communion meant +nothing less than an entirely new life, in which sin could have +no rightful place. It was a life of conflict, but also a life of +hope. The Saviour would come again in like manner as he had gone. +The spiritual victory, already won, would be perfected by a final +victory in every realm. + +=(2) The Missionary Preaching of Paul.=--The gospel of the early +preachers was a glorious message. It was a piece of glad tidings, +such as the world had never known. Yet even greater things were in +store; even more wondrous mysteries were to be revealed. They were +revealed especially through the instrumentality of the apostle Paul. +The gospel had been preached from the beginning, but much of its +deeper meaning was reserved for Paul. + +(a) Truth and Error.--In the teaching of Paul, truth became plainer +by being contrasted with error. The original apostles had really +been trusting in the atonement of Christ for salvation; but now +that trust became plainer and more explicit by being contrasted +with works of the law. The original apostles had really grasped the +inner significance of Jesus as the fulfillment of the Old Testament; +but now that significance became still plainer by the contrast with +Pharisaic legality. Now at length the death and resurrection were +represented sharply and clearly as great representative acts in +which the believer shares through faith. The original apostles were +not overwhelmed and confused by the new revelation; they recognized +the grace of God. Their perfect agreement with Paul exhibited the +unity of the apostolic gospel. + +Scarcely anything would be more interesting than a full collection +of the missionary speeches of Paul. Such a collection, however, has +not been preserved. The writings that we possess from the hand of +Paul are not missionary addresses, but letters written to those who +were already Christians. We should not, however, complain of the +providence of God. God has not thought good to give us everything, +but what he has given us is enough. + +(b) Information Provided by The Acts.--The book of The Acts, +in the first place, affords valuable information. The author +was interested, indeed, chiefly in beginnings. The examples of +Paul's missionary preaching which Luke has preserved, are perhaps +preliminary to evangelism, rather than evangelism itself. The +speech at Pisidian Antioch shows how Paul proved the Messiahship +of Jesus. In winning the Jews, that proof was the first step. The +Pauline gospel indeed appears, but it appears only at the very +end of the speech. The speech at Athens is still more clearly of +preliminary character. Monotheism needed to be established before +the gospel of Christ could be understood. Despite their necessary +limitations however, these speeches are instructive. They show, in +the first place, that Paul adapted his preaching to the needs of his +hearers. He did not preach the same sermon mechanically to all. He +sought really to win men over, he began with what his hearers could +understand. They show, in the second place, that all preliminary +matters were kept strictly subordinate. These matters were not made +an end in themselves, as is often the case in the modern Church, but +were merely a means to an end. No matter where he began, Paul always +proceeded quickly to the center of the gospel. Both at Pisidian +Antioch and at Athens, he hastened on to the resurrection. + +(c) Information Provided by the Epistles.--The Pauline Epistles, in +the second place, though they are addressed to Christians, really +afford sufficient information, at least in outline, about the +missionary preaching of Paul. Incidental references are sufficient +to show at least that the cross and the resurrection were the center +and core of it. The Thessalonians, for example, under the preaching +of Paul, "turned unto God from idols, to serve a living and true +God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the +dead, even Jesus, who delivereth us from the wrath to come." This +little passage is worth pages of exposition. Preaching to Gentiles +is here reviewed in epitome, though of course not with studied +symmetry and completeness. The knowledge of the one true God formed +of course, for Gentiles, the starting point for all the rest, but +from that starting point the preacher at once proceeded to tell of +the work of Christ. Just as illuminating are passages like I Cor. +2:2; Gal. 3:1. In Corinth Paul knew nothing save "Jesus Christ, +and him crucified"; in Galatia the story of the cross was made so +plain that it was as though Jesus Christ crucified were held up +before the eyes of the Galatians on a great picture or placard. +The famous passage in First Corinthians, ch. 15:1-8, is, however, +perhaps clearest of all. At the very beginning Paul had spoken of +the death of Christ and the resurrection. The death, moreover, was +not presented as a mere inspiring story of a holy martyrdom, but +as a death "for our sins"; and the resurrection was supported not +primarily by an inward experience, but by simple testimony. + +Apostolic preaching was everywhere essentially the same. The +apostles never began, like many modern preachers, with exhortation; +though they proceeded to exhortation, they always began with facts. +What was always fundamental was the simple story of the life and +death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ crucified and +risen was the subject of the good news that conquered the world. +When will the modern Church take up the message with new power? We +do not know. The times are in God's hand. But when the blessed day +comes, it will be a day of victory. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Bunyan, "The Pilgrim's Progress." Warfield, "The +Saviour of the World," and "The Power of God Unto Salvation" (the +latter in "The Presbyterian Pulpit"). Hodge, "The Way of Life." + + + + +LESSON XLII + +THE WORD AND THE SACRAMENTS + + +This lesson and the two following are intended primarily to +encourage in the student the diligent use of "the means of grace." +The wise teacher will keep the practical purpose steadily in view. +That practical purpose may now be examined a little more in detail. +Why should the example of the apostolic Church be followed in the +matter of Bible-reading, of the sacraments, of prayer, of Christian +meetings? What was God's purpose in providing these simple exercises +of the Christian life--what benefit do we receive from them? Perhaps +the briefest and simplest answer is that we receive from them what +is often known as "reality" in religion. + + +1. REALITY IN RELIGION + +Many Christians are puzzled by the lack of the sense of "reality" +in their Christian life. They have believed in Christ, but often +he seems far from them. It is not so much that positive doubts +have arisen, though certainly the lack of fervency gives doubt its +opportunity. Rather is it an inexplicable dulling of the spiritual +eye. The gospel still seems wonderful to the intellect, but to the +heart it has somehow lost its power. + +=(1) The Need of Diligence.=--This condition is due very often to +a neglect of "the means of grace," which we shall study in this +lesson and the two lessons following. It is a great mistake to +suppose that the spiritual life is altogether beyond our control. +Undoubtedly it is instituted only by an immediate exercise of +the divine power, independent of the human will; undoubtedly the +maintenance of it would be impossible without the assistance of the +Holy Spirit. Nevertheless, in that work of maintenance, we have a +very definite part. Many Christians suppose that any performance +of religious exercises merely for duty's sake, without immediate +spiritual profit, is a mere form. This supposition is erroneous. +Not performance of religious exercises without spiritual profit, +but performance of them without the desire of spiritual profit, is +formalism. The appointed means of grace must continue to be used +even when no immediate benefit can be discerned. In the reading of +the Bible, in prayer, in public worship, the Christian should first +of all do his duty. The result may safely be left to God. + +=(2) The Danger of Neglect.=--Without such attention to duty, the +Christian life becomes merely a matter of inclination. In times of +great spiritual distress we call upon God for comfort and help; +but in the long, level weeks of comparative prosperity we think we +can do without him. Such thoughts are the height of folly. God is +not our servant, he is not one who can safely be left out of our +thoughts except when we think we especially need him. If we neglect +God in time of prosperity, we may call in vain when adversity comes. + +=(3) The Reward of Duty.=--The religious life is not merely a matter +of inclination; it must be diligently fostered. Such attention +to duty, however, will never be merely drudgery. It may begin +with drudgery, and it may become drudgery again at times, but if +persisted in, it will be an ever-widening avenue of joy and power. + + +2. THE STUDY OF THE BIBLE + +The reading of the Bible is such a simple thing, and so obviously +necessary to the Christian life, that it requires comparatively +little discussion. Despite its indispensableness, however, it is +being sadly neglected to-day. Our fathers learned the Bible with +a thoroughness which to-day is almost unknown. The change is full +of danger. A Bible-reading Church is possessed of power; without +the Bible the Church loses its identity altogether and sinks back +into the life of the world. The process, unfortunately, has gone to +considerable lengths. How may it now be checked? + +=(1) The Study Should Be Made Interesting.=--Something, no doubt, +may be done by making the study of the Bible more interesting. +Certainly the Bible does not yield in interest to any other branch +of knowledge. The Bible does not merely present spiritual truth; it +presents it in a wonderfully rich and varied way. If the study of +the Bible is stupid, the fault lies not in the subject matter, but +in the student or in the teacher. + +=(2) The Motive of Duty.=--Nevertheless, a mere appeal to the +interest of the students is entirely insufficient. After all, +there is no royal road to learning--not to Biblical learning any +more than to the learning of the world. Solid education can never +be attained without hard work; education that is easy is pretty +sure to be worthless. Especially at the beginning the chief appeal +in education must be to a sense of duty. So it is in the case +of the Bible. The Bible is the word of God; obviously it may not +be neglected. Let us study it, then, primarily because the study +of it is an obvious duty. As a matter of fact the duty will soon +become a pleasure, but let not that be the motive. Let us read +the Bible regularly and persistently, in entire independence of +changing impulse. That is the kind of study that is blessed of God. +Superficial study, determined by mere inclination, may at first +sight seem just as good. But when adversity or temptation comes, +then the difference appears. It is the difference between a house +built upon the sand and a house built upon the rock. The two houses +look alike, but when the rains descend and the floods come, one +falls and the other stands. The Christian whose knowledge of the +Bible is obtained by old-fashioned, patient study, never interrupted +by changing inclination, has dug deep and founded his house upon the +rock. + +=(3) The Example of the Apostolic Church.=--The example of the +apostolic Church in the matter of the means of grace is especially +significant. In the apostolic age, it might have seemed as though +these simple exercises might be dispensed with. What need of +regularly appointed forms when the Holy Spirit was so immediately +manifested? Yet as a matter of fact all of the essential forms +of Christian custom were present from the beginning. Regularity +and diligence were cherished even in the first exuberance of the +Jerusalem church. Enthusiasm of spiritual life did not lead to +the despising of ordinary helps; the early disciples "continued +stedfastly," "day by day," "with one accord in the temple, and +breaking bread at home, they took their food with gladness and +singleness of heart." Acts 2:46. + +The use which the apostolic Church made of the Bible might seem +to some modern men particularly surprising. A book religion, men +say, is a stagnant religion; living faith is independent of dead +documents; it is only when the early enthusiasm is lost that +belief becomes crystallized in submission to venerable authority. +This sort of religious philosophy shatters on the plain facts of +the apostolic age. Admittedly that was an age of freshness and +independence. There never has been such an outburst of religious +enthusiasm as that which planted the faith in Jerusalem and carried +it like wildfire throughout the civilized world. Yet another fact +is equally plain--this wonderful enthusiasm was coupled with the +utmost reverence for a book. Nothing could exceed the unquestioning +submission which the early Christians paid to the Old Testament +Scriptures. The exuberance of apostolic Christianity was intertwined +with a book religion! + +The explanation, of course, is simple. Submission to a human book +means stagnation; but genuine submission to the Word of God means +always what it meant in the apostolic age--heroism and victory and +life. + + +3. BAPTISM + +=(1) Baptism and Circumcision.=--The sacrament of baptism had its +truest predecessor in circumcision, the Old Testament sign of union +with the covenant people. Baptism as well as circumcision is a sign +of the covenant, though the varied symbolism marks the advance of +the new covenant over the old. + +=(2) Christian Baptism and the Baptism of John.=--In form, moreover, +and to a considerable extent also in meaning, Christian baptism +in the early Church was prepared for by the baptism of John the +Baptist, which had even been continued by the disciples of Jesus +during Jesus' earthly ministry. John 4:1,2. Both the baptism of John +and Christian baptism symbolized cleansing from sin. Compare Acts +2:38 with Matt. 3:6,11. + +Christian baptism, however, differed from every rite that had +preceded it by its definite reference to Christ, and by its definite +connection with a new manifestation of the Holy Spirit. + +=(3) Baptism "Into Christ."=--In the apostolic writings, baptism +is sometimes spoken of as a baptism "into Christ." Gal. 3:27; Rom. +6:3. The meaning of this phrase has often been obscured both in +translation and in interpretation. The phrase "into Christ" in this +connection means something more than "with reference to Christ"; +it means rather "into a position within Christ." The Christian, +according to a common Pauline expression, is "in Christ"; he is in +such close union with Christ that the life of Christ might almost be +described as the atmosphere which he breathes. To be baptized "into +Christ" means to come by baptism into this state of blessed union +with the Saviour. + +=(4) Baptism and Faith.=--At this point, however, a serious +question arises. How can baptism be described as the means by which +the Christian comes into union with Christ, when at other times +salvation is declared to be by faith? One solution of the difficulty +would be simply to say that baptism and faith are both necessary--a +man must believe if he is to be saved, but he must also be baptized. +Clearly, however, this view does not represent the meaning of the +New Testament. The passages where faith alone is represented as +the condition of salvation are too strong; especially the vigorous +contrast which Paul sets up between faith and works prevents +any inclusion of such a work as baptism along with faith as an +additional condition of acceptance with God. The true solution is +that baptism is related to faith, or rather to the regenerative work +of the Holy Spirit, as the sign is related to the thing signified. +Baptism represents the work of the Spirit; it is a means which the +Spirit uses. If it stood alone, it would be a meaningless form, but +when it is representative of spiritual facts it becomes a channel of +divine grace. + + +4. THE LORD'S SUPPER + +The celebration of the Lord's Supper in the Jerusalem church was +probably connected in some way with "the breaking of bread," which +is mentioned in Acts 2:42. Every common meal was an expression of +Christian communion, but the solemn words of Christ at the Last +Supper could not have been forgotten. Here, as so often, the book of +The Acts affords little information about the internal affairs of +the Church. + +Fortunately, Paul, in the First Epistle to the Corinthians, is far +more explicit, and inferences can be drawn from him with regard +even to Jerusalem. Paul represents the Lord's Supper, not as an +innovation, but as something that had been given to the Corinthians +as a matter of course, at the very beginning of their Christian +lives; evidently the sacrament was celebrated universally in the +churches; Paul had "received" the account of the institution of the +Supper from the Lord through the first Christians. + +In Corinth, as was also probably the case in the early days in +Jerusalem, the Supper was celebrated in connection with the common +meals of the Christian community. Certain abuses had arisen; the +rich brought food and drink with them and feasted luxuriously in +the presence of their poorer brethren; the spiritual significance +of the Supper was profaned. Against such abuses Paul enunciates the +great principle that the Supper does not work a magical benefit; if +partaken of irreverently it brings condemnation rather than blessing. + +In I Cor. 10:14-22, the Lord's Supper appears as a warning against +participation in heathen feasts. The pagan fellow citizens of the +Corinthian Christians, by their religious feasts, held communion +with idols; the Christians cannot remain with them and at the same +time commune with Christ. A man must take his choice--either +Christ or idols; he must choose either the Lord's Supper or heathen +feasts. Here the Lord's Supper appears especially as a sign of +communion with Christ, as in ch. 11:26 it appears especially as a +commemoration of his death. These two aspects of the Supper, and +their intimate connection with each other, should now be explained a +little more in detail. + +=(1) A Representation of the Death of Christ.=--The Lord's Supper, +as is observed in the Student's Text Book, is representative of +the death of Christ on our behalf. In many passages of the New +Testament, the significance of that death is explained in words; +in the Lord's Supper it is represented in visible form. The Lord's +Supper is related to the story of the gospel, as the picture or the +acted representation is related to ordinary discourse. In the broken +bread and poured-out wine we not only apprehend with the mind, but +actually see the broken body and shed blood of the Lord. Of course +that does not mean, as the Roman Catholic Church teaches, that the +bread and wine are actually by a miracle, at every celebration of +the Supper, changed into the body and blood of Christ, but only +that they represent them. The very simplicity of the sacrament +should have guarded against misinterpretation. An actual image of +the dying Saviour might lead to idolatry, or to an overemphasis +upon the details of the scene on Calvary; the simple representation +that Christ ordained is enough to be vivid, without being enough to +become misleading. + +=(2) A Representation of Our Union with Christ.=--The Supper +represents the death of Christ not as a mere drama, remote from us, +but as a death on our behalf. In the Supper we do not merely witness +the breaking of the bread and the pouring out of the wine; we +partake of the bread and wine ourselves. Plainly the symbolism means +that we who are disciples of Christ do not merely admire the holy +self-sacrifice of Christ, but rather receive the benefits of it. We +feed upon the body and blood of Christ in the high spiritual sense +that by faith we obtain from Christ's death pardon for our sins and +a fresh start in the full favor of God. These benefits we obtain not +by our own efforts, but by a free gift. It was Christ himself who +broke the bread and poured out the wine on the last evening before +the crucifixion; it is also Christ who, through his minister, at +every celebration of the sacrament, is represented as offering to us +his body and blood. + +The Lord's Supper, therefore, is not merely a commemoration of an +event in the past; it is also the symbol of a present fact. It +symbolizes the blessed communion of believers with one another and +with Christ. + + +5. THE SACRAMENTS MORE THAN A PROCLAMATION OF THE GOSPEL + +So far we have considered the sacraments merely as one means of +proclaiming the gospel. The Bible proclaims the gospel in words; +the sacraments proclaim it in pictures. Even if that were all, the +sacraments would be of great value. By these symbolic actions the +gospel message attains a new vividness and definiteness. + +As a matter of fact, however, baptism and the Lord's Supper are more +than peculiar ways of making a vivid presentation of the gospel. +They were instituted especially by Christ, and the Holy Spirit has +connected with them a special blessing. The Spirit can use what +means he will, and he has chosen to use these. In the Lord's Supper, +for example, the Lord is really present in the midst of his people. +He is not present, indeed, in "a corporal and carnal manner"; but +his spiritual presence is a blessed fact. + +The sacraments, therefore, should not be neglected. In themselves, +when unaccompanied by faith, they are valueless; and they are not +necessary for salvation. Ordinarily, however, they are a chosen +means of blessing. When God wills, other means can take their place, +but under all ordinary circumstances they are used. Certainly they +should not be neglected without adequate cause. They have been +provided by God, and God is wiser than men. + +The Lord's Supper should be received with solemnity; but sometimes +young Christians have perhaps an exaggerated dread of it. The error +of the Corinthian Christians should indeed be carefully avoided; +wanton carelessness in the solemn act will of course bring the +condemnation of God. But the Supper does not demand perfection, +even in faith; on the contrary it is intended to help to remove +imperfection. The Lord's Supper is not a dangerous bit of magic, +where any little mistake might break the charm. Let us partake of it +with a simple prayer, and leave the results to the goodness of God. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": article on +"Lord's Supper"; Purves, article on "Baptism." W. W. Moore, "The +Indispensable Book." Candlish, "The Christian Sacraments" (In +"Handbooks for Bible Classes," edited by Dods and Whyte). Lilley, +"The Lord's Supper." + + + + +LESSON XLIII + +PRAYER + + +1. THE ANSWERER OF PRAYER + +The prayers of the apostolic age reveal with startling clearness the +apostolic conception of God; and one chief reason why our prayers +fall short of the apostolic standard is that our idea of God is +different. + +=(1) God Is a Person.=--In the first place, true prayer always +conceives of God as a Person; whereas much of modern religious +thinking conceives of him as only another name for the world. Human +life, it is said, is a part of the life of God; every man, to +some degree, is divine. Such a philosophy makes prayer logically +impossible. It is impossible for us to speak to an impersonal +world-force of which we ourselves are merely an expression; the +personal distinction between man and God is absolutely essential to +prayer. + +The transcendence of God as over against the world is grandly +expressed in the prayer of the Jerusalem church, which was studied +in the Student's Text Book; the Jerusalem Christians addressed God +as the Lord who made "the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all +that in them is." Acts 4:24. God, in other words, is not another +name for the world, but Creator of the world. He is indeed present +in the world; not a single thing that happens is independent of him; +the world would not continue for a moment without God's sustaining +hand. But that means, not that God is identical with the world, but +that he is Master of it. God pervades all things; he is present +everywhere; but he is also free. + +That conception pervades all the prayers of the apostolic Church; +in all of them man comes to God as one person to another. God is +free; God can do what he will; through Christ he is our Father. He +is not bound by his own works; he is independent of nature; he will +overrule all things for the good of his children. Such is the God +that can answer prayer. + +=(2) God Is an Infinite and Holy Person.=--If, however, the prayers +of the apostolic age conceive of God as a Person, they also conceive +of him as very different from men. Here, also, they provide a +salutary example for the modern Church. Many devout Christians of +to-day, in avoiding the error which has just been described, in +thinking of God plainly as a person, are inclined to fall into the +opposite mistake. In their clear realization of God as a person +they think of him as a person exactly like ourselves. They regard +the difference between God and man as a difference of degree +rather than a difference of kind; they think of God as merely a +greater man in the sky. The result of such thinking is disastrous +for prayer. Prayer, to be sure, is here not absolutely destroyed; +communion with God remains possible; but such communion is degraded. +Communion loses that sense of mystery and awe which properly belongs +to it. Man becomes too familiar with God; God takes merely the +leading place in a circle of friends; religion descends to the +plane of other relationships. Prayer to such a God is apt to become +irreverent. If our prayers are to lift us fully into the presence of +God they must never lie on the same plane with the communion that we +enjoy with our fellow men, but must be filled with a profound sense +of God's majesty and power. + +The danger of permitting prayer, on account of its very privilege, +to become a commonplace thing is one that threatens us all. It may +be overcome, however, in the first place, by the contemplation of +nature. "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament +showeth his handiwork"--and it is a terrible, mysterious God that +they reveal. The stupendous vastness of the universe and the +baffling mystery of the surrounding infinity oppress the thoughtful +mind with a profound sense of insignificance. And God is the Maker +and Ruler of it all, the One in whom all the mystery finds its +explanation! Such is the employment of nature in the prayer of the +Jerusalem church. Acts 4:24. + +All the prayers of the apostolic Church illustrate the principle +which is now being emphasized. There is never anything trite or +vulgar about the prayers that are contained in the New Testament; +they are all characterized by a wonderful dignity and reverence. + +If the infinity and omnipotence of God should prevent any +irreverence in our prayers, the thought of his holiness is perhaps +even more overwhelming. We are full of impurity. Who can stand +before the white light of God's awful judgment throne? + +=(3) God Is a Gracious Person.=--Nevertheless, despite the majesty +and holiness of God, he invites us into his presence. It is a +stupendous wonder. No reasoning could have shown it to be probable; +only ignorance can regard it as a matter of course. If God were +only a somewhat greater man, there would have been comparatively +little mystery in prayer; but communion with the infinite and +eternal and holy One, the unfathomed cause of all things, is +the wonder of wonders. It is a wonder of God's grace. It is too +wonderful to be true; yet it has become true in Christ. True prayer +brings us not before some God of our own devising, before whom +we could stand in our own merit without fear, but into the dread +presence of Jehovah. Let us not hesitate to go; God has called us; +he loves us as a Father, far more than we can ever love him. Prayer +is full of joy; the joy is so great that it is akin to fear. + + +2. THE INFLUENCE OF JESUS' TEACHING UPON THE PRAYERS OF THE +APOSTOLIC CHURCH + +In studying the prayers of the apostolic age, it must always be +remembered that they stood upon the foundation of Jesus' example and +precept. + +=(1) The Example of Jesus.=--With all his power and holiness Jesus +was not above asking for strength to perform his gracious work; +after that long, wearying day in Capernaum he "departed into a +desert place, and there prayed." Mark 1:35. In the hour of agony in +Gethsemane, he prayed a truly human, though holy, prayer: "Abba, +Father, all things are possible unto thee; remove this cup from me: +howbeit not what I will, but what thou wilt." Ch. 14:36. Prayer, +moreover, was not something which Jesus reserved for himself; +clearly it was a privilege which he extended to all his disciples. +In the prayer that he taught his disciples, he summed up all that +our prayer should be. Matt. 6:9-15. + +=(2) God as Father.=--One thing in particular was derived by the +apostolic Church from Jesus--the conception of God as Father. This +conception appears in the epistles of Paul as a matter of course; +evidently it was firmly established among the readers; it no longer +required defense or explanation. Yet it had not lost, through long +repetition, one whit of its freshness; in Paul it is never a mere +phrase, but always a profound spiritual fact. + +Obviously this idea of the fatherhood of God was of particular +importance for prayer. It taught the disciples "to draw near to God +with all holy reverence and confidence, as children to a father, +able and ready to help" them. A characteristic way of addressing God +even in the Gentile churches of Paul was "Abba, Father." Gal. 4:6; +Rom. 8:15. The Aramaic word "Abba" is sufficient to show that this +hallowed usage was based ultimately upon the teaching and example of +Jesus; the word was the very one that Jesus had used both in his own +prayers, for example in Gethsemane, Mark 14:36, and in the "Lord's +Prayer" which he taught to his disciples. + +=(3) The Right of Sonship.=--What needs to be observed especially, +however, is that the right of addressing God as "our Father" was +not in the apostolic Church extended to all men. Certainly no +justification for such an extension could have been found in the +teaching of Jesus; it was not the unbelieving multitude, but his own +disciples, to whom Jesus taught the Lord's Prayer. Matt. 5:1; 6:9; +Luke 11:1, 2. Paul is even more explicit; the cry "Abba, Father" was +to him a proof that a great change had taken place, that those who +had been formerly under bondage to the world had now become sons +of God. This change Paul represents especially under the figure of +adoption, Gal. 4:5; men have to be adopted by God before they can +call God Father; and adoption is accomplished only by the work of +Christ. Vs. 4,5. + +=(4) The Intercession of the Spirit.=--The cry, "Abba, Father" can +never be uttered by sinful man alone, but only by the power of +Christ's Spirit. The prayers even of the redeemed are faulty. But +the Holy Spirit takes up their cry. "And in like manner the Spirit +also helpeth our infirmity: for we know not how to pray as we ought; +but the Spirit himself maketh intercession for us with groanings +which cannot be uttered; and he that searcheth the hearts knoweth +what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for +the saints according to the will of God." Rom. 8:26, 27. + +There lies the true ground of confidence in prayer. Prayer does not +derive its efficacy from any merit of its own, but only from the +goodness of God. Let us not worry too much as to whether our prayers +are good or bad; let them only be simple and sincere; God knows our +weakness; his Spirit will make intercession for us far better than +we can intercede for ourselves. + + +3. PUBLIC PRAYERS OF THE APOSTOLIC CHURCH + +The few individual prayers that have been preserved from the +apostolic age are for the most part prayers of a more or less public +character. The spontaneous outpourings of the hearts of individual +saints before God would usually not be put into writing; the full +secrets of the prayer closet are known to God alone. + +=(1) Spontaneity and Sincerity.=--Nevertheless, the public character +of the prayers of the New Testament does not mean that they are cold +and formal. On the contrary, at a time when set liturgies had not +yet been formed, public prayer possessed all the spontaneity of more +private devotions; the thought of the listening congregation or of a +circle of readers did not bring any hampering restraint. There is a +sterling sincerity about all the prayers or fragments of prayers in +the New Testament. + +=(2) Dignity.=--The spontaneity and sincerity of the prayers, +however, did not involve any sacrifice of dignity. The prayer of +the Jerusalem congregation, Acts 4:24-30, is a marvel of exalted +speech; its employment of Scripture phrase is an admirable example +for public prayers of all ages. That prayer received a glorious +answer; indeed the true prayer of the congregation never remains +unheard. Christ's promise is always fulfilled; where two or three +are gathered together in his name there is he in the midst of them. + +In the epistles, there is to be found here and there what may be +called, if not the beginning of liturgy, at any rate material of +which a magnificent liturgy can be formed. The benediction of Heb. +13:20,21, for example, is characterized by a splendid rhythm as well +as by true evangelical fervor. Such a prayer lifts the hearts of the +congregation up into the presence of God. There is use for beauty, +even in prayer; and the truest beauty is to be found in the prayers +of the Bible. + + +4. PRIVATE PRAYERS OF THE APOSTOLIC CHURCH + +The apostolic guidance in prayer extends even to those private +prayers which no one hears except God. In this field, the epistles +of Paul are of special value. More fully than any other one man of +the apostolic age, Paul has revealed the very secrets of Christian +experience; and that experience is rooted in prayer. A glance at +the beginnings and endings of the epistles will be sufficient to +show how fundamental prayer was in Paul's life; news of the churches +was never received without issuing at once in thanksgiving or in +intercession, and Paul desires, not merely the good wishes, but the +prayers, of his beloved converts. Paul practiced what he preached +when he urged the Thessalonian Christians to "pray without ceasing." +I Thess. 5:17. Compare chs. 1:3; 2:13; Rom. 1:9; II Tim. 1:3. +Evidently, moreover, he regarded prayer as something far more than +an incidental expression of the Christian life; he believed in its +real efficacy with the Ruler of the world. + + +5. "MY POWER IS MADE PERFECT IN WEAKNESS" + +One passage, particularly, will repay special study. In II Cor. +12:8,9, we have information about the most intimate, the most +personal of the prayers of Paul. The apostle had been afflicted with +a persistent illness; it had apparently hampered him in his work, +and caused him acute distress. In his trouble he called upon the +Lord; and by that prayer Paul's affliction has been made to redound +to the lasting instruction and encouragement of the Church. + +=(1) Prayer Concerning Physical Ills.=--In the first place, the +prayer concerns not spiritual matters, or the needs of the Church +at large, but a simple affair of the physical life. As life is +constituted here on earth, we are intimately connected with the +physical world; the body is necessary to the soul. But God is Master +of earth as well as of heaven; even the simplest needs of life may +be laid before him in prayer. To teach us that, we have here the +example of Paul, as well as the precept of the Saviour himself. + +=(2) The Answer.=--In the second place, the prayer was answered, and +answered in a very instructive way. The illness was not removed; +but it was made an instrument of blessing. The purpose of it was +revealed: "My power," said Christ, "is made perfect in weakness." +Physical suffering is worth while if it leads to heroism and faith. +Such is often the Lord's will. He himself trod the path of suffering +before us, and in his case as in ours, the path led to glory. + +=(3) The Prayer Addressed to Christ.=--In the third place, this +prayer was addressed, not to God the Father, but to Christ. +Compare Acts 7:59,60. Without doubt "the Lord" in II Cor. 12:8, +as practically always in the Pauline Epistles, refers to Christ. +Usually, in the New Testament, prayer is addressed, through Christ, +to God the Father; but there is no reason why it should not be +addressed to the Son. The Son as well as the Father is a living +Person; and the Son as well as the Father is God. It is well that +we have apostolic examples for prayer addressed directly to the +Saviour. Christ, to Paul, was no mere instrument in salvation, +that had served its purpose and was then removed; he was alive and +sovereign, and the relation to him was a relation of love. In a time +of acute physical distress, Paul turned to the Saviour. Three times +he called, and then the answer came. The answer will always come in +the Lord's way, not in ours; but the Lord's way is always best. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Hastings, "Dictionary of the Bible": Bernard, +article on "Prayer" (III). Thomas, "The Prayers of St. Paul." + + + + +LESSON XLIV + +THE CONGREGATION + + +1. CONGREGATIONAL MEETINGS IN PALESTINE + +In studying the congregational meetings of the apostolic churches +it must be remembered that the Christian community in Jerusalem +continued for many years its participation in the worship of temple +and synagogue. Specially Christian meetings, therefore, were at +first not the sole expression of the collective worship of the +Jerusalem Christians. Nevertheless, such meetings were undoubtedly +held, even from the beginning. From the days when the one hundred +and twenty brethren were gathered together before Pentecost, the +Church was not without some outward expression of its distinctive +life. + +=(1) As Indicated in The Acts.=--The circumstances of such early +meetings of the congregation are, however, obscure. The very +considerable numbers of the converts, Acts 2:41,47; 4:4; 5:14, would +perhaps sometimes make it difficult to gather the whole congregation +together in one place; if, however, that were done, it would perhaps +be usually in some part of the temple area. There seem to have been +general meetings--for example, Acts 15:1-29--but it is perhaps not +necessary to suppose that they included every individual member of +the Jerusalem church. + +Certainly, however, no members of that first Christian community +neglected the assembling of themselves together. Evidently the sense +of brotherhood was strongly developed, and evidently it expressed +itself not only in the regular relief of the needy, Acts 6:1, but +also in meetings for instruction and worship and prayer. Ch. 2:42; +4:23-31. These meetings were only outward indications of a wonderful +unity of mind and heart. Ch. 4:32. The cause of that unity was the +common possession of the Spirit of God. + +As might have been expected in a book which is interested chiefly +in the outward extension of the kingdom, the book of The Acts +gives us little detailed information about the conduct of these +earliest Christian meetings. Probably, however, the example of the +Jewish synagogue made itself strongly felt. There was no violent +break with Judaism; a new spirit was infused into ancient forms. +The resemblance between the synagogue service and even the fully +developed Christian meetings of to-day was noted in connection with +Lesson IV. + +=(2) As Indicated in the Epistle of James.=--The Epistle of James +perhaps helps somewhat to supply the need of detailed information. +That epistle, as was observed in Lesson XXXII, was written by the +head of the Jerusalem Church, and probably to Jewish Christians +before A.D. 49. Apparently, therefore, we have in James 2:1-6 some +welcome information about Christian assemblies, if not in Jerusalem, +at least in other Jewish Christian churches. In v. 2, the word +"synagogue" is applied to the meeting which is described, but that +word in Greek means simply "gathering together"--almost the same +word is used in Heb. 10:25. The use of the word by James shows +simply that at that early time "synagogue" had not become purely a +technical designation of a non-Christian Jewish assembly. + +So interpreted, the passage in James indicates--what might indeed +have been expected--that the early Christian meetings were not +always perfect. A Pharisaical habit of respect of persons and desire +for the chief seats had crept even into the Church. If similar +faults appear in modern times, we should not despair, but should +fight against them in the spirit of James. + + +2. CONGREGATIONAL MEETINGS IN THE PAULINE CHURCHES + +With regard to the Pauline churches information about the conduct +of religious services is far more abundant than it is with regard +to the churches of Palestine; for we have here the inestimable +assistance of the Pauline Epistles. The First Epistle to the +Corinthians, especially, is a mine of information; but much can also +be learned elsewhere. + +=(1) The Place of Meeting.=--From The Acts it appears that Paul +regularly began his work in any city by preaching in the Jewish +synagogue, but that the opposition of the Jews soon made it +necessary to find another meeting place. Often, a private house, +belonging to one of the converts, served the purpose. Rom. 16:23; +I Cor. 16:19; Col. 4:15; Philem. 2. Sometimes there seem to +have been a number of such house-churches in the same city; yet +common meetings of all the Christians of the city seem also to +be presupposed. In Ephesus Paul used for his evangelistic work +a building or a room belonging to a certain Tyrannus, who was +probably a rhetorician. The erection of buildings especially for +Christian use belongs of course to a considerably later time. + +=(2) The Time of Meeting.=--The frequency of the meetings does not +appear, and may well have varied according to circumstances. There +is some indication, however, that the first day of the week, the +present Sunday, was especially singled out for religious services. I +Cor. 16:2; Acts 20:7. The same day is apparently called "the Lord's +day" in Rev. 1:10. + +=(3) Temporary Gifts of the Spirit.=--In the actual conduct of the +meetings, some features appear which are not to be observed in the +modern Church. A number of the gifts discussed in I Cor., chs. 12 to +14--for example, miracles, speaking with tongues, the interpretation +of tongues, and prophecy in the strict sense--have become extinct. +The cessation of them need cause no wonder; the apostolic age was +a time of beginnings, when the Church was being established by the +immediate exercise of the power of God; it is no wonder that at +such a time the Spirit manifested himself as he did not in later +generations. There is a fundamental difference between the apostolic +age and all subsequent periods in the history of the Church. + +Nevertheless, all the essential features of our modern church +services were present from the earliest time about which we have +detailed information. The example of the apostles is here very +explicit. + +=(4) Scripture-Reading.=--In the first place, the Pauline churches +certainly practiced the reading of the Bible. That would be proved +sufficiently by the evident familiarity of the Christians with the +Old Testament Scriptures; for in those days such familiarity would +undoubtedly be received in large measure by having the Bible read +aloud. The example of the synagogue would also have its influence. +It must be remembered that some even of the Gentile converts were +familiar with the synagogue service before they became Christians. +But there is also the explicit testimony of I Thess. 5:27, Col. +4:16. There the reading of Pauline Epistles is specifically +enjoined. The Apocalypse also was clearly intended to be read aloud. +Rev. 1:3; 22:18. + +=(5) Preaching.=--In the second place, there was preaching. No doubt +this part of the service often took a somewhat different form from +that which it assumes to-day. Prophecy, for example, was a kind of +preaching which has been discontinued. The exercise of the gift of +"teaching" perhaps corresponded more closely to the sermons of the +present day; certainly an exposition of the Scripture passages read +would have been according to the analogy of the Jewish synagogue. At +any rate, in some form or other, there was certainly instruction in +the Scriptures and in the gospel, and exhortation based upon that +instruction. + +=(6) Prayer.=--In the third place, there was prayer; directions for +public prayer are given at some length in I Tim., ch. 2; and there +are indications that prayer was practiced also in the meetings of +the Corinthian church. See for example, I Cor. 11:4,5. + +=(7) Singing.=--In the fourth place, there was probably singing, +though the direct information about this part of the service is +slight. See, for example, I Cor. 14:26. Certainly no elaborate +argument is necessary in order to exhibit the Scripture warrant for +singing in the worship of God. Psalms were sung in Old Testament +times to an instrumental accompaniment, and there is no evidence +that the customs of the Church were changed in this respect under +the new dispensation. Indeed, if singing is an expression of joy, it +would seem to be especially in place after the fulfillment of the +promises has come. + + +3. PAUL'S DIRECTIONS FOR CONGREGATIONAL MEETINGS + +Two features balance each other in Paul's directions for the public +worship of the Corinthian church. + +=(1) The Principle of Freedom.=--In the first place he is in full +sympathy with the freedom and informality that prevailed. There seem +to have been no set speakers in Corinth; every man spoke as the +spirit gave him utterance; the service must have been characterized +by great variety. This variety, Paul says, is not disturbing, +because it finds its higher unity in the Holy Spirit. "There are +diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit." I Cor. 12:4. + +=(2) The Principle of Dignity.=--In the second place, however, +Paul has a strong sense of dignity. The enthusiastic expression of +religious feeling must not degenerate into anything like a senseless +orgy; spiritual gifts, however exalted, are not independent of +reason. "The spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets; +for God is not a God of confusion, but of peace." I Cor. 14:32,33. +"Let all things be done decently and in order." V. 40. + +Dignity was to be preserved, moreover, not merely in the ordering of +the service itself, but also in the dress and behavior of those who +took part. So much at least is clear in the difficult passage, ch. +11:2-16. Apparently the full equality which was granted to women in +the Christian life led the women of the Corinthian congregation to +give a kind of expression to their freedom which at least at that +time was not seemly. Paul detected the danger and guarded against +it. The lesson always needs to be learned. However dignity may be +preserved in detail, in any particular country and at any particular +time, the principle itself should always be borne in mind exactly as +Paul enunciated it. + +At a later period in the apostolic age, the sense of dignity seems +to have found expression in a quieter sort of religious service than +that which prevailed at the time of First Corinthians. The First +Epistle to Timothy lays great stress upon sobriety and gravity in +various departments of the life of the Church. + +=(3) The Principle of Love.=--These two principles--the principle +of freedom and the principle of dignity--are kept each in its own +proper place only when they are submitted to the governance of a +higher principle. That higher principle is love. The ultimate aim of +congregational meetings, according to Paul, is not the benefit of +the individual, but the edification of the whole body, and of the +stranger who may come in. The man who has the principle of Christian +love in his heart, as it is grandly described in I Cor., ch. 13, +will never push himself forward in the congregation in such a way as +to display his own spiritual gifts at the expense of others. On the +other hand, he will not be inclined to check the operations of the +Spirit; it is the Spirit alone who can convert the stranger, it is +the Spirit alone who can build up Christian people in the life of +faith and hope and love. + +The principle of love is often neglected in the modern Church. +People say they will not go to church because they get nothing out +of it. No doubt they are mistaken; no doubt if they did go, the +benefit would appear clearly in the long run in their own lives. +But at any rate they have ignored the highest motive altogether. We +should go to church not only to obtain benefit for ourselves, but +also, and especially, to benefit our brethren by joining with them +in worship, in prayer and in instruction. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Hastings, "Dictionary of the Bible"; Gayford, +article on "Church"; Adeney, article on "Worship (in N.T.)." +Charteris, "The Church of Christ," pp. 44-90. + + + + +LESSON XLV + +THE RELIEF OF THE NEEDY + + +In the Student's Text Book, special emphasis was laid upon the +relief of the needy as it was practiced in the Jerusalem church. +Here it may be well to supplement what was there said by a somewhat +more detailed treatment of the great collection that was undertaken +by Paul. The exposition will serve to illustrate the apostolic +principles of Christian giving. + + +1. THE PAULINE COLLECTION ACCORDING TO FIRST CORINTHIANS + +=(1) The Beginning in Galatia and in Corinth.=--Writing from Ephesus +during his long stay in that city, Acts 19:1 to 20:1, Paul tells +the Corinthians that he had already given directions about the +collection to the churches of Galatia, I Cor. 16:1; he had probably +done so either during the second visit to Galatia, Acts 18:23, or +by letter after his arrival at Ephesus. Now, at any rate, he asks +the Corinthians--very simply and briefly, and evidently presupposing +previous information on the part of his readers--to prosecute the +collection during his absence in order that when he should arrive at +Corinth everything might be ready. + +_(2) Laying in Store on the First Day of the Week._--The manner in +which the collection was to be managed is exceedingly interesting. +"Upon the first day of the week," Paul says, "let each one of you +lay by him in store, as he may prosper." I Cor. 16:2. Apparently +no permanent church treasury was used for the reception of the +gifts, every man was to save his own money at home, very much as +private collection barrels are used to-day. The laying up of the +money, however, was to take place on the first day of the week; we +have here probably an early trace of the Christian Sabbath. Perhaps +we may conclude that the act of giving was regarded as a part of +religious worship. Such a conclusion is at any rate in thorough +harmony with all that Paul says about the collection. Some people +seem to feel that the taking of an offering rather mars the dignity +of a church service. In reality it has that effect only if it is +executed in the wrong spirit. Christian giving is treated by Paul as +a legitimate part of the worship of God. + +=(3) The Delegates of the Corinthian Church.=--When Paul should +arrive at Corinth, he was to receive the collection and either +send or take it to Jerusalem by the help of delegates whom the +Corinthians themselves should choose. The purpose of choosing these +delegates appears more plainly in Second Corinthians. + + +2. THE PAULINE COLLECTION ACCORDING TO SECOND CORINTHIANS + +=(1) The Situation.=--After the writing of the First Epistle to the +Corinthians, there had followed a period of serious estrangement +between Paul and the Corinthian church. Naturally enough the +collection suffered during this period, as did other Christian +activities. At the time of Second Corinthians, perhaps about a year +after the first letter had been written, Paul was obliged to remind +his readers that although they had begun the work the year before, +much remained still to be done. II Cor. 8:10; 9:2. Nevertheless, +Titus, during his recent visit to Corinth, when the repentance +of the church had become manifest, had apparently been able to +take the matter again in hand. Such seems to be the most probable +interpretation of ch. 8:6; 12:18. If Titus did take up the matter on +the very visit when the rebellion against Paul had been only with +difficulty quelled, that is a striking indication of the importance +which Paul and his associates attributed to the collection. It +was not a matter that could wait until some convenient season; it +had to be taken in hand vigorously, even perhaps at the risk of +misunderstanding and suspicion, the very moment when Paul's relation +to the church became again tolerably good. + +=(2) Courtesy of Paul.=--Like all of Paul's management of money +matters, his treatment of the collection is characterized by +admirable delicacy and tact. Instead of berating the Corinthians +roundly for their delinquency, as so many modern organizers would +have done, he seeks to win them over by worthier methods. He points, +indeed, to the example of the Macedonian Christians, in order to +fire the zeal of the Corinthians; the poverty of the Macedonian +churches had not stood in the way of their liberality; they had +given up to their power and indeed beyond their power; they had +given, not of compulsion, but willingly, dedicating themselves as +well as their goods to the Lord. II Cor. 8:1-5. But the Corinthians +are allowed to draw their own conclusion; Paul does not force it +upon them. He does not press the matter home brutally; he does not +put the Corinthians to shame by expressly pointing out how much +more generously the poorer Macedonian Christians had contributed +than they. Indeed he gives his readers full credit; he courteously +calls their attention to the fact that it was they who had made the +beginning, v. 10, and that he had been able to boast of them to the +Macedonians, so that their zeal had stirred up their Macedonian +brethren. Ch. 9:1,2. He appeals especially to the pride that they +ought to feel in the boasting which Paul had ventured upon in their +behalf; Paul had boasted to the Macedonians that Achaia had been +prepared for a year; how sad an end it would be to such boasting if +Macedonians should go to Corinth with Paul and should find that the +collection was not ready after all! Paul urges the Corinthians not +to leave any part of the work until after his arrival; if they do, +they will put both him and themselves to shame. Vs. 1-5. + +With equal delicacy Paul hints that the achievements of the +Corinthians in other directions ought to be supplemented by this +grace of giving. The Corinthians, according to the first epistle, +had been very proud of their power of "utterance" and their +"knowledge"; to these Paul can now add--after the loyalty of the +church has finally been established--earnestness and love, II Cor. +8:6-8; but all these excellences will be incomplete unless there +is also liberality. The Christian life must express itself in the +simpler graces, if the more conspicuous activities are to be of +genuine value. + +=(3) No Unfair Burdens to Be Borne.=--The delicacy of Paul's +treatment of the matter is observed also in II Cor. 8:10-15; he +is careful to explain that the Corinthians are not asked to lay +unfair burdens upon themselves. There should be an equality among +Christians; it is now time for the Corinthians to give rather than +to receive, but if circumstances should change they might count on +the aid of their brethren. Furthermore, no one should be discouraged +if he can give only a little; "if the readiness is there, it is +acceptable according as a man hath, not according as he hath not." + +=(4) Cheerful Giving.=--Paul urges his readers, indeed, to be +bountiful. "He that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; +and he that soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully." II +Cor. 9:6. But this bountifulness was to be secured, not by pressing +out the last cent, but by promoting real cheerfulness in giving. +"Let each man do according as he hath purposed in his heart: not +grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver." The +Pauline method is wisest in the end. Men can seldom be bullied into +liberality; they will give liberally only when giving becomes, not a +mere duty, but a joy. Cheerfulness in giving, moreover, possesses a +value of its own, quite aside from the amount of the gift; it is a +true expression of Christian communion. + +=(5) The Unity of the Church.=--Probably Paul desired to accomplish +by the collection something even more important than the relief of +the Jerusalem poor. Many Palestinian Christians--not only extreme +Judaizers, but also apparently considerable numbers among the rank +and file--had been suspicious of the Gentile mission. Acts 21:20,21. +Such suspicions would be allayed by deeds more effectively than by +words; a generous offering for the poor of the Jerusalem church +would show that Jews and Gentiles were really united in the bonds of +Christian love. II Cor. 9:12-14. + +=(6) The Glory of God.=--Ultimately, however, the purpose of the +collection, as of all other Christian activities, is to be found, +according to Paul, in God. "For the ministration of this service +not only filleth up the measure of the wants of the saints, but +aboundeth also through many thanksgivings unto God." The unity of +the Church, inspiring though it is, is desired, not for its own +sake, but for the sake of the glory of God. By the simple means of +the collection, Paul hopes to present a united Church--united in +thanksgiving and in love--as some poor, human return to him who has +granted us all the "unspeakable gift" of salvation through his Son. + +=(7) Sound Business Methods.=--The arrangements which Paul made for +the administration of the gifts are as instructive in their way as +are the lofty principles that he applied. In order to avoid base +suspicions, II Cor. 8:20; 12:16-18, he determined that delegates +approved by the Corinthians themselves should carry the gifts to +Jerusalem, I Cor. 16:3,4, and secured for the prosecution of the +work in Corinth men who had the full indorsement of the churches. +II Cor. 8:16-24. The lesson is worth learning. It will not do to be +careless about the money matters of the Church; it will not do to +say that the Church is above suspicion. Like Paul, "we take thought +for things honorable, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also +in the sight of men." In other words, we must be not only honorable +in managing the money affairs of the Church, but also demonstrably +honorable. To that end sound business methods should always be used. +The accounts of the Church should be audited, not with less care, +but if anything with more care, than those of ordinary business +enterprises. + + +3. THE PAULINE COLLECTION ACCORDING TO ROMANS + +In the Epistle to the Romans, written from Corinth a little after +the time of Second Corinthians, Paul speaks of the collection +again. Rom. 15:22-29,31. He is on the point of going with the +gifts to Jerusalem, and asks the Roman Christians to pray that +the ministration of the Gentiles may be "acceptable to the +saints." There is no reason to suppose that such prayers were +unanswered; Paul was cordially received by the Jerusalem Christians, +Acts 21:17-26; the trouble which caused his arrest came from +non-Christian Jews. + + +4. TO WHOM WAS RELIEF EXTENDED? + +=(1) Breadth of Christian Sympathy.=--The relief of the needy +in the apostolic Church, as it has been studied in the present +lesson, concerned, not outsiders, but Christian brethren. This fact +certainly does not mean that the early Christians were narrow in +their sympathies; they had received from Jesus the command to love +their enemies, and the command was reiterated by the apostles. Rom. +12:20. They were commanded, furthermore, to "work that which is good +toward all men." Gal. 6:10. + +=(2) Special Attention to Christian Brethren.=--There were reasons, +however, why such good works should be directed "especially toward +them that are of the household of the faith." + +(a) The Special Rights of Brethren.--In the first place, there was +a general reason, which applies to all ages. Though the Church has +a duty to all men, it has a special duty to its own members; for +Christian people to allow their brethren to starve is as unnatural +as for a father to neglect a son, or a husband a wife. Community in +the faith does create a special bond, which should make itself felt +in all departments of life. + +It should be observed that in the matter of the collection Paul +takes altogether for granted the right of the poor saints to the +support of the Church. He does not think it worth while to go into +details about the suffering of the Jerusalem poor; he does not +attempt to play upon the sympathies of his readers; he does not +patronizingly represent the recipients of the bounty as paupers. +Indeed, the Jerusalem Christians, he tells the Romans, though they +are receiving material aid, are not really debtors, but rather +creditors. "If the Gentiles have been made partakers of their +spiritual things, they owe it to them also to minister unto them in +carnal things." Rom. 15:27. This attitude toward poorer Christians +is worthy of all emulation. Aid to the brethren is not "charity," in +the degraded sense which that fine word has unfortunately assumed, +but a solemn and yet joyful duty. It should never be undertaken in +a patronizing spirit, but in a spirit of love that multiplies the +value of the gift. + +(b) Avoidance of Idleness in the Church.--On the other hand, +however, the apostolic Church did not encourage begging or +pauperism. What the special reason was for the poverty of the +Jerusalem church we do not know. Perhaps many of the Jerusalem +Christians had been obliged to leave their homes in Galilee and in +the Dispersion. At any rate, we may assume that the poverty of the +church was not due to idleness. In the Thessalonian epistles Paul +takes occasion to warn his converts against an idle life; they are +to do their own business and work with their hands; "if any will +not work, neither let him eat." I Thess. 4:10-12; II Thess. 3:6-15. +Certainly Paul was the best example of such diligence; despite his +wonderful gifts and lofty duties he had made himself independent by +manual labor. In the First Epistle to Timothy, moreover, particular +precautions are taken against allowing the bounty of the Church to +be abused. I Tim. 5:3-16. The treatment of the poor in the apostolic +Church exhibits everywhere an admirable combination of common sense +with lofty idealism. + +(c) Conditions in the Apostolic Church and Conditions To-day.--If +the gifts of the apostolic Church were devoted chiefly to Christian +brethren rather than to outsiders, that is no justification for such +limitation to-day. In the apostolic age there were special reasons +why the Church could not often deal extensively with the material +needs of the world at large. The Church was exceedingly poor; many +of the converts probably suffered serious losses by the very fact +of their being Christians; under such conditions the first duty +was obviously at home. Conditions to-day are widely different. +The Church has become wealthy; she is well able to extend her +ministrations far and wide. Only by unlimited breadth of service +will she really be true to the example of Jesus and of his first +disciples; only by universal helpfulness will she be true to her +great commission. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Uhlhorn, "Christian Charity in the Ancient Church." +Brace, "Gesta Christi," pp. 93-105. Charteris, "The Church of +Christ," pp. 91-129. + + + + +LESSON XLVI + +ORGANIZING FOR SERVICE + + +Whatever the organization of a body of Christians may be, the body +itself is a true branch of the Church if it consists of those who +believe in Christ. Nevertheless, if the Church is to be more than an +aggregation of individuals, if it is not only to be something, but +also to do something, it requires some sort of organization. This +fundamental need was clearly recognized in the apostolic age; and +it was met by certain provisions which we believe ought still to be +followed. These provisions, however, do not amount to anything like +an elaborate constitution; they do not hinder adaptation to changing +conditions. + + +1. ELDERS ACCORDING TO THE PASTORAL EPISTLES + +In the Pastoral Epistles, which afford more detailed information +about organization than is to be found anywhere else in the New +Testament, the government of the local church is seen to be +intrusted to a body of "elders," with whom "deacons" are associated. +No one of the elders, so far as can be detected, possessed authority +at all different in kind from the authority of the others; all had +the function of ruling; all were "overseers" or "bishops" of the +church. + +The functions of the elders are not described in detail; but +evidently they had a general oversight over the affairs of the +congregation. That is the meaning of the word "bishop" as it is +applied to them. Some of them at least also labored "in the word and +in teaching," but all seem to have been alike in their function of +bearing rule. + + +2. ELDERS ACCORDING TO THE PRESBYTERIAN FORM OF GOVERNMENT + +The similarity of such an arrangement to our own Presbyterian +form of government is plain. Our churches also are governed not +by an individual, but by a body of "elders" who are equal to +one another in authority. Changing conditions have of course +introduced elaboration of the simple apostolic model. Thus the +teaching function, for example, which in apostolic times was perhaps +exercised more or less informally by those of the elders who +possessed the gifts for it, is now naturally assigned for the most +part to men who have received a special training. These "teaching +elders" in our church are the ministers. Conditions have become so +complex that men of special training, who devote their whole time +to the work of the Church, are imperatively required. The pastors +and teachers, Eph. 4:11, even in the apostolic Church, seem to have +formed a fairly definite group. This class of gifts is exercised +to-day especially by the ministers, though similar functions should +also be exercised by other members of the Church. + + +3. HOW WERE ELDERS TO BE CHOSEN? + +With regard to the government of the apostolic Church a number of +interesting questions can never be definitely answered. For example, +how were the elders to be chosen? + +=(1) Sometimes Appointed by the Apostles.=--Such passages as Acts +14:23; Titus 1:5, do not settle the question. According to the +former passage, elders were appointed in the churches of southern +Galatia by Paul and Barnabas. But it must be remembered that the +authority of the apostles was peculiar and temporary. Because the +apostles had power to appoint elders it does not follow that any +individuals at a later time would possess a similar power. The +situation, at the time of the first Christian mission, was peculiar; +small bodies of Christians had just been rescued from heathenism; +at first they would need a kind of guidance which could afterwards +safely be withdrawn. According to Titus 1:5, Titus was to appoint +elders in the churches of Crete. But clearly Titus, like Timothy, +was merely a special and temporary representative of the apostle +Paul; for Titus to appoint elders, under the definite direction of +Paul, was no more significant than for Paul to appoint them himself. + +=(2) The Right of Congregational Election.=--On the whole, it may +be confidently maintained that the Presbyterian method of choosing +elders--namely the method of election by the whole congregation--is +more in accordance with the spirit of apostolic precedent than +any other method that has been proposed. Throughout the apostolic +Church, the congregation was evidently given a very large place in +all departments of the Christian life. The Jerusalem congregation, +for example, had a decisive voice in choosing the very first +Church officers who are known to have been added to the apostles. +Acts 6:2-6. In Thessalonica and in Corinth the whole congregation +was active in the matter of church discipline. II Thess. 3:14,15; +I Cor. 5:3-5; II Cor. 2:6. The whole congregation was also invited +to choose delegates for carrying the gifts of the Corinthian church +to Jerusalem. I Cor. 16:3. These are merely examples. It must be +remembered, moreover, that the authority of the congregation in the +apostolic age was limited by the authority of the apostles, which +was special and temporary; when the apostles should be removed, the +congregational functions would be increased. Yet even the apostles +were exceedingly careful not to destroy the liberties of the rank +and file. Nowhere in the apostolic Church were the ordinary church +members treated as though they were without rights and without +responsibilities. Indeed, even when the apostles appointed elders, +they may have previously ascertained the preferences of the people. + + +4. THE APOSTOLIC PRECEDENT AND DEPARTURES FROM IT + +The presbyterial form of church government--that is, government +by a body of elders--which is found in the apostolic age, differs +strikingly from certain later developments. In several particulars, +at least, principles have become prevalent which are at variance +with the apostolic model. + +=(1) The Monarchical Episcopate.=--The first particular concerns the +relation of the church officers to one another. In the apostolic +Church, as we have observed, there was a parity among the elders; +the local congregation was governed, not by an individual, but by a +body. As early, however, as the first part of the second century, +a change had taken place, at least in many of the churches. The +supreme authority had come to be held by an individual, called +"bishop"; all other officers were clearly subordinate to him; the +government of the local congregation was no longer presbyterial, but +monarchical; the so-called "monarchical episcopate" had been formed. + +This state of affairs appears clearly in the epistles of Ignatius, +which were written a short time before A. D. 117. But all attempts +to find traces of the monarchical episcopate in the apostolic age +have resulted in failure. The Greek word _episcopos_, which is +translated in the English Bible--rather misleadingly, perhaps--by +"bishop," is applied, not to a special officer standing above the +elders, but simply to the elders themselves. "Elder" designates +the office; _episcopos_ designates one function of the office. The +latter word could hardly have been used in this general way if it +had already acquired its technical significance. + +The efforts which have been made to discover references to the +office of bishop in the apostolic age are unconvincing. It is +exceedingly doubtful whether the "angels" of the seven churches +to which messages are sent in the Apocalypse are to be regarded +as church officers; and even if they were church officers it is +by no means clear that they exercised the functions of bishops. +Undoubtedly Timothy and Titus appear in the Pastoral Epistles with +functions similar in many respects to those of bishops, but it is +also clear that they exercised those functions, not as officers +of the Church who might have successors, but merely as temporary +representatives of the apostle Paul. + +=(2) The Priesthood of the Clergy.=--An even more important +divergence from apostolic conditions concerns the functions of the +church officers. According to a theory which has become widely +prevalent, certain officers of the Church are to be regarded +as "priests"--that is, they are mediators between God and man. +Curiously enough the English word "priest," is nothing but another +form of the word "presbyter," which means "elder"; "presbyter" is +only "priest" "writ large." In actual usage, however, "priest" means +vastly more than "presbyter"; it designates a man who represents +men to God and mediates God's actions to men. So understood, the +term is never applied in the New Testament to church officers as +such. According to the New Testament, the only priest (in the +strict sense) under the new dispensation is Christ; Christ is the +only mediator between God and man, I Tim. 2:5; the high-priesthood +of Christ is elaborated in the Epistle to the Hebrews. In another +sense, indeed, all believers are priests, I Peter 2:5,9; Rev. 1:6; +5:10; 20:6; all have the right of direct access to God; all are +devoted to a holy service. The idea of a special priesthood in +the Christian Church is strikingly at variance with the apostolic +teaching. + +=(3) Apostolic Succession.=--Another point of variance concerns the +manner in which the officers of the Church should receive their +authority. By a theory prevalent in the Church of England and in +the Protestant Episcopal Church in America as well as in the Greek +and Roman Catholic Churches, the authority of the clergy has been +received through an unbroken line of transmission from the apostles; +the immediate successors of the apostles received the right of +handing down the commission to others, and so on through the +centuries; without an ordination derived in this way no one can be a +ruler in the true Church; and without submission to such regularly +ordained rulers no body of persons can constitute a branch of the +true Church. This theory places a tremendous power in the hands of +a definite body of persons whose moral qualifications for wielding +that power are often more than doubtful. Surely so stupendous +a claim can be made good only by the clear pronouncement of a +recognized authority. + +Such a pronouncement is not to be found in the New Testament. There +is not the slightest evidence to show that the apostles provided for +a transmission of their authority through a succession of persons. +On the contrary, their authority seems to have been special and +temporary, like the miraculous powers with which they were endowed. +The regular church officers who were appointed in the apostolic age +evidently possessed no apostolic authority; however chosen, they +were essentially representatives of the congregation. A true branch +of the Church could exist, at least in theory, without any officers +at all, wherever true believers were together; the Church did not +depend upon the officers, but the officers upon the Church. + + +5. RELATIONS OF THE CONGREGATIONS TO ONE ANOTHER + +So far, the organization of the apostolic Church has been considered +only in so far as it concerned the individual congregation; a word +must now be said about the relation of the congregations to one +another. + +That relation, in the apostolic age, was undoubtedly very close. +The Pauline Epistles, in particular, give an impression of active +intercourse among the churches. The Thessalonian Christians "became +an ensample to all that believe in Macedonia and in Achaia"; the +story of their conversion became known "in every place." I Thess. +1:7-10. In the matter of the collection, Macedonia stirred up +Achaia, and Achaia Macedonia. II Cor. 8:1-6; 9:1-4. The faith of +the Roman Christians was "proclaimed throughout the whole world." +Rom. 1:8. Judea heard of the missionary labors of Paul, Gal. +1:21-24; fellowship between Jews and Gentiles was maintained by the +collection for the Jerusalem saints. Evidently the apostolic Church +was animated by a strong sense of unity. + +This feeling of unity was maintained especially by the +instrumentality of the apostles, who, with their helpers, traveled +from one congregation to another, and exerted a unifying authority +over all. Certainly there was nothing like a universal Church +council; Christian fellowship was maintained in a thoroughly +informal way. In order that such fellowship should be permanent, +however, there would obviously be an increasing need for some +sort of official union among the congregations. When the apostles +passed away, their place would have to be taken by representative +assemblies; increasing complexity of life brought increasing +need of organization. The representative assemblies of our own +Church, therefore, meet an obvious need; and both in their free, +representative character and in their unifying purpose it may fairly +be claimed that they are true to the spirit of the apostolic age. + + +6. PRINCIPLES + +The apostolic precedent with regard to organization should always be +followed in spirit as well as in form. Three principles, especially, +are to be observed in the Church organization of the apostolic age. +In the first place, there was considerable freedom in details. No +Christian who had gifts of any kind was ordinarily prevented from +exercising them. In the second place, there was respect for the +constituted authority, whatever it might be. Such respect, moreover, +was not blind devotion to a ruling class, but the respect which +is ennobled by love. Finally, in Church organization, as in all +the affairs of life, what was regarded as really essential was the +presence of the Holy Spirit. When Timothy laid his hands upon a new +elder, the act signified the bestowal of, or the prayer for, divine +favor. This last lesson, especially, needs to be learned to-day. +Without the grace of God, the best of Church organizations is mere +machinery without power. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": articles on +"Elder," "Deacon," "Deaconess," "Laying on of Hands." Hastings, +"Dictionary of the Bible": Gayford, article on "Church"; Gwatkin, +article on "Church Government in the Apostolic Age." Lightfoot, +"The Christian Ministry," in "Saint Paul's Epistle to the +Philippians," pp. 181-269, and in "Dissertations on the Apostolic +Age," pp. 135-238. Charteris, "The Church of Christ," pp. 1-43, +130-170, 205-239. Falconer, "From Apostle to Priest." MacPherson, +"Presbyterianism" (in "Handbooks for Bible Classes"). + + + + +LESSON XLVII + +A MISSION FOR THE WORLD + + +1. JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY + +In teaching the lesson in class, it might be well simply to review +the principal steps in the geographical extension of the apostolic +Church. This geographical advance, however, was made possible only +by an advance in principles which should not be ignored. The really +great step in the early Christian mission was not the progress from +Jerusalem to Antioch, or from Antioch to Asia Minor and to Greece, +but the progress from a national to a universal religion. Judaism, +despite its missionary activity, always identified the Church more +or less closely with the nation; it was a distinctly national +religion. Full union with it meant the abandonment of one's own +racial and national relationships. + +=(1) Limitations of Judaism.=--The national character of Judaism +was an insurmountable hindrance to the Jewish mission. Despite the +hindrance, it is true, Judaism achieved important conquests; it won +many adherents throughout the Greco-Roman world. These missionary +achievements undoubtedly form an eloquent testimony to the power of +Israel's faith; despite those features of Jewish custom which were +repulsive to the Gentile mind, the belief in the one true God and +the lofty ethical ideal of the Old Testament Scriptures possessed +an irresistible attraction for many earnest souls. Nevertheless, so +long as Jewish monotheism and Jewish ethics were centered altogether +in the life of a very peculiar people, they could never really +succeed in winning the nations of the world. + +=(2) Apparent Identity of Judaism and Christianity.=--At first it +looked as though Christianity were to share in the limitation; it +looked as though the disciples of Jesus formed merely a Jewish sect. +Undoubtedly they would bring the Jewish people to a loftier faith +and to a purer life; they would themselves become better and nobler +Jews; but Jews they would apparently always remain. + +=(3) The Great Transition.=--Before many years had passed, however, +the limitation was gloriously transcended. Christianity was no +longer bound to Judaism. It became a religion for the world, within +whose capacious borders there was room for every nation and every +race. How was the transition accomplished? + +It was not accomplished by any contemptuous repudiation of the +age-long exclusiveness of Israel. Such repudiation would have +involved the discrediting of the Old Testament, and to the Old +Testament the Church was intensely loyal. Jewish particularism had +been ordered of God; the Scriptures were full of warnings against +any mingling of the chosen people with its neighbors. Jehovah had +made of Israel a people alone; he had planted it in an inaccessible +hill country, remote from the great currents of the world's thought +and life; he had preserved its separateness even amid the changing +fortunes of captivity and war. Salvation was to be found only in +Israel; Israel was the chosen people. + +The Church never abandoned this view of Israelitish history. Yet +for herself she transcended the particularism that it involved. She +did so in a very simple way--merely by recognizing that a new era +had begun. In the old era, particularism had a rightful place; it +was no mere prejudice, but a divine ordinance. But now, in the age +of the Messiah, particularism had given place to universalism; the +religion of Israel had become a religion of the world. What had +formerly been right had now become wrong; God himself had ushered in +a new and more glorious dispensation. Particularism, in the divine +economy, had served a temporary, though beneficent, purpose; God had +separated Israel from the world in order that the precious deposit +of Israel's faith, pure of all heathen alloy, might finally be given +freely to all. + +The recognition of this wonderful new dispensation of God was +accomplished in two ways. + + +2. THE DIVINE GUIDANCE + +In the first place, it was accomplished by the direct command of +the Holy Spirit. The first preaching to Gentiles was undertaken +not because the missionaries understood why it should be done, but +simply because God commanded. + +=(1) Philip.=--For example, when Philip preached to the +Ethiopian--who was not in the strictest sense a member of the +Jewish people--he was acting not in accordance with any reflection +of his own--a desert road was a very unlikely place for missionary +service--but under the plain and palpable guidance of the Spirit. +What is emphasized in the whole narrative is the strange, +unaccountable character of Philip's movements; evidently his actions +at such a time were not open to criticism; what Philip did God did; +if Philip preached to an outsider, such preaching was God's will. +Acts 8:26-40. + +=(2) Cornelius.=--In the case of the conversion of Cornelius and +his friends, Acts 10:1 to 11:18, the divine warrant was just as +plain. Both Cornelius and Peter acted altogether in accordance with +God's guidance. On the housetop, Peter's scruples were unmistakably +overcome. "What God hath cleansed," he was told, "make not thou +common." Peter did not fully comprehend the strange command that he +should eat what the law forbade, and it was not explained to him; +but at least the command was a command of God, and must certainly +be obeyed. The meaning of the vision became clear when Cornelius' +house was entered; a Gentile had evidently been granted the offer +of the gospel. God was no respecter of persons. Finally the Holy +Spirit fell on all the Gentiles who heard the message; they spake +with tongues as the disciples had done at the first. That was the +crowning manifestation of God's will. There was no reason to wait +for circumcision or union with the people of Israel. "Can any man +forbid the water," said Peter, "that these should not be baptized, +who have received the Holy Spirit as well as we?" Acts 10:47. All +opposition was broken down; only one conclusion was possible; the +Jerusalem Christians "glorified God, saying, Then to the Gentiles +also hath God granted repentance unto life." Acts 11:18. + +=(3) The Grace of God in the Gentile Mission.=--Scarcely less +palpable was the divine guidance in the subsequent developments of +the Gentile mission. After the momentous step of certain unnamed +Jews of Cyprus and Cyrene, who founded the church at Antioch, +Barnabas had no difficulty in recognizing the grace of God. Acts +11:23. Not suspicion, but only gladness, was in place. When Paul and +Barnabas returned from the first Gentile mission, they could report +to the Antioch church that God had plainly "opened a door of faith +unto the Gentiles." Ch. 14:27. If God had opened, who could close? +At the apostolic council, in the very face of bitter opposition, the +same great argument was used. The missionaries simply "rehearsed +all things that God had done with them," ch. 15:4, especially "what +signs and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles through them." +V. 12. There was only one thing to be done; the Gentile mission +must be accepted with gladness as a gift of God; he that wrought +for Peter unto the apostleship of the circumcision wrought for Paul +also unto the Gentiles, Gal. 2:8; James and Peter and John could +recognize, both in the Gentile mission and in the inner life of the +chief missionary, the plainest possible manifestation of the grace +of God. V. 9. + + +3. REASONS FOR GENTILE FREEDOM + +The Church transcended the bounds of Judaism, then, primarily +because of a direct command of God. Such commands must be obeyed +whether they are understood or not. As a matter of fact, however, +God did not leave the matter in such an unsatisfactory state; he +revealed not only his will, but also the reason for it; he showed +not only that the Gentiles must be received into the Church, but +also why they must be received. The essence of the gospel had +demanded Gentile freedom from the beginning; the justification of +that freedom at the bar of reason, therefore, brought a clearer +understanding of the gospel itself. + +Two contrasts, at least, enabled the Church to explain the reason +why the Gentiles could be saved without becoming Jews. The first was +the contrast between faith and works, between grace and the law; the +second was the contrast between the type and the thing typified. The +former was revealed especially to Paul; the latter to the author of +Hebrews. + +=(1) The Law and Grace.=--Salvation through Christ, according to +Paul, is an absolutely free gift. It cannot be earned; it must +simply be received. In other words, it comes not by works, but by +faith. The law of God, on the other hand, of which the Mosaic law +was the clearest embodiment, offers a different means of obtaining +God's favor. It simply presents a series of commandments, and +offers salvation on condition that they be obeyed. But the trouble +is, the commandments, since the fall, cannot be obeyed; everyone +has incurred deadly guilt through his disobedience; the power of +the flesh is too strong. At that point, however, God intervened. +He offered Christ as a sacrifice for sin that all believers might +have a fresh start; and he bestowed the Spirit of the living Christ +that all might have strength to lead a new life. But Christ will do +everything or nothing. A man must take his choice. There are only +two ways of obtaining salvation--the perfect keeping of the law, or +the simple, unconditional acceptance of what Christ has done. The +first is excluded because of sin; the second has become a glorious +reality in the Church. + +If, however, salvation is through the free gift of Christ, then the +law religion has been superseded. All those features of the law +which were intended to make the law palpable, as a set of external +rules, are abrogated. The Christian, indeed, performs the will of +God--in the deepest sense Christianity only confirms the law--but +he performs it, not by slavish obedience to a complex of external +commandments, but by willing submission to the Spirit of God. + +Of course, the religion of the Old Testament was not, according +to Paul, purely a law religion; on the contrary Paul quotes the +Old Testament in support of faith. But there was a law element in +the Old Testament; and the law served merely a temporary, though +beneficent, purpose. It was intended to deepen the sense of sin and +hopelessness, in order that finally salvation might be sought not in +man's way but in God's. The new order at length has come; in Christ +we are free men, and should never return to the former bondage. +The middle wall of partition has been done away; the ordinances of +the law no longer separate Jew and Gentile; all alike have access +through one Saviour unto God, all alike receive power through the +Holy Spirit to live a life of holiness and love. + +=(2) The Type and the Fulfillment.=--The contrast which was worked +out in the Epistle to the Hebrews was especially a contrast between +the sign and the thing signified. The ceremonial law, which had +separated Jew from Gentile, was intended to point forward to Christ; +and now that the fulfillment has come, what further need is there of +the old types and symbols? Christ is the great High Priest; by him +all alike can enter into the holy place. + +=(3) The Meaning of the Gospel.=--The transition from Jewish +Christianity, with all the difficulties of that transition, led +finally to a deeper understanding of the gospel. It showed once for +all that the salvation of the Christians is a free gift. "Just as +I am, without one plea but that thy blood was shed for me"--these +words are a good summary of the result of the Judaistic controversy. +The transition showed, furthermore, what had really been felt from +the beginning, that Christ was the one and all-sufficient Lord. +When he was present, no other priest, and no other sacrifice was +required. That is the truly missionary gospel--the gospel that will +finally conquer the world. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Orr, "Neglected Factors in the Study of the Early +Progress of Christianity" and "The Early Church." George Smith, +"Short History of Christian Missions" (in "Handbooks for Bible +Classes"). + + + + +LESSON XLVIII + +THE CHRISTIAN IDEAL OF PERSONAL MORALITY + + +In treating the lesson for to-day, the teacher will be embarrassed +by the wealth of his material. It is important, therefore, that +the chief purpose of the lesson should not be lost amid a mass of +details. That chief purpose is the presentation of Christianity as +something that has a very definite and immediate bearing upon daily +life. Christianity is first of all a piece of good news, a record +of something that has happened; but the effect of it, if it be +sincerely received, is always manifest in holy living. + + +1. THE EXAMPLE OF JESUS + +In the Student's Text Book, little attempt was made at detailed +analysis of the apostolic ideal. The defect should be supplied by +careful attention to the "Topics for Study," and also, if possible, +by the treatment of the lesson in class. First of all, however, +it should be observed how naturally the apostolic presentation of +the ideal grows out of the teaching of Jesus. The advance which +revelation made after the close of Jesus' earthly ministry concerned +the fuller explanation of the means by which the moral ideal is to +be attained rather than additional exposition of the ideal itself. +That does not mean that the apostles did no more, in the field of +ethics, than quote the words of Jesus; indeed there seem to be +surprisingly few direct quotations of the words of Jesus in the +apostolic writings; the ethical teaching of the apostolic Church was +no mere mechanical repetition of words, but a profound application +of principles. Nevertheless the teaching of Jesus was absolutely +fundamental; without an examination of it, the moral life of the +apostolic Church cannot be fully understood. + +=(1) The Inexorableness of the Law.=--Jesus had insisted, for +example, upon the inexorableness of the law of God. To the keeping +of God's commandments everything else must be sacrificed. "If thy +right eye causeth thee to stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from +thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should +perish, and not thy whole body be cast into hell." Matt. 5:29. In +this respect the apostles were true disciples of their Master. The +Christian, they insisted, must be absolutely ruthless; he must be +willing to sacrifice everything he has for moral purity. + +This ruthlessness, however, this thoroughgoing devotion to moral +purity, did not mean in the teaching of Jesus, any more than in +that of the apostles, that under ordinary conditions the Christian +ought to withdraw from the simple pleasures that the world offers. +Jesus himself took his place freely at feasts; so far was he from +leading a stern, ascetic life that his enemies could even accuse +him of being a winebibber and a friend of publicans and sinners. +The fidelity with which the apostles followed this part of their +Master's example has been pointed out in the Student's Text Book. +The enjoyable things of the earth are not evil in themselves; they +are to be received with thanksgiving as gifts of the heavenly +Father, and then dedicated to his service. + +=(2) The Morality of the Heart.=--Furthermore, Jesus, as well as his +apostles, emphasized the inwardness of the moral law. Here again the +apostolic Church was faithful to Jesus' teaching. The seat of sin +was placed by the apostles in the very center of a man's life; the +flesh and the Spirit wage their warfare in the battle field of the +heart. See, for example, Gal. 5:16-24. + + +2. CONTRASTS + +The sharp difference between the Christian life and the life of the +world was set forth in the apostolic teaching by means of various +contrasts. + +=(1) Death and Life.=--In the first place, there was the contrast +between death and life. The man of the world, according to the +apostles, is not merely ill; he is morally and spiritually dead. +Col. 2:13; Eph. 2:1,5. There is no hope for him in his old +existence; that existence is merely a death in life. But God is One +who can raise the dead; and as he raised Jesus from the tomb on the +third day, so he raises those who belong to Jesus from the deadness +of their sins; he implants in them a new life in which they can +bring forth fruits unto God. A moral miracle, according to the New +Testament, stands at the beginning of Christian experience. That +miracle was called by Jesus himself, as well as by the apostles, +a new birth or "regeneration." It is no work of man; only God can +raise the dead. See John 1:13; 3:1-21; I John 2:29; I Peter 1:3,23. + +=(2) Darkness and Light.=--The contrast between darkness and light, +also, was common to the teaching of Jesus and that of his apostles. +It appears particularly in the Gospel of John, but there are also +clear traces of it in the Synoptists, Matt. 5:14-16; the righteous +are "the sons of the light." Luke 16:8. In the writings of the +apostles the contrast appears in many forms. "Ye are all sons of +light," said Paul, "and sons of the day: we are not of the night, +nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep, as do the rest, but let +us watch and be sober." I Thess. 5:5,6. "Ye were once darkness, but +are now light in the Lord: walk as children of light." Eph. 5:8. God +has called us "out of darkness into his marvellous light." I Peter +2:9. The contrast serves admirably to represent the honesty and +openness and cleanness of the true Christian life. + +=(3) Flesh and Spirit.=--An even more important contrast is the +contrast of flesh and Spirit, which is expounded especially by Paul. +"Flesh" in this connection means something more than the bodily +side of human nature; it means human nature as a whole, so far as +it is not subjected to God. "Spirit" also means something more than +might be supposed on a superficial examination. It does not mean the +spiritual, as distinguished from the material, side of human nature; +but the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God. The warfare, therefore, +between the flesh and the Spirit, which is mentioned so often in the +Pauline Epistles, is a warfare between sin and God. + +The flesh, according to Paul, is a mighty power, which is too strong +for the human will. It is impossible for the natural man to keep +the law of God. "I know," says Paul, "that in me, that is, in my +flesh, dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me, but +to do that which is good is not.... I find then the law, that, to +me who would do good, evil is present. For I delight in the law of +God after the inward man: but I see a different law in my members, +warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity +under the law of sin which is in my members." Rom. 7:18,21-23. In +this recognition of the power of sin in human life, Paul has laid +his finger upon one of the deepest facts in human experience. + +The way of escape, however, has been provided; sin has been +conquered in two aspects. + +It has been conquered, in the first place, in its guilt. Without +that conquest, everything else would be useless. The dreadful +subjection to the power of sin, which becomes so abundantly plain in +evil habit, was itself a punishment for sin; before the effect can +be destroyed, the guilt which caused it must be removed. It has been +removed by the sacrifice of Christ. Christ has died for us, the +Just for the unjust; through his death we have a fresh start, in the +favor of God, with the guilty past wiped out. + +Sin has been conquered, in the second place, in its power. Together +with the very implanting of faith in our hearts, the Holy Spirit has +given us a new life, a new power, by which we can perform the works +of God. A mighty warfare, indeed, is yet before us; but it is fought +with the Spirit's help, and by the Spirit it will finally be won. + +=(4) The Old Man and the New.=--As the contrast between the flesh +and the Spirit was concerned with the causes of the Christian's +escape from sin, so the contrast now to be considered is concerned +with the effects of that escape. The Christian, according to Paul, +has become a new man in Christ; the old man has been destroyed. +The Gentiles, he says, are darkened in their understanding, and +alienated from God. Eph. 4:17-19. "But ye did not so learn Christ; +if so be that ye heard him, and were taught in him, even as truth +is in Jesus: that ye put away, as concerning your former manner of +life, the old man, that waxeth corrupt after the lusts of deceit; +and that ye be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the +new man, that after God hath been created in righteousness and +holiness of truth." Vs. 20-24. Compare Col. 3:5-11. This putting +on of the new man is included in what Paul elsewhere calls putting +on Christ. Gal. 3:27; Rom. 13:14. The true Christian has clothed +himself with Christ; the lineaments of the old sinful nature have +been transformed into the blessed features of the Master; look upon +the Christian, and what you see is Christ! This change has been +wrought by Christ himself; "it is no longer I that live," says Paul, +"but Christ liveth in me"; Christ finds expression in the life of +the Christian. It is noteworthy, however, that the "putting on" of +Christ, which in Gal. 3:27 is represented as an accomplished fact, +is in Rom. 13:14 inculcated as a duty. It has been accomplished +already in principle--in his sacrificial death, Christ has already +taken our place in the sight of God--but the practical realization +of it in conduct is the lifelong task which every earnest disciple, +aided by the Holy Spirit, must prosecute with might and main. + + +3. THE NEW MAN + +Details in the character of the "new man," as they are revealed in +the apostolic writings, can here be treated only very briefly. + +=(1) Honesty.=--Certainly the Christian, according to the apostles, +must be honest. Honesty is the foundation of the virtues; without +it everything else is based upon the sand. Nothing could exceed +the fine scorn which the New Testament heaps upon anything like +hypocrisy or deceit. The Epistle of James, in particular, is a plea +for profound reality in all departments of life. Away with all +deceit! The Christian life is to be lived in the full blaze of God's +sunlight. + +Many hours could be occupied in the class with the applications +of honesty under modern conditions. Student life, for example, is +full of temptations to dishonesty. To say nothing of out-and-out +cheating, there are a hundred ways in which the fine edge of honor +can be blunted. In business life, also, temptations are many; and +indeed no one can really escape the test. The apostolic example +deserves to be borne in mind; Christian honesty ought to be more +than the honesty of the world. + +=(2) Purity.=--In the second place, the apostolic Church presents +an ideal of purity, purity in thought as well as in word and deed. +The ideal must have seemed strange to the degraded populations of +Corinth and Ephesus; but it is also sadly needed to-day. Let us not +deceive ourselves. He who would hold fellowship with Christ must put +away impurity; Christ is the holy One. Purity, however, is to be +attained not by unaided human effort, but by the help of the Spirit +of God. The Holy Spirit, if he be admitted to the heart, will purge +it of unclean thoughts. + +=(3) Patience and Bravery.=--In the third place, patience and +humility are prominent in the Christian ideal. These virtues are +coupled, however, with the most vigorous bravery. There is nothing +weak or sickly or sentimental about the Christian character. "Watch +ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong." I Cor. +16:13. + +=(4) Love.=--The summation of the Christian ideal is love. Love, +however, is more than a benevolent desire. It includes purity and +heroism as well as helpfulness. In order to love in the Christian +sense, one must attain "unto a fullgrown man, unto the measure of +the stature of the fulness of Christ." Eph. 4:13. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Hastings, "Dictionary of the Bible": Strong, +article on "Ethics" (II). Kilpatrick, "Christian Character." Bruce, +"The Formation of Christian Character." Luthardt, "Apologetic +Lectures on the Moral Truths of Christianity." + + + + +LESSON XLIX + +CHRISTIANITY AND HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS + + +1. THE PROBLEM + +Two apparently contradictory features appear in the life of +the apostolic Church. In the first place, there was an intense +other-worldliness; the Christians were regarded as citizens of a +heavenly kingdom. In the second place, there was careful attention +to the various relationships of the present life; no man was excused +from homely duty. The two sides of the picture appear in the +sharpest colors in the life of the apostle Paul. No one emphasized +more strongly than he the independence of the Christian life with +reference to the world; all Christians, whether their worldly +station be high or low, are alike in the sight of God; the Church +operates with entirely new standards of value. Yet on the other +hand, in his actual dealing with the affairs of this world Paul +observed the most delicate tact; and in all history it is difficult +to find a man with profounder natural affections. Where is there, +for example, a more passionate expression of patriotic feeling +than that which is to be found in Rom. 9:3? "I could wish that I +myself were anathema from Christ for my brethren's sake, my kinsmen +according to the flesh." + +On the one hand, then, the apostolic Church regarded all earthly +distinctions as temporary and secondary, and yet on the other hand +those same distinctions were very carefully observed. The apparent +contradiction brings before us the great question of the attitude +of Christianity toward human relationships. This question may be +answered in one of three ways. + + +2. THE WORLDLY SOLUTION + +In the first place, there is the worldly answer. The Christian finds +himself in a world where his time and his thoughts seem to be fully +occupied by what lies near at hand. The existence of God may not be +denied, but practically, in the stress of more obvious duties, God +is left out of account. + +=(1) "Practical Christianity."=--In its crude form, of course, +where it involves mere engrossment in selfish pleasure, this answer +to our question hardly needs refutation. Obviously the Christian +cannot devote himself to worldly enjoyment; a cardinal virtue of +the Christian is self-denial. Worldliness in the Church, however, +may be taken in a wider sense; it has often assumed very alluring +forms. At the present day, for example, it often represents itself +as the only true, the only "practical" kind of Christianity. It is +often said that true religion is identical with social service, +that the service of one's fellow men is always worship of God. This +assertion involves a depreciation of "dogma" in the interests of +"practical" Christianity; it makes no difference, it is said, what a +man believes, provided only he engages in the improvement of living +conditions and the promotion of fairer laws. + +=(2) This World Is Not All.=--This tendency in the Church really +makes religion a thing of this world only. Undoubtedly, much good +is being accomplished by social workers who have given up belief +in historic Christianity; but it is good that does not go to the +root of the matter. Suppose we have improved conditions on this +earth, suppose more men have healthy employment and an abundance of +worldly goods. Even so the thought of death cannot be banished. Is +the totality of man's happiness limited to a brief span of life; are +we after all but creatures of a day? Or is there an eternal life +beyond the grave, with infinite possibilities of good or evil? Jesus +and his apostles and the whole of the apostolic Church adopted the +latter alternative. + +=(3) The Secularization of Religion.=--We lay our finger here upon +one of the points where the modern Church is in danger of departing +most fundamentally from the apostolic model. Religion is in serious +danger of being secularized; that is, of being regarded as concerned +merely with this life. The only corrective is the recovery of the +old conception of God. God is not merely another name for the +highest aspirations of men, he is not merely the summation of +the social forces which are working for human betterment. On the +contrary, he is a living Person, working in the world, but also +eternally independent of it. You can work for the worldly benefit +of your fellow men without coming into any saving contact with God; +it does make a vast difference what you believe; it makes all the +difference between death and life. + +=(4) The Teaching of Jesus and of the Apostles.=--Only one-sided +reading of the New Testament can find support for the opposite view. +Jesus said, "Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, +even these least, ye did it unto me," Matt. 25:40; but the same +Jesus also said, "If any man cometh unto me, and hateth not his +own father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and +sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple." +Luke 14:26. The giving of a cup of cold water, which receives the +blessing of Jesus, is done for "one of these little ones ... in the +name of a disciple." Matt. 10:42. Evidently the good works of the +Christian are not independent of the attitude of the doer toward +Jesus and toward God; Jesus regards the personal relation between +himself and his disciples as one which takes precedence of even +the holiest of earthly ties. Far more convincing, however, than +any citation of definite passages is the whole spirit of the New +Testament teaching; evidently both Jesus and his early disciples had +their lives determined by the thought of the living, personal God, +holy and mysterious and independent of the world. Social service +exists for the sake of God, not God for the sake of social service. +The reversal of this relationship is one of the most distressing +tendencies of the present day; a study of the apostolic Church may +bring a return to sanity and humility. + + +3. THE ASCETIC SOLUTION + +The second answer to our question is the answer of ascetics of many +different kinds. According to this answer, the relationship of the +Christian to God on the one hand, and his relationship to his fellow +men on the other, are in competition. Consequently, in order to +strengthen the former, the latter must be broken off. In its extreme +form, this way of thinking leads to the hermit ideal, to the belief +that the less a man has to do with his fellow men the more he has to +do with God. Such conceptions are not always so uninfluential as we +are inclined to think, even in our Protestant churches. Monasticism +is not indeed consistently carried out, but it is often present in +spirit and in principle. Some excellent Christians seem to feel that +whole-hearted, natural interest in earthly friends is disloyalty to +Christ, that all men must be treated alike, that admission of one +man into the depths of the heart more fully than another is contrary +to the universality of the gospel. By such men, individuals are +not treated as persons, with a value of their own, but merely as +opportunities for Christian service. + +=(1) This Solution Defeats Its Own End.=--It is evident, in the +first place, that such an attitude defeats its own aim. Evidently +the power of a Christian worker depends partly at least upon his +interest in individuals. It will not do, for example, for the +teachers in this course to let their students say, "The teacher +loves Christ supremely, but he has no interest in me." Evidently +the power of influencing our fellow men is largely increased by +an intimate personal relationship; if we are to serve Christ by +bringing men to his feet, then we ought not to dissolve but rather +to strengthen the bonds of simple affection which unite us to our +human friends. + +=(2) This Solution Is Opposed to Apostolic Example.=--The example of +the apostolic Church points in the same direction; we have already +noticed the intensity of natural affection which was displayed even +by a man so thoroughly and heroically devoted to Christian service +as was the apostle Paul. This example might well be supplemented, +and supplemented most emphatically of all by the example which lies +at the basis of all of the apostolic Church--the example of Jesus +himself. If any man might have been aloof from his fellow men, it +was Jesus, yet as a matter of fact, he plainly had his earthly +friends. + + +4. THE TRUE SOLUTION + +The true solution of the problem is found in consecration. Human +relationships are not to be made the sole aim of life; neither +are they to be destroyed; but they are to be consecrated to the +service of God. Love for God under normal conditions comes into no +competition with love for man, because God takes a place in the life +which can never be filled by any human friend; by lopping off human +friendships we are not devoting ourselves more fully to God, but +merely becoming less efficient servants of him. + + +5. CHRISTIANITY AND SOCIAL SERVICE + +Consecration of human relationships to God does not involve any +depreciation of what is known to-day as "social service." On the +contrary it gives to social service its necessary basis and motive +power. Only when God is remembered is there an eternal outlook in +the betterment of human lives; the improvement of social conditions, +which gives the souls of men a fair chance instead of keeping them +stunted and balked by poverty and disease, is seen by him who +believes in a future life and a final judgment and heaven and hell +to have value not only for time, but also for eternity, not only for +man, but also for the infinite God. + +=(1) Society or the Individual?=--It is sometimes regarded as a +reproach that old-fashioned, evangelical Christianity makes its +first appeal to the individual. The success of certain evangelists +has occasioned considerable surprise in some quarters. Everyone +knows, it is said, that the "social gospel" is the really effective +modern agency; yet some evangelists with only the very crudest +possible social program are accomplishing important and beneficent +results! The lesson may well be learned, and it should never be +forgotten. Despite the importance of social reforms, the first +purpose of true Christian evangelism is to bring the individual man +clearly and consciously into the presence of his God. Without that, +all else is of but temporary value; the human race is composed of +individual souls; the best of social edifices will crumble if all +the materials are faulty. + +=(2) Every Man Should First Correct His Own Faults.=--The true +attitude of the Christian toward social institutions can be learned +clearly from the example of the apostolic Church. The first lesson +that the early Christians learned when they faced the ordinary +duties of life was to make the best of the institutions that were +already existing. There was nothing directly revolutionary about +the apostolic teaching. Sharp rebuke, indeed, was directed against +the covetousness of the rich. But the significant fact is that such +denunciations of wealthy men were addressed to the wealthy men +themselves and not to the poor. In the apostolic Church, every man +was made to know his own faults, not the faults of other people. +The rich were rebuked for their covetousness and selfishness; but +the poor were commanded, with just as much vehemence, to labor for +their own support. "If any will not work," said Paul, "neither let +him eat." II Thess. 3:10. In short, apostolic Christianity sought +to remove the evils of an unequal distribution of wealth, not by a +violent uprising of the poor against the rich, but by changing the +hearts of the rich men themselves. Modern reform movements are often +very different; but it cannot be said that the apostolic method is +altogether antiquated. + +=(3) The Ennobling of Existing Institutions.=--Certainly the +apostolic method has been extraordinarily successful; it has +accomplished far more than could have been accomplished by a violent +reform movement. A good example is afforded by the institution of +slavery. Here, if anywhere, we might seem to have an institution +which was contrary to the gospel. Yet Paul sent back a runaway +slave to his master, and evidently without the slightest hesitation +or compunction. That action was a consistent carrying out of the +principle that a Christian man, instead of seeking an immediate +change in his social position, was first of all to learn to make +the best of whatever position was his already. "Let each man abide +in that calling wherein he was called. Wast thou called being +a bondservant? care not for it: nay, even if thou canst become +free, use it rather. For he that was called in the Lord being a +bondservant, is the Lord's freedman: likewise he that was called +being free, is Christ's bondservant. Ye were bought with a price; +become not bondservants of men. Brethren, let each man, wherein he +was called, therein abide with God." I Cor. 7:20-24. The freedom of +the Christian, in other words, is entirely independent of freedom +in this world; a slave can be just as free in the higher, spiritual +sense as his earthly master. In this way the position of the slave +was ennobled; evidently the relation of Onesimus to Philemon was +expected to afford both slave and master genuine opportunity for +the development of Christian character and for the performance of +Christian service. + +=(4) The Substitution of Good Institutions for Bad.=--In the long +run, however, such conceptions were bound to exert a pervasive +influence even upon earthly institutions. If Philemon really adopted +the Christian attitude toward one who was now "more than a servant, +a brother beloved" in Christ, then in the course of time he would +naturally desire to make even the outward relationship conform more +perfectly to the inward spiritual fact. The final result would +naturally be emancipation; and such was the actual process in the +history of the Church. Slavery, moreover, is only an example; a host +of other imperfect social institutions have similarly been modified +or removed. What a world of progress, for example, is contained in +Gal. 3:28: "There can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither +bond nor free, there can be no male and female; for ye are all one +man in Christ Jesus." Not battles and revolutions, the taking of +cities and the pulling down of empires, are the really great events +of history, but rather the enunciation of great principles such as +this. "Ye are all one man in Christ Jesus"--these words with others +like them have moved armies like puppets, and will finally transform +the face of the world. + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--R. E. Thompson, "De Civitate Dei. The Divine Order +of Human Society." Clow, "Christ in the Social Order." Cunningham, +"Christianity and Social Questions." Schmidt, "The Social Results of +Early Christianity." + + + + +LESSON L + +THE CHRISTIAN USE OF THE INTELLECT + + +1. THE PROBLEM OF CHRISTIANITY AND CULTURE + +The last two lessons have emphasized the duty of consecration. The +enjoyment of simple, physical blessings, the opportunities afforded +by earthly relationships, are all to be devoted to the service of +God. Exactly the same principle must be applied in the lesson for +to-day. If physical health and strength and the companionship of +human friends may be made useful in the Christian life, surely +the same thing is true of intellectual gifts. The most powerful +thing that a man possesses is the power of his mind. Brute force +is comparatively useless; the really great achievements of modern +times have been accomplished by the intellect. If the principle of +consecration is true at all--if it be true that God desires, not the +destruction of human powers, but the proper use of them--then surely +the principle must be applied in the intellectual sphere. + +The field should not be limited too narrowly; with the purely +logical and acquisitive faculties of the mind should be included the +imagination and the sense of beauty. In a word, we have to do to-day +with the relation between "culture" and Christianity. For the modern +Church there is no greater problem. A mighty civilization has been +built up in recent years, which to a considerable extent is out of +relation to the gospel. Great intellectual forces which are rampant +in the world are grievously perplexing the Church. The situation +calls for earnest intellectual effort on the part of Christians. +Modern culture must either be refuted as evil, or else be made +helpful to the gospel. So great a power cannot safely be ignored. + +=(1) The Obscurantist Solution.=--Some men in the Church are +inclined to choose a simple way out of the difficulty; they are +inclined to reject the whole of modern culture as either evil +or worthless; this wisdom of the world, they maintain, must be +deserted for the divine "foolishness" of the gospel. Undoubtedly +such a view contains an element of truth, but in its entirety it is +impracticable. The achievements of modern culture are being made +useful for the spread of the gospel by the very advocates of the +view now in question; these achievements, therefore, cannot be +altogether the work of Satan. It is inconsistent to use the printing +press, the railroad, the telegraph in the propagation of our gospel +and at the same time denounce as evil those activities of the human +mind by which these inventions were produced. Indeed, much of modern +culture, far from being hostile to Christianity, has really been +produced by Christianity. Such Christian elements should not be +destroyed; the wheat should not be rooted up with the tares. + +=(2) The Worldly Solution.=--If, however, the Christian man is in +danger of adopting a negative attitude toward modern culture, of +withdrawing from the world into a sort of unhealthy, modernized, +intellectual monastery, the opposite danger is even more serious. +The most serious danger is the danger of being so much engrossed +in the wonderful achievements of modern science that the gospel is +altogether forgotten. + +=(3) The True Solution.=--The true solution is consecration. Modern +culture is a stumblingblock when it is regarded as an end in itself, +but when it is used as a means to the service of God it becomes a +blessing. Undoubtedly much of modern thinking is hostile to the +gospel. Such hostile elements should be refuted and destroyed; the +rest should be made subservient; but nothing should be neglected. +Modern culture is a mighty force; it is either helpful to the gospel +or else it is a deadly enemy of the gospel. For making it helpful +neither wholesale denunciation nor wholesale acceptance is in +place; careful discrimination is required, and such discrimination +requires intellectual effort. There lies a supreme duty of the +modern Church. Patient study should not be abandoned to the men of +the world; men who have really received the blessed experience of +the love of God in Christ must seek to bring that experience to +bear upon the culture of the modern world, in order that Christ +may rule, not only in all nations, but also in every department of +human life. The Church must seek to conquer not only every man, but +also the whole of man. Such intellectual effort is really necessary +even to the external advancement of the kingdom. Men cannot be +convinced of the truth of Christianity so long as the whole of their +thinking is dominated by ideas which make acceptance of the gospel +logically impossible; false ideas are the greatest obstacles to the +reception of the gospel. And false ideas cannot be destroyed without +intellectual effort. + +Such effort is indeed of itself insufficient. No man was ever argued +into Christianity; the renewing of the Holy Spirit is the really +decisive thing. But the Spirit works when and how he will, and he +chooses to employ the intellectual activities of Christian people in +order to prepare for his gracious coming. + + +2. THE APOSTOLIC EXAMPLE + +Abundant support for what has just been said may be discovered in +the history of the apostolic Church. Paul's speech at Athens, for +example, shows how the Christian preacher exhibited the connection +between the gospel and the religious aspirations of the time. This +line of thought, it is true, was merely preliminary; the main thing +with which the apostles were concerned was the presentation and +explanation of the gospel itself. Such presentation and explanation, +however, certainly required intellectual effort; and the effort was +not avoided. The epistles of Paul are full of profound thinking; +only superficiality can ignore the apostolic use of the intellect. + +=(1) Christianity Based Upon Facts.=--The fundamental reason why +this intellectual activity was so prominent in the apostolic age +is that the apostles thought of Christianity as based upon facts. +Modern Christians sometimes cherish a different notion. A false +antithesis is now sometimes set up between belief and practice; +Christianity, it is said, is not a doctrine, but a life. In reality, +Christianity is not only a doctrine, but neither is it only a life; +it is both. It is, as has been well said, a life because it is a +doctrine. What is characteristic of Christianity is not so much that +it holds up a lofty ethical ideal as that it provides the power by +which the ideal is to be realized. That power proceeds from the +great facts upon which Christian belief is founded, especially the +blessed facts of Christ's atoning death and triumphant resurrection. +Where belief in these facts has been lost, the Christian life may +seem to proceed for a time as before, but it proceeds only as a +locomotive runs after the steam has been shut off; the momentum +is soon lost. If, however, Christianity is based upon facts, it +cannot do without the use of the mind; whatever may be said of +mere emotions, facts cannot be received without employment of +the reason. Christian faith is indeed more than intellectual; it +involves rejoicing in the heart and acceptance by the will, but the +intellectual element in it can never be removed. We cannot trust +in Christ, in the Christian sense, unless we are convinced that he +lived a holy life when he was on earth, that he claimed justly to be +divine, that he died on the cross, and that he rose again from the +dead. + +=(2) Christianity Involves Theology.=--Furthermore, Christian faith +involves not only a bare acceptance of these facts, it involves also +some explanation of them. That explanation can never be complete; +the gospel contains mysteries in the presence of which only +wondering reverence is in place; but some explanation there must be. +It is quite useless, for example, to know merely that a holy man, +Jesus, died on the cross; it is even useless to know that the Son +of God came to earth and died in that way. The death of Christ has +meaning for us only because it was a death for our sins; the story +of the cross becomes a gospel only when the blessed meaning of it +is explained. The explanation of that meaning forms the subject of +a large part of the New Testament. The apostolic Church had none of +our modern aversion to theology. + +It is time for us to return to the apostolic example. Mere bustling +philanthropy will never conquer the world. The real springs of +the Church's power lie in an inward, spiritual realm; they can be +reached only by genuine meditation. The eighth chapter of Romans +has been neglected long enough; neglect of it is bringing deadly +weakness. Instead of adapting her message to the changing fashions +of the time, the Church should seek to understand the message +itself. The effort will not be easy; in a "practical" age, honest +thinking is hard. But the results will be plain. Power lies in the +deep things of God. + +=(3) The Duty of Every Man.=--The great intellectual duty of the +modern Church is not confined to a few men of scholarly tastes. On +the contrary, the simplest Christian may have his part; what is +needed first of all is common sense. By an unhealthy sentimentalism, +old-fashioned study has been discredited. If God is speaking in the +Bible, surely the logical thing for us to do is to hear. Yet modern +Christians are strangely neglectful of this simple duty. Bible study +is regarded as of less importance than social service; improvement +of earthly conditions is preferred to acquaintance with God's Word. +The evil may easily be corrected, and it may be corrected first +of all by the old-fashioned reading of the Bible. That requires +intellectual effort--there is no use in turning the pages if the +mind is elsewhere--but the effort can be made by the plain man as +well as by the scholar. Simple acquaintance with the Bible facts by +the rank and file of the Church will accomplish as much as anything +else toward meeting the arguments of opponents. By learning what +Christianity is, we shall be able, almost unconsciously, to refute +what can be said against it. + + +3. THE PRACTICE OF THE TRUTH + +This intellectual effort, however, should never be separated from +practice. The best way to fix truth in the mind is to practice it +in life. If our study teaches us that God is holy, let us hate sin +as God hates it. If we learn that God is loving, let us love our +fellow men as God loves them. If the Bible tells us of the salvation +offered by Christ, let us accept it with a holy joy, and live in the +power of it day by day. That is the true "practical Christianity", a +Christianity that is based solidly upon facts. Conduct goes hand in +hand with doctrine; love is the sister of truth. + + +4. GOD THE SOURCE OF TRUTH + +The ultimate Source of all truth, as of all love, is God. The +knowledge for which we are pleading can never result in pride, +for it is a knowledge that God gives, and a knowledge consecrated +at every point to God's service. Presumptuous reliance upon human +wisdom comes from knowledge that ignores part of the facts; true +science leads to humility. If we accept all other facts, but ignore +the supreme fact of God's love in Jesus Christ, then of course our +knowledge will be one-sided. It may succeed in producing creature +comforts; it may improve the external conditions of life upon this +earth; it may afford purely intellectual pleasure; but it will never +reveal the really important things. This one-sided knowledge is what +Paul was speaking of in I Cor. 1:21 when he said that "the world +through its wisdom knew not God." The true wisdom takes account of +the "foolishness" of God's message, and finds that that foolishness +is wiser than men. The true wisdom of the gospel is revealed only +through the Holy Spirit; only the Spirit of God can reveal the +things of God. Without the Spirit, the human mind becomes hopeless +in dismal error; it is the Spirit of truth who sheds the true light +over our path. + + "O grant us light, that we may know + The wisdom Thou alone canst give; + That truth may guide where'er we go, + And virtue bless where'er we live." + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Patton, "A Summary of Christian Doctrine." Greene, +"Christian Doctrine." A. A. Hodge, "Outlines of Theology" and +"Popular Lectures on Theological Themes." + + + + +LESSON LI + +THE CHRISTIAN HOPE AND THE PRESENT POSSESSION + + +A type of religious effort has become prevalent to-day which is +directed chiefly to the present life; the improvement of worldly +conditions is often regarded as the chief end of man. All such +tendencies are strikingly at variance with apostolic Christianity. +The apostolic Church was intensely other-worldly. The chief gift +that the apostles offered was not a better and more comfortable life +in this world, but an entrance into heaven. + + +1. THE END OF THE WORLD + +Only the great outlines of the events connected with the end +of the world are revealed in the New Testament. Minute details +cannot be discovered except by an excessively literal method of +interpretation, which is not really in accord with the meaning of +the apostolic writers. Some have supposed, for example, that there +are to be two resurrections, first a resurrection of the Christian +dead and long afterwards a resurrection of other men; expectation +of a thousand-year reign of Christ upon earth has been widely +prevalent. Such beliefs are not to be lightly rejected, since they +are based upon an interpretation of certain New Testament passages +which is not altogether devoid of plausibility; but on the whole +they are at least doubtful in view of other passages, and especially +in view of the true nature of prophecy. God has revealed, not +details to satisfy our curiosity, but certain basal facts which +should determine our lives. + +Those basal facts, connected with the end of the world, are a second +coming of Christ, a resurrection of the dead, a final judgment, an +eternity of punishment for the wicked and of blessing for those who +have trusted in Christ. It is not maintained that these facts stand +absolutely alone; certainly they are fully explained, at least in +their spiritual significance; but the devout Bible-reader should be +cautious about his interpretation of details. + + +2. FEAR AND JOY + +The practical effect of the apostolic teaching about the end of +the world should be a combination of earnestness with joy. A man +who lives under the expectation of meeting Christ as Judge will +desert the worldly standard of values for a higher standard. He +will rate happiness and worldly splendor lower, in order to place +the supreme emphasis upon goodness. The difference between evil and +good, between sin and holiness, is not a trifle, not a thing of +merely relative importance, as many men regard it; it enters deep +into the constitution of the universe, it is the question of really +eternal moment. Again and again, in the New Testament, the thought +of Christ's coming and of the judgment which he will hold is made +the supreme motive to a pure and holy life. The apostolic example +may well be borne in mind. When we are tempted to commit a mean or +dishonest or unclean act, when unholy thoughts crowd in upon us like +a noisome flood, we cannot do better than think of the day when we +shall stand in the presence of the pure and holy Judge. + +On the other hand, the thought of Christ's coming is to the believer +the source of inexpressible joy. Christ has saved us from a terrible +abyss. Our joy in salvation is in proportion to our dread of the +destruction from which we have been saved. To the truly penitent +man, the thought of the righteous God is full of terror. God +is holy; we would sometimes endeavor vainly to shrink from his +presence. Yet such a God has stretched out his hand to save--there +is the wonder of the gospel--and if we trust in the Saviour the last +great day need cause no fear. We are lost in sin, but God looks +not upon us but upon him who died to save us. "Salvation" to the +apostolic Church meant "rescue," rescue from the just and awful +judgment of God. + + +3. THE INTERMEDIATE STATE + +The time of that judgment has not been revealed, but so far as any +offer of repentance is concerned the time comes to every man at +death. One question of detail cannot altogether be ignored. What did +the apostles teach about the condition of the believer between death +and the final resurrection? Upon this subject, the New Testament +says very little, but it becomes clear at least that the believer, +even when absent from the body, is to be present with the Lord, +II Cor. 5:8, and that to die is to be with Christ. Phil. 1:23. On +the whole, no better statement of the apostolic teaching about the +"intermediate state" can be formulated than that which is contained +in the Shorter Catechism: "The souls of believers are at their death +made perfect in holiness, and do immediately pass into glory; and +their bodies, being still united to Christ, do rest in their graves, +till the resurrection." The hope of an immediate entrance into bliss +at the time of death should not be allowed, however, to obscure the +importance of the resurrection. The resurrection of the body will be +necessary to "the full enjoying of God to all eternity." + + +4. THE FINAL BLESSEDNESS + +That enjoying of God is no mere selfish pleasure; it means first +of all a triumph of holiness. Every last vestige of evil will +be removed. No taint of sin will separate the redeemed creature +from his God. Service will be free and joyous. The consummation, +moreover, will concern not merely individuals, but the race; no mere +expectation of the personal immortality of individuals begins to do +justice to the apostolic teaching. The ultimate end, indeed, is not +our own enjoyment, but the glory of God. Some carnal, materialistic +conceptions of the future age would really remove God from his own +heaven, but such is not the teaching of the New Testament. God will +be all and in all; only in his glory is to be found the true glory +of a redeemed race. The power of loving God is the highest joy that +heaven contains. + + +5. THE DISPENSATION OF THE SPIRIT + +The present age, according to the New Testament, is a time of +waiting and striving; it is related to the future glory as a +battle is related to the subsequent victory. Satisfaction with the +present life, even as it is led by the best of Christians, would +to the apostles have been abhorrent; the Christian is still far +from perfect. A prime condition of progress is a divine discontent. +Jesus pronounced a blessing upon them that "hunger and thirst +after righteousness." Eternal things to us are unseen; they can be +discovered only by the eye of faith; we long for a time when hope +will be supplanted by sight. Nevertheless, there is no room for +despondency; the blessed time is surely coming. + +Its coming is rendered certain by the presence, here and now, of the +Holy Spirit. The Spirit may be relied upon to prepare us, both in +soul and in body, for the glory of heaven. + +=(1) The Spirit in the Old Testament and in the Life of Jesus.=--The +Spirit of God was mentioned even in the Old Testament. At the +beginning he "moved upon the face of the waters," Gen. 1:2; he +was the source of the mighty deeds of heroes and of the prophets' +inspired words. In the life and teaching of Jesus, however, the +Spirit was far more fully revealed than he had ever been revealed +before. He was the source of Jesus' human nature, Matt. 1:18, 20; +Luke 1:35; he descended upon the newly proclaimed Messiah, Matt. +3:16, and was operative in all the earthly ministry of the Lord. + +=(2) The Spirit in the Church.=--For the disciples, however, the +full glory of the Spirit's presence was manifested only after +Jesus himself had been taken up into heaven; the present age, +from Pentecost to the second coming of the Lord, is peculiarly +the dispensation of the Holy Spirit. Discontent with the Church's +imperfections and dismay at her many adversaries should never cause +us to lose confidence in the work that is being done by the Spirit +of God. It was expedient that Jesus should go away; through the +other "Comforter" whom he has sent, he manifests himself even more +gloriously than he did to the disciples in Galilee. + +=(3) The Nature of the Spirit.=--The apostles never discuss the +nature of the Holy Spirit in any thoroughly systematic way. But two +great facts are really presupposed in the whole New Testament. In +the first place, the Holy Spirit is God, and in the second place he +is a person distinct from the Father and from the Son. The divinity +of the Spirit appears, for example, in I Cor. 2:11. The point of +that verse is that the Spirit is as closely related to God as the +human spirit is to a man. "For who among men knoweth the things of +a man, save the spirit of the man, which is in him? even so the +things of God none knoweth, save the Spirit of God." The distinct +personality of the Spirit appears with special clearness in Rom. +8:26, 27. There the Spirit is represented as making intercession +with him "that searcheth the hearts"; the one who intercedes is +personally distinct from him before whom he makes intercession. +Even more convincing, perhaps, is the great promise of Christ in +John 14:16, 17, 26; 15:26; 16:7-15, where the other "Comforter" is +spoken of in clearly personal terms and is distinguished both from +the Father and from the Son. Personal distinctness, however, is +not inconsistent with a perfect unity of nature. What the Spirit +does the Son and the Father do; when the other Comforter comes to +the Church, Christ himself comes. The doctrine of the "Trinity" is +a profound mystery, but its mysteriousness is no obstacle to the +acceptance of its truth. Mystery in the depths of God's nature is +surely to be expected. This mystery, taught by the pen of inspired +writers, has brought salvation and peace into the lives of men. +Distinctly Trinitarian passages, such as Matt. 28:19; II Cor. 13:14, +are merely the summation of the New Testament teaching about God, +and that teaching has worked itself out in unspeakable blessing in +the life of the Church. + +=(4) The Work of the Spirit.=--A complete summary of the belief of +the apostolic Church about the work of the Holy Spirit would be +impossible in one brief lesson. The Christian life is begun by the +Spirit, and continued by his beneficent power. Conversion, according +to Jesus and his apostles, is only the manward aspect of a profound +change in the depths of the soul. That change is "regeneration," a +new birth. Christian experience is no mere improvement of existing +conditions, but the entrance of something entirely new. Man is not +merely sick in trespasses and sins, but "dead"; only a new birth +will bring life. That new birth is a mysterious, creative act of the +Spirit of God. John 3:3-8. + +But the Spirit does not leave those whom he has regenerated to +walk alone; he dwells in them and enables them to overcome sin. +The motive of his work is love. He is no blind force, but a loving +Person; the Christian can enjoy a real communion with him as with +the Father and the Son. In the presence of the Spirit we have +communion with God; the Persons of the Godhead are united in a +manner far beyond all human analogies. There is no imperfect medium +separating us from the divine presence; by the gracious work of the +Holy Spirit we come into vital contact with the living God. + +The Spirit is the ground and cause of Christian freedom. "Where the +Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." II Cor. 3:17. "For as +many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For ye +received not the spirit of bondage again unto fear; but ye received +the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." Rom. 8:14, +15. This liberty that the Spirit brings is, however, not a liberty +to sin; it is liberation from sin. The body of the Christian is a +temple of the Holy Spirit; in that temple only purity is in place. +The inward power of the Holy Spirit in the heart is more powerful +than the law; if a man yields to that power he will overcome the +flesh; the law of God is fulfilled by those "who walk not after the +flesh, but after the Spirit." + + * * * * * + +IN THE LIBRARY.--Vos, "The Teaching of Jesus Concerning the Kingdom +of God and the Church." Crane, "The Teaching of Jesus Concerning the +Holy Spirit." Swete, "The Holy Spirit in the New Testament." Thomas, +"The Holy Spirit of God." + + + + +LESSON LII + +RETROSPECT: THE FIRST CHRISTIAN CENTURY + + +The apostolic example can be applied intelligently to the problems +of our time only if there be some understanding of the intervening +centuries. We are connected with the apostolic Church by an unbroken +succession. A study of Church history would help us to apply the New +Testament teaching to our own age. + +The Christian writings which have been preserved from the early +part of the second century show a marked decline from the spiritual +level of the apostles. Evidently the special inspiration which had +made the New Testament a guide for all ages had been withdrawn. Yet +the Spirit of God continued to lead the Church. Even in the darkest +periods of Church history God did not forget his people. + +Only scanty Christian writings have been preserved from the first +three-quarters of the second century; the extant works of the +so-called "Apostolic Fathers" and of the "Apologists" are of limited +extent. About the close of the century, however, the record becomes +more complete. Clement of Alexandria, Irenæus of Asia Minor and +Gaul, and Tertullian of North Africa, give a varied picture of +the Christian life of the time. The Church had gained rapidly in +influence since the conclusion of the apostolic age; persecutions +had not succeeded in checking her advance. Finally, under +Constantine, in the first part of the fourth century, Christianity +became the favored religion of the Roman Empire. + +About the same time, in A.D. 325, the first ecumenical council, at +Nicæa, undertook the work of formulating the belief of the Church. +The creeds which were adopted at the great ancient councils are +accepted to-day in all parts of Christendom. During the same general +period, the power of the bishop of Rome was gradually increased +until it culminated in the papacy. + +After the conquest of the western part of the Roman Empire in +the fifth century, Christianity was accepted by the barbarian +conquerors, and during the dark ages that followed the Church +preserved the light of learning and piety until a better day should +dawn. During the middle ages, though there was for the most part +little originality in Christian thinking, great scholars and +theologians formed striking exceptions to the general condition. +The political power of the papacy became enormous, but was hindered +by the personal weakness and immorality of many of the popes. +The degraded moral and spiritual condition of the Church was +counteracted here and there by the establishment of monastic orders, +whose purpose at the beginning was good, by the writings of certain +mystics, and by the work of the three "pre-reformers," Wyclif in +England, Huss in Bohemia and Savonarola in Italy. + +A genuine advance, however, did not come until the Reformation +of the fifteenth century, when Luther in Germany and Zwingli in +Switzerland, almost at the same time and at first independently, +became the leaders in a mighty protest. A little later Calvin +carried out the principles of the Reformation in a comprehensive +theological system, and by the power of his intellect and the +fervency of his piety exerted an enormous influence throughout the +world. The Reformation was distinctly a religious movement, though +it had been prepared for by that revival of learning which is called +the Renaissance. The work of Luther was a rediscovery of Paul. Not +the performance of a set of external acts prescribed by the Church, +but, as Paul taught, the grace of God received by faith alone, is, +according to Luther, the means of salvation. + +The Reformation brought about a counter-reformation in the Roman +Catholic Church, and the western European world was finally divided +between the two great branches of Christendom. After a period of +controversy and wars between Protestants and Catholics, the Church +was called upon to fight a great battle against unbelief. That +battle, begun in its modern form about the middle of the eighteenth +century, continues unabated until the present day. We are living in +a time of intellectual changes. To maintain the truth of the gospel +at such a time and to present it faithfully and intelligently to +the modern world is the supreme task of the Church. The task to +some extent has been accomplished; and the missionary movement of +the nineteenth and twentieth centuries attests the vitality of the +ancient faith. God has not deserted his Church. There are enemies +without and within, compromise will surely bring disaster; but the +gospel of Christ has not lost its power. This is not the first time +of discouragement in the history of the Church. The darkest hour has +always been followed by the dawn. Who can tell what God has now in +store? + + + + + * * * * * * + + + + +Transcriber's note: + +Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note. + +Irregularities and inconsistencies in the text have been retained +as printed. + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 43685 *** |