THE THEOLOGY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT.:I oanbboo for btible,tubents. BY THE REV. J J.*VAN OOSTERZEE, D.D., Professor of Theology in the University of Utr,,cht, TRANSLATED FROM THE DUTCH, BY MAURICE J. EVANS, B.A., Translator of Dr. Hoffnann's "Prophecies of Our Lord and fis Apostles." NEW YORK: DODD & MEAD, PUBLISHERS, No. 762 BROADWAY. MDCCCLXXI. INTRODUCTORY NOTE TO THE A ME RI CAN EDITION. The author of this volume is very generally regarded as the ablest living Dutch divine of the evangelical school. He is already well known in this country by his contributions to Lange's Commentary, viz: on Luke, the Pastoral Epistles, Philemon, and James. These expositions are among the very best in this comprehensive Bible Work, edited by Dr. Schaff. A small treatise of his, History or Romance, in reply to Renan, has been published by the American Tract Society. Besides these works, Dr. Van Oosterzee has also written a Life of Jesus, 3 vols., 2d ed., 1863-1865; a Christology; or, Manual for Christians, 3 vols., 18551861, and several other essays and articles, and he has vigorously defended the Christian faith against the assaults of rationalism. He is at present engaged upon a manual of Dogmatics, a translation of which is already announced in England, and which will be, in some sort, a continuation of the present volume. Dr. Van Oosterzee was born at Rotterdam, Holland, in 1817; studied at the University of UTtrecht; was pastor of one of the chief churches in Rotterdam for eighteen years; and, since 1862, ii Introductory Note. he has been a Professor of Theology in the University of Utrecht He is no less distinguished in the pulpit than in the professor's chair. The present volume was prepared for the use of his own classes in the University, to meet a want which is likewise felt in the theological seminaries of this country. Besides the able treatises on Doctrinal Theology, of all schools, which are acceptable to our students, there is also needed a manual on Biblical Theology proper.* The existing German works on this branch, learned and admirable as some of them are, do not in all respects so well meet the demand as does this volume of Dr. Van Oosterzee. It is clear, simple, well arranged, and thoroughly imbued with the spirit of the New Testament writers. Its criticisms of other works, and its literary references will also be found of value. It has already been translated and published in this country by Dr. Day, in the Theological Eclectic. The present edition, printed from the English stereotype plates, will, it is hoped, increase its circulation and usefulness. It may safely be said, that every student of theology should have it at hand; and also that it will be of great use to all intelligent laymen interested in the study of the Sacred Scripture, especially in its doctrinal contents. NEW YORK, Nov. 10, 1871. * See an article on Biblical Theology with especial reference to the New Testament, by Rev. C. A. Briggs, American Presbyterian Review, 1870. Also an article in the same Review, 1870, by Rev. T. P. Westervelt, on Oosterzee's Theology of the New Testament. AUTHOR'S PREFACE. THE present handbook owes its origin to the personal need of the writer. Called, inter alia, to lecture on the Biblical Theology of the New Testament as a separate branch of theological science, I looked in vain for a manual which should in all respects correspond to my wishes. Taking into account the great wealth of the subject, and the limited time which could be devoted by my class to this important theological discipline, I felt impelled as early as possible to set my hand to the work, and to present my students with a book which should by no means render unnecessary a more complete analysis of the material therein treated of, but should rather incite thereto; and should thus form, in some measure, the basis on which yet further to build. From the nature of the case, therefore, much could be only hinted at which calls for additional oral information; and, on the other hand, as far as possible, all had to be set aside which belongs to the doimain of kindred theological science. In the choice, also, of literature to which the student is referred, I had regard less to completeness than to vi Author's Preface. adaptation, and reserve to myself the right and the duty of adding thereto as occasion may demand. The " points for inquiry" at the end of each section are designed to serve, not as rigid bonds, but as hints leading to further discussion and interchange of thoughts. I hope in this way to have contributed something also towards the "self-culture" of those who think they can derive some profit from the study of my book. That constant application to Holy Scripture itself must inscparably accompany the use of this handbook will be at once'self-evident. Only thus can it call forth a thorough acquaintance with the Scriptures, and prepare the way for the study of Systematic Theology. Should this attempt answer the end in view, it is my intention to issue a similar compendium of Christian Dogmatics, and possibly also of Practical Theology-to both which subjects, no less than to Biblical Theology, I am called to devote my best endeavours. To the former and present members of my class, who have hitherto followed these lectures with interest, and not without profit, these pages bring with them my sincere and heartfelt salutations. VAN OOSTERZEE. Utrecht, Sept., 867. TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. BUT few words are necessary in introducing an English Edition of this work. That such a textbook for students was felt to be needed is apparent from its speedy reproduction in a German form (Barmen, I869). Another reason also has weighed with the Translator. There are not a few, among those who make no claim to the title of Theological Students, for whom the Christian faith-no less than the Christian life-of the first age will always be a matter of supreme importance;-who believe, moreover, that independent research in the domain of New Testament doctrine is essential to the cultivation of genuine devotion;-and who will gladly avail themselves of every suitable means of learning somewhat more fully what is "the mind of the Spirit." For such, a trustworthy compendium of the teaching of the New Testament Scriptures themselves is well-nigh indispensable. In making use of the present volume to this end, the necessary labour of consulting the Scripture authorities viii Translator's Preface. will be abundantly repaid-not least in those cases where the bearing of a citation is not at once seen. In the literature of the earlier part of the volume some of the Continental works have been referred to by their English titles, even where no translation exists: where a translation is extant, the fact has, as a rule, been indicated, except in the case of wellknown writers, such as Neander. Readers who have an opportunity of consulting the work of Archbishop Trench on the Parables of our Lord, and the Bible Dictionaries of Drs. Smith and Kitto on the various A'postolic writers of the New Testament, will acquire thereby a considerable addition to the English literature of the subject. For convenience of reference, there has been added to the English translation an index of subjects, and another of the principal Greek words cited in the volume. M. J. E. Stratford-on-Avon, Setl., 1870o CONTENTS. INTRODUCTION. SECTION PAGE I. DEFINITION OF THE SCIENCE........ I 2. ITS HISTORY.............. 9 3. ITS METHOD, MAIN DIVISION, AND REQUIREMENT... 21 FIRST PART. OLD TESTAMEN7 BASIS. 4. MOSAISM........... 28 5. PROPHETISM........... 37 6. JUDAISM...................47 7. JOHN THE BAPTIST......... 57 8. RESULT.............. 60 SECOND PART. THE THEOLOGY OF JESUS CHRISY. 9. GENERAL SUMMARY........ 6 x Contents. FIRST DIVISION. THE SYNOPTICAL GOSPELS. SECTION PAGE o1. THE KINGDOM OF GOD............ 68 11. ITS FOUNDER........... 74 12. THE KING OF KINGS.............. 80 13. THE SUBJECTS............. 87 I4. SALVATION............. 98 15. THE WAY OF SALVATION......... 109 i6. THE COMPLETION.................. IS1 SECOND DIVISION. THE GOSPEL OF 7yOAN. 17. INTRODUCTION............. 129 I8. THE SON OF GOD IN THE FLESH......... 135 19. THE SON OF GOD IN HIS RELATION TO THE FATHER... 142 20. THE SON OF GOD IN HIS RELATION TO THE WORLD 150 21. THE SON OF GOD IN RELATION TO HIS DISCIPLES... 163 22. THE SON OF GOD IN RELATION TO HIS FUTURE... 170 THIRD DIVISION. HIGHER UNVITY. 23. DIVERSITY AND HARMONY.............. I75 24. RESULT..................... 86 THIRD PART. THE 7W1EOLOGY OF THE APOSTLES. 25. GENERAL SURVEY.............. I90 Contents. xi FIRST DIVISION. THE PETRINE THEOL OGY. SECTION PAGE 26. SUMMARY................... 198 27. PETER, AN APOSTLE OF JESUS CHRIST...... 206 28. PETER, THE APOSTLE OF THE CIRCUMCISION...... 217 29. PETER, THE APOSTLE OF HOPE...... 225 30. THE SECOND EPISTLE OF PETER.......... 233 31. KINDRED TYPES OF DOCTRINE......... 241 32. RESULT AND TRANSITION.............. 251 SECOND DIVISION. TIlE PAULINE TIHEOLOGY. 33. GENERAL SURVEY........... 255 FIRST SUBDIVISION. HUMANITY AND THE INDIVIDUAL MAN BEFORE AND OUT OF CHRIST. 34. THE GENTILE AND JEWISH WORLD....... 265 35. THE CAUSE OF THIS CONDITION.... 27I 36. ITS CONSEQUENCES.................. 281 SECOND SUBDIVISION. HUMANITY AND THE INDIVIDUAL MAN TIHROUGH ANDD IN CIRIST. 37. THE PLAN OF SALVATION........... 286 38. THE CHRIST..................... 296 39. THE WORK OF REDEMPTION.......... 304 40. THE WAY OF SALVATION........... 316 4I. THE CHURCH.............. 324 42. THE FUTURE.....................333 43. KINDRED TYPES OF DOCTRINE........... 343 44. RESULT AND TRANSITION............ 368 xii Contents. THIRD DIVISION. THE OH-ANNINE THEOLOGY. SECTION PAGE 45. GENERAL SUMMARY............ 372 FIRST SUBDIVISION. THE GOSPEL AND THE EPISTLES. 46.- THE WORLD OUT OF CHRIST............ 381 47. THE APPEARING OF CHRIST........... 389 48. LIFE IN CHRIST.................. 398 SECOND SUBDIVISION. THE APOCALYPSE. $9. DIVERSITY AND HARMONY......... 406 FOURTH PART. ZHIGHER UNITY. 50.. HARMONY OF THE APOSTLES WITH EACH OTHER... 416 51. HARMONY OF THE APOSTLES WITH THE LORD... 427 52. HARMONY OF THE LORD AND THE APOSTLES WITH THE SCRIPTURES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT...... 433 THE THEOLOGY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. INTR OD UCTION. SECTI ON I. R;IRX[Xrfim xrf f Spiritus THE Biblical Theology of the New Testament is that part of theological science which presents in a summary form the doctrine of the New Testament concerning God and Divine things, and expresses the same in systematic order. In its character, extent, and aim, it is distinguished from Christian dogmatics, and belongs to the domain of historic theology. i. Theology is in general the science of God and of Divine things: according to a newer, but not, therefore, better definition, the science of religion. In the stricter sense, this word designates the science of God, in contradistinction from that of man, of sin, of Christ, etc. Theology, the name for the locus de Deo in dogmatics, as distinguished from anthropology, hamartology (doctrine of sin), Christology, etc. There is no religion of any importance which has not a more or less developed theology, as, for instance, the B 2 Theology of the New Testament. theology of Mosaism, of Islamism, of Buddhism, etc.; yea, even philosophy has its theology, as well as its anthropology and cosmology. From this purely philosophic theology, the Christian, however, is distinguished: inasmuch as the former is the fruit of our own thought, matured by reflection and experience; the latter, on the other hand, is derived from a special Divine revelation, whose authentic document is the Holy Scripture. To this latter alone the words of Thomas Aquinas have their application-a Deo docetur, Deum docet, et ad DeIum ducit. 2. The Biblical theology of the New Testament has to do with the ideas of God and Divine things which are presented in the New Testament. It investigates, in other words, the doctrine of the New Testament, without, at the same time, wishing to maintain that the New Testament presents a strictly defined system of doctrine, and much less that the essential characteristic of the Christian saving revelation consists exclusively or principally in its doctrine. If this is justly denied, it cannot be disputed that the New Testament really contains a doctrine of God and of Divine things. This doctrine the Biblical theology of the New Testament presents in a summary manner, contemplates each of its parts in itself and in connection with the others, and determines its place in history as a complete whole. In the widest sense of the word, Biblical theology embraces the doctrine of Divine things, as contained in the Old Testament as well as in the New. It is known how close is the connection between the two. Definition of the Science. 3 Novumr testamentum in ve/ere Iatet: vetus e novo panet (Augustine). If, therefore, a perfect separation is scarcely conceivable, a certain distinction is yet possible, desirable, in some sense necessary; and has, consequently, often been attempted, especially in later times, with the desired result. 3. The distinction between Biblical theology of the New Testament and Christian dogmatics-which are not seldom confounded to their common injurybegins already to be clear to us. Both parts of theological science have their peculiar character. That of Christian dogmatics is historico-philosophic; that of the Biblical theology of the New Testament, on the contrary, is purely historic. The former investigates, not what the Christian Church in general, or one of its parts, acknowledges as truth, but, above all, what, in the domain of Christian faith, must really be regarded as truth. The Biblical theology of the New Testament, on the other hand, inquires only what is adduced as truth by the New Testament writers. From its stand-point, it has to do, not with the correctness, but with the contents of the ideas which it finds in the teaching of Jesus and the Apostles. Elle ne demzontrepas, elle raconte (Reuss).It has in this another aim than that proposed by one who treats of systematic theology. While dogmatics seeks to develop the subject-matter of the * Obscure and incorrect is the distinction of Schenkel (Christliche Domatik, vol. i. p. 380). "Its design is not to bring to light the truth of salvation, but only the reality of the Scripture history of salvation) " 4 Theology of the New Testament. Christian faith, and to lay firm its foundations, Biblical theology, of the New Testament, has fulfilled its task when it has clearly presented what, in the New Testament, in contradistinction from other religious documentary authorities, is proclaimed as truth; although the question, with what right it is so proclaimed, is left to the sister science. If its aim is in so far a humbler one it has, on the other hand, a so much wider compass. Though, since the time of Calixtus (1634), dogmatics and ethics have been separated-with what right we here leave undecided-yet this separation is, in the domain of the Biblical theology of the New Testament, as little justifiable as desirable. A clear line of demarcation between the doctrine of salvation and the doctrine of life had no existence in the mind of Tesus and his Apostles. From the stand-point of the New Testament writers, faith and life are not only united, but one. Biblical theology has, consequently, not less to investigate the practical than the theoretical side of the New Testament teaching. On the other hand, it cannot have as its proper object to treat of the life of the Lord and his Apostles in addition to their doctrine, which is attempted, amongst others, by C. F. Schmid, in a work to which we shall shortly have occasion to refer. While the Biblical theology of the New Testament has a much more objective character than Christian dogmatics, it can yet dispense with the help of the latter, although Christian dogmatics cannot possibly dispense with its help. It demands, therefore, in one who treats of it, not only that he should be a Defnition of the Science. 5 Christian philosopher, but also, above all, a good exegete and thorough historian. As for the hermeneute, so also for the Biblical theologian of the New Testament, the main question is, What readest thozu? It is on this account also better to designate our science by the name of Biblical theology than of Biblical Dogmatics of the New Testament. When we speak of the Biblical dogmatics of the New Testament, we naturally think of a complete system of ideas, so far as this can be deduced, as a whole, from the New Testament. Biblical theology, on the other hand, seeks to investigate, in a purely historical manner, the whole teaching (leerbegrip) of each single writer of the New Testament. Besides this, the word dogima reminds us almost involuntarily of the Church. The sayings of Jesus and of the Apostles, with which the Biblical theology of the New Testament has to do, have been just the elements from which the later dogmas have been derived, and by which they have been established. 4. The character of our science we have above indicated determines at the same time its place in the organic whole of the theological encyclopaedia. If we distinguish between exegetical, historical, systematic, and practical theology, it will soon be seen that the Biblical theology of the New Testament takes its place at the head of the second of these, where it shines as "a focus of light in theological study" (Hagenbach). Thankfully this science receives X Compare J. J. Doedes, "Hermeneutics of the New Testament Writings." (English translation.) 6 Theology of the New Testament. the indispensable services which exegesis renders to it, and in turn confers these services upon the following parts of historic theology, as well as of systematic and practical theology, and especially on the history of Christian doctrines, whose basis and initial point it is. On the other hand, it can leave the critical investigation of the history of those sources from whence it draws, to the so-called introductory science -Isagogics of the New Testament. Without doubt, Biblical theology may not leave unused the light kindled by the latter science as a help in its investigation. On disputed questions, which are of importance for his subject, it is to be expected of the Biblical theologian that he should express his opinion, support, and defend it; but a formal treatment of these questions, leading to a final decision, ought not to be expected of him in this capacity. The unceasing accumulation of material demands, above all in our days, a division of labour. The ideal of our science is attained if it presents a clear, well-arranged, complete, and comprehensive view of the doctrines contained in the writings of the New Testament, without troubling itself what is asserted, with or without justice, by criticism, concerning the origin, the connection, and the value of these books. 5. The importance of the investigation in which Biblical Theology is engaged, after what we have said, scarcely needs to be mentioned. Even from a purely historic point of view, it merits the attention of every one who treats of the history of humanity and of the kingdom of God upon earth. The ad Definition of the Science. 7 vanced Christian justly attaches great value to an exact acquaintance with the answer given by the Lord and his Apostles to the highest questions of life. Especially must the Christian theologian learn to distinguish the teaching of Jesus and his Apostles from many other teachings. As a Protestant, he has, moreover, an interest in this investigation which is not felt by the Roman Catholic, or not felt in the same degree; and far from its being the case that in our time this investigation is rendered less important on account of the variously modified views of Holy Scripture, it is rather manifest of itself that-entirely apart from the justice of the modifications we have indicated-the very signs of the times most urgently impel us to its unwearied prosecution. On the idea and character of our science, compare F. F. Fleck on Biblical Theology as a Science in our Time, in R6hr's " Prediger-Bibliothek," anno 1834; Schenkel, The Problem of Biblical Theology, etc., in "Studien und Kritiken," 1852; the introduction to Lange's Bible Work (" Homiletical Commentaries," English Translation, Edinburgh); and, above all, the article of C. I. Nitzsch, in Herzog's "Real-Encyklopaedie," vol. ii. p. 2I9 and following. POINTS FOR INQUIRY. CHARACTER and psychological basis of theological science in general. —Wherefore was the investigation of the Old and the New Testament theology at first combined and afterwards separated?- Criticism of some other definitions of our science, more or less different from our own.-View] 8 Theology of the Neze Testament. in regard to its place in the Encyclopaedia. -Wherefore does not the life of Jesus and his Apostles belong to its domain? —More exact statement and defence of its importance in itself, and in comparison with other branches of theological science.-From what cause is the low estimation of this science on many hands to be explained; and wherefore and how is this to be combated? SECTION II. THE age of the Biblical theology of the New Testament, as an independent part of theological science, extends not far beyond the present century. It has passed through a lolg period of preparation, but has developed itself, in any considerable degree, only within a short time, and is now in a condition of promise and of life, which powerfully impels to its further cultivation. I. Not without reason is it usual, in the introduction to any scientific investigation, to afford a'sketch of its history. In this case, also, history proves itself "the light of truth, the witness of the times, the instructress of life." It makes us acquainted with that which has been already done within a given sphere, and on this account, also, with that which yet remains to be done. It shows how the science has gradually attained to an independent rank, affords the key to the explanation of its preseht con 10 Theology of the New Testalment. dition, and places us thus in a position further to build upon a foundation already laid. 2. Some one has justly termed the Biblical theology of the New Testament an "especially Protestant" science. It is.so at least to this extent, that though the germ of this science was before present, it could only freely develop itself on the soil of Protestantism. The period before the Reformation may be designated the preparatory one. To this period belong the most important Fathers of the first centuries, who are more or less Biblical theologians. Especially does this honourable title belong to the coryphaei of the Alexandrine school. In some measure, the work de testimoniis, which is usually ascribed to Cyprian (obiit A.D. 258), may be adduced as an instance of independent research within this sphere, as well as also that of the African bishop, Junilius, de partibus legis, which belongs to the sixth century. That the Middle Ages were not favourable to works on Biblical theology is manifest from the nature of the case. As a rule, the question then was not-What is the teaching of Scripture? but-What is the teaching of the Church? They did not, however, entirely abstain from appealing to Scripture against those who differed from them; and the age before the Reformation prepared at the same time the way for a juster and more successful treatment of Biblical theology, especially that of the New Testament. The Doctores ad Biblia were expressly called to its explanation, and Luther's example shows with what zeal individuals among them entered upon this work. The Its Hislory. II dogmatic masterpieces of the Reformation are at the same time the fruit of an earnest study of the Bible; although it was by no means entered upon from an historic standpoint, or with a purely scientific aim. Unfortunately, there arose in the seventeenth century a new scholasticism in place of the old, and the boundary line between Biblical theology and the dogmatics of the Church was more and more obliterated. Exegesis retired to the background, polemics came to the front. Even polemics, however, appealed to the so-called dicta probantia, which were expounded more or less according to the tenets of a particular school. The desire to find the truth of salvation as clearly and perfectly expressed as possible, even in those living under the Old Covenant, gave rise to very special investigations. Thus the theology of Job (1687), of Jeremiah (I696), even that of Elizabeth (I706), was treated with minute care. In an increasing degree-alongside of scholastico-dogmatic' investigation-the necessity for Biblical exegesis (not yet purely historical) made itself felt, and the means thereto, were supplied on various hands. In Strasburg, Sebastian Schmidt published his Collegium Biblicumz (3rd edition, I689); in Holland, Witsius and Vitringa called forth a purely Biblical school. Even the reaction of Pietism against orthodoxy affected favourably our science in its earliest stage; and during the whole eighteenth century there is manifested an increasing effort to throw off the scholastic yoke, and in the presentation of the Christian doctrine of faith and life, to return to Biblical simplicity. As types of this 12 Theology of the New Testament. tendency, we may mention M. C. Heyman, Versuch einer Bibl. Theol. in Tabellen (4th edition, 1758); A. F. Busching, Epitome Theologiw, e solis litteris sacris concinnatw (I757), and by the same writer, Gedanken von der Beschaffenheit znd der Vorzug der Bibl. Dogm. Theol. vor der scolastischen (I758); above all, D. G. F. Zacharie, Bibl. Theologie, oder Untersuchung des Bibl. Grundes der vornehmsten Theol. Lehren (3rd edition, in five parts, I786); and Storr, Doctrince Christiane e solis litt. SS. repetitw Pars Theor. (Stuttgard, I793 and I807). Their footsteps were followed, both within and without our country, at the end of the last century and the beginning of the present, by distinguished Biblical theologians of the supernaturalistic school. 3. Yet, however valuable all this is, the purely historical treatment of the Biblical theology of the New Testament is entirely a fruit of modern time, which brings forth ever more clearly the distinction between this and ecclesiastical or philosophical dogmatics. The idea that the Biblical theology of the New Testament must be treated as an independent part of historic science was first expressed with clear consciousness on the rationalistic side. This took place on the part of J. Ph. Gabler (Professor at Altorf) in the year I787, in an academic discourse, De justo discrimine Theol. Bibl. et Dogm., wherein he insisted that in the domain of the first-named science (Biblical'theology) the doctrines of the different writers must be objectively investigated, distinguished from each other, and accurately arranged. His main thought Its History. 13 was further developed by his colleague, G. L. Bauer, who (I800-1802) published a Biblical Theology of the New Testazment, in four parts, to which a fifth was promised. While this writer gave to his historic investigation an apologetico-practical tendency, an independent standpoint was taken by C. F. Ammon, in his Outline of a purely Biblical Theology (Erl. 1792), and his Biblical Theology (2nd edition, in three parts, I80I-I802). According to his view, Biblical theology should deal only with the " materials, fundamental ideas, and results of Biblical teaching, without troubling itself about the connection of the same, or weaving them into an artificial system." "This business," he says, "is reserved for the writer on dogmatics, who harmorises together these results." Whether the task of dogmatics is so simple as it would appear from these words, may remain for us at present a matter of indifference; it suffices that the historic character of our science has been intelligently expressed by Ammon. Yet more clearly is this done by G. P. C. Kayser, in his work, Bibl. Theologie, oder 7zidaismzus und Christianismus, etc. (Erl. I813-I4); but especially by the Basle Professor, W. M. L. de Wette (died I850), who has rendered this science most important services, less as concerns results than as concerns method. He placed Biblical dogmatics parallel with those of the Lutheran Church, in a certain respect opposite to them, and distinguished in the former better than had been before done between the ideas of Hebraism and those of Judaism, between the doctrine of Jesus and that of the Apostles. Hte asked, above all things, not 14 Theology of the New Testament. whether he could harmonize his views with the Scripture teaching, but what the Scriptural conceptions were, how they were developed from each other, and beside each other, and in what connection they stood with the peculiar ideas of the time in which they were first uttered. Without doubt this work also has its weaker sides: Biblical theology is here too much Biblical dogmatics in- the stricter sense of the word, and the peculiar philosophic standpoint of the author -he belonged to the school of Fries-had an overweening influence upon the historic view of his subject. This, however, does not prevent his having made, in some respects, gigantic progress in the good way, so that others with the desired success could further build upon the foundation he had laid. This was done also, although in a less happy form, by L. F. O. Baumgarten-Crusius, Professor in Jena, in his Outlines of Biblical Theology (1828); by L. D. Cramer, Prelections upon the Biblical Theology of the New Testament, brought out by Nabe, Leipzig, I830; and on a much greater scale by D. V. C6lln, Professor at Breslau, whose Biblical Theology, in two parts, was published after his death, in I836, by Dr. D. Schulz. It was, however, not only the wholly or half rationalistic school of theology which devoted itself with manifest preference to the prosecution of this part of the science; on the supernaturalistic side also its domain was cultivated by skilled hands. During the second quarter of the century, the theology of the Old Testament began to receive especial attention. The writings on this subject of Steudel (I840), Oehler Its History. 15 (1840), and especially of Havernick (1848), deserve to be mentioned with honour. As far as the New Testament is concerned, our science is especially under deep obligation to the ever-memorable Neander (died 1858). In the first part of his Life of 3eszs (ist edition, 1837), he gave an historic summary of the doctrine of the Redeemer as derived from his parables, in which we cannot fail to recognise the master hand which had already analysed with rare tact the doctrinal teaching of the different apostolic writers, in his Planting and Training of the Apostolic Chziurch (Ist edition, 1832). He brought out the finer shades of thought in the peculiarity of each one, but at the same time pointed out the higher unity, and sought especially to show "how, notwithstanding all difference, there was an essential unity beneath, unless one is deceived by the form, and how the form in its diversity is easily explained." The weaker sides of Neander's treatment are avoided in one of the best works which we have here to mention, C. F. Schmid's Bibl. Theol. des N. T., which, after his death, was edited by Dr. K. Weizsacker (1853), of which a new edition appeared in I864. He presents the theology of the New Testament objectively and clearly, and penetrates with manifest sympathy into the organism of the different groups of doctrines, the treatment of which is preceded by a special biography of the Lord and His Apostles. If the latter is not to be commended (comp. ~ I, 3), his work deserves the preference to the incomplete Theology of the New Testament, by Dr. G. L. Hahn, Leipzig, 1854. This treats only of the 16 Theology of the New Testament. fundamental idea of God and the world, which underlies the teaching both of the Lord and His Apostles, without making a just distinction between the different doctrinal types, and brings out indeed very clearly the unity of the fore-mentioned ideas of God and the world, but without doing sufficient justice to the diversity of the doctrinal development in the writers of the New Testament. As far as the theology of the Apostles especially is concerned, we give the preference to H. Messner, The Doctrine of the Apostles, Berlin, I856-a book here and there a little heavy in style, but rich in contents, and constructed on a good method; and especially G. V. Lechler, The Apostolic and Post-Apostolic Age, with regard to Diversity and Unity in Doctrine and Life, crowned in the year 1848 by the Teyler Society, and published in I857 a second time, so greatly augmented and improved that it may almost be called a new work. The special literature of the Petrine, Pauline, and Johannine theology we shall cite in the proper place. That the treatment especially of the theology of Jesus must be considerably modified through the influence of the criticism of Strauss and the Tibingen school, was a natural consequence of the spirit of the time, and is manifest, besides, from many examples. In general we must not suppose that even where the purely historical character of our science is acknowledged and defended, the theological and philosophical standpoint of the writer has been without great influence upon its treatment. How prejudicially the Hegelian philosophy has affected Its History. I7 Biblical theology we may perceive from the work of Vatke (I835), whose a pOriori construction of doctrine and history has been combated but not improved by Bruno Bauer, The Relzgion of 1he Old Testamenlt, Berlin, I838-39. As far as the New Testament is concerned, we should bestow a yet higher praise than we do upon the, in many respects, so excellent Ifistoire de la Theol. Chret. dzi Siecle Apostol., by E. Reuss, Strasburg, 1852 (latest edition 1864), if the clearness and completeness of the presentation were equalled by its strict objectivity. But in the grouping, here and there also in the treatment and appreciation of the materials, the author's considerable sympathy with the Tilbingen construction ot the earliest Church history is unmistakable, whilst nis investigation, moreover, extends beyond the limits t,, the New Testament; which is not advantageous for tne recognition of the entirely peculiar value of its conitents. In a far greater degree, however, does this objection apply to the work of the head of the'i bingen school, Dr. F. C. Baur, in whose Prelections on iew Testament Theology, published after his death by his son (1864), the well-known bright and dark sides of this school are, so to speak, concentrated. The whole rich material of New Testament theology Baur divides into three different periods, after he has first separately dealt with the teaching of Jesus. To the first of these he assigns the four Pauline epistles, acknowledged by him as genuine, together with the Apocalypse, and discusses their dogmatic contents. In the second follow the Epistle to the Hebrews, the C 18 Theology of the New Testament. smaller epistles of Paul (with the exception of those to Timothy and Titus), and, further, the Epistles of Peter and James, the Synoptical Gospels and the Acts. In the third, finally, the doctrinal contents of the pastoral epistles and the Johannine writings, which, according to Baur, are by far the latest in the whole canon. Thus the whole conception and method rests upon a system of isagogics and criticism, to which no one will give the name of impartial. Yet more arbitrarily and with much less talent has this presentation of history been attempted from the same standpoint by L. Noack in his Bibl. TA9^., Introduction to the Old and New Testament, Halle, 1853. From the Roman Catholic side an important contribution to our science has been made in Germany by J. A. B. Lutterbeck, On the New Testament Doctrines; or, Investigations as to the Period of the Religious Change, the Stages preparatory to Christianity, and the first form -of the same. (Two parts, Mainz, I852). It contains a treasure of material, although the author himself has published it onlur as a Handbook of the Earliest History of Doctrines and Systematic Exegesis of the New Testament, and although he leaves the doctrine of Jesus entirely untreated of, and, on the other hand, has taken up a great deal that does not properly belong to the subject. As far as the literature of Holland is concerned, comparatively much has been done for the advancement of Biblical and Evangelical dogmatics (Muntinghe, Egeling, Heringa, Vinke), but as yet but little Its History. 19 for the scientific and purely historic treatment of New Testament theology. From the standpoint of the Groningen school many an important contribution to the knowledge of the doctrines of Paul and his fellowApostles has been received in the early issues of Waarheid in Liefde. A copious compendium was afforded to his students by the Leyden professor, J. H. Scholten, in his History of Christian Doctrine during the Period of the New Testament (2nd edition), Leyden, 1858, in which the well-known clearness and acuteness of the author is just as little to be denied as the influence of his own dogmatic system upon the result. An important contribution to Biblical theology was made by Dr. A. H. Blom, in his treatise, The Doctrine of the Messianic Kingdom among the First Christians, according to the Acts of the Apostles, Dordr., 1863; a study in which, not in vain, the requirement of strict objectivity is made. In regard to Eschatology, an exact and thorough historic and exegetical investigation has been made by J. P. Briet (Two parts), Thiel, I857, I858. 4. At the end of our historic summary we see that, while it is by no means impossible to treat Biblical theology as an independent science, just as little is a new attempt at the development and completion of'this science to be regarded as superfluous. It is further clear that the requirement of the science is so much the more fully met, in proportion as we keep before the eye its objective historic character; that, on the other hand, untimely admixture of one's own dogmatic and philosophic opinions can only tend to its 20 Theology of the New Testament. essential injury. During a succession of years, shipwreck has been made on one or other of these rocks alternately; either the unmistakable diversity of the doctrinal contents was sacrificed to the prosecution of an ideal unity, or the higher unity was sacrificed to a too strongly coloured diversity. The former of these especially was more prevalent at an earlier period, under the influence of ruling dogmatism; the latter more especially in our own time, under the influence of the criticism which gives the present tone. True wisdom demands that we avoid Scylla, and remain equally far from Charybdis. But this leads us to the following section. Compare, on the subject treated of in this section, Reuss, Histoire de la Theol. Chret., pp. 13-28; Baur, Vorlesungen iiber neu-testamentliche Theologie, p. I-44. POINTS FOR INQUIRY. WHENCE is it that the Biblical theology of the New Testament is as yet a comparatively youthful science? What beneficial and what hurtful influence has the Tiibingen school exerted upon its development? Is it possible and necessary to keep it free from the influence of a definite Christian philosophic system? SECTION III. THE method of our investigation can, from the nature of the case, be no other than the genetic, chronologico-analytic. The main division of the material is determined by the peculiarity and mutual connection of the different doctrinal systems which are met with in the New Testament. If the treatment is to correspond to its object, it must be carried out in a truly scientific manner, but at the same time in a truly Christian spirit. I. In every science the question as to the mode of proceeding is of primary importance. All the value of a result stands or falls with the legitimacy of the method by which it is obtained. As a part of historic theology, our science can obey no other laws than those which apply to every historic investigation. The method must, consequently, be a genetic one, that is, it must take into account not only the con 22 Theology of the Nezv Testament. tents, but also the manner of origination (genesis) of the different ideas. In this, historico-psychological exegesis, especially, will render good service. Further, it must be chronological. We find in the New Testament a series of writings and thoughts which, gradually formed, were not seldom developed under the opposing influence of one writer upon another; even the inner process of development of one and the same writer-e.g., that of Paul-was by no means immovably fixed during a succession of years. "History is the unfolding of life" (Schmid). Here, consequently, the well-known direction, distingue tempora, is to be carefully observed. Finally, analytical or disjunctive. We have to ask not at once after the doctrines of the Apostolic age en bloc, but after those of each of the different witnesses which meet us in the New Testament. It is true we have here also to do with a higher unity; but this becomes manifest only when the manifest diversity is first clearly presented. The synthesis has no value unless the analysis has been pure. " It is of analysis that we shall seek the light which shall lighten our path; of analysis, which teaches the historian to lose sight of himself, in order not to fail of his subject, which knows how to respect the particular character of each fact, of each idea that it meets, which recognises to each epoch, to each group, to each individuality even, however small, its right to appear to-day in the mirror of history, that which it once was in the reality of life" (Reuss). Its Method, Main Division, etc. 23 2. The main division of the subject upon which we are entering is already, in principle, indicated by what we have said. First, we must separate the theology of the Lord Jesus Christ and that of the Apostolic writers from each other, and treat of the former before the latter. In dealing with the first, the difference between the utterances of the Lord in the Synoptics and those in the Gospel of John is at once evident. Also, the investigation of the Apostles' doctrine demands a similar threefold division. Peter, Paul, yohn, give-and indeed in this order-their successive testimony. Around these leading forms are grouped also others, who manifest more or less of spiritual affinity with them and their thoughts. Thus, to the Petrine theology belongs the doctrinal system of James and Jude; the Gospels of Matthew and Mark must also be arranged under this head. Around Paul are grouped his predecessor Stephen, his fellow-labourer Luke, and his spiritual kinsman the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews. John stands alone; but the John of the Fourth Gospel and of the Epistles, on the one hand, and the John of the Apocalypse, on the other hand, are sufficiently different for us to listen to the one only after the other has spoken. In these two main divisions, the material for our investigation is comprehended, but not yet fully mastered. We cannot understand the teaching of the Lord and His Apostles so long as we have not-even though only in a general sense-learnt to know the ground out of which the plant grew. 24 Theology of the Nerzu'Tcsaaent. A preparatory chapter must consequently precede the investigation of these, a chapter in which, indeed, not the whole theology of the Old Testament is treated of, but the religion from which Christianity sprang, the expectations it fulfilled, the condition, finally, the thoughts and wants of the age in which the Lord and His Apostles arose; in other words, Mosaism, Prophetism, and Judaism, as distinguished from an earlier Hebraism. We may best sum up the contents of this first, merely preparatory-but, nevertheless, indispensable-chapter, under the name of Old Testament basis. Upon this follows, as the second part, the theology of Jesus Christ; as a third, that of the Apostles, according to the plan above indicated. But is our investigation with this at an end? Just as little as the building whose foundations are laid, and whose walls are brought to the required height, but to which roof and gable are still wanting. In a fourth, or last part, must the synthesis of the completed analysis be attempted; in other words, the higher unity of the doctrine of the Apostles with each other, and with the Lord, must be spoken of. Only thus does the edifice of New Testament theology stand before our eyes as a compact whole. "Thus will New Testament theology have before it the task of developing the organic connection of New Testament doctrine" (Schmid). Only with this can we rest contented. And if now it is seen that none of the main parts before mentioned can either be left out or placed in other order, without the harmony Its Melhod, Main Division, etc. 25 being broken, then is at once made manifest the necessity as well as the justice of our main division. 3. The demand that the investigation to be instituted should be at the same time both scientific and Christian, will, as a whole, be contradicted by no one. Nevertheless, a word of further explanation will not be superfluous. An investigation is scientific when it corresponds with the requirements of science in general, and of that science in particular to which it relates. " Science is a well-grounded and well-ordered knowledge, the fruit of just observation and philosophic induction" (Mulder). Theological science is consequently a wellgrounded and well-ordered knowledge' of God and Divine things, derived from those sources whence necessarily it must be drawn. This science in its examination receives light from faith in God and His revelation; but this faith, in place of fettering or obscuring the spirit of free investigation, rather calls it forth, and gives to its labour the most suitable direction. In regard to this investigation, also, the requirement is made that it should be thorough, exact, complete, impartial, and truth-loving. Impartiality, however, must not be conceived of a systematic denying or ignoring of all the principles upon which others proceed (freedom from prepossession), for this is neither necessary nor possible. It rather demands that, with candid mind and spirit, we hold ourselves open to every impression, and desire nothing but truth, whether it harmonises or not with our own favourite opinions. Such a love of truth, which 26 Theology of the New Testament. becomes no one more than him who is treating of theological science, is naturally united with that moral earnestness which can by no means be wanting in an investigation like the present. To this extent, we may say that a truly scientific spirit is not merely a bent of the mind, but of the whole intellectual and moralelife, so that, like eloquence, it may be called not only a gift, but a virtue. Scientific investigation will at the same time be Christian, if it is, above all, begun and continued in a Christian spirit. Even in the examination of the doctrine of Jesus and the Apostles, we may not possibly forget what great importance the New Testament possesses for the religious and Christian life. The theologian who is also a Christian cannot possibly be untrue to his faith when he enters upon the domain of science. Nor is this by any means demanded: faith here also leads to a better recognition and knowledge, and the latter in turn puts us in a position better to believe (I John v. I3.) Nevertheless, the Christian and the ecclesiastical standpoint must not here be regarded as entirely the same. The New Testament is here regarded and consulted purely as an historical document: the question whether it is still more than this, and in what relation it stands to the faith and life of the Christian, belongs exclusively to the domain of Christian dogmatics, and on this account is not here discussed. Then, also, must our investigation, secondly, be undertaken in a Christian spirit, that is, in the spirit of Christian humility, which is conscious of its limited capacity; Its Method, Main Division, etc. 27 in the spirit of living faith, which impels so much the more powerfully to seek to fathom the mysteries of the kingdom of God; above all, in the spirit of ardent love for the Gospel, which easily and willingly enters into the spirit of the sacred writer. Here, also, sympathy is the indispensable condition of a deeper insight. Finally, the investigation must have a Christian aim: personal sanctification through the knowledge of the truth; the upbuilding of the kingdom of God in us and around us; and thereby, above all, the glorifying of Him for whom are all things, even in the domain of science. Compare Schenkel, Task of Biblical Theol., in Studien und Kritiken, 1852, i. p. 6i and following; Nitzsch, Article in Herzog's Real-Encycl. ii. p. 225. POINTS FOR INQUIRY. THE importance of method in the theological domain. -Criticism of some other modes of division and subdivision.-To what extent is an absolute impartiality in the investigation of our science indispensable, possible, desirable?-Is a purely historical investigation, such as is here attempted, consistent with the reverence we owe to Holy Scripture? FIRST PART. OLD TESTAMENT BASIS. SECTION IV. MosAISM is the religio-political institution which the Israelitish nation owes to Moses, and in consequence of which Israel has occupied an entirely unique position in the history of the development of the religious life of humanity. The main source of knowledge in regard to it is the Canonical Scripture of the Old Testament; its basis is a special revelation; its character, monotheistic; its form, theocratic; its worship, symbolico-typical; its design, purely moral; its standpoint, that of external authority, but, at the same time, of conscious preparation for a higher development. I. The edifice of the New Testament theology reposes entirely upon an Old Testament basis. The Gospel is to be understood, neither in point of con Mosaism. 29 tents or form, without a knowledge of prophetic Scripture; and this again leads back to Moses and the religion founded by him.* 2. That the Israelitish nation occupies an entirely unique place, particularly in the history of religion, cannot be ignored. In commerce and luxury it is surpassed by the Phoenicians, in art and science by the Greeks, in bravery by the Romans and other nations. In the religious domain, on the other hand, we meet in Israel with ideas, institutions, expectations, which we find nowhere else; historic forms, whose counterpart we elsewhere seek in vain; above all, a self-consciousness, which can only be the fruit of boundless arrogance, or of an inestimable privilege.d The objective and subjective height on which Israel stands is only to be explained by Mosaism. 3. For a just knowledge and appreciation of Mosaism, that of Moses himself is necessary. This is derived partly from profane sources -Egyptian, Grecian, Roman; partly from the sacred archives of the Old Testament, and above all of the Pentateuch. Not all, however, is of purely Mosaic origin which is called after the name of Moses; just as, also, not all is Christian which is associated with the name of Christ. It is the no less indisputable than important vocation of a thorough criticism to distinguish the originally Mosaic element from that which was later added, whether by way of development or through a process of degeneration. " Comp. John iv. 22; 2 Tim. iii. 15. t Deut. iv. 7; xxxiii. 29. Ps. lxxxix. 15; cxlvii. 19, 20. 30 Theology of the LNe Testament. 4. Notwithstanding all that Moses has in common with other founders of religion in antiquity, his personality, his character, would remain absolutely inexplicable, unless he had been the interpreter and bearer of a special Divine revelation. The idea, the possibility, the reality, the characteristics of this special revelation, are brought out by the science of dogmatics. Biblical theology only attests the fact that Moses arose as an extraordinary messenger of God," was recognised as such by his contemporaries and by posterity,f yea, even by Jesus and the Apostles,+ and proved himself such, not only by signs and prophecy, but especially by the inner excellence of his religious teaching, which no one has yet succeeded in explaining upon purely natural principles. The Divine revelation granted to Moses, nevertheless, has its roots in an earlier one, and is the continuation of a golden thread of Divine promises, whose beginning is lost in hoary antiquity.~ Only from a supernaturalistic Christian standpoint can Mosaism be fully understood. 5. Mosaism shows from the beginning a strictly monotheistic character. It recognises Jehovah not only as the highest, but also as the only God,ll beside whom to no creature in heaven or on earth may religious adoration be paid. If Israel in the wilderness and later was guilty of idolatry,~ this took place in direct antagonism with the Mosaic principle, which * Numb. xii. 6-8. t Deut. xxxiv. I0-12.: Matt. xv. 3-6; Rom. iii. 2 ~ Exod. ii. 24, 25. f Deut. vi. 4. ~ Amos v. 25-27. Mosaism. 31 pronounces death upon this trangression. There is just as little ground for maintaining that this Mosaism arose out of an earlier Polytheism in the way of gradual development, as for explaining it out of the peculiarity of the Semitic race. " Ce qui domine dans l'histoire des Yuifs, ce n'est jas la race, mais la religion, (deux choses distinctes, et qui ne s'expliquent pas mutuelleinent." (La Boulaye.) On the contrary, everything forces us to think of a personal revelation of God, in whatever form, given to the father of the nation, forgotten by his descendants in Egypt, renewed to Moses, and in Mosaism enriched with new elements. In consequence of this revelation, Israel knows the Lord-the Almighty Creator of heaven and earth-in His unity, majesty, spiritual nature, and His spotless holiness, united with compassion and faithfulness. This truth is here the axis around which all turns"le dogme des dogmes." Its recognition raises Israel above all the nations of the earth, and is the unalterable condition of national and individual happiness. Nevertheless, the prospect of this latter does not, as a rule, extend farther than on this side the grave.* However firmly the hope of individuals clings even in death to the Ever-living One, life and immortality have been first brought to light by the Gospel. t 6. The covenant which God, according to His promises, established with Israel through the mediation of Moses, becomes the basis of the Theocracy.. The word is from Josephus (contra Apion. ii. I6); the thing itself is to be regarded neither as an imitation * Exod. xx... 2 Tim. i. Io. 32 Theology of the New Testament. of other forms of religion-e.g., Egyptian-nor as a merely natural fruit of a limited nationality of sentiment, nor as the involuntary consequence of reaction against heathenism. It was the work of the free and gracious choice of Him who, though He is Lord of the whole creation, made Israel more especially to be the people of His possession. The covenant-act of the theocracy thus founded was the law-giving at Sinai; its seat the sanctuary; its end-not the arising of the kingdom, by which it was only modified-but the destruction of the Israelitish state; its highest benefit finally was the appearing of Him who put an end to the wall of separation between Israel and the nations. Only when we have recognised this its theocratic character, is the history of Israel, and in connection with this, the ever higher revelation of the majesty of God, credible, and in a certain degree comprehensible. 7. As Covenant-God will God not only be acknowledged by Israel, but also be worshipped in a way well pleasing to Him. The ritual appointed by Moses displays a symbolico-typical character.* The outward forms are the visible expression of higher religious ideas; the ceremonies then present are at the same time shadows of future persons and things (tppi personales et reales). Type and symbol is by no means the same thing. The symbol stands related to the idea, as its sensuous expression; the type to the antitype, as the shadow to the reality. The symbol shadows forth the invisible; the type repre. * Coloss. ii. 17; Epistle to Hebrews, passim. Mosaism. 33 sents that which is as yet concealed. We see both united in the most important religious act-as of every religion, so also of Mosaism-the sacrifice. It is the symbol of voluntary consecration to God, and especially is the sin-offering a type of the perfect sacrifice of the New Covenant. "The notion of the typical is inseparable from that of a teleological development, in which the present is pregnant with the future " (Martensen). Rules for the further explanation of particulars are supplied by the symbolics and typology of the Old Testament. 8. If, consequently, the form of Mosaism is a lofty accommodation to the rude condition of the nation, its tendency is at the same time a purely moral one. The religious and moral element is here most intimately blended. The spotless holiness of the King of Israel becomes at the same time the highest ideal of the subject. The lively feeling of one's own unholiness, the need for forgiveness of sin, delight in the grateful praise of God, is by the sacrificial ritual at once called forth and satisfied; and the spirit of love, compassion, humanity-notwithstanding the narrowest limitations of nationality-is cherished by a legislation which, even in the minutest particulars, manifests the design to unite together as closely as possible reiigion and life. Without justice has it been maintained that the Mosaic economy is founded merely upon legality, not upon morality, in the proper sense of the word, inasmuch as it regulates only external actions, no inner principles. Even the beginning of * Levit. xix. 2. D 34 Theology of the New Testanment. the decalogue proves the contrary.* With all the experience of the terror of the Lord, the requirement of love to Him stands ever in the foreground;t and when Jesus sums up the whole law in this one precept, the genuinely Israelitish conscience testifies that He has interpreted it with perfect justice.- That which, regarded alone, would seem to stand in more or less of opposition to this strictly moral character of Mosaism,. must be explained with the eye upon the whole, in the light of that age, and in connection with the special government of God. 9. To the law it was nevertheless impossible to work the fulfilment of its just demands in sinful man. Its stand-point was that of outward authority, like that of the pedagogue over unruly lads.ll In Mosaism, man stands to God, not in the relation of a child to a father, but of a subject to his king, or of a transgressor to his judge. By far the greater number of commandments manifest, therefore, a prohibitory character; ~ and as the promise of life is attached to obedience, so also is the threatening of death made to transgression.*" It is true, the love of God is here in principle manifested and recognised; f but for the awakened conscience this is less prominent than His holiness and righteousness, which must ever impose new chastisements. Thus, then, is love to Him * Exod. xx. 2. + Deut. vi. 5. M Mark xii. 28-34. ~ e.g. Exod. iii. 2I, 22; I Sam. xv. 3 11 Gal. iv. I, 2. ~ Coloss. ii. 2I. ** Gal. iii. o0. tt Exod. xxxiv. 6,7; Psalm ciii. 13; I Kings xix. X1113. Mosaism. 35 certainly demanded, but by no means wrought, by the law.* Mlosaism, indeed, knows the promise of a regeneration of the heart;t but the letter, as such, kills.+ In this respect, the spirit and power of Mosaism is admirably symbolized in the bearing of the nation at Sinai.~ Io. Thus regarded, Mosaism will be less a preparation for Christianity than an opposition thereto; since therein-that which here can be by no means overlooked-no place was left for higher development. But the same Divine revelation, which had founded Mosaism, had at the same time made provision for its development by means of prophetism.i| Mosaism displays a particular colouring, but universalistic are the reminiscences of ancient promises, which it has preserved. intact,~ and the aspirations which its interpreters express from the highest stand-point of their religious development.** Thus it manifests in itself a harmonious unity; not, however, that of the completed building, but of the firm foundation upon which the edifice is to be further raised. Compare, on the Theology of the Old Testament in general, the works cited in Section II. On the history of Israel and of the Old Testament, those of Hess, Kalkar, Kurtz [English Translation], Ewald [English Transalation], Stanley. Alsd the Prelections of Da Costa, over waarh en waardzj der Schriften v. h. 0. V. Amst, 1844. Articles on Moses and Egypt, in Rorn. viii., 15. t Deut. xxx. 6. 5 2 Cor. iii. 6. ~ Exol. xx, I8-2S. | Deut. xviii. 15-18. ~ Gen. iii. 15; xlix. Io. ** Numbers xi. 29; I Kings viii. 4I-43. 36 Theology of the New Testament. Herzog. Auberlen: Gottliche Offenbarung (Divine Revelation.) Trip: Ueb. die Theophanien d. A. T., in the works of the Society of the Hague, 1856. Dillmann: Ueb. den Ursprung der A. T.-lichen Religion. Giessen, I865. Bahr: Symbol. des Mos. Cult., Heidelb., I837. Kurtz: Mosaic Sacrifices. Piccardt: De legislat. Mos. indole morali, Traj., I839. Tholuck: Das Alt. Test. im A. Test. (two appendices to the Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews). Umbreit: Das Evang. im A. T., in Studien and Kritiken, I849. I. POINTS FOR INQUIRY. Diversity and connection of the Old and the New Testament.-Summary and criticism of the different views of Mosaism.-Is it possible to explain the origin of Monotheism in Israel in a purely natural way?-The hypothesis of stone-worship.-Harmony and diversity of the theocracy and the later hierarchy.-To what extent is Mosaism entirely' original? (Spencer and Witsius.) —The different forms of special revelation.-The symbolical character, also,.of other ancient religions.-How is the former over-estimate and the later neglect of typology to be explained?-Detailed indication of the symbolico-typical element in different kinds of sacrifices.-To what extent can the Mosaic legislation, as compared with others, serve as a proof of the Divine origin of Mosaism?-Mosaism and the Messianic expectations. SECTION V. PROPHETISM, which is in its nature not less unique than the original Mosaism, and is just as little to be explained in a rationalistic or magical way, was at once the continuation and fulfilment of earlier revelation, and as such an inestimable blessing, not only for Israel, but also for the Gentile world. It prepared the way for the Gospel of the New Covenant, exercised considerable influence upon its contents and form, and raised its high value above all reasonable doubts. I. As Moses had, as prophet, stood far above his contemporaries,*so also there arose after him, here and there, extraordinary men of God. Even in the time of the Judges we see single prophets arise,t although the period of unbroken prophecy begins only with Samuel. He appears to have been the founder of the so-called * Numbers xii. 6-8. t Judges iv. 4; vi. 8 38 Theology of the New Testament. schools of the prophets, which soon after came to a higher development under Elijah and Elisha. Their own relation towards Saul and David represents at the same time that of their successors towards later kings. As representatives of the theocracy, called by Jehovah himself, they arise out of different tribes and districts. They are by no means above the law, but maintain its authority, enforce its spiritual observance, and interpret God's deeds and: purposes, into which they have a deeper insight than others. On this account, in more than one respect different from the priests, they bear the names of Messenger or Ambassador of God, (;'7t-l~L) Speaker, (R'. ) Seer, (7lh), and others of similar import. They teach the nation to understand the signs of the times, and even not seldom utter prophecies in the strict sense of the term, i.e., definite proclamations of such events of the future as could not possibly be calculated in a natural way. Just as little as the predicting of the future is to be regarded as the highest vocation of the prophet, just so little will an impartial criticism exclude, priori, from their activity the prophesying of those: hidden things which stood in organic connection with the development of the kingdom of God. The assertion that the truths made known to the prophets in no case extended beyond the natural limits of human knowledge, is in irreconcilable conflict as well with the expressions of their own selfconsciousness as with the facts themselves. 2. That the Israelitish Prophetism is an entirely unique phenomenon is seen if we regard it, on the Prop zeiism. 39 one hand, in itself, on the other hand, in comparison with heathen soothsaying (mantik). Only on theistic soil can a plant like this flourish; only as a link in a chain of special Divine purposes of salvation can Prophetism be explained. Here, also, there is no choice between a supernatural conception and an unnatural representation thereof. He who explains Prophetism rationalistically forgets that the expression of the human feeling, and of the prophetic consciousness of the Seer, is often diametrically opposed;" and makes the whole theocracy, finally, a work of reflection and calculation, exceptionally favoured by the course of events. The Israelitish prophet sees more than others, because more has been communicated to him by God than to others. No doubt, the capacity for receiving this communication was present in the prophets in no ordinary degree; but the source of their personal certainty, as regards the present and the future, lay in a special revelation given to them, in preference to others, and in different ways. With the untenable theory of a merely magical or mechanical inspiration, the fact of this inspiration itself does not fall. Prophecy was the ripened fruit, not of a divination only, but of a revelation whose contents and form attached themselves to the individuality of the prophets and the condition of the moment, without, however, being explicable from these alone. " History supplies the occasion for prophecy, but not its measure."-(Delitzsch.) Genuine prophecy arises through the co. I Sam. xv. I; xvi. 6, 7; 2 Sam. v 3'7. 40 Theology of the New Testament. operation of the Divine with the human factor, and builds upon the result of the past and present, in order thence to direct its glance to the mysteries of the future. 3. Prophetism stands in very close relation to Mosaism. It secures the observance of the precepts of the latter, which would else be constantly forgotten;* but developes at the same time its dogmatic contents, and adds to it essentially new elements. While Mosaism had proclaimed God's unity, Israel's prophets, at the same time, extolled His majesty in an unapproachable manner, and wielded the lash of satire against the folly of idolatry.t The idea of the Angel of the Covenant, and that of the Spirit of the Lord, manifests itself much more clearly in the word of the Prophets than in Moses.: The doctrine of Angels as well as of Demons, of which Mosaism possesses only slight traces, is, especially by the later prophets, developed powerfully and on many sides. Also, the expectation of resurrection and judgment after death, in regard to which Moses had been silent, is by some of them expressly mentioned.~ While even Mosaism in principle was purely moral, the prophetic word, above all, directs the attention to the spiritual nature of God's commandments, 1 and urges in opposition to a mechanical formalism and ceremonialism, the necessity for a spiritual consecra* Mal. iv. 4, 5. + Isaiah xl. and xliv. t Isaiah lxiii. 9, Io. ~ Isaiah xxv. 6-9 xxvi. I9; Ezek. xxxvii. x-14; Dan. xii. 2, 3. || I Sam. xv. 22; Isaiah i. 11-18; Micah vi. 6-8. Prophetism. 41 tion of self to God as the essence of the sacrificial ritual.* Finally, if Mosaism was adapted only for a particular nation; the prophets placed themselves upon the wall of separation, which they are not yet able to take away, and proclaim a kingdom of God which, proceeding from Jerusalem, embraces all nations,t-a golden age of the future, fairer than the heathen ever imagined it.+ 4. Messianic prophecy also, as well in the narrower as in the wider sense - in regard to the person and kingdom of the Messiah - may in a certain sense be regarded as an outgrowth from Mosaism. It is the continuation of a golden string of promises, with which the Pentateuch had already made the prophets and their contemporaries acquainted (See ~ IV. Io). The house of David, himself a prophet rejoicing in the loftiest prospect of the future,~ becomes the point around which gather the fairest expectations, shadowed forth in ever clearer outline. In the earlier prophets,|| Joel, Amos, Hosea, these are expressed in more general forms; but already, in Micah, and especially in Isaiah, the ardently-desired offspring of David is depicted in ever livelier colours.T To the description of his kingly glory, attaches that of his prophetic and high-priestly activity, especially in the last chapters of Isaiah.*- If here, also, the posterity * I Sam. xv. 22; Isaiah i. II-I8; Micah vi. 6-8. t Isaiah ii. 4. 4 Isaiah xi. 6-9. ~ 2 Sam. xxiii. 1-7; Matt. xxii. 43; Acts ii. 30. I| Joel ii. 28-32; Amos ix. ii, 12; Hosea iii. 5. 1 Micah iv. 5.; Isaiah vii. 14; ix. 1-6; xi. I-Io. ** Isaiah xlii. and xlix.; 1. 4-II; lii. I3-liii. 12. 42 Theology of the New Testament. of David is not forgotten (Iv. 3), yet it is especially the servant of the Lord, who brings salvation not only to Israel, but also to the Gentiles, who appears as suffering, the innocent for the guilty, and as the true spiritual Israel becomes at once the source of temporal and of spiritual blessing for all the nations of the world.* That, consequently, which has been already indicated before the captivity is, during this period, repeated, enriched with new traits. As it were out of the ruins of the destroyed Jerusalem, Jeremiah sees the throne of David arising in glorious brightness,t and sets forth at the same time all the spiritual glory which the new dispensation has above the old.+ Ezekiel represents the Son of David under the beautiful image of a Cedar and of a Shepherd,~ and sees a stream of living'water flowing out of the new temple. 1 Daniel stands as the world's prophet upon a height, whence in the stillness of the night he beholds how the image of the earthly monarchy is broken before his eyes, and sees the kingdom of heaven, symbolised under the form of a Son of man, coming upon the clouds of heaven. And also after the captivity, the same expectation of spiritual blessings manifests itself in variously modified forms, but in substance essentially the same. Haggai * looks for a revelation of God * Comp. Oehler, der Knecht Jehovah's im Deutero (?) 7esaiah. Stuttgard, 1865 t Jer. xxiii. 5, 6.. Jer. xxxi. 3I-34. ~ Ezek. xvii. 22-24; Xxxiv. 23. 1| Ezek. xlvii. I-I2. ~ Dan. c. vii. ** Hagg. ii. 6-9. Prophetism. 43 even among the Gentiles, in consequence of which the latter glory of God's house far surpasses the former glory. Zechariah* sees the priestly and the kingly office united in the offspring of David, who comes in meekness to the wretched. Malachi,t who sees in Him the Angel of the Covenant, proclaims at the same time the second Elias as his forerunner. Each prophet towers above his predecessor: all together point to the One who is the end (final aim) of Law and Prophecy. 5. No wonder that such a Prophetism was inestimably beneficial for Israel. It was the continual channel of revelation, the bulwark of religion and, so to speak, the unswerving conscience of the Theocratic state. By means of Prophetism, Israel saw at once its past conserved, its present enlightened, its future assured. Thence it happens that the possession of prophets was regarded as a peculiar privilege,4 their cessation bewailed as a national misfortune.s Even for the Gentile nations, Prophetism was exceptionally beneficial. The activity of many prophets (Elisha, Jonah, Daniel) extended beyond the limits of the land of promise, with the definite effect of preparing for the founding of the kingdom of God on a wider scale. Above all, the Greek translation of the word of prophecy was exceedingly serviceable to this end. 6. Prophetism thus, both in Israel and in the Gentile world, prepared the way for the Gospel of * Zech. vi. I2, 13; ix. 9. t Mal. iii. I; iv. 5.: Nehem. ix. 3o; Amos ii. 1I. g Psalm Ixxiv. 9. 44 Theology of the New Testament. the New Testament. Without doubt, it tended to preserve that Monotheism, without which a special revelation of spiritual blessings was not conceivable. It called forth and intensified the consciousness of sin, that the nation might so much the more ardently sigh for deliverance. It preserved alive hope, even when hope seemed to be in vain, and, as opposed to the terrors of the law, proclaimed the consolation of the promise. Even the whole personality-the work and the fate of the leading prophets-served as a foreshadowing of Him who was to be the crown and centre of all the revelations of God.* 7. For the writer on New Testament Theology, also, the study of the prophetic word of the Old Testament is of an importance which cannot be overlooked. Upon the contents and form of the first proclamation of the Gospel it exercised a many-sided influence. The Gospel appears as the fulfilment of prophetic expectations; and appeals, in proof of its Divinity, to prophetic utterances.t In the mirror of this Scripture, the Lord beheld his own image, and in it have thousands recognised Him as the Christ. As well the description of His person, as the representation of His work in the New Testament, finds its key in the language and ritual of the Old. Yea, however great the difference between the form of the prophetic and the apostolic utterances, the influence of the former upon the latter * Isaiah lxi. I; Comp. Luke iv. IS, I9; Matt. xii. 40; xxiii. 37. t Luke xxiv. 27; Acts xvii. 3; and many other places. Prophetisn. 45 is in this respect also indisputable. The eschatology of the New Testament, for instance, is in great measure clothed in the language of the Old Testament prophets, and Old Testament voices find their more powerful echo therein. Leave prophetic Scripture unregarded, and apostolic Scripture will be, for you, partly unintelligible, partly incredible. Regard the latter in the light of the former, and its truth and divinity appear for you ever clearer. That it is, however, necessary to distinguish contents and form of prophecy in its explanation, and carefully to guard, on the one hand, against realistic misconception of Eastern imagery, on the other hand against a spiritualistic subtilising of the reality here proclaimed, scarcely needs to' be mentioned. Definite rules for the interpretation of the word of prophecy are furnished by the hermeneutics of the Old Testament. On Prophetism in general, compare-besides the monographs of'A. Knobel (I838), F. B. Koster (1838), and H. Ewald (1840), and the Articles in HerzogF. Delitzsch, Bibl. Proph. Theol., &c., 1835; Tholuck, Die Propheten und ihre Weissagung, &c. Gotha, 1860; Hoffmann, Weissagung unzd Erfiillung. N6rdl., 184I; Hengstenberg, Christology of the Old Test. (English translation); J. J. van Oosterzee, Christologie, i. pp. 3974, ii. pp. 543-554; Disterdieck, De Rei Propheticaw in V. T., quam Universe tanz Messianw Naturd Ethicd. Gott., 1852; Keil, Introduction to the Old Test. (English translation); the Roman Catholic Professor Haneberg, Einleitung zi die Heilige Schrift. Regens. 46 Theology of the New Testament. burg, 1852. P. 243-309; Smith, Prophecy a Preparation for Christ, Bampton Lecture for I869. POINTS FOR INQUIRY. How is the gift of prophecy described by the prophets themselves?-Is there ground for reposing confidence in these expressions of their self-consciousness?-History and characteristics of pseudo-prophetism.-The schools of the prophets.-The relation of the prophetic office to that of the priests and kings.-Organic connection and development of Messianic prophecy.-Ground and significance-of the disappearing of the prophetic gift in Israel.-Peculiarity of the prophets of the Old Covenant as compared with those of the New. SECTION VI. THE original Hebraism, sustained and purified by the word of Moses and the prophets, does not by any means attain, in later Judaism,. to a condition of normal development, but rather one of retrogression and deep degeneracy. In this light it presents itself to us on a glance at the religious condition, the ideas and requirements of the contemporaries of the Lord. Acquaintance with these is necessary, in order rightly to understand, and justly to appreciate, the utterances of Jesus and the Apostles, whether as to their contents or form. i. Although it is certain that the word of the Lord and the Apostles attaches itself to that of Moses and the prophets, it is yet clear that this takes place, not without respect to given circumstances and definite requirements. A want of acquaintance with this fact renders the doctrine of the New Testament unintelV 48 Theology of the New Testament. ligible. A knowledge of Judaism, not less than of Hebraism, is for this reason not only important, but necessary. 2. By Judaism is understood the peculiar mode of thought of the Israelites (now called Jews) after the Babylonian captivity, in the moral and religious domain, and in all which is necessarily connected therewith. Not unhappily has it been characterised as "the unsuccessful attempt at the restoration of Hebraism, and the mingling of positive elements thereof with foreign doctrines of a mythologicometaphysical character, in which is felt the influence of intellectual reflection without living inspiration-a chaos which awaits a new creation." (De Wette.) It is known to us partly from Biblical sources-the latest portions of the Old Testament, the Gospels, Acts, and several Epistles of the New Testament, to some extent also from the Septuagint; partly from nonBiblical sources-the Apocryphas and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, the oldest Targums, the Talmud, the Jewish elements in the Sibylline books, the writings of Flavius Josephus, of Philo, and others. 3. The moral and religious condition of the Jews after the Babylonian captivity manifests, in more than one respect, a relatively good character. Idolatry has disappeared, the temple is restored, a number of synagogues and houses of prayer have arisen (Acts xv. 2 ), and the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, there read in appointed order, has perceptibly increased. Collected into one volume, and prepared for wider circulation by means of the Alexandrine translation y'udaism. 49 (LXX.), the Old Testament is distinguished by a sharp line of separation from the apocryphal literature which arose at the same period, and carefully interpreted and preserved by the chiefs of Rabbinical learning.., The wall of separation between Israel and the Gentile world is perceptibly lower, and a considerable number of proselytes, both of the gate and of righteousness, attaches itself to the once greatly despised Jews. The forms are in many respects excellent, and the Maccabaean heroic age shows that the ancient spirit is not yet entirely extinguished. The Messianic expectation, finally, is now more than ever known, wide-spread, and prized. 4. But, notwithstanding all this, this period bears traces of growing old. The religious life, impeded in its normal operation, on the one hand, by legalism, on the other by pride of works, manifests more of an intellectual and anxious than of a believing and joyous character; a narrow-minded exactness about trifles takes the place of former inspiration. False prophets do not arise at this period, but at the same time the voice of true ones is silent; the past is lauded, but the present does not attain to the former height. Side by side with the law, tradition comes into play (Matt. xv. I-14); along with Mosaic ideas the influence of the Alexandrian, Persian, and other religious conceptions begins to be manifest; and whilst knowledge puffs up, love is forgotten. The schools of Hillel and Shammai divide the minds of men, and the sects which arise during this period contribute their measure to the degeneracy of Judaism. E 50 Theology of the New Testament. 5. The Pharisees, who arose as a sect about three centuries before Christ, and had gained many adherents among the people, especially among the women (Mark xii. 40), and had united the greater part of the Scribes under their banner, represented the conservative principle. However many parties there were among them, their people felt themselves one. They held that not only as Israelites were they separated (IDJ?) from the Gentiles, but also, as the pious, from the sinners among the Israelites. Their doctrine is distinguished by a highly-developed pneumatology, Christology, eschatology; their morals by formalism, rigorism, casuistry; their practice in the religious domain by zealotism (Matt. xxiii. 15), in the political by revolutionary movements which rendered them the dreaded antagonists of the Roman government. The Sadducees, who opposed themselves to the others as righteous (p3_), unless it be preferred to derive their name from a certain Zadok, are related to the Pharisees in some measure as the Epicureans to the Stoics. Less numerous, but more influential than their opponents, they often make common cause with the court party (Mark iii. 6), and entertain in politics highly conservative principles, in religion exceedingly lax ones. By means of an entire ignoring of all higher destiny, they brought the doctrine of moral freedom so emphatically into the foreground, and that of future punishment, on the other, they placed so entirely in the background, that their whole mode of thought and life must stand in direct antagonism to that of their rivals. The charge of Yudaism. 5 great immorality, however, has been no more proved than the assertion that of the Old Testament they accepted only the Thora (Pentateuch). Indisputable, on the other hand, is their rejection of angelology, and perfectly explicable is their increasing hostility to the gospel of the resurrection.* The Essenes, finally, who were known to us, not from the New Testament, but only from Philo's writing-quod omnis probus liber-and Josephus (compare also Pliny, H. N. v. 17), and are not to be confounded with the Therapeutie, may be regarded as representatives of the practico-ascetic principle. They are, as it were, the hermits of Israel, and are distinguished from others by their contempt of earthly treasures, their prohibition of the oath, their laudation of celibacy, disapproval of bloody sacrifices, and their entire community of property. The difference between their mode of thought and that of John the Baptist, and above all of Jesus, is in itself great enough to render untenable the conjecture of an original affinity of the Gospel of the Kingdom with Essenism. 6. In the midst of the varying strife of these sects, we see the people becoming despised and degraded.The religious class of the people consisted in great part of those who were poor (rrTCoXot, D:'. N) as well in earthly things as in much that passed for wisdom and piety.+ To these lowly and simple ones belonged not only the Lord's relatives, but also the greater part of His friends and followers; while even among the * Acts iv. 2; xxiii. 8. t Matt. ix. 36; comp. John vii. 49.: Matt. v. 3; xi. 25. 52 T7heology of the New Testami,t. despised Samaritans* persons of such a spirit were not altogether wanting. The hostility between the Samaritans and the Jews could only tend to increase the moral wretchedness. 7. The religious ideas of Judaism, developed in the midst of such circumstances, manifest a peculiar union of light and shade. The idea of God in many, although monotheistic, began in practice to bear more of a deistical (conceiving of God as apart from the world) than a theistical character; the service of God was less a common worship than service in the slavish sense of the word. No doubt the science of dogmatics, under the influence of foreign ideas, was in some points enriched. Angelology attained to further development,t and not less demonology, in connection with which, also, exorcism was practised (Matt. xii. 27). So, also, was eschatology, especially by the Pharisees, developed in plastic forms, however much in principle it was based upon single prophetic utterances (Dan. xii. I-3). Finally, as regards morals, the great principles of Mosaism were explained and applied to existing circumstances by means of a great number of commands and prohibitions, but at the same time weakened in their effect, if not altogether contradicted.+ Thus was the Jewish religion impoverished in the same proportion in which the doctrine of faith and morals was gradually diffused. * John iv. 39-42. t See, for ex., LXX. on Deut. xxxiii. 2 comp. Acts vii. 53; Gal. iii. 19; Heb. ii. 2. $ Matt. xxiii. I6-22. yudaism. 53 8. More fully have we here to speak of the Messianic expectation during this period. The doubt whether such an expectation existed at all (B. Bauer) belongs to the curiosities of theological literature. Less easy than to prove its existence is it rightly to define its nature. Josephus knows it, but, for reasons easily to be explained, is silent in regard to it. Philo makes but a single allusion to it (De Prcam. p. 924, De Execrat. c. ix.), and also the Apocryphas of the Old Testament contain only a few sporadic references.* More is to be learned from the so-called Book of Enoch, written probably a century before Christ; also the Fourth Book of Ezra, although of later origin, affords us an important source. Above all, we have to do with the ideas which are found here and there in the New Testament. From all these sources we learn that the expectation of the Messiah was widely diffused, but varied greatly in point of contents and value, and never appeared as a compact whole. The whole history of the world is divided into two periods, the pre-Messianic and the Messianic.t The former is the period of conflict and misery; the latter that of peace and blessedness, brought about by the coming of the Messiah. The transition from the one period to the other is indicated under the name of the last days. With these coincides the beginning of the days of the Messiah, whose revelation is proclaimed by outward signs. They consist of days of great distress (WivUes), of the appearing of a particular star,i. # See, for ex., I Macc. ii. 57; iv. 46; xiv. 41. D advr o*ros and 6o XXowv, n.r1j oiS and w.n Dyi. 1 Matt. ii. 2. 54 Theology of the New Testament. of the rising of Elias or one of the other prophets to prepare the way of the Lord,* and above all, in the appearing of a mysterious evil being (the Antichrist, Armillus); while, also, the establishment of His kingdom is preceded by the battle with hostile worldpowers (Gog and Magog.) After all this comes the Messiah, or rather He will be there without any one knowing from whence. This, at least, is the opinion of a part of the nation (John vii. 27), whilst the Scribes expect that He will come out of Bethlehem (Matt. ii. 4-6). He will be a man among and of men (see Justin Martyr, Dial. cum Tryphone, c. 49), sprung from the chosen family of David, and anointed with the Holy Spirit. It can no more be proved that the popular faith looked for a miraculous conception of the Messiah through the Holy Ghost, than that it ascribed to Him a superhuman nature and dignity. For the idea of a suffering and dying Messiah, there was also but little room; on the contrary, it was expected that the Christ would abide for ever (John xii. 34), and would set up His kingdom in Israel (Acts i. 6). Upon the question whether, with Judah and,Benjamin, the other ten tribes would also share in this blessedness, opinions differed. In any case, however, they hoped from Messiah for a solution of all rankling controversies (John iv. 25), a knowledge of hidden things (John xvi. 30), especially, also, a number of astonishing miracles (Matt. xi. 2-6; John vii. 3I); and in consequence of all this, a deliverance, conceived of by some as a more outward one, by others as more spiritual Mark ix. 2; John i. 21. J7udaism. 55 (Luke i. 74-75). He will at His coming awake the dead-the Israelites first-will triumph over the enmity of hell and of the heathen, and prepare for the world a salvation in which also the non-Israelite nations will share. Of this salvation Jerusalem will be the centre, the purified earth the theatre, and the restoration of all things the crown (TraXAyyEvEo-a, a7T rKarar'rao-ts'rLVTV). 9. The real want of the nation, in whose midst we meet such ideas of higher light and life, however unmistakeable, was by no means generally recognised, far less satisfied by existing things. The desire for outward deliverance far surpassed that for spiritual blessing. The latter, however, was not entirely wanting (Luke ii. 38 b), and could in any case be awakened. The appearing of the herald must to this end precede that of the Lord. On the history and sources of knowledge for Judaism in general, compare De Wette, Bibl. Dogm., sec. 76-82, and the literature there cited. A. Gfr6rer, das Jzahrhzundert des Heils, I838, II. Lutterbeck, i. c. i. p. 99. E. de Pressense, Religions before Christ (English translation). Articles in Herzog's Real-encycl. C. E. van Kcetsveld, de Phariseen, Sadduc. en Herod., the Hague, 1862. Pressense, yesus-Christ (p. 66 and following of English translation). On " The Fulness of the Time," see our Leven van Yezus, i. p. 265 and following. POINTS FOR INQUIRY. WHENCE is the difference between Judaism and Hebraism above all to be explained?-More exact criticism and mutual 56 Theology of the New Testament. comparison of the sources.-Jewish Apocalyptics.-Th Alexandrine philosophy in relation to Judaism.-What is t, be ascertained with sufficient certainty as to the origin character, and mutual relation of the different sects?-Th relation between Essenism and Pythagorism. -Origin, pecu liarity, Messianic expectation of the Samaritans. -Proselytisn and the Diaspora.-Which are, as a whole, the bright an( the dark sides of the Messianic expectation of this period -What remains of genuine Hebraism are still to be ob served in Judaism? SECTION VII. IN the arising and work of this forerunner of the Lord, Mosaism approaches its goal, prophetism attains its point of culmination, and Judaism receives a salutary restraint. I. The Biblical theology of the New Testament can neither treat of the history of John the Baptist, nor set forth the loftiness of his character. It is satisfied with indicating in general the position which belongs to him as an indispensable link in the chain of doctrinal development. 2. If Mosaism has as its object, by means of the law, to lead to the knowledge of sin, and thus to awaken the longing for redemption, the voice of the second Elias sounds forth for no other end. As standing above the earlier men of God and nearest to Jesus, he merits the name of the greatest of the prophets (Luke vii. 29). Entirely new revelations he does not proclaim, but once more powerfully lays hold of the 58 Theology of the New Testailzet. old, and brings them into direct connection with a person already present (Luke xvi. I6). His whole manifestation and work is one voice (Luke iii. 4); his word, as it were, the powerfulfinale of the prophetic symphony. But for this very reason, he exerted upon Judaism a wholesome restraint. He assails all self-righteousness in its vital point, and brings about in the nation a sharp but salutary separation (Kp(-LS) 3. The significance of John is to be sought, above all, in his testimony as to the person and work of the Messiah. In examining the contents of this testimony we must distinguish between the period before, and that after, the baptism of the Lord. The least ambiguous and most powerful utterances are heard towards the end of his course (Acts xiii. 25). In the beginning it is especially noticeable how the form of his Messianic expectation attaches itself to his own mission, and at the same time bears a strongly Old Testament character. While he himself baptises, he proclaims another baptizer, who,'however, comes forth endowed with the gifts of the Holy Ghost; a M/essiah who arises in Israel, not sinply as a Deliverer, but as a Judge. He points out the insufficiency of descent from Abraham without, however, speaking of the calling of the Gentiles. After this proclamation of the Messiah in general, he begins from the time of the Lord's baptism in Jordan, to point to Him definitely as the promised Messiah. His heavenly descent (John i. I5), and His expiatory work, conceived of in the most universal sense (John i. 29), now come clearly into the foreground; and even his last testimony declares the 7ohn the Baptist. 59 wholly unique greatness of Christ, and the peculiarity of his own relation to Him as his forerunner. (John iii. 27-36). 4. This testimony of John the Baptist is especially important on account of the peculiarity of the source whence it flows. It was the fruit of careful training, accurate investigation of the Scripture, special revelation of God, and personal contemplation of Jesus. Yet more high becomes its value, when we observe how far he stood above the thoughts and wishes of his contemporaries; and, above all, how high the estimate entertained of him by the Lord himself.? Nevertheless, compared with the teaching of the Lord and His Apostles, is the testimony of John the Baptist relatively poor, and not essentially raised above the stand-point of the Old Testament. Compare the different works on the Gospel History. The article on "John," by Gider, in Herzog's R. E., and literature there cited. POINTS FOR INQUIRY. THE time of the arising of John the Baptist (Luke iii. I, 2).Contents and value of the testimony of Josephus concerning John.- -Connection of the circumstances of the life of John with his mission.-His relation to the Old Testament and to the New.-Diversity and harmony of the Gospel narratives concerning his Messianic testimony.-What is the sense of John i. I5-29?-Of Matt. xi. 3?-The disciples of John.-The eternal significance of John's appearing. * Matt. xi. 7-15; John v. 35. SECTION VIII. MOSAISM and Prophetism contain the germ and starting-point for the testimony of the truth, which was given by the Lord and His Apostles, and is contained in the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament. In Judaism we find nothing by which the personality of the Lord and the contents of His Gospel can be explained in a merely natural way. "' L'opposition radicale qui existait entre les deux mouvements religieux, ressort avec evidence de leur resultat definitif. L'enseignement du Christ aboutit a 1'Evangile et celui des Rabbins au Talmud. D'un c6te, nous avons une vivante histoire qui est toute penetree d'un esprit nouveau, sans formules arretees, et sans rituel; d'un autre cote un corps de traditions enchevetrees, une reglementation de toutes les formes de la piete poussee jusqu'aux details les plus minutieux." E. DE PRESSENSE. SECOND PART. THE THEOLOGY OF JESUS CHRIST. SECTION IX. ennrtaI rinmmagx. THE investigation of the theology of Jesus Christ proposes, as its object, to become acquainted with the contents of our Lord's teaching given during His life upon earth-concerning God and Divine things, as it is communicated to us more especially in the four canonical Gospels. For the just appreciation thereof it is necessary, above all, to bring into its true light. the peculiar character, source, and form of this teaching, and its relation as well to that of the Old Testament as to that of the Apostles and their fellowlabourers. i. Although our Lord Jesus Christ cannot, by any neans, be said to have appeared on earth merely, or 62 Theology of the New Testament. even principally, in order to proclaim to men a new doctrine, and although He has set forth no peculiar system of doctrine, yet, according to His own declaration, He came into the world to testify to the truth (John xviii. 37). He did this by His personal manifestation (John xiv. 6-9), but also by his word, and the light which is shed thereby upon God and Divine things. The examination of the theology of the Lord Jesus Christ has especially to do with the latter of these. 2. The Biblical theology of Jesus Christ investigates exclusively-without entering upon any other domain -what the Lord taught concerning God and Divine things. It represents the contents and connection of His ideas of God and man, and the mutual relation of both, as presented by Him during his life on earth, whether in mere hints or in more explicit declarations. Though, in a certain sense, the word of the prophets (i Peter i. I ), as well as that of the Apostles (Luke x. I6), is to be regarded as His, we confine our attention for the present especially to the latter. 3. Besides what we know from the four Gospels, there is not wanting opportunity of gleaning something additional concerning the Lord's doctrine. Tradition makes us acquainted with some so-called unwritten sayings; the Acts of the Apostles, and the Epistles also, contain single contributions." Nevertheless, the four Gospels remain the principal source; and New Testament theology has not to wait for the * Acts xx. 35; I John i. 5; I John iv. 2I. General Sumnzmarsy. 63 last word of isagogics on the questions yet unsettled in regard to the New Testament canon, before attaching to the communications of the Gospel the very highest value. It may do so the more freely, since even those critics-who dispute, for instance, the genuineness of the first Gospel in its present formyet regard the discourses (Logia) of the Lord found therein as being, on the whole, a faithful expression of His spirit. At the present stage of critical investigation, however, the fourth Gospel demands a separate examination. (Compare Sec. III., 2.) 4. In order to place ourselves at the true standpoint we must, above all, have regard to the peculiar character of the Lord's teaching, as it is contained in the Gospels. As, in general, the whole may be known from its parts, so do the parts in turn receive light from the rightly-comprehended spirit of the whole. It is not enough to say that the doctrine of Jesus shows a high religious character; this it has in common with that of many others; and the history of our own time shows clearly enough to what a wretched use the word religious is sometimes put. In the doctrine of the Lord a distinctly soteriological character must be acknowledged; in other words, all that the Lord proclaims concerning God and man, concerning sin and grace, concerning the present and the future life, especially all that He testifies concerning himself, stands, more or less, in immediate connection with that salvation which he has come to reveal and to bestow. It is not so much religious truth in general, as in an especial sense, the truth as it regards salva 64 Theology of the zVew Tcslamlezt. tion, which has been brought to light by Him. For this very reason is it possible to present the teaching of the Lord, with all its riches, as a whole; because, from beginning to end, it reveals the character of the Gospel (Luke iv. I6-22; comp. John vi. 68). 5. In inquiring as to the source whence Jesus himself drew the truth proclaimed by Him, that which he owes to nature, and to the Scriptures of the Old Testament, can in no case be lightly estimated. And just as little must His education by Mary, His manifold contact with the spirit of His age, and its most important representatives, and His sorrowful life-experience, be excluded. The personality of Jesus was, nevertheless, more than everything else, the true source of His doctrine, which on this very account is, in the highest sense of the word, to be called His, and bears from beginning to end the impress of the most perfect originality. This statement is contradicted only in appearance by the Lord's own words at the Feast of Tabernacles (John vii. I6). At all times He proclaims what He has himself seen in communion with the Father (John xii. 44-50); and testifies of the truth because and as, He bears it in himself; His knowledge of God and of man displays no discursive character, but rather an intuitive one; it is not born of logical demonstration, or of sporadic observation (observation of isolated facts), but of inner contemplation. 6. As the substance, so, also, is the form of the Lord's teaching determined by His personality. Without the formalism of the school, or any display of Gezneral Suzmmary. 65 rabbinical learning (John vii. I5), He delivers His discourses, as the occasion arises, in a form which, while thoroughly popular, is never plebeian, and in which the tone of the speaker ever varies with the nature of his subject, and the necessity of his hearer. By that expression of higher authority with which He teaches, He is distinguished not only from the Scribes of His day, but also from the prophets of the Old Testament; and, by the grace of His words, even the most unsusceptible spirit is touched.t Although here and there, irony is not wanting,+ the undertone is ever love, sorrow, and holy severity; and never is a spirit of trenchant sarcasm apparent. Both the parabolical form of His teaching in the three first Gospels, and the pregnant and paradoxical nature of many an expression in the fourth Gospel, adds to the impressiveness of the discourse. In short, nowhere is more perfect harmony between substance and form to be found than in the teaching of the Lord. The highest truth and freedom is here united with the highest beauty; a beauty, nevertheless, not of a sensuous, but of a moral and sacred character. Every material that He touches becomes gold in His hands. 7. Although the teaching of the Lord is, in point of form and substance, intensely original, it does not stand alone, but in a clearly determined relation to that which precedes and follows. It is, as it were, the * Matt. v.-vii. t Luke iv. 22; John vii. 46. t Mark vii. 9 (consult the Greek Text upon this and the following citation); Luke xi. 4I. F 66 Theology of the New Testament. golden middle-link in a connected chain of very different and yet not contradictory teaching. The word of Moses and the prophets is in such wise taken up, fulfilled, and completed by Jesus, that even that which is old receives, in His hands, an entirely new appearance, and that which is new appears to be properly only the ripened germ of the old. Even when he does not immediately adduce the word of prophecy, it is yet the clear mirror in which He sees reflected the image of himself and the kingdom of God. Never does he make use of the Apocryphas of the Old Testament; but even when He is on the point of departure, He directs the eye of His disciples to the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms.* According to the Synoptics, therefore, as well as John, His word stands to that of the Old Testament in a relation of conscious dependence. For the Apostolic proclamation, on the other hand, this word forms a brief, clear, and powerful text; angl we shall afterwards see that the essential elements of the various doctrines have their root in single expressions of the Lord, or truly stand in connection therewith. His teaching is the light which breaks forth in theirs, as it were in different colours. We proceed at once to contemplate the splendour of this light. Compare on the main points treated of in this summary: F. A. Krummacher, iiber den Geist und die Form der Ev. Geschichte, Leipzig, I805 (an old, but by no means unserviceable book). Reuss, Histoire * Luke xxiv. 44; compare Matt. xxiii. 35. General Summary. 67 de la Theol. Chret. du Siecle Apostolique, Strasburg, I852. Schmid, Bibl. Theol. des N. T. Our Life of yesus (new edition). i. 433 and foll.; ii. 343 and foil.; with the literature there cited. C. E. van Koetsveld, De Gelijkenissen van den Zaligm. I. General Introduction. Trench, on the Parables. F. Delitzsch, Yesus und Hillel. POINTS FOR INQUIRY. WHICH theological schools of earlier or later times have attached to the teaching of Jesus, as such, a too one-sided value? —Which have underrated its value?-Relationship in this respect between the former rationalism and the modern naturalism.-What belongs, and what does not belong, to the domain of the a`dXOeia of which Jesus testifies?Different value of the dicta, ypapa.-Wherefore does the proclamation of Jesus bear the name of the Gospel of the kingdom?-What is that which is properly new in the proclamation of Jesus, as distinguished from other men of God? -The typico-symbolical character of the irst proclamation of Jesus at Nazareth (Luke iv. 16-22).-What is the sense and force of John vii. 15-I6?-Was Jesus a Rabbi?-Personality in connection with subjectivity, temperament, and character.-Comparison of the parables of Jesus with those of the Rabbis, especially as regards the form.-Agreement and difference of the doctrine of Jesus with that of Moses and the prophets.-Wherefore do the Apostles, both in the Acts and the Epistles, so seldom refer to the words of the Lord? FIRST DIVISION. THE SYNOPTICAL GOSPELS, SECTION X.,Itje ixygnzm of 6Ab, No IDEA comes so markedly into the foreground in the teaching of the Lord, according to the three first Gospels, as that of the kingdom of God or kingdom of heaven, which had been of old foretold by the prophets, and was expected by the contemporaries of Jesus. The Gospel which He proclaims is the Gospel of the kingdom; and the kingdom itself is a religious-moral institution, which-boundless in extent and everlasting in duration-in its design to unite, sanctify, and save humanity, embraces heaven and earth. I. In the contemplation of the doctrine of the Lord, according to the Synoptics, we must proceed from the The Kingdom of God. 69 foundation-thought by which, above all others, it is ruled. It is that of the Kingdom of God (in Mark and Luke) or of heaven (usually, in Matthew), which is also termed the kingdom of His Father,) of the Father of the righteous,f or of the Son of man.+ "L'idee fondamentale, qui se reproduit a chaque instant dans l'enseignement de Jesus, est celle du royaume de Dieu" (Reuss). As John, so does He also, even at His first appearing, ~ proceed from this thought, and links thus His proclamation with the expectations of the Old Testament. l. This expectation was, indeed, of so universal and so favourite a character among His contemporaries, that He did not, any more than John, find it necessary to explain what He meant by this term. We must derive from His teaching itself the conception of the kingdom; which is found only a few times in the words of the Apostles (compare, however, 2 Peter i. II; Rev. i. 9; Acts i. 6, xiv. 22), but so much the more frequently in His own. The Gospel of the kingdom He proclaims as a revealed mystery.~[ From the different single traits the image of the whole will thus unfold itself before our eyes. 2. Thus much becomes, then, at once clear:-The kingdom is (a) something new. Since it drew near only in the fulness of time (Matt. iv. I7), it was not before found upon earth. It is consequently not merely the continuation of the former thread, but the * Matt. xxvi. 29. t Matt. xiii. 43. % Matt. xvi. 28. ~ Mar. i. I5.; compare Matt. ix. 35. I[ Ps. xxii. 28; Obadiah v. 21; compare also Wisdom x. Io. ~T Matt. xiii. I-. 70 Theology of the New- Testameit. commencement of an order of things not before seen.* It is, nevertheless, at the same time (b) something essentially present. When He comes, it appears with Him-it is already in the midst of those who are asking when it shall appear.t It is by no means to be identified with everlasting salvation-in the latter it attains to completion, but it is found in principle even here-and though it is not of the earth, yet it is founded (though not with outward signs or display) upon the earth. It is, at the same time, (c) something spirit;al, belonging to a higher sphere of life than this visible creation. The privileges, duties, and expectations of its subjects are, if not exclusively, at least pre-eminently, of a spiritual nature. What is to be the rule of this kingdom stands in direct antagonism with that which ordinarily prevails in other kingdoms; the king discountenances all useless interference in the domain of civil right. ~ Even with the idea of the Christian Church, that of the kingdom of God, must not be confounded. The Church 11 is only the inadequate outward form of the kingdom of God~[ -the kingdom of God, itself a spiritual communion, to become a member of which, without a spiritual * Luke x. 23, 24; compare Matt. xxvi. 28, t Luke xvii. 20, 2I. $ Matt. xx. 25-28; compare Luke xxii. 24-27. ~ Luke xii I3, 14. [Il The ordinary use of the term "Church," as co-extensive with the whole number of those who make an outward profession of Christianity:n the world, would seem, however (cf. Eph. v. -25-27), to be unknown to the New Testament writers. The kingdom of God, on the other hand, until its glorious manifestation, includes the outward Church, which is in, but not necessarily of it; compare Matt. xiii. 41.] ~ Matt. xiii. 24-30; v. 47-50. The Kingdom of God. 71 change, is impossible.* As such, it is also, as far as its extent is concerned, (d) something unlimited. Much more even than the old prophets is the Lordt raised above all contracted nationality of spirit, and has proclaimed-not merely at the end of His course, but from the beginning-the universality of the kingdom of God.+ Isolated expressions, which seem to breathe another spirit,~ are to be explained by special circumstances, and are greatly outweighed by others. ll No wonder, then, that the kingdom of God is (e) without end, bounded neither by time nor space. Moses and the prophets ever point forward to better days; but Jesus knows nothing higher than the kingdom founded by Him, predicts for His cause a complete triumph,~ and promises to abide for ever with His own." But although this kingdom is destined for eternity, it, nevertheless, developes itself in time. The kingdom of God is, on that account, (f) something growing, which, from small beginnings, developes itself outwardly in accordance with its spiritual nature, with the most surprising success.- t Therefore must His servants pray and labour.I+ It may, indeed, be taken from him who unthankfully despises it.~~ Where, however, it is sought and found, it is (g) something incomparably glorious and blessed,ll11 a salvation for the loss of which nothing can compensate,~ and whose * Matt. xviii. 3. t Compare Isaiah ii. 2-4.: Matt. v. 13, 14; viii. II, 12. ~ Matt. x. 5; xv. 24. 1[ Matt. xxviii. 9; Luke xxiv. 47; Acts i. 8. I Matt. xxiv. 14; xxvi. 13. * Matt. XXViii. 20. tt Matt. xiii. 31-33; Mark iv. 26-29. I Matt. vi. 9; ix. 37-38. ~~ Matt. xxi. 43. 111i Matt. xiii. 44-46; xxii. 2. ~[ Luke xiii. 25-30. 72 Thzeology of the ANe; Testament. possession is, as the pledge of all other blessings,* above all things desirable. If we unite all these features, the correctness of the description given of the kingdom of God at the head of this section will become apparent. It is, then, as such, diametrically opposed to the kingdom of darkness,t and, rightly considered, is nothing else than the perfected theocracy already indicated in the Old Testament, but now freed from all impeding fetters, and raised far above all the ideals of antiquity. " The kingdom of God, as the kingdom of Christ, the combining of the glorification of God with the salvation of the children of God, is clearly distinguished from all religious ideas of the future in heathenism, Judaism, or Mahometanism" (Lange). The foundation-thought of the doctrine of Jesus yet awaits its fulfilment, but this fulfilment approaches. That the kingdom of God shall remain no mere vision, is assured to us in the person of its Founder. Compare, on the idea of the kingdom of God, oui Life of yesus, with the literature there adduced, i. 461 and following. Already Hess has furnished a treatise on the Doctrine of the Kingdom of God, in which he shows how prominent a place this idea occupies in Holy Scripture, especially in the teaching of the Lord. It is surprising, therefore, that Schmid, in the work cited (i. p. 324), assigns to it the third place in his treatment of the doctrine of Jesus. Much better Neander, who, in his Life of y5esus, derives a whole * Matt. vi. 33. t Matt. xii. 26-28. The Kingdom of God. 73 "system of truths " from the parables of the kingdom of God.* POINTS FOR INQUIRY. WHAT distinction is to be observed between John the Baptist and Jesus in regard to the preaching of the kingdom of God?-Wherefore does the Lord call it a xvo-rrTrptov, Mark iv. 1?-Nature, aim, and connection of the parables in Matt. xiii.-The different shades in which the same foundation-thought is expressed in these parables.-What is the sense of Luke xvii. 20, 2?-What of Matt. xi. 12, 13?Is the opinion well founded that the idea of the kingdom has gradually undergone a modification in the teaching of the Lord?-Wherefore does not this idea come into greater prominence in the teaching of the Apostles? * On the light in which the kingdom of God is regarded by the Jewish rabbis, see Schoettgen or Lightfoot. SECTION XL }tsl Xounisn\. THE Founder of the kingdom of God is, according to the testimony of Jesus, no other than Himself, the Christ, the Son of the living God, who, as such, is not only a true and faultless man, but also partaker of a superhuman nature and dignity, to which no creature in heaven or earth can lay claim. I. The kingdom of God, which the most excellent of His nation expected," was not merely proclaimed by Jesus, but actually founded by Him, on earth. He points-partly in figurative, partly in more concrete language-to himself as being come to give that which has been fruitlessly sought apart from Him. He is the Heir of the vineyard,t the Bridegroom to whose wedding feast the guests are called,+ the King who * Luke.xiii, 51. t Matt. xxi. 38.: Matt. xxii. 2. Its Founder. 75 disposes sovereignly of the weal and woe of His subjects.- It is true He nowhere declares, "I am the Messiah." He is, especially in the first part of His public ministry, even opposed to the open proclamation of His Messianic dignity.t But yet He manifests himself clearly enough as really being the Messiah,+ and rejoices when a testimony is given of Him in this respect, ~ and finally regards an enforced silence concerning this truth as inconceivable.ll Thus He attaches himself to the Messianic expectation of His time; but will fulfil it, not in the sense of Judaism, but of the Old Testament prophets, especially of those prophets who spoke not only of the glorified, but also of the suffering Christ (Luke xviii. 31). 2. In a peculiar manner the consciousness of His Messiahship is expressed in the name Son of man, which Jesus employs exclusively of himself, in contradistinction from every other. It is nothing else than the allegorical designation of the Messiah in His lowly appearance on earth, derived from the vision of the prophet (Dan. vii. 13, I4). He who chooses for himself this appellation, implies that he is conscious of being originally more than man, and, inasmuch as He has come as man among men, of living in a condition of temporary humiliation. On this account His witnesses, with few exceptions (Acts vii. 56; Rev. i. 13; xiv. 14), no longer employ this name in regard to their Master, after He has passed from the life of humiliation to that of exaltation. Expressions like * Matt. xxv. 34. t Mark i. 34.: Matt. xi. 4, 5. ~ Matt. xvi. I3-17. 11 Luke xix. 38-40. 76' T/eologry of the New Testament. Matt. xii. 8, xiii. 41, and xvi. 28, would indeed sound strange if He who employs them had chosen the name Son of man merely to represent himself "comme pauvre enfant d'Adam, et comme objet de la predilection divine" (Colani). 3. The question, how and by what means this consciousness was developed, is one less for the Biblical theology of the New Testament than for the biography of Christ. The former only establishes the fact that this consciousness was present with the Lord from the beginning of His ministry, upon which it has impressed a definite form. "Jesus had early the consciousness of His Messiahship, as early as the days of John" (Keim). The account given, Matt. xvi. 13-I7, is misinterpreted and misapplied so soon as it is made to teach, that before this conversation Jesus had not deeply felt and clearly indicated His Messiahship (Colani). Expressions like Matt. v. I I, 12; vii. 21-23; x. 32, 33, 37-42; xii. 6-8, and not less narratives like Luke iv. 16-22; vii. 18-23, for an impartial judgment, decisively prove the contrary. The increasing clearness and power with which the Lord speaks of His Messiahship towards the end of His life, is not the consequence of an inner process of development, but the consequence of the changing relations in connection with the plan of His work. 4. Although He is consequently distinguished from every other man, He is far from feeling that He is only in appearance united with mankind; on the contrary, He lays manifest stress upon the fact of His true humanity. He holds himself bound, without Its Founder. 77 limitation, by the rule that man shall not live by bread alone; ascribes to himself body, t soul, + and spirit, ~ and compares himself with other men. |I Even as the Son of David He attaches a definite significance to this His human descent. T Only in one respect does He feel and show himself as man distinguished from other men, in that He, the lowly one, never ascribes to himself imperfection, distinguishes himself clearly from those who are evil,** calls the obedient children of God His kinsmen,tt presents himself as the physician in regard to the morally sick.++ Although He constantly forgives sins,.~ He never confesses any, not even at His baptism by John.llil He well knows that IHe can be tempted,TT but never does weakness with Him lead to a fall, or temptation to sin. God alone He calls good,"*" but, at the same time, shows that He himself is good, in this respect also, that He does not arrogate to himself this title of honour. 5. That which the Synoptics reveal to us of the consciousness of Christ is not, however, exhausted by all that has been said. True and holy man, He yet feels himself exalted above all creatures in heaven and earth. He places himself not merely above kings and prophets,ttt but also above angels;+++ and speaks ever of "my" Father, never in conjunction with others, of * Matt. iv. 4. t Luke xxiv. 39. $ Matt. xxvi. 38. ~ Luke xxiii. 46. 11 Matt. xii. 41, 42. ~ Matt. xxii. 42. ** Luke xi. I3. tt Matt. xii. 50. $$ Matt. ix. I2. ~~ Matt. ix. 2. 1111 Matt. iii. 15. 1~ Matt. xvi. 23; xxvi. 41; compare Mark xii. 15. ~* Matt. xix. I7. ftt Matt. xiii. I7. $44 Matt. xiii. 4I; xxvi. 54; Mark xiii. 32. 78 Theology of the New Testament. "our " Father. Even in the expression, "the Son of man is come,"' there shines through the words the consciousness of a former existence; but yet more strongly does the consciousness of Divine dignity appear in the forgiveness of sins,t and in declaring and promising many other things which, on the lips of the most religious man, would sound as absolute blasphemy.+ Most clearly of all is this seen in more than one of His parables. ~ Full of this consciousness, He calls himself greater than the temple, I| the wisdom of God, ~ the Lord of David;" predicts for His words an everlasting duration,tt and promises to His people an enjoyment of His presence far above all limits of time and space.+ To the Father, indeed, He feels himself subordinate, as well in power ~~ as in knowledge. [l[I With reverence and thankfulness He looks up to Him in prayer and thanksgiving. The relation between Him and the Father is, nevertheless, so entirely unique that it remains absolutely unfathomable to the finite understanding. ~~ He, who speaks like Christ knows and feels himself not merely a child.of God in the moral sense of the word, but also a son of God in the supernatural sense of the word; who is of heavenly origin, and has appeared on earth to fulfil the Divine counsel. Only when, in the most arbitrary manner, the originality of * Luke xix. I0. t Matt. ix. 2. + See, for example, Matt. x. 32-38, as compared with xxii. 37, 38. ~ Matt. xxi. 37; xxii. 2; Luke xix. 12. ]] Matt. xii. 6. ~ Luke xi. 49. ** Matt. xxii. 45. tf Matt. xxiv. 35. En Matt. xviii. 20; xxviii. 20. ~~ Matt. xx. 23; Acts i. 7. I1I1 Mark xiii. 32. WT Matt. xi. 27; compare Luke x. 22. Its Founder. 79 all the cited texts has been disputed, and their sense diluted, can it be maintained with any show of reason that the synoptical Christ is, according to his own expressions, nothing but an excellent man who has been anointed with the Holy Spirit. Compare what we have said in our Life of 7esus, ii. p. 475-477; Christology, ii. p. 40-55, and the literature there cited; Colani, yesus Christ et les croyances Messianiques de son temps, Paris, 1864. On the supernatural character of Christ, the German article of Schneckenburger, On the Divinity of Christ according to the Synoptical Gospel, Studien und Kritiken, I829, ii.; the Dutch work of Jonker, Inquiry as to the relation in which Jesus, according to the three first Gospels, was conscious of standing towards God, Utrecht, I864. POINTS FOR INQUIRY. REVIEW and criticism of the principal opinions as to the significance and design of the name Son of man (Colani, Hoekstra, &c).-To what extent is a progress to be observed in the utterances of the Lord, as to His Messianic dignity? -Historic and psychological significance of that which occurred at Caesarea Philippi Matt. xvi. I3-I7).-Relation of name Messiah to that of Son of God.-Genuineness, sense, and force of the expressions (Matt. xi. 27; Luke x. 22.-Wherefore does not the Lord, in the synoptical Gospels, bring His superhuman nature and dignity yet more clearly into the foreground? SECTION XII. gIp'tinfmQ of |lmgU THE dominion which the Lord possesses in the kingdom of God, He has received not of himself, but of the Father. This Father He proclaims as the only Faithful One, the personal and living God, who operates unceasingly, who especially reveals himself to men through the Son, and through the Holy Ghost works in them all that is truly good. The purity and dignity of this idea of God shows at the same time that He who expressed it spoke not too highly of himself. I. However exalted the position the Lord assigns to himself, He feels himself in His deepest nature dependent upon the Father. The power which He possesses is a power conferred upon Him," and the first place in the kingdom of God falls to no one * Matt. xxviii. I8. The King of Kings. 81 except as it is prepared of the Father.* The Father is consequently above the Son,t reveals Him in the heart,+ and always hears His prayers.~ On His side, the Son desires nothing more ardently than that the will of the Father should be done,ll and reveals this Father, who alone, in consequence of His revelation, is known.r The Lord proceeds everywhere on the pre-supposition that man can be led, not, indeed, to a perfect knowledge of God, but yet to a pure and sufficient one. 2. Never do we obtain from the Christ of the Synoptical Gospels a sharply-defined description of the Divine nature. Tacitly He builds yet further upon the ideas of the Old Testament, in which He thereby recognises their truth; least of all does He wish to prove the existence of God. He sees God in all things, and shows Him to others in every work of His hands. He pre-supposes the unity*- of the Godhead, and not less the personal nature of God, in consequence of which He is exalted above the whole creation, and above every single one of its parts, not only as the highest power, but also as the self-conscious and independent will. 3. Although the Lord frequently, especially in the presence of a mixed company, mentions God simply as God,tt He is accustomed to speak to His disciples of this God as the Father. In this, and by no means merely in the recognition of the sovereignty of God, * Matt. xx. 23. t Mark xiv. 36. $ Matt. xvi. 17. ~ Matt. xxvi. 53. 11 Matt. xxvi. 39. ~ Matt. xi. 27. ** Matt. iv. 10; xix. 17. tt Luke xviii. 7; comp. Matt. xix. 17. G 82 Theology of the Nez Testament. although this, also, is acknowledged," is indicated the peculiarity of His conception of God. When He names the name of Father, He describes above all His own relation to God; but, at the same time also, the point of view from which His disciples are to regard the Highest Being. That God is the Father of all, inasmuch as He has created all, Jesus would certainly not have denied; but, in so general a sense, this appellation is never employed by Him. He indicates thereby, not so much a natural, as a moral and spiritual relationship, whose immediate consequence is fellowship with, and resemblance to God. However fatherly the disposition which God cherishes even towards the lost sinner (Luke xv. II-32), they only are called children of God, who, in love and purity, bear in themselves the image of the Father, t and, as such, are opposed to the children of the Evil One.+ 4. Jesus ascribes to God no other attributes than those already ascribed to Him in the Old Testament; but, whilst there, the holiness of God comes into the foreground, here love is the most prominent, the centre of Divine perfection, on account of which He presents Him for the imitation of men.~ The three principal forms of love, compassionl1 long-suffering,~ and grace,j* are all mentioned in the teaching of the Lord. No wonder that this God is spoken of as the fountain of all good gifts (Luke xi. 3). 5. The God of Jesus Christ is just as little the God * Matt. xi. 25. t Matt. v. 9, 45, 48.: Matt. xiii. 38. ~ Matt. v. 48; Luke vi. 36. 11 Luke vi. 36. ~ Luke xviii. 7. ** Luke xviii. 13. The Kingz of Kings. 83 of Deism as the God of Pantheism, He does not cease to stand in immediate relation to that which He has made. He knows exactly the wants of all, and is able to satisfy them i; His knowledge and His power embrace even that which is least. t His government is so boundless, and, at the same time, so faultless, that it may indeed be carped at, but cannot be improved (Matt. xx. I3-15). While He rewards the least good,,. He also chastises the bad according to the most equitable law;~ and shows at the same time, by the manifestation of this righteous government of the world, that He hears the unceasing prayer of faith. I This prayer is not merely of beneficial effect upon the petitioner himself, but is also ordained of God~ as a means of obtaining help in all distress; it is not even necessary to make Him acquainted therewith in many words.*6. If God is in this manner known as Father, it is because it has pleased Him as such to reveal himself. He has done so, and still does so, in nature, tt in the history of humanity, 4 and especially of Israel, ~~ but, above all, in the sending of His Son. [J[i This revelation, which is designed for all, is, nevertheless, only inwardly contemplated and received where there is present a particular state of mind and spirit. ~9 Where this is Matt. vi. 8; xix. 26. t Matt. x. 29, 30; xviii. 14. 1 Matt. x. 41, 42. ~ Luke xii. 47, 48. 11 Luke xviii. I-8. ~ Luke xi. 5-8. ** Matt. vi. 6-8. tt Matt. vi. 25-34. 2t Matt. xix. 4-6. ~~ Matt. xxi. 33, 34. 11ll Matt. xxi. 37. ~~ Matt. v. 8; xi. 25; xvi. 17. 84 Theology cf tiLe New Testaml1enZt. found, we attain to a knowledge of God and of His will, such as is denied to the wise of this world.* 7. As the Father reveals himself in the Son, so also does He work that which is good in man through the Holy Spirit, who is, therefore, represented as the sum of all good gifts. But few hints does the Lord give as to the nature and operation of this Spirit. He declares that the Spirit dwells in Him, promises Him also to His Apostles, especially for their strengthening;~ promises this Spirit also in answer to the prayer of all who seek salvation; 1 while, on the other hand, the sin against Him alone is not forgiven.~T The Divine nature of the Holy Spirit is clearly enough indicated by Him where, in the institution of Christian baptism, He links together baptism into the name of the Spirit with that into the name of the Father and the Son (Matt. xxviii. I9). 8. From the foregoing it will be seen how infinitely high the Lord's conception of God stands above that of heathen, or even of Jewish antiquity. Neither in the most renowned philosophers of antiquity, nor in Moses and the prophets, do we meet such a presentation of God's fatherly love as in the Gospel of the kingdom. It is true, God is spoken of in the Old Testament as the Father of the nation of Israel."" Especially is His compassion upon them that fear Him, tt and upon the unfortunate,++ compared with that of a father Luke x. 21. t Matt. vii. II; Luke xi. 13. $ Matt. xii. 28. ~ Matt. x. 19, 20. I| Matt. vii. I. ~ Matt. xii. 32. ** Deut. xxxii. 5; Isaiah lxiii. I6; Mal. i. 6. tt Ps. ciii. 13. Pt Ps. lxviii. 5. The King' of Kings. 85 towards his children; but never is this name given to Him in regard to those who are not of Israel, never is such a fulness of love expressed by this name as on the Lord's own lips. More sublime descriptions of the majesty of God than those which are to be found in the Old Testament even He has not given; but a deeper, more spiritual, and more exalted conception of God's nature and mind than His, will be sought in vain. And, besides, it is so pre-eminently practical, that one can here speak just as little of the teaching of divinity as of theology, but only of His teaching of religion and of life. 9. Christ's conception of God shows, at the same time, with what truth He testified of His own superhuman origin and dignity (See Sec. xi. 5). Only to the Son can it be given to take such deep glances into the heart of the Father. Neither the Semitic race, nor the natural beauty of Nazareth (Renan), nor the teaching of any human school, but only the personality of the Lord himself explains to us the mystery of His conception of God. Not because this man has the.deepest religious feeling does God become in Him and through Him most manifest; but because God was in Him as in no other, can His conception of God be the highest and purest. Though there remain unsolved enigmas even here, yet "it belongs to the humility and strength of science to acknowledge that there are also mysteries in it which it has not fathomed " (Tischendorf). Compare Schmid, Bibl. Theol. of New Testament, p. 126 and following; Reuss, Hist. de la Theol. Chret., 86 Theology of the Nezv Testament. p. 237 and following; Lassen, 27ud. in Palest. at tinme of Christ, p. 248 and following; Wittichen, Idea of God as the Father, Gott., 1865. POINTS FOR INQUIRY. HARMONY and difference between the Lord's conception of God and that of the Old Testament.-Its elevation above that of Judaism.-To what extent is the right of natural theology acknowledged by Jesus?-In what respect does His conception of God surpass that of the most illustrious sages of antiquity?-Can the personality of the Holy Spirit be deduced from the Lord's words in the Synoptics?-Does His conception of God bear a Unitarian, or a Trinitarian character?- Criticism of the naturalistic explanations as to the origin of this idea of God, SECTION XIII. As the loly angels are servants, and the spirits of darkness opponents of the kingdom of heaven, so are men called to be subjects of the same. What the Lord testifies, concerning the nature and natural endowments of men, shows that they are capable of receiving this kingdom; what He declares concerning the sin and wretchedness of humanity, shows clearly its need of the salvation of the kingdom of God. I. Although the kingdom of God has been founded on earth, it does not find on earth its principal servants. Even the prayer (Matt. vi. io) which the Lord prescribes ror His disciples, proves that, in this respect also, He designs to form the earth anew, after the model of heaven. He pre-supposes, in fact, that the angels stand in a very special relation to this kingdom of God. Repeatedly He describes them, not as momentary personifications of the blind powers of 88 Theology of the New TestawzlentI nature, but as personal, immaterial, sinless, immortal beings," who form together a heavenly family, before whose face the Father rejoices over the salvation of the lost.t Especially do they feel an interest in the -weak and the little ones;* they stand beside the believer in death,~ and minister above all to the Son of man, both in His sufferings, 11 and in the revelation of His glory.~ But, however great their knowledge and holiness,"* they stand to the kingdom of God in no other relation than that of hogoured and trusted servants. That each of the citizens of this kingdom has his individual guardian angel, is not taught in Matt. xviii. to; and just as little does the word oi Jesus justify any superstitious adoration of angels. His angelology contains no magical elements, like the Apocryphas of the Old Testament-as, for instance, the Book of Tobit - but bears a purely religious and moral character. 2. Also concerning the evil-i.e., fallen-angels, the Lord expresses himself in equally unambiguous language. Nowhere does He speak of an eternal principle of evil, but repeatedly of a personal power which is opposed to the kingdom of God. Not the evil (thing) but the Evil One, is the enemy, to be delivered from whom the Lord teaches His disciples to pray. tt He calls him Beelzebub, 1~ Satan,~~ and, in general, the enemy,llll who sows the evil seed. ~~ He is the * Luke xx. 34-36. t Luke xv. 7, Io. t Matt. xviii. Io. ~ Luke xvi. 22. ii Matt. xxvi. 54. i Matt. xiii. 4I. ** Matt. xxiv. 36; Luke ix. 26. tt Matt. vi. 13. + Matt. xxii. 27. ~~ Luke xxii. 31. llil Iuke x. 19. T Matt xiii. 39 The Subjects. 89 true Destroyer," for whom in turn an everlasting destructiont is prepared. It is true he is frustrated in his ineffectual endeavours by the protecting prayer of the Lord,+ who already witnesses his humiliation from afar.~ At the present time, however, he is the author of all misery, even that of the body; ll the cause, at the same time, of that mysterious sickness which is ascribed to demoniacal operation.~ There is no solitary proof that the Lord, in these and such like expressions, accommodated His language contrary to His own conviction, to the limited ideas of his contemporaries. Much is even in irreconcilable antagonism with this assertion. He regards the expulsion of demons as one essential part of His life's worke' (which He also commits to His disciples),tt and beholds in the night of His suffering the powers of darkness, as in serried ranks, drawn up against Him in hostile array.++ Only an arbitrary exegesis can attach a smaller degree of significance to such expressions than is required by the unity of the discourse and the spirit of the time. But an impartial criticism will not shrink from the obligation to distinguish between the main thought expressed in such declarations, and the peculiar form in which (in adaptation to the mode of thought then prevalent) it is expressed. Compare, for example, Luke xi. 24-27. 3. We stand on firmer ground when we begin to investigate the answer of the Lord to the oft-repeated * Matt. x. 28; cf. Rev. ix. I I. t Matt. xxv. 41. + Luke xxii. 32. ~ Luke x. I8. It Luke xiii. I6. ~ Matt. xvii. 21. *# Luke xiii. 32. tt Luke ix. I; x. I9. 4+ Luke xxii. 53. 90 Thzeology of the Nezv Testazment. question, " What is man?" We see at once that He does not think lightly of the individual man, or of humanity. The very opposite is manifest from His observing the play of children,@ His accepting the children's song of praise,t His estimate of the childlike character.: Only once do we read of His being displeased with anything, and thatwaswhenthe children were denied approach to Him; ~ and, almost as though it were by way of compensation, He immediately proclaims His kingdom theirs. Wrongly has it beer asserted from such expressions (Schenkel) that re. demption is not needful for all, since children are already members of the heavenly kingdom. Were that the case, the mothers ought to have sought, nol a blessing, but a crown, for their children; and thq Lord would have contradicted that which He else. where (e.g., Matt. xv. I9) speaks of the universal cor. ruption of humanity. But it is clear He finds in children a receptiveness for His kingdom which, among adults, He so often seeks for in vain; and it is equally clear that He proceeds from that ideal conception of the marriage union (Matt. xix. 4-6) which far tran. scends the view taken by his contemporaries. 4. Upon man's nature and receptiveness for the kingdom of God, Christ, by His testimony, puts the highest honour. MIan is more than the lily, or the flower of the grass,il more than the sparrow or sheep,~ than the ox or ass.:I Like all these he is a creature * Matt. xi. I6, I7. t Matt. xxi. I6; compare Ps. viii. 2.: Matt. xviii. 3, 4. ~ Mark x. 14. I| Matt. vi. 25, 32. ~1 Matt. x. 29-3I; xii. 12. ** Luke xiv. 5. The Subjects. 91 of God,* but at the same time highly exalted above them, called to the kingdom of God,t called to love God, and to become like Him.+ In this man the Lord distinguishes between body and soul, flesh and spirit.~ Enough, the centre of the human personality is for Him the heart; which may be not only without feeling, but also without understanding,ll and thereout come all perverted thoughts.~ The word conscience never occurs in His teaching, but that He estimated the thing at its true value is plain from His teaching concerning the inner eye of man (Matt. vi. 22-23). Noteworthy also in this respect is the parable of the land which, because it is earth and not stone, brings forth of itself (avro4arTj) the fruit of the seed sown (Mark iv. 28). There is consequently in man a receptiveness for that which is Divine; and this becomes a spontaneity when, with the use of suitable means, all that hinders the operation of the Gospel is taken away from the heart. On this ground the Lord awakens men to reflection,** and consideration of what and how they hear.tt He appeals to their natural understanding and feeling,,+ and requires that they should judge according to reason.~~ Nevertheless, He places the heart in man above the intellect, Il[ and speaks on that account expressly of the good treasure of the heart, from which the good is to be brought.~f[ * Matt. xix. 4. t Luke xii. 32. + Matt. v. 48. ~ Matt. x. 28; xxvi. 41. 1| Luke xxiv. 25. T Matt. xv. I9. ** Matt. xi. 15; xiii. 14. tt Mark iv. 24; Luke viii. i8.: Matt. xxi. 31; Luke xi. 5-8. ~~ Luke xii. 56, 57. IllI Matt. v. 3, 8. ~~ Luke vi. 45. 92 Theology of the New Testament. Not by that which man knows, but by that which, properly speaking, he wills, is his inner worth determined. Yea, he has the perilous capacity for choosing between life and death;* with which freedom entrusted to him is entailed a tremendous responsibility. Without doubt man is created for something higher than this world, Though his soul may perish, it can never be slain;, and the doctrine of the Sadducees is on this very account a monstrous folly.~ The losing of life leads precisely to its preservation in the higher sense of the word; 1 and for the believer the pledge of his everlasting existence is given in his personal communion with the ever-living God.~ 5. Man is, however, not only on account of his high position, capable of receiving the kingdom of God; he. also stands in the highest degree inz nwcd thereof. He is a sinner before God, and wretched in his own eyes. Whoever asserts that the Christ of the Synoptics takes an estimate of sin in point of depth below that of many of His Apostles, has listened very superficially to His utterances on this subject. While Paul contemplates sin in the light of his own experience, Christ contemplates it in the light of the law, and of His own unsullied perfection. The universal prevalence of sin is rather presupposed by the Lord than taught by Him. He distinguishes, it is true, between the moral condition of different men;" but nowhere is there any evidence * Matt. vii. 13, 14. t Matt. xxiii. 37. $ Luke xii. 4, 5; xvi. 19-26. ~ Matt. xxii. 29. 11 Matt. x. 39; xvi. 25. ~ Matt. xxii. 30; Luke xx. 38. ~ Matt. v. 45; Luke viii. 4-I5. The Szbjects. 93 that He ever regarded any one of them as sinless. The honourable and good heart * is no absolutely pure one, but an upright and well-disposed one, which is on this very account prepared to receive the seed of the word. He addresses His contemporaries as evil, as contradistinguished from the holy Father;t and regards them as the sick who need the physician.+ The whole, whom He opposes to these, are in His estimation just as little worthy of this name as those ninety-and-nine just ones ~-who need not conversion -are perfectly just. Even for His sincere disciples He regards prayer for the forgiveness of offences as an abiding necessity; and beside the lost son in the parable stands no perfectly obedient one; but an unloving brother, whose self-righteousness is yet more repulsive than the unrighteousness of the other. No man is unconditionally good,T and therefore it is demanded of all men, without exception, that they should become changed in mind.-* 7. The source of sin is psychologically to be sought in the heart;tt more definitely in the weakness of the flesh, which, therefore, even for the disciples of the Lord has a dangerous side. ++ Metaphysically it is to be traced to the Evil One, that subtle agent of wickedness.~ who constantly seeks to lead man to destruction. lll Everyone is exposed to temptation, and will fall into its snare without watchfulness * Luke viii. 15. t Luke xi. I3. t Matt. ix. 13. ~ Luke xv. 7, oV xpeav e'XJovar /eTravoias. II Matt. vi. I2. ~ Matt. xix. 17. ** Mark i. 15. t Matt. xv. I9. S1$ Matt. xxvi. 41. ~~ Matt. xiii. 39. 1 11 Luke xxii. 31. 94 Theology of the New Testament. and prayer. Temptation (7rEtpao-gos) and offence (o-KavbaXov) are in this teaching correlative terms, and signify that which leads man to sinful acts, and renders him, through obstinate continuance in evil, a child of the Wicked One (Matt. xiii. 38). 8. It is true, the nature of sin is never expressly defined by Jesus: the word a5apTra signifies in the Synoptical Gospels the sinful act, never the sinful principle. That, nevertheless, the existence of this latter is recognised in its full significance, is manifest from Matt. xv. 19; compare v. 28. The impulse in which it manifests itself is, per se, unrighteousness and lawlessness;* whilst its different forms bear the name of transgressions (7rapamn-Tc'oara). In an admirable manner does the Lord describe the process of development of the sinful principle under the image of the Prodigal Son. At first he is only alienated in heart from the father; then, also, he outwardly departs from him; and by a false craving for freedom he is seduced from one degree of evil to another, and in consequence thereof is plunged in deepest wretchedness. 9. That sin makes man miserable lies in the nature of the case. Under its dominion he becomes a sinner (aLiaprTwhs), who as such stands no higher than the despised publican. The unity of his inner life gives place to the most melancholy discord.t Yea, his life itself becomes another death.+ In this condition the sinner, left to himself, sinks into ever deeper misery. He falls into a state of blindness, which may indeed * avoifa, Matt. vii. 23; xiii. 41; compare I John iii. 4. t Matt. vi. 24. t Luke xv. 24; compare ix. 60. The Subjects. 95 be pleaded as an excuse,* but which is in itself cilpable. It leads, spite of the most powerful warnings,t to a condition of obduracy; and this attains its highest degree in that determined enmity against known truth which is the terrible expression of the one absolutely unpardonable sin.+ Io. No wonder that on this account sin is threatened with so much the more tremendous a chastisement, in proportion as the transgressor was more highly privileged.~ For sin necessarily involves guilt, satisfaction for which from the stand-point of the law can be demanded with perfect justice; but the expiation of which is so entirely impossible to the sinner, that nothing is left for him but to sue for forgiveness. | Forgiveness is therefore to be regarded essentially as a gracious remitting of merited chastisement; and where this forgiveness is not conferred the transgressor has to fear the most terrible consequences. Under different figurative expressions the Lord shows us how this chastisement is inflicted in eternity,~ and how with all gradation it will be faultlessly just.** Nothing, on the other hand, warrants us in the expectation that these chastisements themselves will some day find an end. The mentioning of the deep gulf,tt and the closed door,+ gives cause rather to fear the opposite; and though we should be able to infer from * Luke xxiii. 34. t Luke viii. 8; viii. o0; viii. I8. $ Matt. xii. 31, 32. ~ Matt. xi. 20-24; Luke xii. 47, 48. 11 Matt. xviii. 25-27; Luke vii. 42; xii. 59; xviii. 13. ~ Mark ix. 43-49. ** Luke xvi. 19-25. ft Luke xvi 26. {: Matt.-xxv. Io; Luke xiii. 25. 96 Theology of the New Testament. Matt. xii. 32-what however is, not without reason, doubted-the possibility of the forgiveness of many sins in the future; yet the terrible sentence upon one sin remains in any case in its undiminished force. II. Thus is the sinner, so far as in him lies, hopelessly,* but yet not irrecoverably lost.t The lost piece of money can be restored, the wandering sheep brought back —but never of its own strength. The objective necessity for redemption which cannot be overlooked, must become subjectively understood and felt.+ The self-righteousness, in which this is denied, renders only the more culpable; and hypocrisy is the only sin against which the gracious Jesus shows himself inexorably severe. On the subject of Demonology, see our Life of yesus, Part ii. p. I40, and following, and the literature there adduced. On the sin against the Holy Ghost, Life of Jesus, ii. 330 and following. On the Anthropology and Hamartology of the Lord as a whole — see Reuss, Histoire de da Theol. Chrpt. du Siecle Apostol. i. p. I95 and following. Schmid, Biblical Theology of the Newz Test., i. p. 230, etc. Professor Scholten, in his Geschied. der Chr. Godgeleerdheid, remarkably enough, passes over this entire point in silence. POINTS FOR INQUIRY. THE traces of Demonology in Judaism.-Are the utterances of Jesus concerning the kingdom and power of darkness the * Luke xix. o1. t Matt. xix. 25, 26. + Luke xviii. I4. The Subjects. 97 fruit of accommodation?-Of personal error?-Or of the knowledge of a mysterious reality?-In what respect does the Anthropology of Jesus stand above that of Moses and the prophets?-To what extent can the high position He assigns to children be harmonized with the hypothesis of a universal corruption through sin?-What does Luke xv. i i-1 6 teach concerning the history of the development of sin?Does the teaching of the Lord according to the Synoptics not contain the slightest traces of the doctrine of the aTroKaTTdaTrraL?-Does His indication ot the sin against the Holy Ghost receive further illustration from other texts of the New Testament? SECTION XIV. THE blessedness of the kingdom of Godalthough preparation was made for it under the legal economy of the Old Testament, to which the Lord stands in a very definite relation-was first actually manifested and brought to light in and through Him. It consists in the enjoyment of temporal and spiritual blessings, which begin here and are completed in the future. The earthly manifestation, the active life, the redeeming death, and the heavenly glory of Jesus Christ, have together the definite aim of bringing this salvation unto all. i. In order for ever to make an end to the dominion of sin and misery (Sec. I3) Christ arose with the Gospel of the kingdom (Mark i. I5). Although, however, He proclaims the Gospel as something relatively new, this novelty, in His estimation, exists not in the Salvation. 99 thing itself. We have already (Sec. ix. 7) had occasion to observe the contrary; but this is the place in which to direct our attention to the relation in which the Lord places His word and work to the Old Testament, especially to Mosaism and the prophetic teachings. 2. The sacred Scriptures of Israel form in His eyes a collection of priceless worth. He appeals continually and exclusively to the utterances of the Law, of the Prophets, and of the Psalms. Yea, for the whole canon of the Old Testament He gives a by no means ambiguous testimony.* "It is written " is the rule for His own faith, and His own conduct; and thrice does the Book of Deuteronomy afford Him a weapon against the kingdom of darkness.t He teaches, moreover, that the same rule is binding on His contemporaries; and regards it as utterly inconceivable that the Scripture should not be fulfilled.~ The word of Scripture possesses assuredly a teleologic significance;1I and His own relation to the Scripture He expresses in the words "not to destroy (dissolve), but to fulfil."~[ 3. It is not difficult to determine the relation in which the Lord stands to the prophetic part of Scripture. The whole Old Testament economy of salvation He regards as one continual preparation for His coming;* but especially in the words of the prophets does He see * Matt. xxiii. 35; Luke xxiv. 44. t Matt. iv. 4-IO. + Luke x. 26; xvi. 29-31; Matt. xix. 8. ~ Matt. xxvi. 54; Luke xxii. 37. 1I Luke xvi. I6. ~ Matt. v. I7. ** Matt. xxi. 33-37. 100 Theology of the New Testament. direct references to His person and work,* and even to His forerunner;t and finds these references also in those places where without His guidance we should not have expected them (e.g. Matt. xxi. 42). Evidently He regards the word of prophecy from the typico-symbolical stand-point, and demands that His disciples also should do so (Luke xxiv. 25-27). 4. Less easy is it to determine the relation in which the Lord stands to the law. Thus much is at once clear, that He feels himself in spirit raised above its letter,+ and bows by a voluntary subjection of himself, to its various precepts. That necessity, however, can release from its obligation,~ is by no means overlooked by Him. Least of all does He show any reverence for human tradition, which He strictly distinguishes from the precepts of the Divine law.ll These last are binding upon himself and upon His disciples, without, however, its appearing that He attaches less significance to the ceremonial requirements of Moses, than to the moral precepts.l It is nowhere found that He either himself ever transgressed any original precept of the law, or suffered his disciples so to do. In the great antitheses of the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. v. 21-44), He combats indeed the later additions, but not the original requirements of the law. He expressly censures those who neglect the weightiest matters of the law; but requires that also the lightest should not be disregarded." From those * Luke iv. I8-1I9; xviii. 31. t Mark ix. I3. $ Matt. xii. 6; xvii. 27. ~ Mark ii. 21-28. 1 Matt. xv. 9. ~T Compare Luke ii. 41-43; Mark i. 44; Matt. xxvi. i8. ** Matt. xxiii. 23. Salvation. I01 of His contemporaries who retain in spirit the legal stand-point He demands constantly a strict observance of the law.* The multitude are required to act according to the words of the Scribes;t and His disciples are called, for the immediate future at least, to observe the Sabbath-commandment.+ Thus also, towards the end of His public life, He confirms that which He had said at the beginning thereof,~ concerning the inviolable sacredness of the law. On the other hand, it is seen that Jesus regarded the permanent union of the Old and the New as impossible, yea, destructive (Matt. ix. I5-I7). He foresaw and predicted a time in which the old form should be broken through by the new spirit; and certainly, when He asserted the city and temple would fall, He could not have expected that after this time the Israelitish form of worship, according to the letter of the law, would continue to maintain its.sway. But with profound wisdom He leaves the letter untouched, so long as the spirit which He feels living in himself had not passed over to His disciples, and waits calmly (in the full consciousness that a new covenant would be brought in by Himself)ll for the highest blessing promised under the old covenant.~ Thus, in.the con* Matt. xix. I8; compare also that which is added to Luke vi. 5 in codex D. See Tischendorf or Alford. (" On the same day seeing one working on the Sabbath, He said to him: Man, if thou knowest what thou art doing thou art blessed; but if not thou art accursed, and a transgressor of the law.") t Matt. xxiii. 3. + Matt. xxiv. 20. ~ Matt. v. 18. 11 Matt. xxvi 28. ~ Jer. xxxi. 3I-34. 102 Theology of the New Testament. sciousness of the Lord, the fulfilling of the law blends together in a higher union with the end of the dominion of the letter. Law and prophets must both serve to proclaim, and prepare the way for, the salvation He came to bring. 5. The salvation assured in Him to the subjects of the kingdom of God is by no means of an exclusively spiritual kind. The meek one shall inherit the earth, the faithful servant receives wide-extended dominion and reward.* Yet this outward blessing comes only after the attainment of the inner, with which we have above all to do. As well negatively as positively, this blessedness is described by the Lord in the fairest colours. Those who inherit the kingdom of God escape thereby all the misery which arises from being lost; they are for ever preserved.t Their sins are forgiven them,+* and in consequence thereof they enjoy a calm repose elsewhere sought in vain.~ This enjoyment is modified according to the different condition of those for whom it is designed. To the blind is promised sight, to the captives liberty, to the mourning consolation, to the hungry satisfaction, to the oppressed a rich compensation for all that has here been suffered for the sake of Christ. It cannot, however, be ignored that the central point in the prospect of salvation, as opened up by the Christ of the Synoptics, lies not in the present, but in the future life. To the everlasting life His own eye (as well as the eye of His * Matt. v. 5; xix. 28; xxv. 21. t Luke xix. o0.; Luke vii. 50; xviii. 14. ~ Matt. xi. 28. Salvation. I03 contemporaries) is ever directed; and this life is conceived of as a condition beyond the grave. It is conferred on the return of the Lord in His glory upon him who has complied with the appointed conditions, and as such, puts for ever an end to earthly distress; while at the same time it makes the redeemed of the New Testament partakers of that joy of which the patriarchs of the old covenant had already tasted.* 6. The question remains to be answered, what the Lord according to His own teaching has done, is doing, or will do, to confer upon the world this unspeakable blessedness. Even His coming into the world, to which He did not originally belong, has for its object to receive a kingdom, and to seek the lost ones as subjects of that kingdom.t He came forth,+ therefore, especially to the lost sheep of the house of Israel,~ and the whole labour of His life was consecrated to this great end. As a sower He enters upon the field of the world; and calls Himself the Teacher of His disciples.ll Even His miracles must serve to make known that the kingdom of God is come near,[ and to reveal Him as the Christ."? He certainly does not favour an unhealthly craving after the miraculous, regards false miracles' as possible, and forbids the untimely proclamation of His own;tt but, on the other hand, He recals His miracles to the mind of His disciples,++ and pronounces inexcusable the * Matt. viii. II, 12. t Luke xix. Io, 12. $ Mark i. 38. ~ Matt. xv. 24. II Matt. xxiii. 8; compare xxvi. 55 1~ Matt. xii. 28. ** Matt, xi. 4, 5. tt Matt. viii. 4; xvi. 1-4; xxlv. 24. ++ Mark viii. 19-2I. 104 Theology of the New Testament. rejection of a word confirmed by such deeds. G Certainly a proof that the working of miracles constituted in His opinion no such subordinate element in His earthly activity as it has since been the fashion with unbelief to assert. 7. It is, however, especially His suffering and dying that He brings into immediate relation with the communication of the blessings of the kingdom of God. No purely historic criticism will dispute that the Lord prophesied beforehand his sufferings and death. It is true there is, according to the unanimous account of the Synoptics, a point in His historyt after which these references come more distinctly into the foreground; but even before this there were by no means wanting allusions, figurative indeed, but not the less remarkable.., The more nearly the earthly life of Jesus approaches its end, the more clear do they become;~ and terminate finally in a clear indication of the time and the way and manner of His death,11 united at a comparatively early period with the promise of His resurrection.$] That the disciples understood not this saying"* explains the more easily their after-forgetfulness of it. At the same time, this account (compare Mark ix. 32) shows that the prophecy itself was not afterwards fabricated ex eventit. The point of view from which the Lord regards this suffering and death is from beginning to end the same. * Matt. xi. 20-24. t Matt. xvi. 2I-23.: Matt. ix. 15; xvi. 24, 25. ~ Luke xii. 50; xiii. 33; compare Matt. xvii. 22, 23; xx. I8, I9. U Matt. xxvi. 2. ~ Matt. xvi. 21. ** Mark ix. 9, 0o. Salvation. I05 It belongs to that which is of God.* He must be put to death that the Scripture may be fulfilled.t We can here just as little think of a purely moral necessity as from the well-known parable of the ungrateful husbandmen (Matt. xxi. 37) we can deduce the conclusion-God really expected the world would reverence His Son. The end for which His dying was so absolutely necessary is often expressly declared. He has come to serve;+ and this serving attains its highest point in the voluntary surrender of His soul as a ransom for many. Not some simply, but many, are thereby delivered from the destruction of which they must otherwise have remained the prey. His blood is shed for many for the remission of sins (Matt. xxvi. 28); i. e., that there may be for them forgiveness'of sins. Although only Matthew adduces these words, we are not justified (with Baur) in regarding them as unhistoric; since, apart from the additional words, "for the remission of sins," the idea expressed thereby is already essentially present in speaking of the blood of the New Covenant.~ That the Lord regarded His death.at the same time in the light of a propitiatory sacrifice is clear from the account given by Luke of the Last Supper, as compared with the general cc.Ttents of Isa. liii, which are here manifestly present ti the mind of Jesus.ll The question-repeated notwithstanding all these declarations of Jesus-"whether there has not been in the * Matt. xvi. 23. t Luke xxii. 37. 1 Matt. xx. 28; Mark ix. 45. ~ Compare Exod. xxiv. 8. I[ Luke xxii. 37; compare also Luke xxiii. 31. o16 Theology of the New Testament. course of time more put into them than they originally contained" (Baur), is to be expected from a certain well-known stand-point; but only calls forth on the other side the charge of a parti pris. So much, at least, is certain-that Jesus' own words nowhere contain anything which is in contradiction with His utterances concerning the object and fruit of His death. That, in Matt. ix. 2 and xviii. 35, forgiveness of sins is spoken of without the immediate mention of His death, is at that time, and under those circumstances, easily conceivable. Equally may we admit that the parable of the Prodigal Son contains pure and glorious truth, without seeking to find in it the whole of the truth concerning propitiation; which could be revealed only later. And never must it be forgotten that Jesus, for wise reasons, was accustomed to speak but little of His death. 8. Far from the work of the Lord, by which He prepares for the world the highest blessings, coming to an end with His death' rather does His heavenly glory stand in the closest connection -as with His own humiliation, so also with the completion of His plan of salvation. On this account He professes himself King,t and ceases not after His exaltation to stand in personal relationship with His own.+ That in this promise more than a mere moral power must be intended, is evident from the assurance that all power is given Him in heaven also (Matt. xxviii. 18). * Luke xxiv. 26. t Matt. xxv. 40.: Matt. xviii. 20; xxviii. 20. Salvation. I o7 This power He manifests in ever greater measure, and this revelation He speaks of as a coming in glory. This coming begins even with His life on earth, makes progress before the eyes of all during the lifetime of some of the Apostles-especially in the destruction of Jerusalem —and will be seen in its full perfection only in the completion of the ages, the indications of which correspond with those of the downfall of Jerusalem (Matt. xxiv. and xxv). It is as when a stone is cast into the water, it describes ever larger circles, until the last loses itself in the wide expanse. On the relation of the Lord to the Old Testament in general, and to the Mosaic law in particular, see Lechler, das A. T. in den Reden Yesu, Studien und Kritiken, 1854, I. E. J. Meyer, iiber das Verhiiltniss YJesu und seiner -iinger zznm 1Zos. Gesetz. Dr. Ph. S. van Ronkel, Specimen y.. doctrinam exhibens de V. T. libris, Traj. I860. Comp. J. E. R. Kauffer, de bibl. C(wrj atlvLov notione, Dresd., 1838. J. Riet., de leer van 7ezus aang. de (io' alcvLos, Utr., I864. C. A. Hasert, Ueber die Vorhersagungen Y. von seinem Tode und seiner A ZfersZi., Berl., I839. A. Ritzschl, die Neutestam. Aussagen iiber den Heilszwerth des Todes yesu, in the Jahrb. fur deutsche Theol., I863, ii. * Matt. xvi. 28; xxvi. 63, 64. Io8 Theology of tie zNez Tcstament. POINTS FOR INQUIRY. To what extent does He place himself upon the same level with the servants of God of the Old Testament, and to what extent above them?-Is the conjecture that the prediction of His death and resurrection may..have been modified ex eventu critically well-founded?-May we assume that He has spoken more on this point than the Evangelists relate?Can we understand in the same sense all His utterances with regard to His "' coming?" SECTION XV. ALTHOUGH all are called to the blessedness of the kingdom of God, it can be partaken of by the sinner only through penitence, faith, and that renewal of heart which is manifest in the bearing of the whole life, All who tread this path form together a spiritual community, which on account of its peculiar constitution-but, above all, on account of its character and tendency-stands far above every other; and is destined to extend itself, and to endure unto the end of the world. i. Since the kingdom of God is primarily designed for all (Sec. x. 2), so must also-according to the teaching of the Lord —all be invited thereto. Although His personal mission extended only to Israel," and * Matt. xv. 24 r o Theology of the New Testament. His Gospel was first brought to-this nation;* yet He foresaw, desired, and required the early removal of the wall of separation. Christian universalism has its origin, not in Paul (Tiibingen school), but in Jesus' himself, as we know Him from the Synoptical Gospels. The more Israel rejects the message of the kingdom, the more does He dwell on the calling of the Gentiles.t Many indeed are already called, and all must be so; all bear the name of called to whom in reality the invitation of the kingdom of God has come, whether they have accepted the same or not. They who accept it are by far the lesser number, and bear the name of the chosen.+ God himself has brought them to the enjoyment of this privilege;~ while he, on the other hand, who has experienced, in connection with himself, the labour of seeking love, and yet fails to attain to this blessedness, must ascribe to himself the loss thereof.ll 2. Such a chosen partaker of the blessings of salvation will he only be who has undergone a great change; and this is, according to the view of the Lord, necessary for all-even for His Apostles.~ Neither with His forerunner (Luke iii. 8), nor with himself, does a merely external descent from Abraham suffice, in order to become a citizen of the kingdom of God. He demands an inner change of mind (IJTrdvoLa) with an outward returning (Trpo-rpoorj) to the way of life.'* But whilst the demand of John is especially * Luke xxiv. 47. t Luke xiv. 16-24.: Matt. xxii. 14. ~ Matt. xi. 25, 26; xvi. 17. II Matt. xxiii. 37 ~ Matt. xviii. 3. ** Luke xvii. 4. The Way of Salvation. I I I directed to the outward life of morality,` Jesus directs I-is eye especially to the inner life. The true starting-point in conversion He points out with admirable precision under the figure of the Prodigal Son, who begins to come to himself. Instead of the Pharisaic principle, from without inwards, that of Jesus is from within outwards.% Upon the inward state of the heart depends with Him not only much, but all.~ Only where this is shown to be right has the outward reparation for the misdeed value in His eyes.[l So high does the demand for conversion stand with Him, that it must ever be proclaimed in immediate connection with the promise of the forgiveness of sins;T because, while never affording a title to the enjoyment of forgiveness, it is the indispensable condition thereof. 3. With equally great emphasis does Jesus demand the presence of faith (-rTorris) which stands in the closest connection with conversion. He understands thereby not merely a barren consent of the understanding, but rather a confiding acceptance of that which, upon good evidence, we may regard as truth. Whilst He speaks of believing John the Baptist"* (avrT), He speaks of a believing in himselftt (els e e), which expresses a closer relationship. The object of the faith demanded by Him is, in general the Gospelr or in a wider sense all that the prophets have declared,{~ or (in its * Luke iii. 10-I4. t Luke xv. 17.: Luke xi. 39-4I. ~ Matt. xii. 33-35. 11 Luke xix. 8, 9. T Luke xxiv. 47. ** Matt. xxi. 25, 32. tt Matt. xviii. 6; Mark ix. 42. $ Mark i. I5. ~~ Luke xxiv. 25. 12 Theology of the New- Testament. highest development) God.* But since He is conscious of being himself the centre of the Gospel of God, He demands not only faith in His word, but also in His own person.t Upon this faith He makes dependent not only the working of His miraculous deeds,+ but also participation in the kingdom of God.~ In His estimation faith is certainly the highest element in man's moral life-the only one of which we read that, either by its high development or by its entire absence, it called forth the wonder of the Lord.il It is not strange, therefore, that faith has here the greatest promise attached to it,9T yea that He desires above all to find faith upon the earth at His return (Luke xviii. 8). 4. As this faith is at first a coming to Christ,* so does it manifest itself in a continued following of Him. This following is, however, impossible without perfect self-denial; and if this is to have any significance, it must be a voluntary, daily-renewed, and constant practice.tt This demand, so peculiar and original in form, has no less an object than the spiritual delivering up to death of all that hinders our entirely consecrating ourselves to the cause of the Lord, without shrinking even from that which is most arduous.f$ The Lord consequently demands deep and earnest: consideration before we begin to follow Him;~~ but after we have once taken the decisive step, then, also, * Mark xi. 22. t 7ro'rev6Tvrwv els Cu'. Mark xviii. 6. X Matt. ix. 29. ~ Mark xvi. i6. I Mark vi. 5; Luke vii. so. ~ Matt. xvii. 20. ** Matt. xi. 28. +t Luke ix. 23.: Mark ix. 43-50; Luke xiv. 26, 27. ~~ Luke xiv. 28-31. The Way of Salvation. 113 a self-surrender and stedfast fidelity which ventures the uttermost in order to win that which is best." 5. He, therefore, who first comes to Christ, and then follows after Him, naturally walks henceforth in a different path from that in which he has hitherto walked. Upon the subject of the kingdom of God is manifestly imposed the obligation to faithful effort: not in order to repose, but to toil and to win, is he called into the service of his Lord.f In this activity, his maxim must ever be-Conscientious fidelity united with continual watchfulness in regard to an ever-uncertain future.+ Consistently herewith Christ urgently enjoins upon him persevering prayer,~ a holy solicitude, which eventually renders possible, and even easy, a becoming freedom from anxiety. j But the spirit of the children of the kingdom must especially manifest itself in their conduct towards others, and towards each other. Whilst they, as far as possible, live at peace among themselves,f yea, seek their true greatness in fulfilling the offices of ministering love,'* they are called to show forth love to alltt-even to the enemy++-and to make manifest that they are in this respect under the guidance of another spirit than that of the world; yea, even than that of the Old Testament.~~ Only thus do they approach that moral perfection which must be the object of all their endeavour (Matt. v. 48). * Matt. xix. 29, 30; xxiv. 13. t Matt. vii. 2I; xxi. 28; xxv. 14. $ Luke xii. 35, 36,46. ~ Matt. xxvi. 4I; Luke xviii. I-I8. ] Matt. vi. 25-34. T Mark ix. 50. M* Matt. xx. 25-28. tt Luke x. 25-37. $t Matt. v. 44. ~~ Luke ix. 55. I 114 Theology of the New Testament. 6. It is impossible that those who are animated with such a spirit should remain permanently alone. They form a spiritual community, of which we cannot for a moment doubt that it is in accordance with the mind of the Lord. It is true His utterances do not tell us that He willed a Church in the sense in which this word is afterwards used. The word itself (EKKXrAiL'a) occurs only twice* in the Synoptics; and in the latter case (Matt. xviii. I7), it seems to be used only in general to denote the assembly of His disciples (5p, convocata societas, used also of the Synagogue). Without our impugning, with Reuss, the historic fidelity of the former (Matt. xvi. I8), it is at once evident that there was present before the mind of the Lord an ideal which would be realized only in the future. If, therefore, He leaves to the Spirit, who shall later guide His disciples, to call into being the form which shall unite them and all believers together; yet does the King of the kingdom of God evidently concern himself with the community of His subjects as a thing of the highest importance. He assuredly did not design to prepare the highest blessings of salvation merely for a greater or lesser number among them, but for all His disciples. This is evident even from the parable of the wedding-feast and the many guests, the vineyard with its different labourers, the household with its various grades of servants. Therefore does Heeducate His disciples not singly, but together, united into a little community. Even in regard to the spirit in which they are henceforth to be united, He lays * Matt. xvi. I8; xviii. 17 The Way of Salvation. I 15 down certain immutable principles. Fasting cannot be imposed on them,* the oath must be superfluous amongst them,t common prayer is an important duty,+ and equally so the mutual oversight of love, as opposed to the outcry of error.~ Self-exaltation is as distinctly forbidden as strife; [ and with unwearied readiness to forgive,n must be united the greatest caution in the judgment of others.-? 7. Having respect to the abiding communion of His people, the Lord has appointed two sacred rites, which are of great significance for His kingdom. By the ever new proclamation of His death in the supper of the Lord,tt He will unite them permanently to himself and to each other. By baptism He designs to separate all believers from the heathen and Jewish world, and to unite them in the confession of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.-+ If, as it is asserted (Strauss), the latest criticism of the Gospels is "pretty much of actord " that the baptismal formula arose with the final revision of the first Gospel, then the said criticism will have to hasten to reconsider its hasty verdict. He who has no dogmatic reasons for so doing, finds just as little cause for doubting the historic character of the baptismal formula, as of the institution of the Lord's Supper. 8. The Church thus chosen out, and united according to the will of the Lord, extends itself and main. * Matt. ix. 14, 15. t Matt. v. 33, 37.: Matt. xviii. 18-20. ~ Matt. xviii. I5-17. I| Matt. xxiii. 8-I2. ~ Matt. xviii. 23-35. ** Matt. vii. I-6 tt Matt. xxvi. 26-28. $t Matt. xxviii. I9; Mark xvi. I6. II6 Theology of the New Testament. tains its existence to the end. Already (Sec. x. 2) we have learnt to recognise the fundamental law of this increasing development; here it must only be further observed that it takes place (in harmony with the will of Jesus) by purely spiritual means, especially through the proclamation of the Gospel.* The triumph of His kingdom, and the continued existence of His Church-not possible without the severest conflictfwas predicted by the Lord, not merely as possible or probable, but' as beyond doubt certain.. It has its reason in the immovable nature of the foundation which upholds the rising edifice (xvi. I8); and its pledge of success in the constant presence of the Saviour,. who went away in order to remain, but also -in order to return. Compare Reuss, Histoire, i. p. 192. Schmid, Bibl. Theol., i. p. 299 and following. Dr. J. P. Stricker, Diss. Theol. de mutatione hzoini secundum.esz et A1pp. doctrinam subeunda, H. C., 1845. G. C. N. MatthaeY, 73esu Christi doctrina de jure juZrando, Hal., I847. Dr. J. P. K6stlin, der Glaube, sein Wesen, Grund, und Gegenstand, Gotha, I859. Dr. J. I. Doedes, De leer van het Avm. Utrecht. 1847, p. 50, and following. * Matt. xxiv. 14. t Matt. x. 34-36; Luke xii. 49-51. $ Matt. xvi. 18. ~ Matt. xxviii. 20. The Way of Salvation. 117 POINTS FOR INQUIRY. Is the conception of the KX/co-t with the Synoptical Christ perfectly the same as that which obtains with Paul? —What is to be learnt concerning the true nature of the terdLvola from Luke xv. 7., se.?-Diversity and higher unity of the object of faith.-The peculiar mode of presenting self-denial (Luke ix. 23).-The relation of the subjects of the kingdom of God to each other and to civil society. -To what extent can Christ, according to His own teaching, be regarded as the Founder of the Christian Church?-Comparison of the institution of baptism as given by the Lord, with the baptism of John. —Form and significance of the institution of the Lord's Supper. SECTION XVI. ace alnupldiIn. THE blessedness of the subjects of the kingdom of God outlasts death, but attains its culnlination only with the coming of the Lord, by which the glory of the King is manifested, and the tried fidelity of His subjects is recompensed with the full reward of grace. This coming is heralded by signs which leave a deep impression, is accompanied by mighty revolutions in the cosmical and ethical domain, and brings about that final separation of good and bad which puts an irrevocable end to the present dispensation of the world. I. Although it is a certain fact that the true subject of the kingdom of God is even here unspeakably blessed,* yet it cannot be denied that this happiness * Matt. v. 3-Io; Luke x, 23, 24. The Completion. I 9 is continually interrupted or troubled. The entrance into the kingdom costs a conflict, the following on demands sacrifice.d The eye, therefore, naturally turns to the other side of the grave, and a very essential want would remain unsatisfied, had the Lord left unanswered the question as to the completion of the kingdom of God. 2. While man is, as such, immortal, the believer is introduced after death into a blissful state of existence. The Lord, it is true, in a single instance, compares death to a sleep (Luke viii. 52, b.); but this does not prove that He conceives of a sleep of the soul. On the contrary, He describes believers of the Old Testament as living to God in the fullest sense of the word;+ and indicates that not merely the personality, but also the self-consciousness and memory, outlive temporal death. The kingdom of the departed (a'6ns, bi2N) is for Him no place of immovable stillness and perfect equality (Job iii. I7-I9), but the scene of a terrible contrast, which manifests itself immediately after death. While the transgressor is cast into hell (gehenna), the believer is carried immediately into Abraham's bosom (a figure, however, that is not employed as descriptive of the state of believers after the Lord's resurrection), there to be refreshed and consoled. l The supposition of a particular locality * Luke xiii. 24; xiv. 26. t To perish (&7rodvaA0ai) has not the idea of ceasing personally to exist.: Luke xx. 38, b; compare Matt. viii. II. ~ Luke xvi. 19-3I. | Luke xvi, 22, 120 Theology of the New Testament. underlies the mention of everlasting tabernacles,* into which those who have arrived earlier at their journey's end receive the friends who have benefited them, and is involved in the idea of the paradise which He promises to the penitent malefactor.t Both -must be sought in the kingdom of the departed, and be regarded as the scene of a blessedness which begins immediately after death, but is completed only with the return of the Lord. The idea of the return of the Lord (?' Flapovo-Ca) comes out so unambiguously and forcibly in His discourses, according to the Synoptics, that the attempt to declare by a stroke of the pen all expressions bearing thereupon to be spurious (Colani) can only be characterised as a not merely highly arbitrary, but well-nigh desperate mode of procedure. The universal expectation of the Apostolic age upon this point would be altogether incomprehensible if it had not the slightest point of support in his own utterances. And just as little can we suppose that the eschatological discourses of the Lord have been essentially modified and filled up in consequence of the destruction of Jerusalem. Only before this event could the downfall of the Jewish State and the end of the world be so intimately allied, as is, as a rule, the case in these discourses. And highly rash ought the assertion to be considered that Jesus-so far as He really delivered these discourses-was for once deceived in regard to future events. It is not yet the evening of the world; and we must earnestly contest the * Luke xvi. 9. t Luke xxiii. 43. The Conmpletion. 121 assumption that if the Lord had seen in the expectation of His disciples only the fruit of a national prejudice, He would have expressed himself thus fully and emphatically upon this point. The exegetical investigation of His words must show to what extent, and wherefore, He associates the last times with the desolation of Jerusalem. Thus much, however, is certain, that He promises in the most positive manner He will yet appear again, after His lowly appearing on earth, for the manifestation of His glory; and that thereby an end will be put to the present order of things. 3. The return will take place unexpectedly;* but not without previous warning. It is announced by signs partly of an alarming, partly of a gladdening nature. To the latter belongs the universal proclamation of the Gospel, to the former the arising of false prophets-and the seduction from the truth therewith connected-war and pestilence, famine and earthquake, oppression, disunion, and wide-spread corruption in the domain of morals.t These are, in a word, the birth-pangs (aPX1 daivwv) of that Messianic age which even the contemporaries of the Lord expected. 4. Now follows the appearing of the Son of man himself, heralded by that of His sign in heaven," and accompanied by terrible events in: the natural and moral world.~ The powers of heaven are shaken, the form of this world is changed. We are as little justified in understanding the expressions of the Lord * Luke xii. 39, 40. t Matt. xxiv. 4-r4. Matt. xxiv. 30. ~ Matt. xxiv. 29. 122 Theology of the New Testament. (with respect to this great end) in the literal sense, as we are justified in the name of the results of the so-called modern scientific view of the world in denying their truth. The form in which these changes are presented evidently approximates to the figurative representations of the ancient prophets; the main substance of the prophecy, however, is comprehended in the great idea that the worlds of nature and of man, each after its own manner, shall also have part in the manifestation of the future glory. 5. Only with this great final decision is the resurrection of the dead to be looked for-an event which the Lord in the Synoptical Gospels mentions but iarely and in passing; which, however, He represents as a collective event, and one deciding the everlasting portion of each individual. His conversation with the Sadducees (Matt. xxii. 23-33) has indeed been understood as promising an individual resurrection immediately after death; but as this, simply taken in connection with the ideas of His day, is in itself improbable, so does a more close examination of the argument Luke xx. 33-38 show that He represents the resurrection as belonging to the events of an age yet future, and which coincides with the end of the world. Besides this the Lord speaks of a resurrection of the just t (a resurrection from the dead) as for all of them a simultaneous event. What, therefore, He speaks of the state of the blessed, that they are as the angels (Matt. xxii. 30), seems especially to be spoken of * Compare Mark xii. 23-27. Luke xiv. 14; xx. 35; dvdarcTaSs iK PepXoWv. The Completion. 123 their condition of happiness after the completion of all things. The desire to find in the Lord's teaching a conception which seems to us more acceptable, must not lead us into wresting the original sense and clear purport of His prophetic word. 6. Simultaneously with the Parousia is the Messianic judgment to be expected, of which, in the Synoptics, He speaks much more than of the resurrection. Never does He represent himself as only a witness in this judgment, much less as belonging to the number of those called to its bar; but ever does He present himself as the Judge of the future, from whose decision no appeal to a higher court is conceivable. As such, He appears in His heavenly glory, calls all the nations of the earth to judgment, passes sentence according to the standard of that faith which works by love, and decides in regard to a weal or woe which shall find no end.* The angels make preparation for the execution of the sentence passed upon His enemies, and are active in carrying it out.t Only when this has been accomplished, will begin the time of the regeneration, that is of the entire renewal of the natural and spiritual creation.+ 7. It is here the place to speak generally of the reward which the Lord promises His faithful servant. The attempt has often been made to banish out of His words every thought of reward, or to forge — out of that which is said in this respect in the discourses of the Lord-a weapon against the purity of His moral teaching. The one and the other without * Matt. xxv. 3 -46. t Matt. xiii. 39-42. $ Matt. xix. 28. 124 Tthology of the New Testament. justice. Without sanctioning, or appealing to, a mercenary spirit, the Lord promises to the disciple who has made any sacrifice for His sake, or has wrought for Him, a true reward; that is, a proportionate recompense.* This reward is determined by very different laws than human ones-laws which are faultless-and a glance at the recompense may serve as an encouragement in the labour of love.t But the reward of the work is not on this account by any means the crowning of merit. The Lord proclaims on the contrary, with equal distinctness, the fact that all is conferred of grace, as that nothing is done in vain; that, consequently, the labourer has never the right to demand an especial reward. Luke xvii. 7-IO teaches this so strongly as to render unnecessary any other proof. The doctrine of reward is in a word here proclaimed, not from the legal, but the evangelical stand-point; and by it is an answer given not so much to the question, "What is really merited?" as "What is graciously conferred?" The principle of the labour can be only love and obedience, but the glance at the reward must serve to His followers as a counterpoise to so much that depresses. (Matt. v. 11, 12.) 8. After what has been said it is not difficult to show in what, according to the constant teaching of the Lord in the Synoptical Gospels, the future reward properly consists. The faithful servant receives an honour which compensates for all the reproach and all the conflict of earth. He is served by the Lord himself (Luke xii. 36, 37), is honoured with high com* Matt. xix. 29-xx. i6. t Matt. x. 40-42. The Completion. 125 mendation, and is introduced to that position which he is capable of filling; he is made partaker of a joy which is as described under the most attractive figures, and is as full as it is unfading; and sees himself called to a work which gives him fresh opportunity of serving as an ornament and blessing in the now perfected kingdom of God.* Special distinction and dominion is promised to those who have occupied a prominent place of service and suffering in the kingdom of God; but even the slightest labour of love shall not fail of its proportionate reward. And all this blessing is in eternity enjoyed in unbroken mutual fellowship. He who transports himself into the future, and distinguishes with spiritual tact the image from the reality, will think twice before he characterizes the eschatology of the Synoptical Christ as "grossierement materialiste" (Reuss). 9. While the children of the kingdom, on the one hand, attain to their complete salvation; on the other hand, the time of final decision for the children of darkness also approaches. They become manifest as such, are separated from the righteous, and receive a just retribution. It may be true that the word rendered eternal or everlasting (alwcvtog), does not contain in itself the idea of endless duration; yet the great antithesis with which the Lord closes His instruction, Matt. xxv. 46, does not admit of the supposition that at last even the ripened tares will be gathered into the good sheaf, and that, consequently, * Luke xii. 36, 37; Luke xix. 15-19: compare Matt. xxv, 14-30 126 Theology of the New Testametnt. the completed kingdom of God will include all without exception. Moreover, the terrible word spoken concerning Judas* renders necessary the contrary supposition, as also does the fearful doom pronounced upon the man who wilfully becomes a stumblingblock for others.t If it is thought that the opposite can be justified from the parable of the leaven (Matt. xiii. 33), the distinction between the domain of physical necessity and that of moral freedom is in this case entirely overlooked; and if such view seems harsh, it should be remembered that, according to other teachings of Christ,+ the law of a responsibility proportioned to the advantages received is by no means lost sight of in the retribution of the future. io. It cannot be denied that the Lord throughout His teaching, as well as in His last eschatological discourses, represents His coming as very near at hand. This was the natural consequence of the prophetic form of conception, in which the difference of time and space falls into the background, the exhortation to watchfulness and active labour receiving greater force from reference to the near, unexpected, and decisive future. Yet there are not wanting clear indications that for Jesus himself the destruction of Jerusalem and the final judgment of the world were by no means identical.~ But it is a great question * Matt. xxvi. 24. t Matt. xviii. 6.: See, for example, Luke xii. 47, 48. ~ Observe the words, "Immediately after the tribulation of those days," Matt. xxiv. 29; the long time" of Matt. xxv. I9; the supposition of the servant, Luke xii. 45; as also the " Times of the Gentiles," Luke xxi. 24. The Completion. I27 whether the capacity of the Apostles for understanding Him would at that time have admitted of any more explicit declaration. In any case it was less the exact fixing of the time than the living presentation of the fact of His coming manifestation which was, in the Lord's judgment, the main point. The repeated reference to this fact was immediately connected with the consolation and sanctification of His people, on which account it was insisted on by Him from the beginning to the end; and perhaps the thought of His coming would bring to their mind a precept which, according to an ancient tradition, He once gave them, and which also will stand us in good stead in the investigation of these and all His words: "Become approved money-changers (i.e., skilled in discerning the true riches). Compare our Life of yesus, new edition, iii. p. Io4, and following. J. P. Briet, de Eschatol. rede des H., in the Nieuwe Yaarbb., v. 214, and following. Dr. E. H. van Leeuwen, Diss., Yesu doctrinam de resurrect. mort. exhibens., Traj., I859. POINTS FOR INQUIRY. FROM what cause has the Lord so closely connected His description of the last times with the destruction of Jerusalem?-In what respect does this description coincide with the Jewish eschatology of His days, and in what does it deviate therefrom?-The difficulties which meet us as well in the literal as in the allegorical interpretation of these His prophecies. —Is the assertion well-founded that, if Matt. xxiv. 128 Theology of the New Testament. and xxv. are genuine, Jesus was deceived?-Are there to be found, in the teachings of the Synoptical Christ, traces of the doctrine of a twofold resurrection?-Criticism of the objections against the interpreting of Matt. xxv. 31-40, as a description of the last judgment.-The doctrine of the millennial kingdom before the forum of the Synoptical Christ. SECOND DIVISION. THE GOSPEL OF JOHN. SECTION XVII. THE words of Jesus in the Fourth Gospel bear a character so peculiar to this Gospel that a separate treatment (above all in our time) is not only desirable, but necessary. In this it is of importance to distinguish as much as possible the utterances of the Johannine Christ from those of the Christian John. In the contemplation of the former, the theology of the New Testament must proceed from the main ideas by which the discourses of the Lord in this Gospel are governed. I. We cannot pass over to the consideration of the teaching of the Lord in the Fourth Gospel, without a K 130 Theology of the New Testament. previous word of introduction. The separate chapter devoted to this investigation must justify itself above all things by a reference to the peculiar character of the utterances of Christ here recorded. Even without in general entering into a consideration of the differeuces between the Fourth Gospel and the three others, it is seen at once that here, even when we hear the Lord himself speak, we are moving in an entirely different circle of thoughts. Not only is the theatre upon which we here meet Him, the form of His discourses, and the impression which is thereby made, different; but even the substance, compared with that of the Synoptical Gospels, offers important points of distinction. There the kingdom of heaven is presented, here it is the King himself; there the human, here the Divine side of the person of the Redeemer; there the blessedness of salvation on the other side the grave is brought into the foreground, here the blessedness on this side. Simultaneous treatment of the one and the other has for this reason, amongst others, its peculiar difficulty; for if one would show the harmony between the first three and the Fourth Gospel, this proof attains its value only after the frank acknowledgment of the diversities on either side. 2. This separation, desirable in itself, is at the present stage of the question as to John's Gospel doubly necessary. Never was the genuineness and credibility of this Gospel so bitterly assailed as now. The Biblical theology of the New Testament cannot indeed directly become mixed up with an investigation which belongs to the domain of Isagogics and Introdziction. 131 Biblical criticism; but it is able, in passing, to cast some weight into the scale, in so far as it investigates whether the doctrine of the Lord which is contained in the Gospel of John harmonises with His other utterances or not. If the accounts are seen to be in this respect-not to speak of any other-in irreconcilable contradiction, we find ourselves compelled to make a choice. If, on the other hand, the difference can be satisfactorily explained and solved, it follows that from this armoury, at least, no weapon with which to assail the Fourth Gospel can be brought forth. 3. There is still found, nevertheless, a considerable difficulty, even if we accept the genuineness of the Fourth Gospel, and in general its historical fidelity. There remains the question as to whether we are listening to Jesus as He truly spoke, or not rather as John-who not seldom reports with great freedomrepresents fim as speaking. The latter is asserted by many; and we cannot ignore the fact that when we compare the Gospel and the Epistles, we often find in the case of the Baptist, of the Lord himself, and the Apostle the same ideas expressed in the same, or at least similar, forms. Nevertheless, we must take care that no weapon against the trustworthiness of John's Gospel be forged out of that which, rightly regarded, serves as a proof of its genuineness. If John was truly the bosom friend of Jesus, and, more than others, penetrated with the spirit of the Messiah, it is conceivable that he evermore formed his style of language after that of 132 Theology of the New Testament. the Lord; and is, on the contrary, entirely inconceivable that he should have placed in his Master's lips words of which he must know only too well that they were never spoken by Him. Even if we admit that he transcribed the words of the Word (which, moreover, were spoken in another language), under a higher guidance, with Apostolic freedom, we can with less hesitation regard these as Jesus' own words, inasmuch as it is manifest that between the style of John himself and that of Jesus as recorded by John, a difference-not great indeed, but still clearly appreciable-is to be found. Thus John in his Prologue speaks of the Logos, but the Johannine Christ never gives himself this name. If the latter here designates himself as the Son of man, the Apostle in his testimony of his Master never employs this title. Jesus in this Gospel terms His disciples His brethren and friends; John avoids this appellation; Jesus speaks of His kingdom and that of God, but John, where he is himself speaking, does not mention this kingdom. As Paraclete the Holy Ghost* is promised by Jesus; by John the glorified Christ t himself is so designated; and while Jesus here speaks of God as a Spirit,+ John proclaims Him only as Light and Love.~ Such peculiarities might be yet further adduced; and they could not be explained if John had without scruple put his own ideas into the Master's lips. If here and there it may be doubted whether the * John xiv. I6, 17. t I John ii. 2. $ John iv. 24. ~ I John i. 5; iv. I6. Introduction. 133 Apostle is himself speaking, or whether he is reporting the discourses of the Lord (e.g., John iii. I6-2I; compare iii. 31-36), yet the boundary-line is, for the most part, sufficiently distinct; and if theform of the citation belongs in part to the Evangelist, the fidelity with which its essential contents have been preserved can be successfully maintained. For the above reasons we hold it possible and necessary duly to distinguish between the doctrine of John and the doctrine of Christ, as recorded by John; and here to speak exclusively of the latter. 4. As in the contemplation of the utterances of Christ according to the Synoptics, so also here is it of the last importance tu observe the centralthought by which the Lord's words, as presented by John, are dominated, in order thereby to gain light upon the separate parts. Only we must see to it that we do not confound the main idea of the Gospel itself with the main idea in the utterances of Christ which are preserved to us in the Gospel. The science of Isagogics investigates the main idea of the Gospel, by way of analysis; the main idea of Christ's utterances, on the other hand, is derived by Biblical theology from the total impression made by the words of the Lord herein recorded, as contradistinguished from the utterances of others. And then, certainly, it cannot be denied that these words bear in the highest sense a Christo-centric character; that, in other words, His own person and His own work is the great centre around which all moves. In a certain degree this was also to be observed in the discourses of the Synoptics, 134 Theology of the New Testament. but what was there an element of the Gospel of the kingdom has here manifestly become the main theme. We must consequently not begin with the question what the Lord proclaims concerning His kingdom in general, concerning the Father, or mankind; but what HIe teaches concerning himself, in relation to all these; and at length arrive at the point from which we can answer the question, how far such utterances really admit of reconciliation with those we have listened to in the former division of our subject. On the Johannine question in general, comparebesides the Introduction to the New Testament of Guericke and Bleek (English translation, Edinburgh)the excellent commentary of Godet; our work, The Gospel of gohn (English translation), and the literature there cited. Dr. C. J. Riggenbach, die Zeugnisse fiur das Evang. _3oh., Bas., I866. Godet: Examen des principales questions critiques soulevees de nos jours au sujet du 4'e Evang., Paris, 1865. POINTS FOR INQUIRY. SINCE what time has the investigation of the doctrine of Jesus, as given by John, been conducted separately from that of the doctrine of Jesus, as given by the Synoptics?Can the distinction between the doctrine of the Johannine Christ and that of the Christian John be fully sustained?To what extent, and on what grounds, can we speak of a verbally accurate report of the utterances of the Lord by the Apostle John.?-The remarks of the Evangelist himself, as compared with his citation of the words of the Lord.Can one here properly speak of a doctrinal system? SECTION XVIII. 9I4 $ffn of 1 m in* ftj fkh. THE self-consciousness which expresses itself in the Fourth Gospel is that of God's own Son, who appeared among men as true and holy man, to be Israel's Messiah and the Saviour of the world; who, nevertheless, even during His sojourn upon earth, ceased not to stand in an entirely unique personal relationship to the heavenly world. I. For the right understanding and appreciation of the Johannine Christ the question above all important is, " What self-consciousness does Jesus, properly speaking, express in the I which lays claim to a dignity so unique?" To this question-partly under the influence of subjective dogmatic ideas or wishes-different answers have been given. But whoever approaches the subject without prejudice and listens attentively, comparing that which the Lord speaks of himself in the third person with that which He speaks in the first, cannot long remain in uncertainty. As the r36 Theology of the New Testament. Fourth Gospel begins with the Divine origin of the Lord, the first and second, on the other hand, with His human birth, so also is the relationship of the words and discourses of Jesus in these Gospels. In the Synoptics they rise to the unveiling of His Divine dignity; in John they proceed from the assumption of this truth as a starting-point. Just as little as the 1, which here expresses itself, is that of simple humanity, is here the Messianic consciousness of the Lord, even as the Son of God, conceived of as standing without any definite relation to humanity. Throughout it is the expression of the consciousness of the Son of God, as incarnate in human nature. 2. That the Lord, especially in the Fourth Gospel very often terms himself the Son, the Son of God, once also, the only-begotten Son," is well-known. Of what kind this His relation is, according to His own words, must now be investigated. It is enough to remark, in passing, that in any case a supernatural relationship, a personality of more than earthly origin is indicated by this designation. This is manifest not merely from the fact that in John the Lord employs this appellation in reference to no other than himself, but also from the fact that as such He ascribes to himself a personal pre-existence even before His coming into the world, such as is attributed to no other.t The arbitrary way in which it has been * John iii. I6. t Compare, amongst others, cap. vi. 62; viii. 58; xvi. 28; xvii. 5, 24. The Son of God in the Flesh. 137 sought to reject some of these texts as interpolations, is just as little to be defended as that of doing violence to their sense by explaining them of an ideal (impersonal) pre-existence. If anyone refuses to believe the expressions of the Lord's self-consciousness, let him at least not mutilate them by making them say something different from what-according to an impartial and unprejudiced exegesis-He really did say. The same self-consciousness, moreover, underlies those words in which He declares that for a particular end was He born, was sent, came forth from the Father,* and came into the world. At the same time it may be seriously doubted whether the Lord would ever have allowed himself to be saluted by a disciple as "My Lord and my God,"t if he had not had within himself the unvarying consciousness of superhuman origin and dignity. 3. But so far from its being the case that He, who knew how much He was more than man, was in his own estimation man only in appearance, He, on the contrary, terms himself a man who speaks the truth,+ and repeatedly employs in regard to himself the designation Son of man.ll He speaks of His * John x. 10; xviii. 37. t John xx. 28.: John viii. 40. ~ John i. 52; iii. 14; v. 27. 11 Explanatory of the human development of Jesus, and His need for the baptism of the Spirit to qualify Him for His Messianic work, the author elsewhere says, "Even in the flower-bud lies concealed the organism and power necessary for unfolding to a glorious flower; nevertheless, though it is already beginning to swell, it only opens its fragrant cup when a fostering sunbeam from heaven descends upon it." In like manner, once incarnate in human nature, "He could then (at His baptism), and later, be refreshed and strengthened, when a voice from 138 Thieology of the NeVr Testament. coming into the world,` shows the most tender solicitude for His mother,t makes express mention of His flesh and blood,+ finds a question necessary for His guidance,~ and declares that Iis soul (Vfvx4) is troubled.l Even upon the cross He complains of thirst,y and after His resurrection He bids Thomas place the hand in His side, and on the prints of the nails.*? The criticism which, after such strong testimonies, calls the Christ of John a docetic Christbecause, in addition to these indications of humanity, He also proclaims higher things of himself-assumes what has first to be proved, that it is impossible to be more than man, and at the same time truly man. 4. Just as little can we doubt that the Lord, according to this Gospel, regards himself as absolutely pure and sinless. It is true, He can experience the power of temptation;tt but the Prince of this world has nothing in Him.++ Negatively He expresses this consciousness in the question He asks of the Jews (John viii. 46, b), which, so far as it is not the fruit of pride or self-deception, must be the expression of objective truth: positively it is shown in many a word in which He, who seeks not His own honour (John vii. I8), gives testimony of a morally normal heaven solemnly declared Him the Son of God's good-pleasure; and could receive from an angel (in His conflict in Gethsemane) that strengthening which the God-man, in His anguish of soul, might not forego." Das Bild Christi nach der Schrift. III. part of the author's Christology,(German edition, p. I52). * John xviii. 37. t John xix. 26. ~ John vi. 54. { John xi. 34. | John xii. 27. I~ John xix. 28. ** John xx. 27. tt John vi. 15; xii. 27. $+ John xiv. 30. The Son of God in the Flesh, 139 relationship of himself towards God,* which is not for a moment interrupted or clouded. He does not, therefore, seek or find His place "among those who develop more highly the ideal of humanity" (Strauss), but places himself, without any assumption or any ambiguity, above all who have ever lived before Him,, or will live after Hinm. 5. As true and faultless man, the Lord expressly declares He has appeared on earth as Israel's Messiah and Deliverer. His relation to the world must be treated of hereafter. So far as concerns Israel, Jesus manifestly presents himself at an early period as the Messiah, and receives homage as such,+ yea, makes salvation dependent on His recognition or rejection as such.~ Far from contradicting the multitude when they understand the name Son of man in the sense of the Messiah,ll He, on the contrary, approves of it; and while He denies before Pilate that His kingdom is of this world (JK), He does not deny that He is a King. He repeatedly appeals to that which the Scripture testifies concerning Him,~ and presents himself on the last evening of His life, as the Sent One, by way of pre-eminence, faultless before the Father."' He feels and'Tanifests himself, consequently, as an historical person, to whom even Moses had pointed forward,tf and who had appeared for a time on earth, for the accomplishment of a definite work. * John iv. 34; viii. 29; xi. 9; xv. 9; xvii. 4. t John iii. 6. $ See John i. 52; iii. 14; iv. 26; and others. ~ John viii. 24. ij John xii. 34, 35. T John xiii. I8; xv. 26. ** John xvii. 3, 4. tt John v. 46. 140 Theology of the New Testament. 6. Although He lives personally as man on earth, He feels himself, nevertheless, in heaven.* He was there not merely before His birth-He remained and remains there by virtue of His higher nature, after His coming upon earth. That which He speaks He has (in most intimate communion with the Father) heard and seen of the Father himself.t He is not merely conscious of His pre-mundane life, but also retains it, with that modification which the appearing in a true and holy humanity, necessarily brings with it. Having proceeded from the Father, He returned straightway to His immediate communion; and yet ceases not during the interval of His earthly life to be in the Father, of Him to learn, and by Him to be loved. In His consciousness, therefore, is there a human and a Divine factor, originally distinct, then blended into a higher unity, in which the reality of the one sacrifices nothing to the reality of the other. Criticism has yet to prove its right to declare the existence of such a consciousness a priori impossible. That nothing less than this is expressed in the the Fourth Gospel, is (as a result of exegetical investigation) for the Biblical theologian a certainty. Compare on that here treated of, in general, our Chrisiologie, ii., 72, and following. F. W. Gess, die Lehre von der Person Christi, Basel, 1856, p. 134, and following. Weissacker, iiber das Johann. Selbstzengniss Christi, Jahrb. fur deutschen Theol., 1857, 1862. (Exegetical argumentation against the hypostatical pre-existence.) Astie, Explication de l'Evang. selon John iii. I3. + John viii. 38; xii. 49, 50. T John xvi. 28. The Son of God in the Flesh. 141 St. Yean, etc., Gen. 1864, passim. W. Beyschlag, die Christologie des N1. T., Berlin, i866, pp. 65-108. Excellent materials for combating the rationalistic interpretation of the Lord's words are furnished by Professor Scholten, het Evang. van Yoh. Leiden, 1861. On the true humanity of the Lord, see F. Bonifas, sur I'humanite de -j. C. d'apres l'Ev. de St. yean, in the Bulletin Theologique of the Revue Chret., I864. POINTS FOR INQUIRY. IT is of great importance to distinguish the expressions of the self-consciousness of the Central Person of the Fourth Gospel.-The different phases of modern criticism, as they are reflected in its treatment of John vi. 62, viii. 58, xvii. 5, and such like texts. - What peculiarities mark the Lord's expressions concerning His Messianic dignity in the Fourth Gospel?-Is not the name Son of God occasionally used by Jesus in its purely theocratic sense (John x. 33-38)? -Can John xvii. 3, be regarded as Christ's own word? SECTION XIX. Ixe $ui rf 0 jlib iW a ds tiiraftin to f4ge afnitr. As Son of God the Lord declares that He has ever been, and ever remains the object of the Father's love, and the sharer of His nature, majesty, and work; who has in the Father the foundation and goal of His life, manifests His name in the most perfect way, and in consequence thereof is able to lay claim to a homage and reverence such as cannot, without blasphemy, be rendered to any created being. i. Although in the Fourth Gospel the name Son of God is occasionally used in the theocratic sense as a synonym of the name Messiah,* yet the Lord himself employs it, as a rule, in the metaphysical sense, to indicate in what relation He stands, by virtue of His nature and being, to the Father, in consequence of which He, as distinguished from every other, is the only begotten Son.f The expressions of His self* John i. 50, and elsewhere. t John iii. i6. The Son of God in His Relation to the Father. 143 consciousness are on this point of so much the more importance in proportion as they are the more lofty and manifold. Thus much is at once clear, that they indicate a relation into which He did not enter only after His human birth, but which dates from "before the foundation of the world."* Without doubt one would seek in vain in this expression our philosophic idea of eternity; but equally certain is it that every beginning of existence, in and with time, is thereby most decisively excluded.t The existence of the Son is an eternal existence. Never does He speak of a period in which He was not, or had not begun to exist. And what He always was and is, He remains also during His life on earth. The reality of His humanity has altered nothing in the essential character of His Sonship. 2. As Son, the Lord declares himself the object of the Father's highest love; in consequence of which the Father, as in an eternal present, shows Him all that He does. This love is as unchangeable as Himself, and is returned by the Son with the intensest fervour.~ Although, consequently, the Father is and remains other than the Son, yet both-on account of their perfect communion of life-are essentially one; here there is found a unity of power, which again is not conceivable without a unity of nature and of being. i * John xvii. 5, 24. t Compare Ps. xc. 2.: John v. 20. ~ John xiv. 31; xvii. 24. 11 John x. 30. Calvin, on this place, remarks, "Non disputat h. 1. de unitate substantic," but expresses himself insufficiently when he adds, " sed de consensu quem cum Patre habet." That here we must think of oneness of power, from which oneness of being proceeds as a necessity, 144 Theology of the New Tcstazment. When the Jews accuse Him, on the ground of such like utterances, of making himself equal with God (John v. I8), He does not deny this, but adds further explanation (v. 19-23), by which He sheds light upon His former utterances without in any degree weakening their force. 3. In consequence of this unity of nature and majesty, there exists between the Father and the Son a common action. The Lord expressly asserts this where He defends himself against the charge of Sabbath desecration.* It is especially the Divine work of the calling forth to life, and the holding of judgment which is committed by the Father to the Son.t While all life proceeds from the Father,+ He awakens and calls it forth by the Son, both in the natural and the spiritual sense of the word. While God is judge (Ps. lxxv. 7), He judges no one and nothing without the Son. The characteristics of Divinity which are necessary to fulfil such a task, the Lord unreservedly claims for himself. He has authority over all flesh,q and shows in all His words an acquaintance with that of which He speaks, far above all human knowledge; 1 yea, He can with confidence say, "Father, I will."~ 4. The will of the Son will, nevertheless, not for a we have already remarked. Christology, ii. p. 76; compare our Life of yesus, ii. p. 681. * John v. 17. " Quze conclusio stare non potest, nisi equalitas personarum Patris et Filii statuatur, ut recte Patres adversus Arianos hoc loco docuerunt. - BEZA. tJohn v. 21-29.: I Sam. ii. 6; Deut. xxxii. 39. ~ John xvii. 2. 1l John xii. 50, and other places. ~ John xvii. 24. The Son of God in His Relation to the Father. 145 single moment act without that of the Father. In the Father, on the contrary, He has the foundation and aim of His life. As Son, He has received life of the Father, and lives through Him.* Just because He is the Son it is impossible for Him to do anything of himself, that is, out of the sphere of communion with the Father;t but because He is, as Son, partaker of the nature of the Father, He does, without exception, that which He sees the Father do. As Son, He declares himself dependent on the Father, speaks of the Father-not merely in respect of His human nature, but in respect of His nature as God-man,-as greater than himself, and makes the seeking, not of His own, but of the Father's honour, the end of His life;~ while He in turn looks to the Father to maintain the honour of the Son, and to glorify Him.ll 5. On earth the Son glorifies the Father, in that He reveals Him in a way in which He had never before been revealed. To this end He had been sanctified ~i.e., set apart by the Father before His incarnation, and was later sealed by Him*'-i.e., endowed with the infallible marks of His calling. In what manner He fulfilled His commission we shall hereafter see. It is here the place to regard the conception of God which beams through the discourses of the Johannine Christ. Beams through-for it is at once evident that the Lord in this Gospel does not, any more than in the Synoptics, give a formal answer to the question, "What is God?" The name of Father is certainly * John v. 26; vi. 57. t John v. 19. $ John xiv. 28. ~ John vii. 18..i John xvii. I. ~ John x. 36. ** John vi. 27. L 146 Theology of the New Testament. no actual description of the nature of God, but of the relation in which God stands to Jesus, and through Him to His disciples. And however lofty the idea, "God is spirit,"k it is only the clear and pregnant expression of a truth of which, under the Old Testament, at least a prescience and indication was given.t Also the mention of God as —in opposition to the false gods of heathendom-the Only True One,+ who has life in himself, is a repetition of that which has been taught in the Old Testament; and the attributes of the Divine nature, e.g., holiness, righteousness, eternity, which He here adduces by name,ll have been already celebrated in the Psalms. Where, however, He speaks of the completed task of His life,~ He declares with manifest emphasis that He has revealed the name of the Father unto men; and this word gives us a significant hint. He indicates that this namethe expression of the true nature of God-was before hidden (i.e., not entirely unknown, but not known in its full lustre); but is now brought to light, because He has appeared, who, without boasting, could say, "He that hath seen me, hath seen the Father."*" The Son consequently manifests the Father not so much by the word, which He speaks in harmony with other men of God, as rather that by His person, His manifestation in the flesh, is the satisfaction of the desire, "Show us the Father." As Son of God, He is at the same time the highest revelation of God. 6. As the highest revelation of the Father, in whose * Johniv. 24. t Exod. xxxiii. 18-23. tJohn xvii. 3. ~ Johnv. 26. 1Joh xvii. II, 24, 25. ~ John xvii. 6. ** John, xiv. 9. 11 J011h, xvii. 111, 4, 25 John xiv 9. The Son of God in His Relation to the Father. I47 nature, majesty, and operation He has shared from eternity, the Son of God likewise laid claim to a homage and reverence* which, without idolatry, cannot be rendered to any creature. No doubt, to honour (r2aLv) is not the same as to adore (xrpo-KvvEV); but the former expression (as the more general) includes the other as the more special form of homage, a homage which the Son could not possibly decline, since He truly desired to be honoured even as the Father (KaOsY).t On this account the demand for faith in Him and in God is most intimately united; and He expressly declares that it is impossible to honour the Father and to reject the Son;~ the worship rendered to Him by the man born blind He receives, on the other hand, with approbation.fj 7. After all that has been said we cannot but admit that the Lord in John recognises no essential distinction between himself and the Godhead, except that which is inseparable from the personal relationship of the Son to the Father. He does not express himself figuratively on this point-as the Evangelist when he speaks (John i. 18) of the Son "in the bosom of the Father"-but as literally as possible. He is in the Father, and the Father in Him. All that which is the Father's, is therefore also His.~ He is from above,"* -an expression which, besides Him, no one (not even John the Baptist) uses of himself.tt He, and He alone, has seen the Father.++ He came down * John v. 23. t Compare John xx. 28. 1 John xiv. I. ~ John xv. 23; John xvi. 3. 11 John ix. 38. ~ John xvii. Io. ** John viii. 23. tt John iii. 31. $t John vi. 46. 148 Theology of the New Testament. from heaven:* that is, not that He is of heavenly nature, and, therefore, to that extent of heavenly origin; but the converse is true-of heavenly origin, and in consequence thereof of heavenly nature. In a word, although He nowhere calls himself God, He claims not to be esteemed less than God, and the only distinction between himself and Him whom He at the same time calls upon in prayer is, finally, that the one is the Father and the other is the Son of His love, other than the Father, but yet of the same nature. In vain is the attempt made to gainsay this result by pointing to a few isolated expressions-such as John x. 34-36, xvii. 3, xvii. 20, 2I-which seem to lend countenance to a feebler view. They cannot be thus taken in their isolation, but must be looked at in connection with other utterances of the Lord. And, even taken alone, they do not prove that which it has been sought to derive from them. In the first of these instances (John x. 34-36) the Lord's design is not-from the fact that, in lofty condescension to the lower stand-point of His hearers, He observes that persons clothed with theocratic. authority often receive the name of gods-by any means to indicate that only in this figurative sense'has He called himself the Son of God; but He manifestly rises from the lower to the higher. In John xvii. 3, the Father is addressed as the only true God, not to the exclusion of all right of the Son to this title (compare vv. 5 and Io); but in distinction of the Father from the Son, who here speaks in the definite character of the Father's Am* John vi. 33, 38. The Son of God in His Relation to the Father. I49 bassador. When, however, He declares that in the knowledge of himself, no less than of the Father, is everlasting life, He must have regarded himself as something more than a mere creature. Finally, from John xvii. 21, 22, it by no means follows that the Lord is speaking of a purely moral, and not rather a metaphysical union between himself and the Father. The whole juxtaposition belongs not to this circle of ideas; the Lord wills only that His disciples should be as intimately united among themselves as He is with the Father. The latter relation is for Him the prototype, of which He wills that they should become the copy. " Ila unitas est ex natura, haec ex gratia; igitur illi haec sirnilis est, non aequalis" (Bengel). The empirical criticism which, while it understands the expressions of the loftiest self-consciousness in no feebler sense than that originally designed, on this very account regards them as unhistorical and incredible, remains still in principle at the lower standpoint of the Jews (John v. I8; x. 33). Compare our Christologie, ii. p. 72 cet. Reuss, 1. c., ii. p. 360. Schmid, 1. c., i. p. I60 cet. Frommann, Johann. Lehrbegriff, p. 360 cet. POINTS FOR INQUIRY. DID the Jews really misunderstand the Lord, or not, when they asserted that He esteemed himself equal with God?Does the Christology of Arianism find any support in the utterances of the Johannine Christ?-Do these utterances of the Lord favour the view which subordinates the Son to the Father?-What is the sense of John viii. 38?-What of John xvii. 2I-23? SECTION XX. 9Jp SAil jaf ^6ob mV dI ftian ito ft Mtbar. THE name of the Father is revealed by the Son in a world which through sin and its Ruler is brought under the dominion of darkness, but receives of God in Christ new light and life. By His appearing and whole work, but especially by His sufferings and death, He communicates this light and life. Nevertheless, personally to enjoy this benefit, a faith of the heart is indispensable-a faith which is demanded on sufficient grounds, yet for moral reasons is by no means found present in all. I. While the relation of the Son to the Father has existed from all eternity, His relation to the world had its beginning at a definite period of time. Concerning His relation to the world before His incarnation, the Lord-even in John-speaks nothing. But the more powerfully does He express himself in regard to that which, after His appearing in the world, He purposes and works. Nevertheless, before we The Son of God in His Relation to the World. 15I direct our attention to this work, it is necessary from His own mouth to become acquainted with its theatre. 2. While we hear the Lord frequently in John, as in the other Evangelists, speak of "the world" (Ko-(os), this word cannot be always understood in the same sense. The idea thereby expressed has a physical and a moral side. In the former sense it must be understood when, for instance, He says that He came into the world and again leaves the world;* in the latter when He testifies of His disciples that they are not of the world, even as He is not of the world.t In the former case the world is the same as the earththis sublunary visible world, as it is emphatically opposed to the invisible and the higher; the world of men,+ in a word, apart from the relation of its inhabitants to God. The conception of the world attains an ethical side~ only when this word, from the connected whole of the discourse, signifies the masses of men who have revolted from God, and who are not merely ungodly but anti-godly. Since, however, the Lord is conscious, not only as the Heavenly One of being distinguished from all that is earthly, but also as the Holy One of being distinguished from all that is impure, and declares that all that is born of flesh is flesh; it is no wonder that the conception of world is here constantly employed in an unfavourable sense. 3. In this world, however, sin (ataprna) bears sway; and this sin is not a weakness but a terrible power, * John xvi. 28. t John xvii. I4. + John viii. I2. ~ So, erg, John iii. I7; xiv. 19; xv. I9. 152 Theology of the New Testament. which subdues the world to itself, and renders it worthy of the everlasting judgment.* The universality of sin is pre-supposed by the Lord where He speaks of His coming into and His being indispensable for the world: it is moreover expressly placed in the foreground in the conversation of the Lord concerning the new birth.t The birth of the flesh, in which all have part, is not only insufficient to bring them into the kingdom of God, but, on the contrary, renders them, without a new birth of the Spirit, even unfit for this kingdom. Here, as well as in Matt. xxvi. 41, the word flesh (cradp) in its opposition to spirit, has not only a physical, but also an ethical significance. The flesh is in the natural man the leading and commanding power. The judging according to the fleshy leads therefore necessarily to error; and is the more hurtful on this very account that those thus blinded think they are yet able to see.~ Sin, where it holds its sway over man, makes him at the same time its slave;l and this slave walks in a darkness which, according to the constant usage of the Fourth Gospel, is the symbol of the deepest misery."T The sinner fails of the true light, because the true life is wanting to him; he finds himself in a condition of spiritual death, from which he can be awakened only by the word of might of the Son of God, but from which he must necessarily be awakened.?" It is true, sin has its stages or degrees,ti but never * John iii. 17. t John iii. 5-8. $ John viii. 15. ~ John ix. 4t. II John viii. 34. IT John xii. 35. ** John v. 25. tt John xix. i. The Son of God in His Relation to the World. 153 is it excusable. It reaches its point of culmination in the transgression of rejecting Christ, in comparison with the guilt of which all other becomes almost as nothing;* and which is nothing less than a terrible manifestation of blind hatred-towards God.t No wonder that it is punished in the most terrible manner. While the Christ of John is not inclined to see in particular misfortunes the chastisement for particular sins;` yet the general fact is clearly taught by Him, that the sinful world is already under a judgment which, if it is not averted, must inevitably end in perdition (John v. 24, 29). 4. But whence this dominion of death and of sin in the world? The Lord speaks of the Prince of the World (6 aigX(v roV Koa-ruov) as an enemy of God and His kingdom. He does not speak of individuals especially possessed by Satan-miracles in regard to persons labouring from this kind of malady do not present themselves in the Fourth Gospel-but the world in its defection from God appears in His eye as the great possessed one, held captive by this tyrant, and who must be healed by Him.~ His life, and especially His suffering unto death, is one long warfare against this enemy, out of which He comes forth triumphant. | Even against the disciples does this same power lie in wait;~ but especially do the hostile Jews show by their deeds that they are allied to the Devil,"* who was a murderer from the beginning. * John xv. 22-25. t John xv. 23. $ John ix. 3. ~ John xii. 32: compare Luke x. i8. I1 John xiv. 30. ~ John xvii. I5. ** John viii. 44. I54 Theology of the New Testament. Clearly the Lord is not here alluding to the first fratricide (I John iii. 12), but to the history of the fall (Gen. iii). To the question, " Whence, then, sin in the Evil One?" He answers simply that Satan rests not (oVX E'o-TrK) in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Not truth, but the lie, in his element; on this account he is both a liar and a murderer from the beginning-i.e., from the beginning of the history of sin in humanity. That the devil was created evil the Lord does not assert, any more than that He can be called a fallen angel; and for the simple reason that He is here speaking of the origin of sin in zhumanity, not in the spirit world. He who infers from this silence that the Lord favoured the principle of dualism-in other words, that He represented the Wicked One as the eternal self-existent principle of evil-proceeds further than the letter, or the spirit, of this mysterious utterance of the Lord permits. 5. Although, however, every one who serves sin, at the same time upholds the kingdom of darkness; yet all men do not stand in absolutely the same relation to this kingdom. On the contrary, the Lord recognises -apart from the relation in whlh they stand to Him -two different classes of men. There are those who naturally see, and become blind; and blind ones desirous of healing, who become seeing;* those who, by virtue of the principle dwelling in them, do evil, and those who do the trutht and hear God's word, because they are of God;; who wish to do His will,~ * John ix. 39-41. t John iii. 20, 2I.: John viii. 47. ~ John vii. 17. The Son of God in His Relation to the World. 155 and inwardly have heard and learnt of Him." For such lovers of light, the light has only to show itself, and they will at once recognise and follow it. For others, on the contrary, it is morally impossible to distinguish the truth, because, in consequence of the prevalence of perverted principle, the susceptibility for truth has become extinguished. They cannot believe, and on this account will not come to Christ: they belong not to His sheep.+ They do not love Christ, because (in the moral sense of the word) not God, but the Devil, is their father.~ 6. The cause of this radical difference lies notaccording to the teaching of the Lord-in God; for His purpose is to save the world, l into which, and for which, He sent His Son. Neither does the cause lie in any inevitable necessity of nature, for never does He favour the principle of a dualistic view; and He could not possibly rebuke unbelief as strongly as He does, if it were only men's misfortune, not their fault. How could He, for instance, say (as in John xv. 22), "but now they have no excuse for their sin," if they had not been personally responsible for sin? It will consequently be in the spirit of His teaching if we ascribe to Him the conviction which we find expressed by Him in the Synoptical Gospels also-that the not willing is a work of freedom, and the not being able a consequence of the abuse of freedom; and that, on the other hand, where faith arises in the heart, the honour thereof belongs to the * John vi. 45. t John v. 40-44. $ John x. 26. ~ John viii. 42. I| John iii. 16, 17. I56 Theology of t/he rNew Testament. drawing of the Father.* As regards the true connection between grace and moral freedom, He no more expressly pronounces a judgment in this Gospel than in the Synoptics: enough, He distinguishes, and at the same time unites, the two factors. 7. In this world, thus blinded and divided, Christ appears as the highest revelation of the Father. That He appears is the fruit of the love of God, who will give light and life. The universality of the Divine plan of salvation is so expressly declared by the Lord,f that only a sophistical mode of interpretation employed in the interest of a self-chosen theological system can derive the opposite from His words. In obedience to the will of the Father, the Lord came down from heaven as the living bread, to give life to the world.+ That this will of the Father is, however, at the same time His own, is manifest from the fact that He was not only sent, but also came forth,~ so that destiny and deed are for Him blended in a higher unity.ll 8. Christ is the light of the world, especially by His appearing and work on earth. But He is so also by His word. In order to give testimony to religious truth (drelOa), He arose.T On this account He approves of His disciples calling Him Master,"* and inculcates, under the form of a new commandment, the principal requirement of His Gospel.tt As in the Synoptics, so also in John, the Lord attaches Himself * John vi. 44. t John iii. I6, I7; xii. 32; xvii. 21. t John vi. 33, 38. ~ John xvi. 28. 1| John x. 17, I8; xiv. 31.'~[ John xviii. 37. ** 4 MacrKaXos. John xiii. 14. tt John xiii. 34. The Son of God in His Relation to the World. I57 as closely as possible to the Scriptures of the Old Testament, which may in no case be broken.? Yet the truth, even that already declared, now for the first time appeared before the world in its full light. In His person it is concentrated, and reveals itself to the once-closed eye.t And this revelation of the truth is one with the communication of life. He calls Himself the Resurrection- and the Life, not because He himself rises, but because He-"the personal power of both, the Raiser and the Quickener" (Meyer)-raises others.~ This life He gives already in the spiritual sense; and will one day also bestow in the natural sense, upon all the dead (John v. 28, 29). 9. This life and this resurrection, however, is not attained to without judgment. Christ is come into the world for judgment (John ix. 39): His appearing and His work bring about a separation between man and man. The inner distinction of their different spiritual tendencies, reveals itself in their relation to Him. He is here already in fact a Judge, although the primary design of His appearing was to be a Deliverer.ll His judgment consists in this, that the darkness becomes manifest as darkness;T and this judgment is the more clearly seen, the more His life * Johnx. 35; xiii. I8; xv. 25; compare John v. 39; vi. 45; vii. 38. t John viii. 12; xii. 35; xiv. 6. John xi. 25. ~ Compare John v. 25, 26. 11 John iii. I7; xii. 47; compare v. 45; viii. II. For the genuineness of John vii. 53-viii. II, see a (German) article by E. Graf, in the "Quarterly for German and English Theology." Edited by Dr. M. Heidenheim, Zurich, i866, iii. 2, pp. 152-I79. J John iii. 18. 158 Theology of the New Testament. hastens to its end. Precisely in His death is the Prince of this world sentenced;' and one day, at the end of the ages, the great inner separation will also become outwardly manifest before the eyes of all.f It lies in the nature of the case that the Messianic judgment passes upon all; but the believer is not placed on his trial,, inasmuch as he is already in the possession of everlasting life, and is freed from the sentence of death and condemnation (John iii. 18). Io. A work like that of Jesus must necessarily call forth opposition. His work closes in sufferings and death; but even these, instead of counteracting the design of His appearing, must, according to His own declaration, effect the very opposite: His death is destined to overcome the world.~ In the Fourth Gospel, also, the Lord predicts His sufferings and death; at first occasionally, and in figurative language,ll afterwards explicitly and unequivocally.~ We are also here witnesses of the natural sorrow"' with which He looks forward to His approaching "hour," but also of His voluntary resolve, out of obediencett and love, ++ to drink the bitter cup. Here, also, the suffering belongs to the definite counsel and will of the Father:~~ here it has the same cause as elsewhere, but also the same glorious aim and the same precious fruit. It is, on His part, wholly unmerited,llll and is imposed upon Him by the wicked* John xii. 31, 32; xvi. 11. t John v. 27-29; xii. 48, b. Els Kpl'iv OVcK EpXE-rai. John v. 24. ~ John xvi. 33. 11 John ii. I9; iii. 14; iv. 37. 1 John viii. 40; x. 17, I8. ** John xii. 27. tt John xiv. 3I. $t John xv. 13. ~~ John x. 18; xix. 11. I||| John xv. 25. The Son of God in His Relation to the World. 159 ness of men;* but has, as its aim, to prepare for men the highest blessing. He calls His flesh heavenly bread, which He will give for the life of the world.t As the Good Shepherd, He gives His life for the sheep, to deliver them from otherwise inevitable destruction.4 His lifting-up upon the Cross has the same aim as the lifting-up of the brazen serpent in the wilderness. ~ With this design, the fruit of His sufferings corresponds. This fruit is not simply for the benefit of His first disciples, for whose sanctification He presents Himself voluntarily a sacrifice to God,ll but also for a wider circle, for His kingdom -the grain of wheat which has died rises again in other stalks; for the world-it is judged, and its Prince cast out;"" for Himself-He is glorified through suffering,tt because, as He (in John also) repeatedly and clearly asserts, He will arise again from the dead.4++ Thus His dying becomes in the fullest sense not the end, but the crown of His work. I I. The salvation brought by Him is not, however, conferred upon all without distinction: the Lord, on the contrary, in John, as in the Synoptics, makes participation therein dependent on faith in Him, which is termed a coming to the Son, but at the same time, also, a contemplating of Him with the eye of the spirit.~. If the expression faith (rmo-'s') is * John viii. 37-40; xv. 20. f John vi. 5I, The words'v ['yw c6vroa, we believe, are to be retained. Compare our Life of yesus, ii. p. 453. + John x. 11-13. ~ John iii. 14, I5. | John xvii. I9... John xii. 24. ** Compare John viii. 24; xii. 3. tt John xvii. I. 1: John x. 17, ii. I9; compare Matt. xxvii. 63. ~~ John vi. 35-40. 16o Thzeology of the Nezo Testament. not met with in His discourses according to John, yet the demand for believing (,rTa-TeiLEv) is constantly made; and in what the nature thereof properly consists is easily deduced from this Gospel. Although here, also, the notion of giving credence need not be excluded-especially where rTcrTEvlEv is construed with ort, or with the infinitive-yet the deepest essence of faith is trust, the confiding of the heart, which most closely unites to Him, and receives Him.* He himself is the object of faith;t and this faith is of such value in the sight of God, that properly speaking this alone is demanded by Him above all self-imposed work.+ And this with good reason. Christ has truly credentials such as none before Him and none after Him have ever had. 12. The grounds on which the Lord demands faith in himself and 1n His heavenly dignity are of a threefold nature. They are derived partly from the past, partly from the present, and partly again from the future. In the past the Father testified of Him~ both by the writings of the prophets (which render unbelief absolutely inexcusable) and by the mission of John (to whose ministry the Jews themselves went forth). As regards the present, the Lord appeals both to the testimony of His works (in which the Saviour speaks not exclusively, or even principally, of His miracles; but in general of all the revelations of His Divine glory, miracles included)11 and to the inward testimony of the heart and conscience (which, in the John xiii. 20. tjohn iii. I6, and elsewhere. $John vi. 29. ~ John v. 33-39. || John v. 36; x. 38; xiv. II. The Son of God in His Relation to the World. I61 word of Jesus, saw their own innermost wants satisfied).' In the future He looks for the vindication of His cause by the evidence for the truth of His words which is afforded by their fulfilment.t Especially His death upon the cross will serve to open the eyes even of His enemies,: and the Holy Spirit will wage a victorious warfare for His cause against an unbelieving world.~ I3. Since, then, there is sufficient ground for faith in the Lord, -unbelief is inexcusable, although not inexplicable. Moral causes are to be adduced for this unbelief-causes which can be overcome only by a higher power. 1 The perverse bent of the mind darkens the understanding, and renders averse to the Gospel. The truth is essentially an object not merely of the understanding, but also of the life. He who will not do the truth, cannot see it.Tf Yet this perverse bent can be so little defended that even an appeal to Moses suffices to show how unreasonable it is," Although He does not accuse them, yet He could accuse- them to the Father. In the Father, therefore, can the cause of the evil by no means be sought, although the praise belongs to Him alone, when in many a one the force of evil principle is truly overcome. For those who have become the possession of the Son have been given to Him by the Father.t-t Compare on the whole subject our Christologie, ii. p. 89 and following; Reuss, 1. c., ii. p. 387 and fol*John vii. I7. t John xiv. 29. $ John viii. 28. ~ John xvi. 8-II. 11 John vi. 44. ~T John iii. 21, ** John r. 45-47. tt John xvii. 2. M 162 Theology of the New Testament. lowing; Schmid, 1. c., i. p. 248 and following; on single points C. E. Schmid, Doctrina de Diabolo in libris y'oh. proposita, Jena, I8oo; B. Nachenius, de notione TroS epyoLS et rE T'py7,, quae yesus sibi vindicat, tribuendd, Amstel., I84I; F. L. Rutgers, de fundamento quo roh. auctore, fidemn sibi habendam niti voluerit Christus, Lugd. Bat., i 860; H. Jonker, het Evang. van Yoh., Amst. 1867, p. 7-52. POINTS FOR INQUIRY. Do the sayings of the Lord in the Fourth Gospel justify the assertion that He favoured the theory of a dualism in the moral world?-Is John viii. 44 spoken only of the Devil, or also (Hilgenfeld) of the Devil's father?*-Do the anthropological expressions of the Johannine Christ leave room for the ideas of free-will and human responsibility?-How is John iii. 17 to be reconciled with xii. 48?-Is there sufficient ground for regarding v. 28, 29, and the last words of vi. 40, 54, and xii. 48 as genuine?-Did the Lord speak the words iii. 14, I5 (compare xii. 32, 33), really of His exaltation on the cross?-Are the words of the Master rightly explained by John ii. 21 and vii. 39? * The latter the view of the Gnostics. Compare Tholuck or Lange in loc. SECTION XXI. 94t ran of 6o in 4 idatXion o ffxsa ixstfi s. THOSE who have been given by the Father to the Son, and in consequence thereof have come through the Son to the Father, have entered into a living communion with this Son (and through Him with each other), the peculiar character of which is recognised only in the way of spiritual experience, and whose beneficent effects make themselves felt throughout the entire domain of the inner and outward life. By the sending of the Holy Spirit after the Lord's departure from the earth, this communion has been modified, but by no means interrupted. I. On the one hand, it is stated in John that the Father draws to the Son;* on the other hand, that without the Son it is impossible to come to the Father.t These two modes of conception do not -* John vi. 44, 45. t John xiv. 6. I64 Theology of the New Testament. absolutely exclude, but rather complement,each other. The Divine drawing (\XKVEL), which is also distinguished in the Synoptics from outward calling (KaXAEv), is a psychological impulse;* but not by any means a mechanical compulsion. It does not exclude man's own action; but, rather, on the other hand, presupposes and encourages it. 2. Those who are drawn to the Father, and through Him to the Son, no longer exist for themselves alone, but become most closely united with the Lord and with each other. Only on one single occasion does Jesus speak in John of the kingdom of God;t but the ideal which is realised by this kingdom stands in its full glory before His eye, even on the last evening of His life.+ As regards the outward forms under which this communion is instituted and maintained, we find even less spoken in this Gospel than in the Synoptics. A birth of water and Spirit is demanded,~ an eating and drinking of his flesh and blood is represented as absolutely necessary; 1 but Baptism and the Supper, as external ceremonies, receive no further mention. Even the washing of the disciples' feetT is not prescribed as a sacrament, but serves as an example and a symbol. Greater emphasis, however, does the Lord lay upon the essence of the communion which unites himself with His own. 3. It is well known that in the Fourth Gospel we find no parables, properly so called, such as are contained in such great numbers in the first three. On * John vi. 45. t John iii. 3, 5; compare John xviii. 36, 37. John xvii. 21-23. ~John iii. 5. 11 Johnvi. 53. ~John xiii. 14. The Son of God in Relation to His Disciples. I65 the other hand, we find here a number of similitudes, so greatly extended that they here and there approach the form of a parable.? As the parables relate to the kingdom of God, so do all these metaphors relate to the communion between himself and His people, and represent in varying form what they would be without Him, what they may find in Him, and what they must become for Him. He is the Bread of Life,t the Light of the world,+. the good Shepherd,~ the true Vine.ll As regards these comparisons, it must be observed that they do not so much set forth the value of the doctrine as of the whole person of Jesus, and that as the value He has for all His people; that further, they point not merely to the indispensable necessity for this salvation, but also to its priceless worth, which only by experience can be known and duly prized; and that, finally, they have relation to a mutual fellowship, which, on His side, certainly is not forcibly imposed,~i and on their side is only preserved by a steadfast persevering in faith and love, without which it is necessarily broken.*4. To this spiritual communion with the Lord no one attains without the new birth.tt As in the Synoptics He calls for an entire change of mind,+ so here a birth of God is required, without which it is impossible even to see the kingdom of God. The necessity for this new birth has its ground in the fact that the * E.g., John x. 1I-16; xv. I-6. t John vi. 48. t John viii. 12. ~ John x.. || John xv. I. ~ John xv. I6. ** John xv. 6; compare xvii. I2. tt John iii. 5-8. +* Matt. xviii. 3. I66 Theology of the New Testament. fleshly-i.e., natural man-losses all capacity for the reception of the spiritual kingdom of God. Its production is just as mysterious, but also just as easily to be recognised, as the operation of the wind in creation; and it is possible because God has given, and yet gives, new life to the world through Christ. 5. The communion with Christ, brought about in such a way, naturally reveals itself in rich and glorious fruits.* He who is Christ's disciple learns to understand the truth, and becomes by it free from sin.t But he becomes at the same time partaker of a life which is in all things different from his former life. It is a liferich in joy;+ but, at the same time, in spiritual fruits which bring glory to God.~ The noblest of these fruits is the mutual love of believers to each other as brethren; which in this form is the new commandment of Christianity, and the invariable mark of the disciple of the Lord; [I but above all is it necessary in a world which, from its nature, cannot but hate the true discipie.~f Love stands at the same time in the closest connection with their personal sanctification, which is the object of the Lord's selfsurrender unto death;* and reveals itself in the faithful fulfilment of the commandment,tt and in an exact following of the example of ministering love which He himself left them before His departure.+ 6. Such a moral height would be unattainable, if *John xv. 5. t John viii. 32-36. $ John xv. II; xvi. 22. ~ Johnxv. 8. I[ John xiii. 34, 35. ~ John xv. 9-16. ** John xvii. I7-19. tt John xv. 14. $+ John xiii. 13-I7. The Son of God in Relation to His Disciples. 167 communion with Christ were interrupted by His death. It was indeed modified on His departure from the earth, but by no means destroyed. On the other hand, He promises the Holy Spirit unto His people before His death,* and repeats this promise in a symbolical manner after His resurrection.t As concerns the nature of the Holy Spirit, the Lord distinguishes Him as well. from himself as from the Father.+ He terms Him the Spirit of Truth, the Spirit of the Father,~ the Paraclete, who remains with and in His people for ever.|l In this Spirit He comes again invisibly to His people, although as regards the body He leaves them.~ 7. The work of the Holy Ghost has relation partly to the disciples, partly to the world, partly to Christ himself.,* The disciples are through His influence reminded of that which has been before spoken, are in the present guided into the knowledge of the truth, and enlightened, as necessity arises, concerning the future of the kingdom of God. The world is, by His mission, assured of the sin of rejecting the Lord, of the justice pf His cause, and of the judgment which has been pronounced upon its Prince.tt Christ himself is thereby glorified,+- and revealed in His true dignity. While, however, the mission and work of the Holy Spirit are rendered possible only by our Lord's departure from the earth, this departure is at * John xiv. I6, 17. t John xx. 22. $ John xiv. I6. ~ John xv. 26. 1| John xiv. i6. ~ John xiv. t3, ** John xvi. 7-15. tt John xvi. 8-IL. T$ John xvL 4. a, ~~ John xiv. 28, xvi. 7. I68 Theology of the Neze Testament. the same time, in other respects, no loss, but rather an unspeakable gain for His disciples.~ 8. This operation of the Holy Ghost replaces indeed, the earthly action of the Lord, but by no means excludes His heavenly action. It has often, but without justice, been asserted, that according to the Fourth Gospel the dominion of Christ consists only in the dominion of the Spirit of truth; so that, properly speaking, any continued personal action and dominion of the exalted One is not to be thought of. On the contrary, the Holy Ghost himself is sent only at the prayer of the Son.t He it is who will do what His people desire of the Father in His name.+ He sends forth from the Father the Spirit of truth,. and Himself gathers the sheep which belong to another fold. I Such expressions were perversion itself, if He who made use of them were not fully conscious that He would continue to live for His people, and to exert an influence upon them. It must, however, be confessed, that this action, even in John, is rather presupposed than described at large. The same thought also underlies the assurance that He is going hence to prepare a place for them.~f In the Holy Spirit He comes and remains ever with His own, until, in the consummation of the ages, He shall be revealed in yet higher glory. Compare Reuss, ii. p. 415; Schmid, vol. ii. p. 293, John xiv. 28, xvi. 7. t John xiv. I6.: John xiv. 14. ~ John xv. 26. |I John x. I6. f John xiv. 2. (The second clause of this verse is to be read as a question.) The Son of God in Relation to His Disciples. I69 and following; C. Tischendorf, de Christo pane vitc, Lips., 1839; Hugenholz, Diss. de dictis Yesz, Joh. xiv-xvi., ejzs reditum spectantibus, L.B., 1834; Van Teutem, de laatste nacht des Heeren, Rott., 1850; E. W6rner, das Verhiltniss des Geistes zum Sohne Gottes, aus dem Joh. Evang. dargestellt, Stuttg., 1862. POINTS FOR INQUIRY. WHAT is the sense of John vi. 44?-Wherefore are there in the Fourth Gospel no parables properly so called?-Does John vi. 41-59 shed any light upon the Lord's Supper?Is the feet-washing designed by the Lord as a perpetual ordinance?-In what sense does the Lord speak of a new commandment, John xiii. 34?-General survey and criticism of the most important explanations of the Lord's parting promise as to His coming and return.-Connection and diversity of the action of the exalted Christ, and of the Paraclete, according to the words of the Johannine Christ.Can it be fairly disputed that the various expressions designating a mystical union of the glorified Christ with His people originate. with Himself?-What is the meaning of John xvi. 26? SECTION XXII. ace Son nf (&xr in i4 t4funt. THE everlasting life which even here on earth is a fruit of personal enduring communion with Christ outlasts the death of His people, and passes over after their death into infinite blessedness. According to the Christ of John, as well as of the Synoptics, we must look for a resurrection of the dead, a universal judgment, and an irrevocable decision on the last day. I. According to the prevailing conception of the Fourth Gospel, the believer has, even in this world, everlasting life in Christ." It consists in the true knowledge of God and of Christ,t and in the satisfaction for all wants of the soul therefrom proceeding.$ It is true there are not wanting statements from which it is clear that the enjoyment of this everlasting life is by no means confined to the earth. In many instances it is unmistakably clear that the Lord * John v. 24. t John xvii. 3. $ John vi. 35. The Son of God in His Future. 171 has reference also to a world beyond; "' but in general in this Gospel He understands by everlasting life the sum of all that blessedness which the believer receives immediately upon his entering into communion with Christ, and which is diametrically opposed to being for ever lost.t 2. This life is already in its essence something indestructible. He who possesses it lives already an imperishable and happy life, and will live this life in yet greater fulness after death. Instead of being annihilated, it is developed beyond the grave to unmixed blessedness. In the Christ of John, as in the Christ of the Synoptics, there is found no trace of a sleep of the soul until the morning of the resurrection. On the contrary, when Martha looks for the re-animation of her brother only at the last day, the Lord assures her that the believer who dies has not on that account ceased to live.+ And if we inquire as to the nature of the happiness of His people beyond the grave, there are not wanting in this respect very suggestive hints. The higher life is preserved and assured to us by the sacrifice of the natural life.~ Whosoever serves Him shall be honoured of His Father, shall be where Christ himself is, and in communion with all the redeemed shall behold His glory.ll As a friend, He himself goes before to prepare His people a place, and comes again in the hour of death. 3. The continuation of life through which death is * Such as John iv. 14; vi. 27; xii. 25. t Johnx. 28. + John xi. 25, 26. ~ John xii. 25. 11 John xii. 26; xvii. 24. 172 Theology of thze New Testament. not seen unto eternity (viii. 51) is nevertheless not in itself the completion of blessedness. In the Fourth Gospel also the Lord speaks of a resurrection and a judgment at the last day*-of a resurrection of all men, of a judgment which is delivered to Him of the Father, and in which His own word will be the standard. From the brevity and sporadic character of these hints it cannot be denied that it is not easy to bring them into perfect harmony with the beforementioned teachings. Yet this fact does not justify us (with Scholten) in rejecting them as the interpolation of a later hand; or, destroying the clear force of the words, to explain them of a purely spiritual resurrection, or of an individual judgment; and the less so, since the Lord repeatedly promises the having of everlasting life and the arising from the dead at the last day in one breath; t so that, in his opinion, the one does not exclude the other, but rather the latter is the crown of the former. The question how a resurrection can yet be spoken of in the case of those who are already partakers of eternal life here, is not without its solution-if we only distinguish between a spiritual quickening and a resurrection of the body which has died, which, according to the constant teaching of the Lord, will take place only at his final return. 4. Although He certainly (in John also) throughout describes His coming as a spiritual one, we yet hear Him on several occasionsf speak of this coming in *.ef'Xd Iax ep.U, John v. 27-29, vi. 39, 40, 44; vi. 54; xii. 48, b. t John vi. 40, 54.: John xxi. 22. The Son of God in His Future. I73 such a manner that we cannot possibly think of anything else but His last appearing, and that in the sense in which this return is ever spoken of in the Synoptics-a proof indeed that even in the domain of Eschatology the much-spoken-of opposition between the utterances of the Synoptical and the Johannine Christ is not absolute, although important. The imagery of the first three is sought for in vain in the Fourth Gospel, but not so the main thought which dominates these gospels. 5. The Johannine Christ, also, teaches no restoration of all things in the sense which has since been given to these words. Though He promises that, lifted up upon the cross, He will draw all men to himself,' we must not from' these words suppose that any irresistible constraint is intended, through which all must necessarily at length be saved. The Prince of the World is judged t-i.e., just as little annihilated as saved, but cast out; so that He is no longer in a condition to disturb the harmony of the now perfected kingdom of God. The unbeliever dies in his sins,+ without any future prospect of life being opened up to him. Under one Shepherd all indeed become one flock; ~ yet only the all of those sheep who voluntarily hear His loving voice. The resurrection unto salvation stands in irreconcilable opposition to that unto perdition; I and though in the Fourth Gospel no Hades and no Gehenna is spoken of, yet we can hardly believe that, according to the view of speaker * John xii. 32. t John xii. 31.: John viii. 24. ~ John x. I6. 11 John v. 28, 29. 174 Theology of the New Testament. or writer, the ungodly who have been raised unto perdition are to be sought anywhere else than there. Compare Reuss, ii. p. 453, and following; Schmid, i. 321, and following; Cramer, Bijdragen op hzet gebied van Godgel. en Wijsbeg. i. p. 284; H. Jonker, het Evang. van yoh., p. 47, and following. POINTS FOR INQUIRY. THE connection of everlasting life and knowledge; of losing life and preserving it; of temporal death and spiritual life. -The conception of edvaTos in the Fourth Gospel.-Is the idea well founded that the Kpolrs here spoken of takes place exclusively on this side the grave?-Unity and diversity of the two ideas, everlasting life and resurrection at the last day.-Does the Johannine Christ hold forth the prospect of ultimate annihilation, or of an unending chastisement of the obdurate sinner? THIRD DIVISION. HIGHER UNITY. SECTION XXIII. gtibur^it anb X |aquma.2 THE difference between the utterances of the Synoptical and the Johannine Christ is certainly not of such a kind that the impartial investigator can regard only one or the other series as genuine or trustworthy. On the contrary, upon any attentive comparison, the higher harmony meets the eye at almost every point; and the difference, however considerable, is not only perfectly explicable, but is to be regarded as in more than one respect exceptionally important. I. The separate treatment (Sec. xvii. I) of the doctrines of the Johannine Christ has been justified by the result. Thus much was at once seen, that the 176 Theology of the Nlew Testament. Lord in the Fourth Gospel spoke quite otherwise than in the first three. From this, however, it by no means follows that we find in John another Christ than in his predecessors. This would be the case only if we heard Him on the one hand deny what He had asserted, or assert, on the other hand, what He had denied. We were, on the contrary, even more struck with the fact that here there is no distinction as between yea and nay, but only as between more and less; and it is absolutely impossible to contradict the words of the Synoptical Christ by an appeal to the Christ of John, provided we only bring both into the true light of history. The difference is brought into its just proportions by a word of Godet.* "As far as the religious side of the contrast is concerned, it is remarkable that the conscience of the Church has never been perplexed by it, and that it is exclusively the learned who pronounce it insoluble. This fact proves, in any case, that for the pious and believing heart the Jesus of the Synoptics has never been, and will never be anything else than that of John. The difference does not therefore reach the depths of the religious and moral life." The justice of this remark is felt if we regard even the form, but yet more if we bring the contents of the Lord's words in John into comparison with the contents of His words in the Synoptical Gospels. In both respects the difference is only relatively great, and is perfectly explicable. 2. As far as the form is concerned, the striking harmony which prevails between the language of the * See his "( Examen des princip. Quest. cet." p. 48. Diversity and Harmony. 177 disciple himself, and that of Jesus in John (compare Sec. xvii. 3) is to be explained partly from the great affinity of spirit between the Master and the disciple, which has formed his style of writing after that of the Master's speech; partly from the apostolic freedom with which, under a higher guidance, he records the Lord's discourses. The absence of the parables in the Fourth Gospel will appear less strange when we consider that we have here, for the most part, the Lord not in the midst of the Galilean multitude, but confronting the Jews of Jerusalem; whilst, moreover, the metaphors (rapotidal) here employed are so greatly developed that they here and there approach the form of the parables. Besides which, both metaphors and parables are chosen out of the domain of nature and of daily life, and the assertion that the Christ of John derives nothing from nature is at least entirely unproved. In like manner the vigorous pregnant expressions, the apparent paradoxes which frequently characterize his teachings here are by no means wanting in the Synoptics. A misunderstanding of his words, which here often gives occasion for a fuller explanation, is also met with in the first three Gospels." That there is less variety of discourses of the Lord in John is a consequence of the strict plan on which this Gospel is formed, and which must of itself lead the author to make a particular selection from the rich treasures at hand.f In part at least are these discourses not less called forth by the occasion, and * E.g. Matt. xvi. 6, 7; xix. o1, I; compare xxii. 45. t Compare John xx. 31; xxi. 25. A 178 Theology of the New Testament. manifold in their character, than those of the earlier Gospels; and that the Jewish, or rather Israelite, character of the exalted Speaker is by no means laid aside in the Fourth Gospel is clear even from the letter,* and yet more from the spirit and tendency of the discourses therein preserved. 3. As far as the substance is concerned, it is by no means proved that the idea of God from which Jesus proceeds in the Fourth Gospel is essentially different from that which He expresses in the other Gospels. Here as there He presents God to His disciples clearly as His and their Father,t and designates as the children of God only those who in a moral aspect bear His image and character. - Here as there He presents this God at the same time as animated with fatherly compassion towards sinners, ~ and men as unable to effect their own deliverance, but yet capable of receiving salvation through the intervention of a higher power. In both cases He promises and prepares this deliverance by means of a kingdom of God, which is indeed in its tendency universal, but which comes first to Israel; and the foundations of which have been carefully laid in Israel, especially through the Old Testament economy. In both cases, also, is the relation of this kingdom to the kingdom of darkness, and the nature of the kingdom of darkness itself, described as the same; 11 and the Lord remains ever * John iv. 22; v. 45, 46; vii. 37, 38. t John xx. 17. $ Matt. v. 9; compare John viii. 42. ~ John iii. I6; compare Matt. xviii. 10- 14 II Luke x. I8; compare John xii. 31. Diversity and Harmony. 179 consistent with Himself when He announces Himself as the way by which to become a member of His kingdom.? 4. If we compare that which Christ testifies in the Synoptics concerning His person and work with that which He testifies in John, we can come to no other conclusion. To the Christ of the Synoptics belongs a superhuman character and dignity (Sec. x. 5), whilst the Christ of John is in the true sense of the word man (Sec. xvii. 3), and reveals himself as man. According to both sources He displays, as such, a higher knowledge, but no boundless omniscience;t unsullied purity, which, however, is subject to the human condition of exposure to temptation;+ in a word, Divine majesty, but in the lowly form of a servant. ~ Arising as a Teacher (Matt. xxiii. 8; compare John xiii. I4), He proclaims at Jerusalem and in Galilee one Gospel, and appeals to the same credentials of His authority; both in the Synoptics and in John we hear how He attributes to his miracles an essential power of proof, although not the very highest proof, for His Divine mission and dignity, and conden ns as entirely inexcusable the unbelief which rejects Him.ll Not His own honour, but that of the Father,~ and the salvation of all that are lost,** is * Compare, for example, Matt. v. 6, vii. 21, xi. 28, xviii. 3, with Cohn vi. 35, vii. 37, xiii. 14-I7. t Compare Mark xi. 13; with John xi. 34. $ Matt. xvi. 23; compare John vi. 15; xii. 27. ~ Luke xxii. 27; compare John xiii. 14. Matt. xi. 20-24; compare John viii. 24. ~ Mark v. I9; compare John vii. I8. ** Luke xix. Io; compare John vi. 37. 180 Theology of the New Testament. the highest object of his effort. For this He lives and labours, and will, moreover, according to God's will and counsel, suffer and die. His suffering and death is, on the one hand, an event in the order of providence to which, not without deeply feeling it, He obediently submits;t on the other hand, an act which He accomplishes with the greatest freedom.- As respects the causes, the aim, and the fruits of this suffering and dying, the Johannine Christ expresses himself in essentially the same manner as the Christ of the Synoptics (Sec. xiii. 7; compare Sec. xix. 6). The little also which He speaks in the Fourth Gospel concerning His resurrection cannot without great violence be explained otherwise than of a bodily resuscitation from the dead; and in the Gospel, not less than in the Synoptics, His continued personal relation to His people, even after His departure from the earth, is most certainly taught (Sec. x. 5; compare Sec. xxi. 8). 5. The greatest difference is found no doubt in the domain of eschatology. But whilst this is manifest, we shall not seek in vain for a deep and important harmony. It is nowhere denied that the believer outlives death, and is happy after death;~ according to both sources, however, a resurrection of the body at the last day is presupposed and promised, even to those who here on earth were partakers of the higher life. (Sec. xv. 5; compare Sec. xxi. 3). Upon the * Matt. xxvi. 54; compare John x. 17, i8. t Matt. xxvi. 38; compare John xii. 27, 28.: John xiv. 31; compare Matt. xxvi. 46. ~ Luke xvi. 23; xx. 38; compare John xi. 25. Diversity azid Harmony. 181 mountain in Galilee,* and at the festival at Jerusalem,t the Lord proclaims himself the Judge of the future, exalted above all creatures, yet conscious at the same time of His entire dependence upon the Father., According to both sources, He promises the same future salvation,~ which is to be attained by each of His people in the way of self-denial and suffering. l In neither does He hold forth to the impenitent sinner any prospect of ultimate annihilation, or of the diminution or removal of future chastisement. His Parousia (coming) which is there generally but not always more figuratively, here more spiritually presented, brings in and reveals the glorious end of all things. 5. No doubt there are single thoughts of importance in the teaching of the Lord which are communicated on the one hand only in John, on the other hand exclusively in the Synoptics. How can it be otherwise, when none of the Evangelists sought for systematic unity, much less for completeness, in this respect? What John gives in addition seems only as the complement, and is the crown of that which his forerunners had recorded; and where he is silent it must never be forgotten that he needed not to repeat what he could presuppose was sufficiently known from the work of his predecessors. Many a peculiarity in the teaching of the Lord according to John is quite sufficiently explained by its historic connection. If here, for instance, the command of love is * Matt. vii. 21-23; compare Matt. xxv. 31 cet. + John v. 24-29. $ Matt, xxiv. 36; compare John xiv. 28. ~ Luke xii. 37; compare John xii. 26. 11 Matt. xvi. 25; compare John xii. 25. 182 izTeology of the New Testament. called a new commandment,* while it is elsewhere designated as old and well known,t the reason is that the Lord is here speaking not of the general love of one's neighbour, but of that Christian love of the brethren which His people henceforth are called to exercise in following Him. If it is only in John that Jesus speaks of praying in His name,+ this is because it is spoken on the last evening, in those farewell discourses which are preserved only by John. If, on the other hand, the idea of forgiveness of sins retires almost entirely into the background-compare, however, John xx. 23-it is because the historic connection in which the Lord, according to the Synoptics, speaks thereof, is wanting in John. At the same time, the love of God towards guilty men is here also proclaimed with no less emphasis. The Lord without doubt speaks in John more fully than elsewhere of the promise and operation of the Holy Spirit, but here, as in the Synoptics, He promises the Spirit to His people both before and also after His death,~ and the help He leads His people to expect partakes in both cases of the same character. I Thus there is shown afresh the truth of the observation, "The profound discourses which St. John relates are only the development of the energetic and concise words which the three first Evangelists collected by preference" (De Pressense), or with another writer, in point of conviction a converted Tibingen Critic, "The presentation * John xiii. 34. t Matt. xxii. 39. 1 John xvi. 23. ~ John xx. 22; compare Luke xxiv. 49. I1 John xiv-xvi,; compare Matt. x. 19, 20. Diversity and Harmonoy. 183 of the teaching of Jesus, as made by the three first Gospels, demands its complement in the discourses of John." (A. Ritschl). 7. While the real difference between the teaching of the Christ of the Synoptics and the Christ of John is neither absolute nor inexplicable, it is on more than one account of importance. It is a no less unconstrained than indisputable proof of that unsearchable riches of Christ,* which no Evangelist is able to exhaust. It serves, moreover, to confirm the trustworthiness of narrators who, while they show themselves not unacquainted with the work of others, proceed each one from his own stand-point, with so much independence and accuracy. It explains to us, finally, how out of the teaching of Jesus-with all its depths, so simpleso rich a diversity of Apostolic doctrines could spring. Precisely because the teaching of the Lord was so many-sided, was it able to serve as the basis for more than one form of Apostolic proclamation, in which now one, now another side of this teaching was brought into prominence, without the Apostle becoming untrue to the spirit or intention of his Master. The soil is here fruitful enough to bear diverse plants, which attain various heights, but evidently belong to the same order, and bear like fruits. Compare E. A. Borger de constanti et aequabih 7. C. inzdole, &c., H. C. 1816. Our L ife of yesus, i. p. 147. Christologie, ii. 113-121. The Gospel of Yohnz (Engl. transl.) E. de Pressense, yesus Christ: His Times, Life, and Work (pp. 29I-306 of Eng. trans.) F. de * Ephes. iii. 8. 184 Theology of the zNez Testament. Rougemont, Christ et ses temoins, Paris, I856, i. p. 137, and following. Godet, Commentaire, ii. pp. 750-770. W. Beyschlag, Christologie des N. T., p. 54, and following. Where it is truly remarked: "All the main themes of the Johannine discourses are found in the Synoptics, only in scattered traces, half lost sight of; but just as certainly as Christ must have discoursed of them with infinitely greater fulness than would appear from the Synoptics, just so certainly does a comparison of the Synoptics with John confirm again even in this particular the authenticity of John." POINTS FOR INQUIRY. IN what respect is the doctrine of the Synoptical Christ explained and confirmed by the word of the Johannine Christ? -Wherein consists the difference of the raupal3oXb in the Synoptics and the wrapol.ta in John?-Is the appellation Son of man employed by Jesus in the one and the other in the same sense?-Whence arises it that the Lord, in the Fourth Gospel, speaks of His Messianic dignity, His death; and His resurrection, so much earlier than in the others?-On what points is the Lord silent in John, while in the Synoptics he speaks with more or less of explicitness?-And what is to be inferred from this silence?-Review of the different modes of regarding and explaining (Lange, Godet, &c.) the utterances of Jesus, recorded only in John.-Proof of the harmony between the utterances of the Lord as preserved in John and those in the Synoptics, in the history of the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus?-Apologetical Diversity and Harmony. 185 significance of the results obtained.-The careful comparison of the didactic contents of the Synoptics and the Johannine Gospel is the abiding task of the Biblical Theologian of our days, and a field on which many a weed has yet to be rooted up, but also many a precious flower is still to be gathered. SECTION XXIV. IN its harmonious diversity, the doctrine of the Lord, communicated by the Evangelist, is on the one hand the explanation, development, and fulfilment of the Word of God, spoken by Moses and the Prophets; on the other hand, at the same time, the basis and starting-point of a series of Apostolic testimonies in regard to the way of redemption, which on their side, in turn variously modified, contain, interpret, and confirm His teaching. I. At the end of this our Second Part, we naturally look back upon those foundations first laid in the Old Testament. The impression which the study of the Lord's teaching, then, makes upon us, whether we listen to John or the Synoptics, cannot be better expressed than in a reverent Anmen to the declaration of the Sermon on the Mount, "I am not come to Result. 87 destroy the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfil."* If the opposition between the Old Testament and the New is not to be passed over, the connection between the words of the Lord and those of Moses and the Prophets is rendered by way of comparison the more striking. We receive here an explanation of many a mysterious word of the Old Testament; an explanation, the high importance of which cannot be ignored, when we regard the Lord in the light in which, according to all the Evangelists, He so often represents himself; on the other hand, the doctrine of earlier days is, in its most important points of faith and morals, so explained and fulfilled, that to many questions only raised there, the most satisfactory answer is here given; and again, we perceive in the words of Jesus a fulfilment of earlier prophecies and expectations, which cannot possibly be explained from a merely natural and accidental course of things. If, consequently, the words of the Word are in a certain respect such as were before unknown, they are, on the other hand, the echo of the mighty voice of prophecy, and the Old Testament confirms again its right to the honourable title of "a great prophecy-a type of Him who should come, and is come." (De Wette.) 2. Just because the doctrine of the Lord is a living unity, it is anything but a dead uniformity. A priori, therefore, we might expect that the word of the Apostles would be something else than a * Matt. v. 17. 188 Theology of the New Testament. mechanical repetition, and, a posteriori, it will be seen that here nothing less than a new, though by no means strange, world of thought opens before our eyes. "In the discourses of Jesus, we have the pregnant germ and kernel, the root, the simple but firm foundation; in the Apostolic teaching, as the other New Testament writings give it, we have the off-shoots and branches, the plant grown forth from the germ; we have the completed edifice, which rests upon that simple but firm foundation. However full of life and energy this Apostolic doctrine appears, equally original, equally pregnant, equally presenting the Christian impress in the first form, do the discourses of the Lord in the Gospels appear: and both were equally adapted, the Apostolic teaching to the relations of the Apostles in their further development, as the discourses of the Lord were in accordance with the relations of His personal life." (Schmid). The investigation now following will be a continued evidence for the truth of this observation. Compare our Christologie, i. p. 33, seq.,ii. p. I30, seq. Lutterbeck, 1. c. ii. p. I61, seq. Schmid, I. c. ii. p. 7. Baur, 1. c. p. 122-126. A recent work of great meritB. Weiss, Lehrbuch der biblischenz Theologie des Areuen Testaments, Berlin, I868-may also be profitably consulted on this and the following divisions. POINTS FOR INQUIRY. To what extent are the utterances of Jesus himself, in regard to His relation to the Old Testament economy, confirmed by the results of our investigation?-Jesus as Result. I89 expositor of the words of Moses and the Prophets.-Christ's interpretation of Scripture, and later Hermeneutics.-What is that which is properly new in the Gospel of the kingdom of the Synoptics, and the testimony concerning himself of the Johannine Christ?-What in the domain of doctrine?What in the domain of morals and of ritual?-Does the doctrine of Jesus stand in one and the same relation to that of all the Apostles and of their fellow-labourers?-Transition to the treatment of the Theology of the Apostles. THIRD PART. THE THEOLOGY OF THE APOSTLES. SECTION XXV. THE investigation of the Theology of the Apostles extends to the sum of the doctrines-so far as we can speak of a sum of doctrines-of all those men whose testimony concerning the Lord Jesus Christ is given in the New Testament, and which testimony, even on historical grounds, is of unspeakable value for us. In the investigation of this testimony, also, we must no more overlook the manifest diversity than the higher unity in the testimony of the several witnesses; and in making this examination we must proceed so as gradually to rise from the simplest to the more complicated and involved system of doctrines. General Survey. 191 I. In the strict sense of the word, the title of Apostle can be given only to the twelve, who were called by the Lord himself to the apostolate,* and whose number was filled up, after the death of Judas, by Matthias. t Nevertheless, in addition to these, Paul also lays claim to this title of honour,' which is moreover given to the fellow-labourers and friends of the first witnesses of the Lord, ~ yea, once even to Jesus himself. l We follow this example the more readily, since the greater part of those who were Apostles in the exact sense of the word have left no writings behind them. We shall here, consequently, examine the doctrines of all the writers of the New Testament, but of these only. Those spiritually allied, whose writings have not been received into the canon of the New Testament, remain consequently without the circle of our investigation. (Sec. ii. 3.) 2. The distinction between the Theology of Jesus Christ and that of the Apostles is the fruit of a sounder view as to the inspiration of the sacred writers. From the stand-point of the mechanical theory of inspiration it was entirely a matter of indifference whether a text of Scripture was to be found in the Old Testament or the New, proceeded from the Lord himself or from one of His witnesses: enough, it was in the Bible. A mode of dealing with Scripture more in accordance with historic principles prepared the way for a juster distinction, which, * Luke vi. 13. t Acts i. 26.: Gal. i. I ~ Acts xiv. 14; Gal. i. I9. Ii Heb. iii. I. 192 Theology of the LNew Testament. without doubt, is according to the mind of the Lord and His Apostles. 3. The question as to why the Apostolic testimony possesses binding authority for the faith and life of the Christian, belongs not to the domain of historic, but of systematic Theology. Yet, even from the standpoint of historic theology, it is easy to see that the word of such witnesses as s ood nearest of all to Christ, cannot be too carefully listened to.* We may safely admit that not all the Apostles were naturally men of high and extraordinary gifts; but even the priority of their testimony, the fruit of that first impression which the manifestation of Christ makes upon a susceptible mind, assures to them a position entirely unique; and justice is not rendered to the importance of their writings if these are regarded merely as feeble attempts (Reuss) to express Christian truth as well as possible, attempts which forthwith were in part successfully replaced and supplemented by others. Nearest the fountain-head the water is unquestionably purest, and where it is a question of witnesses to historico-religious facts, a plain man who has received the first impression aright has the precedence over a man of greater culture who later philosophises in a distinguished manner, but-after the lapse of centuries. At the same time, the Apostolic testimony concerning Christ cannot be placed unreservedly in one line with the testimony of Christ concerning himself. There is found here a distinction similar to * Compare John xix. 35; Acts i. 21; 2 Peter i. 16. General Survey. 193 that between the Messianic period as a whole and that of the Apostles. Their word must be tested by that of the Master, not the reverse. But if their doctrine is to that extent subordinate to His, it nevertheless stands high above that of later writers. What a distance between the Christian literature even of the second century and that of the first! 4. The fountain-head, from which the knowledge of Apostolic Theology is derived is the New Testament. "What we learn in addition from other sources, concerning the teaching of this or the other Apostle, is in any case to be accepted only so far as it agrees with the teaching of the New Testament." (Messner). Concerning the relation in which our investigation stands to the isagogics of the New Testament we have already expressed ourselves (Sec. i. 4). The Biblical theologian of the New Testament, who proceeds from the stand-point of the supernatural, has to regard scruples as to the genuineness of his sources only when they display a better origin than that of a one-sided, naturalistic criticism. He must not, however, exclude the light which, through the examination of the contents of the New Testament writings, may also be shed upon their genuineness. 5. To the question, how far the theology of the Apostles derived from these sources can be regarded as a whole, no answer can, at this stage of our investigation, be given. It is well known that the doctrine of the Apostles is presented to us in a multitude of doctrinal types (rv xoi bbaXs), but nowhere in a system of doctrines closely reasoned out. 0 194 Theology of the New Testament. When, therefore, we speak of the doctrinal system of an Apostle, we mean only "the sum of his isolated doctrinal utterances reduced to an orderly and systematic whole." Such a doctrinal system is the more easily formed, the greater the number of the ideas which we gain from a rich store of Apostolic dicta. No one, for instance, will think of placing on a level in this respect the writings of James or Jude with those of Paul. The unity of the Apostolic doctrine is certainly anything but a mere uniformity; and it is to be reckoned among the merits of the modern supernaturalism, that it has, far more than the earlier, an eye and a heart for the rich variety of ideas which is found in the different writers of the New Testament. Nevertheless, this variety gives no right to the assertion that, "rightly regarded, very little unity in their testimony concerning the faith is to be found among the Apostles" (Pierson), as though we were here contemplating different limbs, but no body-loose stones, which, however, were too dissimilar in size and form to be erected into one building. Certainly, there is nothing easier than to oppose to each other a number of Apostolic utterances, and then to speak of the conflicting views of the different New Testament writers. But such an anatomical criticism, which knows, indeed, how to separate, but has not learnt how to combine, and which, from its close attention to each particular tree, is not able to take in the whole forest at one view, has already shown itself as weak as it is onesided; and the "divide et impera" is more aptly inscribed upon the banner of the assailants of Christi General Slurvey. 195 anity than upon the school of believing theology. What was to be expected d priori is also exegetically and historically justified: there exists among the Apostolic writers a diversity of gifts, but unity of spirit; they are unlike in regard to their point of departure and the method and depth of their teaching, but agree in their convictions in regard to the faith, in their principles and expectations; their colour is varied, but not so the original light; their tones change, but thereby the higher harmony is rather increased than disturbed. The Jewish-Christian cast of thought of the one writer is by no means irreconcilably opposed to the more Grecian colouring of thought in another; and a continued investigation always leads. to the discovery of a harmony even in those cases where it was before doubted, perhaps entirely overlooked. 6. The main divisions of our subject have been before indicated (Sec. iii. 2), and must be justified by the progress of our investigations. As far as the execution of it is concerned, our design is neither to condemn nor to defend, but simply to afford an objectively accurate representation of the doctrine of the Apostolic writers. This, however, must be undertaken in the spirit of the writer, and with regard to the peculiarity, the main thought, and the definite method of each one. Instead, therefore, of grouping together under one head (e.g., of Theology, Anthropology, Christology, Eschatology) what is taught by the different Apostles, the classification and analysis of the ideas of one Apostle-Paul, for instance-must be 196 Theology of the New Testament. made in a. very different manner from the classification and analysis necessary in the case of another-as Peter or John. It is impossible to understand a witness for the truth so long as we do not take into account his stand-point and his characteristic mode of viewing his subject. At the same time, it is of importance to consider the genetic and psychological development of the thoughts of the writer, and so, also-where it is possible, and so far as is necessary-to take into consideration the chronological order of his writings. Here, as elsewhere, any sharp line of separation between the dogmatic and the ethical side of the Apostles' teaching would be both useless and hurtful. Only when the doctrinal system of each Apostle has been separately regarded in its facts and as a whole, can good fruits be looked for from the comparison of the doctrinal system of the one with that of the other. 7. As regards the means of help available for this part of our investigation, and the spirit in which it must be carried on, we direct attention to what we have before said (Sec. ii. 3, and iii. 3). Only it is necessary again to remind the student that he who contemplates the doctrines of the Apostles from a stand-point which is in irreconcilable antagonism with their own, can neither understand nor appreciate their testimony. The Apostolic writings, like the Gospels, can be understood only in the light of that Spirit by whom their writers were inspired. Compare on the Theology of the Apostles, besides the writings mentioned (Sec. ii. 3), G. C. R. Matthaei, General Survey. 197 Der Relzionsglaube der Apost. Yesu, u.. w., 2 vols., Gott. I826. E. de Pressense, Early Years of Cjziistianity, pp. 207-259. F. Bonifas, Essai siir I'Uzite de l'Ensezinement Apostolique. Paris, 1866. Ph. Schaff, History of the Early Church. (Eng. trans.) POINTS FOR INQUIRY. ORIGIN, sense, and various uses of the name of Apostle.What is the significance of Luke x. i6 as compared with John xx. 21?-What is to be learnt from post-Apostolic literature in regard to the doctrine of the Apostles?-Which Apostolic system of doctrine appears, after a preliminary examination, the deepest, most perfect, and richest?-What is necessary to penetrate as deeply as possible into an Apostolic system of doctrine?-Characteristics of the Apostolic teaching, as compared with the oldest Patristic literature. FIRST DIVISION. THE PETRINE THEOLOGY. SECTION XXVI. HE p rior treatment of the Petrine theology is THE prior treatment of the Petrine theology is justified as well by the especial place which this Apostle takes in the history of the first century of the Christian Church, as by the peculiar character of his doctrine itself. If this theology is to be drawn from the purest sources, the First Epistle of Peter and the Acts of the Apostles occupy the first place; but also single Pauline Epistles (e.g., that to the Galatians) contain in this respect important hints. The Second Epistle of Peter is in this investigation no more to be quietly placed on one side than to be raised without examination to an equality of Petrine Theology-Summary. 199 rank with the First; but it must be separately examined and compared. The whole doctrine of this Apostle contained in the New Testament affords us, at the same time, the spectacle of a harmonious development, and the traces of a strongly expressed but sanctified individuality. I. There is nothing arbitrary in the fact of begining our investigation with the theology of Peter. If we are to ascend from the simplest to the more complicated and highly-developed system of doctrines (Sec. xxiv.), we must in no case begin with Paul or John. Just as little can we bring ourselves (with Schmid) to accord the first place to James, since his claim to the name of an Apostle in the narrower sense of the word is more than doubtful; and his Epistle bears an almost exclusively practical character. Besides this, Peter affected much more powerfully than James the spirit of the whole Apostolic age. It was Peter who exerted an influence upon the earliest form of the Gospel, which is entirely ignored in the romantic presentation of the history of the Apostles in favour just now (Renan), Even Paul has afterwards only built upon the foundation laid by Cephas in the Jewish and Gentile world. (This is not in contradiction with Rom. xv. 19, 20; Paul's labours being the natural outgrowth of the principles laid down by Peter, Acts xv. 7-II; and of his example, Acts x. 34-43). Although Rome has exalted this Apostle in a one-sided manner, it would be an act of ultraProtestant unfairness to overlook the special impor 200 Theology of the New Testament. tance of his person and word. In union with Matthew, Mark, James, and Jude, he affords us the purest source for learning what was the faith of the earliest Churches of Palestine. 2. The fountain from which the Apostolic writers derive their testimony concerning the way of salvation is with all essentially the same; but this testimony has been in the case of each one of them more or less modified. All are enlightened by the Holy Spirit, who leads them into the sanctuary of truth; but not all attain to the same height of spiritual life. Sent forth by this Spirit, Peter speaks distinctly as an eye-witness of the deeds and sufferings of the Lord.? At the same time, he appeals more than many others to the Scriptures of the Old Testament, which are manifestly better understood by him after the day of Pentecost than ever before. He also appeals to special revelation granted to himself.-f Above all, his own matured Christian experience gives to his testimony its peculiar character and its indisputable value. 3. Upon a superficial examination it might appear as though among the sources whence our knowledge of the Petrine doctrine is drawn, the Acts of the Apostles must occupy the first place. But, while the trustworthiness of this book is to be acknowledged, it is self-evident that for our purpose a writing of the Apostle himself is of much greater importance than some of his discourses which have been communicated by another, years after their delivery. For this reason we give the first place among the sources * Acts v. 31; I Pet. v. I. t Acts x. 28; compare 2 Pet. i. 14 Petrine Theology-Summary. 201 through which we become acquainted with his theology to the First Epistle of Peter; and the more willingly, since its genuineness is raised above all reasonable doubts, and it moreover manifests a thoroughly subjective character. Next to this, however, we rank the Acts of the Apostles, and place so much the greater confidence in this source, inasmuch as we ever afresh observe that the Peter with whom we become here acquainted corresponds in so many respects with that of the First Epistle.* The Apostle Paul also is able to render us important service in our seeking to come to a true knowledge concerning the natural bent and disposition of Peter's mind. Not to speak of the correspondence between some of the Pauline and some of the Petrine modes of conception (which is pushed to an extreme by some of the Tiubingen school), we may think of I Cor. i. 12, ix. 5, xv. 5; of the account given in Gal. ii. 7-9; of the statement that Peter was the Apostle of the Circumcision, one of the pillars of the Church, &c. As far as the Second Epistle is concerned, the modest assertion that "no one who is experienced in things of this sort can be found to defend the genuineness of this Epistle" (Loman) serves only as an example of the peculiar manner in which a certain school grants to its own disciples alone the well-known "right of speech." Different voices have been raised in our time in defence of its genuineness, which was early assailed. Yet the advocates of its genuine* Compare Acts ii. 14-38, iii. 12-26, iv. 9-I2, v. 29-32, x.34-43, xi. 4-17, xii. II. xv. 7-II. 202 Thezology of the New Testam;it. ness will willingly admit that the scruples raised in regard to this Epistle are by no means entirely unfounded. As matters now stand, it is neither to be quietly set on one side, nor to be placed without reserve on the same level with the First.. If the one course betrays a prejudice, the other is not scientific: to exclude it would be precipitate, but to distinguish is a duty. Only the science of isagogics can discuss in their full extent the objections raised against this Epistle: the Theology of the New Testament has fulfilled its task when it has developed the doctrine, and compared it in every respect with that of the First Epistle. 4. The Petrine Theology, as known from these different sources, offers the charming spectacle of a harmonious development. For all the Apostles of the Lord, and especially for our Apostle, life ceased not to be a continual growing. During a period of about thirty years we hear how the consciousness of Peter in regard to the faith expresses itself ever more fully, more powerfully, and more clearly. Nowhere do we find self-contradiction demanding the recal of former utterances, but everywhere a progress which reminds of the words of Solomon: "The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." The Christology, for instance, from Acts ii. 22, to 2 Pet. iii. i8 b-the genuinensss of the latter presupposed-exhibits a glorious climax. The great facts of salvation, presented with such force even in his earliest discourses, are, as occasion calls for -it, presented in his First Petrine Theology —Summary. 203 Epistle in all their dogmatic power. From all this the literal fulfilment of the promise of the Lord in John xvi. 13 is manifest; and the comparison one with another of the testimonies of the Apostle at different periods of his life is, at the same time, an undesigned confirmation of the trustworthiness of his statements. 5. Not less are there seen in the doctrines of this Apostle the traces of a strongly-expressed but sanctified individuality. Even in the Gospel narrative he comes, as is well known, strikingly into the foreground, and displays a spiritual physiognomy which is not easily interchanged with that of any other. Peter is the impulsive disciple, the man of feeling and action, not given to abstract thinking, but living and moving in the sphere of the concrete and of that which is immediately present. We should not expect of such a man that he would write much, would make his statement in detail, or would develop one and the same idea on all its sides. He will be more at home in a circle of historical than of speculative ideas, will attach himself without difficulty to the course of thought and form of expression employed by another, and will be in some respects inferior to more distinguished labourers. And all this we actually do find to a certain extent in the discourses and Epistles of Peter. Even after his conversion he is one of those unlearned and plain men,~ by whom the form of the moral world was changed. His testimony is precisely what we might expect from the Simon Peter we have known before. This clearly-marked individuality is pene. * Acts iv. 13. 204 Thzeology of the New Testament. trated with the flame of a zeal and a love which alone could qualify him to testify of Christ in such manner as he actually did. 6. Somewhat more closely do we become acquainted with this individuality in the important address with which Peter-before the Pentecost, but already sealed by the Holy Spirits- introduced the election of Matthias.t It becomes at once manifest how conscious he is of his Apostolic mission to be a witness of the Lord Jesus, and especially of His resurrection., He appeals, moreover, repeatedly during this short address to the prophetic scriptures,. showing thereby that he occupies a purely Israelitish stand-point. Finally, he is the first to lift up his eyes and make provision for the future, as though by his first Apostolic act he would lay claim to the honourable distinction of "the Apostle of Hope." As the leading thought of a symphony becomes apparent even in its overture, so do we learn even from these traits to know the Apostle aforehand, as he will show himself afresh in his discourses and writings. Simon Peter occupies for us the successive positions of Apostle of Jesus Christ, Apostle of Circumcision, and Apostle of Hope. On the personality of Peter and his theology in general, compare an article of J. P. Lange in Herzog; the commentaries of Huther, Wiesinger, Besser, Fronmiiller (Lange's Series), upon the Petrine epistles; especially B. Weiss: der Petrin. Lehrbegriff, Berl. 1855. On the genuineness of the Second Epistle our * John xx, 22. t Acts i. I5-22. t Acts i. 22. ~ Acts L I6, i. 20 Petrine Thzevlogy~-Szuizmay. 205 Christol...ds. Vp. 62-176. On the credibility of the Acts of the Apostles in regard to Peter, besides our prize essay (Soc. of the Hague, I846) C. F. Tripp: Paulus nach der Apostelgesch. Leiden, I866. Lechler, /. c. p. 7, and following. Meyer: Commentary on the Acts, Introduction, Sec. ii. POINTS FOR CONSIDERATION. THE personality and character of Peter, as they are known to us from his own words and writings.-The importance of his labours in the doctrinal development of the Apostolic age.-Nature and value of later accounts of his doctrine (the Clementines).-The true conception of growth in its application to the doctrinal system of an Apostle —To what extent can the personality of Peter be regarded as the source of his doctrines? —Is the proposal of Peter, Acts i. 16-22, to be condemned, to be justified, or to be commended? SECTION XXVII. Vh tr an OtrsfJk orf tsmuS tJb f. As an Apostle of Jesus Christ, Peter testifies with increasing clearness, in word and deed, to the whole unique dignity and greatness of the Lord. The great facts of His earthly and heavenly life are brought by Peter emphatically into the foreground; such, also, as in the discourses and writings of other Apostles are not at all, or scarcely, indicated. With the historic presentation of these facts is united in his teaching, in an increasing degree, the apprehension of their dogmatic import and the appreciation of their practical worth. I. In dealing with the Petrine system of doctrines, we properly begin with that which Peter has in common with all the other Apostles, thence to rise to that which is found in him of a nature peculiar to himself. As all the others, so he also is a witness Peter an Apostle of yesus Christ. 207 (jiapTrv) of Christ, although he is the only one who calls himself by this name;* and one may say that the text of the testimony which he delivers as such, is to be found in the words of this Apostle on his first appearance before the Council in Jerusalem.t The infinitely glorious and exalted form of the Saviour is not, however, contemplated on the same side by all. Of Peter it may be said that he lays special stress upon its historic character. Without plunging into reflections concerning the nature of the.Lord, he places his person at once in the light of history, and gives Him-so to speak-to live on in the preaching of His Apostle. 2. Even on the day of Pentecost, he begins to speak of Jesus as the Nazarene, who had arisen among his contemporaries, a man whom God had approved by powers and well-known miracles. He begins, consequently, by placing Him upon a level with the most illustrious servants of God, immediately after to raise Him above all, as that man whom God had made both Lord and Christ. ~ The great proof for this assertion is found in His resurrection, and the outpouring of the Holy Ghost, and even His death of the Cross-which is by no means passed over in silence, but is charged home upon the Jews as an act of iniquity. Just because he is the Messiah, the historic fact of the descent of the Lord from David, has, for Peter, an especial significance. l Since He was promised by the Father, He is called the Holy One of I Peter v. I. t Acts iv. 12. $ Acts ii. 22. ~ Acts ii. 36. 11 Acts ii. 33. 208 Theology of the New Testzament. God,j the Prophet,t God's holy Servant, Jesus (7rals) -a name, not indeed equivalent to the more usual term Son (ivos) of God "which appellation is not found in Peter" but which is far above the title of bondservant (bovXos) a term the Apostles usually employ in speaking of themselves, and is derived from the prophetic representation of the perfect servant of Jehovah (I'T... ). Besides this theocratic dignity of the Lord, Peter exalts His moral greatness. Christ is for him the Holy One and the Just,~ whose death condemns the whole nation. This impression was made by Christ's whole manifestation upon the man who had once (Luke v. 8) sunk down at the the Saviour's feet with the confession of his own impurity. In the.sufferings of the Lord, more particularly does he point with admiration to His perfect sinlessness, 11 especially as this manifested itself in self-control and never-failing meekness. Thence it is he exalts these sufferings not merely (in common with all the Apostles) as expiatory, but also expressly as affording us a type and example.~ But nothing can be further from the Apostle's mind than the thought that the Lord was only the best and greatest of men. In the historic manifestation of Christ, on the contrary, he gives us to behold traces of a superhuman greatness. Even in the Pentecostal address it was said, with manifest reference to Christ's own words, that He had "received of the Father" tile promise of the Holy Ghost;"* and whilst His relation X Acts ii. 27. t Acts iii. 22.: Acts iii. I3; iii. 26; iv, 27. ~ Acts iii. 13, 14. i| I Peter i. 18, 19; ii. 22; ii. 23. ~ I Peter ii. 21. **Acts ii. 33. Pcetr an Apostle of yesus Christ. 209 to the Father is not for the moment more closely defined, yet with the first proclamation of the Gospel among the Gentiles, the address of the Apostle is emphatically prefaced with the statement that God was, in a very especial manner, with Him.- This higher Christologic element comes yet more clearly into the foreground in his First Epistle. The Trinitarian distinction made at the very beginning t would be as unsuitable as the joyful proclamation ot God as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, had the Lord been, according to the view of the Apostle, nothing more than a human being surrounded with Messianic glory. But even the mentioning of the Spirit of Christ as having been in the prophets, would at least sound strange, had Peter only meant by it that the spirit which animated the prophets was the same as that with which Christ was afterwards filled. The expression leads us rather to suppose a previous being and activity; and this supposition is yet strengthened when we hear that the Lamb of God was "foreknown indeed (rpoeyvwo-pEvos) before the foundation of the world, but-was manifested in these last times," ~ which would scarcely have a meaning had He not before this had an existence. If we add to this that several Old Testament utterances, having reference to God, are transferred, without limitation, to Christ,ll and that, according to the simplest explanation of I Peter iv. II b, Jesus Christ is the subject of a reverential doxology: then, the testimonies of * Acts x. 38. + I Peter i. 2, 3. % i Peter i. II. ~ I Peter i. 20. z Peter ii. 3; compare Psalm xxxiv. 8; I Peter iii. 15; Isaiah viii. I3 P 210 Theology of the New Testament. Peter in regard to the supernatural character of the Lord, though comparatively few, are by no mean,; ambiguous or unimportant. 3. It must nevertheless be acknowledged that the metaphysical side of the question with him by no means occupies so prominent a place as the historical; and if we inquire about the facts on which the Apostle lays a special emphasis, foremost of all is the resurrection of the Lord. In all the Petrine discourses preserved by Luke, this is defended with enthusiasm, and what he demands every Apostle should be,* he himself is in the fullest sense of the word-a witness of the resurrection. For him the Lord, especially the risen Lord, is the Prince (Author) of Life;t yea, the thought that Christ is not risen is for him something self-contradictory. He holds firmly by the truth of the resurrection in the presence of the Jewish council;~ and, so far from being troubled by the objection that the Risen One has not manifested Himself to all the world, he rather gives prominence to this fact, and observes that he and his fellow-witnesses have eaten and drunk with Him risen. In the beginning of his First Epistlell he speaks of the blessing of regeneration in immediate connection with Christ, a fact easily explicable when we remember what the joyful message of the resurrection was for Peter himself.~[ As he himself was thereby born again to a new hope, so also, by this very resurrection, hope itself became for the first time a living, energising hope. The * Acts i. 22; ii. 32. t Acts iii. 15. $ Acts ii 24, ~ Acts iv. Io. 11 I Peter i. 3. ~ Lukexxiv. 3i Peter an Apostle of yesus Christ. 211 resurrection and glorification of Christ stands in immediate connection with faith and hope in God; * and even baptism obtained its delivering power only through this resurrection.t Since, consequently, only a risen Christ is for Peter the true Christ, we cannot be surprised that on one occasion he characterises him, in his vigorous oriental and figurative manner, as the " living stone." + 4. The Apostle, however, fixes the attention of his hearers and readers not upon this principal fact alone. He does not pass over in silence the fact that God has raised up His perfect servant,~ but just as little-what is found in no other Apostolic utterance-that God has anointed Him with the Holy Ghost and with power. l He is probably thinking of that which took place at the baptism of the Messiah.T And least of all does he neglect in recounting the miracles of the Lord,-* to mention also the healing of those that were possessed, while he magnifies the whole public life of the Lord as one great act of blessing.ft He is manifestly unable to be silent about that which he has seen and heard.++ Especially when he is speaking of the suffering and death of Jesus, he immediately shows himself an eye-witness. Whilst (in the Acts of the Apostles) standing in the presence of enemies he regards this as the cruel act of Jewish transgression, yet not without *i Peter i. 21. I Peter iii. 2I. + I Peter ii 4. ~ Acts iii. 26. |[ Acts x. 38. ~ Compare Isaiah xlii. I; lxi. i. ** Acts ii. 22; x. 38. tt Acts x. 38. $: Acts iv. 20. 212 Theology of t/e Nczw Testament. seeking some extenuation of guilt for its authors.* He dwells upon it in his epistle, in which he is speaking to Christians, as the revelation of the greatness of Christ, and as the source of the most glorious benefits. Of the Cross he often speaks as the tree (rO AXov)t perhaps in allusion to Deut. xxi. 23. But what took place upon the Cross, took place-and this was for Peter himself assuredly the first point of light in the darkness-in accordance with the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. + With this testimony concerning the sufferings of Christ,. there come also spontaneously into the foreground single details in the history of His suffering;] and he shows clearly by the whole way and manner in which he relates them, that he contemplates these sufferings in the light of prophetic Scripture, especially of Isaiah liii. In this manner, the offence of the Cross has now ceased for him also. Christ the Righteous One (compare Isaiah liii. I ) has, in opposition to those sacrifices which must often be offered, suffered for sins once for all,T and did this not merely to afford an illustrious example, but thereby to take away the load and burden of sin.: He suffers consequently for (virep) the unjust; and although the expression in itself does not suffice to indicate a substitution, it is cleartft that Peter is thinking of a suffering through which others are delivered from the * Acts iii. 17; compare Luke xxiii. 34. t Acts v. 30; x. 39; I Peter ii. 24. + Acts ii. 23. ~ I Peter v. I. I| Acts iii. I3, 14; I Peter ii. 22, 23. i I Peter iii. 8.8. I Peter ii. 21-24. tt I Peter 3, I8; ii. 24. Peter an Apostle of yesus Christ. 213 sufferings which are their due; in other words, of a bearing of chastisement in the place of others.* In consequence of this suffering, Christians were healed, and at the price of this blood redeemed from their former vain mode of life, with the definite aim that they, being dead to sin, should live to righteousness; first delivered from the guilt and chastisement, they were now also set free from the dominion of sin.t 5. Since Christ has once suffered for sin, He stands henceforth out of all relation to sins: he who suffers in the flesh is made free from sin and the world. No wonder that He who as to the flesh was put to death, was precisely thereby made alive as to the spirit.~ Death breaks the bonds which had held captive the higher life, and opens up to Him an unbroken field for an activity rich in blessing. Of this work of the departed spirit of the Lord, the Apostle Peter gives repeated testimony. I[ Our design. does not admit of our adducing at large all the different views which have been brought forward in all centuries, of these enigmatical words of the Apostle, far less to discuss them. Enough that we reject as entirely arbitrary, as well the opinion that a work of the spirit of the Lord at the time of Noah is here to be thought of, as * Compare Lament. v. 7. t I Peter ii. 24. I Peter iv. I does not belong to this place, since the words "for us" are not found in the best MSS. Neither does I Peter i. 2 belong directly to this class of texts, if it is true - what we assume with Weiss and others-that the blood of Christ, with which believers are sprinkled, is here distinctly conceived of as "the blood of the covenant." I Peter iv. I. ~iI Peter iii. 18. I Peter iii. I9-2I; iv. 6; compare Acts ii. 31. 214 Theology of the New Testament. the view of Baur, that the spirits here spoken of were fallen angels (2 Peter ii. 4). Evidently, the Apostle is speaking of a work of the spirit of the Lord himself, which intervenes between His being made alive according to the Spirit and His exaltation to heaven,* and through which the Gospel of reconciliation was proclaimed to the dead, even the unhappy dead-of whom one generation is mentioned by name. Whether this activity was confined to this one generation, what form it assumed, what result it had-to all these questions the Apostle gives no answer. He has, manifestly, to do only with the assurance that the Christ who had died for sins did not remain inactive after death, thereby to bring into so much the greater light the far-extending consequences of the salvation brought by Him. He does not even speak of this mysterious event as something hidden, which was communicated to him by (an especial) revelation; but in passing, as a thing which is equally well known to his readers as the Lord's dying and returning to life. We might even call it a constituent part of Peter's Gospel, and one which peculiarly belongs to that Gospel. 6. The suffering and death of Christ, which are ended with this work of his departed Spirit, prepare the way for a glory which, not less than the previous sufferings, is an object of intense interest, even for the angels.t As with the Lord himself (Luke xxiv. 26), so with Peter, also, are Christ's sufferings and glory nost intimately connected. This glory is manifested * i Peter iii. 19, 22. t I Peter i. i2. Peter an Apostle of Jesus Christ. 215 even in the resurrection, of which Peter expressly says that it took place on the third day,* and which, on this account (as an event taking place on earth), is clearly distinguished from the glorification of the Lord in heaven.t The Apostle was, according to his own words, no less a witness of this exaltation, accomplished by the right hand of God, t than of the resurrection which preceded it; ~ we must, therefore, following his guidance, regard it as a visible manifestation. From that which lie tells us of its glory and its consequences, 11 it is clear that he is by no means speaking exclusively of a spiritual rule in the sense in which that term is often used. The glorified Christ continues also his personal activity for the advancement of the highest interests of His people. He is and remains the shepherd and guardian of their souls; ~ although invisible, object of their continued love and joy,"" and through Him alone can their spiritual sacrifices be acceptable to God.tt 7. Even though we should proceed no further, it would yet be clear enough that, if the Christology of Peter is not the richest, it yet leaves no single side of the person and work of the Lord out of sight, and thereby manifests just that character which (taking into account the brevity of his First Epistle) was to be expected from an individuality like his. His whole teaching confirms his right to the honourable title of Witness and Apostle of Jesus Christ, but at the * Acts x. 40. t I Peter iii. 21, 22. $ Acts ii. 33. ~ Acts v. 31, 32. 11 i Peter iii. 22. ~ I Peter ii. 25. ** I Peter Peter ii. 5. 216 Theology of the Newzu Testament. same time to that of a disciple of John the Baptist (John i. 35-42). This last observation prepares the way for observing a new characteristic of thiy, Apostle. Compare, besides the writers mentioned in the preceding section, on the appellation Servaznt of the Lord, C. I. Nitzsch, in the Stud. u. Krit. 1828, ii. p. 33I, and following. On I Peter iii. 19-2I; iv. 6, see our Chiristol. ii. p. I96-202: the Commentaries of Meyer and Alford in loco. An important history of the interpretation of this passage is found in Weiss, Der Petrii. Lehrbegrizff, p. 216-227. POINTS FOR INQUIRY. WHAT is the sense of Acts iv. 12?-Whence comes it that in the first discourses of Peter, yet more stress is laid upon the resurrection than upon the death of the Lord?-The Petrine teaching concerning the appearing of Christ in the spirit-world compared with that in the Gospel of Nicodemus.-Probable source and abiding value of this teaching. -What peculiar significance is attached to the resurrection of the Lord in i Peter i. 21; iii. 21?-Does Peter, as well as the other Apostles, give any hints as to the nature of the relation between the glorified Lord and his people? SECTION XXVIII. eter tfhe Aprst5e orf t. t 6rcxum n ALTIOUGI Peter, as the Apostle of Jesus Christ, proclaims salvation in Him as absolutely necessary for all, and as attainable for all, yet the substance and form of his teaching justifies the name of the "Apostle of the Circumcision." This name, however, is not to be taken in a one-sided separatistic sense. I. The fact that salvation in Christ is indispensable alike for all is powerfully expressed by Peter before the Council at Jerusalem.* The name of Christ, mentioned with warmth by him, especially in his first discourses,t is for him in the fullest sense the banner of redemption. Without reason it has been supposed that a different spirit is to be found in the mild words addressed (Acts x. 34, 35) to Cornelius. He there by no means asserts that God-fearing men are without distinction acceptable to God (8EKTOr) in * Acts iv 12. t Acts ii. 38, iii. 6, I6, iv. o1, 12; compare Luke xxiv. 47. 218 Theology of the Nezw Testament. such a sense as that they should be saved without Christ, but only that they should be received into the kingdom of God, thus to be saved. Were it otherwise, of what use were preaching and baptism to the whole Gentile house? "Non indifferentismus religionum, sed indifferentia natioznum, hic asseritur" (Bengel). 2. This perfect indispensableness has its ground in the universality of sin. In itself the doctrine of sin is with Peter but little developed. As to its origin he does not directly express himself; while Paul ascends to the source, he points out only the turbid stream. The sin of the Jewish nation culminates before his eye in the rejection of the Messiah;- that of the Gentiles is the fruit of the ignorance which blinded them in their pre-Christian state.t Whilst fleshly lusts are in themselves sinful,+ their manifestation in all kinds of perverseness is especially in antagonism with God's will, and brings back the confessors of the Gospel to a former heathen stand-point.~ Even the Christian is continually exposed to the danger of sinning,f1 and is not therefore saved without a great struggle.,[ After all, there is for Jews and Gentiles only one way of salvation-the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, even without the oppressive yoke of the works of the law.'* 3. That which is so necessary for all is also equally attainable for all. Even in the Pentecostal address distinct reference is made to this universal destination of salvation in Christ. To the greatest sinners among * Acts ii. 36. t I Peter i. 14. t I Peter iv. 2. ~ I Peter iv. 3, 4, 11 I Peter v. 8. ~ I Peter iv. i8. ** Acts xv. o1, II. Peter the Apostle of the Circumcision. 219 the Jews grace is proclaimed, and no obscure allusion is made to the calling of the Gentiles also.* If Peter at first thinks that the Gentiles must be brought as it were over the bridge of Judaism into the kingdom of God, we see this limiting condition fall away after the revelation of Acts x. He even lays evident stress upon the fact that God has broken down the wall of separationt in giving the Holy Ghost both to Jews and Gentiles, and purifying the hearts of both through faith. There is consequently no ground for accusing Peter of a narrow-hearted separatism which has been supposed to lead him to see in the Jews, if not exclusively, yet especially, the heirs of the kingdom of God. Even the memorable words in which he teaches that God had first sent His servant Jesus to the Jews,: furnish in themselves a proof to the contrary. 4. The conditions of partaking of salvation in Christ are, according to Peter, exceedingly simple. In his addresses to the unbelieving Jews, we hear him — entirely in the spirit of the Baptist and of the Messiah —repeatedly call them to repentance and conversion.4 In this repentance (terdTvota) is included that faith which in his address to Cornelius he urges as pre-eminently essential, i and which is manifested by the centurion's voluntary submission to baptisman act of obedience with which is associated the reception of the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Ghost, without, however, any supernatural efficacy being supposed to dwell in the baptismal water itself. * Acts ii. 39. t Acts xv. 8, 9. + Acts iii. 26; compare John iv. 22. ~ Acts ii. 38, iii. 19. I| Acts x. 47. 220 Theology of the Nezw Testamenzt. Only to that baptism is value ascribed which is accompanied with the promise of preserving a good conscience before God." Such a baptism saves, even as the water of the flood saved the family of Noah in the ark, and he who receives it begins here on earth to be a partaker of the salvation ((Tcorpi(a) which is in Christ. Whatever any was before, the one has no distinction on that account above the other, for Christ is Lord of all,t and the Holy Ghost has raised all to the same freedom and dignity.+ 5. However purely Christian all this may be, even the form in which the Apostle expresses these ideas, and yet more the nature of these ideas themselves, is such that we recognise in Peter, before all others, the Apostle of the Circumcision. Both in the Acts and the Epistles he stands before us as a man who is entirely penetrated with the Spirit of the Old Testament, and most willingly clothes his thoughts in its language. No writing of the New Testament contains more citations from the Old, more allusions thereto, than the First Epistle of Peter. In the Pentecostal discourse, also, we hear how he appeals in regard to the Resurrection and Exaltation of the Lord to the xvi. and cx. Psalms. At once (Acts iii.) the promise of the great " Prophet" serves as his text, and again (Acts iv.) the Psalm of the "corner-stone." All the prophets, from Samuel onwards, he appeals to. as witnesses. Christianity is for him the fulfilment of prophecy. Even to the prophets it was revealed that the things which they proclaimed should * I Peter iii. 21. t Acts x. 36. + Acts xv. 8, 9, ~ Acts iii. 24. Peter the Apostle of the Circimcision. 221 not be granted to themselves, but to Christians;* and the Apostle who makes this assertion has sat at their feet. In their words, even when he does not expressly mention them,t he sets forth and defends his opinion. The main requirement of the laws and the promise of prophecyi are expressly adduced; and the principal persons in the history of the Old Testament, e.g., a Noah with his family, a Sarah in her relation to Abraham, yea, the holy women of old time in general, are presented as patterns for believers. [ Those who walk after this example are distinguished with titles of honour like those conferred upon the Old Testament Israel. They are called Eltect, a royal priesthood,* and form together the house of God.tThe name Church or Congregation (eKK'x\rara) is not used by this Apostle; but instead of this is found the expression people of God,+ flock of the Lord,, which is so often in the Prophets and Psalms used of Israel, and which has for Peter without doubt a peculiar value.l1ll The Old Testament idea of Electiont~[r everywhere underlies his discourses and his writings. Yea, our Apostle takes his stand so firmly upon the basis of a teleologic view of the world, that he even acknowledges the fulfilment of the counsel of God * I Peter i. I2. t I Peter i. 24, 25, compared with Isaiah xl. 6-8; ii. 3, compared. with Psalm xxxiv. 8; iii. I0-12, compared with Psalm xxxiv. 12-16; iv. iS, compared with Prov. xi. 31; v. 7, compared with Psalm Iv. 22. I Peter i. I6. ~ i Peter ii. 6. I| I Peter iii. 5, 6, 20. 1 I Peter i. 2. * I Peter ii. 9. tt I Peter iv. I7. *+ I Peter ii. 9-I0. ~~ I Peter v. 2, 3. 11[1 Compare John xxi. I5-17. a Compare Deut. vii. 6. 222 Theology of the New Testament. when the disobedient stumble at the word of Grace (I Peter ii. 8). 6. In the idea,of God, also, from which Peter proceeds, the Old Testament tone prevails. Without doubt it is a distinctive privilege of Christians to be able to call on God as Father (I Peter i. I7)-it is as though the "Our Father" were before the mind of Peter when he wrote these words-but this Father gives sentence at the same time as Judge, without respect of persons. He is the faithful Creator (I Peter iv. I9), and with this attribute of His faithfulnessso celebrated by Israel's prophets-come forth His power, holiness, omniscience, and righteousness. Christ also, the Son of God, is here contemplated less from the metaphysical than from the theological stand-point. Peter is the only Apostle by whom he is called a Lamzb (arovd),* an expression which is also derived from Isaiah. The Holy Ghost also is unquestionably mentioned by Peter,t and brought into the closest connection with the Godhead;+ but with him, as in the Old Testament, the doctrine of the Spirit is but little developed. 7. No other character is borne by the prevailing description of the Christian life according to Peter. That which is of the greatest importance with him is the fear of God, accompanied by works of righteousness.~ It is true that believers are called children,fJ even little children.~ Israel also in the old time I Peter i. 19; compare Isaiah liii. 7. t Acts v. 32; I Peter i. 12, iv. I4.: Acts v. 3, 4. ~ I Peter ii. I7; compare Acts x. 35. || I Peter i. 14. ~ I Peter ii. 2. Peter the Apostle of the Circumcision. 223 received like names of tenderness -but they nevertheless remain the bond-servants of God (bovxAo),` who are called to walk with fear.t Faith and obedience are with Peter correlative ideas; and not so much filial love as filial reverence is the ground tone of the spiritual life here described. If, also, the yoke of the law has been broken,~ the precept of the law yet remains the standard for the conduct and action of the disciple of the Lord.ll In that they together serve God, they fulfil the task which in ancient time was especially set before one of the tribes of Israel. We may say that the doctrine of the universal priesthood of believersT is especially Petrine. It is not so emphatically expressed in any other of the epistlesonly in the Apocalypse, i. 5, 6, v. 8, 9. But this idea also is, in principle, as much an Old Testament idea as the description of Christians as strangers and pilgrims." Such peculiarities are so much the more noteworthy if it is true, as seems borne out by certain texts,tt that the first readers of the Apostle's letter were mainly indeed, but by no means exclusively, Jews. Such, also, as formerly sat in the darkness of heathenism are here addressed as having part in the blessing of Israel, but at the same time, also, as being called to the realisation of the ideal of all the Old Testament economy of salvation. 8. That which has been remarked concerning the * I Peter ii. i6. t I Peter i. 17. I Peter i. 2, ii. 7. ~ Acts xv. io. I I Peter iii. 8-15. 1 I Peter ii. 4-9. ** i Peter ii. I; compare Psalm cxix. I9 a, and other places. tt Compare I Peter i. 14, ii. 10, iv. 3, 4. 224 Theology of the New Testament. Old Testament colouring of the Petrine theology determines its character, but does not at all detract from its importance. Two things are true: the New Testament is at once the fulfilment of the Old Testament and its opposite. Paul lays the chief stress upon the latter, Peter upon the former side of the question. Precisely on account of this peculiarity he was so much the better adapted to be the bearer of the Gospel to Israel; and as this Israel itself was in the fullest sense a people of hope, so also their first Apostle became at the same time the Apostle of Hope. Compare Weiss; Petrin. Lelirbegriff, pp. 98-197, and the literature there cited; van Teutem, Blik op den eersten Brief van Petrus, Leid. I86I, p. 31, and following; Koch, de Petri Theologia, per diversos vitw, quam egit, periodos, sensim explicatd, L.B., 1854; Fronmiuller, Commentary, Introduction, ~ 4. POINTS FOR INQUIRY. WHAT is the sense of Acts ii. 40 b?-In what relation does Peter place himself and his companions in faith to the Old Testament economy of salvation (Acts xv. 7-I )?-How is Gal. ii. 11-13 to be reconciled therewith?-What does Peter teach concerning baptism?-What concerning the call of the Gentiles?-What place does the doctrine of predestination occupy in the theology of Peter?-In what points is there an agreement in the use the Lord makes of the Old Testament, and in what points a difference? SECTION XXIX. ||hr if It 0flt xf ffinpt.O As well the discourses as the First Epistle of Peter teach us to recognise this Apostle especially as the Apostle of Hope, in this sense, that the return of the Lord equally dominates his whole presentation of Christian truth, as his whole conception of Christian life. While this characteristic of the Apostle is to be fully explained by an acquaintance with his person, it at the same time affords us the key by which to understand the progress of his ideas, and the standard by which to determine the value of his doctrinal system. I. The appellation, "Apostle of Hope," by no means indicates a feature of character which belongs exclusively to Peter, but only a peculiarity which comes forth more strongly in his doctrinal system than in that of others. In the mouth of no Apostle is wanting the name and praise of Christian hope (AWrLs); but the Petrine theology bears more than Q 226 Theology of tze New Testament. others an elpistic character. Christian hope forms not merely the conclusion, but makes the centre of his whole doctrinal scheme. The Gospel is in his eyes, on the one hand, the fairest fulfilment, on the other, the richest promise. Ever does he love to speak of this hope, and constantly does he return to it by preference. Whether we direct our attention to his discourses or to his first Epistle, ever is it the expectation of the future which breathes life and warmth into his whole presentation of truth. 2. In the very beginning of his Pentecostal address, Peter points forward-availing himself of the prophecy of Joel-not merely to that which is granted in the present, but also to that which is to be expected in the future;* and although he addresses his words exclusively to the house of Israel, he yet cannot omit to cast a glance forth upon all "that are afar off." t In the discourse which follows he urges repentance unto conversion,+ " that the time of refreshing may come," through the appearing of Christ, who now, for a time, has taken possession of the heavens, but who is ready in Israel to set up His kingdom, and to bring about a restoration of all things. The address to Cornelius hastens also, so to speak, to the mention of Christ as the divinely-appointed Judge of the Quick and the Dead;~ and even in the brief address in the Apostolic Council at Jerusalem there is an undertone of expectation of a blessedness as yet, at least, par. tially future (Acts xv. I ). Acts. Acts ii. 639. $ Acts iii. I9-2.2 ~ Acts x, 42. Peter the Apostle of Hope. 227 3. Yet more strongly does this peculiarity come out in the First Epistle of Peter. He begins with a doxology,* by which we are involuntarily reminded of that in the Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians. But whilst Paul in general makes mention of the spiritual blessings in Christ, Peter, above all, gives thanks for regeneration to a living hope through the resurrection of the Lord. A definite reason for the mentioning of this particular blessing can scarcely be given; but it is precisely that which is nearest to his heart. The object of hope, this heavenly inheritance, is described in a series of expressions which designate closelyallied and yet separate ideas. " It is incorruptible" (intransitory), because it belongs to the realm of everlasting things; "undefiled," for it is subject to no desecration through sin; "unfading," not only enduring, but also ever fair. This eternal, holy, glorious inheritance is fully assured to believers (ver. 4); it is reserved for them, and they are preserved unto the salvation which is already on the point of being revealed (ver. 5). The present suffering (ver. 6) endures only for a short time,t and increases the joy (ver. 7) at hand. Their joy of faith is already glorious (ver. 8), and is present there where its object is, and whence they look for the end of their faith, the salvation of their souls (ver. 9). Christian life is, for this reason, a perfect hoping for grace.+ That not only their faith, but also their hope, may be directed towards God,~ Christ was raised and glorified. The * I Peter i. 3. t Compare John xvi. I6. $ i Peter i. 13. ~ I Peter i. 21. 228 Theology of the New Testament. character of the God-fearing women of the Old Testament is designated by a single trait: they hoped in God.* In like manner, also, must Christians especially be able to give an account of their hope.t Assuredly, the time which we shall live in the flesh is only short: Christ is ready to come to judgment.+ Judgment is already beginning on the Church,~ and that, also, which shall come upon the world shall not long be expected in vain. As far as the Apostle himself is concerned, there is for him nothing more desirable, next to that of a witness of the sufferings of Christ, than the name of partaker of the future glory. l Pointing forward to the recompense of the future serves him as the most powerful exhortation (ver. 4), and the Christian vocation to everlasting glory after a brief suffering is the theme of his doxology (ver. io). Without doubt, all this is entirely in the spirit of the Lord,~ but is also the expression and fruit of a personally felt necessity for irradiating the darkness of the present with the light of the future. The expectation of this glory is, as it were, the axis around which the Apostle's doctrine turns. Nowhere is there found a hint that he yet looks for a prolonged struggle of the members: their head is ready to come. The condition of Christians after death, the resurrection of the just, the endless chastisement of the wicked, is here entirely, or almost entirely, passed over. Far beyond all this extends the glance of the * I Peter iii. 5. t I Peter iii. 15. i I Peter iv. 3-7. ~ I Peter iv. 17. 11 I Peter v... Compare Luke xxiv. 46. Peter the Apostle of Hope. 229 Apostle to the glorious end, the personal parousia of the Lord. 4. As a proof that we have rightly characterised the teaching of this Apostle, there follows here a scheme of the First Epistle from the before-mentioned point of view. First he celebrates in an exalted strain the glory of hope (i. 3-12), in that he shows its sure basis (ver. 3-5), its joy (ver. 6-9), and its exalted character (ver. I0-I2). Immediately after, he makes a powerful effort to call forth and strengthen the life of hope. The general exhortation to his readers to place their hope fully upon grace (ver. 13) may be taken as the pregnant text, which is at once the result of all that precedes, and the theme of all following exhortations and consolations. These are partly (A) of a more general kind (i. I4-ii. io), and call all believers, without distinction, to personal sanctification (i. 14-21), mutual love (i. 22-ii. 3), and the common glorifying of God and the Saviour (ii. 4-Io); partly, also (B), they have a more definite relationship (ii. II —-v. 5), and apply either to Christians in the world and social life (ii. I I-iv. 6), as subjects, servants, married persons, or members of the whole suffering and militant Church; or concern the mutual relationship of Christians to each other (iv. 7-v. 5), in that they are called for each other to live (iv. 7-I I) with each other to suffer (iv. I2-I6), and to each other to be subject (v. 1-5). In conclusion (C), all is once more summed up in the general exhortation to look upward with humility (v. 6, 7), to look within with diligence (v. 8), to look around with sympathy (v. 9), 230 Theology of the New Testam;ent. and to look to the future with hope (v. 10, Il).'But among all these exhortations there is scarcely one which is not directly or indirectly connected with that first and general one (i. I3): " Place your hope entirely upon the grace which is brought unto you in the revelation of Jesus Christ." 5. The elpistic character of the Petrine theology is at the same time as easily explicable as it is indisputable. It takes its root in the individuality of the Apostle, whose First Epistle might be called "a portrait in letters." Even as an Apostle of Jesus Christ (Sec. xxvii.), Peter is an Apostle of Hope: his hope is founded upon the Master's own word." Also as Apostle of the Circumcision he must be so (Sec. xxviii.): the utterances of the prophets were only in part accomplished by the (first) appearing of Christ in humiliation: " Pii-rre est zu homme, forme d I'e';cole de lA. T., mais qui a comfpris les choses nouvelles dans toiute leur richesse et dans toute leur grandeur." (Bonifas). But he is, above all, Apostle of Hope because he is Simon Peter-no Thomas or John-the man of warm and sanguine temperament, for whom the former longing and endeavours after a glorious future have been moderated indeed, but not by any means taken away. " Gratia non tollit, sed sanat naturam." The more the new man here and there still feels the influence of the old (Gal. ii. I I), so much the greater must be the longing within him for perfect redemption. 6. The value of the Petrine doctrines is by no * Matt. xix. 28-30. Peter the Apostle of Hope. 231 means diminished by the observation that the hope of the Apostle has not been fulfilled in the form in which it was cherished and confessed. The day of the Lord's parousia, not more nearly defined by the Lord himself, remained, and remains, a point of individual expectation, upon which only time can shed the true light. If Peter shared in this respect the expectation of the whole Apostolic age, the event itself which he looked for remains none the less the object of expectation for all future ages, and the hope commended by him is still an inexhaustible fountain of consoling and sanctifying influence. The manner in which in his writings he justifies this hope is so interesting that the question can hardly fail to arise whether he has not, at a later time, further expressed himself on this subject. This question naturally leads us to the investigation of the Second Epistle which bears his name. Compare Weiss, 1. c., p. 25, and following. Mayerhoff, Histor. Krit. Einl. in die Petrin. Schr. Hamburg, 1835, p. I02, and following. (Expository Lectures on the First and Second Epistles of Peter, by Dr. John Brown, of Edinburgh). On I Peter i. 3-12, the Dissertatio of Dr. J. Ruitenschild, Leid. 1825. POINTS FOR INQUIRY. WHENCE the general expectation of the Apostolic age — expressed also by Peter-in regard to the speedy parousia of the Lord?-In what connection does his eschatology 232 Thzeology of tlze VNez Testament. stand with that of the Synoptical Christ?-What does he understand (Acts iii. 2i) by the a7roKarciaratrts 7Irdvrov, and what does he expect therefrom?-What are, according to him, the heralds of the parousia?-What does he teach concerning the reward and the punishment of the future? SECTION XXX. I\' strotr f"Y15t1 of |da. ALTHOUGH very serious objections to the Apostolic origin of the Second Epistle ascribed to Peter have been raised, yet the doctrines therein contained bear-with all their peculiarity-an unmistakably Petrine stamp. This Epistle itself shows so many traces of the individuality of Peter as the Apostle of Jesus Christ, as the Apostle of the Circumcision, and as the Apostle of Hope, that, so far as the internal evidence is concerned, there is much more to be adduced in favour of its genuineness than against it. I. Doubts as to the genuineness of the Second Epistle of Peter arose in the very earliest times. Irenaeus, Tertullian, Cyprian, and others, know only one Epistle of Peter; Origen and Eusebius question the authenticity of the Second; and in the oldest Syriac translation (Peshito) it is not found. Even Erasmus and Calvin express themselves doubtfully or unfavourably in regard to it, and in our own time the 234 Te/eology of the New Testament. majority of critics decide against its genuineness. Yet it has found defenders, evep in our age, in Hug, Flatt, Kern, Heidenreich, Windischmann, Dietlein, Thiersch, Guericke, Fronmiiller, Steinfass, and others; and Weiss and Bruckner evidently incline to its recognition; so that the science of New Testament isagogics cannot yet regard this case as closed. The theology of the New Testament can only draw attention to its teaching with the purpose of discovering how far this bears a Petrine character, or how far it does not. 2. Without doubt there is here and there a difference between the dogmatical and ethical contents of the Second Epistle and those of the First. Much greater stress is laid upon the knowledge (e[yvoirLs) of the Gospel; many an idea expressed in the First Epistle is here entirely or almost entirely passed over; and throughout there prevails a correspondence between our Epistle and that of Jude greater than is found between any other two writings of the New Testament. Nevertheless, these and other peculiarities can be explained, partly from the altered requirements of the readers, partly from the special aim of the writer, partly, also, from the individuality of Peter himself. In no case do they detract from the thoroughly Petrine colouring of this Epistle, which is even acknowledged (however explained) by those who contest its genuineness. Often there is a confirmation, and that in a surprising manner, of the words of Lutterbeck: "The Second Epistle of Peter shows apparently the opposite, in reality the same thing, as the First Epistle." The Second Epistle of Peter. 235 3. The writer of this Second Epistle also speaks in fact as an Apostle of Jesus Christ. As in the First, the historical Christ is the centre of his whole conception of the truth; the pre-existence of the Lord is not, however, expressly mentioned. He is the Saviour," and the principal blessing which believers owe to Him consists in being cleansed from their former sins.t He has redeemed them,+ and ceases not after his departure from the earth to stand in the closest relation to them.~ A shadowing forth of the glory which He now enjoys (and which He shall manifest at his parousia, i. I6), the author has seen on the Mount of Transfiguration 1-a special event in the life of the Lord, of which mention is made in no other Epistle of the New Testament; just as another not less mysterious event is mentioned only in the First Epistle of Peter (I Peter iii. I9-2 ). No wonder that Christ stands before the eye of the author in the radiance of a truly Divine dignity. What has been pre-supposed or indicated in the First Epistle is here distinctly affirmed. Besides the name of Saviour, the Lord receives the name of God, T and the doxology rendered to Him at the end of this Epistle'~ sets the seal to this appellation. In short, we see how the train of thought beginning in the Acts and the First Epistle is here completed. 4. A no less real correspondence do we find when * 2 Peter iii. 2. t 2 Peter i. 9; compare I Peter i. 2. + 2 Peter ii. I; compare I Peter i. I8. ~ 2 Peter i. 14.; compare I Peter ii. 25. 11 2 Peter i. I6-18. [ 2 Peter i. I. ** 2 Peter iii. I8. 236 Theology of the New Testament. we take in hand the Second Epistle and think of Peter as the Apostle of the Circumcision, as we learnt to know him in the First Epistle. The Old Testament colouring observed there is found afresh here, both as to the form and the contents of the ideas. The rizghteousness of God occupies the most prominent place; and presently after he refers to the election (EKXoy7j) of believers as their peculiar privilege.d The same high estimate of the prophetic word, with the same view of its Divine origin, meets us here, as we found in the First Epistle. Once also, as in the First Epistle, the Old Testament is expressly cited;~ but considerably greater is the number of those places in which there is an allusion thereto, or in which its style is unconsciously adopted. Here, also, mention is made of the age of Noah and of Abraham;[l this time, however, on account of this special aim of the Epistle, not in reference to the obedient Sarah, but to the God-fearing Lot.~T Here, also, repeatedly, the most appropriate use is made of that which might be presupposed as known from the Scriptures of the Old Testament.*" To this category belongs also the mentioning of the Last Day as the Day of God,tt which is entirely in the spirit of ancient prophecy. The New Testament is consequently here * 2 Peter i. I. t 2 Peter i. Io. + 2 Peter i. I9-21; compare I Peter i. IO-12. ~ 2 Peter ii. 22. i| 2 Peter ii. 5, 6. ~t 2 Peter ii. 7-9. ** 2 Peter ii. I3-I6, compare Num. xxii. t6-34; ii. 22, compare Prov. xxvi. ii; iii. 5, compare Gen. i. 2; iii. 7, compare Gen. ix. I; iii. 8, compare Psalm xc. 4; iii. 13, compare Isaiah lxv. I7. ft 2 Peter iii. Io. The Second Epistle of Peter. 237 also, from beginning to end, the completion and crown of the Old —never its opposite. 5. Also the Apostle of Hope is revealed in this Epistle to an attentively listening ear. From the beginning the author directs the attention of his readers to the Divine promises,- and urges them especially by appealing to the future-to the work of continued sanctification (i. I ). Also, the "putting off the tabernacle "? recalls to our mind the "pilgrimage" of the First Epistle.+ What most engages our attention here, however, is that place in which he expresses himself so fully as to the destruction of the present order of the world,~ and the stupendous consequences thereof, where we find almost an Apocalypse in miniature. The difference in regard to eschatology which is found between the doctrinal system of the Second and that of the First Epistle is only relative, and is easily explicable. If some time had passed between the composition of the two Epistles, the Apostle might and must perceive that the return of the Lord, so ardently desired, might remain longer unaccomplished than he had at first expected. I-Ie could the less be insensible of this delay since occasion was taken from it by scoffers who ridiculed this hope, against whose attempts to seduce he here arms believers; whilst in the First Epistle he consoles under sufferings by pointing forward to the coming glory. Here, however, as there, is his look directed with longing to the future; and the exhortation to * 2 Peter i. 4. t 2 Peter i. 14. $ I Peter ii. II. ~ 2 Peter iii. 3-15. 238 Theology of the New Testament. hasten * unto the coming of the day of the Lord bears an equally Petrinet stamp with the urgent exhortation to holiness with which the life of hope, in this Epistle also, is brought into immediate connection. And finally, as to the main contents of the expectation here enunciated, it must be remarked that they attach themselves entirely to the prophecies of the Old Testament seers and the utterances of the Lord himself. If any conception in this Epistle is according to the view of a later age untenable, this does not by any means prove that Peter therefore could not entertain and give expression to it. 6. It is true there are more or less important differences opposed to the correspondence we have adduced; but difference of thoughts or of form in two different writings prove nothing against the identity of the author, least of all when this author manifests an individuality like that of Simon Peter. Enough, in no single point do these two Epistles contradict each other, and assuredly only the pearance of contradiction would be avoided with the most anxious care by one who, in counterfeiting his Epistle, abused the name of Peter. There is at least no greater difference between the First and the Second of the Epistles called after Peter, than between many of the writings of John or Paul, as to the genuineness of which no unprejudiced person has a doubt. S* o-V-EV!rTEs, 2 Peter iii. 12. t Thrice the genuinely Petrine word (rroSd'eiv occurs in our Epistle, and only seven times in all the Epistles of Paul. Would an anonymous imitator of Peter's style have bethought himself of reproducing such slight psychological traits? The Second Epistle of Peter. 239 7. Other objections, arising from the internal evidence which concern the difference of style in the First and Second Epistles, the relation of the latter to the Gospel narrative, to the Epistles of Paul, to the General Epistles of Jude, or to the Gnosticism which was rising at the time, or which have to do with the mysterious character of some of the utterances in this Epistle, lie without the province of our investigation. If we confine ourselves strictly to its doctrinal contents, we must, as the result of our investigation, express the judgment that the Second Epistle contains absolutely nothing that prevents our supposing Simon Peter to be its author; and, on the other hand, not a little that justifies our belief in its Petrine origin. WVe find ourselves consequently ever shut up to the inexorable alternative: Either Peter himself wrote the Epistle, or an unknown person, for the advancement of his particular ends, evidently wished to pass for our Apostle, and, with this intent, imitated his style and his ideas as exactly as possible. Whether such a literary fiction is so lightly to be accepted as is believed on many sides, and whether this solution harmonises with the moral character of the writer, as we learn from this Epistle, is a question with the answering of which we have not here to do. Had the Second Epistle of Peter appeared anonymously, perhaps the inner criticism would have attached a high degree of probability to the supposition that this writing originated in no other than the Apostle Peter. Compare, on the doctrinal system of the Second 240 Theology of the New Testament. Epistle of Peter in connection with its genuineness, Messner, 1. c. p. 54-70; our Christol. d. N. V., p. 162176; Fronmuller 1. c. p. 68, and following; Steinfass, Der Zweite Br. d. heil. Pctrus, Rostock, I863; B. Weiss, Zur Petrin. Frage, Stud. u. Krit. 1865 and I866. POINTS FOR INQUIRY. WHO have combated the genuineness of the Second Epistle of Peter, mainly on the ground of its doctrinal contents?What peculiarity is manifested in the doctrinal and moral contents of our Epistle, as compared with the First?-To what extent are these peculiarities to be explained from the special aim. of this Epistle, and the individuality of the writer?-The relation of this Epistle to tha.t of Jude, and those of Paul?-The eschatology of this Epistle, as compared with the expectations of the Gentile nations and the prophecies of Old Testament Scripture.-Peter's Second Epistle the crown of his whole Apostolic testimony, and his testament for the Church and the World. SECTION XXXI. $imbim^ Cgp^ of,9drrt. THE Petrine conception of the Gospel stands by no means alone amongst the writings of the New Testament. Without violence to the individuality of each writer, it harmonises in a remarkable manner with that which is either presupposed or expressed in the Gospels according to Matthew and Mark, and especially in the General Epistles of James and Jude. i. We have learnt to recognise the Petrine idea of Christian truth in its many-sidedness. To this type of Christianity, without doubt, those Jewish Christians attached themselves, who found in Peter their leader and representative; and, since he occupied so important a place in the history of the Apostolic age, it may be assumed, a priori, that there would be by no means wanting men of kindred spirit with him among the sacred writers of the New Testament. This conjecture becomes a certainty when we cast a glance at the different parts of the New Testament in which R 242 Theology of the New Testament. the spirit of our Apostle distinctly reveals itself, or in which ideas are expressed which more or less resemble his. 2. This is, first of all, the case with the Gospel according to Mark, on whose contents and composition Peter, according to tradition, exerted an influence, the nature and extent of which cannot here be further determined. The more philosophic stand-point of John's Gospel is equally wanting here as in the discourses and epistles of our Apostle. The Second Gospel begins immediately with the baptism of John, to end with the resurrection and exaltation of Jesus, and moves thus precisely within that circle which had been marked out by Peter himself,* for the witness of the Lord. Jesus appears there as Peter was wont to describe Him, and with such traits of character as were, for Peter's personal remembrance of Him, of the greatest value. The dramatic force of the representation, the' varying tone, the rapid transition in the narrative, involuntarily reveals to our mind that witness of the Lord whom we have just learnt to know in his words and writings. 3. Somewhat similar may also be observed in regard to Matthew. Whatever we may think as to the intricate questions which this Gospel presents to us, thus much is certainly indubitable, that it bears a purely Palistinean type of character, and that the author is, to that extent, rather allied to Peter than to Paul or John. The manifest tendency of the First Gospel to present Jesus in the light of prophetic * Compare Acts i. 21, 22. Kindred Types of Doctrine. 243 Scripture as the promised Messiah, is entirely in the spirit of our Apostle. As Peter, in his proclamation of Christ, attaches especial value to the miracles of the Lord, so here, also, a number of His miracles are grouped together (chapters viii. and ix.); and as Peter, so also Matthew, proclaims the Lord as Israel's Messiah, while excluding the Gentiles just as little as does Peter. Nowhere, finally, are the eschatological discourses of the Lord, which are of such priceless value for the Apostle, related so fully and in such order as in the First Gospel. 4., Yet less is it to be denied that.7Tude, the brother of James, so far as he is known to us from his epistle, stands on the same platform with Peter. Whatever conclusion we may come to as to his person, and the resemblance of this Epistle to the Second Epistle of Peter, the conception of Christian truth peculiar to Peter is also unmistakably present here. As a witness of Jesus Christ, Jude also, although in few words, places the Lord in the foreground. For Him Christians are preserved;t He is the only Ruler and Lord + for whose compassion unto everlasting life they wait,~ and through whom God is glorified in the Church. ll Thus, Jude builds-as with all the Apostles, so pre-eminently with Peter-upon one and the same foundation; although, like Peter,.he rather presupposes and hints, than actually declares, the Divine nature and dignity of the Redeemer. The * Acts x. 38. t Jude I.: Jude 4. ~ Jude 21. 11 Jude 25. Upon all these places, consult Alford or Tischendorf 244 Theology of the New Testament Old Testament colouring also belongs to his teaching, in common with that of Peter. Even as Peter, he avails himself largely of sacred history, as that of Sodom,* of Moses, of Balaam, and of Enoch.t He seems also, in regard to this last, to have drawn upon an apocryphal writing, which he accepts as authoritative. The hope of the future is also brought into great prominence in this short epistle, even though -having regard to untruth and unrighteousness-it is especially contemplated on its terrible side. Even as Peter (I Peter i. 5), so Jude also lays especial stress upon the preservation of believers unto everlasting life.t 5. Especially, however, must we here mention the Epistle of 7amess, which occupies, indeed, no preeminent position, but, nevertheless, an important one, in the first development of Christian doctrine. The doctrine of this witness of the Lord contains alsobesides that which it has in common with Peter'smuch that is peculiar to itself, especially as regards the exhibition of the person and work of the Lord. The actual name of Jesus Christ is here only twice mentioned,~ although in many other places it may at least be questioned whether it is not alluded to. 1( On the great historic facts in the life of Christ he preserves an entire silence. The high-priestly work of the Lord also falls into the background, even His royal glory is spoken of only in passing ~[; but louder * Jude 7. f Jude 9, I, I4. t Jude I, 21, 24. ~ James i. I; ii. I. I| James ii. 7; v. 6; v. 7, 8; v. 14. T James ii I. Kindred Types of Doctrine. 245 than elsewhere we here catch the faithful echo of His prophetic word. Many an exhortation of the Epistle of James is, as it were, an echo of the Sermon on the Mount,* and proves how deeply the author was penetrated with the spirit of his glorified Brother. In the conception of God, it is principally the moral attributes of God upon which stress is laid; even His unchangeableness is not only a characteristic, but a virtue.t Not less peculiar is the conception he forms in relation to sin on the one hand, and grace on the other. James lays great stress upon the fact that man was created originally after God's image;+ but none the less does he expressly affirm that sin is absolutely universal,C and, above all, that it is man's own fault.jl That lie does not ignore the demoniacal origin of moral evil is clear;q but the arising of sin within the man at a particular moment he describes especially on its psychological side,** as also in the word sin (axapTia) he thinks rather of the sinful act than of the sinful principle (with him eirtvy/a). On that account, he rather combats actual sins, e.g., those of the tongue,tt or of the rich against the poor,++ than (as, for instance, Paul, Romans vii.) probes to its depths the discord and conflict within the sinful heart. But as this sin, in the widest sense of the word,~ brings forth death, grace is revealed-it is true in its forgiving, lll but-especially in its sancti* E.g. James iii. II, 12; iv. 4; v. 12. t James i. 13-I7.: James iii. 9; compare Gen. ix. 6. ~ James iii. 2. 1[ James i. 13-18. ~ James ii. I9; iii. J5; iv. 7. ** James i. I4, I5. t James iii. 1-12 $: James v. I-6. ~~ James i. 15; v. 20. i111 James v. Is. 246 Theology of the New Testament. fying and new-creatingl power. Grace is received through faith, but only through such a faith as is proved genuine by works.t The peculiar sense in which the words justification, faith, and works are used by James as compared with Paul, serves as a clear proof that his object is not to wage war against the ideas themselves, which are found in the writings of this Apostle, but to place a bridle upon the onesided Paulinism which showed itself in his vicinity. One must certainly share Luther's antipathy for this "epistle of straw," before asserting with him that "the Holy Ghost allowed Sanct James to stumble a little." James, no less than Paul, recognises a faith which is nothing less than a firm confidence of the heart;$ but it is here not so much an opposition of sin and grace as of knowing and doing (compare John xiii. I7) which dominates his whole mode of thinking. He does, it is true, also contemplate Christianity from its devotional, but especially from its ethical side. We hear how, in this short epistle, he exhorts repeatedly to prayer, even to intercessory prayer,~ an exercise of the Christian life, to which is assured, according to James, not merely a psychological influence, but also a direct answer. iI He brings, as a rule, the commandments of the Second Table into greater prominence than those of the First; and one might say that the text and ground-tone of all his exhortations is contained in a single sentence;~ just as * James i. IS, t James ii. 14-26. $ James i. 6.8 ~ James i. 5; iv. 2, 3; v. 13-18. II James i. 5-8; v. 14, 15. ~ James i. I9. Kindred Types of Doctrine. 247 I Peter i. 13 is the basis of all the following exhortations of that Epistle of Peter. Moral beauty is that at which James, above all, aims,* and Christianity is the great means of bringing man to this perfection, and thus raising him to the highest rank.t In selfdenial and love to one's neighbour consists that act of true religion which is here, above all others, commended.S The Gospel itself is, according to his view, a perfect law of liberty, whose precepts are all inseparably connected, and governed by the great principle of love.~ The whole Epistle of James bears, consequently, rather a practical than a dogmatic character, and contains (partly in highly poetic language) a moral teaching which attaches itself partly to the utterances of the Lord, partly to the precepts of the Book of Proverbs, and partly, alsowhat is nowhere else met with in the writings of the New Testament-to those of the son of Sirach. It is the task of Isagogics to find the key to this and other peculiarities of this beautiful Epistle, in the individuality of the writer, in the circumstances of his readers, and in the peculiar aim of his writing. The Biblical theeology of the New Testament can only show that here, within a small compass, is laid up a rare wealth of original, deeply Christian thoughts, which show indeed the unquestionable independence of the writer, but also his spiritual kinship with Peter. 6. In a Christological aspect, it is less rich than that of Peter, even than that of Jude; but the funda. * TEXEtos, i. 4, 25; iii. 2. t James i. 8. $ James i. 27. ~ James ii. 8-13. 248 Theology of the New Testament. mental conception of Christ's person belongs to the same circle of thoughts, and the Christian life, as it is here and there described, shows an unmistakable relationship. The express mention of regeneration through the Word," the powerful exhortation to moral perfection,t to Christian joy, even under the severest trials, yea, on account of them,: and not less the exhortation to compassion and love, made in connection with the future judgment,. is common alike in both. We may say that the twofold tendency of the two Epistles of Peter, consolation and exhortation, is, in the Epistle of James, blended in one. The Old Testament character, also, of the Epistles of Peter will not be sought in vain in the Epistle of James. Entirely in the spirit of the ancient prophets is the mention of the jealousyll of God: also the appellation Jehovah Sabaoth,9f which is found only here in the New Testament, is in this respect noteworthy. "James conceives of the old under new forms" (Neander). Only in one respect is there an essential difference: Peter conceives of the Gospel as, above all, the fulfilment of prophecy; James, on the other hand, as the fulfilment of the law. Finally, as regards the elpistic character of both epistles, the more calm and practical James, though he has not the longing desire of the ardent Peter, yet has this in common with him, that he also constantly * James i. i8; compare I Peter i. 3, 22. t James iii. I; compare I Peter i. 15 $ James i. 2-4; compare I Peter i. 6-9; iv. 14, ~ James ii. 13; v. 20; compare I Peter iv. 8. Il James iv. 5. T James v. 4. Kindred Types of Doctrine. 249 directs the eye from the present to the future, and avails himself of the approaching parousia, urgently and powerfully to exhort to a Christian spirit.* His eye also is fixed upon the Crown of Life,t which is promised to the faithful warrior, but he has also regard to the retribution with which the oppressor of the poor brother is threatened.+ We must divorce expressions like these last entirely from their connection, and regard them with very prejudiced eyes, to find here no higher conception than that of a tolerably flat specimen of Ebionitism (Reuss). Compare, in addition to Schmid, Reuss, and Messner, on this subject, especially P. H. Friesema, J7acobus, ein waardig tegenhanger van Paulus en yoh.z Utr. 1842. Lange, Commentary, Introd. to Epp. of James and Jude. De Pressense, Early Years of Christianity, pp..207-2I9. Bonifas, 1. c. pp. 27, and following. R. Stier, Der Brief Yudd, des B. d. H. Berl. 1850. POINTS FOR INQUIRY. ORIGIN and extent of the Petrine element in the Second Gospel.-Peter and Matthew.-The relation between the Epistle of Jude and the Second Epistle of Peter in regard to dogmatic contents.-How is the use of an apocryphal writing in the Epistle of Jude to be explained, and what judgment are we to form as to its citation?-Connection between the Epistle of James and the Synoptical Gospels.* James v. 7-9. t James i. 12; compare I Peter v. 4.: James v. I-6. 250 Theology of the New Testament. Influence of Solomon, and Jesus the son of Sirach, upon the contents and form of this Epistle.-The peculiarity of its representation of faith and works.-What is the sense of James i. 27?-The doctrine of the oath in James in connection with the Sermon on the Mount.-Does James ever write polemically?-Are there to be found in his Epistle traces also of Ebionitish ideas? —How are the opposite judgments concerning this Epistle in earlier and later times to be explained? SECTION XXXII. B~imit mirb ^rmansstcn. THE contents and form of the Petrine system of doctrines correspond entirely to that which was to be expected of our Apostle as we already knew him, and bear the unmistakable stamp of a rich originality. Although it is not to be denied that between the ideas which are to be found in the Apostle's First Epistle and many Epistles of Paul there is a certain affinity, yet the Petrine theology is by no means a feeble copy of the Pauline, but preserves alongside the other its independent character; always, however, in such sense that, in the riches and depth of its doctrinal development, it stands not above, but below the Pauline. i. When, at the end of this section, we sum up for ourselves the total impression we have received, we find that in many respects confirmed which we have earlier (Sec. xxv.) said, concerning the agreement of 252 Theology of the New Testament. the Petrine system of doctrine with what we have learnt from other sources as to the individuality of this Apostle. This agreement, rightly understood and used, affords no despicable contribution to the defence of the historic character of the discourses, and the genuineness of the Epistles ascribed to Peter. But, at the same time, a glance at the kindred systems of doctrine has convinced us of the great influence which the Gospel of Peter exerted within his immediate circle, and consequently, also, so far as it can be inferred therefrom, of the power of his personality. His Gospel also forms an organic whole, by no means an aggregate of incoherent thoughts. 2. It is true we find in many an Epistle of Paul, especially in those to the Romans and Ephesians, utterances by which we are even involuntarily reminded of the First Epistle of Peter.* The investigation as to the causes of this remarkable phenomenon belongs to the sphere of isagogics. But this phenomenon itself, on which so much has been said, by no means justifies the Tibingen school in the assertion that the First Epistle of Peter should have been called only an apology for Paulinism, and that it was palmed off by some unknown adherents of Paul upon the Petrine Christians. Neither does it in any way affect the originality of the Petrine conception of the Gospel, even in the highly improbable case that the said agreement must be explained by the use made, on the part of Peter, of the Pauline epistles. In Peter we find * Compare, eg., I Pet. i. 3, seqq., with Eph. i. 3; I Peter i. 6-9 with Rom. v. 3-5; I Peter ii. 6, 7, with Rom. ix. 33. Result and Transition. 253 not the echo of another, but an independent, clear, and powerful voice of his own. 3. By this, however, we do not intend to say that the Petrine system of doctrines comes up to, or even towers above, the Pauline in riches, depth, and power. The contrary will soon be manifest from a contemplation of this latter. Fundamental thoughts of the Gospel of Paul, as, for example, the doctrine of justification through faith, are not found in this form in Peter. Truths and duties, of which both remind us, are treated by Paul more deeply and in a more manysided way than by Peter, whose literary remains are also much smaller than those of his fellow Apostle. For one Petrine idea which is not touched by Paul, there stand probably ten Pauline ones which are passed over in silence by Peter. But much which is more fully explained by Paul has been already hinted at by Peter; and so far we may truly say, " Pierre appartient a la meme ecole que Jacques, mais il a depasse le point de vue de'ecole de la Loi, et nous a fait dEej pressentir le point de vue de Paul" (Bonifas.) The best proof for the justice of this remark will be the treatment, in the following division, of the Pauline theology itself. Comp. Weiss, I. c. pp. 375 and following. Messner, 1. c. p. 55. Baur, 1. c. pp. 227-297. POINTS FOR INQUIRY. IN what respect do single utterances of James and Peter correspond in subject-matter and form with those of Paul? 254 Theology of the New Testament. -Can we fairly maintain that the Epistles of James and Peter show a determined attempt at reconciliation between Paulinism and Judaism?-To what extent does the Petrine theology, regarded as a whole, rise above the Ebionitism of the Apostolic age? SECOND DIVISION. THE PAULINE THEOLOGY. SECTION XXXIII. TIHE Pauline doctrinal system embraces the rich contents of all that which the Apostle Paul himself has called his Gospel, so far as this is known to us from the Scriptures of the New Testament, and especially from his own letters. The introductory survey will delineate roughly the leading thoughts, character, source, value, and history of the Pauline theology, in order at the close to give an answer to the question how its treatment is to be conducted. i. A much richer field than is to be found in the Petrine theology opens itself to us in the Pauline. As the former makes us acquainted with the Gospel which 256 Theology of the New Tesamnent. was proclaimed to the Jewish Christians, so this more especially makes known to us the glad tidings of salvation which Paul proclaimed in the Gentile world. With all that the doctrine of the Apostle of the Gentiles has in common with that of a Peter or a John, there is manifested, at the same time, so much that is peculiar to himself that Paul was fully justified in speaking as he does of his* Gospel. 2. The Gospel of Paul is made known to us, not indeed exclusively, but yet principally from the Scriptures of the New Testament. Besides the Second Epistle of Peter,t the Book of Acts: makes us especially acquainted with the main contents of this Gospel. But, above all, it is the thirteen Epistles which have come down to us under his name, which-some more, others less-afford us important materials for the prosecution of this investigation. The question, on what ground we ascribe all these Epistles to Paul, belongs to the province of criticism and isagogics. In this place the assurance must be accepted that, in our estimation, the genuineness of the whole thirteen is certainly to be acknowledged, although we admit that this genuineness in the case of some can be more satisfactorily defended than in the case of others. Of the authenticity of the greater part, a powerful defence has been quite recently put forth; of others, the authenticity has, on scientific grounds, never been disputed. We retain, in this * Rom. ii. I6, and elsewhere. t 2 Peter iii. I5, I6. + Acts xiii. I6-4I; xiv. 15-I7; xvi. 31; xvii. 3 xvii. 16-31; r. 18-35; xxii. 3-21; xxiii. 6; xxiv. 14,25; xxv. 6-23; xxviii. I5-28. General Survey. 257 respect, absolutely the stand-point which, until within the last few years, was accepted by almost all theologians, whether of a more conservative or more advanced school, both within our own country and beyond it; and we continue to hold it, not because the new is unknown to us, but because therein something of an uncritical and arbitrary nature constantly usurps the place of thorough and impartial science. While, for this reason, we do not entirely except from our examination any one of the Pauline epistles, they must naturally-at least in regard to the most important points-be consulted in that order in which there is good ground for believing they were written. During an interval of about twelve years, which passed between the composition of the earliest and the latest epistle, the spiritual development of a Paul was certainly not stationary. They are probably to be arranged in the following manner:-I. The two Epistles to the Thessalonians; 2. The Epistle to the Galatians; 3. The two Epistles to the Corinthians; 4. The Epistle to the Romans; 5. Those to the Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon, and Philippians; 6. The Pastoral Epistles. It cannot by any means be shown that another Gospel is to be read in those epistles whose genuineness has been denied, or held suspected, by critics of the Old or New Tibingen school, than in the four which the, first-named have magnanimously left to us. It is on this account not necessary on every point to consult these four before listening to the testimony of either of the others. S 258 Theology of the New Testament. On disputed points, however, of special importance, we cannot, at the present time, entirely neglect this distinction. Besides this, also, an especial value in regard to specific subjects is to be attached to particular epistles above others: e.g., for soteriology, the Epistles to the Romans and Galatians; for ecclesiology, that to the Ephesians; for eschatology, those to the Corinthians, &c. 3. In order to become at home in the Pauline theology, it is of importance to discover the groundthought which, to a certain extent, shapes the dogmatic teaching of this Apostle. It is the doctrine of justification through faith which, more than anything else, according to Paul, makes the Gospel to be God's power unto salvation. Not only in the Epistles to the Romans and Galatians, but also in that to the Philippians,- this truth is expressed, evidently as a favourite one with the Apostle, and expressed in a form which links it at once with the declaration of the Old Testament. and with the teaching of the Lord Himself,~ a form also especially familiar and attractive for Jewish Christians. The utter impossibility of justification on the ground of the works of law, and the perfection of the justification by grace in Christ, this is the ground-thought which Paul, ever afresh, expresses in manifold forms, and applies to every variety of necessities and conditions. 4. By this ground-thought of the Pauline theology, the peculiar character of the form and subject-matter * Rom. i. I6, 17. t Phil. iii. 4-10. $ Gen. xv. 6. ~ Luke xviii. I4. General Survey. 259 is at the same time determined. The character of the subject-matter is in general Soteriological; salvation in Christ is here, as far as possible, on all sides presented for contemplation, whilst the great antithesis of sin and grace is ever anew placed in the foreground. Yet more decidedly may we say that this doctrine bears an Anthropological character. Paul does not, like Peter, take his point of departure in the prophetic Scriptures, or, like John, in the person of the Saviour, but in Man, with his deepest wants, as they are awakened indeed by the law, but can be satisfied only by the Gospel. And this satisfaction, according to the genuine universalism of the Apostle, is designed and attainable, not merely for some, but for all. The fact that Christianity is the religion for the world, although ignored by none of his fellow-witnesses, is yet testified by none so powerfully as by himself. The form also in which all this is expressed by him is in the highest degree striking and appropriate; for in point of form the whole Pauline theology is decidedly antithetical. Law and Gospel, works and faith, flesh and spirit, death and life, condemnation and justification, form a succession of powerful antitheses which do not fail to produce their impression. The key to this peculiar character of his whole doctrinal system, both as to subject-matter and to form, is to be found in the experience of the Apostle's own life. 5. The source of the Pauline theology was partly, but not entirely, the same as that of his fellow* Compare Acts xiii. 38, 39; Rom. iii. 2I-24. 260 Theology of the New Testament. witnesses. From 2 Cor. v. i6' it would seem that he had not personally known Christ; certainly he had not (like the Twelve) held converse with Him and received instruction from Him. He himself says that he received not his Gospel of man, or by man, and points to a special revelation of Jesus Christ as the source of his teaching.t The revelation granted to him at and after his conversion was later continued from time to time in regard to particular points., Christian tradition also was, as to its substance, known to him.~ The revelation of God in nature, history, and the conscience, had been attentively observed by him;11 and even his education by GamalielT had not been by any means without influence on his after mode of thinking. Accurately acquainted with the Old Testament, and the peculiar mode of interpreting Scripture prevalent in his day,"" and even with Greek literature,tt he could perceive the truth more clearly than many others, and express it with greater force. All this, however, would not have made Paul to be Paul, had not the gift of the Holy Ghost been bestowed upon him in rich measure,++ through which the mystery of the Gospel was revealed to him in immediate connection with his own inner need and his own life experience. Consequently, we may say that the sanctified personality of Paul-or, traced back to its * Kaa aa dpca, after a fleshly standard. t Gal. i. I-I7., I Cor. vii. 25; Eph. iii. 3; I Thess. iv. 15. ~ I Cor. xi. 23, wrapc\aaBov. [| Romans i. ii. ~ Acts xxii. 3. ** Compare Gal. iv. 24. +t E. g., Acts xvii. 28; Tit. i. 12; I Cor. xv. 33. t$ I Cor. ii. 13; vii. 40; xii. 7. General Survey. 26 first beginning, his conversion -was the source of his whole doctrine. The theology of Paul was, in the deepest and richest sense of the word, the theology of experience [experimental]. 6. The value of the Pauline theology has been sometimes ignored, sometimes over-estimated, the latter, in the case of the Ttibingen school, which has discovered in Paul the father of Christian universalism; the former by the common Rationalism, where it has placed the zealot of Tarsus far beneath, yea, in opposition to the Rabbi of Nazareth, a position to which modern theology is in danger of sinking, whenever in attempting to make Paul the apologist of its so-called liberal sentiment, negation is seen to be futile and hopeless. Avoiding both extremes, it is certain that the Pauline theology is of the highest value, partly in itself, in that it contains a many-sided, profound, faithful, and powerful presentation of the Gospel; partly in comparison with others, which it either surpasses (Peter and James), or for which in turn it prepares the way (John); partly, finally, on account of the great influence which the testimony of Paul has exerted in the course of the ages, and still continues to exert. Though he was not the founder of Christianity," he has yet been privileged to be the founder of the Gentile Church, and the spiritual father of millions.t Augustine and Luther sat at his feet; his spirit is again awakened in Protestantism, and even the little which the criticism of the present day allows to be genuinely Pauline, suffices to * I Cor. i. 13. t I Cor. iv. 15. 262 Theology of the New Testament. convince of folly the naturalistic unbelief which decks itself with the name of Christianity. 7. It is on this account gratifying that the history of the scientific treatment of the Pauline theology, although dating only from the beginning of this century, is by no means insignificant. Without saying anything in this place of the earlier and less successful attempts, we draw attention to the meritorious work of L. Usteri, Paulin. Lehrbegr., sixth edition, 1851. Himself a pupil of Schleiermacher-of whom, by the talent displayed in this work, he shows himself a worthy successor-he has penetrated more deeply than his predecessor into the spirit of the Apostle. Deserving also of attention is the examination of the Pauline theology in the second part of Neander's History of the Plantingand Training of the Christian Church [English translation], and. that of F. C. Baur in his Paulus, Stuttgard, 1845, pp. 505-670. The writings of A. F. Dahne (1835) and E. C. J. Litzelberger (1839), on the Doctrinal System of Paul, will not bear comparison with the three fore-named. At the same time, besides what is contained in the writings so frequently adduced of Schmid, Messner, and Reuss, more or less of attention has been devoted to the matter and manner of Paul's teaching, in the treatment of the history of the Apostolic age by Lechler, Schaff, De Pressense, Ritzschl (second edition) and others. Among the Dutch theologians, Dr. I. Da Costa's Paulus (2 parts, Leiden, I846, I847) is especially worthy of mention. The theologians, also, of the Groningen school. in their first issues of General Survey. 263 Waarheid in Liefde (1837 and following), with different writers of the Leyden and Utrecht schools, afforded their contributions to the understanding of single parts of the Pauline system. 8. After a glance at so many examples-partly warning, partly encouraging-the question as to the best manner of dealing with the Pauline doctrinal system cannot be difficult to answer. The groundthought of the Apostle's teaching before observed, determines at the same time the course of our investigation, which naturally attaches itself to his own utterance, Rom. iii. 21, 22. We must especially have regard to the Apostle's distinction of the time before Christ and after Christ, and must necessarily occupy ourselves for a much longer period with the latter than with the former. We hear, consequently, first what he testifies of humanity and the individual man, out of Christ, and then what he testifies of both in and through Christ. When, after taking into account, as far as possible or necessary, the chronological succession of his Epistles, we have examined his doctrine in relation to the one and to the other, and have brought it into a compact whole, we shall -as at the end of the previous division of our subject -stay to examine the kindred cycles of doctrine. Compare, on Paul and the Pauline theology in general, besides the oft-named works of Schmid, Reuss, Messner, Baur, and others, the consultation of whom, even without constant reiteration, is tacitly recommended for all the following Sections, especially the article Paulus, by Lange, in Herzog, as also the 264 Theology of the New Testamnent. General Introduction to his Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans. Also A. Monod, St. Pal, cinq Discours (English translation); Conybeare and Howson, Life and Letters of St. Paul; Haldane, Commientariy on the Epistle to the Romnans; Symar, die Theol. des H. Pazulzs dargestellt, Freib. im Br. 1864 (R.C.); Hausrath, Paulus der Apostel Jesu; Trip, Paulus nach der Apostelgsch., Leid. I866. On the genuineness of the Thirteen Epistles, Scholten, Inl. N. T., Leid. I856. On the Gospel of Paul, a Latin Dissertatio of J. van Loenen, Gron., 1863. POINTS FOR INQUIRY. WHAT is the meaning of Paul by his Gospel, Rom. ii. I6; xvi. 25; 2 Tim. ii. 8?-What knowledge of Paulinism, beyond that derived from the New Testament, can we draw from the early Christian literature? Is the Paul of the Acts and of the Epistles the same?-What is the sense of z Cor. v. i6?-What of Gal. i. I6?-What of i Cor. xi. 23? To what extent was Paul an empiric? In what relation does Paul place himself to his fellow-Apostles?-How is the great influence of the Pauline theology to be explained? General survey and criticism of some other divisions and modes of treatment of the subject. FIRST SUBDIVISION. HUMANITY AND THE INDIVIDUAL MAN, BEFORE AND OUT OF CHRIST. SECTION XXXIV. &he 6nSite Bri Jfalj5 iolrfb. ACCORDING to the teaching of Paul, the whole Gentile world lies sunk in a condition of godlessness and immorality which can neither be extenuated nor excused, and which must, therefore, endure and experience God's righteous judgment. Although the Jewish world was originally irradiated by purer light, it stands in a moral respect so little above the other, that it also deserves the same judgment. Since both, consequently, are under sin, the whole world is exposed to condemnation before God, and is by no means in a condition to justify itself before Him. 266 Theology of the IlNez TesRtament. I. Although the misery of the individual man and of humanity before and out of Christ is either presupposed or actually expressed by all the Apostles, yet no one has given so full a description of this condition as the Apostle Paul. His extensive knowledge of the world and of men, combined with the personal experience of his life, qualified him for this work; and his object-to prove that the reception of the Gospel was absolutely indispensable-could scarcely be better attained. The locus classicus on this point is Romans i. I8 and iii. 20, with which must especially be compared Acts xiv. I5-I7; xvii. 24-29. 2. Heathenism is, in the view of the Apostle, by no means merely a lower stage of the religious life, but in its origin and growth the consequence of a melancholy defection from God; for the heathen had the capacity for recognising God, and even to a certain extent have actually recognised Him.* He revealed himself not only through the works of nature, but also in the original light of conscience.t In consequence of this, they possessed some natural acquaintance with God, and were conscious of that which God demands.+ Notwithstanding all his degradation, man was, in the words of one of their own poets, of Divine descent, and felt, as such, an obscure but powerful impulse to seek Him in whom the true foundation of his being lay.~ The Apostle does justice to the asthetical worth of heathenism, * Romans i. I8-2I. f Romans ii. 14, 15; compare Acts xiv. 17. $ Romans i. 32. ~ Acts xvii. 27, 28. The Gentile and J7ewish World. 267 as well as its religious aspirations;" but beneath this transparent robe he sees a corruption whose depth, with firm hand, he probes and lays bare. 3. Heathenism, which prides itself upon its wisdom, is the fruit of a darkened understanding; and this blinding of the understanding has its source in a heart estranged from God.f The declension of the heart first became manifest in a self-justifying neglect. It rendered not to God the praise and glory which was His due, and through unrighteousness forcibly restrained the operation of the truth.+ When, in this way, the first trace was lost, men began to contend about the truth which the darkened eye could no longer clearly see, and attained to the climax of a folly which in turn was made manifest in the most terrible transgression. In the estimation of Paul, the highly-lauded heathenism is nothing but a deification of nature,d an abuse of the creature for the purposes of idolatry, i.e., a theoretical and practical denial of God-godlessness in the garb of religion. 4. Sin necessarily brings with it its own punishment: man who has lost God, loses also himself. Immorality is a natural consequence of ungodliness; but a consequence which has its reason in God's holy will, and is, therefore, a revelation of His righteous judgment.[I Impure desire, which even manifests itself in an unnatural form, first becomes associated * Acts xvii. 22, 23. t Rom. i. 21; Epl. iv. I8.: Rom i. I8, KCaTeXOvrS r4v aX9OELayv. ~ Rom. i. 21-25. 11 Rom. i. IS. 268 Theology of the New Testcament. with idolatry; and sinful passion unites with harshness and hatred towards all that which opposes the gratification of unbridled sensuality and selfishness.* Thus is sin chastised by sin; and this chastisement is the more appropriate, not only because the evil is wrought in spite of a better knowledge, but alsoa fine pyschological trait, although a terrible onebecause at the same time there is united with this an unconcealed pleasure in those who do the same. t 5. Upon a superficial observation, it might appear as though Judaism stood, in a religious and moral aspect, far above heathenism. It had, in reality, inestimable privileges and advantages. God had allowed the Gentiles to walk in their own ways, in that He conferred upon them no extraordinary revelation, while, on the other hand, this was granted to Israel.+ But so much the less might the Jew exalt himself above the Gentile, since he, notwithstanding, became guilty of the same sins.~ It is true, his perverseness shows itself in another form: according to Paul, not so much voluptuousness as pride is the ruling sin of the Jews-self-conceit and harshness,l united with an obdurate impenitence in presence of the judgments of God.~ But so far from this modified form of sin deserving a lesser chastisement, the Jewish transgressor has, on the other hand, to expect especial tribulation and anguish, because he has sinned-not only as the heathen-against a natural * Rom. i. 25-3I. t Rom. i. 32. $ Acts xiv. 17; Rom. iii. 2. ~ Rom. ii. I. I Rom. ii. 17, and following. ~ Rom. ii. 4, 5. The Gent.l`e and 7ewish World. 269 law, but against a positive command.* Outward circumcision avails nothing: conscientious Gentiles deserve the preference over unconscientious Jews.t Thus these last have not the slightest advantage in a moral respect, although they are privileged in a theocratic sense, and-Paul expresses it with the same inflexible severity as John the Baptist and Jesus himself-the pharisaic pride must be silenced. After he has powerfully repelled the possible objection that upon such a supposition the whole value of circumcision vanishes,, he appeals for the justice of this his judgment. to their own law,jl i.e., to words of the whole Old Testament, especially regarded in its moral aspect. The description there given of the wickedness of the people of God, applies not less to the Jews than to the Gentiles; and since these two represent the totality of' the sinful world, it is easy to infer the judgment of Scripture upon the melancholy condition of the same. 6. It is, then, manifest that all are "under sin."9 i.e., not merely sinners, but governed by the power of sin. The absolute universality of sin is for Paul a fact proved successively by Scripture, by experience, and by the consciousness; and had he foreseen the objection that his representation of the then Jewish and Gentile world, even supposing it to be a purely accurate one, proves nothing in regard to other individuals living at a later period, he would assuredly have answered that human nature remains * Rom. ii. 9-I2. t Rom. ii. 25-29. t Rom. iii. I-8. ~ Rom. iii. 9-19. || Rom. iii. 19. ~ Rom. iii. 9. 270 Theology of the New Testament. the same in all ages. He directs the eye to the mass, as it divides itself in this way into two only apparently' dissimilar halves, but thereby expresses also his judgment upon the individuals themselves." Result: "All the world is guilty before God," i.e., subject to the curse with which the law visits transgression.t 7. Therefore, also, it follows that no flesh can be justified by works of law. In this inevitable conclusion is pronounced the righteous judgment of God upon the whole Jewish and Gentile world. How heavily this judgment presses upon it, we shall hereafter see. For the present, we are concerned, above all, with the question, What is the cause of such a lamentable condition? Compare, for the explaining and confirming of Paul's judgment on the Gentile and Jewish world, in addition to the well-known writings of Tholuck, Sepp, De Pressense, and others, our Leven v. J. 2nd edition, i. p. 265, and following. On Paul's Natural Theology, H-ebart, Die Naftiirl. Theol. des Ap. P., Niirnberg, I86o. POINTS FOR INQUIRY. DOES Paul's judgment upon heathendom, Acts xvii. I6, and following, perfectly agree with his judgment in Rom. i. I8, and following?-Value of his judgment upon Judaism.-What is the sense of Rom. ii. I4, I5?-What argumentative value has the analysis, Rom. iii. 9-20? * Compare Rom. iii. 23; v. I2; xi. 32. t Rom. iii. I9; Gal. iii. 13. Rom. iii. 2. SECTION XXXV. At an ua oLf bi11X5 (aSnriion. THE cause of this condition lies in the moral corruption of man, which, arising from the disobedience of our first parents, infects his whole nature, manifests itself in various degrees and forms, and-being by the law not only bridled, but also nourished-necessarily leads to death as the wages of sin. I. The question, Whence moral evil? was not only the life question of Gnosticism in the second century, but also a main question of the Christian gnosis of the first century. Paul also furnishes an answer to it, and it is only without reason that there has been seen in this answer nothing more than an impure remainder of his former Jewish theology. Hardly would the Apostle have adopted into his Christian doctrinal system something from the Old Testament, without having-enlightened by the Spirit of truthregarded it as the true solution of the question in point. With full confidence, we will now direct our 272 Theology of the New Testament. attention as well to his historical as to his psychological explanation of the origin of sin. 2. Sin (aAaprra) is not for Paul, as with James and Peter, a sinful act, but a culpable principle, a power which, at a given time in the history of the world, began to rule. Sin " by one man entered into the world."' What is suggested by this word (do-ijXOe) is confirmed by other texts. Yet more fully than any of his predecessors does Paul declare himself as to the origin of a kingdom of darkness, of personal evil spirits, divided into different classes, t who, as it seems, have fallen through pride, + and who, constantly active in the idolatrous heathen world,~ show themselves most hostile to the kingdom of Christ and His servants. That he regards Satan as the author of the Fall, is not, indeed, directly stated, but is in the highest degree probable. (Compare also Book of Wisdom ii. 23, 24.) He does not, however, enlarge upon this point, because he has not to do with the metaphysical, but with the historical origin of evil. He contemplates the world of men (Ko'cos) as a unity, and says that into it sin entered by one man, Adam, not Eve, as has been inferred from I Tim. ii. 14. He implies thereby not only that Adam was the first sinner, whose example all others at once followed, but-as becomes evident from the opposition instituted between Adam and Christ-that between this first act of transgression and the sin which afterwards reigned, there existed a definite connection. In what * Rom. v. I2. t Ephes. vi. 12. J I Tim. iii. 6. ~ I Cor. x. 20. 1 2 Cor. ii. Io, II. 2 Cor. xi. 3, 14; compare John viii. 44. The Cause of this Condition. 273 this connection consisted is indicated by that which immediately follows: " Death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that (e+',a) all have sinned;" and that not only in Adam, but also in themselves, as is manifest from the fact that death is universal, even among those who have not, like Adam, broken a positive command (v. 13, I4). Yet more clearly does the Apostle point out the true connection when he says (v. I9) that, "through one man's transgression many were made (constituted) sinners." If, in addition to this, we follow out the hint he gives us in his assertion, that the Jews as well as the Gentiles were by nature (blvOEt, indole sua)" children of wrath, and in his more general statement, that death came through a man (at' dvOprov), f we have a perfect right to maintain that, according to Paul, human nature has become corrupt in consequence of its descent from, and its connection with, the first transgressor; and that death is by no means the consequence of the original organisation of our nature, but a chastisement, the wages of sin. + Paul evidently implies, therefore, that the first man was originally neither sinful nor mortal. This is not in any way opposed by the fact that he elsewhere speaks of the first man as earthy,. for earthy (XoiKos) is not the same as evil. It is, moreover, scarcely to be supposed that Paul regarded matter (virk) as the origin of sin, which would necessarily lead to the execrable conception of God as the cause of sin.ll He speaks, * Ephes. ii. 3. t I Cor. xv. 21. $ Rom. vi. 23. ~ I Cor. xv. 45-47. 11 Rom. iii. 8. T 274 Theology of ize New Testament. on the contrary, of the image of God in man,* and designates knowledge and holiness as lineaments thereof. While the first man, as such, was, indeed, a material being, there was involved in this the possibility, not the necessity, of dying. That the possibility became a reality, is the especial consequence of sin. Sin and death are with Paul correlative ideas. 3. Since, then, sin has infected human nature, it lies in the nature of the case that it has defiled the whole man. In order rightly to apprehend the Apostle's conception of the physical origination and compass of sin in man, we must learn to understand his anthropology. Paul is a trichotomist-that is, he distinguishes body, soul, and spirit. This is shown with especial clearness in his prayer for the Thessalonians.t Even to the man who is yet unregenerate, the Apostle ascribes a soul (rvxri) and a spirit (7rvefp/a); this spirit, however, must be entirely renewed.+ To the spirit there is opposed, in the natural man, as a ruling power, the o-apS, i.e., the flesh-by no means equivalent to body, o-Cala-the proper seat of sin. ~ By the word flesh, we are not to understand the dominion of the senses-in this case, contrary to the assertion of Paul (I Tim. iv. 8), bodily discipline (asceticism) would be the best way to perfection, and it would be absolutely inexplicable how precisely the most spiritual of all sins, pride and want of affection, could be' Ephes. iv. 23, 24; Colos. iii. 9, 10. t I Thes. v. 23. $ E'hes. iv. 23. ~ Rom. vii. 7, 1 8 The Cause of this Condition. 275 reckoned among the works of the flesh-*-but (in the ethical sense of the word) the unsanctified human nature, as it opposes itself in a hostile manner to God, and all that is of God. t As the sinful man stands, through his spirit, in relationship with God, so does he, through his flesh, stand in relationship with the visible world, which offers to the desire of the flesh (enrOv/La) a thousand attractive but forbidden objects. Life according to the flesh is consequently of necessity not a life of love, but of selfishness,. the poisonous root, out of which grow of themselves, as it were, two opposite branches, the sins of pride and of sensuality. Sin, now, as a principle (sinfulness) manifests itself in the act of disobedience-in the doing of all that which is not becoming. This Paul indicates by different words-7rapaTrco/a, 7rapa'/paat,'rapaKoq', a' Tniea, adbKia. Out of the heart, the central point of the personality, proceeds this evil power, darkening the understanding, and misusing, like a tyrant, the different members of the body as so many weapons (o-Xa) wherewith to wage its shameful warfare against God and that which is good.~ If man yields to it, he becomes, in his whole inner and outer life, entirely under the dominion of the flesh-sold under sin. Hence the expressions, "to be in the flesh," "to live after the flesh," "to mind the things of the flesh," as * Gal. v. 20; Colos. ii. 18-23. t dacip is not -= atua, but = ao'Jua -+ Auvx, in opposition to 7rve/ua. On this account, also, the same thing is in the main implied by aapicKds and u vKcds &vOpwnros. $ 2 Cor. v. 15. ~ Rom. vi. 13. 276 Theology of t/e New Testamenzt. indicating this melancholy condition. Without doubt, Paul concedes to the sinful man the power of free self-determination, inasmuch as in the exercise of free-will, yea, even with full self-satisfaction, he sins against God;* for how could man otherwise be held guilty and worthy of chastisement?t Yea, even the heathen has in his conscience a lawgiver and an inflexible judge;; and in this very conscience does the Gospel seek and find in every man its secret point of contact.~ But in the sinner, understanding and conscience are both defiled; 11 and where his heart has become insensible, he has given himself up entirely to the service of unrighteousness.~ In speaking of such a-condition, there can be no longer any room for question as to the moral freedom of the sinner; sin is, in Paul's eyes, no weakness, but a fatal power, which, in spite of all protests of the reason and conscience, bears away the victory over the natural man. It may rise so high as not merely to blind, but harden the man, and even to cause him to find a natural pleasure in moral evil as such."* 4. After what has been said, we cannot be surprised that the Apostle declares the mind of the flesh to be enmity against God and His law.tt So much the more natural, however, is the question, in what relation, according to his view, the law stands to sin. When Paul mentions the law (6 vdoos), he ordinarily means the Mosaic law, in its whole compass of moral and * Rom. i. 28. t Rom. ii. I. $ Rom. ii. i5. ~ 2 Cor. iv. 2; v. II b. I| Tit. i. 15. ~ Eph. iv. I9. ** Rom. i. 32; Eph. iv, I9. t Rom. viii. 7. The Causes of Ihis Condition. 277 ceremonial commands, as the rule of life ordained by God. The law is by no means something sinful in itself, much less the cause of evil. It is true, indeed, as a general fact, that no sin is possible without law, but then, law is possible without sin. The law is, in its contents and aim, holy, just, and good.* It was given "because of the transgressions," t i.e., in order to restrain them it was added to the promise; it was like a stern disciplinarian, who brings unruly boys under control by holding over them the rod.+- To this extent it exerts, after its own manner, a healthful reaction against the power of sin, and teaches man to recognise it as sin, i.e., as the cause of guilt and punishment. ~ But in spite of this, its excellent aim, the operation even of the best law can, for the sinful man, be only fraught with destruction. Without the law sin is dead, 11 and only through the commandment does it revive. The law awakens in the sinner the slumbering desire after that which is evil, and calls forth on his part reaction against its own imperative requirements. Thus it becomes the power of sin~Ia power which not only reveals sin, but also constantly increases it; yea, even was with this last aim appointed by God himself, inasmuch as He willed that, through the increase of evil, the necessity for redemption should be more deeply felt, and the revelation of His grace so much the more highly prized.* The law, however, produces only wrath;tt * Rom. vii. 12; Gal. iii. 12. t Gal. iii. I9. + Gal. iii. 24, 25. ~ Rom. iii. 20; vii. 7. 11 Rom. vii. 8. C I Cor. xv. 56. ** Rom. v. 20. tt Rom. iv. 15. 278 Theology of the NlNew Testamzet. the transgression of it calls necessarily for the manifestation of its displeasure, and thereby brings the transgressor into a condition of slavish fear, which excludes all love, and renders the estrangement only greater." On this account, also, no law is able to give life to the sinner, t that is to say, to give him the true life of the spirit, which would enable him to fulfil God's will out of love to God. By works of law, therefore, i.e., works which the sinful man performs from the stand-point of law, can no flesh be justified before God. To him who fulfils the law, life is promised; he who transgresses it has thereby forfeited his life; to win God's favour again by the fulfilling of the law is so impossible that all who proceed on this principle must, on the contrary, expect the curse.~ The Mosaic law had, in a word, only a temporary and provisional worth; this is clear, if we contemplate it from a Christian stand-point. There was a time when all mankind were yet living objectively, I and Paul subjectively,T without the law. A time arrives for the Christian, in which he no longer stands under the dominion of the law as a commanding and condemning power."* So long, however, as this time has not yet come, sin and misery are only increased by the law. It can hold forth the ideal before the sinner's eye, but can never render the attainment thereof possible. 5. Thus sin brings death, just because it is wrought in opposition to the command of the law. Necessarily * Rom. viii. 15. t Gal. iii. 21. t Rom. iii. 20. ~ Gal. iii. Io. {I Rom. v. 13. ~ Rom. vii. 9. ** Rom. vi. i5. The Causes of lhis Condition. 279 it is now imputed,` as well on this side as on the other side the grave. The sinner comes short of the glory (8o6a) of God, i.e., of the honour which he would have had with God, had he not sinned and become exposed to the righteous judgment which concentrates itself in death.t The Pauline idea of death is not easy to define in its whole fulness. We are just as little entitled to restrict it to the idea of physical death alone, as we are entirely to exclude this idea. In every case the idea of spiritual death is included;. and we cannot overlook the fact that death is, in the full sense, the wages of sin, inasmuch as it ends in everlasting perdition (dc\Xeta). That Paul had also this latter in his mind, is clear from the antithesis of death and the gracious gift of everlasting life. In the idea of death there is united, consequently, that of the greatest temporal and everlasting wretchedness; and in the language of the Apostle, now this, now the other side of his subject comes into greater or lesser prominence. Spiritual death leads to temporal, and this passes over into eternal death. 11 Compare, on the principal points herein treated of, especially Ernesti, vomr Urspruzg der Siiude nac/z Pald. Lehrgethalt, 2 vols., Gott. 1863-64. Tijssen, Diss. Thzeol. Pauli A nth/ropologiamz ex/cibens, Gron. 1847. On the law, Hamerster, Diss. Theol. de lege e Pauli Ap. sententiu, Gron. 1838. A. Ritzschl, die * Rom. v. 13. t Rom. vi. 2; compare Gen. ii. 17. t Ephes. ii I, 5; Colos. ii. 13; Ephes. v. 14. ~ Rom. vi. 23. il 2 Cor. vii. o0. 280 Theology of the Neze Testament. Entstel/zngz der Alt-Katthol. Kirche, 2nd ed., I857, pp. 63-76. POINTS FOR INQUIRY. BY what peculiarity is the demonology of Paul distinguished? -What significance for his demonology has the history of the Iall?-The trichotomy of man in the writings of Paul.Paul's doctrine of the conscience.-What is the sense of Gal. ii. Ig?-What of I Tim. i. 8-Io, as compared with the view taken of the law in the Epistles to the Romans and Galatians?-Is, in Paul's teaching, even natural death regarded as a definite chastisement of sin? SECTION XXXVI. SUBJECT to the power of sin and death, man finds himself in a condition of melancholy discord, the traces of which are apparent even in nature, and the consciousness of which, when it has once been awakened, cannot but render him unspeakably wretched. In the distinct feeling of this wretchedness is, nevertheless, at the same time, given the point at which inner receptiveness for the blessings of salvation begins. i. However sad the condition into which sin has brought man (Sec. xxxv.), it would be less unendurable if the mana were entirely sunk in the sinner. This, however, according to the teaching of our Apostle, is certainly not the case; the original nature of man has been corrupted, indeed, by sin, but by no means annihilated. In consequence thereof, there naturally arises within the sinful heart a feeling of disharmony, which renders impossible the enjoyment of peace. 282 Thzoology of the New Testament. 2. The Pauline representation of discord in the sinful heart must be distinguished from that which he says of the conflict in the heart of the believer.* Even with believers, flesh and spirit do not cease to war against each other; but in the man who is yet out of Christ, while the spirit (roT rvevp/a) is present, it is as a part of his nature which is slavishly bound; he is by nature fleshly, and sold under sin.t When he begins, like Paul himself before his conversion, to come through the law to self-knowledge and a knowledge of his proper destiny, the law in his mind begins to struggle with the law in his members. There is seen now the discord between the sinful nature and the awakened conscience; but the fruitless conflict ever ends in a painful defeat, and the combatant remains an enigma to himself, unless his weakness is transformed into strength through another power than that of the law.+' Gal. v. 17. t Rom. vii. 14. 1 We have here to do with one of the most difficult, but, at the same time, one of the most important, passages in the Pauline EpistlesRom. vii. 7-24. The exposition-determined by dogmatic prepossession-which was current for centuries, would perhaps have afforded less room for difference of views, had not two questions been unceasingly confounded:-"Of whom is the Apostle here speaking?" and "To whom is his admirable description still more or less applicable?" That to the latter question the answer was given-" To every believer." will surprise no one who is no stranger to the domain of spiritual life. But from this it by no means follows that Paul is actually describing the life of the believer. Against this supposition is (I) the connection and aim of his reasoning; (2) the fact that he describes a conflict not of the srvvjtae but of the vous (the inward man) as against the flesh; and (3) his description in ver. 14 is not consistent with the idea of Christian freedom as presented in viii. 2; vi. 17; and Gal. v. 24. He is manifestly describing his former state in the light of his present condition, and the Its Consequences. 283 3. Not in the microcosm of the human heart alone, but also in the macrocosm of the world, is reflected, for the eye of the Apostle, the same element of discord. The whole creation-that is, the whole animate and inanimate nature-is unwillingly and in consequence of sin, subjected, through the will of God, to vanity, and awaits with longing expectation a redemption and glorifying which it shall receive only when the sighing of those who have the firstfruits of the Spirit is heard, and the glory of the children of God shall have been made complete and manifest. Nature suffers with humanity, since its destiny is most intimately bound up with that of humanity: both look for the same thing —redemption. 4. Sinful man cannot be redeemed by the laying aside of the body of death, for death itself is a chastisement which leads to greater misery (Sec. xxxv. 5). Paul speaks of a flaming fire, in which vengeance is taken of those who know not God, and reject the Gospel-of the suffering of punishment,even everlasting destruction, in banishment from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.@ present in which he speaks is partly to be explained by the vividness of his description, partly by the fact that the after-pains of this melancholy condition were still perceptible, inasmuch as perfect redemption was not yet enjoyed. In Rom. vii. it is just as little the mere natural man. who is described as the Christian in his normal state; but the sinner under the law, who is beginning to awaken and strive after better things, the object of the gratiaprpar;zians et prieveiens. Paul's words will recall the words of many an earnest-minded heathen: e. g., the " Fide mewiora, proboque," &c. * 2 Thes. i, 9. 284 Theology of the New Testament. Elsewhere, also, it is seen that he represents this judgment under like figures as do his contemporaries. Nowhere is there found any hint that he looks for any diminution or removal of this chastisement. He proclaims, indeed, diverse heavy judgments, which are determined in degree by the greater or lesser amount of light by which the transgressor was surrounded; but even the heathen do not escape unpunished, when they sin against the light of conscience.? On the part of man, also, nothing is to be reaped from sowing to the flesh except corruption (pOopa).t Before rejecting this teaching of the Apostle concerning a last judgment as an unimportant remnant of his former rabbinical learning, we shall do well to ask whether the Apostle in this in any way proceeds beyond that which is warranted by the word of the Lord himself and the prophetic language of the Old Testament. 5. Man, who is conscious of such a division within himself, and looks forward to such a judgment, must necessarily feel himself unspeakably miserable. Nevertheless, that which is his deepest source of suffering becomes, on the other side, his happiness: the sinner-precisely at the time when he feels himself irretrievably lost, and inasmiuch as he does so feel himself-can be saved. The clear consciousness of his own misery+ is at the same time the inner point of contact for the work of redemption. Herein is the fallen man distinguished from the fallen angel, whom Paul never otherwise represents than as taking * Rom. ii. 9-I2. t Gal. vi. 8. % Roln. vii. 23-25. Its Consequences. 28 5 pleasure in corrupting, and as given up to everlasting perdition. If, however, the salvation of the sinner, which is in this way psychologically possible, is to become an actual fact, it must proceed from God himself. On Rom. vii. 7-24, see the Commentaries of Tholuck and Lange. On Rom. viii. I9-23, our Chjristol. des A. V., pp. 303-31I. The whole Pauline conception of the depth of this wretchedness has, perhaps, after Augustine and Luther, been better understood by no one than by Blaise Pascal. See the Dissertation on this subject by Dr. Wijnmalen, Utr. 1865. POINTS FOR INQUIRY. WHAT opinion are we to form as to the person who is introduced as speaking in Rom. vii. 7-24?-Summary and criticism of the most important expositions of Rom viii. 19-23.-Harmony and criticism of the whole doctrine of man's misery as contained in Paul and in Augustine.-Its eternal truth and its permanent value. SECOND SUBDIVISION. HUMANITY AND THE INDIVIDUAL MAN THROUGH AND IN CHRIST. SECTION XXXVII. Iit Varn of sa1bafbirnx THE righteousness of God, which, on account of sin, is wanting both to Jew and Gentile, is promised to and conferred upon the sinner in a very different way than that of his own merit. The Gospel of the New Testament proclaims the mystery of a Divine plan of salvation, which, formed before the foundation of the world, was shadowed forth throughout the whole preparatory economy of the Old Testament, and revealed in the fulness of time; which embraces the Jewish and Gentile world, heaven and earth, and in gradual development shows forth, with a lustre before unknown, the majesty and glory of God. The Plan of Salvation. 287 I. What could proceed from God alone.has actually been conferred by God. For Paul it is an equally certain fact that God in Christ has done that which to the law was impossible,* as that He is the cause of all that is spiritually good (I Cor. i. 30). Therefore, also, God, in the whole fulness of His being, is called the Saviour,t whose love to sinners-a love, however, which had been entirely forfeited by them-bears the character of grace, and bestows upon them that which reason, left to itself, is not able even to comprehend.+ 2. The Gospel of this grace is consequently, according to the view of our Apostle, something absolutely new-not the continuation of the old order, but its direct opposite. It is for him the joyful message of the sinner's justification before God through faith in Christ, and, as such, a revealed secret (/wr-Tptov). For the word mystery has, in the usage of our Apostle, a sense entirely different from that in which it was later used. It signifies a matter which was before unknown, but has now come to light, and on this account ceases to be hidden, although, even after it has been made known to men, it retains its dark and mysterious side.~ "Understanding in the mystery" is obtained only through revelation [I-a peculiar supernatural act of God, which is indicated by Paul in different words-dcnroKaXv/Lns, (Qavepcovts, &c.-in which, however, it cannot be shown * Rom. viii. 3, 4. t+ Tim. i. I; ii. 3; aWTfp, a truly Pauline characteristic in the Pastoral Epistles. $ I Cor. ii. 9. ~ Rom. xi. 33. 1I Ephes. iii. 3, 4. 288 Theology of the New Testament. that he sharply distinguishes the one from the other for the indication of a different idea of revelation. What, on the other hand, is yet concealed in the future, remains, on this very account, so long as it is yet future, a mystery which, naturally, we can believe only on the word of him who declares it.* Although Paul enumerates several such mysteries, all of which fall within the domain of Christian knowledge,-F yet pre-eminently the Gospel is for him the one great mystery of Christ,~ which reveals a character by no means speculative, but, on the contrary, one especially practical.~ 3. That which is new did not on this account come in without preparation having been made for it. In principle, the New Testament is contained in the Old, and is witnessed by the law which is replaced by it, and' by the prophets, of whom it is a glorious fulfilment. 1| No Apostle has manifested a deeper insight into the whole course of the world's history than Paul. His philosophic eye sees in the whole pre-Christian period one long age of preparation which was brought to completion only in the coming of Christ.~ He is the end of the law, * the goal to which its whole economy tended; and while, before his appearing, God allowed the Gentiles, in a certain sense, to walk in their own ways,tt even the most privileged nation under the old covenant resembled * I Cor. xv. 51. t I Cor. xiii. 2; xiv. 2.: Ephes. vi. 19; Col. iv. 3. ~ I Tim. iii. i6. 1 Rom. iii. 21, 22. ~ Gal. iv. 4. ** Rom. x. 4. tt Acts xiv. i6. The Plan of Salvation, 289 a youth who had not yet come to full age.' On this account, he could regard an abandoning of Christianity only as a relapse into an earlier stage which had been already left behind,f and must look upon the continued unbelief of the Jews. as a fruit of the most melancholy blindness. The Gospel, which is of a spiritual nature, cannot possibly be understood by the psychical man as such, for it must be spiritually judged of. And no wonder, since it makes acquainted with God's purpose of saving sinners-in former ages hidden from men-a purpose which has been formed and carried into execution in accordance with His own plan. 4. The salvation proclaimed in the Gospel is nothing else than the carrying out in time of that which God had determined within himself from all eternity. Even in his earliest writings, Paul shows that he regards those who believe in Christ as elect of God,l1 in whom the ideal of ancient Israel is most beautifully realised.~5 Especially in the Epistles to the Romans and Ephesians** does this idea come prominently into the foreground. The Apostle speaks of a Divine plan of salvation whose centre is Christ, and whose end is the bright revelation of God's glorious perfection.tff This plan was no more originated in consequence of sin,,+ than it can be * Gal. iv. I, and following. t Gal. iv. 9. $ 2 Cor. iii. I4; iv. 4. ~ I Cor. ii. r4. I| I Thes. i. 4; 2 Thes. ii. 13. ~ Gal. vi. I6. ** Rom. ix.-xi.; Ephes. i. 4, and following. if Rom. xi. 36. $$ See the author's Bild Christi nach der Schrift, pp. 6I-64, Hamburg, 1864. Compare also Goodwin on Ephes. i. 9, 1o.!J 290 Theology of the New Testament. permanently frustrated by the power of sin. It is eternal as God, and is founded not on any excellence of man himself, but in God's adorable and unchangeable good pleasure-not because believers are holy, but in order that they may become so, has God chosen them;* and this their faith is not the cause, but only the sign of their election unto salvation. Without doubt, Paul knows a Divine calling and election to a participation in the blessings of (outward) Christianity; yet he nowhere makes an essential difference between this and the calling and election to everlasting salvation. He could not, indeed, make this distinction, since those to whom he explains this mystery were, as a rule, true believers. Without doubt, he speaks of the choice of the Gentiles in their totality t as opposed to the national rejection of the Jews; but nowhere is there to be found a proof that he entertains any other view than that of personal election to salvation with regard to the individuals of whom this totality is composed (7 KXAoyr?). The contrary is manifest from the way in which he consoles believers, and urges them to the work of sanctification, by reminding them of their personal predestination. "All this is singularly clear, and certainly it will not be with exegetical arguments that the system which the Augustines, the Calvins, the Gomars have built up upon these premises can henceforth be combated" (Reuss). 5. The Divine plan of salvation is in itself one and indivisible, but is for the individual only gradually * Ephes. i. 4. t Rom. ix-xi. Th/e Plan of Salvcation. 291 realised. God has known His own from eternity in love (rpoyvwoo-tl), and on this account has foreordained them (-rpoWptplol) to be conformed to the image of His Son. Only on dogmatic grounds can one desire to draw a sharp line of distinction between these two terms: in an impartial examination of the Pauline system of thought, they flow, as it were, the one into the other. " Willingly will we let pass this distinction, which in fact only conceals without revealing anything" (Schleiermacher). Both belong to the sphere of eternity; in time, on the other hand, falls the vocation (KAja-ls) with which the personal safe-conduct of the believer to the blessedness designed for him begins. The Apostle, in speaking of this vocation, conceives of it not merely as an outward call, but as one which is, at the same time, inwardly understood and comprehended. Wherever there is a calling in the Pauline sense of the word, there, at the same time, is the germ of faith and of conversion; and herein lies the logical ground for the called being spoken of as those who are here justified and hereafter glorified. That they are, however, the one and the other, they owe exclusively to the absolute good pleasure of God (evboKC^yxous, 273. ztapovoira 120. tezpacru05, 94. 1bvx;iJ 138, 274, 391. Dodd & Mead's Catalogue. IMPRISS. —A HARMONY OF THE FOUR EVANGELISTS, in the words of the Authorized Version, according to Greswell's "Harmonia Evangelica,', arranged in parallel columns; having marginal references and occasional notes, with all the events numbered in chronological succession and geographically localized in the accompanying chart. Compiled by ROBERT MIMPRISS One vol. i6mo., cloth,......... $125 I8mo. edition, cloth,...... $o 75; paper, o 60 The four accounts of the Life of Christ are here placed side by side, and so auranged that an intelligent and exaAt comparison may be made at a glance. They ase also arranged to be read as a continuous narrative. This is the Bible-Class Text-Book for Sunday Schools using Minm priss' Graduated Lessons on the Life of Christ. _ —-- STUDIES ON THE GOSPEL HARMONY, or Class Papers for Home and Bible-Class Study. Containing Suggestive Questions, Scripture Illustrations, Practical Lessons, Exercises in Supplemental Narrative, and Christ our Example. I6mo., in two vols., each, $o 40 These studies, with the Harmony above, are the Text-Books for the Bible Class in Sunday Schools studying MIMPRIss' Graduated Lessons on the Life of Christ. They are also a valuable aid to private study of the Gospels. -- T — THE STEPS OF JESUS. A Narrative Harmony of the Four Evangelists, in the words of the Authorized Version. With a Chart of the Life and Ministry of our Lord. By ROBERT MIMPRISS. I8mo., cloth, $o 75 Pocket edition, cloth,.......... 3c This volume is. in the words of the authorized version, without addition, omission, or alteration, and is a completely harmonized account of our Lord's Life and Mi e"stry in a continuous narrative. It is valuable for private reading, well suited for a Sunday-School reward, and may be used to great advantage as a reading look for classes engaged in study of the Gospel Harmony. THE PATH OF JESUS. An Outline Chart of the Holy Land, tracing the Journeys of Christ, and localizing all the events in his Life and Ministry. With cloth back, folded....... $o 20 The same, for the wall, mounted -'n rollers, size, 5i feet by 4 feet............. $7 oo Dodd & Mead's Catalogue. The Mimpriss Graded Uniform Lesson Series. FEATURES OF THE SYSTEM. The renewed interest in the Sunday-school work has led to an urgent demand for improved methods of Bible study. It is believed that the MIMPRISS SYSTEM OF INSTRUCTION fully meets this demand, and is worthy of the careful attention of the most enlightened and intelligent Sunday-school workers. It is the result of great experience and labor, and is constructed on well-tested principles, the author's works being well known as the basis of much of the late improvement in Sunday-school instruction. The following are some of its peculiarities: It is A GRADED SYSTEM. The school is divided into three grades, with a higher grade for the Bible Classes. The subject of the lesson is the same in all the grades, but adapted in each to the capacity of the scholar. This secures all the advantages of a UNIFORM LESSON throughout the school while providing a course suited to the age and capability of all classes. THE TEACHER'S MANUALS are a feature peculiar to the system which needs only to be seen to be appreciated. They contain, with the Questions, etc., in the Scholar's book, full Geographical, Explanatory, and other information, Scripture Parallels, Practical Lessons, and a variety of matter calculated to make tile lesson attractive, instructive and impressive. The Introduction is very valuable,, furnishing to the Teacher a guide in preparing and teaching the lesson, which will prove of great practical service. Upon the principle of fixing facts in the memory by associating them with localities, special attention is paid to the GEOGRAPHY. The Lesson-books, as well as the Manuals, are provided with a Chart of the Holy Land, tracing the journeys of Christ and localizing all the events in his life and ministry. The System is provided with abundant TEACHER'S AND SUPERINTENDENT'S HELPS, prepared expressly for this series of lessons. Mimpriss' well-known GOSPEL TREASURY is divided into sections corresponding to the lessons of the system, and supplies the teacher in compact form with an immense amount of information bearing upon the very subject of his study. The WALL SIZE CHART will be found an exceedingly valuable aid to the pastor or superintendent in addressing the whole school upon the lesson. It is thus remarkable for its COMPLETENESS, being provided with aids and appliances for all classes and departments. It DIFFERS entirely from the old QUESTION-BOOK SYSTEM, urging independent study upon the teacher, and providing him with ample means and facilities for qualifying himself for his work, while the scholar is taught to use the questions as a guide in his homepjreparation. Dodd & Mead's Catalogue. The Mimpriss Graded Uniform Lesson Series. From the New York Indehendent. "A vast improvement on either the old question books or the new text book plan into which many schools have been driven by disgust at their old helps-or rather hindrances." From the New York Observer. "The Graded System has the advantage of providing a uniform lesson for all the classes, and the Question Books and Teachers' Manual leave the teacher without excuse for being unprepared upon the lesson, for they contain charts and geographical aids, and Scripture parallels and practical lessons, and a variety of illustrative tnd practical matter for use at home and in the class." From the Morning Star, Dover, N. H. "We have carefully looked over these six books exhibiting the full plan of Mr. Mimpriss for having the same lesson taught at the same time to the various grades of pupils in our Sunday-schools, and are confident that it is not only practicable, but one having many and great merits." From the Church Gazette. "No longer will we find unprepared teachers and listless scholars, if these manuals are followed. Once examined by the minister or superintendent, and we do not hesitate to say the adoption of the Mimpriss system is a foregone conclusion." From the Chicago Standard. "There are three sets or grades, each comprising a question book and a teacher's manual, and furnishing such suggestions and helps as are necessary for doing the work thoroughly and effectively. The design is a new one, and we think, if prop. ery used, admirably calculated to beget interest and enthusiasm in both tach' er and scholar." Dodd & Mead's Catalogue. Thile Mimpriss Graded Uniform Lesson Series Teachers' Helps accompanying the System. For fuller descriptiozs see Catalogue pages i4 and 15. THEI GOSPEL TREASURY AND TREASURY HARMONY OF THE FOUR EVANGELISTS. With Notes, Practical Refledtions, Geographical Notices, Copious Index, Map, &c., &c. Crown 8vo., cloth extra,........ $3 50 This invaluable Teacher's HelZ is especially useful to teachers of this system. and should be in the hands of all who can afford to own a copy. It is divided into one hundred sections, corresponding with the one hundred lessons, and supplies, in one compa6t volume, just the material needed in preparing the lesson. p HE PATk OF JESUS. With cloth back, folded for the Pocket,........... $o 20 For the Wall, mounted on rollers, size 4 x 5 feet,. 7 o0 This Chart is the same as that in the Lesson-Books, Manuals, &c., but on larger scales. The pocket size is large enough for class use. The wall size should be owned by every school studying the system, and will be found an invaluable aid to thz superintendent or pastor in addressing the school upon the lesson. VT HE STEPS OF JESUS. With Chart. I8mo., cloth, $o 75 _E " " Pocket edition, cloth, flexible, 35 This volume is in the precise words of the authorized version, but arranged to read as a continuous narrative. It may be used to great advantage as a reading book for classes studying the life of Christ, and is especially adapted as a reward or present for such. GOSPEL PICTURES OF OUR LORD'S LIFE. In Chro. nological Order. From Original Drawings by Wim. Brough. Part First. 50 Cards. In a Packet..... o 35 These pictures are especially designed for the infant and younger classes. There is a card for each lesson, having, in addition to the picture, the text of the lesson printed on the back, with brief questions, &c. They will be four d a very desiraile accompaniment to the First Grade Lesson Book. Dodd r& Meads Catalogue. The Mimpriss Graded Uniform Lesson Series. Fyom tRE. W. L. GAGE, Editor and Translator of "Ritter's Palestine,' A uthor of "Studies in Bible Lands," etc. HARTFORD, March 12, 1870. Messrs. DODD & MEAD: Gentlemen —I find that the Mimpriss series will bear close examination. At the first glance the system seems rather over elaborate, but a closer inspection reveals the fact that their adaptation to all ages and stages of mind is an adequate offset to the seeming complexity. I find the books thorough, perspicuous, and attractive. In relation to the geograthy and antiquities of the Newo Testament the series is unrivalled. I think that the introduction of them will lead to a sounder knowledge of the Scriptures than will any other system which I have seen. Faithfully yours, W. L. GAGE. From THos. F. EDDY, ESQ., Sulerintendent of Fall River Mission SabbathSchool Society. FALL RIVER,.............. Messrs. DoDD & MEAD: Gents.-Having now used for six months your Mimpriss Question Book, in its three parts, in our Mission Sabbath-School, it is, without an exception, the best question book that 7e /zve ever used, and we have used in the course of 15 years some dozen or more kinds. Our children never took such an interest in their lessons or committed them so well to memory as with your books. We take great pleasure in giving our testimony to their merit. Yours truly, THOMAS F. EDDY. From the New England Church, REV. L. W. BACON, Pastor, Williamnsburgh, N. Y. March 17, I870. Messrs. DoDD & MEAD: Gentlenme-I am sure it will gratify you to know that the Mimpriss lesson book and the Teacher's Manual, which have been in use in the New England Church Sabbath School for several months, are regarded by the teachers as valuable aids to the work of religious instruction. For myself, I have ta say, that after examnzing a number of Sunday-School lesson books, Ifound the Mimzpbriss one to excel them all. Its merits are in its admirable condensation of the text of the lessons-its style of questions being such as to test the memory and at the same time to interest and impress the scholar-and the happy manner in which the practical lessons and illustrations are brought out. Then as to the Manual, a teacher must be grateful for the amount of information brought together under the several heads of geography, parallels, and explanations, which save much labor and research. With a Manual. no teacher can feel excuse for want of preparation. And as for the Dodd & Mead's Catalogue. The Mimpriss Graded Uniform Lesson Series. Gospel Treasury, it is a complete library in itself, containing everything the teacher needs, and more than can be used in our usually brief sessions, but all eminently worth being studied for purposes of familiarity with the lessons. I feel profoundly grateful for having the Mimpriss books at my command in preparing to meet my Bible class and our Teachers' weekly meeting. WILLIAM HERRIES. The practical judgment of Mr. Herries is far more valuable than any opinion 1 can render of the value of the Mimpriss series. But I am happy to add my testimony not only to the scholarship and good spirit with which the series has been prepared, but to the happy consequences of the use of it, in the increased prosperity and usefulness of our Sunday-school. LEONARD W. BACON, Pastor of the Nezv England Church. J'From the Sunday-School Times. The system is one of "graduated simultaneous instruction," and in all its parts and belongings, we hesitate not to say, is supeerior to any system now offered to Sunday-school teachers-in the points of extent of ground covered, unity and concentration of plan, historical and geographical research, catechetical power, narrative harmony, chronological order, completeness of view, and the evident aim of thorough instruction and impression,-" line upon line, precept upon precept,"of the facts and teachings of the gospel narratives. No intelligent Christian can fail to be impressed with the general strength of the system as a whole. The apparent complexity of arrangement, and difficulty of seeing, at a glance, the whole of the author's plan, we know, have deterred some from looking into it; but we assure teachers that a little proper examination will reveal to them a beauty and harmony and adaptability in the system that will delight them, and at once commend itself to their use. The plan involves study, on the part of teacher and scholar, but we are persuaded that no school can faithfully follow the course marked out without "growing in knowledge" of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. From the Chicago Advancwe. "Sunday-school teachers will find the Mimpriss lesson books on the life of Christ among the very best question books, if indeed they are not the best published. A uniform series of lessons is taken up in different books suited to classes of different ages, and an accompanying Manual aids the teacher in preparation for the class." From the Methodist aHome yournal. "We remember well when our veteran Sunday-School friend, Dr. Wise, first broached the subject of graded instruction, and we rejoice greatly in the development of the idea until it has reached the point of adaptation in the series before us, The school worked on such a system cannot fail to reach grand results." Dodd & Mead's Catalogue. The Milnpriss Graded Uniform Lesson Series, T HE LIFE OF CHRIST.-Harmonized from the Four Evangelists. A Sunday-School Lesson-Book, in THREE GRADES-Grade First, for the Younger Classes; Grade Second, for Children; Grade Third, for Youth. In boards, each Grade,.. $0.20; $I8.oo per hundred. In Paper,' ".. $o.I5; $13.00 per hundred. rEACHERS' MANUAL-For the First, Second, and Third Grades. Containing Map, Questions, Explanations, Geographical and other information, and an Introdu5tion explaining the System, and showing How TO TEACH. i8mo. In cloth, each Grade,.... S0.60; $6.o5 per dozen. In Boards,".... $o.4o; $4.25 per dozenFourth or Bible Class Grade. S TUDIES ON THE GOSPEL HARMONY.-Containing Suggestive Questions, Scripture Illustrations, PraCtical Lessons, Exercises in Supplemental Narrative, and Christ our Example. With Chart. Revised and Cheajer Edition. i6mo, board.. 0.40 $4.25 per dozen. To Accompany the Fourth Grade.'rHE GOSPELS IN HARMONY.-Having the Text of I the Four Evangelists in parallel columns, with Notes, References and Chart. --- Pocket Edition, small type, paper, 0.60; cloth, 0.75 --- I6mo'" larger "... 1.25 T.is volume is an almost indispensable accompaniment to the STUDIES ON THE HARMONY. Both editions have the Life of Christ entire, and furnish the text for the whole Ioo lessons, and thus accompany the second as well as the first v lume Df the Studies. THE GOSPEL TREASURY (see next page) is the TEACHER'S MANUAL for the Fourth Grade. The Life of Christ is completed in One H-Jundred Lessons, making a Tiwo Years' Course. The Lesson Books and Manuals, as above, contain Fifty Lessons, leavizg a Second Volume to comlete the Course. N. B.-The Second Volumne will be pubisihed in Ajril, uniform in t iAe and fil/tn with the various Grades of the First Volume. Dodd & Mead's Catalogue. IMPRISS.-GOSPEL TREASURY AND TREA.S URY HARMONY OF THE FOUR EVANGE LISTS: having the Text in parallel columns. With Scripture Illustrations, Pradtical Reflections, and Addenda Geographical, Biographical, Topographical, Historical, and Critical, illustrating manners, customs, opinions, and localities of the Sacred Narrative, with analytical and historical tables, and a very copious index: also a chart, with every event numbered and localized. By ROBERT MIMPRISS. Crown 8vo., over 900oo pp. Cloth extra, red edges,. 3 50 Quarto edition, large type, cloth extra,.... 7 5 It will be found to supply an amount and kind of information not found in any other volume, and to fill an unoccupied place in the literature of Bible Helps. Its value to Sunday-school teachers and private students of the Bible especially, is inestimable. The Haramony is according to Greswell, and in the words of the althorized version. An imiaoritnt feature is the arrangement of the Four Evangelists in parallel columns, and in juxtalosition.. This is carried out with great minuteness, giving a comparison of verses and lines, and even words for consultation at sight. The arrangement also admits of the Harmony being read as a continuous narratile.'The Notes have been carefully selected from the best sources. The Geograshkical notices are from the most reliable authorities. The A ddenda supply a great variety of matter for consultation, illustrating the text. The Scripture Illustrations are very full, and are calculated to lead to an;ntelligent knowledge of the Old and New Testaments. " It is not easy to state in a few words the nerits of this extraordinary book. To kay that it is useful, excellent, valuable, and the like, is tame, and far below its merits. It is in all respects a most unusual book,'and the labor in its preparatlon must have been immense. It is in its own department without a parallel in the language, and stands many degrees at the head of its class."-Primitive Church MAagrsaine, England. "For us who have so earnestly approved the work, and urged it upon the a-tftnion of Sunday-school teachers, it is quite unnecessary to add another word. It ranks tmong the very first companions of the Bible in bible study. It is a condensed commentary of commentaries, a right-hand helper in the preparation of NewTestament lessons."-S. S. Times. " No circulation can ever repay in money value the time expended on it. Should I ever be permitted to go over the sanie ground again, I expedt to derive great assistance from it."-Rev. 7ames Hamilton, D.D.. "The Gospel Treasury prepared by Robert Mimpriss I consider one of the most valuable helps to a Sunday-school teacher that I have ever seen."-Rev. Stebhien H. Tyng, D.D. "Anything like an adequate idea of the immense amount of information upon the New Testament incorporated within the compass of this handsome volume, it is difficult to convey. Within its portable compass we find matter compressed r Ificient to fill ten. rdinary demy octavos."-Sun -lay-School Teacher's MFz7razite BIBLE HELPS AND SV UDA Y-SCHOOL TEXT-B OOKS PUBLISHED BY DODD & MEAD (Successors to M. W. Dodd), 762 BROADWAY, NEW YORK. CRUDEN'S COMPLETE CONCORDANCE TO THE HOLY SCRIPTURES; OR, A DICTIONARY AND ALPHABETICAL INDEX TO THE BIBLE. By ALEXANDER CRUDEN, M.A. By which, I.-Any verse in the Bible IV.-A Concordance to the Proper may be readily found by looking for any Names of the Bible, and their meanirg material word in the verse. To which is in the original. added- V.-A Concordance to the Books called II.-The significations of the principal the Apocrypha. words, by which their true meanings in To which is appended an original life Scriptures are shown. of the Author, illustrated with an accurate III.-An account of Jewish customs Portrait from a Steel Engraving. and ceremonies illustrative of many portions of the Sacred Record. One vol. royal 8vo., cloth extra,... 75 Sheep, $3 50; Half morocco,......... 4 50 This is the genuine and entire edition of Cruden's great worlkthe only one embracing those features which Cruden himself and the Public, for more than a hundred years, have regarded as essential to its completeness and inestimable value. In its conmlpete form it has ever been regarded as immeasurably superior to any other work of the kind. " Cruden's Concordance, in its unabridged and complete stale, is invaluable to the biblical student, and the abridgments which have been made of it firnish no idea of the thoroughness and fulness of the original and complete work."-Rev. T/zonas De Witt, D.D. " It is a low view of such a book to consider it merely as an expedient forfindizng a certain verse. It is in reality a Bible Lexicon. As managed by Cruden, it is also an explanatory dictionary, and his definitions are, in every instance remembeled by me, sound and evangelical."-Rev. lames tfV. A lexrander, D.D. " The very interesting and useful analysis of the senses, in which the more impotr tant words of Scripture are used, gives great value to the work." —Rev. M. IV. 7acobus, D.D. " Cruden's Concordance, in its original state, I consider above all price to tne student of the Scriptures."-Rev. Francis Wayzlaznd, LL.D., President of Browl University. " We never recommend anyone to be satisfied until he is possessed of the full and complete work of Cruden. Let it be your very next investment in Bible Helps. It will pay you as you go along. How a teacher can get through his lessons without it, unless heis gifted wtth the marvellous memory of a Calvin or a Nathaniel West, we cannot see."-S. S. Titnes. "We have'ffitn been surprised to find intelligent Christians who are daily students c the Divine Record, but who had never had this volume. It ought to be in every h, usehold, where every Sabbath-school teacher and scholaa and every readel could have access to it."-New York Observer. Dodd & Mead's Catalogue. IMM ONS' SCRIPTURE MANUAL. Alphabetically and Systematically arranged. Designed to facilitate the finding of Proof Texts. By CHARLES SIMMONS. I2mo.,... $I 75 The texts are printed in full, thus saving the inconvenience of constant reference. The subjects are alphabetically arranged with 5til cross references, and an ample inrex is provided.' The work contains not merely the proof texts on the subject to which it refers, but, what appears to my own mind one of its excellences, the texts that i/lustrtte these subjedts. Though the arrangement of the subjects is alphabetical, in the illustration of the subjects themselves, the author has observed that conneition between one truth and another which gives to each its proper place."-Dr. Sprinz's Introduation. " It is incomparably superior to anything of the kind with which I am acquainted, and its extensive circulation and use cannot but have a happy influence. I have no doubt that the work will soon supersede every other of the kind, as I am clearly of the opini;ni tha; it should."-Rev. A lbert Barnes. " I consider vour text-book to be remarkably suited to the objeAt in view, and likely to be the Book which will satisfy not only common people, but ministers and all men of logical mind and cultivated taste. It is my opinion that it will take the place of all other works of the kind, and that nothing else will be called for or attempted for a great while to come."-Rev. Leonard Woods, D.D. "As a help in the selection of proo-'exts on almost any subje6t in the Bible, I know of nothing of equal value."-Rev. Enoch Pond, D.D. "A standard work which, like Cruden's Concordance, is not likely to be superseded by anything better We cannot attempt to set forth all the valuable features of this manual. We only urge all Sunday-school teachers and private Christians to get and use it."-S. S. Times. " It is far more copious and reliable than any work of the kind. A better Sel. in the study of the Bible is not accessible."- Congregationalist. " The work is dhe best of the kind within our knowledge."-New Englayner. KING'S QUESTIONS ON THE GOSPELS IN HARMONY, chronologically arranged in I89 separate lessons for Sunday Schools and Bible Classes. By WALTER KING, A.M. i8mo................... $0 40 The Same, in 3 vols., each,......... 20 This excellent question book was rewritten several times, and each successive revision tested by atual use in several of the best Sunday Schools in the country for the purpose of discovering any defe6ts or'incorporating any improvements suggested by its practical use. Though mainly designed for S. S. Bible classes, it has been in troduced with great advantage in Day schools and Families. The arrangement is chronological, the harmony being upon the basis of tie best expositors. Many valuable notes are given in the margin. The appendix contains a combined view of thirty of the most interesting scenes. Sectarian allas'ons are avoided, suiting it to all de: omina, tions.