The Fundamentals - 1910: Vol.10

92

The Fundamentals or not. And since the Acts of the Apostles purports to be a continuation of the Gospel of Luke, we are led to conclude that the Gospel must be trustworthy also, and that all the Synoptists set forth real facts. Such a conclusion involves the historicity of Jesus Christ. Our second argument is concerned with The Apologetic Value of the References in Paul’s Epistles to the Person of Christ. The conversion of Paul admitted as a fact, we have seen that it leads back by degrees to the fact of Christ. But what sort of a Christ ? The reader will be struck with the fact that, in these Epistles, The Earthly Life of the Christ is Represented as Singularly Free from the Miraculous. He is born of a woman, born under the law (Gal. 4 : 4 ) ; He springs from Israel, and is, according to the flesh, from the tribe of Judah and the seed of David (Rom. 9 :5 ; 1 :3 ) ; He is Unknown to the princes of this world (1 Cor. 2 : 8 ) ; He is poor, hated, persecuted, crucified (2 Cor. 8 :9 ; Gal. 6:14; 1 Cor. 1:23-25 ; 2 :2 ) ; He is betrayed at night just after He has instituted the supper (1 Cor. 15:23); He dies on the cross, to which He had been fastened with nails, and is buried (1 Cor. 15:3, 4). This account it will be seen is at one with that of the Synoptists, with the .exception that we do not hear of a supernatural birth, nor is there any emphasis placed upon supernatural works. In its main outlines the por­ trait of the man Jesus agrees perfectly with that of the Synop­ tic Gospels, and lends credence to the history of the Galilean Prophet. On the other hand I Christ is Represented as a Being o f Ideal Majesty. The doctrine of Christ’s person as found in these four great epistles is no mere theological speculation; it is the out­ growth of religious experience. Jesus was, for Paul, the Lord because He was the Saviour. Four leading truths with refer­ ence to Christ are brought into prominence in his writings:

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