The Fundamentals - 1910: Vol.10

The Apologetic Value of Paul’s Epistles 95 for our sins; 2, He was buried; 3, He rose on the third day; 4, He appeared to many disciples, and 5, Last of all, He ap­ peared to Paul himself. These are the things that are vital in Paul’s preaching. When we remember that, as a Pharisee, his prejudices were all against the Gospel, we must come to the conclusion that Paul’s testimony argues most strongly for the historicity of the resurrection and the truths involved therein. It may not be out of place to re-iterate what has already been stated regarding Paul’s use of the expression, “His own Son,” in Rom, 8 :3 . This passage deals with the broth­ erhood of sons. Jesus, amid the multitudes having the right to call themselves sons of God, is an unique figure, towering above them all. In 2 Cor. 4 :4, it is stated that Christ is the image of God, and in Rom. 8:29 it is said that the des­ tiny of believers is to be conformed to the image of God’s Son. The ideal for Christians is to bear the image of Christ. For Christ Himself is reserved the distinction of being the image of God. This throws a side light upon Paul’s idea of Christ’s sonship. He is represented as the one Lord by whom or on account of whom are all things (1 Cor. 8 :6 ) . According as 81 oi or 81 ov is accepted as the reading, Jesus is the Creator of all things or furnishes the Divine reason for creation. The groaning of the creation in labor for the brnging forth of a new redeemed world is a graphic picture of the relation of Christ’s redemp­ tive work to the physical universe. (Rom. 8:22.) It is true that this teaching goes beyond that of the Gospels in some particulars, but it agrees with John’s Gospel when it teaches the creatorship of the Logos. (John 1:3.) In 1 Cor. 8: 5, 6, the term “Lord” gains equal significance to that of “Son”. In view of pagan polytheism, the Apostle sets one real Oebs over against the many deal Xeyo/ievoi of pagan­ ism, and one real Lord over against its kvdioi iroWol. It would

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