Mullins ReligionCh06

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Chapter 6. The Supreme Revelation: Jesus Christ

1. Christ The Key To Scripture

JESUS CHRIST is the key to the interpretation of Scripture. He is the keystonein this vast arch of spiritual truth. One of the most conspicuous features in theOld Testament literature is its Messianic element. In many and varied formsthe rich contents of the Messianic hope are expressed. Interpreters may attempttoo much in the process of tracing out details of prophecy and fulfilment. Butthe great salient fact remains. The prophets expected a Deliverer, a greatLeader, a holy kingdom, a reign of a righteous King, Gods presence among

men, a world transformed under the power of Gods chosen One.

It follows, then, that the Gospels are for us central in our approach to the Bible.The Old Testament in all its lines of development culminates in Jesus Christ.He is the great historical fact and corner-stone of Christianity. The Epistles ofthe New Testament are devoted to the task of interpreting him.

We come into very close relations with the first Christians when we consider

the question who and what was Jesus of Nazareth. The modern regenerate manknows in himself the working of a power which calls for explanation. The NewTestament Christians faced the same question. These men who saw and heardJesus undertake to tell us in a conscious and deliberate way their ownimpressions of his power and of his person. Without any knowledge whateverof modern scientific methods these men adopt a strictly scientific spirit in theirapproach to the subject. There is no theory, no speculation, no abstractreasoning. They begin with the words and deeds of Jesus. They follow him

through his life and the events which followed. They consider him in relationto the facts of their own redeemed and morally transformed life, and in relationto the Christian movement.

In this way arose the doctrine of the person of Jesus. There are at least threegeneral stages which may be noted in the New Testament representations.First, that contained in the synoptic Gospels; secondly, that found in the Bookof Acts; thirdly, that presented by Paul and John. The teachings of Hebrews, of

James, and of the book of Revelation might be specified further as containingdistinctive elements. But space forbids exhaustive treatment, and the latterbooks do not contain material which affects the general result. Hence they arenot given separate treatment here. It will be necessary to limit ourselves to themore salient passages.


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1. In the synoptic Gospels there are at least five facts which stand forth clearlyin the accounts of Jesus:

First, his complete humanity;Secondly, his sense of Messianic calling;

Thirdly, his sinlessness;Fourthly, his unique relation to God; andFifthly, as a consequence to the preceding, his unique relation to man,to nature, and to history.

(1) The humanity of Jesus is manifest in all the synoptic records. Luke declaresthat Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man.(Luk. 2:52.) He suffered from hunger (Mat. 4: 2), weariness, and pain

(Mat. 26:38), and finally death. He was tempted not only at the beginning(Mat. 4: 1-11), but throughout his ministry. (Luk. 22:28.) He prayed.(Mat. 14:23.) He declared himself ignorant of the day and hour concerningwhich disciples made inquiry. (Mar. 13:32.) He had a human body and ahuman soul.

(2) His sense of Messianic calling is another outstanding fact in the synopticaccount of Jesus. Criticism has expended much labor to prove that this sense of

vocation was wanting in Jesus, but it is impossible to expunge it from therecord without violence. The name Christ designates Jesus as Messiah oranointed of God. At his baptism the approving voice of God the Father musthave deepened in him this conviction. (Mat. 3:17.) The temptation in thewilderness can only be explained on the basis of a deep-seated conviction ofMessianic vocation on the part of Jesus. (Mat. 4: 1ff.) The incident of theconfession of Peter at Caesarea Philippi brings it into great prominence.(Mar. 8:27-30.) Many incidents in the life of Christ point in the same direction,

such as his message to John the Baptist in prison (Mat. 11: 2ff.), hisconfession before the high priest (Mat. 26:64), and other incidents. There is notspace to discuss the self-designation of Jesus as Son of Man. It was probablybased on the passage inDan. 7:13, and was intended by Jesus as a Messianictitle pointing to his universal relations to men. It involved the idea of sufferingand future glory which would come to Jesus in his Messianic vocation.

The reserve of Jesus in announcing his Messiahship in the early stages of his

ministry was probably owing to the danger of abruptly thrusting the idea of hisown spiritual kingdom upon a people looking for a kingdom of temporalpower, and to the desire that the disciples might grow spiritually into anappreciation of him and his work. He desired that his revelation might becometheir discovery.
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(3) The sinlessness of Jesus. The formal claim to sinlessness did not constitutea leading element in the teaching of Jesus. But it is clearly implied in all hiswords and actions. Alleged weaknesses and sins, such as his anger at thehypocrisy of the Pharisees, are virtues, not faults. One passage seems to implya denial of sinlessness. InMar. 10:18Jesus declares that none is good save

one, even God. But here Jesus is thinking of goodness in its absolute oreternal form as it exists in God. The goodness of Jesus was a human goodnessachieved through temptation and struggle. He learned obedience. (Heb. 4:15;5: 8.) He was made perfect through sufferings. But his imperfection was notthat of sin, but rather of an unfolding life. If this be not true, how can weexplain the absence of confession of sin? Why is it that we search in vain forany trace of penitence in his recorded words and deeds? How can we explain

his unclouded and unbroken fellowship with God?In Johns Gospel we have a saying which denies sinfulness: Which of youconvicteth me of sin? (Joh. 8:46.) In numerous other passages in the Epistleswe find the same view expressed. (1Pe. 1:11;Php. 2: 7, 8; 1Jo. 3: 5;Heb. 7:26.)

His baptism was not a confession of sin, but a self-dedication to righteousnessand to his Messianic vocation.

(4) Jesus sustained a unique relation to God. Central in his consciousness wasthe relation to the Father. He never addresses God as our Father. Hefrequently says, My Father (Mat. 7:21; 10:32; 12:50). He never refers tohimself as a son of God, but he often refers to himself as the Son. Themost notable passage is that inMat. 11:27:

All things are delivered unto me of my Father; neither doth any knowthe Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son willeth toreveal him. f8

This passage is one of the most remarkable found anywhere in the Gospels. Itdeclares that Jesus sustains to the Father an extraordinary relation; possessesunparalleled knowledge of the Father; and performs a unique function inrevealing the Father. He correlates his own knowledge of God with Godsknowledge of him. He claims to possess all things from the Father. His ownconsciousness dwells completely in the divine consciousness. The center of his

own will coincides with the center of Gods will. Doctor Denney remarksf9 onthis passage: The sentence as a whole tells us plainly that Jesus is both to Godand man what no other can be. Dr. H. R. Mackintosh adds the followingf10 asto the special sonship here defined:
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Looking at both Jesus own mind and at Christian experience, there isno reason why we should not use the word metaphysical to denote thisspecial Sonship, not as though metaphysical stood in contrast withethical, but to mark the circumstance that this Sonship is part of theultimate realities of being.

(5) Jesus Christ sustains a unique relation to man, to nature, and to history. Inthe synoptic Gospels there is a remarkable unity in the portrait of Jesus as thatportrait stands related to man, nature, and history. We give here a baresummary merely. We have already noted his own sinlessness. We add here thathe forgives sin in others and thus exercises a divine prerogative. (Mar. 2: 6, 7,10-12.) His blood was shed for remission of sins. (Mat. 26:28); and hedeclared after his resurrection that repentance and remission of sins would be

preached in his name. (Luk. 24:47.) In his relations to Moses and the law,Jesus declares that he came to fulfil (i.e.,complete) the law. (Mat. 5:17.) He isgreater than the temple (Mat. 12: 6); he is Lord of the sabbath (Mat. 12: 8); heis the King who founds and rules in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5to 7;Luk. 22:29, 30; 19:12.) Jesus controlled the forces of nature, as witness thestilling of the tempest and other miracles. Future events were under his control.In the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth chapters of Matthew we have anextended prophecy of his future relations to mankind. He is to be the judge onthe throne before whom all nations are to be gathered.

The preceding is by no means an exhaustive statement. It is rather a baresuggestion of the salient features. But they are sufficient to show how highabove the level of ordinary men was this man. He assumes a central place inmans religious life. He is not only our religious example, but also ourreligious object. In the Son we find the Father. His resurrection and ascensioncomplete the picture. His gift of the Holy Spirit is the true explanation of his

continued presence and power among men.

2. In the book of Acts, the teachings as to the person of Christ mark anadvance over those in the synoptic Gospels in some respects. This is due to thechanged situation. Jesus has been raised from the dead and has ascended to theright hand of the Father. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit has followed. Anew era in the experience of the disciples has dawned. New powers work inand through them.

One passage contains a brief summary of the teaching in Acts. They are thewords of Peter, God hath made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom yecrucified (Act. 2:36). Two points require emphasis. First, Jesus the crucifiedis the Christ, the anointed of God, the Messiah. It was he who was predicted inthe Old Testament. It is he who is to be received by faith as the Redeemer sent
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from God. Secondly, this crucified Jesus, who is the Christ of God, is alsoLord. From every possible point of view the work of Jesus as the anointedLord is set forth in the early chapters of the book of Acts. His miracles arementioned. (Act. 10:38.) His resurrection from the dead is the supremedisclosure of his Messianic dignity and Lordship. (Act. 2:32; 10:41.) His gift

of the Holy Spirit is especially pointed out. (Act. 1: 4, 5.) In his name alone issalvation to be found. (Act. 4:12.) He is to return and restore all things.(Act. 3:21.) He is to judge the world. (Act. 17:31.)

3. The teachings of Paul occupy an important place in the New Testamenthistory as to Christs person.

The Christology of Paul presents two important aspects. First, that which is the

immediate expression of the experience of salvation through Christ, andsecondly, the theological statements which interpret this experience.

Pauls conversion on the road to Damascus is the key to his theology. JesusChrist there appeared to him in glory. There his pharisaic creed collapsed andfell in ruins. There the new life of faith began with Paul. No explanation of themarvelous revolution of this mans life other than that contained in his ownsimple narrative can adequately account for it.

The mystical or inward and experiential elements in Pauls life run through allhis Epistles. A man becomes a new creature in Christ. (2Co. 5:17.) In him theChristian is created anew unto good works. (Eph. 2:10.) In Christ is Paulscomprehensive phrase employed in every possible connection to set forth thebelievers relation to his Lord.

The Holy Spirit dwells in the believer, and in the church he is the bond of unityin Christ. Jesus Christ is the head of the body in vital union with it through the

Holy Spirit. (Col. 1:18; Eph. 4:15.) A man who is in Christ is in the Spirit. Hewho has the Spirit of Christ alone belongs to Christ. (Rom. 8: 9.) Paul does notidentify Christ and the Spirit. But he clearly defines the sphere of the Spiritsactivity by means of the phrase in Christ.

In the teachings of Paul there is not a great deal about the earthly life of Jesus.Yet this element is not lacking. The resurrection is especially emphasized.(Rom. 1: 4.) Here the statement is not that Christ became, but was declared to

be, the Son of God by the resurrection. The resurrection of Christ, along withthe crucifixion, is the central fact in Pauls gospel. The resurrection is theguaranty of the resurrection of believers. The exalted Christ is Lord of thechurch, just as in Acts. (1Co. 15: 4, 12, 13, 20-28.) Jesus is the new spiritualhead of the human race, as Adam was the natural head. (Rom. 5:12;1Co. 15:22.)
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Pauls statements as to the deity of Christ are usually incidental to otherteachings. But they are the more rather than less impressive on this account.His hearers raised no question on the point. It was the accepted view. What hesays, however, is entirely clear and convincing as to how he regarded Christ.InRom. 9: 5the word blessed follows the word God, which would not be

the case if it were simply a doxology. Moreover, the word is would be out ofplace in a doxology. The translation as Doctor Sanday gives it is, of whom isthe Christ as concerning the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever.

InHeb. 1: 8we have a quotation from the Old Testament in which Christ isaddressed as God. So by Paul inTit. 2:13he is described as our great Godand Saviour Jesus Christ.

InPhp. 2: 6begins an extended passage describing Christ as preexisting in theform of God, as emptying himself and taking the form of a servant, and beingexalted and given a name above every name.

A passage inCol. 1:15-17, expresses Christs relations to the universe in veryexplicit language. The following is asserted:

(a) Christ was the medium of creation: through him were all thingscreated.

(b) He was before all things, although not as a creature; He is the first-born of the whole creation.

(c) He is the bond of unity of all things: In him all things consist,cohere, are held together.

(d) He is the end and goal of creation; all things are unto him.

In the benedictions of Pauls Epistles he uniformly combines the name ofChrist with the name of the Father and the Spirit, clearly showing the dignitywith which he invests him in his ordinary thought.

We pass by many other notable passages in Pauls writings to consider a few inthose of John. In the prologue to the Gospel Jesus is described as the eternalWord who was in the beginning. i.e., possessed an eternal existence; who waswith God, i.e.,distinct from God; who was the creator of all things: All

things were made through him; who was God; who was the source of alllife and all light to all created beings; who became incarnate and dwelt amongus; and who gave to those who received him power (authority) to become sonsof God.
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Philo, the Jewish-Alexandrian philosopher, had developed a speculativedoctrine of the logos or divine reason. Some have thought John borrowed hisconception from Philo. Upon this point two things may be said.

First, if John was influenced by the logos idea of philosophy, it was in

harmony with the Christian movement generally. Not to combat or destroy, butto transform and purify the partial and inadequate ideas of men was theChristian method of dealing with these ideas.

Secondly, a comparison of Johns Logos with that of Philo presents a markedcontrast. In Philo the idea is abstract, speculative, variable in meaning, andbound up with the intellectual attempt to explain the divine being. In John theidea is very definite, ethical, and inspired by the historic facts as to Jesus, and

bound up with the redemptive aim of the gospel.The whole of Johns Gospel is an account of the manifestation of the divineSon of God, and the results of that manifestation among men. John is at oncehistorian and interpreter. In a great variety of passages his teaching as to Christappears. InJoh. 5:23the Son receives equal honor with the Father. InJoh. 5:27-29 authority to judge man is given to the Son. InJoh. 6:62the Son ofman is described as ascending where he was before. InJoh. 16:28he is said to

have come out from the Father. InJoh. 17: 5, in his intercessory prayer,Jesus prays to the Father that he may be glorified with the glory which he hadwith the Father before the world was made. InJoh. 20:28Thomas addressesJesus as my Lord and my God.

The above is by no means an exhaustive setting forth of the New Testamentdoctrine of the Person of Christ. There is really an embarrassment of riches inthe material. It has seemed better to select a limited number of typical andrepresentative passages than to attempt an exhaustive array of citations. Thatthe deity and preexistence of Christ are taught in the New Testament is one ofthe most assured results of modern scientific exegesis. Scholars who object tothe supernatural of course reject the doctrine as untrue. But as a matter ofexegesis there are few who question the conclusion we have reached.

We may now sum up briefly our review of the New Testament teachings.

(1) We are impressed, in the synoptic records, with the fact of the perfect

humanity of Jesus. That humanity is seen in the life of his body with itslimitations, its hunger and thirst, its need and dependence. It is seen in hismental growth in wisdom, along with his physical growth in stature. It is seenin the reality of the temptations he endured. These he overcame without sin,but they were none the less real. His humanity is seen further in his
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dependence on the Holy Spirit. It is seen finally in his gradual achievement ofhis life purpose and mission under the earthly conditions of time and space.

(2) In the synoptic Gospels we have also an account of the human Jesus whichpresents him as possessing attributes and functions which are wholly

extraordinary. His relations to God and man are far above the level of ordinarymen. He is in relation to God the supreme and authoritative revelation. Inrelation to man he is the religious object and medium of salvation.

(3) In the book of Acts we find the next stage in the development of thedoctrine of Christs Person. The new facts of the resurrection and ascension,along with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, called for a correspondingexpression of Christs significance for the individual believer and for the

church. That expression we find in the declarations as to his crucified and risenlife, his Messiahship and Lordship, his exaltation at Gods right hand, his reignover his kingdom, and his expected return in glory. The interpretation of hisperson kept pace with his redeeming activity.

(4) In the writings of Paul and John we find the answer to the questions whichinevitably arose out of the redemptive power of Christ in the experience of thefirst Christians. The mind could not rest in the assertion that Jesus was Lord

and Saviour. Men were certain to ask what were the relations of this Lord andSaviour to God himself. In the words of Paul and John we find the following:

a.There was an eternal relation between the Father and the Son. There wasmutual knowledge and love, a mutual sharing in the divine life.

b.The coming of Christ into the world cannot be explained in terms ofordinary evolution or natural causation. He did not arise out of time, butentered into time relations for a divine end.

c.The coming of Christ into the world was more than the entrance of God intothe life of an ordinary man. It was a coming of God into the world, not the riseof an extraordinary man into unique relations with God. In Jesus Christ, Godhimself has come near to men for their redemption. He lives and reigns in andthrough Jesus Christ and in him fulfils his eternal purpose of love.

d.This relation of Christ to the fulfilment of Gods eternal purpose among menarises out of an eternal relation between the Father and the Son, and is inharmony with the activity of the Son as the outgoing principle of the divinenature. In virtue of this relation the Son is the eternal medium of creation forthe entire universe.

e.As a consequence of the redemptive activity of the incarnate Son, a newinterpretation of history is given. In this interpretation all lines of development


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converge upon and meet in Jesus Christ. Without him the course of the worldcannot be understood.

f.In his incarnate life he is sometimes represented as being subordinate to theFather. This is due to the human conditions and the life of obedience. It does

not detract from the reality of his deity.

2. J esus Christ In Modern Religious Experience

The preceding view of Jesus in its main points has been central in thedevelopment of Christian life and doctrine. The great creeds of Christendomare conclusive on this point. Recent biblical scholarship is practicallyunanimous in its conclusion to the same effect. But the experience which

modern regenerate men have of God in Christ is, for them, the mostconvincing evidence.

It is well to recall at this point how the doctrine of Christs Person arose in theNew Testament, and how it arises with us. For one thing we do not frame ourteaching as the result of apriori reasoning or merely logical inference fromobjective facts. Again, while the knowledge of Christ is mediated to us throughthe New Testament, and while the New Testament is absolutely indispensable

for that knowledge, our faith in Christ is not to be confounded with mere beliefin a record of past events, however convincing in itself. It is rather a viewwhich results from the redeeming activity of Christ in our experience. It is thusthe revelation of God in and through Christ, completed and made effective forus by the redemption wrought for us and in us. Since Christ works now as hewrought then, our own experience becomes the Amen, as it were, of the NewTestament experience. What we have, then, on the one hand is not the barebelief of a history of events which took place two thousand years ago; nor, on

the other hand, mere trust in our own subjective experience apart from thehistorical records. It is the union of the two forms of knowledge whichcompletes our view of Christ. Our construction of Christian doctrine rests on afact basis entirely: first and primarily, the facts of the New Testament records,and secondly, our direct and immediate experience of Christ as redeemingLord.

Affirmations as to Christ in Experience

The following statements are necessary to express what Christ is to theredeemed man.

First, Christ is the revealer of God. In him we have not indeed a disclosure asto the substance of the divine nature. Ultimate realities of this kind are thematerial of philosophic speculation. But in Jesus is made known to us the


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ultimate reality of God as a moral and spiritual being. In him God appears asrighteous love. In him God comes near for our salvation. In him the grace andpower of God are manifested for our redemption. In him God takes theinitiative in seeking us. We are found and awakened by the gospel. But our sinbinds us. We know ourselves alienated in heart and life from God. We are

unable to redeem ourselves. We belong to a kingdom of evil and are heldcaptive. We need forgiveness and reconciliation. Through his atoning workChrist brings God near in forgiving grace. We need moral and spiritualtransformation. Christ supplies the motives which lead to repentance and thenew life. He also supplies through the indwelling Spirit the ideal for our innerlife. In Christ is the phrase which expresses the total meaning of the newlife. He is its source, its structural law, and its goal. We are, in other words,

regenerated and spiritually reconstituted in Jesus Christ.Secondly, through Christ we now become identified with the community ofbelievers, the church. In it our social relations are reconstituted in Christ. Thegoal and end of his activity and of ours is the kingdom of God as it is summedup in the great petition of the prayer he taught his disciples. Our wills becomeidentified with his.

Thirdly, we thus come to know Jesus Christ as Lord of the kingdom, who

guides and rules in it, and assumes a relation to all secular history and to thepowers of nature. It is impossible that he should remain as a merely detachedand spiritual influence over men if his kingdom is a reality in the world. Thekingdom of evil is everywhere in evidence. The New Testament Christians, asclearly seen in the book of Revelation, thought of Jesus as the Lord of allhistory gradually conquering the hostile powers.

In theFourth place, Christ is the key to doctrine. If we know objects by what

they do, by their activities, we are bound to seek some satisfactory expressionof the meaning of Jesus in all his various relations. He works in us in oursalvation that which we recognize as a divine work. Hence we seek to knowhis relations to God through definitions of his person. He emancipates fromsin. Hence out of experience arises a consciousness of sin in relation to him.Thus we are led to formulate a doctrine of man and his sin. We see in him thecentral movement of Gods purpose toward mankind. In this way we are led tothe doctrine of the eternal purpose or decrees of God. Christs relations to the

ongoing of the world bring us to the doctrine of Providence. His atoning work,which, along with his incarnation, constitutes the basis of his redeemingactivity, leads to the general doctrine of salvation in its personal significance,its present ethical and social expression, and in its outcome in the future life.All these themes will be developed in the following pages. In the next chapterwe discuss the deity of Jesus Christ. In the proofs therein presented we assume


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all the New Testament evidence of his deity we have set forth in the presentchapter.

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