On the whole, it may be taken for granted that St. Peter's sermons in Ac, together with his 1st Ep. and the Epp. of St. James and St. Jude, present us with the general conception of Christ current in the earliest apostolic age. By the first Christians Christ was regarded as the promised Messias, whose mission had been sealed by His resurrection and exaltation, and in whom the Jewish expecta- tions concerning the ' kingdom of God,' and an- ticipations of future 'salvation,' were spiritu,ally fulfilled. There can be little doubt that both these ideasC the kingdom' and 'salvation') were coloured by Jewish preconceptions. There was, for instance, a widespread expectation of the speedy second coming of Christ^-— an idea which seems, indeed, to have been shared by the apostles themselves. But, at any rate, the conception of Christ just indicated formed the starting-point, so to speak, for the deeper conceptions of St. Paul, the writer of He, and St. John. In proceeding to gather up the
• Sanday-Headlam on Ro V^.
t See Harnack, Dogmenncschichte, vol.1, appendix I. HamacV believes in ref;ard to 1 P lisf- that the writer holds to the old Jewish conception of *pre-exist«nce,' i.e. predestination in the counsels of God. Christ ' was manifested m these last days fol our sake, that is, He is now visibly what He already was before God. What is meant here is not aii incarnation, but a revelation ' [En(^. tr. vol. i. p. 322]. The passage lllf- may refer to the prophets either of the old or of the new dispensation, but according to the usual interpretation the OT pripheta ar"
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main oliristological tliesesof the apostolic teacliing regarded as a whole, we are for the most part, but not exclusively, dependent on these last-nientioaed writers.
The following points appear to be of main importance: (1) The conception of Christ's Lord- ship. Tlie name nvpios meets us in St. Peter's sermons, in Ja and Jude, in Jn and Rev, and in St. I'aul's Epistles, passim. The word does not necessarily imjily Divinity,* but in NT it meets us in contexts and connexions which, taken together, involve the ascription of Deity to Christ. The 'Lordship' of Christ means His 'sovereignty' in the sphere of nature and in that of grace. To Christ belongs a lordship which He has merited by His life of creaturelv service and obedience (Uo lu», 1 Co 12', 2 Co 4*). He is supreme over the universe and over His Church (Col !'»•'», Ph 2""-). Christians belong to Him (Ro 14", 1 Co 3-^); they are 'under law to Christ' (I Co 9=', Gal 6-). He is the fountainhead of all grace, authority, disciplinary and ministerial power (1 Co 5S 2 Co 10' 13"). He is to be awaited as judge (2 Co 5">). St. Paul applies to Christ OT .lahweh passages (e.g. Ro 10"=.ll 2=- ; cf. Ko 10"-", 1 Co 2"' 10'-) ; he ascribes to Him the absolute title o Kupios (1 Co IG^^", 2 Co 1» ll"' 12', Ro 14"), and in one passage, which is of the nature of a climax, he uses an even stronger expression, ' God over all blessed for evermore ' (Ro 9').t
(2) Parallel to the idea of lordship is that of Son.ship. Christ is i;i6s deov — a recognized title of Messiiih, which, like m'vios, is often illustrated by its context ; often by other characteristic NT phrases with which it is closely associated. The 'Sonship' of Christ is spoken of as unique (4 Mios uIcSs, Ro 8'- ; 4 iavTou I'lis, ib. & ; ixoi>oyevi]t, Jn 1", 1 Jn 4"), i.e. it is not ascribed to Christ merely as a Messianic title, but as connoting a personal relationship to God. The phrase is used in contexts which imply a literal pre-existence ; the Son of God is 'sent' (Ro S^ Gal i*, 1 Jn 4»- ») ; He 'comes' (1 Jn 4= 5« 6'-") ; He was originally an inhabitant of heaven ;i Co 15") ; the I. was a change of state in the life of a pre-existent being, of the Word Himself (Jn 1'"), of One who is essentially 'spirit' (2 Co 3"). J 'riie ' Sonship ' of Christ is thus defined, and acquires a new significance. It is not merely 'ethical,' i.e. such as any man may acquire by moral affinity to God ; nor merely theocratic ; it denotes a .special, unique, incommunicable relation- shin (Jn Iit^i-ss). Hence, especially in St. Paul's earlier Epistles (Th, Ro, Co, Gal), a position is habitually assigned to Ohrist which inevitably implies His real Deity. He is co-ordinated with God in greetings and farewells (e.g. 2 Th 1'-, 2 Co IS"), tie is the source of St. Paul's apostolate (Gal 1') ; tlie agent or mediator in creation (1 Co 8°) and in redemptive history (1 Co 10'). The I. was, in fact, an act of self-abnegation whereby a life of creaturelv limitations was accepted in exchange for the glories of heaven (2 Co 8», Gal 4*).
In two passages of later Epp. these christological thoughts are more fully developed. In Ph 2*-'^ St. Paul deals with the method of man's redemption. Christ is set forth as the example of one who fore- goes prerogatives that might be claimed, and renounces for a seasoiv a 8tat« of divine glory, bliss, and sovereignty which was His by natural right. The passage exhibits specially the original divine dignity, the unity, and the continuous action