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Spirit; and, second, He was the Son of God (Lk
1°), corresponding with His relation to the Father. He was as sinless as the Holy Ghost.
His sinlessness and His supernatural birth are put together. The RV of Lk 1° shows that the one was rooted in the other; because of this Divine origin ‘wherefore, also, that which is to be born shall be called holy, the Son of God.’ It was to bring out the truth that ‘it was not the Sonship but His holiness from His very birth, which was secured by the miraculous conception,’ that the Revisers were so careful to correct the translation here (Dr. D. Brown in Presb. and Ref. Rev. 1896, p. 232; ef. Hofmann, NT Theol. 25). His sinless- ness was not incidental, but was of His very being. The non potwit peccare lay in His nature ; other- wise, through childhood and youth He could not have developed without some falls into sin. He was one with the Holy Ghost. He is also so one with the Father that His name is ‘God with us’ (Mt 1%); and His kingdom, like that of J”, is everlasting (Lk 1"). The angel of the Lord calls Him Christ the Lord (Lk 21"); for the identifi- cation of the Messiah with Jehovah, long foretold, was now a historic reality.
(3) The birth of Jesus was of God and of the Spirit of God ; in like manner He was baptized for service in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. The Baptist says that Jehovah sent him to watch for the coming of the Son of God ; and the sign of His coming, as all Israel knew (Is 23) would be the descent and abiding upon Him of the Holy Ghost. His great mission, in contrast to that of John, would be to baptize men with the Holy Ghost. In the Gospel to the Hebrews (G4) the Holy Spirit says, ‘ Fili mi, in omnibus pro- phetis eapectabam te, ut venires et requiescerem im te. Tu es enim requics mea, tu es filius mers primogenitus, qui regnas in sempiternum. ‘The most Jewish Christians had definite views of the Divine Christ and the personal Spirit. We are not sure (Jn 1%18) where the testimony of John passes over into that of the Evangelist; in any case, the witness is remarkable. He knows that the Son came from heaven (Jn 3%), was pre- existent, and because of His heavenly origin was above all human forerunners (1° *), What Christ taught He learned by seeing and hearing it from God (3%). He bore the sins of the world (Jn 12% 36), because He was the Lamb of God and a heavenly offering (v.”). He was the final Judge of the sinners of the world (Mt 3), because He was Jehovah and His way was the way of J” (Jn 1%), Such was the Son of God whom John recog- nized at baptism, through the statement of the Father that the Spirit would rest.as a dove upon the Son. John adds, ‘I saw and bare record that this is the Son of God’ (Jn 14). The Synoptists add that the Father spake from heaven when the Spirit descended, saying, ‘Thou art my beloved Son’ (Mt 3”, Mk 1" 3”). The objective dove symbol was an indication that the Spirit was dis- tinct from the Father who spake, and from the Son who heard the Father’s voice and beheld the dove descend (Mk 1°).
(4) The double witness of Father and Spirit to the Son was regarded as His commission to enter upon His ministry of redemption. And, what is of special importance, Jesus now received authority to baptize men with the Holy Ghost. The Baptist and all four Evangelists regard this as the great truth set forth in Christ’s baptism (Mt 3", Mk EF Ine sim. 28)" and the risen Lord confirms their view (Jn 3°, Ac 1’). His work was as far above John’s as the Spirit of God is above water. The OT taught that the Holy Spirit would come with the Messiah (cf. J] 278, Is 11°); the Baptist takes a long step beyond this in proclaiming that the
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310 TRINITY
TRINITY
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Holy Spirit comes directly from the Messiah as Son of God. The truth here developed is that the Holy Ghost stands in the same relation to the Son that He does to the Father (cf. Is 44%), He is the Spirit of God ; He is also the Spirit of Christ. At the birth of Jesus the Son appeared as conceived by the Spirit ; now the Spirit appears as proceeding from the Son. In the one case Jesus received of the Spirit; in the other the Spirit received of Christ. The Spirit in relation to Jesus Christ cannot be cause in the same sense in which He is effect. We touch here the mystery of the God- man, in which apparently contradictory statements respecting Him find their simplest’ solution by reference to His human and Divine natures (cf. Novatian, de Trin. xi. ; Augustine, de Trin. i. 8). As man the Messiah needed the Spirit as means of perfect human development ; as God He imparted the Spirit to believers for regeneration and full redemption.
(5) The Temptation of Jesus was closely connected with His baptism as introduction to service. The conflict with Satan had to do with the true relation of the Son to the Father; and it was the Spirit that drove Him to this conflict (Mk 1”). “If thou be the Son of God’ was the repeated taunt. The second Adam stood where the first Adam fell. The threefold temptation was the same—lust of the flesh, lust of the eye, and pride of life ; bread good for food, to know as much ag God, to have the kingdoms of the world, so pleasant to the eyes, at once in Messianic possession. It was a battle of the evil spirit and the Holy Spirit with ministering angels (Mt 4"), It was a struggle of the Son of God and the god of this world, in which the aim of the tempter was to tear Christ out of His one- ness with the Father. The same truth appears in the Transfiguration (Mt 1778), In face of Satan (16), doubting disciples, and the cross (179), the Son stood to reveal what is called the Trinity. The bright cloud of the presence of Jehovah (UES 8111) is here: the Father addressed Jesus as ‘my beloved Son,’ telling the Church to ‘ hear him’ as the great Prophet (Dt 18-18); and He was trans- figured by the Holy Ghost (meTeuwoppabOn ; cf. év Hopp Beot, Ph 28,1 Ti 36) in anticipation of His return to the glory of the Father. Christ was now ready for His public ministry. Born of the Spirit, baptized of the Spirit, victorious over the devil b the Spirit, He returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee (Lk 4%). His first public utterance in Nazareth was, ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me’; and ‘the eyes of all . . . were fastened upon him ; for he said, This day is this scripture ful- filled in your ears’ (Lk 45), He knew that both Himself and His gospel came from God the Father and the Spirit of God.