(6) The NT doctrine of the Trinity, presented as it is chiefly from the point of view of the Son, con- tains the following elements :—
First, There is one God, Jehovah, the Father everlasting,
Second, Ever with Him was His Divine Spirit.
Third, With Him also, from before the founda- tion of the world, was His only-begotten Son, en- Joying perfect knowledge of the Father, and sharine His glory. a
Fourth, In the fulness of time the into this world (a) by incarnation (Jn ])- ) through the co-operation of the Father and Spirit (Mt 18-99, Lk 1%) and (6) by humiliation, éavroy éxévwoev (Ph 2"),
Fifth, This coming was for the salvation of men; it was preceded by the love of the Father and followed by the work of the Spirit.
Sixth, In His incarnate mission to save men, the Son was endued with the Holy Ghost without measure,
Son came
Seventh, Following the work of humiliation, which ended in death and burial, came the resur- rection and exaltation of the Son through the co-operation of the Spirit (1 P 38) and His ascen- sion to the Father where He was before.
Highth, This ascension was a triumph over Satan and his kingdom, a reward for the Son, in which He received all Divine gifts for men, these gifts being summed up in the Holy Ghost, whose coming to earth was inseparable from the Son’s glorification in heaven. The two foci of NT Christianity are: (a) God sending the Son from heaven to earth to redeem men, and (6) the risen and glorified Christ sending the Holy Spirit to make men partakers of that redemption.
Ninth, The Church is under the constant pro- vidence and mediatorship of the exalted Son and the immanent Spirit : this is sometimes presented as what Christ has done for us, and, again, as what He does in us, by the Spirit.
Tenth, When the end comes, the Son will re- turn and judge mankind ; He will then terminate all that is temporal in His kingdom; and F ather, Son, and Holy Spirit will continue for ever in those Divine relations which took on the colour of time and space in the history of redemption. Of these inner relations of the Trinity neither Jesus nor the Apostles speak. The Scriptures re- veal only the side of the Divine being which has to do with God’s relation to the world and man ; yet the doctrine of the Godhead in these respects is so set forth as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that, if such representations rest upon reality, we seem constrained to believe that there are personal dis- tinctions within the Divine Essence.
When we pass to Christ’s entrance upon His ministry, we touch the whole sequence of thought here outlined as involved in the Trinity. In the Synoptic accounts Jesus presents the gospel as the kingdom of God the Father, to enter which men must not only accept the words of Christ, but have faith in Him as Saviour; in the Fourth Gospel Jesus offers salvation as eternal life. This life is in the Son, and is imparted by the Spirit.
li. Teaching of Jesus.—(1) In the Synoptic Gos- pels Jesus appears (@) as proclaimer and bringer of God’s kingdom. He came from the Father (Mt 20° ; ef. Jn 161), had all the Father had (1177 28'8), and entered this world able to seek and to save the lost (Mt 15% 184, Lk 19”), In this im- plied pre-existence Jesus claimed more than ethical oneness with God. Ethical pre-existence is no true pre-existence. It was Jewish theologians whom He challenged to tell whose son the Messiah is (Mt 22%); and when they answered ‘the gon of David,’ He replied that David, speaking by the Holy Ghost —whom Jesus presupposed as well known from the OT — called his son his Lord. Isaiah knew (11!) that the Messianic ‘rod? and ‘branch’ sprang from the stem of Jesse, and pointed to a Lord and kingdom above that of David; so Jesus teaches that His sonship was not simply from David, but from a source which made Him David’s Lord. He was David’s Lord in heaven before He appeared as Jesus on earth (cf. Mt O29: Mk 9°”, Lk 98), Such seems to be the argument, This heavenly origin made Him well-pleasing in the sight of God (Mt 317 1218 17°), set Him above the angels in heaven, put Him next the Father (Mk 13”), and gave Him authority from the Father to forgive sins (Mk 2). As Son of God He cast out devils and empowered others to cast them out (38"). Jehovah said, ‘Look unto me, and be ye
saved, all the ends of the earth ; for Iam God, and there is none else’ (Is 452); Jesus does not hesitate to put Himself in place of J” in the same invita- tion : ‘Come unto me all ye that labour’ (Mt RE
Salvation depends upon Him (11), and He is
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always present to save (Mt 18"). Because He was ever with God (Mt 24°; cf. Dn 7°), He can judge men from the beginning of time to the end. As Son of Man He will welcome the saints to glory (Mt 25*4, Lk 23°) and sentence the wicked to outer darkness. Jesus knows God as well as God knows Him (Mt 11°), Only the omniscient Father can know the being of the Divine Son (16", Lk 10”). The sole confession of faith which He approved was that of His own Divinity (Mt 16"); and upon that He built His Church (v.'8, ef. Jn 178). He did not declare sins forgiven: He imparted forgiveness (Mk 2°), The consciousness of Jesus speaks as of one who was with God before all time, through all time, and who continues in eternity with God. His words were thus understood by the Jews (Mk 27, Jn 5'8) and by the Apostles (Mt 10%, Jn 4°! 5° 6°8-40, 1] Co 1547, 1 Th 1° 438), The words imply such a relation as theologians call the Trinity.