judgment, mercy, and faith. Hspeciall>- significant ar. WMr-i-
scribes that the Christ is the son of David ? David hiiiist h sai.l in the Holy Spirit, The Lord said unto m\' Lord, etc. Da\iJ himself calleth him Lord, and whence is he his son?'
(i) Besides the passages already cited, the fol- lowing show that Christ represents His Apostles as being the organs of the Holy Spirit in such sense tliat their teachings, qua Apostles, are ultimate and infallible in all matters of faitli and duty : ' And I also say unto thee. That thou art Peter, etc. ... I will give unto thee tlie keys of tlie kingdom of heaven : and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven : and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth shall be loosed in heaven ' (Mt 16'"-). Tlie same promise is made to the Apostles, no doubt to all of them, in Jit 18i». In Jn 20-'- we read, ' And when he had said this he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit : whose soever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven ; whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.'
r. «-, i,s (\T ri,rnl. i. 142, footnote) regards Mt IS'Sas ad- dr<--Ml 1 . Ill' iisriples in the wider sense,' and avoids bring- inu^:'> ii' ii,;.nf into collision with the facts of history only h} tiiMJiiu' III th'iii ' nothing else than the authorization of the Ai-Kjslles to pro'iaiin the message by means of which men are called into the Kingdom' (ih. p. 139, where he is commenting more particularly upon Mt 1619. On the other side see art. • Power of the Keys' in Hastings' DB, vol. iv.). To most per- sons, however, such a view of this passage will appear inade- quate. Dr. Chas. Hodge, believing that the grant of power made in these words was not designed to be limited to the .\postles, seeks to avoid collision with the facts of historv bv representing it as made to the invisible Church {Church Pollti}.
Apostles, and to no others, appears pr^^i Mt 16l8f. and Jn 2022f-, but even more so ii Mt ISlff- with Mk 9338-. That the Chun, Christ, was invested with a limited jul already been shown.
The full character and extent of the power with which Christ represents His Apostles as being clothed appear conspicuously in the words, ' And whosoever shall not receive you nor hear your words, as ye go forth out of that liouse, or that city, shake off the dust of your feet. Verily, I s,ay unto you. It sliall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and (iomorrah in the day of judg- ment than for tlial cily" (Mt lO'"-. With this should be compared Mt 11-*). Tlie sufficient
ground for such a statement is furnislied by tlie words also spoken of the Apostles (and subse- quentlj' of ' tlie seventy,' who received a similar, but more temporary commission, Lk 10'*) — ' He that reeeiveth you receiveth nie, and lie that re- ceiveth me receiveth him that sent me ' (Mt 10^", cf. Jn 13-').
(<•) That Christ claimed for Himself a judicial authority that was absolute and final, needs hardly to be illustrated. It appears from such facts as tliat He taught as one liaving authority (Mk 1~- ^, Lk 4*^) ; He always commanded and never merely counselled (Mt 28^", Lk 8^=, Mt Ifr"^) ; while unfail- ingly tender. He did not tolerate even well-meant correction (Mt 16'^'-) ; He invited, expected, and demanded of His disciples the most complete and unreserved surrender to His teachings and to His will.
* hj-pocoristic expressions ' or ' endearing diminutives ' t. by Professor B. B. \yarfield in BiUe Student and
dependence, and submission (
et passim). Both His authority and the nature of it are less veiled behind the very common designation of ' disciples." ' A disciple,' says our Lord, using the figure of tneiosis, ' is not above his teacher' (.Mt 102-'). The very terms of discipleship
' If anv man,' savs He, *will come after me, let him deny him- s. If, and take up his cross and follow me ' (Mk S», Lk 925). i„ I h. saying, ' Ye call me Teacher and Lord : and ye say well : for SM I am ' (.Jn 131^), * teacher ' is suggestively united with * Lord.' And not less suited to arrest the attention is the statement, ' liut be ye not called Rabbi : for one is your teacher, and all ye are brethren ' (Mt 238).
Once more, Christ declared Himself to be ' The Way, and the Truth, and the Life' (Jn 14«) ; He invited men to believe in Himself just as they believed in God (v.') ; He conditioned His ble.ss- ings upon the acceptance of His ' yoke ' and His teachings (Mt 11'^). Nay, He conditioned men's everlasting salvation upon their unquestioning acceptance of His statements about Himself (Jn 8" ; for the repetition of this thought in a slightly different form see Mt 233"-, Lk 13*"- 19»" ). The word that He spake was to judge them at the last day (Jn 12^). His Avords are God's words : ' The words that I say unto you, I speak not from myself : but the Father abiding in me he doeth the works' (Jn 14'"). In a word. He and the Father are one (Jn 10*') ; seeing Him, one .sees the Father (14') ; the 'Spirit of truth ' in guiding into all truth was to glorify Him, ' for,' said our Lord, ' he shall take of mine, and shall declare it unto you. All things whatsoever the Father hath are mine : therefore said I that he shall take of mine and shall declare it unto you ' (1()'").