In this pre-existent state the Son is the efl'ulgence of God's glory, the very image of His substance (V). Without f..nii;illv ;iis,iis.si],.4 tl„. ,|uesti.,n ..1 the being of God. tlir ulKn- hns :ilic:nly Mll|.:i--.-,l any mere mon:nli-iii. (;■.,! i, n.ii li.ii-r .i h^ir.iri unity. With (i.jd Ihnv is Our wli., .N.nlly ,<.nc- .sponds to Himself, who gives back to Him the glory which is His. Between Him and God there is perfect oneness. Between these two there is no room for a mediator. The functions of the Son in this state are not described further than to indi- cate that no department of the universe is outside the scope of His power (P). There is no room, accordingly, for any being, other than the Son of God, to whom worsliip or gratitude is due.
(2) The incarnate life. — This writer, like the Apostle Paul, passes by all the questions, so abun- dantly discussed in later theology, as to ' two natures,' etc. His whole interest is concerned with the heart-subduing fact that the birth of Christ is the descent of a Divine Being from heaven to earth, the definite assumption by Him of a complete and true humanity (2^' 10= 2"). To this writer the humanity of Jesus is wonderful and glorious. A Being truly Divine has become man, and has entered fully into human experience. There is nothing human that is not His, sin excepted. Temptation, suffering, death— He passed through them all. All this He endured in pursuance of the
I vociitiun with \xliich He entered humanity. Before Him lay His task. Beyond shone the glory. Not '■111. , ini .so great a glory, would He evade one liiiiiKui sniidw. It was all wanted to perfect Him in His Ndiation (2'° 5'- '). The resemblance to St. Paul's line of thought in Ph 2=-'^ is obvious.
(3) The exaltation. — The position of majesty which the Son now occupies is described in two aspects. (a) Its possibiliti/ is due to what He was in Himself, antecedently to His human ex- periences. He has been appointed heir of all things, both because He is the Son of God and because, through Him, (iod made the worlds (1-). He has sat down on tlic riyhl h:m.l of the majesty on high, because He i-, in Hi- xciy nature, the effulgence of God's gli>i\ ami the- \oi y image of His .sub.stance. No being less tlian Goil, in His own person, could occupy such a place, [b) Its attain- ment is due to His discharge of His redemptive mission, and is of the nature of a reward for His fidelity. His present position presupposes His pre- existent place and function, and yet is distinct from them. It is that of King in God's realm of redemption.
Here, just as in coime.xion with the incarnate condition, questions arise wliich this writer does not discuss. *The rela- tion of this rule to the primary rule of God, or to His own primary upholding of all things by the word of His power, is not indicated ' (A. " " " " ""' -•
faith that, in the u that of the exalted Redeemer.
V. The Fourth Gospel. — St. John's Christ- ology, like that of St. Paul, is the transcript of his experience. He makes plain his object in tell- ing the story of the life of Christ (20»'-). Out of all the mass of material which his memory pro- vides, he selects those incidents which may be most useful in proving to generations which had not the privilege of direct vision, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. The principles of selection, and the insight into the meaning of words and deeds which are reproduced, are due to a lifetime of thought and communion, as well as to the continual illumination of the Spirit of Christ. St. John's conception of Christ is summarily set forth in the Prologue to the lUarrative (!'"'*). No doubt the.se much-debated verses are meant to pro\ide the point of view which the reader of the narrative is to occupy; but equally without doubt tliey do not present an idea, formed in speculation, and then employed to determine the narrative, to invent the incidents, and to create the discourses. Tlie narrative, with the «..rds .■nid signs, lo-i,,,lly pivre.lrs the Pro- logue, w hirh jin-sciits Us w il li 1 lir r\\ larteil lueaii- iii-of the history. 'I'l.o {'.i-mi pm 1 1 ay,.,! in the ii,ai'rati\ e is One o'f \\ hose liistoiy, in the w ider sense, the earthly career is hut a jiart. He had a being with God Y)efore He was seen on earth. He had a Divine mode of existence and exercised Divine functions, before He appeared as a man and wroiiulit His ileeils througli human organsof action. At the si-t time He entered into humanity, and, throu.iili li\iii;; iiiiereourse with men, revealed to them the glory of His person, and interpreted for them the character of tlm inviMl.le (;,„1. The remarkable feature ni ilie I'lolo-ne is In use of the term Logos to desivn.ite Him -hIioU] the narra- tive leads us to know as the Son. It is certainly not the key to the narrative, which is to be read from the ])oint of view of the Divine Sonsliip, which it reveals. It is not used in the narrative, though it reappears in the First Epistle of John. It is certainly not taken o\er from Philo, and in- tended to create a ne\v religious philosophy. Prob- ably its presence is to lie explained, ,as are the references in St. Paul's letters, by the technicalities of prevalent philosophy or theosophy. Christi- anity appeared when the problem of the relation of God to the world had reached its fullest state-