The third gi'oup of Epistles — Phil., Col., Eph. — illustrates these doctrines more fully. Ph 2^"^' lays s])ecial stress ui)on the self-sacritice involved in the Son of God taking 'the form of a servant.' In hejiven lie had ' the form of God,' but He ' emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men.' This likeness is elsewhere called ' the likeness of sinful tlesh ' (Ro 8^). In Colossians, St. Paul attacks a sui)erstitious theos- ophy which taught that worship ought to be paid to some intermediate beings who come between God and the world — a theory which implied that God could not come into direct contact with matter. Against this St. Paul insists upon the mediatorial work of the Son of God in both crea-
tion and redemption. He declares that the Son is the ' image ' or iulequate counterpart of the Father, and the ' first l)orn of all creation.' i.e., not the hrst being created, l)ut, as the context shows, ' born before all creation' (Col l'^-*"'). All things were created in JJim, since their existence was con- ditioned by His thought; b// Him, since it was through His power that they came into being ; unto Him, since all creation finds in Him tlie summit of its evolution. All things cohere in Him (Col 1'"), and it was God's purpose that all things should be summed up in Him (Ei)h 1'"). The sum total of God's attributes dwells in Him bodi/i/ (Col •2'-'). And the Church is an organism without which Christ deigns to regard Himself as incomplete, because without the Church His incar- nate life would not continue to be manifested. It is an extension of the Incarnation. It is a body in which Christ Himself lives and works (Eph 1-^), the suflering of its members completes His own (Col l--*) by making possible a further application to mankind of His .-aving power.
The Church therefore exists to promote a certain relation be- tween God and man. That relation is one of union and com- munion. The new confession which is tau>jht to us by the Spirit of God's ^on is expressed in the words 'Abba, Father.' The very Aramaic word used by Jesus in His conununion with the Father in Gethseniane (Mk 14^) is used by St. Paul to describe the Christian's attitude towards God. The prominence given by St. Paul to the love of God for man, for all men, for sinners, is unceasingf. His certainty of God's love rests on all that Jesus did and does, but the most fundamental proof of it was that Jesus died. By this God commends His love toward us (Ro 5**). This makes it obvious th.at God will give us all things (8*2). And this equally proves the love of Christ (2 Co 51-1, Eph 5'^^). The death of Christ is, therefore, the highest proof of the love of the Father and the love of Jesus for man- kind. The mediatorial work of the Son of God is a process in- volved in the whole relation of His Divine Person to the world. But it was focussed in one great event — His death.
(6) St. Paul's teaching about the death of Christ is entirely consistent. He teaches that there are two great elements in the process of the individual man's reconciliation with God. The Hrst is his faith in Christ, who died as a sacrifice on our behalf. The second is that inward, vital, and ethical union with Christ, the ' life-giving Spirit ' (1 Co 15^), involved in our baptism ' into Christ.'
To suppose that his language about dving as our ' ransom ' or ' price ' (1 Co 6^0 723, \ Ti •2^ Tit 2'-i) is inconsistent with our need of identification with Christ, or that the moral identification excludes the need of a sacramental identification, is to create an imaginary false antithesis. Sacrifice, rightly understood, implies communion with the object sacrificed. And sacraments convey the power which is taken and used bj- that moral choice which is called ' faith.' Baptism begins our new supernatural life (Ro 6^'), the Lord's Supper imparts to us sustenance for that life (1 Co lO^f-). In both we enter into union with a Christ who died, and died 'for us' and 'for sins' (e.g. 2 Co 5^*, Gal !■», Ro 83-, Eph ri-^). That death had a special meaning for man- kind as a whole, for God the Father, and for Christ Himself.
(i.) The death of Christ effected o reconciliation. — By it we were reconciled to God (Ro 5"- '", Eph V). This is because God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself (2 Co o'^), and those who were ' alienatetl and enemies ' Christ has reconciled in the body of His tlesh through death (Col 1--). The action of Christ is identical with the action of God. In Christ living and Christ dying God was present, 'not reckoning trespasses.' He came to pardon when He might have punished. The cross, there- fore, manifests the love and pity of God. And the reason why the love of Christ specially ' con- straineth us' is 'because we thus judge that one died for all (therefore all died) ; and he died for all, that they which live should no longer live unto themselves, but unto him who for their sakes died, and ro.se again ' (2 Co 5'^'-). We feel the constraint of love when we see that Christ died a death which wa.s a substitute for our death. If the Son had not died, we should have been left to experi- ence the death of a sinner who is alienated trom God. The work of reconciliation was done by the