Wm. M. Christie. ZERAH.— A link in our Lord's genealogy (Mt 1*).
ZERUBBABEL.— Mentioned in both Mt.'s (P^f.) and Lk.'s (3^) genealogy of Jesus.
ZION.— See Jerusalem, vol, i. p. 850'' f.
APPENDIX
CHRIST IN THE EARLY CHURCH.— To treat this subject exhaustiv'ely, it would be almost necessary to write a complete history (if such a thing were possible) of the early Ciiristian Churcli. Christ fills the field of vision. Christian life and Christian thought centre round His Person. It is obvious that in an article of limited length, only salient points can be touched upon, a few typical quotations given, and lines of thought suggested rather than developed.
The first Christians happily knew little of the distinction between the theological and the prac- tical. Belief and life were one. Still, for clear- ness' sake, it is proposed in this article to discuss .separately, as far as possible, ( 1 ) the beliefs of the early Church concerning the Person of Christ ; (2) the feeling of the early Church as exjiressed in practice and devotion, Avith regard to the living Christ and His present relationship to mankind.
The term ' early Church ' is, of course, an elastic one. It can scarcely, from a theological point of view, be limited to a shorter period than that which is closed by the Sixth (Ecumenical Council (A.D. 681). But within these limits a very- special interest attaches to the pre-Nicene period, both from its comjiarative nearness to the time of Christ, and from the extreme value and interest of its records, scanty though they are. It is with this period (from the closing years of the 1st cent, to A.D. 325) that this article will chiefly deal.
i. Beliefs of the early Church as to the Person of Christ.— 1. (a) The earliest Christian writing extant outside the limits of the NT, and one which was for long on the verge of admission into the Canon, is the Epistle to the Corinthians, usually assigned to Clement, bishop of Rome. It was written probably about A.D. 95, to exhort a disordered church to unity and charity. Its in- terest is therefore chiefly practical, but it should be noted that at least once a doxology is addressed directly to Christ as to a Divine Person (20) ; that His unique dignity and pre-existence are evidently assumed in such a phrase as ' the sceptre of the majesty of God, even our Lord Jesus Clirist, came not in the pomp of arrogance, or of pride, though He might have done so' (16) ; and tliat Christ is spoken of as shedding His blood for the salvation of the whole world (7).
(b) The so-called Second Epistle of Clement dates probably within the first half of tlie 2nd cent., and is a sermon rather than a letter, the earliest Christian sermon extant after the NT. Here Christ is definitely spoken of as ' God ' (1), as pre-existent (14) ; and His Incarnation is described in the re- markable words, ' the Lord who saved us, being first spirit, then became flesh ' (9).
(c) The seven genuine Epistles of Ignatius of Antioch are in some respects the most notable writings of the 2nd century. They were written by him while he was on his way to martyrdom at Rome, probably in the year A.D. 107, and are ad- dressed to the Churches of Ephesus, Magnesia, Tralles, Rome, Philadelphia, Smyrna, and to Polycarp of Smyrna. With Ignatius, Jesus Christ is 'our God' (Eph. 1. 18, and elsewhere). His blood is 'the blood of God' {ib. 1). He is 'the only Son of God' (Eom. 1) ; ' the unerring mouth in whom the Father hath spoken ' {ib. 8). Ignatius speaks in significant language of the Incarnation, of the human life, sufferings, resurrection, and continued existence of Christ ; and of His double nature ; ' There is one only physician, of flesh and of spirit, born and unborn, God in man, true life in death. Son of Mary and Son of God, first pass- ible and then impassible, Jesus Christ our Lord ' (Eph. 7 ; cf. also ib. 18. 19. 20 ; Trail. 9 ; Smyrn. 1-3). The Virgin Birth of Christ is also distinctly alluded to in Eph. 18. 19.
(d) Another writing usually classed among the ' Apostolic Fathers,' is the so - called Epistle of Barnabas, of which the probable limits of date are between A.D. 70 and 132 (Lightfoot). The writer speaks of Christ as ' Lord of the whole world, unto whom God said from the foundation of the world, " Let us make man after our image and likeness " ' (5).
(e) A mystical work which enjoyed considerable popularity in the early Church, tlie Shepherd, attributed in the Muratorian Canon to that Hermas who was brother of Pope Pius i. (a.d. 140-155), contains incidental statements about Christ which point generally in the same direction as those quoted above. The Son of God existed before all creation, and was God's fellow - counsellor in the work of creation (Simil. ix. 12). He supports all creation (ib. 14). At the same time the language of Hermas about the Incarnation is vague, almost as if the Son of God and the Holy Spirit were identical (Simil. v. 6). It is scarcely fair, how- ever, to interpret this as if it were a careful theo- logical statement. Hermas evidently was not a man of deep thought or originality. His aim is practical rather than doctrinal. Probably such expressions are to be understood in the same sense as 1 Co 15«.