2. The light thrown on the character and attitude of God towards man. — The kingly con- cept represents God as supreme, one to whom all allegiance is due, and who has the power of life and death over all His subjects. In the OT, Jahweh, especially in the Psalms, is often repre- sented as the King of His people Israel (cf. Ps 10^® 24S-1U 444 472 68J4 etc.). It is noticeable, however, that in most of these passages the Oriental awe in which all potentates were habitually held is suffused with a sense of joy and pride in God as Israel's King ; His power, favour, and victorious character are mainly dwelt on. The idea which lies behind the NT references, however, is rather that of the difficulty of approach to the King's presence, not merely on account of His loftiness and majesty, but of His alienation, which demands a process of reconciliation. It suggests tliat the normal relation of the King and His subjects has been disturbed by rebellion or wrong-doing. The Divine dignity has been outraged, and His claim to obedience set at defiance. There is thus no longer a right of admittance to the Divine presence, unless the wrong is righted and the lost favour restored ; and, till
that has been secured, the protection and kindly attitude of God can no longer be relied on.
3. The light thrown on the condition and attitude of man towards Gcd. — The suggestion is that man is conscious of Ijeing alienated from God by sin ; that he has no contidence in approaching God in consequence, being uncertain of his recej)- tion ; that he knows of nothing which he can do to restore the lost relation ; and that he is deeply sensible of the shame and peril of his condition. Tlie conception of the effects of evil-doing as separating God and man is one that runs through the priestly ritual of Judaism (cf. also the pro- phetic declaration in Is 59^ 'your iniquities have separated between you and your God'), and corre- sponds to a fact in the consciousness of pil awakened sinners. In the earlier experience of ... Paul this feeling was evidently poignantly emphasized ; and the sense of deliverance that came to him through the gospel may be taken as the measure of the pain and sorrow from which he had been delivered.
i. The function fulfilled by Christ as the One through whom the renewal of the lost relation between God and man was accomplished. — The word Trpoaaywyrj is insufficient to represent this function. In itself it stands for the work of a functionary whose role is to act as a merely official link between the two parties, having no active part in the process of reconciliation, and having therefore no claim to the gratitude of the bene- ficiary in the process. On the other hand, the apostolic use of the word in its reference to the person and work of Christ includes the suggestion that the ' access ' to God refen-ed to has been accomplished by Christ Himself, and an over- whelming sense of gratitude is awakened by this fact. This appears in the four passages in which the word is used, especially in the last (1 P 3'^). According to this, the bringing of man to God is effected through the work of Christ in His Passion ; 'because Christ also suffered for sins once (a-n-a^, meaning here 'once for all' = a fact accomplished), the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us (Trpoaaydyrj) to God,' i.e. restore us to His favour, and lead us to the benefits of the Divine reconciliation. In Ro 5-, again, the ' access ' receives its meaning and privilege through its consummation in and bj- Christ, ' through whom we have also (/cat, ' copulat et auget' [Toletus], ' answering almost to our " as might be expected " ' [Alford]) got [i(xxhKa.p.iv) our {t7}v) access (introduc- tion) by our {rfi) faith, into this grace wherein we stand ' (see DCG i. 13*). Here tlie Person of the TTpoaaywyevs is chiefly thought of (' this has come to us through Him ') ; and the resulting beneflt is urged as a reason for holy exultation, since it means justification as a ground for ' rejoicing in the hope of glory.' In Eph 2'* a slightly different emphasis is suggested : 'for through Him we both {i.e. Jew and Gentile) have our access in one spirit unto the Father.' Here that revelation of God, not as uni- versal King but as the All-Father, which came through Jesus Christ, is included in the benefit secured by Him for mankind at large, and the reconciliation of humanity at variance with itself as well as with God is brought into the circle of mediation (cf. v.''* 'for he is our peace [i.e. He is the peace-maker, the TrpoTaywyevs between us, Jew and Gentile, who were once far oft" from each other] who hath made lx)th one' by His blood [v.13]). Through this word we are thus led into the deep places of tlie gospel as the reconciling agency of God to man, man to God, and man to man.
LrrERATCRB. — To the literature in the DCG add John Foster, Lectures, 1853, ii. 69 ; R. W. Dale, The Jewish Temple and the ChrisUan Church, 1877, p. 205 ; A. J. Gordon, The Tu-o/old Life, 18S6, p. 175 ; W. M. Macgregor, Jesus Christ the Smi oj God, 1907, p. 175. E. GRIFFITH-JoNES.