180 CHEIST, CHRISTOLOGY
CHEIST, CHRISTOLOGY
glory, but an original heavenly being, who came aoion to accomplish this work of his on earth ' (J. Weiss, Chi-ist, Eng, tr., 1911, p. 59 f.). The com- munity, for which this was a just and intelligible description of Jesus, was preparing and prepared for any interpretation of His being which is con- tained in the NT.
(5) The phrase Son of God is also used, but only once — in 9^. St. Paul ' preached Jesus, that he is the Son of God.' But the title is used in its Messianic and official sense, founded on Ps 2^ (cf. Mt 16'^ Jn l'*^) ; and the sentence implies no more than the closing words of v.^- ' proving that this is the Christ.' A later generation failed to recognize this, and the consequence is seen in the TR of 9-", where 'Christ' has been substituted for 'Jesus' — a useful illustration of the way in which the copy- ists felt the lack of the word ' Christ ' as a name, and therefore introduced or substituted it (some nine times in all in Acts).
(e) The Lord. — Xpicrrbs, irais Oeov, dpxvy^s "rvi ffWTTipias, dpxvy^^ ftti (TWT^ip, vibt toD dvdpwwov — these are elements out of which a rich Christology might rapidly develop. And there is still one to add, which is probably the most pregnant of all — the title 6 Ki'ptos. The Synoptic Gospels witness to the habit of addressing the Master, or speaking of Him, as 6 Kvpios ; and there it is simply an expres- sion of profound respect. As such the word was also in common use among the Hellenists of the Empire, applied alike to gods and to Emperors. St. Paul shows himself conscious of this when he says (1 Co 8^) that there are in fact many 'gods and lords so-called.' But when he asserts the claim of Jesus to the title in a unique sense, he is only doing what the infant Church had done before him. ' Indubitably therefore let the whole house of Israel know that God has made him Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom ye crucified ' (Ac 2^^). ' He is Lord of all' (10^). This became in fact the chosen and prevailing appellation of Jesus Christ, especially among the Gentile Christians, where the historical significance of 'Christ' was unfamiliar. But how far the usage was from originating in Gentile circles we learn from its familiarity there in the Aramaic form of ' Maran atha,' i.e. ' Our Lord comes' or 'Our Lord, come.' That St. Paul could count on this being understood by the Christians at Corinth betokens antecedent and wide-spread usage of the formula in Palestinian circles.
The special and unique significance of the title as now applied to Christ arises out of its use in the LXX as the usual eupliemistic equivalent of * Jahweh.' For those familiar with the OT in the Greek version, 6 Kt^/xos was a synonym for God ; the outstanding fact in connexion with the Christology of the Acts and Epistles is that the same word has become the common, the preponder- ating designation of Jesus Christ. And tlie con- notation which is involved in its application to Him is the same. This follows from the trans- ference to Christ not merely of the title but also of phrases from the OT, the original reference of wliich was to Jahweh. When the believers on Christ are described as ol iiriKoXoiixevoi t6 6vo/j.a TovTo, ' those who call upon this name,' 5c. the name of Jesus our Lord (9-^ ; cf. 9^* 2-i 22'« and Ko lO'^, 1 Co P), language is appropriated to Christ which in the OT had been used to describe the worshipper of the true God (cf, Gn 4-6 12^, 2 K 5")- Stephen dies 'calling upon (the Lord) and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit'; and Peter postulates universal dominion of the same Person — ' He is Lord of all' (10^).
'There cannot be the least doubt,' says J. Weiss (Christ, p. 46 f.), ' that the name has now a religious significance. To make clear the religious import of the use of the name " Lord " by the
early Christians, one would have to cite the whole of the NT. For in the expression " Our Lord Jesus Christ " the whole primitive Christian religion is contained in germ. Dutiful obeisance, reverence, and sacred fear lest he should be offended, the feeling of complete dependence in all things, thankfulness and love and trust — in short, everything that a man can feel towards God, comes in this name to utterance. . . . That which is expected from God, the Lord can also impart.*
Corresponding wnth these significant titles there are certain functions ascribed to the risen Christ, which throw valuable light on the conception of Him which prevailed in the primitive community. He is represented (a) as One whom it is natural to approach in prayer, {b) as One who can forgive and save, and (c) as One who is destined to be the Judge of quick and dead.
(a) The practice of addressing prayer to Christ is established in the case of St. Paul (see below), and his references to the practice give no ground for the supposition that it was a novelty which originated with him. Rather do they suggest a practice which was already familiar, and requiring no defence, and so serve to confirm the evidence of the Acts to the eflect that from the beginning the di-sciples addressed the Risen Lord in prayer. It is in this sense that the Christians in Damascus are described by Ananias as ' those who call upon thy name' (9^'*), with this significance that the dying Stephen cries, ' Lord Jesus, receive my spirit,' and 'Lord, lay not this sin to their charge,' and it is at least possible that the same idea underlies St. Peter's quotation from Joel (Ac 2-^), for the speech to which it is prefixed leads up to the conclusion that Jesus has been made Lord and Christ (see Zahn, Die Anbetting Jesu^, 1910).