REDEMPTION
REFORMATION
309
bought out from it, that we may heeomo rather sons of Goii and receive the Spirit. We were under the curse of the broken law and had incurred its penalty — the wrath of God and all that the wrath of God means : Christ has bought us out from under this curse. He has done tliis by beconiinj; Himself a curse for us ; that is, by taking the wrath of God upon Himself and enduring the penalty of the broken law in our stead. As a consequence, the blessing of Abraham has come to us, and we have received the promised Spirit.
We have called this Paul's doctrine of the ransoming Christ, and that designation of it is just. The derivatives of XvTpov occur nowhere e.xcept in Paul's own letters and other writings closely affiliated with them (Luke, 1 Peter, Hebrews). The technical term by way of eminence for the expression of this doctrine, dTroXcr/iwcris, occurs seven times in Paul and but three times elsewhere (Hebrews, twice; Luke, once). From another point of view, however, it deserves to be called a generally apostolic doctrine. It is rooted in distinct teachings of our Lord Himself. It is found clearly enunciated in the whole series of Paul's letters, from Galatians to Titus. It has a place also in the Epistle to the Hebrews, both Epistles of Peter, and the Book of Revelation. Its outlines are so sharply etched in by a touch here and a touch there, as allusion to it is added to allusion, that they cannot be obscured. It is not a doctrine merely of ' moral reform ' or even of ' moral revolution,' although it includes in it an ellective provision for moral regeneration. It is not a doctrine of 'deliverance from the world,' although again it counts deliverance from the world among its most valued effects. It is not merely a doctrine of deliverance from sin, conceived as a power, although it provides for deliverance from the power of sin. It is most particularly not a doctrine of deliverance from the powers of evil under whose dreadful dominion 'this world' labours, although it is a doctrine of deliverance from bondage to Satan. It is specifically a doctrine of deliverance from the guilt and penalties of sin, with all that flows from this deliverance to the uttermost consequences. The function of Christ in it cannot be reduced to that of a teacher or of an example. It is presented rather as that of a substitute. He gives Himself, His life, His blood, and He gives it as a ransom-price to buy man out from the penalties he has incurred by sin, and thus to purchase for him newness of life. Parallel and intertwined with the doctrine of Christ our Sacri- fice, this doctrine of Christ our Ransom is made thus a vehicle of that 'blood theology' which is the very heart of the entire teaching of the a]iostles, and which has given to Christianity its whole vitality in the world.
Literature. — James Orr, artt. * Ransom 'and 'Redemption' in DCG. Cliristian View uj God and the World, 1893, p. 33.'!ff.; the Biblical Tlieologies of the NT : among the older ones H. J. Holtzmann, Neutest. Theoloqie, 1896-97, and A. Titius, Die ncutest. Lekre von der Selujkeit, 1895-1900 ; among the later ones, Paul Peine, Theotogie des XT, 1910, p. 439 1., has a brief but instructive note, and H. Weinel, BibL Theol. des NT^, 1913, pp. 291 and 54fi, may be profitably consulted. The com- mentaries of H Oltramare (1S72), J. Morison (1866), Sanday- Headlam (!>V.«K), T. Zahn (lOlli) on Ro S", have extended notes ; B. F. Westcott, Hebrews, 18S9, p. 297 f., has a detached note of importance ; F. J. A. Hort, / Peter I. l-II. 17, 1898, p. 76flf., has a very valuable note; A. Deissmann, Licht voiti Osten, 1908, p. 2.321?,, En^'. tr., Lvjht from the Ancient East, 1911, p. 322 IT., needs the correction of Zahn as cited, and of the facts adduced by F, Steinleitner, Die Ueicht im Zxtsammen- Iianrje rait der sahrafen Hechtspfle<je in der Antike, 1913, p. 37 f. ; James Denney, Thf Death of Christ, 1902 ; also from differing points of view, E, Kiihl, Die tleilsbedeutumj des Todes Jesu, 1890; A. Seeberg, Der Tod Cttristi in seiner lirdentung fiir die Erlosimg, 189.'i ; J. F. S. Muth, Die Heilstat Christi als stell- vertretende (ii'nitgliiun'j, 1904; M. Kahler, /.ur Lehre von der Versohnun;!, 1898; G. B. Stevens, The Christian Doctrine of Salvation, 1905, together with his earlier The Pauline Theology, 1892, The Theology of the ST, 1899; E. Mdn^goz, Le Piche'et
la Ridemption d'apris Saint Paul, 18S2. Julius Kaftan haa made a particularly sustained effort to interpret the Christian doctrine of ' rausoiiiing from .sin' in terms of the general religious idea of 'delivenince from the worhl': Dogmatik, 1897, § 48; Die christliche IVelt, xvi. [19021 411 IT. ; ZTK xiv. [1904) 27S-355, reprinted in Hur Doginatik, 1904, pp. 255-337 ; Jesus und Pautus, 1900, p. 30 II, ; ZTK xviii, [1«08| 237-292, In connexion with Kaftan there should be consulted : W. Wrede, Patilas, 1904 (Eng. tr,, 1007), to which Kaftati's ,/esiui und Patdus is an answer : Wrede, under the same terminology of ' deliverance from the world,' interprets Paul as teaching not, as Kaftan, a purely subjective, ethical ' redemption,' equivalent to regenera- tion, but an objective one, explamed as deliverance from the evil spirits afid demons which dominate the world, a notion repeated in H, B. Carr^, Paul's Doctrine of Redemption, 1914. See also Max Reischle, Die christliche Welt, xvii. [1903] lOU,, 2S[f,, 61 a,, 7011'., and 9811,, the last of which is a criticism of Kaftan, Ueischlc's articles discuss, under the title of ' Eriosung,' the general religious doctrine of ' deliverance,' and in connexion with them should be read E, Naeel, Das Profjtein der Eriosung : eine religionsphilosophisehe, phtlosophiegesehicht- liche und kritische ifntersuchung, 1901. There seems to be nothing in English which covers the ground of Najjel's book; but cf, H. O. Taylor, Deliverance, 1915. Josef Wirtz. Die Lehre von der Apot/jtrosis. (fntersltcht nach den heiligen Sehriftcn umi den griechischen Schriftstelleni bis au^f Orignu'9 cinschliesslich, 1906, deals very slightly with the biblical material, and, for the rest, investigates the history of the Patristic doc- trm« of ransoming from Satan.