2. Join's Gospel. — Here it is not necessary to dilate as with regard to the Synoptical Grospels, inasmuch as in St. John the Christological doctrine- takes a more definite, if not more scientific form, and its teaching is not matter of dispute, at least to the same extent. John's Gospel teaches the pre-existence of Christ. * ' It ascribes to the Son not merely a moral, but an essential divinity ; a not merely economical, but an ontological or metaphysical relation to the Father. It also teaches the true manhood of Christ, and its perfect historical reality ; and, finally, that the Son, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, complete the en^ of creation in the reconciliation of man with God (John i, 1, 2, 14, 18 [comp. xvii, 2] ; i, 82, 34, 61 ; iv, 6; v, 26, 27 ; vi, 68 ; viii,16; x,16, 38; xil, 84; xiv, 23; xix, 26, 30; xx, 17)** (Domer, L c. ; Bloomfield, Five Lectures on the Gospel ofSL John [1828, 12mo] ; Sadler, Emmanvd^ ch. i, § 8 [Lond. 1867, 8voI).
8. The Apostles.— (1) St. Paul gives his testimony both as to the divinity and the humanity of Christ, his sonship and his Messianic work, as fully as St. John, especially setting forth the purely Christian idea of the Messiah (Bom. 1,8; v,6-10; vi, 8-10; ix, 6; viii, 3; 1 Cor. ii, 7 ; viii, 6 ; x, 16 ; xv, 8-8 [comp. Acts xxii, 8-10] ; 1 Cor. xv, 47 [1 Cor. iii, 18-18 ; 2 Cor. v, 16- 19]; Gal.iT,4,6; Eph. 1,20-23; Pha.ii,6-10; CoLi, 16-17, etc ; comp. Heb. i, 6, 10-12). The testimony of Paul is well stated by Sadler, Emmanuel, ch. i, § 2. See also Domer, i, 61.
(2) The Epistle of Jcanes has been called an Ebioni- tish Gospel, as if its Christology were of a lower type. But Jamee evidenUy presupposes the fcdth, as the
groondwork of the ethical teaching which is the main object of his epistle. He calls Christ ** our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of Glory*' (ii, 1), in wliich passage the royal function of Christ is expressly set forth, as also in his second coming to judgment (v, 7-9; comp. iv, 12).
(8) " The discourses of Peter in the AcU, havhig for their object the establishment of the faith among un- believers, all present the Clnistology as their centre- point, yet raUier in the Old Testament form. For instance, the appellation * Servant of God,' Trace Oeov, is taken from the prophets, and also the assertion of the anointing with the Holy Ghost As respects particu- lars, the fortunes of Christ are, according to Peter, pre- dicted by the prophets (Acts i, 16 ; ii, 16, 84 ; iii, 18, 22-26; X, 34; 1 Pet. ii, 7,22-26; i, 10), as well as the outpouring of the Holy Ghost (Acts ii, 16, 23, 31 ; i, 16). Christ himself is anointed with the Holy Ghost and with power (x, 88); by God is made both Lord and Christ (ii, 36), as God hath glorified him (iii, 13), appointed him to be Prince and Saviour, the Judge of the living and the dead. Here everything, in accord- ance with the historical starting-point, proceeds frx)m the humiliation of Christ ; but the end at which this representation aims from the first is, that He is the Prince of Life (Acts iii, 16), whom the bonds of death could not hold ; who has gone up into heaven (ii, 88 ; xidv, 81), and is now Lord of all (x, 38-42)."
In the episties of Peter it is not only the case, as in the Acts, that the life and death of Ctirist are spoken of as fulfilling the O. T., but the O. T. dispensation is made to look to and depend on Christianity (1 Pet. i, 10, 11). " In the prophets the irvevfia Xpurrov was operative; it wrought in them its own preparation, foretelling the grace in Christ, his sufferings, and the glory that should follow. In Christ are we chosen from eternity (1 Pet. i, 2) ; we are eternally contem- plated by the Father as standing in the sanctification of the spirit ; as destined for obedience and for purify- ing, through the blood of Jesus Christ (1 Pet. i, 20). As respects the historical appearance of Christ, there is ascribed to him trae manhood (1 Pet iii, 18 ; iv, 1). Thus the epbtie is as far from Docetism as from Ebi- onitism. •
Jude places Christ along with the Father in the for- mula of salutation (ver. 2) and in the doxology (ver. 24, 26) ; the being kept in the trae and most holy faith (ver. 20) is a being preserved in Christ Jesus (ver. 1, 3) and in the Holy Ghost (ver. 20). The persons whom Jude opposes are not merely such as have prac- tically swerved from the right way (ver. 8, 16) ; they are also teachers of error, because they deny the only God and our Lord Jesus Christ (ver. 4).
The Second JE^nstle of Peter has more definitely to do with errorists, especislly the ** heretics" who "deny the Lord fhat bought them" (Ii, 1). To Christ belong /«7oX«i6rJ7C (», 16), Sola Kai dpkrrj (i, 8) ; he is the be- loved Son of God, in whom he is well pleased (i, 17) ; he is our aiMtrrip (i, 1, 11, etc.), our Lord (i, 2, 8, etc.), who hath an everlasting kingdom (i, 2), and whose exaltation is not taught in cunningly devised myths, but is attested by the prophets and eye-witnesses (i, 16, 18; iii, 2) (Domer, 1,72).