eternal life. For it is not they who live, but Christ who liveth in them. (Gal. ii. 20.) The life of the believer is not a corporate life, conditioned on union with any outward or<ranization, called the Church, for whosoever calls on the name of the Lord, that is, whosoever religiously worships Him and looks to Him as his God and Saviour, shall be saved, whether in a dungeon or alone in a desert.
The Exaltation of the Human Nature of Christ.
Another consequence of the hypostatical union is the exaltation of tiie humanity of Christ. As the human body in virtue of its vital union with an immortal soul, is immeasurably exalted above any mere material organization in the universe (so far as known or revealed), so the humanity of Christ in virtue of its union with his divine nature is immeasurably exalted in dignity and worth, and even power over all intelligent creatures. The human body, however, is not now, and will not be, even when made like to Christ's glorious body, so exalted as to cease to be material. In like manner the humanity of Christ is not so exalted by its union with his divine nature as to cease to be human. This would break the bond of sympathy between Him and us. It has been the jiious fault of some Christians that they mtrge his humanity in his God- head. This is as real, if not so fatal an error, as merging his God- head in his humanity. We must hold fast to both. " The Man Christ Jesus," and " The God over all blessed forever," is the one undivided inseparable object of the adoration, love, and confidence of the people of God ; who can each say, —
" Jesus, my God, I know his name, His name is all my trust; Nor will He put my soul to shame, Nor let my hope be lost."
§ 5. Erroneous and Heretical Doctrines on the Person of Christ.
Plainly as all the truths above mentioned concerning the person of Christ, seem now to us to be revealed in the Holy Scriptures, it was not until after the conflict of six centui-ies that they came to be fully stated so as to secure the general assent of the Church. We must indeed always bear in mind the difference between the specu- lations of theologians and the faith of the great body of the people of God. It is a false assumption that the doctrines taught by the ecclesiastical writers of a particular age, constituted the faith of beli(?vers of that age. The doctrines of theologians are largely determined by their antecedents and by the current philosophy of the day in which they live. This is unavoidable. The faith of the
898 PART in. Ch. III. — the person of CHRIST.
common people is determined by the Word of God, by the worship of the sanctuary, and by the teachings of the Spirit. They remain in a great measure ignorant of, or indifferent to, the speculations of theologians. It cannot be doubted that the great body of the people from the beginning believed that Christ was truly a man, was truly God, and is one person. They could not read and be- lieve the Scriptures without having these truths engraved on their hearts. All the records of their confessions, hymns, and prayers, prove them to have been the worshippers of Him who died for their sins. And in this light they were regarded and described by all contemporary heathen writers. But while the people thus rested in these essential facts, the theologians were forced from without and from within, to ask, How can these things be ? How can the same person be both God and man ? How does the Godhead in the person of Christ stand related to his humanity? It was in the an.swers given to these questions that difficulty and controversy occurred. To avoid the great and obvious difficulties connected with the doctrine of the incarnation of God, some denied his true divinity ; others denied the reality or completeness of his human nature ; others so explained the nature and effects of the union as to interfere either with the integrity of the divine or of the human nature of Christ or with the unity of his person.
The JSbionites.
The errors which disturbed the peace of the early Church on this, as on other subjects, arose either from Judaism or from hea- then philosophy. The Jews who professed themselves Christian;^, were not able, in many instances, as we learn from the New Testa- ment itself, to emancipate themselves from their former opinions and prejudices. They had by the misinterpretation of their Scriji- tures been led to expect a Messiah who was to be the head of their nation as David and Solomon had been. They, therefore, as a body, rejected Christ, who came as a man of sorrows, not having where to lay his head. And of those who were constrained by his doctrines and miracles to acknowledge Him as the promised Messiah, many believed Him to be a mere man, the son of Joseph and Mary, distinguished from other men only by his holiness and his extraordinary endowments. This was the case with the sect known as Ebionites. Why so called is a matter of douot. Although as a body, and characteristically, they entertained this low, human- itarian view of the person of Christ, yet it appears from the frag- n.^ntary records of the ancient writers, that they differed much