The Christ Of Paul Part 6

The following is proof derived from Luke. "As Zacharias, also, recovering from the state of dumbness which he had suffered on account of unbelief, having been filled with a new spirit, did bless G.o.d in a new manner. For all things had entered upon a new phase, the Word arranging after a new manner the advent in the flesh, that He might win back to G.o.d that human nature (_hominem_) which had departed from G.o.d."

(Book III. chap. 10, sec. 2.)

Many citations of a like nature are taken from Luke and Mark to prove the _Logos_ doctrine of John's Gospel. Irenaeus even brings John upon the stand to prove the doctrine of an incarnate Christ! which John himself was the first to communicate. "John, the disciple of the Lord, preaches this faith, and seeks, by the proclamation of the Gospel, to remove that error which by Cerinthus had been disseminated among men, and a long time previously by those termed Nicolaitans, who are an offset of that 'knowledge' falsely so called, that he might confound them, and persuade them that there is but one G.o.d, who made all things by His Word; and not, as they allege, that the Creator was one, but the Father of the Lord another; and that the Son of the Creator was, forsooth, one, but the Christ from above another."... "The disciple of the Lord, therefore, desiring to put an end to all such doctrines, and to establish the rule of truth in the church, that there is one Almighty G.o.d, who made all things by His Word, both visible and invisible; showing at the same time, that by the _Word_, through whom G.o.d made the creation, He also bestowed salvation on the men included in the creation: thus commenced His teaching in the Gospel: 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with G.o.d, and the Word was G.o.d.'" (Bopkm.

chap. 11, sec. 1.)

He makes many references to John, and sums up his complaints against the Gnostics in the following words: "But according to the opinion of no one of the heretics was the Word of G.o.d made flesh. For if any one carefully examines the systems of them all, he will find that the Word of G.o.d is brought in by all of them as not having become _incarnate (sine carne)_ and _impa.s.sible_, as is also the Christ from above." (Book III. chap, in, sec. 3.) The writer cites many pa.s.sages from the epistle of Peter, all confirming the _Logos_ doctrines of John.

The following is the heading of chap. xxii. book III.: "_Christ a.s.sumed actual flesh, conceived and born of the Virgin_." In this chapter the doctrine of the incarnation is elaborately argued, and proof supplied from many quarters; but as there is a great sameness in the argument throughout, it would only tire the reader to pursue the subject any further.

The third book against Heresies contains twenty-five chapters, which are extended through one hundred and seventeen pages, and throughout there is but one idea presented, and the proof offered in its support; and from the first to the last, there is a studied effort to turn the plain import of biblical pa.s.sages from their true meaning into the support of the doctrines in the fourth Gospel. Thus this father of the church, in about seven years after this Gospel appeared, came to its defence, and for that purpose wrote a book, which must have cost him much time and study, for in its way it is a work of great research, and required an intimate acquaintance with the Old and New Testaments, and the writings of the Gnostics, which were numerous in his day. From the zeal which is shown throughout, it is evident that the writer had some personal interest in the subject, and that he was defending his own doctrines, and not those of St. John or any one else.

We do not detect in the work against Heresies the lofty and sublime tone of the Gospel, and, from the nature of the subject, it could not be expected. He is engaged in an attempt to impose on the world, and as what he declares to be the work of an Apostle has no foundation in truth, nor the doctrines it teaches, he struggles like a man in a mora.s.s, who is compelled to seize upon anything to keep him from sinking. No doubt he was pressed hard by his adversaries, and he seems in his defence of the fourth Gospel like a gored bull with a pack at his front and heels. We can detect the keen lance of his adversary, piercing him to the quick, in the repeated cry of Antichrist, which is the favorite weapon when hard pressed by his enemies.

As he fights all his battles in the name of St. John, hear him exclaim, in the first and second epistles, which he falsely ascribes to the Apostle: "Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that Antichrist shall come, even now are there many Antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is Antichrist that denieth the Father and the Son." (1 John ii. 18, 22.) "Hereby know ye the Spirit of G.o.d: Every spirit that confesseth that' Jesus Christ is come in the _flesh_, is of G.o.d: and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is not of G.o.d. And this is that _spirit_ of Antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world." (1 John iv. 2, 3.) "For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the _flesh_. This is a deceiver, and an Antichrist. Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.

Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not G.o.d. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him G.o.d speed: for he that biddeth him G.o.d speed is partaker of his evil deeds." (2 John 7, 8, 9, 10, 11.)

The spirit that dictated the foregoing denunciations of those who disbelieved the dogma of Christ incarnate, also gave birth to what follows: "But again, those who a.s.sert that he was simply a mere man, begotten by Joseph, remaining in the bondage of the old disobedience, are in a state of death; having been not as yet joined to the Word of G.o.d the Father, nor receiving liberty through the Son, as He does himself declare: 'If the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.' But, being ignorant of Him who from the Virgin is Emmanuel, they are deprived of His gift, which is eternal life; and not receiving the incorruptible Word, they remain in mortal flesh, and are debtors to death, not obtaining the antidote of life. To whom the Word says, mentioning His own gift of grace: 'I said, ye are all the sons of the Highest, and G.o.ds; but ye shall die like men.' He speaks undoubtedly these words to those who have not received the gift of adoption, but who despise _the incarnation_ of the pure generation of the Word of G.o.d, defraud human nature of promotion into G.o.d, and prove themselves ungrateful to the Word of G.o.d, who became _flesh_ for them." (Book iii.

chap. 19, sec. I.)

CHAPTER XIV.

Four distinct eras in Christianity from Paul to the Council of Nice.--The epistles of Paul and the works of the fathers changed to suit each era.--The dishonesty of the times.

From the time Paul commenced his labors, to the latter part of the second century, we can trace three eras or periods in the state and character of Christianity, as marked and distinct as the various strata of the earth which indicate the different ages of their formation.

First, the Pauline; second, the Philo-Alexandrian, which includes the time of the first three Gospels; third, the Incarnation, which includes the fourth Gospel. As we approach the end of the third century, we may include a fourth period--that of the Trinity.

We have stated elsewhere, that the distinguishing feature between the Logos of Philo and the Christ of Paul was, that the former was coexistent in point of time with the Creator or Father, while in case of the latter, there was a time he did not exist. There was still another difference: the Logos was begotten in heaven, but Christ was born on the earth, of earthly parents. Through the influence of the Alexandrian Jews, who had been converted to Christianity by the preaching of Paul, the Christ of Paul was made to give way, in time, to the Logos of Philo.

This change can be traced in the forgeries which are found interlarded through the epistles of Paul, and the writings of the early fathers. We trace the gradual and stealthy departure from the first to the second stages of Christianity in the use of terms in Paul's epistles which were employed among the Gnostics and others in the early part of the second century. The epistles to the Ephesians and Colossians have been p.r.o.nounced by able critics to be spurious, because of some verse which have an Alexandrian look; when it is easy to discover that these verses are mere insertions into the original text. The term _pleroma_, or _fulness_, was a favorite phrase among the Gnostics, and now we find it scattered here and there through the epistles: "For it pleased the Father, _that in him_ should all fulness dwell." (Col. i. 19.) "For in him dwelleth all the _fulness_ of the G.o.dhead bodily." (Col. ii. 9.) "And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head of all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all." (Eph. i. 22, 23.) "And to know the love of Christ, which pa.s.seth all knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of G.o.d." (Eph. iii. 19.) The preexistence of Christ, and his rank as G.o.d, is now openly avowed. "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or princ.i.p.alities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him. And he is before all things, and by him all things consist." (Col. i. 16, 17.) Here the Christ of Paul disappears, like the great Apostle himself. The works of the fathers are now mutilated by the same ruthless hand, to maintain the new phase which Christianity is forced to a.s.sume. "Ignatius, who is called Theophorus to the church which is at Ephesus in Asia, deservedly happy, being blessed through the greatness and _fulness_ of G.o.d the Father, and _predestinated before the world began_, that it should be always unto an enduring and unchangeable glory; being united and chosen, through actual suffering, according to the will of the Father and Jesus Christ our G.o.d, all happiness by Jesus Christ and his undefiled grace." (Epistle to Eptsiceris, sec. 1. 17.) The balance of this section, which will be cited in a subsequent page, was added in the third or fourth century, when Christianity put on its fourth phase. "For this cause they were persecuted also, being inspired by his grace, fully to convince the unbelievers that _there is one G.o.d_, who hath manifested himself by Jesus Christ his Son, who is his _eternal Word_, not coming forth from _silence_, who in all things was well pleased in him that sent him." *

(Sec. 8.)

* The word silence is a word which grew in use among the Gnostics long after the time of Ignatius, and affords unmistakable proof of the fraudulent interpolation.

Valentinia.n.u.s, a Gnostic of the second century, held that there is a certain Dyad (twofold being), who is inexpressible by name, of whom one part should be called Anhetus, unspeakable, and the other Silence. The word, in the connection in which it is found in the pa.s.sage from Ignatius, speaking about what related to a later age, has been the occasion of much discussion: some contending that it has reference to the Silence of Valentinia.n.u.s, which proves the pa.s.sage spurious; others, that it relates to the erroneous opinions of heretics anterior to Valentinia.n.u.s.

What heretics! (See Chevalier's Apostolical Gospels, note 6.)

Such pa.s.sages as we have cited, and others of a like nature which might be cited, have led critics to the conclusion that the writings which contain them are forgeries; but if examined in _connection with the texts_, it will be found that they are interpolations, forced into the places they fill. As the writings of Paul now stand, they present Christ in two distinct characters or aspects: his own as the Son of Man, from which he never wavered; and the other that of Philo. All through his epistles we find pa.s.sages which inculcate doctrines with which he combated during his whole life. All that is essential to, or that is embraced in, the writings of Philo, as to the nature of the Logos, may be found in the epistles of Paul. We will give a few examples which we gather from the work of Jacob Bryant, and found among the notes of Adam Clarke in his Commentaries on St. John.

Philo. "First begotten of G.o.d."

COLOSSIANS i. 15. "Who is the image of the invisible G.o.d, the first-born of every creature."

HEBREWS i. 6. And again, when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he saith, "And let all the angels of G.o.d worship him."

PHILO. "By whom the world was created." Hebrews i. 2. "Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds."

1 Corinthians viii. 6. "But to us there is but one G.o.d, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, _by whom are all things, and we by him_."

Philo. "_The most ancient of G.o.d's works, and before all things_."

2 Timothy i. 9. "Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began."

Philo. "_Esteemed the same as G.o.d_." PHILIPPIANS ii. 6. "Who, being in the form of G.o.d, thought it not robbery to be equal with G.o.d." Philo.

"He unites, supports, preserves, and perfects the world."

COLOSS. i. 17. "And he is before all things, and by him all things consist."

Philo. "Free from all taint of sin, voluntary and involuntary."

Hebrews vii. 26. "For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens."

Philo. "_The Logos the foundation of wisdom._"

1 Corinthians i. 24. "But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of G.o.d, and the wisdom of G.o.d."

COLOSS. ii. 3. "In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."

Philo. "_Men being freed by the Logos from all corruption, shall be ent.i.tled to immortality_"

1 Corinthians xv. 52, 53. "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." "For this corruptible must put on in-corruption, and this mortal must put on immortality."

Inconsistency cannot be claimed to be one of the faults of Paul; but if we place these pa.s.sages by the side of those in which he declares, in unmistakable language, his belief in the nature of Christ, we must either admit inconsistency or fraud. The influence of Paul had lost much of its force before his death in A.D. 66; and when Hadrian a.s.sumed the government of the empire, A.D. 117, the Pauline era had nearly ceased.

Speaking of the great Apostle, Renan says: "After his disappearance from the scene of his apostolic struggles, we shall find him soon forgotten.

His death was probably regarded as the death of an agitator. The second century scarcely speaks of him, and apparently endeavors to systematically blot out his memory. His epistles are then slightly read, and only regarded as authority by rather a slender group." (_Life of Paul_. page 327.)

But the same author tells us, on the same page, what history confirms, that Paul, in the third century, wonderfully rises in the estimation of the church, and resumes the place from which he had been deposed.

There is a good and obvious reason for the change. During this interval between the fall and rise of his influence, his epistles had been subjected to the most glaring forgeries, in order to make them conform to the Philo-Alexandrian ideas which in the mean time prevailed.

It is to be remarked at this place, that the Logos idea of Philo encountered difficulties, when applied to the person of Jesus. It could not be denied that he was the son of Mary; but it might be, that he was not the son of Joseph. He is therefore born not of man. The influence of a divine energy is subst.i.tuted. No sooner is this new feature introduced into the second stage of Christianity, than new ideas prevail, and are found scattered through the works of the fathers. "And the princes of the world know not the virginity of Mary, and him who was born of her, and the death of the Lord: three mysteries noised abroad, yet done by G.o.d in silence." "Where is the wise and where is the disputer? Where is the boasting of those who are called men of understanding? For our G.o.d, Jesus Christ, was born in the womb of Mary, according to the dispensation of G.o.d." (Ignatius to Eph. sees. 18, 19.)

The foregoing are mere specimens. Christ is now the Son of G.o.d; but for a time he is all humanity. He grows from infancy to manhood, and manifests in himself the appet.i.tes and infirmities which belong to the flesh. His mind develops early; but, as with other mortals, it grew and expanded as he advanced in years. But the time came when "the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of G.o.d descending like a dove, and lighting upon him." (Matt. iii. 16.) He was there proclaimed by a voice from heaven, to be the Son of G.o.d. Here is something Paul never heard of. The new Logos of the gospel, like the Logos of Philo, was without beginning, from everlasting; but from this point they diverge.

The Logos of the Alexandrian was not an _hypostasis_, or a person, but a divine emanation or spirit; of a nature unconceivable, which hovered over the earth, but never touched it. The new Christ descended from heaven as a spirit, took up its mysterious abode in the human form, where it dwelt until its ministry was complete, when, with the body which contained it, it encountered death--went down into the grave--but on the third day broke the chains of death, and triumphantly ascended into heaven, from whence it came.

The tendency of the minds of men at that day towards the discussions of metaphysical and unintelligible subjects, soon led to endless disputes, growing out of this new feature of the Christian faith. How this mysterious union of G.o.d and man could and did exist, and when and how it was dissolved, were questions which caused much angry feeling and acrimonious discussion among Christians, which continued through the second, and even to the fourth century, when, according to the learned author of the "Decline and Fall," they died out by "the prevalence of more fashionable controversies, and by the superior ascendant of the reigning power." (Gib-bon, vol. I. p. 257.)

The idle and profitless disputes of the second era of Christianity were forced, at a later day, to give way to those of the third. Cerinthus, and other Gnostics, maintained that the Son of G.o.d descended on the day of baptism in the form of a dove, and remained in its human receptacle until the time of the crucifixion, when it took its flight, leaving to the human form all the agonies and sufferings of death. If this were so, there is no atonement: the Son of G.o.d has not offered himself as a sacrifice. The Gnostics had the advantage of consistency. If Christ was a creature, like other men, when the Spirit descended upon him, and existed apart from the flesh, then death could only reach the body, and when that was put to death, or about to be, and the Spirit lost its tabernacle or abiding-place, it must again return to the celestial abode.

The perplexities and interminable disputes, caused by such unintelligible subjects, at last led to the third period in the Christian religion: the doctrine of the _incarnation_. "The _Word_ was made flesh and dwelt among us, who was not born of blood, nor of the will of man, but of G.o.d." (_John_ i. 13, 14.) G.o.d took upon himself the form of man, and was G.o.d in man. The Logos of Philo has become an hypostasis, and walks upon the earth. The war with the Gnostics has changed ground. The Son of G.o.d did not come down and take up his abode in the mortal form of Christ, but was Jesus himself, and when he came to suffer death there was no separation of divine and human natures, but the real Son of G.o.d shed his blood, suffered, and died on the cross as a sacrifice for the sins of our race.

The paternal solicitude of Irenaeus in support of this new phase of Christianity is conspicuously displayed in the third book of his work against Heresies. "But, according to these men, neither was the Word made flesh, nor Christ, nor the Saviour (_Soter_), who was produced from [the joint contributions of] all [the _aeons_]. For they will have it that the Word and Christ never came into this world; that the Saviour, too, never became incarnate, nor _suffered_, but that he descended like a dove upon the dispensational Jesus; and that, as soon as He had declared the unknown Father, He did again ascend into the Pleroma....

Therefore the Lord's disciple, pointing them all out as false witnesses, says: 'And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.'" (Chap. xi.

sec. 3.) "As it has been clearly demonstrated that the Word, who existed in the beginning with G.o.d, by whom all things were made, who was also always present with mankind, was in these last days, according to the time appointed by the Father, united to His own workmanship, inasmuch as He became a man liable to suffering, [it follows] that every objection is set aside of those who say, 'If our Lord was born at that time, Christ had therefore no previous existence.' For I have shown that the Son of G.o.d did not then begin to exist, being with the Father from the beginning; but when He became _incarnate_, and was made man, He commenced afresh the long line of human beings, and furnished us, in a brief, comprehensive manner, with salvation; so that what we had lost in Adam--namely, to be according to the image and likeness of G.o.d--that we might recover in Christ Jesus." (Chap, xviii. sec. 1.) The forgers are again at their work. The ancient fathers must be made to subscribe to the new creed. "For some there are who are wont to carry about the name of Christ in deceitful-ness, but do things unworthy of G.o.d, whom you must avoid as ye would wild beasts. For they are raving dogs, which bite secretly, of whom you must be aware, as men hardly to be cured. There is one physician, both carnal and spiritual, create and increate, G.o.d _manifest in the flesh_; both of Mary and of G.o.d; first capable _of suffering_--then liable to suffer no more." (_Ignatius to Eph_. sec. 7.) "For whosoever confesseth not that Jesus Christ is _come in the flesh_ is Antichrist; and whosoever confesseth not his _sufferings upon the cross_ is from the devil. And whosoever perverts the oracles of G.o.d, he is the first-born of Satan." (Polycarp to Philippians, sec. 7.)

The above citations are a few of many others of a like character scattered through the works of the fathers, inserted long after their death, and evidently intended to combat the idea of Cerinthus and others, that Christ did not suffer on the cross, and so it could not be claimed that by his death he made an atonement for the sins of man. Both of these fathers lived near the time of Paul, and believed the doctrines he preached: "Ye are the pa.s.sage of those that are killed for G.o.d; who have been _instructed in the mysteries of the gospel with Paul_, who was sanctified and bore testimony even unto death, and is deservedly most happy; at whose feet I would that I might be found when I shall have attained unto G.o.d, who through all his epistles makes mention of you in Christ." (_Ignatius to the Ephesians_, sec. 12.) "For neither can I, nor any other such as I am, come up to the wisdom of the blessed and renowned Paul, who being amongst you, in the presence of those who then lived, taught with exactness and soundness the word of truth; who in his absence also wrote an epistle to you, unto which, if you diligently look, you may be able to be edified in the faith delivered unto you, which is the mother of us all." (_Polycarp to the Philippians_, sec. 3.)

Paul taught that Christ was born of woman, under the law; and Ignatius, that he was "truly of the race of David, according to the flesh."

(Letter to the Eph., sec. 1.)