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Literature and History of New Testament Times

[225] <h2>LESSON XLI</h2> <h3>THE CHRISTIAN MESSAGE</h3> <h4>1. A PHILOSOPHY, OR A TESTIMONY?</h4> In the Student's Text Book the Christian message has been represented as primarily a piece of good news, a story of something that happened. That representation does not pass unchallenged to-day. Many suppose that the message of the apostles was concerned simply with reflection upon eternal truths. For centuries, it is said in effect, men had been reflecting upon the problems of God and the world and sin; what the apostles did in Jerusalem and elsewhere was simply to provide better instruction on these great themes; Jesus had taught men that God is a Father, the apostles simply continued his teaching. Such a view, of course, can be held only by rejecting or distorting the testimony of the New Testament. If the book of The Acts is correct, if Paul is correct, then the preaching that founded the apostolic Church was not better instruction about old facts, but information about a new fact. Before Jesus came, the world was lost under sin; but Jesus lived and died and rose again, and gave salvation to all who would receive. According to the New Testament, Jesus did not come to tell men that they were God's children; he came to make them God's children. John 1:12; Gal. 4:3-5. Without him they were under God's wrath and curse; but by faith in him, by acceptance of his sacrifice of himself for them, by receiving from his Spirit the power to believe, they could call God Father. On the day of Pentecost Jesus was presented as more than a Teacher; he was presented as a Saviour. <h4>2. THE EFFECTS OF THE MESSAGE</h4> (1) In the Apostolic Age.—The effects of that presentation have been considered briefly in the Student's Text Book, and what was said there might easily be supplemented. The conversion of the three thousand was only a beginning. The new spirit of the Christian community, the brotherly love and holy joy of the disciples, indeed everything that will be treated in the lessons of the[226] quarter, were the result of a simple piece of news. By the wise men of the world—then as now—the message was despised, but "the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men." I Cor. 1:25. This lesson offers a singular opportunity to the teacher. The Christian message in the apostolic Church was a message of power. The story of its progress is full of dramatic vigor; it appeals even to the non-Christian historian. The story of the apostolic age is full of surprises—the sudden transformation of bitter Jewish enemies into humble disciples; the triumphant spread of the faith when everything seemed opposed; the establishment of Christian churches in the very centers of pagan vice; the astonishingly rapid preparation for the conquest of the empire; and all this accomplished not by worldly wisdom, but by simple men who only had a bit of news—a bit of news, and God! (2) In the History of the Church.—The triumphs of the gospel, however, were not confined to the age of the apostles. The apostolic age was prophetic of the Christian centuries. There were many days of darkness; but the Church always emerged again triumphant. So it will be to-day. God has not deserted his people; he will attest his truth with the power of his Spirit; there is no room for discouragement. One thing, however, should be remembered; the victories of the Church are victories, not of brilliant preachers, not of human wisdom or human goodness, but of the cross of Christ. Under that banner all true conquests move. <h4>3. THE PRESENTATION OF THE MESSAGE</h4> The Christian message was presented in the apostolic Church in many different ways. The gospel was everywhere essentially the same, but the presentation of it was adapted to the needs of particular hearers, and the understanding of it became ever more complete under the illumination of the Holy Spirit. It is interesting to collect the various types of missionary speeches that are found in the New Testament. (1) The Missionary Preaching of the Jerusalem Church.—The early chapters of The Acts preserve a number of speeches that were addressed to Jews. As might have been expected, these speeches are intended primarily to prove the Messiahship of Jesus. If that could be proved, then—among the Jews—the rest would follow. The Messiahship was proved first by an appeal to the Scriptures, and second by the fact of the resurrection. Even the death of Jesus on[227] the cross, which was to the Jews a stumblingblock, was predicted by the prophets, and so served to prove that Jesus was the promised One. The resurrection was also predicted; and the resurrection was established first by the simple testimony of eyewitnesses and second by the wonderful works of the living Christ. These early speeches contain only a little of the full truth of the gospel. In them, for example, the significance of the death of Christ as an atonement for sin is not fully explained. Such omissions were due no doubt to two causes. (a) Limitations Due to the Hearers.—In the first place, the peculiar needs of the hearers had to be considered. The hearers were Jews; to them the death of the Messiah was an unheard-of paradox; to them the cross was a stumblingblock. Before the inner meaning of the crucifixion could be explained, obviously the objections derived from it needed to be overcome. The first task of the missionaries was to show that Jesus, although he had been crucified, was the Messiah. That was done by an appeal to prophecy and to the plain fact of the resurrection. After conviction had thus been produced, it would be time enough to show that what was at first regarded as a stumblingblock was really the supreme act of divine grace. (b) Limitations Due to an Early Stage of Revelation.—The omissions in the early speeches were due, however, not merely to the peculiar needs of the hearers, but also to limitations in the knowledge of the apostles. Christian truth was not all revealed at once; undoubtedly the full explanation of the cross, the full exposition of the atonement, was revealed only when the disciples could bear it. Such is the divine method, even in revelation. The disciples were brought gradually, by the gracious leading of the Holy Spirit, into ever richer knowledge of the truth. (c) The Significance of the Cross.—Nevertheless, the meagerness of the early teaching must not be exaggerated. In the very first missionary speech of Peter, Jesus was represented as "delivered up by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God." Acts 2:23. What happened "by the determinate counsel ... of God" was no meaningless chance; the crucifixion was not a victory of evil over God, it must have had some beneficent purpose. Furthermore, Jesus himself had explained what that purpose was. He had spoken of giving his life a ransom for many, Mark 10:45; still more plainly, on the last solemn passover evening, he had represented his death as sacrificial. These words were certainly not[228] forgotten in the Jerusalem church; they were called to mind in the repeated celebration of the Lord's Supper, and must have formed the subject of meditation. The Jerusalem Christians knew that Jesus' death was a death on their behalf. (d) The Lordship of Jesus.—The lordship of Jesus, moreover, was fully recognized from the very beginning. The risen Christ had ascended into glory, and had poured forth his mighty Spirit. The believer was no mere learner of the words of a dead teacher; he was called into communion with a Lord and Saviour. Such communion meant nothing less than an entirely new life, in which sin could have no rightful place. It was a life of conflict, but also a life of hope. The Saviour would come again in like manner as he had gone. The spiritual victory, already won, would be perfected by a final victory in every realm. (2) The Missionary Preaching of Paul.—The gospel of the early preachers was a glorious message. It was a piece of glad tidings, such as the world had never known. Yet even greater things were in store; even more wondrous mysteries were to be revealed. They were revealed especially through the instrumentality of the apostle Paul. The gospel had been preached from the beginning, but much of its deeper meaning was reserved for Paul. (a) Truth and Error.—In the teaching of Paul, truth became plainer by being contrasted with error. The original apostles had really been trusting in the atonement of Christ for salvation; but now that trust became plainer and more explicit by being contrasted with works of the law. The original apostles had really grasped the inner significance of Jesus as the fulfillment of the Old Testament; but now that significance became still plainer by the contrast with Pharisaic legality. Now at length the death and resurrection were represented sharply and clearly as great representative acts in which the believer shares through faith. The original apostles were not overwhelmed and confused by the new revelation; they recognized the grace of God. Their perfect agreement with Paul exhibited the unity of the apostolic gospel. Scarcely anything would be more interesting than a full collection of the missionary speeches of Paul. Such a collection, however, has not been preserved. The writings that we possess from the hand of Paul are not missionary addresses, but letters written to those who were already Christians. We should not, however, complain of the providence of God. God has not thought good to give us everything, but what he has given us is enough. [229] (b) Information Provided by The Acts.—The book of The Acts, in the first place, affords valuable information. The author was interested, indeed, chiefly in beginnings. The examples of Paul's missionary preaching which Luke has preserved, are perhaps preliminary to evangelism, rather than evangelism itself. The speech at Pisidian Antioch shows how Paul proved the Messiahship of Jesus. In winning the Jews, that proof was the first step. The Pauline gospel indeed appears, but it appears only at the very end of the speech. The speech at Athens is still more clearly of preliminary character. Monotheism needed to be established before the gospel of Christ could be understood. Despite their necessary limitations however, these speeches are instructive. They show, in the first place, that Paul adapted his preaching to the needs of his hearers. He did not preach the same sermon mechanically to all. He sought really to win men over, he began with what his hearers could understand. They show, in the second place, that all preliminary matters were kept strictly subordinate. These matters were not made an end in themselves, as is often the case in the modern Church, but were merely a means to an end. No matter where he began, Paul always proceeded quickly to the center of the gospel. Both at Pisidian Antioch and at Athens, he hastened on to the resurrection. (c) Information Provided by the Epistles.—The Pauline Epistles, in the second place, though they are addressed to Christians, really afford sufficient information, at least in outline, about the missionary preaching of Paul. Incidental references are sufficient to show at least that the cross and the resurrection were the center and core of it. The Thessalonians, for example, under the preaching of Paul, "turned unto God from idols, to serve a living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, who delivereth us from the wrath to come." This little passage is worth pages of exposition. Preaching to Gentiles is here reviewed in epitome, though of course not with studied symmetry and completeness. The knowledge of the one true God formed of course, for Gentiles, the starting point for all the rest, but from that starting point the preacher at once proceeded to tell of the work of Christ. Just as illuminating are passages like I Cor. 2:2; Gal. 3:1. In Corinth Paul knew nothing save "Jesus Christ, and him crucified"; in Galatia the story of the cross was made so plain that it was as though Jesus Christ crucified were held up before the eyes of the Galatians on a great picture[230] or placard. The famous passage in First Corinthians, ch. 15:1-8, is, however, perhaps clearest of all. At the very beginning Paul had spoken of the death of Christ and the resurrection. The death, moreover, was not presented as a mere inspiring story of a holy martyrdom, but as a death "for our sins"; and the resurrection was supported not primarily by an inward experience, but by simple testimony. Apostolic preaching was everywhere essentially the same. The apostles never began, like many modern preachers, with exhortation; though they proceeded to exhortation, they always began with facts. What was always fundamental was the simple story of the life and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ crucified and risen was the subject of the good news that conquered the world. When will the modern Church take up the message with new power? We do not know. The times are in God's hand. But when the blessed day comes, it will be a day of victory. <hr class="tb" /> In the Library.—Bunyan, "The Pilgrim's Progress." Warfield, "The Saviour of the World," and "The Power of God Unto Salvation" (the latter in "The Presbyterian Pulpit"). Hodge, "The Way of Life." <hr class="chap" /> <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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