In the Student's Text Book it was maintained that the Apocalypse was written by John the son of Zebedee. The strongest objection to this view is to be found in the striking difference of language and style which exists between the Apocalypse on the one side and the Gospel and Epistles of John on the other. The style of the Apocalypse is extraordinarily rough; in it the most elementary laws of Greek grammar are sometimes disregarded. Such peculiarities appear scarcely at all in the Gospel; the language of the Gospel, though simple, is perfectly grammatical.
This observation has led many scholars to decide that the Gospel and the Apocalypse never could have been written by the same person; the argument, indeed, was advanced as early as the third century by Dionysius of Alexandria. Those who thus deny the unity of authorship do not all reject either one book or the other as authoritative; some suppose that the John whose name appears in the Apocalypse, though not the same as John the son of Zebedee, was a genuine prophet.
The evidence, however, for attributing all the Johannine books to the son of Zebedee is exceedingly strong. If the Apocalypse is to be attributed to some one else, tradition is very seriously at fault, and it is also very difficult to see how another John could have introduced himself to the churches of Asia Minor in the way that the author does at the beginning and end of the book without distinguishing himself from the greater man of the same name who was residing at Ephesus at the very same time. The Apocalypse must therefore be assigned to the son of Zebedee unless there is absolutely unimpeachable evidence to the contrary.
Such evidence is not really forthcoming. The difference of style between the Apocalypse and the Fourth Gospel is capable of explanation.
(1)Possible Difference of Date.—In the first place, it might beexplained by a wide difference of date. If the Apocalypse was written at about A. D. 68, then an interval of some twenty-five years or more separates it from the Gospel. Such an interval would allow plenty of time for the style of the author to change. When the Galilean fisherman first left his home in Palestine, his command of the Greek language might conceivably be slight; whereas after a long residence in Asia Minor, as leader of a group of Greek-speaking churches, the roughness of his style would be removed. Hence the un-Greek, strongly Hebraistic usages of the Apocalypse would in the Gospel naturally give place to a correct, though simple style.
This hypothesis, however, is beset with serious difficulties. It is difficult to suppose that the Apocalypse was written before the closing decade of the first century. Some passages, it is true, have been strongly urged in favor of the early date. Particularly the reference to the seven kings in Rev. 17:10 has been thought by many excellent scholars to be decisive. The reference to the seven hills in the preceding verse seems to show that the "beast" represents Rome; the seven kings therefore naturally represent Roman emperors. The fifth emperor, beginning with Augustus, was Nero. If at the time when the book was written five were fallen, one was and the other was not yet come, v. 10, the book must apparently have been written under Nero's successor. His successor, Galba, reigned only a few months: the book was therefore written in A. D. 68 or 69. Or if the very brief reigns of Galba, Otho and Vitellius be not counted, then the book was written between A. D. 69 and 79, during the reign of Vespasian.
The passage remains, however, so obscure that it is very doubtful whether any one interpretation of it should be allowed to overbalance the evidence for the later date. Such evidence is abundant. Most weighty of all, perhaps, is the strong tradition which places the Apocalypse in the closing years of Domitian. It is hard to believe that that tradition is seriously at fault. The condition of the Church, moreover, as it is presupposed in the book, is more naturally to be sought at A. D. 95 than twenty-five years earlier. The persecution, for example, which the writer describes, seems far more like the persecution under Domitian than it is like the outbreak which was occasioned by the cruelty of Nero.
(2) The Difference of Subject.—If the later date be accepted, then the Gospel and the Apocalypse were written in the same period of the apostle's life, and the difference of style cannot beexplained by a difference of date. Another explanation, however, is sufficient. The difference between the two books may be explained by the total difference of subject. The Gospel is a narrative of Jesus' life, written with abundant opportunity for reflection; the Apocalypse is a record of wonderful visions, where stylistic nicety would have marred the immediateness of the revelation. The very roughness of the Apocalypse is valuable as expressing the character of the book. In the Gospel, John brought to bear all his power of reflection and of expression; in the Apocalypse, he wrote in haste under the overpowering influence of a transcendent experience.
The grammatical irregularities of the Apocalypse, moreover, often create the impression that they are intentional. They belonged, apparently, to an apocalyptic style which to a certain extent had already been formed; they were felt to be suited to the peculiar character of the work.
Finally, it must not be forgotten that side by side with the differences of style there are some remarkable similarities. The underlying unity of thought and expression points to unity of authorship.
(1)A Record of Visions.—In what has just been said, the dominant peculiarity of the Apocalypse has already been indicated. The Apocalypse is no careful literary composition, pieced together from previous works of a similar character. On the contrary, it is a record of genuine revelations. Before writing, the seer was "in the Spirit."
(2)Influence of the Old Testament.—Nevertheless, although the Apocalypse is a record of visions, and was written consciously under the impulsion of the Spirit, it is by no means uninfluenced by previous works. To a degree that is perhaps not paralleled by any other New Testament book, the Apocalypse is suffused with the language and with the imagery of the Old Testament. Though there is not a single formal quotation, the Old Testament Scriptures have influenced almost every sentence of the book. Particularly the books of Ezekiel and Daniel, which, like the Apocalypse, are composed largely of the records of visions, have supplied much of the imagery of the New Testament work.
This wide-spread influence of the Old Testament upon the Apocalypse is by no means surprising. The Apocalypse is basedupon direct revelation, but direct revelation is not necessarily out of relation to everything else. On the contrary, it uses the language which its recipients can understand; and part of the language of the apostle John was the phraseology and imagery of the Old Testament.
It has already been hinted that works very similar in form to the Apocalypse are to be found in the Old Testament. This apocalyptic form was continued in a number of Jewish works written after the conclusion of the Old Testament canon. Superficially these works bear considerable resemblance to the New Testament Apocalypse; but closer examination reveals profound differences. The Jewish apocalypses appeared under assumed names—the most important of them under the name of Enoch—while John is so firmly convinced of having received genuine revelation that he requires no such spurious authority for his work. The similarity between our Apocalypse and its extra-canonical Jewish predecessors and contemporaries is a similarity at most of form; in spirit and content the difference is incalculable. Unlike these other works, the Apocalypse is a genuine prophecy.
The so-called letters to the seven churches were never intended to be circulated separately. From the beginning the letters formed part of the Apocalypse, which was addressed to all seven of the churches. From the beginning, therefore, each of the letters was intended to be read not only by the church whose name it bears, but also by all the others. The seven churches, moreover, are representative of the Church at large.
Nevertheless, despite the universal purpose of the letters, they are very concrete in the information that they provide about the churches in Asia Minor. Like the Second and Third Epistles of John they illumine an exceedingly obscure period in the history of Christianity.
(1)The "Angels" of the Churches.—Some details in the letters, it is true, are to us obscure. What, for example, is meant by the "angels" of the churches to which the several letters are addressed? The Greek word translated "angel" may also mean simply "messenger." Conceivably, it might designate merely a congregational officer. Many have supposed that it designates a bishop. In the epistles of Ignatius, which were written not very many years after the Apocalypse, the term "bishop" is applied to an officer who hadsupreme authority over a congregation including the presbyters. The appearance of these "angels" or "messengers" in the Apocalypse has been urged as proof that John as well as Ignatius recognized the institution of the episcopacy.
Surely, however, the matter is more than doubtful. The Greek word used, whether it be translated "angel" or "messenger," is a very strange designation of a bishop. Moreover, in the rest of the Johannine literature there is no recognition of the episcopacy. In the Third Epistle of John, for example, even if Diotrephes had set himself up as a bishop—which is itself exceedingly doubtful—his claim is certainly not accepted by the apostle.
On the whole, it seems better to regard the "angels" to which the seven letters of the Apocalypse are addressed merely as ideal representatives of the churches—representatives conceived of perhaps as guardian angels. Compare Matt. 18:10.
(2)The Nicolaitans.—Another puzzling question concerns the "Nicolaitans" who appear in several of the letters. The name itself is obscure. By tradition it is connected with that Nicolaüs of Antioch who was one of the seven men appointed in the early days of the Jerusalem church to attend to the administration of charity. Acts 6:5. The tradition may possibly be correct. If it is correct, then Nicolaüs, in his later life, had not justified the confidence originally reposed in him.
At the first mention of the Nicolaitans, in the letter to Ephesus, Rev. 2:6, nothing whatever is said about their tenets. Their error, however, was not merely theoretical, but practical, for it was their "works" that the Lord is represented as hating. In the letter to Pergamum, the Nicolaitans are probably meant in v. 14. Like Balaam, they enticed the people of God to idolatry and impurity. The form which their idolatry took was the eating of meats offered to idols. The question of meats offered to idols was no simple matter. In the First Epistle to the Corinthians Paul had permitted the eating of such meats under certain circumstances, but had sternly forbidden it wherever it involved real or supposed participation in idolatrous worship. The form in which it was favored by the Nicolaitans evidently fell under the latter category. In a time of persecution, the temptation to guilty compromise with heathenism must have been insidious; and also the low morality of the Asian cities threatened ever and again to drag Christian people back into the impure life of the world.
In the letter to Thyatira, also, "the woman Jezebel" is apparentlyto be connected with the same sect, for the practical faults in Thyatira and in Pergamum were identical. Jezebel, the Phœnician wife of Ahab, was, like Balaam, a striking Old Testament example of one who led Israel into sin. It is significant that the woman Jezebel in Thyatira called herself a prophetess. Rev. 2:20. This circumstance seems to indicate that the Nicolaitans had excused their moral laxness by an appeal to special revelations. The impression is confirmed by v. 24. Apparently the Nicolaitans had boasted of their knowledge of the "deep things," and had despised the simple Christians who contented themselves with a holy life. At any rate, whatever particular justification the Nicolaitans advanced for their immoral life, they could not deceive the all-searching eye of Christ. Their "deep things" were deep things, not of God, but of Satan!
Who is meant by "the woman Jezebel"? Some interpreters, who suppose that the "angel" of the church was the bishop, regard Jezebel as a designation of the bishop's wife. This whole interpretation is, however, beset with serious difficulty. Perhaps "the woman Jezebel" does not refer to an individual at all, but is simply a figurative designation of the Nicolaitan sect. The description of the coming retribution in vs. 21-23 seems to be highly figurative.
It will be observed that the sin of the churches at Pergamum and Thyatira was not limited to those who actually accepted the Nicolaitan teaching. Even to endure the presence of the guilty sect was the object of the Lord's rebuke. Toward the works of the Nicolaitans only hatred was in place. Rev. 2:6. That is a solemn lesson for modern indifferentism. Tolerance is good; but there are times when it is a deadly sin.
In the Library.—Purves, "Christianity in the Apostolic Age," pp. 274, 308-312. Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": Purves (supplemented), article on "Revelation." M'Clymont, "The New Testament and Its Writers," pp. 150-155. Milligan, "Lectures on the Apocalypse" and "Discussions on the Apocalypse." Ellicott, "A New Testament Commentary for English Readers," vol. iii, pp. 523-641: Carpenter, "The Revelation of St. John." Ramsay, "The Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia." Plumptre, "A Popular Exposition of the Epistles to the Seven Churches of Asia." Swete, "The Apocalypse of St. John." Zahn, "Introduction to the New Testament," vol. iii, pp. 384-449. The two last-named works are intended primarily for those who have some knowledge of Greek, but can also be used by others.
The interpretations of the Apocalypse may be divided into four classes.
(1)Unfulfilled Prophecies.—According to one method of interpretation, the prophecies of the book are all unfulfilled. In the last days there will be a mighty revival of evil like that which is symbolized by the dragon and the beast and the false prophet, there will be plagues and woes like those which are described in connection with the seals and the trumpets and the bowls, and there will be a triumph of God's people and an eternal blessedness of the new Jerusalem. This interpretation would place the Apocalypse out of analogy with the other prophecies of the Bible. Prophecy is seldom out of all connection with the immediate present. Even where the prophetic vision reaches to the very end of time, the fulfillment or the preparation for the fulfillment is usually represented as beginning at once. In the Apocalypse, as in other prophecy, there is evident reference to the circumstances of the original readers.
(2)Contemporary Events.—A second method of interpretation goes to an opposite extreme. By this method the prophecies of the book are thought to be concerned merely with events of the writer's own age. "The beast" is the Roman Empire; "Babylon" is the city of Rome; the author expected the destruction of both to take place within a few years' time. In its thoroughgoing form this interpretation also is to be rejected. It degrades the Apocalypse to the level of a mistaken prediction, and reduces the self-evidencing glories of the book to trivialities. Evidently the outlook of the seer was far broader and far more spiritual than it is represented by the advocates of this interpretation.
(3)The Whole History of the Church.—By a third method of interpretation, the first two methods are combined. The book is written distinctly in view of conditions of the first century, its predictions concern partly the immediate future; but there is alsoan outlook upon remoter ages. By this interpretation the prophecies are held to provide an epitome of the whole of history from the first coming of Christ to his second coming.
(4)Mixture of Discordant Traditions.—A fourth method of interpretation, which has become influential in very recent years, abandons all hope of discovering a unitary message in the book, and proceeds to divide it into its component parts. The analysis was carried on first by literary criticism. An older work of the time of Nero was supposed to have been revised at a later period; or non-Christian Jewish works were supposed to have been incorporated in the present work by a Christian compiler. This sort of literary criticism has in the last few years given place sometimes to a subtler method. Investigation is now directed to the materials of which the book is composed, whether those materials were embodied in previous literary works or only in previous traditions. The ultimate source of much of the material is found in Babylonia or other eastern countries; this material is thought to be not always in accord with the context into which in our Apocalypse it has been introduced.
This method must emphatically be rejected. It contains, indeed, an element of truth. Undoubtedly the Apocalypse makes use of already-existing materials. But these materials are, for the most part at least, of genuinely Hebrew origin; and they have been thoroughly assimilated for the purposes of the present prophecy. The Apocalypse is not a compilation full of contradictions, but a unitary work, with one great message for the Church.
(5)Wrong Use of the Third Method.—Of these four methods of interpretation the third has been adopted in the Student's Text Book. The prophecies of the Apocalypse concern the entire history of the Church. Undoubtedly this interpretation is subject to abuse. It has been employed in the interests of special controversy, as when the Protestants saw in the scarlet woman a representation of papal Rome.
(6)Principles, Not Individual Facts.—All such abuses may be avoided, however, if the interpreter will remember that the book deals with great principles, rather than with individual facts. The beast is neither the Roman Catholic Church, nor the religion of Mohammed, nor the Turkish Empire. Undoubtedly it expressed itself in some phases of each of those institutions. But no one of them can be identified with it outright. The beast of the Apocalypse is nothing less than the blatant, godless power of worldly empire, however that power may be manifested. At the time of John itwas manifested especially in the empire of Rome. Even Rome, however, cannot be identified with the beast entirely without qualification. Even Rome had its beneficent side. John as well as Paul, even in the fire of persecution, might have expressed the thought of Rom. 13:1-7. Peter also wrote in the midst of persecution; yet Peter could say, "Be subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether to the king, as supreme; or unto governors, as sent by him for vengeance on evil-doers and for praise to them that do well." I Peter 2:13,14.
The other side of Rome's power, it is true, was prominent at the close of the first century. More systematically than before, Rome had begun to persecute the Church of God. By the demand of emperor-worship she had tried to put her stamp upon the followers of Jesus. Through her priesthood she had endeavored to lead men astray. In these things she was a manifestation of the beast. As such she was execrated and resisted to the death by every loyal Christian. There could be no hope of compromise. Hope lay rather in the power of God. God would give the just reward; God would give the final victory. Such was the message of the Apocalypse.
The message is of perennial value. The beast is not yet dead. His methods are different, but still he oppresses the Church. Wherever his power is felt—whether in ruthless oppression or impious warfare or degrading superstition—there the prophecy of John is a comfort and an inspiration to the people of God.
Undoubtedly this method of interpretation, which detects in the book principles rather than individual facts, involves a reduction in the amount of direct information which the Apocalypse may be thought to give. A detailed account, whether of the progress of the Church, or of the final catastrophe, is by this interpretation no longer found in the book.
At one point at least, this conclusion has been regarded by many devout Christians as involving a serious loss. That point is concerned with the thousand years of Rev. 20:1-8. According to the interpretation that has just been advocated, the thousand years are merely a symbol for the time of the present Christian dispensation, and the rule which the saints are represented as bearing with Christ probably refers to the condition of the blessed dead up to the final resurrection. To many devout readers of the Bible this interpretationseems to be an impoverishment of the prophet's words. In reality, they maintain, the passage predicts a return of Jesus to earth before the final judgment, and a long period of his blessed sway.
Undoubtedly this more literal interpretation of the millennium seems at first sight to be required by certain phrases of the passage. But the highly figurative character of apocalyptic language must always be borne in mind. Numbers, in the Apocalypse, are usually symbolic; so it may be with the thousand years. During the present dispensation Satan is in one sense bound, and in another sense he is free. In principle he has been conquered; but in the sphere of worldly power he continues to work his wrathful will.
One thing at least is clear. No interpretation of the Apocalypse is correct if it fails to do justice to the hope of Christ's return. If the figurative interpretation weakens our expectation of that dread meeting with the Lord, then it is untrue to the mind of the Spirit. There are difficulties connected with the idea of a literal millennium; but such difficulties are inconsiderable in comparison with those that result from any rationalizing, any explaining away, of the universal Christian hope. The Apocalypse, according to any right interpretation, is a vision of final triumph.
That triumph is a triumph of Christ. Back of all the lurid imagery of the book, back of the battles and the woes, and back of the glories of God's people, stands the figure of the Saviour. With him the book began, and with him, too, it ends. He is the same who lived the life of mercy and of glory on earth, the same who died for our sins on the cross. To the Lamb all power is given—all power in heaven and on earth. By him all enemies are conquered; by him the whole earth will be judged. To those who bear the mark of the beast he is an Avenger; to his Church he is an ever-living Saviour.
In the Library.—The reading suggested under Lesson XXXVII is intended for both of the lessons on the Apocalypse.
This review lesson is fully as important as any other lesson of the first three quarters. Without reviewing, the study of history is unproductive; only a review can make of the facts a permanent possession. The story of the apostolic age, as it is narrated in the work of Luke, is really very simple; it becomes confusing only when it is imperfectly mastered. A little time spent in turning over the pages of the Lucan narrative, or even of the Student's Text Book, will accomplish wonders.
The New Testament account of the apostolic age is indeed only fragmentary. Many questions must be left unanswered. Of the original twelve apostles only Peter and the sons of Zebedee and Judas Iscariot receive in The Acts anything more than a bare mention; and even the most prominent of these disappears after the fifteenth chapter. What did Paul do in Arabia and in Tarsus? What was the origin of the great church at Alexandria? Who founded the church at Rome? These questions, and many like them, must forever remain unanswered.
If, moreover, even the period covered by The Acts is obscure, far deeper is the darkness after the guiding hand of Luke has been withdrawn. For the death of the apostle Paul, there is only a meager tradition; the latter years of Peter are even more obscure. For the important period between the release of Paul after his first Roman imprisonment and the death of the apostle John at about the end of the first century, anything like a connected narrative is quite impossible.
A few facts, however, may still be established. The Roman historian Tacitus tells of a persecution of the Christians at Rome at the time of the burning of the city in A. D. 64. The emperor Nero, suspected of starting the fire, sought to remove suspicion from himself by accusing the Christians. The latter had already becomeunpopular because of their peculiar ways, and were thought to be guilty of abominable crimes; but the cruelty of Nero almost exceeded the wishes of the populace. The Christians were put to death under horrible tortures. Many were burned, and their burning bodies served as torches to illumine the emperor's gardens.
The beheading of Paul has often been brought into connection with this persecution, but more probably it occurred a few years later. Paul had been released from his first imprisonment, and his second imprisonment, at the time of the Neronian outbreak, had not yet begun.
The extent of the Neronian persecution cannot be determined with certainty. Probably, however, although there was no systematic persecution throughout the empire, the provinces would not be altogether unaffected by what was happening at Rome. The causes of popular and official disfavor were always present; it required only a slight occasion to bring them actively into play.
Even more important than the Roman persecution of A. D. 64 was the destruction of Jerusalem in A. D. 70. At the outbreak of the war which culminated in that catastrophe, the Jerusalem Christians took refuge in Pella, east of the Jordan; Jerusalem ceased to be the center of the Christian Church. After the war, the Jerusalem church never regained its old position of leadership; and specifically Jewish Christianity, suffering by the destruction of the national Jewish life, ceased to be influential in Christian history.
From the years between the destruction of Jerusalem and the closing years of the century, scarcely any definite incidents can be enumerated. Undoubtedly the missionary activity of the Church was continuing; the gospel was making rapid progress in its conquest of the empire. In this missionary activity probably many of the twelve apostles were engaged; but details of their work are narrated for the most part only in late tradition.
At some time—whether before or after A. D. 70 is uncertain—the apostle John went to Ephesus, and there became the leader of the Asian church. Detailed information about his position and the churches under his care is provided not only in trustworthy tradition—especiallythat which comes through Irenæus from Polycarp, the hearer of John—but also in the writings of John himself. The two shorter epistles of John, though each embraces only a small page, are extraordinarily rich in information about congregational matters, and even more instructive are the seven messages of the Apocalypse. By means of the latter the moral condition of the church in Asia Minor is characterized with a vividness that is scarcely to be paralleled for any other period of the apostolic age.
During the latter part of the residence of John in Asia Minor there was an important event in the history of the Church. This was the outbreak of the persecution under Domitian—a persecution which apparently exceeded in extent, if not in severity, every persecution that had preceded it. Under Domitian the Roman authorities became definitely hostile; apostasy from Christ was apparently demanded systematically of the Christians—apostasy from Christ and adhesion to the imperial cult. The latter, in the Apocalypse, is represented as an example of the mark of "the beast"; the Roman Empire, as would have been unnatural in the days of Paul, appears in that book as an incorporation of Satanic power. The long conflict between the Church and the empire had at last begun. Which side would be victorious? In the Apocalypse the answer is plain. The Lord himself was fighting for his Church!
Our knowledge of the apostolic age, though fragmentary, is sufficient—sufficient not indeed for a complete history, but for the requirements of Christian faith. The information provided in the New Testament makes up in quality for what it lacks in quantity. Its extraordinary vividness and concreteness possesses a self-evidencing value. The life of the apostle Paul—revealed with unmistakable fidelity—is itself a sufficient bulwark against historical skepticism; it involves inevitably the supernatural Christ. The gospel is no aspiration in the hearts of dreamers; it is a real entrance of divine power into the troubled battle field of human history. God was working in the apostolic Church, God is speaking in the New Testament—there is the summation of our study.
The Apostolic Church and theChurch of To-Day
The apostolic Church, as was observed in the Student's Text Book, found itself from the beginning in the midst of an environment more or less actively hostile. If we had been in Jerusalem at about the year 30, we should have observed a small group of disciples of Jesus, outwardly conforming to Jewish customs, but inwardly quite different from their countrymen. In Corinth and in other pagan cities of the Greco-Roman world, the contrast between the Church and its environment was even more striking; these cities were sunk in superstition and vice; the Church was leading, in the eyes of the world, a very peculiar life.
The presence of a common enemy led in the apostolic age to a closer union among the Christians themselves, and so it will always be. When Christian people realize the power of the enemy against whom they are all fighting, then they will have no time to fight among themselves. The Christian life is a warfare against sin—sin in a thousand deadly forms. In such a warfare, if we are to be good soldiers, we must all stand shoulder to shoulder.
The apostolic Church was waging an audacious warfare against the intrenched forces of heathenism and sin. Fortunately it had a Leader; and by that Leader alone it won the victory. The Leader was Christ. The primary relation of the soldier is the relation to the commander; the relation of the individual soldiers to one another is dependent upon that. So we shall study to-day the lordship of Christ; by that study, the work of the whole quarter will be introduced.
The lordship of Christ may profitably be studied by an examination of some of the various names which in the New Testament are applied to the Church and its individual members. The individual titles should be studied first. After all, the Church exists for the individual believer rather than the individual believer for the Church. The primary relation is the relation between Christ and the individual soul. Brotherhood comes only through the union of individuals with a common Lord.
(1) "Christians."—Probably the first title that occurs to us to-day to designate the individual members of the Church is the title "Christian"; yet as a matter of fact that title appears only three times in the New Testament, and then only as it was taken from the lips of unbelievers. In accordance with the explicit testimony of Acts 11:26, the name was given for the first time at Antioch; it had no place, therefore, in the early Jerusalem church. A moment's thought will reveal the reason. The name "Christians" would have meant to a Jew adherents of the "Christ," or the "Messiah." Obviously no Jew would have applied such a name specifically to the disciples of Jesus; for all the Jews, in one sense or another, were adherents of the Messiah. The Jews were adherents of him by way of anticipation; the disciples thought he had already appeared; but all earnest Jews alike would have rejoiced to be called by his name.
Evidently the name was applied in Antioch by the pagan population. The Church had become so clearly separate from Judaism that a separate name for it was required. The name "Christian" suggested itself very naturally. "Jesus Christ" was forever on the lips of these strange enthusiasts! "The Christ" was indeed also spoken of by the Jews, but only careful observers would necessarily be aware of the fact. The Messianic hope was an internal concern of the synagogues, with which outsiders would usually have little to do. The new sect, on the other hand, brought the title "Christ" out from its seclusion; "Christ" to these enthusiasts was something more than a title, it was becoming almost a proper name; like "Jesus," it was a designation of the Founder of the sect, and accordingly the adjective derived from it could be used to designate the sect itself.
In Acts 26:28, the name appears as used by Agrippa; in I Peter 4:16, also, it is evidently taken from the lips of the opponents of the faith. The Christians, however, Peter implies, need not be ashamed of the name which has been fastened upon them. Rather let them strive to be worthy of it! It is the highest honor to be called by the name of Christ; and if they are true "Christians," their confession will redound to the glory of God.
In modern times, the name is often misapplied; the use of it is broadened and weakened. Nations are declared to be Christian although only a very small percentage of their citizens really deserve the name; teaching is called Christian though it is only similar in some respects to the teaching of Christ. Such a use of termsshould be avoided wherever possible; the original poignancy of the designation should be restored. Properly speaking, "Christian" means not "like Christ" but "subject to Christ." A Christian is not one who admires Christ or is impressed with Christ's teaching or tries to imitate Christ, but one to whom Christ is Saviour and Lord.
Are we willing to be known as "Christians" in that sense? At the time of First Peter, it would have been a serious question; an affirmative answer would have meant persecution and perhaps death. But it is also a serious question to-day. Confession of Christ involves solemn responsibilities; dishonor to the "Christian" means dishonor to Christ; the unworthy servant is a dishonor to his Master. But let us not fear; Christ is Helper as well as Lord.
(2) "Disciples."—The earliest designation of the followers of Jesus was "disciples" or "learners"; during the earthly ministry perhaps scarcely any other designation was commonly used. Jesus appeared at first as a teacher; the form of his work was somewhat like that of other teachers of the Jews. Nevertheless, although he was a teacher from the beginning, he was also from the beginning something more. He had not only authority, but also power; he was not only Teacher, but also Saviour. His followers were not merely instructed, but were received into fellowship; and that fellowship made of them new men. "Disciples" in the Gospels is more than "learners" or "students"; it is a fine, warm, rich word; the Teacher was also Friend and Lord.
The same term was continued in the early Palestinian Church, and the resurrection had brought an incalculable enrichment of its meaning. The "disciples" were not merely those who remembered the words of Jesus, but those who had been redeemed by his blood and were living now in the power of his Holy Spirit. If we use the term, let it be in the same lofty sense. Let us be learners, indeed; let us hear the words of Jesus, as they are recorded in the Gospels; but let us hear them not from a dead teacher, but ever anew from the living Lord.
(3) "Saints."—A third designation is "saints." This term is used as a title of the Christians in Acts 9:13,32,41; 26:10, and frequently in the epistles of Paul and in the Apocalypse. Its use in the New Testament is very different from some uses of it that appeared at a later time. The Roman Catholics, for example, employ the term as a title of honor for a number of persons carefully limited by the Church; Protestants often designate by it personsof exceptional purity or goodness. In the New Testament, on the contrary, the title "saints" is clearly applied to all Christians.
In the original Greek the word is exactly the same as a word meaning "holy"; it is simply the adjective "holy" used as a noun. "Saints," therefore, really means "holy persons." Unfortunately, however, the word "holy," as well as the word "saint" has undergone modifications of usage. "Holy," in the Bible, is not simply another word for "good" or "righteous," but expresses a somewhat different idea. It has the idea of "sacred" or "separate"—separate from the world. God is holy not merely because he is good, but because he is separate. Undoubtedly his goodness is one attribute—perhaps the chief attribute—that constitutes the separateness; but other attributes also have their place. His omnipotence and his infinitude, as well as his goodness, make him "holy."
The word "holy" or "saint" as applied to Christians has fundamentally the same meaning. Believers are "holy" because they are in communion with the holy God and therefore separate from the world. Undoubtedly the most obvious element in their separateness is their goodness; the moral implications of the term "holy" are sometimes so prominent that the specific meaning of the word seems obscured. But that specific meaning is probably never altogether lost. Christians are called "saints" because they are citizens, not of the present evil world, but of a heavenly kingdom.
The familiar word, thus interpreted, has a startling lesson for the modern Church. Can modern Christians be called "saints," in the New Testament sense? Are we really separate from the world? Are we really "a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people" (A. V.)? Do we really feel ourselves to be strangers and pilgrims in the earth? Or are we rather salt that has lost its savor? Have we become merged in the life of the world?
(4) "Brethren."—A fourth designation is concerned, not with the relation of the believer to Christ or to the world, but with the relation of believers among themselves. That designation is "brethren." It is a very simple word; it requires little explanation; the rich meaning of it will be unfolded in the whole of this quarter's study.
(5) "Church."—After studying the New Testament terms that denote the disciples of Jesus individually, it will now be well to turn for a moment to the chief designation of the body of disciples consideredas a unit. That designation is "church," or in the Greek form, "ecclesia."
The word "ecclesia" is in itself a very simple term indeed. It is derived from the verb "call" and the preposition "out." An "ecclesia" is a body of persons called out from their houses to a common meeting place, in short it is simply an "assembly," and an assembly of any kind. This simple use of the word is found in Acts 19:32,39,41; the Greek word which is there translated "assembly" is exactly the same word as that which is elsewhere translated "church."
Even before New Testament times, however, the word had begun to be used in a special, religious sense. Here, as so often, the Septuagint translation of the Old Testament prepared the way for New Testament usage. In the Septuagint the word "ecclesia" was used to denote the solemn assembly of the people of Israel. That assembly was of course religious as well as political; for Israel was a theocratic nation. Hence it was no abrupt transition from previous usage when the New Testament writers selected the word "ecclesia" to denote the Christian congregation.
In the New Testament, the word is used in various ways. In the first place, it designates the body of Christians who lived in any particular place. So, for example, the epistles of Paul are addressed to individual "churches." In the second place, however, the word designates the whole body of Christians throughout the world. This usage is prominent in the Epistle to the Ephesians, but it also appears even in the Gospels, in the memorable words of Jesus at Cæsarea Philippi. Matt. 16:18. It is a wonderfully grand conception which is thus disclosed by the familiar word. "The Church" is a chosen people, ruled by the Lord himself, a mighty army, engaged, not in earthly warfare, but in a spiritual campaign of salvation and love.
(6) "The Kingdom of God."—One further conception requires at least a word. What is meant by "the kingdom of God"? This conception is evidently related to the conception of "the Church," but the two are not identical. The kingdom of God is simply that place or that condition where God rules. As the kingdom of Cæsar was the territory over which Cæsar held sway, so the kingdom of God is the realm where God's will is done. In one sense, of course, the kingdom of God embraces the whole universe, for nothing is beyond the reach of God's power. But in the New Testament the term is used in a far deeper sense; it is used to denote the realmwhere God's will is done, not of necessity, but by willing submission. Wherever human hearts and wills are in true accord with the will of God, there the "kingdom" has come.
In one sense the kingdom of God belongs to the future age. It is never realized fully upon earth; there is here always some lurking trace of sinful resistance. Nevertheless, in the New Testament the kingdom is by no means always represented as future. Though it has not yet been fully realized, it is already present in principle; it is present especially in the Church. The Church gives clear, though imperfect, expression to the idea of the kingdom; the Church is a people whose ruler is God.
Entrance into the Church is not to be obtained by human effort; it is the free gift of God through the Lord Jesus Christ. No other gift is so glorious. If we are members of that chosen people, we need fear nothing in heaven or on earth.
Two lessons should be conveyed by our study of to-day: in the first place the lesson of separateness, and in the second place the lesson of unity. Neither can be truly learned without the other. There can be no true Christian unity if individual members of the Christian body make common cause with the unbelieving world. A knowledge of the common enemy will draw us all into closer fellowship. That fellowship need not necessarily be expressed in a common organization; but it will be expressed at least in a common service. Separateness from the world will not mean leaving the world to its fate; the Christian salvation will be offered freely to all. But the gravity of the choice should never, by any false urbanity, be disguised. It is no light difference whether a man is within the people of God or without; there is a definite line of demarcation, and the passing of it means the transition from death into life.
In the Library.—Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": articles on "Church," "Disciple," "Christian." Hastings, "Dictionary of the Bible": Gayford, article on "Church." Hort, "The Christian Ecclesia." Charteris, "The Church of Christ." Westcott, "The Two Empires: The Church and the World," in "The Epistles of St. John," pp. 250-282. "The Epistle to Diognetus," introduction and translation in Lightfoot, "The Apostolic Fathers," pp. 487-489, 501-511. Erdman, "Coming to the Communion."
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.
(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 thequarter, 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.
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 onthe 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 notforgotten 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.
(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 pictureor 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.
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."
This lesson and the two following are intended primarily to encourage in the student the diligent use of "the means of grace." The wise teacher will keep the practical purpose steadily in view. That practical purpose may now be examined a little more in detail. Why should the example of the apostolic Church be followed in the matter of Bible-reading, of the sacraments, of prayer, of Christian meetings? What was God's purpose in providing these simple exercises of the Christian life—what benefit do we receive from them? Perhaps the briefest and simplest answer is that we receive from them what is often known as "reality" in religion.
Many Christians are puzzled by the lack of the sense of "reality" in their Christian life. They have believed in Christ, but often he seems far from them. It is not so much that positive doubts have arisen, though certainly the lack of fervency gives doubt its opportunity. Rather is it an inexplicable dulling of the spiritual eye. The gospel still seems wonderful to the intellect, but to the heart it has somehow lost its power.
(1) The Need of Diligence.—This condition is due very often to a neglect of "the means of grace," which we shall study in this lesson and the two lessons following. It is a great mistake to suppose that the spiritual life is altogether beyond our control. Undoubtedly it is instituted only by an immediate exercise of the divine power, independent of the human will; undoubtedly the maintenance of it would be impossible without the assistance of the Holy Spirit. Nevertheless, in that work of maintenance, we have a very definite part. Many Christians suppose that any performance of religious exercises merely for duty's sake, without immediate spiritual profit, is a mere form. This supposition is erroneous. Not performance of religious exercises without spiritual profit, but performance of them without the desire of spiritual profit, is formalism. The appointed means of grace must continue to be used even whenno immediate benefit can be discerned. In the reading of the Bible, in prayer, in public worship, the Christian should first of all do his duty. The result may safely be left to God.
(2) The Danger of Neglect.—Without such attention to duty, the Christian life becomes merely a matter of inclination. In times of great spiritual distress we call upon God for comfort and help; but in the long, level weeks of comparative prosperity we think we can do without him. Such thoughts are the height of folly. God is not our servant, he is not one who can safely be left out of our thoughts except when we think we especially need him. If we neglect God in time of prosperity, we may call in vain when adversity comes.
(3) The Reward of Duty.—The religious life is not merely a matter of inclination; it must be diligently fostered. Such attention to duty, however, will never be merely drudgery. It may begin with drudgery, and it may become drudgery again at times, but if persisted in, it will be an ever-widening avenue of joy and power.
The reading of the Bible is such a simple thing, and so obviously necessary to the Christian life, that it requires comparatively little discussion. Despite its indispensableness, however, it is being sadly neglected to-day. Our fathers learned the Bible with a thoroughness which to-day is almost unknown. The change is full of danger. A Bible-reading Church is possessed of power; without the Bible the Church loses its identity altogether and sinks back into the life of the world. The process, unfortunately, has gone to considerable lengths. How may it now be checked?
(1) The Study Should Be Made Interesting.—Something, no doubt, may be done by making the study of the Bible more interesting. Certainly the Bible does not yield in interest to any other branch of knowledge. The Bible does not merely present spiritual truth; it presents it in a wonderfully rich and varied way. If the study of the Bible is stupid, the fault lies not in the subject matter, but in the student or in the teacher.
(2) The Motive of Duty.—Nevertheless, a mere appeal to the interest of the students is entirely insufficient. After all, there is no royal road to learning—not to Biblical learning any more than to the learning of the world. Solid education can never be attained without hard work; education that is easy is pretty sure to be worthless. Especially at the beginning the chief appeal in educationmust be to a sense of duty. So it is in the case of the Bible. The Bible is the word of God; obviously it may not be neglected. Let us study it, then, primarily because the study of it is an obvious duty. As a matter of fact the duty will soon become a pleasure, but let not that be the motive. Let us read the Bible regularly and persistently, in entire independence of changing impulse. That is the kind of study that is blessed of God. Superficial study, determined by mere inclination, may at first sight seem just as good. But when adversity or temptation comes, then the difference appears. It is the difference between a house built upon the sand and a house built upon the rock. The two houses look alike, but when the rains descend and the floods come, one falls and the other stands. The Christian whose knowledge of the Bible is obtained by old-fashioned, patient study, never interrupted by changing inclination, has dug deep and founded his house upon the rock.
(3) The Example of the Apostolic Church.—The example of the apostolic Church in the matter of the means of grace is especially significant. In the apostolic age, it might have seemed as though these simple exercises might be dispensed with. What need of regularly appointed forms when the Holy Spirit was so immediately manifested? Yet as a matter of fact all of the essential forms of Christian custom were present from the beginning. Regularity and diligence were cherished even in the first exuberance of the Jerusalem church. Enthusiasm of spiritual life did not lead to the despising of ordinary helps; the early disciples "continued stedfastly," "day by day," "with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread at home, they took their food with gladness and singleness of heart." Acts 2:46.
The use which the apostolic Church made of the Bible might seem to some modern men particularly surprising. A book religion, men say, is a stagnant religion; living faith is independent of dead documents; it is only when the early enthusiasm is lost that belief becomes crystallized in submission to venerable authority. This sort of religious philosophy shatters on the plain facts of the apostolic age. Admittedly that was an age of freshness and independence. There never has been such an outburst of religious enthusiasm as that which planted the faith in Jerusalem and carried it like wildfire throughout the civilized world. Yet another fact is equally plain—this wonderful enthusiasm was coupled with the utmost reverence for a book. Nothing could exceed the unquestioning submission which the early Christians paid to the Old TestamentScriptures. The exuberance of apostolic Christianity was intertwined with a book religion!
The explanation, of course, is simple. Submission to a human book means stagnation; but genuine submission to the Word of God means always what it meant in the apostolic age—heroism and victory and life.
(1) Baptism and Circumcision.—The sacrament of baptism had its truest predecessor in circumcision, the Old Testament sign of union with the covenant people. Baptism as well as circumcision is a sign of the covenant, though the varied symbolism marks the advance of the new covenant over the old.
(2) Christian Baptism and the Baptism of John.—In form, moreover, and to a considerable extent also in meaning, Christian baptism in the early Church was prepared for by the baptism of John the Baptist, which had even been continued by the disciples of Jesus during Jesus' earthly ministry. John 4:1,2. Both the baptism of John and Christian baptism symbolized cleansing from sin. Compare Acts 2:38 with Matt. 3:6,11.
Christian baptism, however, differed from every rite that had preceded it by its definite reference to Christ, and by its definite connection with a new manifestation of the Holy Spirit.
(3) Baptism "Into Christ."—In the apostolic writings, baptism is sometimes spoken of as a baptism "into Christ." Gal. 3:27; Rom. 6:3. The meaning of this phrase has often been obscured both in translation and in interpretation. The phrase "into Christ" in this connection means something more than "with reference to Christ"; it means rather "into a position within Christ." The Christian, according to a common Pauline expression, is "in Christ"; he is in such close union with Christ that the life of Christ might almost be described as the atmosphere which he breathes. To be baptized "into Christ" means to come by baptism into this state of blessed union with the Saviour.
(4) Baptism and Faith.—At this point, however, a serious question arises. How can baptism be described as the means by which the Christian comes into union with Christ, when at other times salvation is declared to be by faith? One solution of the difficulty would be simply to say that baptism and faith are both necessary—a man must believe if he is to be saved, but he must also be baptized. Clearly, however, this view does not represent the meaning of the New Testament. The passages where faith aloneis represented as the condition of salvation are too strong; especially the vigorous contrast which Paul sets up between faith and works prevents any inclusion of such a work as baptism along with faith as an additional condition of acceptance with God. The true solution is that baptism is related to faith, or rather to the regenerative work of the Holy Spirit, as the sign is related to the thing signified. Baptism represents the work of the Spirit; it is a means which the Spirit uses. If it stood alone, it would be a meaningless form, but when it is representative of spiritual facts it becomes a channel of divine grace.
The celebration of the Lord's Supper in the Jerusalem church was probably connected in some way with "the breaking of bread," which is mentioned in Acts 2:42. Every common meal was an expression of Christian communion, but the solemn words of Christ at the Last Supper could not have been forgotten. Here, as so often, the book of The Acts affords little information about the internal affairs of the Church.
Fortunately, Paul, in the First Epistle to the Corinthians, is far more explicit, and inferences can be drawn from him with regard even to Jerusalem. Paul represents the Lord's Supper, not as an innovation, but as something that had been given to the Corinthians as a matter of course, at the very beginning of their Christian lives; evidently the sacrament was celebrated universally in the churches; Paul had "received" the account of the institution of the Supper from the Lord through the first Christians.
In Corinth, as was also probably the case in the early days in Jerusalem, the Supper was celebrated in connection with the common meals of the Christian community. Certain abuses had arisen; the rich brought food and drink with them and feasted luxuriously in the presence of their poorer brethren; the spiritual significance of the Supper was profaned. Against such abuses Paul enunciates the great principle that the Supper does not work a magical benefit; if partaken of irreverently it brings condemnation rather than blessing.