that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."

The peculiar potency of the Gospel arises from the fact that it is an immediate revelation of the character and ways of God through the life and death of a human person. In Christ Jesus God was manifest in the flesh.

Our Savior had omnipotent might at his command and wrought wonders which were possible for God alone. These, however, were not done to display the divine power; because that is fully made known in the natural universe; but to attest the mission of our Savior and to illustrate its beneficent aims. For his miracles were deeds of goodness and mercy.

The essential office of our Redeemer was to be in himself an exhibit of the spirit and purposes of God in dealing with mankind. His discourses were a republication of the divine law-a setting forth of heavenly wisdom applicable to every exigency of earthly life. They especially emphasized the duties of loving God supremely, and of loving one's neighbor as oneself. And the conduct of Jesus corresponded with his teachings. He lived only to please God and to bless his fellow men. It was his meat and drink to do the will of his Heavenly Father; and he so loved sinners that he endured the cross on their behalf.

We are taught also in the Gospel that the sacrifice on Calvary was in some way a justification of God in his forgiveness of iniquity and transgression, that in some sense or other it was an atonement for sin, that is, a satisfaction of that strict law which says: "The soul that sinneth it shall die." Here, too, we are told that God's gift of his only begotten Son is a proof of his love for sinners. For "herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and gave his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."

We cannot now discuss the question, How can the blood of Jesus Christ cleanse from sin? But we must direct attention to that central place which faith in the atonement has ever had in the experience of Christian believers. This faith creates in them a sense of "peace with God," and it inspires them with gratitude to him who "loved us and gave himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God." The story of the cross has a mighty influence in promoting piety; it impresses men with the conviction that they are not their own; that they are bought with a price; and that they should glorify God with their bodies and their spirits, which are God's.

VI

JESUS THE CHRIST

A DISTINGUISHED theologian, referring to lives in which the Gospel of the New Testament has become a ruling principle, asserts that the Christian religion consists in the love, worship, and service of the Lord Jesus. No better definition of evangelical piety can be given than this. But, of course, such a piety presupposes an intellectual apprehension of the truth concerning our Savior. One's knowledge of Gospel teachings need not be theoretical or thorough, but there must be such conviction respecting fundamentals as the early Christians had. They believed that Jesus was the prophet of Nazareth, who preached the Gospel of the Kingdom and called men to be his disciples; that he went about doing wonderful works; that he manifested heavenly holiness of character and conduct; that he was God's only begotten and well-beloved Son; that he died on the cross for the sins of men; that he rose from the dead and ascended to God's right hand, where all power is given him for the salvation of his people. These were the essential beliefs

of the first disciples of Christ; and they are the essential beliefs of his disciples at the present day.

THE FUNCTION OF CREEDS

But ordinary believers do not inquire: How did God send the Savior into the world? In what precise sense is Christ God's only begotten Son? Just in what way does the sacrifice on Calvary provide for the forgiveness of sin? And how can it be that he who was a human being on earth is now the supreme ruler of the Universe? The majority of Christians accept the assertions of the Gospel with an intuitive exercise of reason without seeking a systematic understanding of them.

At the same time it is clear that a theoretic comprehension of divine things may be properly desired. Thorough knowledge tends to strengthen faith and serves for the removal of difficulties from thoughtful minds. Hence, in order to promote well-formed and explanatory conceptions, creeds and doctrinal formulas have been drawn up in time past by councils and assemblies of the Christian church and of its various branches. Many of these documents are of great value and should be given the consideration due to them and to the proofs which are adduced in their

behalf; yet their rightful office is not to supersede, but to assist the private judgment of inquiring men. And, if any one should desire more satisfying views than he has obtained from authoritative confessions, it is his privilege and duty to make investigations for himself.

A SCRIPTURAL INQUIRY PROPOSED

We propose, in the present writing, to outline a method of inquiry concerning the constitution of our Savior's person, and particularly concerning that divine character which Christians in all ages have attributed to him. We shall leave untouched the question, once hotly debated, whether Jesus were really a man, or whether he were only apparently a man and really a supernatural being who acted and spoke as through human organs. When one reads the four biographies given in the Gospels, as well as testimonies in other Scriptures, no doubt is left in the mind that Jesus was a man, having all the attributes of our nature, but differing from us in being a perfect man and absolutely sinless. No one now questions this truth except those who try to convince themselves that no such person as Jesus ever existed. But many find it difficult to believe that our Savior is God as well as man, and many