Now, if we read the New Testament with ordinary attention, we must,
I think, be struck by one feature which is repeated in almost every
page, and is manifestly the all-pervading spirit and life of its
teaching,--that is, the peculiar place which Christ occupies in
relation to all other persons mentioned there. This person, Jesus
Christ, whoever He was, stands out prominently before every other
_teacher_ of Christian truth. The apostles speak of _Him_, point to
Him, plead for Him, labour for Him. He is not the greatest Teacher
merely among themselves, but the _only_ Teacher, and they but His
scholars, who glory in having nothing of their own to impart, and in
being ministers, "stewards," only of what they have received from Him
their Master. The subject of all their preaching is this Person--not a
system of morality, or doctrines, or truths, apart from, but embodied
in Him who was _the_ Truth and _the_ Life--Jesus Christ. The text of
all their teaching is, "God forbid that we should know anything among
you save Jesus Christ." In order to see this, take up any epistle, and
mark how often the name of Jesus Christ appears as the ever-present
thought, the centre of every idea.
Again, consider how this Person is inseparably connected with every
motive, every duty, every joy and hope of the Christian as he is
described in the New Testament. Christian love is there, not love
merely in the abstract, (if such is in any case possible,) but love to
Jesus Christ, and to all men because "in Christ" The grand question
proposed is, "Lovest thou ME?" Christian obedience is not obedience
merely to a code of moral precepts, but to Jesus Christ and "_His_
commandments." Christian faith is not faith in "mysteries," or things
unseen, or truths revealed, though such faith may be Christian, but
its essence is faith in Jesus Christ the living Person; the supreme
command being, "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ." The Christian's
hope is "hope in Christ;" his joy, "joy in Christ;" his peace, "peace
in Christ;" his labour, "labour in Christ;" his strength, "strength in
Christ;" his life, "life in Christ;" his death, "death in Christ;" his
immortality, "rising in Christ;" his salvation, "salvation through
Christ;" and his heaven, "to be with Christ!" On the other hand, all
that is evil and disastrous to the soul is summed up in being "without
Christ." To reject Christ, not to believe in Christ, to be enemies of
Christ, to despise Christ, to be ignorant of Christ, to lose Christ,
to be commanded at the last to depart from Christ--these are the
characteristics of the wicked and lost: for "there is no other name
given among men whereby man can be saved than the name of Jesus
Christ."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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