Some Christian Convictions: A Practical Restatement in Terms of Present-Day ThinkingCoffin, Henry Sloane
Religion
Some Christian Convictions: A Practical Restatement in Terms of Present-Day Thinking
Coffin, Henry Sloane
Christianity -- 20th century; Theology, Doctrinal -- Popular works
It is worth emphasizing that this Personality in whom we find the
revelation of God and the ideal of manhood is a figure in history. When
an apostle was speaking of "the one Mediator between God and men," he
laid stress on the fact that He was "Himself _man_." When a distinction
is drawn between the Christ of experience and the Christ of history, we
must not be confused. The content of the name "Jesus" was given once for
all in the impression made by the Man of Nazareth, One made "in all
points" like ourselves. We may understand Him better than those who knew
Him in the flesh; we may see the bearing of His life on many situations
that were entirely beyond even His ken; and so we may have "a larger
Christ," exactly as succeeding generations sometimes form truer
estimates of men than contemporaries; but all that is authentic in our
"larger Christ" was implicit in the Man of Galilee. That to which we
respond as to God is the historic Jesus mirrored in His disciples'
faith. We agree with the eloquent words of Tertullian: "We say, and
before all men we say, and torn and bleeding under your tortures we cry
out, 'We worship God through Christ. Count Christ a man, if you please;
by Him and in Him God would be known and adored.'" And our assurance
that we can become like Jesus rests on the fact that this life has been
already lived. A mountain top, however lofty, we can hope to scale, for
it is part of the same earth on which we stand; but a star, however
alluring, we have no confidence of reaching. Jesus' worth as an example
to us lies in our finding in Him "ideal manhood closed in real man."
In fellowship through Jesus with God we discover that His victory is
vicarious; He conquered for Himself _and for us_ the world and sin and
death.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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