the Lord, we persuade [------] men," &c. Galatians iv. 4: "But when the
fulness of time came, God sent out his Son [------], 5. That he might
redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption
of sons,"(1) &c. Ephes. ii. 4. "But God being rich in mercy because of
his great love wherewith he loved us, 5. Even when we were dead in our
trespasses, quickened us together with Christ--by grace ye have been
saved"--cf. verses 7,8. 1 Thess. v. 9. "For God appointed us not to
wrath, but to the obtaining salvation [------] through our Lord Jesus
Christ." 1 Tim. i. 15. "This is a faithful saying.... that Christ Jesus
came into the world to save sinners" [------]. 1 Tim. ii. 3. "For this
is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour [------]. 4. Who
willeth all men to be saved "[------]. Cf. v. 5, 6. 2 Tim. i. 9. "Who
saved us [------], and called us with a holy calling, not according to
our works, but according to his own purpose, and the grace which was
given to us in Christ Jesus before time began; 10. But hath been made
manifest by the appearing of our Saviour [------] Jesus Christ"3 These
passages might be indefinitely multiplied; and they contain the sense
of the passage, and in many cases the language, more closely than the
fourth Gospel, with which the construction and form of the sentence has
no analogy. Now, with regard to the Logos doctrine of the Epistle to
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Diognetus, to which we may appropriately here refer, although we
must deal with it in the briefest manner possible, so far is it from
connecting the Epistle with the fourth Gospel, that it much more proves
the writer's ignorance of that Gospel. The peculiar terminology of the
prologue to the Gospel is nowhere found in the Epistle, and we have
already seen that the term Logos was applied to Jesus in works of the
New Testament, acknowledged by all to have been written long before the
fourth Gospel. Indeed, it is quite certain, not only historically, but
also from the abrupt enunciation of the doctrine in the prologue, that
the theory of the Logos was well known and already applied to Jesus
before the Gospel was composed. The author knew that his statement would
be understood without explanation. Although the writer of the Epistle
makes use of the designation "Logos," he shows his Greek culture by
giving the precedence to the term Truth or Reason. It has indeed been
remarked(1) that the name Jesus or Christ does not occur anywhere in the
Epistle. By way of showing the manner in which "the Word" is spoken
of, we will give the entire passage, part of which is quoted above; the
first and only one in the first ten chapters in which the term is used:
"For, as I said, this was not an earthly invention which was delivered
to them (Christians), neither is it a mortal system which they deem
it right to maintain so carefully; nor is an administration of human
mysteries entrusted to them, but the Almighty and invisible God himself,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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