8. Another fact in the life of our Lord is directly referred to in these letters, His descent from the family of David. “Who was made,” says the Apostle, “of the seed of David, according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” These words prove that St. Paul was in possession of an account of the birth of Jesus, which in this particular point was in agreement with that in St. Matthew’s and St. Luke’s Gospels, and that it was known to the members of the Church at Rome, and received by them as true. He does not positively affirm that the birth was supernatural; but his language clearly implies it. It would be absurd in speaking of an ordinary human birth to say that the person born was descended from his ancestors, “according to the flesh.” The natural meaning of such an expression is that both the writer and those whom he was addressing were well acquainted with an account of the supernatural birth of Jesus, and accepted it as true. So far their accounts and that in the Gospels agreed in the main issue. 9. One more reference must be added: “Jesus Christ,” says the Apostle, “was made a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers; and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy.” This passage not only proves that the Apostle and those to whom he wrote were in possession of an account of the circumcision of Christ, but also that they well knew that His ministry had been confined to the Jewish people, but with the ultimate purpose of His being manifested to the Gentiles. In these particulars it exactly corresponded with the account given in our Gospels. 10. There are also several passages in which the Apostle directly refers to our Lord’s teaching, and clearly distinguishes it from his own. These references uniformly agree with that which is attributed to Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels, and prove that the Apostle and the Church were in possession of details of it. Such are the direct references to the life of Jesus in these Epistles. But there are numerous indirect references which prove that the Apostle and those to whom he wrote must have been acquainted with accounts of the life of its Founder, which went into a considerable degree of detail. I shall give a few instances: