3tam % Hibrarg of Msqumtfyb fag Ijtm tn % Kihranj erf Prmotfnn (F^alogtral ^mtttarg BS2410 ,N4213 1864 Neander, August, 1789-1850. History of the planting and training of the Christian church by the apostles / HISTORY PLANTING AND TRAINING THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH BY THE APOSTLES. DE. AUGUSTUS '^EAN DEE TBANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN By J. E. RYLAND. TRANSLATION REVISED AND CORRECTED ACCORDING TO THB FOURTH GERMAN EDITION, By E. &. ROBINSON, D.D., PHOPESSOB m THE ROCHESTER THEOLOGICAL SEMLNABT. NEW YORK: SHELDON & COMPANY BOSTON: GOULD & LINCOLN. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1864, by SHELDON & CO., In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern of New York. P K E F A Cf B AMERICAN EDITION Me. Ryland's translation of this work was made from the third edition of the original, and was first published in 1841. In 1847, appeared the fourth edition of the original, carefully revised, and containing important additions and modifications in the His- tory itself, besides notices of all the criticisms of any value that had been made, during the six years preceding, on the third edition. In 1851, the most important of the changes found in this fourth edition were embodied by Mr. Byland under the title of " Additions and Corrections," and appended to his translation. To say nothing of the inconvenience and awkwardness of such an arrangement, there remained, necessarily, a large number of alterations, both in the notes and in the text, of which no notice could be taken without a thorough revision of the translation itself. To make such a revision has been the attempt of the editor in the present edition. And it may not be amiss to say, that, with all the merits of Mr. Byland as a translator — which are not few nor unacknowledged by those acquainted with his labors — there yet remained in his version of this History, not only occasional misapprehensions of meaning, but obscurities too numerous and too annoying to be perpetuated in a book which so large a circle of readers were desirous of profiting by. It may, perhaps, be superfluous to add, at this late day, that no work of Meander exhibits more conspicuously his best characteris- tics as a fervid Christian theologian and a sagacious and critical historian, than his "Planting and Training of the Christian lv PREFACE TO THE AMERICAN EDITION. Church." The work belongs to a department of theological litera- ture of which the venerated author was the virtual creator. It opened a field of inquiry which has since been diligently cultivated, but on which no one has surpassed or even equalled, in skill and success, its first occupant. It is believed that the volume, as it now stands, will be intel- ligible to all readers who are interested in the subjects of which it treats. Its quotations from other languages have all been rendered into English, both in the text and in the notes, so that no reader need longer be disturbed by them. The numerous references to the author's "Church History" and "Life of Christ," have been made to conform to the American translations and well-known editions of these works. E. G. ROBINSON. Eochester, Sept. 21, 1864. DEDICATION OF THE FIRST VOLUME. TO THE RIGHT REVEREND DR. F. EHRENBERG-, ROYAL CHAPLAIN, MEMBER OF THE SUPREME CONSISTORY, ETC., ETC. My Deeply Revered and Very Dear Friend — I trust you will receive this work, with all its defects, as the offering of a sincere heart ; as a small token of my cordial veneration and love, and of that sincere gratitude which I have long felt impelled to express for the edification I have derived from your discourses. May a gracious God long allow you to labor and shine among us for the welfare of his Church, with that holy energy which He has bestowed upon you, with the spirit of Christian wisdom and freedom — the spirit of true freedom, exalted above all the strife of human parties — which the Son of God alone bestows, and which is especially requisite for the guidance of the Church in our times, agitated and distracted as they are by so many conflicts ! This is the warmest wish of one who, with all his heart, calls himself yours. Thus I wrote on the 22d of May, 1832 ; and after six years I again repeat, with all my heart, the words expressive of dedication, of gratitude, and of devout wishes to the Giver of all perfect gifts. Since that portion of time (not unim- portant in our agitated age) has passed away, I have to thank you, dear and inmostly-revered man, for many important words of edification and instruction which I have received from your lips in public, as well as for the precious gift* which has often administered refreshment to myself and others. Yes, with all my heart I agree with those beautiful sentiments which form the soul of your dis- courses, and bind me with such force to your person. God grant that we may ever humbly and faithfully hold fast the truth which does not seek for reconcilia- tion amidst contrarieties, but is itself unsought the right mean ! God grant (what is far above all theological disputations) that the highest aim of our labors may be to produce the image of Christ in the souls of men — that to our latest breath we may keep this object in view without wavering, fast bound to one another in true love, each one in his own sphere, unmoved by the vicissitudes of opinion and the collisions of party ! . Let me add as a subordinate wish, that you would soon favor us with a volume of discourses, to testify of this " one thing-that is needful." A. NEANDER. Berlin, SOth May, 183S. It gives me very special satisfaction, dearest and most honored friend, to be able to re-dedicate, and, with renewed wishes and expression of thanks, to offer a^ain to you, after you have reached your seventieth year, this book in its present new form. A. NEANDER. Berlin, April 7, 1847. * Alluding probably to a volume of Sermons already published.— Tr. DEDICATION OF THE SECOND VOLUME TO MY DEAR AND HONORED COLLEAGUE AND FRIEND, THE REV. DR. NITZSCH, EOYAL MENBEB OF THE OONSISTORIAL COURT, AND PROFESSOR IN THE FREDERICK WILLIAM UNIVERSITY OP BEBLIN. It was my purpose, when issuing the last volume of the new edition of my Church History, to greet you from afar with a hearty word or two, and to express to you the satisfaction I felt that we were to be able to call you ours ; that, at a period so difficult for those who have to represent higher interests — a period fitted to remind every one so forcibly of his need of aid — we were to win in you so noble and valuable a supplement to our Faculty ; but I relinquished the purpose I then had, because, to me at least, there had come no certain knowledge that my hope was to be fulfilled. So I will now express what I then had in mind, as this is the first opportunity I have had for saying a word publicly. I speak only in fulfilment of my original purpose. Accept, then, what I offer out of a true, frank heart. With differing endowments and diversified gifts, serve we the one Lord, who assigns to each his position and uses as He will. We are in harmony in the one great cause for which our science shall serve only as an organ. We are agreed in the conviction that in this great crisis, amid the pangs of this transition period, all depends on our being decided for the one thing needful, not compromising and parleying with the profane spirit of this world, while yet we allow freedom in those various stages of development which only a higher wisdom knows how to conduct to the one goal of the better future, and while, in the spirit of love and in the con- sciousness of our own defects, we quench not the glimmering wick. Of this con- viction you have already testified in the transactions of the General Synod on the Creed question. Now may the Spirit of God ever bind us more closely to one another, and purify us of every thing which could divide us ; may He bless our cooperation in the one great work and for the one great end. May He long pre- serve you to our University, and through you, as our pastor, so work that our University shall become more and more Christian, shall be transformed into a icorJcshop of the Holy Spirit, where science is elaborated for divine ends ; espe- cially that that may be more and more awaked and diffused which you in your last sermon (for which, as well as for other printed and spoken discourses, I thank you) have so appropriately set forth — the opposite of the contracted understanding of our time — the understanding of the heart, without which nothing of divine things can be understood by any one. Cordially yours, A. NEANDER. Berlin, July 19, 1847. PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. It was certainly my intention to have allowed my representa- tion of the Christian religion and Church in the apostolic age to follow the completion of the whole of my Church History, or at least of the greater part of it ; but the wishes and entreaties of many persons, expressed both in writing and by word of mouth, have prevailed upon me to alter my plan. Those, too, who took an interest in my mode of conceiving the development of Christian- ity, were justified in demanding an account of the manner in which I conceived the origin of this process, on which the opinions of men are so much divided through the conflicting influences of the various theological tendencies in this critical period of our German Evan- gelical Church; and perhaps, if it please God, a thoroughly- matured and candidly-expressed conviction on the subjects here discussed, may furnish many a one who is engaged in seeking, with a connecting link for the comprehension of his own views, even if this representation, though the result of protracted and earnest inquiry, should contain no new disclosures. As for my relation to all who hold the conviction, that faith in Jesus, the Saviour of sinful humanity, as it has shown itself since the first founding of the Christian Church to be the fountain of divine life, will prove itself the same to the end of time, and that from this faith a new creation will arise in the Christian Church and in our part of the world, which has been preparing amidst the storms of spring — to all such persons I hope to be bound by the bond of Christian fellowship, the bond of " the true Catholic spirit" as it is termed by an excellent English theologian of the seventeenth Vlll PEEFACE TO THE FIEST EDITION. century.* But I can not agree with the conviction of those among them who think that this new creation will be only a repetition of what took place in the sixteenth - or seventeenth century, and that the whole dogmatic system, and the entire mode of contemplating divine and human things, f must return as it then existed. On this point, I assent with my whole soul to what my deeply revered and beloved friend, Steudel, lately expressed, so deserving of consideration in our times, and especially to be commended to the attention of our young theologians.;}: He admirably remarks : " But exactly this, and only this, is the preeminence of the one truth, that it maintains its triumphant worth under all changes of form;" and Niebuhr detected, in the eagerness to restore the old, an eagerness for novelty : " When the novelty of the thing is worn away by use, we are prone to return to the old, which then becomes new again, and thus the ball is thrown backwards and forwards."§ * We meet with a beautiful specimen of such a spirit in what has been admirably said by a respected theologian of the Society of Friends, Joseph John Gurney : " It can scarcely be denied, that in that variety of administration through which the saviug principles of religion are for the present permitted to pass, there is much of a real adaptation to a cor- responding variety of mental condition. Well, therefore, may we bow with thankfulness before that infinite and unsearchable Being who, in all our weakness, follows us with His love, and through the diversified mediums of religion to which the several classes of true Christians are respectively accustomed, is still pleased to reveal to them all the same cruci- fied Redeemer, and to direct their footsteps into one path of obedience, holiness, and peace." See Observations on the distinguishing Views and Practices of the Society of Friends, by Joseph John Gurney, ed. vii., London, 1834. Words fit to shame theologians who are burning with zeal for the letter and forms, as if on these depended the essence of religion, whose life and spirit are rooted in facts. f Well might the noble words of Luther be applied to those who cling to the old rotten posts of a scaffolding raised by human hands, as if they were needed for the divine building : " When at a window I have gazed on the stars of heaven, and the whole beau- tiful vault of heaven, and saw no pillars on which the Builder had set such a vault; yet the heavens fell not in ; and that vault still stands firm. Now there are simple folk who look about for such pillars, and would fain grasp and feel them. But since they can not do this, they quake and tremble, as if the heavens would certainly fall in, and for no other reason than because they can not grasp and see the pillars ; if they could but lay hold of them, then the heavens (they think) would stand firm enough." % Tn the Tubingen Zeitschrift fur Theologie, 1832, part i., p. 33. Blessed be the mem- ory of this beloved man, who left this world a few months ago, and is no longer to be seen in the holy band of combatants for that evangelical truth which was the aim, the centre, and the soul of his whole life, and the firm anchor of his hope in death, when he proved himself to be one of those faithful teachers of whom it may be said—" whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation." § One of the many golden sentences of this great man in his letters, of which we would recommend the second volume especially to all young theologians. PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. In truth, whatever is connected with the peculiarities of the forms of human cultivation, as these change, goes the way of all flesh; but the Word of God, which is destined by a perpetual youthfulness of power to make all things new, abides forever. Thus the difference existing between these persons and myself, will certainly show itself in our conception of many important points in this department of history ; but, in my judgment, these differences are only scientific, and ought not to disturb that fellowship which is above all science. But I can also transport myself to the posi- tion of those to whom these objects must appear in a different light ; for the rise of such differences is in this critical period unavoidable, and far better than the previous indifference and lifeless uniformity. And even in zeal for a definite form, I know how to esteem and to love a zeal for the essence which lies at the bottom,* and I can never have anything in common with those who will not do justice to such zeal, or, instead of treating it with the respect that is always due to zeal and affection for what is holy, with Jesuitical craft aim at rendering others suspected, by imputing to them sinister motives and designs. A. NEANDEK. Berlin, 29th May, 1882. * Provided it be the true zeal of simplicity, which accompanies humility, and where sagacity does not predominate over simplicity ; but by no means that zeal which, iu coupling itself with the modern coxcombry of a super-refined education, endeavors to season subjects with it to which it is least adapted, in order to render them palatable to the vitiated tastes that loathes a simple diet ; and thus proves its own unsoundness. A caricature jumble of the moBt contradictory elements, at which every sound feeling must revolt PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION. I repeat here what I said in the preface to the third edition of this work : we adhere to the theologia pectoris, which is also the true theology of the spirit — the German Theology, as Luther called it. It was the reaction of such a theology from the aridity of the later period of scholasticism, which produced the Reformation ; and it is only from the depths of the heart that any genuine German regeneration of theology can proceed. I shall not cease, therefore, to protest against that one-sided intellectualism which is destructive not only to heart but to mind also, since these can be healthfully, only when harmoniously, developed — against that ever-spreading fanaticism of the intellect which threatens to destroy all deep-rooted life, all high aspiration, all that free flight of the spirit which keeps men ever young, and to convert man, from whose true nature a desire for the supernatural and for that beyond the present life, is inseparable, into a merely intelligent, very sagacious animal. To this protest belong also many things which I have felt constrained to say in the notes to this new edition, against various tendencies of the present time. In such points of controversy as come under- notice in the pres- ent edition, we are concerned for the most part only with single questions of criticism. But the profounder observer will perceive that the principles underlying these are closely connected with those more general questions which are agitating science and life at this critical period of time. Single inquiries, it is true, must be pursued independently, and in accordance with their own scientific laws ; but this does not stand in the way of our pointing out their connection with questions of a more general, fundamental nature ; for it is this connection, which, between those standing at opposite PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION. XI points of view, renders a mutual understanding difficult, if not impossible. The scientific, prophetic glance of a Melancthon led him, some centuries ago, to point out that extreme limit to which the opposi- tion between the supernatural and natural principles would lead, when he, in a letter to CEcolampadius, of the 12th of January, 1530, writes : " Si rationem spectes, nihilo magis cum carnis judicio reliqua fidei dogmata de divinitate Christi, de resurrectione, adde et, quod caput est, de immortalitate animi, -nepl npovoiag conveniunt, quam hie articulus nepl evxapwriat;." Hidden antagonisms are becoming more and more widely separated, more and more clearly understood, and more and more sharply opposed to each other; and thus this broadest and deepest reaching of questions is to be brought by history — that is, not by the universal spirit in history, as the language of the day is, but by the Spirit of God, to whom the universal spirit, nolens volens, must do homage — to its de- cision, a decision which will introduce a new period in Church History. But I must also, with equal persistency, protest against the theological tendency so beautifully and so forcibly characterized by the sainted Schleiermacher in his Essay on the Symbolic Books ; a tendency, he says, "which would blot out a well-known and important period of time, and wiping off, as with a sponge, the characters which that period has written upon our historical tablet, would, far more easily than the old lines of a codex rescriptus can be restored, reproduce the writings of the seventeenth century and account them as our own." It is a tendency which, arresting the progress of development in theology, would, in impatient haste, prematurely seize the goal; although it exhibits a praise- worthy elevation of spirit as regards that which is lifted above the change of days, that in which there is no place for the trite newspaper categories, " progress and regress." My own soul responds to what my dear friend, Julius Miiller, has said against this, as against other theological tendencies, in his excellent article on the First General Synod, an essay of more than mere transient and accidental value. With this tendency, also, many things which I have had to say in this new edition, in defence of my view of history and criticism, will come in conflict. I cheerfullv submit to the charge of incon- Xll PREFACE TO THE FOUETH EDITIOIT. sistency and lack of decision, from advocates of both these views which I have been constrained to oppose. The second volume, which is to be immediately put to press, will soon appear. Then I will look toward the time which will permit me, if the gracious God continue to me life, health, and strength, to give to the public the continuation of my Church His- tory— the history of the time preparatory to the Eeformation — a work to which my studies and labors, during the preparation of this, have ever been directed. The excellent new map, for which we are indebted to the distinguished Dr. Kiepert, will doubtless be found very useful and welcome to the readers of this book. By the care of my esteemed publisher, it can be obtained separately, and may thus be of wider service to students. In conclusion, I thank my dear young friend, Cand. Schneider, from Silesia — who knows how to combine so well different branches of activity — for the fidelity, care, and skill with which he has read the proof of this book, verified its citations, and arranged its table of contents. A. NEAKDER. Bmuw, April 7, 1S4T. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION. PAQM Sources of this History, the Epistles and the Acts, 1 General evidence of the credibility of the Acts. 1-4 BOOK I. THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN PALESTINE PREVIOUS TO ITS INTRODUCTION AMONG- HEATHEN NATIONS. CHAPTER I. THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH ON ITS FIRST APPEARANCE AS A DISTINCT RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY. The personal Christ the basis of the Church — The Pentecostal miracle the begin- ning of the Apostolic Church 5-7 Anxious waiting for the feast of Pentecost by the disciples 7-8 The outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost and the phenomena accompanying it 8-11 The gift of tongues not a supernatural knowledge of foreign languages, but the new language of the new spirit that animated the disciples 12-17 An ideal element infused into the historical 18 Peter's discourse and its offects — His call to repentance, faith, and baptism 18-20 CHAPTER II. THE FIRST FORM OF THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY, AND THE FIRST GERM OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. The formation of a community — One article of faith — Baptism into Jesus as the Messiah — Probably only one baptismal formula — Imperfect knowledge and mixed character of the first converts 20-22 The first form of the Christian community and worship — The Agapae 22-23 Community of goods — Influence of Christianity on social relations— Orders of monkhood — The St. Simonians 23-25 The case of Ananias and Sapphira 25-26 Adherence to the Temple- worship 27-28 The institution of Deacons 29-33 XIV CONTENTS. TAGFS The institution of Presbyters — Originally for the purpose of government rather than of instruction 33-34 Means of instruction — Teachers; didaoKa?aa, npo(fnjT€ia, napuKXriaic 35—36 Gradual transition from Judaism to Christianity 36-3*7 CHAPTER III. THE OUTWARD CONDITION OF THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH J PERSECUTIONS AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES. The Church at first favored by the Pharisees and opposed by the Sadducees. ... 38 The cure of the impotent man — Peter and John brought before the Sanhedrim — The increase of believers — Peter's address — Gamaliel 38-46 Christianity in direct conflict with Pharisaism — Stephen the forerunner of Paul — His views of Christianity in opposition to the permanence of the Mosaic ritual — His discourse before the Sanhedrim — His martyrdom, and its effects.. . 46-57 BOOK II. THE FIRST SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY FROM THE CHURCH AT JERUSALEM TO OTHER PARTS, AND ESPECIALLY AMONG HEATHEN NATIONS. Samaria — Its religious state — The Goetae — Simon Magus — Philip's preaching and miracles in Samaria — Simon's baptism 58-60 The sending of Peter and John to Samaria — Miraculous manifestations of the Spirit 61-63 A later Simon — Simonians 63-64 Philip's further missionary labors 64—65 Examination of objections to the credibility of the Acts on the ground of Peter's vacillation at Antioch at a later day 66-68 Formation of Gentile Churches — Enlarged views of the Apostles produced by internal revelation and outward events 68-69 Peter's labors at Lydda and Joppa — Cornelius the Centurion: — A proselyte of the Gate — His prayers and fasting — Vision of an Angel — Peter's vision — His address to Cornelius — The gift of the Holy Spirit bestowed on the Gentile converts 69-77 BOOK III. THE SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY, AND FOUNDING OF THE CHRIS- TIAN CHURCH AMONG THE GENTILES BY THE INSTRUMEN- TALITY OF THE APOSTLE PAUL. CHAPTER I. paul's preparation and call to be the apostle of the gentiles. The divine wisdom in Paul's preparation for his office 78-79 Paul the representative of the Protestant principle among the Apostles 79 CONTENTS. XV PAGES His birthplace, parentage, and education • 80-82 His strictness and depth of experience in legal piety — Resemblance to Augustine and Luther — Zeal for Judaism — Journey to Damascus 82-84 His miraculous conversion — Unsatisfactory explanation on natural principles — Or considered as merely internal — A real appearance of the risen Saviour — Its effects 85"92 Paul preaches the Gospel at Damascus — Goes into Arabia — Return to Damascus — and flight — Visit to Jerusalem and its object * 92-97 Early development of'his special type of doctrine— What he means by " revela- tion" as the source of his religious knowledge (anoicaXviTTeiv and naXaioTTjTi ypd/n/xaro^ — Under the Gospel internal ev KaivoTrjTi nvevfiurog — Its SovXeia identical with viodeoia; the worship of the former, oapniKT), of the latter, izvevfiarcKT] ; in the one it was kotu capua, in the other kv nvpiu, 425—427 CONTENTS. XXlii 6. The New Life proceeding from Faith. a. The transformation of the sinful nature by the Divine ; accomplished gra- dually ; the adp§ opposed not merely by the higher nature of man, but by the Spirit of Christ (Trvev/xa uyiov), 427 428 All the mental and bodily powers become organs of grace — The Spirit of Christ pervades all the peculiar talents of individuals ; hence charisms, .... 429, 430 Objective justification as an unchangeable ground of confidence, distin- guished from subjective sanctification, which is often an uncertain ground, 430 b. The principles of the new life — Faith, Love, Hope. nianc sometimes denotes the whole extent of Christian ability — Swutoc ttj morel, relates particularly to the judgment formed by the Christian of outward things — Hence proceeds Christian freedom, which is shown even in submitting to outward restraints — Nothing indifferent, 430-433 Love the natural effect of faith— By the revelation of the love of God in redemption, love to him is continually kindled 434 Faith and love partly relate to the kingdom of God as present, but they have also a marked relation to the future, for the new life is in a state of constant progression, it longs after the perfect revelation of the children of God, 435-437 Hence hope necessarily belongs to faith and love — Perseverance in the work of faith is the praclical side of hope 437 The knowledge of divine things proceeds from faith — Proceeds from the spiritual life — Depends on the increase of love — Being necessarily defective in the present state, is connected with the hope of perfect intuition, 438, 439 Love the greatest of the three, because it alone abides for ever; 1 Cor. xiii. 13, 439, 440 C Special Christian virtues proceeding from Faith, Love, and Hope. a. raweivofypoowi) distinguishes Lhe Christian from the Hebrew view of the world; only partial even on the Jewish stand-point; though its direct relation is to God alone, yet its effects are, opposition to all self-exaltation, and moderation towards others, 441-444 [3. outypoovvq, sober-mindedness in conflict with the world, 2 Tim. i. 7 ; and in self-estimation, Eom. xii. 3, 444 y. ao(j>ca — The understanding under the influence of faith— Wisdom and prudence, 44^ 445 Analogy to the cardinal virtues of heathen philosophers— Love occupies the place of diKaioovvrj, 445( 446 7. The Church and the Sacraments. A. The Church. The immediate relation of each individual to Christ of primary import- ance— Hence the' idea of a community founded on the unity of the Holy Spirit in believers, which counterbalances all other differences, Gal. iii. 26,.. 446, 447 The iKKlrjaia is the body of Christ — Faith in Christ its foundation — Marks of its unity. Eph. iv. 4, 448 The Old Testament terms applied to Christians; uyioi denotes their objec- tive consecration joined with subjective sanctification — kItjtol the outward and inward call considered as one — The idea and the appearance in general not separated by Paul, 448, 449 But in particular instances, the spurious members are distinguished from the genuine — Where the difference is perceptible, the former are to be ex- cluded, in other cases the separation must be left to God, 4!>0 XHV CONTENTS. FAGIS The care of the general good committed to all according to their respective 'abilities and charisms 450 B, The Sacraments. a. Baptism — "Putting on Christ" — Its twofold reference to the death and resurrection of Christ ; includes a reference to the Father and the Holy Spirit — The outward and the inward are supposed to be combined, 4.5 1-453 6. The Supper. A feast of commemoration, 1 Cor. xi. 24, the celebration of Christ's suffer- ings and a pledge of constant communion with him; iarlv = it represents; •involves a reference to the mutual communion of believers 453-455 9. The Kingdom of God, 455 A. Its idea and extent a. Its idea. Corresponds to the idea of the Church, as a general idea does to a par- ticular. Preparation by means of the Jewish Theocracy — And completed by Christianity; the former sensible and national, the latter spiritual and universal, 455, 456 By faith in Christ, the Messianic kingdom, the aldv fielluv as opposed to the aldv ovrog or novepbc, becomes already present — Hence the kingdom of God coincides with the idea of the invisible church on earth, 456, 457 But the idea is still imperfectly realized. 457 A threefold application of the term. 1. The present internal kingdom of God, 1 Cor. iv. 20 ; Rom. xiv. It. 2. The future completion of it, 1 Cor. vi. 10. 3. The present as one with the future, 1 Thess. ft, 12 ; 2 Thess. i. 5, 458 5. The heavenly community co-extensive with the invisible church, 458, 459 The kingdom of God embraces a higher spiritual world, in which the archetype of the church is realized — Mankind are united to this higher world by the knowledge of God, Eph. iii. 15, CoL i. 20, compared with Eph. ii. 14, 459 B. Doctrine of the Logos, 460 The doctrine not traceable to external influences, but directly to the self- revelation of the person of Christ, 460, 461 The progressive organic development of the Old Testament idea of a Mes- siah to the idea of Son of God ; but all derived from the historical Christ, . . 461 False derivation from Greek philosophy — Philo's Logos 462 Paul and John alike derive their conceptions from the person of Christ — Close connexion of the doctrine of the Logos with Christian faith and morals, 463, 464 Refutation of the assertion that Paul's doctrine of the Logos is found only in the Epistles to the Colossians and the Philippians, 464-469 C. The Kingdom of Evil opposed to the Kingdom of God, 469 The prevalence of sin among mankind connected with the prevalence of evil in the higher world — All ungodliness the power of a spirit whose king- dom is aldv ovtoq — False gods not evil spirits, 469, 470 Christ the destroyer of this kingdom — His death apparently a defeat, but in reality a victory — Charisms the tokens of his triumph 471 The conflict with the kingdom of evil carried on by Christians, 472 CONTENTS. XXV PAGES D. The development of the kingdom of God till its final completion, 472 The accomplishment of the scheme of redemption a work of free grace,. . . 473 a. As opposed to pre-eminence of natural descent, 473 b. As opposed to legal merits, 474 Apparent denial of free self-determination in Rom. ix., yet not the apostle's intention to give a complete theory — But a*n antithetical reference to the arrogance-of the Jews 474-476 Confidence in their own righteousness the cause of the rejection of the Jews — The Gentiles warned against presumptuous reliances on divine grace 477 To excite Christian confidence, the apostle refers to the unalterable counsel of divine love— Allusions to the consummation of the kingdom o f God, .... 478, 479 10. The doctrines of the Resurrection and of the State of the Soul after Death. c. The doctrine of the Resurrection. The spiritual awakening by faith a preparation for the future — The Palin- genesia of nature, Rom. viii. 19, 479-480 b. State of the Soul after Death till the Resurrection. Whether Paul considered the state of the soul after death till the resurrec- tion to be one of suspended consciousness like sleep? — Apparent ground for it in 1 Thess 481 But his expectation of continued communion with Christ, as signified in Cor. iv. 16, opposed to this supposition; also PhiL i. 21, 23; 2 Tim. iv. 18, 481-483 Possibility of an alteration in his views by progressive illumination — But a comparisou of 1 Cor. xv. with 2 Cor. v. 1, is against this, 483, 484 Therefore he held the unbroken consciousness of the soul after death, even at an earlier period of his ministry, though not then brought forward, 484 c. The Consummation. The end of the Mediatorial kingdom and the consummation of all things — Pantheistic misunderstanding of 1 Cor. xv. 28 — "Whether Paul teaches that there is to be a final restoration of all, 485-487 CHAPTER II. THE DOCTRINE OF THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. The author of this Epistle compared with Paul, 487,488 Points of agreement in their views, 489 Points of difference — Paul contemplates the Jewish economy as abrogated — In this Epistle it is spoken of as still existing, though only typical, 489-491 Treating of Salvation in its relation solely to the descendants of Abraham, though un-Pauline, not contrary to Paul's sentiments, 492 The work of Christ — The exaltation of Christ to heaven more frequently adverted to than his resurrection— Allusions to the High Priesthood, 492-494 The sufferings of Christ and their relation to the sins of mankind — Christ hum- bled and Christ glorified, 494, 495 XXXI CONTENTS. PAGES Objective satisfaction made by Christ to the holiness of God 495 Faith, that by which the objective satisfaction of Christ is appropriated to the subjective purification of the believer — Faith, hope, and love — As with Paul a more general conception of faith underlies the special application of the idea, 495, 496 Relation of the Epistle to the Hebrews to the Alexandrian-Jewish theology and to Philo 496-498 CHAPTER III THE DOCTRINE OF JAMES. His type of doctrine and his religious character as compared with those of Paul, 498, 499 1. Relation of faith and works in connexion with his general view of Christi- anity. Comparison of a pretended faith with a pretended love — Works not the soul of faith, but the marks of its vitality, 499, 500 A twofold sense of the term Faith (un-Pauline but not anti-PauMne) — The faith of evil spirits forced and passive — that of Abraham spontaneous, and in harmony with the other principles of the mind (Paul contemplates the ob- jective and causal, James the subjective and practical), 500-502 The vojioq used to signify the doctrine of Christ, 502 Unity of the law — Love its fulfilment — Language the organ of the whole disposition — The Christian life a work, 503 Christianity as the vofiog Teleiog not merely a new law, but a new internal creation, 504 The difference from Paul only in the mode of development, 504, 505 2. His views of the law compared with the Pauline. His object was to lead the Jews from Judaism to the Gospel — hence he represents Christ as the fulfiller of the law, Matt. v. 17 ; and allows its ob- servance by the believing Jews, Acts xv. 21 ; xxi. 21, ' 505 Paul acted with greater latitude among the Gentiles — Became a Gentile. Gal. ii. 14, which was not required of James, as his ministry was confined to Jews, 506 3. The duty of veracity. James repeats the injunctions of Christ verbally (Matt. v. 12) — Paul enforces the duty from the mutual relation of Christians, Eph. v. 12, and on certain occasions used forms of aeseveration equivalent to an oath, 506 4. The free self-determination of man in reference to sin — The sentiments of James on this point form an important supplement to Paul's doctrinal state- ments,... ,,. 507,508 CONTENTS. XXVll CHAPTER IV. THE DOCTRINE OF JOHN. PAGES John as compared with Paul and James — In John's mind the intuitive element predominates over, the dialectic — His Christian course emphatically a life in communion with Christ, 508 1. The central-point of his doctrine — Divine life in Communion with Christ — Death in estrangement from him, 509 The theoretical and the practical are intimately blended in his view — His leading ideas are light, life, and truth, in communion with God through the Logos — Death, darkness, falsehood in separation from him, 509, 510 Satan the representative of falsehood — " A liar and the father of it " — His personality (note) — Truth and goodness — sin and falsehood are one — The children of God, and the children of the world, -. 510, 511 2. Original estrangement of man from God — Opposition of the oapumbv and nvevjuariKov — The consciousness of sin a condition of the new life, 511 3. Susceptibility of Redemption. Need of an inward sense corresponding to the outward revelation — Hence faith presupposes a preparatory operation of the Holy Spirit — This divine im- pulse not compulsory; but unsusceptibility voluntary and criminal, 512, 513 Twofold sense of the phrases, rival e« Qeov and eivai Ik rrjs dlrjdlac, 513 4. The Person and Work of Christ. The life of Christ the manifestation of God in human form — Grace and truth in Christ correspond to love and holiness in God, 514, 515 The whole life of Christ a revelation of God — Hence his miracles and the descent of the Spirit only mark a new epoch in his ministry 515, 516 Christ's miracles intended to lead men to higher views of hi3 do%a ; meanings of the term Faith in John's writings, 516 Import of the sufferings of Christ — The idea of reconciliation at the basis — The communication of divine life connected with his sacrifice — and depend- ing on his exaltation to glory — The spiritual maturity of his disciples de- pending negatively on this, but positively on his divine influence — The nvevfia ayiov the result of his glorification, 517, 518 6. Faith as the Principle of a New Life. Faith the on6 work acceptable to God, John vi. 29 — Complete surrender to Christ — One commandment of the Lord, brotherly love, 519 Faith the victory over the world — A. superstitious faith in the Messiah easily changed to absolute unbelief, 520 The children of God, and the children of the devil, 521 Progressive purification of believers, 522 Harmony of John's doctrine with itself and with Paul's, 522, 523 Christian hope 523, 524 John the representative of mysticism, 524 6. Resurrection and Judgment. Peculiarity of John's conceptions — The internal and present predominate — mysticism, 524 XXviil CONTENTS. PAsn ' Judgment something taking place in the present life — the publication of the Gospel necessarily involves a separation of the susceptible from the unsusceptible — Judgment opposed to aurTjpia — The unbeliever condemns himself — The believer is not condemned, 525, 526 But this judgment, and the spiritual awakening, are preparatory to the final judgment and resurrection, 526 7. The Second Coming of Christ This is represented by John as internal — First by the coming of the Spirit, xvi. 13, then of Christ's own spiritual coming, 16 — Yet a personal • visible napovaia is not excluded 526, 527 8. The Idea of the Church. Not literally expressed — Yet metaphorically by " one fold and one shep- herd," also the distinction of internal and external communion, 1 Ep. ii. 19, 528 9. The Sacraments. The institution of Christian baptism not mentioned — But its spiritual ele- ment noticed in hi. 3 — In the same manner the Supper, vi., 528, 529 The essence of Christianity according to Paul and John — Worshipping God as the Father through the Son, in the communion of the Holy Spirit — This the basis of the doctrine of the Trinity, 530 Closing remarks, 530, 531 HISTORY OF THE PLANTING AND TRAINING OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH BY THE APOSTLES. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS ON" THE SOURCES OP THIS HISTORY. The manner in which criticism has been recently applied to this branch of history induces us to premise a few words on its sources, as an intro- duction to the following investigations. Aside from the few notices from other quarters, we must, in order to examine the true nature of the facts involved in this history, carefully compare two sources with one another, namely, the Epistles of the Apostles and their companions, — which, their genuineness being ascertained, are the surest sources, — and the narrative known by the name of The Acts of the Apostles. As we are prepared to prove the credibility of the latter hereafter in detail, we wish here only to see whether, in passing, some marks of the confidence to be placed in this source do not appear. In the latter part of the book itself, from chap. xvi. 10, we meet with a striking peculiarity, — the author in several passages speaks in the first person plural, as one of the companions of the Apostle Paul, his fellow- traveller, and therefore an eye-witness of part of the events contained in the history. This is a very important indication of the rank which we must allow to this document as a source of historical information. It may indeed be objected, as has actually been done by Dr. Von Baur, (in his work, Paulas, der Apostel Jesu Christi: Stuttgart, 1845, p. 12,) 2 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. that the author of the Acts belonged to a later period, but adopted this phraseology because he wished to be regarded as the companion of the Apostle Paul, and to act the part of Luke. But this supposition no un- prejudiced person can adopt. For then how can it be explained that the author does not from the beginning give some sign of the part he was acting, and in which it was so important for him to be acknowledged ; that he does not also, where he first begins to adopt this style, drop some hint as to who he is, and how he happened to be in Paul's company ? This really looks in itself, and especially according to the analogy of the apocryphal writings of that age, as unlike one who wished to write under the name of another, as can be imagined. The manner in which the author of the Acts at once, without anything leading to it, begins to express himself in this associated form of address, bears undeniable marks of the absence of design. And for whom did the author compose this work ? As by the intro- ductory words it is connected with the Gospel of Luke, and professes to be the second part of that work on the primitive history of Christianity, it is evident that it was primarily written for the same object which the author of the Gospel states in his introduction — to furnish an individual, Theophilus, with exact and certain knowledge of that history ; and this certainly does not agree with his wishing to act the part of any other person than he really was. Here again it may be objected — these writ- ings were not really composed for such a Theophilus, but he who forged the work under the name of a companion of the Apostle Paul chose this garb for his fabrication. But the introductory woi'ds of Luke's Gospel are by no means suited to give us the impression of such a design, but correspond in a simple, natural manner to the object which a Christian writer might have who lived under the relations of that fresh age of Christianity. And further, why should he in those words (Luke i. 2) have stated that the accounts of eye-witnesses formed the main sources of his narrative, when in consistency with the part he wished to act he ought to have described himself as an eye-witness ? Or must we refer those introductory words only to the Gospel, and not at the same time to the Acts ? But if persons are resolved to find a fabrication un- dertaken for a special purpose, must they not also, as most natural, assume that the author from the first had the whole plan of his frauspia in his mind, and hence in the introductory words to the first part of his work had made preparation for what he intended to exhibit in the 6econd part? If, now, this personal form of the narrative in the Acts is not a fabri SOURCES — CREDIBILITY OF THE ACTS. 3 cation, having a special end in view, it can be explained only in one of two ways. Either the same person speaks here from whom the whole history proceeded, or it is the account of another individual, which the author, using various sources for his work, incorporated in its original form with his own composition. If we suppose the first, it is evident that the work proceeded from one who wTas an eye-witness of part of the events he describes, and who as a missionary companion of the Apostle Paul, stood in close connection with him. And this will predispose us to judge favorably of the sources which the author might make use of, for those transactions in which he was not an eye-witness, as well as of the general fidelity of his narrative. We shall not allow ourselves to be per- suaded that such a person, instead of wishing to give pure history, only aimed at compiling from the materials before him a fiction, even though for a good object. But if we adopt the second alternative, it follows, that at least an important portion of the narrative is founded on the report of a trustworthy eye-witness. From a single example of the use of such a report, it is apparent that the author wished to employ, and did employ, good sources of information. And by this single example, of .leaving unaltered the personal form of narrative, when another would have been more suitable, he shows that he regarded truth more than historic art — the fidelity of the narrative more than unity of histori- cal composition. It is plain how deficient he was in historic art, and that therefore we must expect to find rather the raw material from the sources within his reach, than an historical composition cast after one idea, and in one mould. It is plain how little we should expect that such a person would, like the classical historians, have constructed with creative art the speeches he reports, according to the point of view and character of each speaker, and how little such art and ability can be attributed to him. Both suppositions have their difficulties, which in either case can find their solution only in the peculiarity of the historian, and in the whole method of his work. In the one case, the carelessness and awkwardness which allowed him to admit these foreign accounts without altering the unsuitable form of the narrative, is wholly unaccountable. But if we adopt the other supposition, it still remains very strange and awkward, that he should appear speaking in this form all at once without notice ; without saying anything about the manner in which he came to be one of Paul's companions ; how by turns he is associated with him and separated from him. But in both cases we shall be led to similar conclusions in refer- ence to the origination and character of this historical collection. 4 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. ^Whether the introductory words of Luke's Gospel do or do not refer to both parts of the work, at all events we can apply what is there said (Luke i. 2) to the Acts, that he made use of the reports of the original eye- witnesses of the Christian history, and of the first publishers of the Gos- pel; which could be pertinently said by Luke, to whom ecclesiastical tradition attributes both works, to the physician whom Paul, in his Epistle written from Rome, names as his fellow-laborer. It is true, that to 'refer these words in the Gospel to the Acts would not favor the sup- position, that the account in which he uses the first person proceeded from himself; for by that supposition he himself would belong to the eye- witnesses. Yet it is questionable whether these words really belong to both parts, and whether the author, when writing the Gospel, had already in mind that continuation of it. BOOK 1. • THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN PALESTINE, PREVIOUS TO ITS SPREAD AMONG HEATHEN NATIONS. CHAPTER I. THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH ON ITS FIRST APPEARANCE AS A DISTINCT RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY. The Christian Church, as a community, proceeding from the new prin ciple that was to transform the world, and destined to introduce this new principle into humanity, presupposes, as the basis of its existence, the Person who was himself in his whole being and manifestation that world-transforming principle, without whom the existence of the church itself would be a monstrous lie. But in order to the commence- ment of the existence of the church, there was also a necessity for that unparalleled event affecting all succeeding ages, by which this objective principle passed into the consciousness of men, henceforth to form the central point of that new internal life-communion on which the very essence of the church depends. This event was the miracle of the first Pentecost, which, in its essential nature, is repeated wherever a creation of the Christian life, either in individuals or in communities, takes place. If all the great epochs in the development of the church point us to a beginning which marks the boundary between the old and the new, where first that which constitutes the peculiarity of the new epoch is manifested, certainly the greatest epoch, from which all the others proceeded, cannot be thought to want such a beginning ; and historical traditions here harmonize with what the idea of the thing itself would lead us to anticipate. And however much the explanation of particular points in that tradition may be disputed, the historical reality of the fact on the whole remains unshaken and raised above all attempts at mythical explanation, and its truth is shown by itself, as well as by the results which were consequent on it. The historical development of the Christian church as a body, is similar to that of the Christian life in each of its members. In the latter case, the transition from an unchristian to a Christian state is not an event altogether sudden, and without any preparatory steps. Many separate 8 THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN PALESTINE. rays of divine light, at different times, enter the soul ; various influences of awakening preparative grace are felt, before the birth of that new- divine life by which the whole character of man is destined to be taken possession of, pervaded, and transformed. The appearance of a new personality sanctified by the divine principle of life, necessarily forms a great era in life, but the commencement of this era is not marked with perfect precision and distinctness ; the new creation manifests itself more or less gradually by its effects. "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but knowest not whence it cometh, nor whither it goeth." The same may be affirmed of the church collec- tively, with this difference, however, that here the point of commence- ment is more visibly and decidedly marked. It is true, that Christ, during his ministry on earth, laid the foundation of the outward structure of the church ; he then formed that community, that spiritual Theocracy, whose members were held together by faith in, and confession of, Him as their theocratic King. The community of disciples who acknowledged Him as their Lord and master — their theocratic king — formed the scaffolding for the future structure of the church. But it was as yet the letter without the spirit, the outward form without the inward power. The vital principle of this community, which once in existence, should become the imperishable seed for the propagation of the church in all ages, had not yet germinated. As Christ himself said : " If the seed fall not into the earth and die it remaineth alone, but if it die it bringeth forth much fruit ;" so that fountain of divine life which should afterward flow forth over the whole human race, was, during his existence on earth, shut up in him alone. From the inde- pendent possession and individual form of this divine life there had not yet been wrought out — as was essential to the very idea of a Christian church — a community. The Apostles themselves were still entirely dependent on the sensible presence and outward guidance of Christ. Although by their intercourse with Him, and by his spiritual operations on them, they had already received the germ of a divine life which had manifested itself in single exercises, it had not yet become an independent power, a permanent possession, the animating principle of each man's individuality. Hence, they could easily believe everything to be lost when He who was all to them, was withdrawn from their sensible vision. He whom th-ey believed dead must again appear to them in a new form of being, lifted above the reach of death — as the divine living One over whom death had no power — in order to raise them to the consciousness of a communion with him, which nothing could ever again destroy. He appeared unexpectedly among them, filled them with the sense of His presence, and then vanished out of their sight, that they might become gradually assured of their spiritual communion with Him, even when he was not sensibly present. All these impressions which the Saviour by repeated interviews after his resurrection left with them, were an important preparation for that great event which was to mark the THE PENTKCOSTAL MIRACLE. 7 beginning of a new epoch. Such especially was that meeting at which, after pronouncing peace on his disciples, and repeating what he had previously said, that as the Father had sent Him, so He sent them, he declared with a pertinent symbolic sign that they should receive the Holy Spirit, who alone was able to qualify them for that work to which he had set them apart. This act prefiguring that which would be fully realized only in the future, but yet by its immediate eifect preparing for that later event, was not without special significance. It is because that great event so prefigured and prepared for, was accomplished at the time of the first Pentecost celebrated by the disciples after the Saviour's departure, that this feast is of so great significance, as marking the com- mencement of the Apostolic Church, for here it first made an outward manifestation of itself according to its inner nature. Next to the appear- ance of the Son of God himself on earth, this event most distinctly marked the commencement of that new divine life, which, proceeding from Him to all mankind, has since spread and operated through successive ages, and will continue to operate until its final object is attained, and the whole race is transformed into the image of Christ. If we con- template this great transaction from this, its only proper point of view, we shall not be tempted to explain the greater by the less ; we shall not consider it strange that the most wonderful event in the inner life of mankind should be accompanied by extraordinary outward appearances, as sensible indications of its existence. Still less shall we be induced to look upon this great transaction — in which we recognise the necessary beginning of a new epoch, an essential intermediate step in the religious development of the Apostles, and in the formation of the Church — as something purely mythical. The disciples must have looked forward with intense expectation to the fulfilment of that promise, which the Saviour had so emphatically repeated.* Ten days had passed since their final separation from their * Professor Ilitzig, in bis Sendschreiben uber Ostern und Pfingsten, (Letters on Easter and Pentecost,) Heidelberg, 1837, maintains that this event occurred not at the Jewish Pentecost, but some days earlier, as also the day of the giving of the Law from Sinai is to be fixed some days earlier ; that Acts ii. 1, is to be understood, " when the day of Pente- cost drew near," and therefore denotes a time before the actual occurrence of this feast. As evidence for this assertion it is remarked that, in verse 5. only the Jews settled in Je- rusalem, those who, out of all the countries in which they were scattered, had settled in Jerusalem from a strong religious feeling, are mentioned, when, if the reference had been to one of the principal feasts, the multitude of foreign Jews, who came from all parts, would havo been especially noticed. Against this view we have to urge the following considerations : The words, Acts ii. 1, " When the day of Pentecost was fully come," would be most naturally understood of the actual arrival of that day; as " fulness of time," ■jr7i7Jpu/xa tov xpovov, or "of times," ruv aaipuv, Eph. i. 10, and Gal. iv. 4, denotes the actual arrival of the appointed time ; though we allow that, in certain connections, they may denote the near approach of some precise point of time, as in Luke ix. 51, where yet it is to be noticed that it is not said " the day," but " the days;" and thus the time of the departure of Christ from the earth, which was now actually approaching, is marked in general terms. But as to this passage in the Acts, if we understand the words only of 8 THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN PALESTINE. Divine Master, when that feast was celebrated, whose object so nearly touched that which especially occupied their minds at the time, and must therefore have raised their anxious expectations still higher — the Jewish Pentecost, the feast which was held seven weeks after the Passover. This feast, according to the original Mosaic institution, related indeed only to the first fruits of Harvest, nor is any other reason for its celebra- tion adduced by Josephus and Philo, and so far, only a distant resem- blance could have been traced between the first fruits of the natural Creation and those of the new Spiritual Creation. This analogy, it is true, is often adverted to by the ancient Fathers of the Church, but before the fulfilment of the Saviour's promise, must have been very far from the thoughts of the disciples. But if we may credit the Jewish Traditions,* this feast had also a reference to the giving of the law on Mount Sinai ;f hence it especially was called the feast of the joy of the Law.J If this be admitted, then the words of Christ respecting the new revelation of God by him, — the new relation established by him between God and Man, which he himself, under the designation of the N"ew Cov- enant^ placed in opposition to the Old, — must have been vividly recalled the near approach of Pentecost, we do not see why such a specification of the time should have been given, since there is no mention at all of the Pentecost after this. Had Luke had in mind a day of giving the Law on Sinai different from that of the Pentecost, it might be expected that he would have marked more precisely the time in point, which he must have supposed to be known at least to his readers. Besides, there are no traces to be found that a day in commemoration of the giving of the Law was observed by the Jews. But if we understand the words as referring to the actual arrival of Pentecost, the importance of fixing the time, in relation to the words immediately following, and the whole sequel of the narrative, is very apparent. This feast would occasion the assembling of believers at an early hour. The words in verse 5, taken by themselves, we should doubtless have to understand merely of such Jews as were resident in Jerusalem, not of such as came there first at this time. But, from a comparison with the 9th verse, it is evident that " to dwell," naroiKelv, is not to be understood altogether in the same sense in both verses ; that, in the latter, those are spoken of who had their residence elsewhere, and were only sojourning for a short time in Jerusalem. And if we grant that the persons spoken of belonged to the number of the Jews who formerly dwelt in other lands, but for a long time past had settled in Jerusalem, as the capital of the Theocracy, it is clear that, by the "strangers of Rome," inid-rj/iovvTEc 'Pu/ialoi, we must understand such as for some special cause were just come to Jerusalem. Further, there were also those called Prose- lytes, who were found in great numbers at Jerusalem, for some special occasion, and this could be no other than the feast of Pentecost. Doubtless, by " all the dwellers at Jerusa- lem," v. 14, who are distinguished from the Jews, are meant all who were theu living at Jerusalem, without determining whether they had resided there always, or only for a short time. The whole narrative, too, gives the impression that a greater multitude of persons than usual were then assembled at Jerusalem. ° Which may be found collected in a Dissertation by J. A. Danz, in Meuschen's No- vum Testamentum e Talmude Illustratum, p. 740. f That they are justified in making such a reference, may be concluded from comparing Exodus xii. 2, and xix. 1. | rrhnn nhw § The word diadr/Ki], Fi^S, (covenant,) which has been used to denote both the Old and the New Dispensation, is taken from human relations, as signifying a covenant oi THE PENTECOSTAL MIRACLE. 9 to the minds of the disciples by the celebration of this feast, and, at the same time, their anxious longing must have been more strongly excited for that event, which, according to his promise, was to confirm and glorify the New Dispensation. As all who professed to be the Lord's disciples (their number then amounted to one hundred and twenty)* were wont to meet daily for mutual edification, so on thjs solemn day they were assembled in a chamber,f which, according to Oriental customs, was specially assigned to devotional exercises. It was the first stated hour of prayer, about nine in the morning, and, according to what we must suppose was then the tone of the disciples' feelings, we may presume that their prayers turned to the object which filled their souls; that, on the day when the Old Law had been promulgated with such glory, the New also might be glorified by the communication of the promised Spirit. And what their ardent desires and prayers sought for, what their Lord had promised, was granted. They felt elevated to a new state of mind, and penetrated by a spirit of joyfulness and power, to which they agreement: but in its application to the relation between God and man, the fundamental idea must never be lost sight of, namely, that of a relation in which there is something reciprocal and conditional, as, in this case, a communication from God to man is condi- tioned by the obedience of faith on the part of the latter. * Without doubt, those expositors adopt the right view who suppose that not merely the apostles but all the believers were at that time assembled; for though, in Acts i. 26, the apostles are primarily intended, yet the " disciples," fiadnrai, collectively, form the chief subject, (i. 15,) to which the "all," anavrec, at the beginning of the second chapter neces- sarily refers. It by no means follows, that because, in eh. ii. 14, the apostles alone are represented as speakers, the assembly was confined to these alone; but here, as elsewhere, they appear as the leaders and representatives of the whole church, and thus are distin- guished from the rest of the persons met together ; Acts iL 35. The great importance of the fact which Peter brings forward in his discourse— that the gifts of the Spirit, which, under the Old Covenant, were imparted only to a select class of persons, such as the prophets, under the New Covenant, which removes every wall of separation in reference to the higher life, are communicated without distinction to all believers — this great fact would he altogether lost sight of if we confined everything here mentioned to the apostles. Through- out the Acts, wherever the agency of the Spirit is manifested by similar characteristics in those who were converted to a living faith, we perceive an evident homogeneity with this first great event. ■j- Such a chamber was built in the eastern style, on a flat roof, and with a staircase leading to the courtyard, vnepuov, nj^», (upper chamber.) According to the narrative in the Acts, we must suppose it to have been a chamber in a private house. But, in itself, there is nothing to forbid our supposing that the disciples met together in the Temple at the first hour of prayer during the feast; their proceedings would thus have gained much in notoriety, though not in real importance, as Olshausen maintains ; (or it perfectly accorded with the genius of the Christian Dispensation, not being restricted to particular times and places, and obliterating the distinction of profane and sacred, that the first effusion of the Holy Spirit should take place, not in a temple, but in an ordinary dwelling. It is stated, it is true, in Luke xxiv. 53, that the disciples "were continually in the temple," and hence it might the more reasonably be concluded that this was the case on the morning of this High Feast; yet it might be possible that, when Luke wrote his Gospel, he had not yet obtained exact knowledge of the particulars of these events, or that he made here only a brief, general statement of them. 10 THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN PALESTINE. had hitherto been strangers, they were seized by an inspiring impulse, to testify to the grace of redemption, which now for the first time they experienced. Extraordinary appearances of nature (a conjunction simi- lar to what has happened in other important epochs in the history of mankind) accompanied the great process then going on in the spiritual world, and were symbolic of that which filled their inmost souls. An earthquake, attended by a whirlwind, suddenly shook the building in which they were assembled, a symbol to them of that Spirit which moved their inner man. Flaming lights in the form of tongues streamed through the chamber, and floating downwards settled on their heads, a symbol of the new tongues of the fire of inspired emotion, which streamed forth from the holy flame that glowed within them.* The accountf of what took place on this occasion, leads us back at last to the depositions of those who were present, the only persons who could give direct testimony concerning it. And with these it might have happened, that the glory of the inner life then imparted to them so re- flected its splendor on surrounding objects that, by virtue of the internal miracle, (the elevation of their inward life and consciousness,) through the power of the Divine Spirit, the objects of outward perception ap- peared quite changed. And thus it is not impossible that everything which presented itself to them as a perception of the outward senses, may have been, in fact, only a perception of the predominant inward men- tal state, a sensuous objectiveness of what was operating inwardly with divine power, similar to the ecstatic visions which are elsewhere men- tioned in Holy Writ. Whatever may be thought of this explanation, what was divine in the event remains the same, for this was an inward process in the souls of the disciples, in relation to which everything out- ward was only of subordinate significance. Still, there is nothing in the narrative which renders such a supposition necessary. And if we admit that there wa3 really an earthquake which frightened the inhabitants out of their houses, it is easily explained how, though it happened early in the morning of the feast, at the hour of prayer, a great multitude would be found in the streets, and the attention of one and another being attracted to the extraordinary meeting of the disciples, how also, by degrees, a great crowd of persons, curious to know what was going on, would collect around the house.J The question may be asked, By what * Gregory the Great beautifully remarks : " Hinc est quod super pastores primos in linguarum specie Spiritus Sanctus insedit, quia nimirum quos repleverit, de se protinus loquentes facit." Lib. i. Ep. 25. (The Holy Spirit sat upon the first pastors in the form o'. tongues, because, doubtless, He moves those whom He has filled with His power imme- diately to sjieak of Himself.) f Though not furnished immediately by an eye-witness, and hence, in single points, failing in that clearness of testimony which would otherwise be expected. % The question is, How are we to explain the difficult words, "this noise," rriq uvyc rav- rng, in Acts ii. 6 ? The pronoun, " this," ravrric, might lead us to refer the words to what immediately preceded, the loud speaking of the persons assembled. But then the use of the singular is remarkable, and since verse 2 is the leading one, to which the others are THE PENTECOSTAL MIRACLE. H was the astonishment of the bystanders especially excited ? At first sight, the words in Acts ii. 7-1 1 appear susceptible of but one interpre- tation, that the passers-by were astonished at hearing Galileans, who knew no language but their own, speak in a number of foreign languages, which they could not have learnt in a natural way ;* that, therefore, we must conclude that the faculty was imparted to believers by an extraor- dinary operation of Divine power, of speaking in foreign languages not acquired by the use of thsir natural faculties.' Accordingly, since the third century,f it has been generally admitted, that a supernatural gift attached, we might refer ravrvc to the subject of that verse, and the more as " occurring, " yevofiivT]^ of verse 6 seems to correspond to the "occurred," kyevero, of verse 2. But not only is it more natural to refer the pronoun zavTriq to what immediately precedes in verse 4, but also verses 3 and 4, rather than verse 2, contain the most important facts in the narrative, which certainly favors the construction, in which "noise," uvf/v, nollus 6e unoveoQai (one language, indeed, was spoken, but many were heard). Gregory Naz. orat. 44, f. 715, who yet does not propound this view as peculiarly his own. It has lately been brought forward in a peculiar manner by Schneckenburger, in Ins Beitragen zur Elnleitung iris Neue Testament — (Contributions towards an Introduction to the New Testament,) p. 84. The speakers, by the power of inspiration, operated so powerfulljr on the feelings of their susceptible hearers, that they involuntarily translated what went to their hearts into their mother tongue, and under- stood it as if it had been spoken in that. By the element of inspiration, the inward com- munion of feeling was so strongly in exercise, that the lingual wall of separation was entirely taken away. But, in order to determine the correctness of this mode of explana- tion, it may be of use to inquire, "Was the language in which the hearers were addressed quite foreign to them, and the natural medium of human intercourse being thus wholly wanting, did there take place a miracle which produced an immediate understanding? Or was the Aramaic language of the speakers not altogether foreign to the hearers, only not so familiar as their mother-tongue: it being au effect of the inward communion produced by the power of spiritual influence, that they easily understood those who spoke in an unaccustomed language, without feeling the want of a familiarity with it; what was said being so deeply felt, it was as intelligible as if spoken in their mother-tongue? This would be, although on the supposition of a powerful spiritual influence, by which the essence of the Pentecostal miracle is not denied but presupposed, an explicable psychological fact. We should think of them as men, speaking with the ardor of inspiration, who made an impression on those not capable of understanding a language foreign to them, similar to what we are told of Bernard's Sermons in Germany on the Crusades, that, " speaking to the German people, he was listened to with marvellous emotion ; and their devotion seemed to be excited more by his discourse, which it was not in their power to under- stand, inasmuch as they were men of another tongue, than by the intelligible address of any interpreter, however skilful, speaking after him; and the beating of their breasts, and the pouring forth of their tears, clearly proved this," quod Germanicis etiam populis lo- quens miro audiebatur affeotu ; et de sermone ejus, quern iutelligere, utpote alterius lin- guae homines, non valebant, magisquam ex peritissimi cujuslibet post eurn loquentis inter. 12 THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN PALESTINE. of tongues was imparted on this occasion, by which the more rapid pro- mulgation of the gospel among the heathen was facilitated and promoted. And it might be said that, as in the apostolic age, many things were effected immediately by the predominating creative agency of God's Spirit, which, in later times, have been effected through human means appropriated and sanctified by it ; so, in this instance, immediate inspira- tion stood in the place of those natural lingual acquirements, which in later times have served for the propagation of the gospel. But, certainly, the utility of such a gift of tongues for the spread of divine truth in the apostolic times, will not appear so great, if we con- sider that the gospel had its first and chief sphere of action among the nations belonging to the Roman Empire, where the knowledge of the Greek and Latin languages sufficed for this purpose, and that the one or the other of these languages, as it was employed in the intercourse of druly life, could not be altogether strange to the Jews. As to the Greek language, the mode in which the apostles expressed themselves in it, the traces of their mother-tongue which appear in their use of it, prove that they had obtained a knowledge of it, according to the natural laws of lingual acquirement. In the history of the first propagation of Chris- tianity, traces are never to be found of a supernatural gift of tongues for this object. Ancient tradition, which names certain persons as interpre- ters of the apostles, implies the contrary.* Also, Acts xiv. 11 shows that Paul possessed no supernatural gift of tongues. Yet all this does not authorize us to deny the reference to such an endowment in the for- mer passage of the Acts, if the explanation of the whole passage, both in single words and in its connexion, is most favorable to this interpre- tation. pretis intellecta locutione, asdificari illorum devotio videbatur, cujus rei certa probatkf tunsio pectorum erat et effusio lacrimarura. Mabillon. ed. Opp. Bernard, torn. ii. p. 1119. And this would for the most part agree with the interpretation of my honored friend Dr. Steu- del. But as to the first mode of explanation, we do not see what can allow or justify our substituting for the common interpretation of the miracle in question another, which does not come nearer the psychological analogy, but, on the contrary, is further from it, and does not so naturally connect itself with the narrative as a whole. As to au appeal to the analogy with the phenomenon of animal magnetism, we find indeed nothing objectionable in referring to such an analogy, any more than in general to the analogy between the supernatural and the natural, provided the difference of psychical circumstances, and of the causes producing them, is not lost sight of; but yet, in matters of science, where everything must be well grounded, we cannot attach a value to such testimony until it is ascertained what is really trustworthy in the accounts of such phenomena. As to the second mode of interpretation, it can only be maintained by our first adopting the supposi- tion, that we have here not a tradition from the first source, but a representation, which only mediately depends on the report of eye-witnesses, and by allowing ourselves, therefore, to distinguish what the" author says from the facts lying at the basis of his narrative. * Thus Mark is called the "interpreter," ipfirjvEvt; or epf/rjvevT^ of Peter, (see Papias of Hierapolis in Eusebius, Ecc. Hist. iii. 39, compared with Irenasus, iii. 1). The Basilidi- ans say the same of one Glaucias, Clement's Stromata, vii. 765. On comparing every thing, I must decid-e against the possible interpretation of those word? favored by several THE PENTECOSTAL MIRACLE. 13 But we shall be led to dissimilar results as we proceed from the de- scription of the occurrences in the church at Corinth, which we find in the First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, or from the account in the Acts of the Apostles of the wonders on the day of Pentecost. An un- prejudiced examination, as we shall show more fully in the sequel, can leave no doubt that the extraordinary appearances in the Corinthian church are to be attributed not to speaking in foreign languages, but to speaking in an ecstatic and highly elevated state of mind. The account in the Acts would "certainly, on a superficial view, lead us only to the notion of foreign languages, and several passages might without violence be explained to mean nothing else than that the author of the account referred to the use of such foreign languages. If now we were justified in the opinion that the same idea of the gift of tongues is applicable to all the appearances of this kind in the Apostolic age ; and if we must set out from one principal passage for determining this idea ; then we should use for this purpose the record contained in the First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, inasmuch as it gives direct evidence on the sub- ject, and possesses greater clearness and distinctness, rather than the account in the Acts, which is defective in these qualities, and in its ex- isting form could not have proceeded immediately from an eye-witness. But the opinion that the idea conveyed by " speaking in other or new tongues" must have been the same from the beginning, we cannot hold with such certainty as to apply it to every single passage in spite of all the difficulties that present themselves, unless the exposition of all the passages taken separately lead to the same fundamental idea. Now al- though, as follows from what has been said ' above, the ancient opinion that the apostles were furnished in a supernatural manner with a knoAV- ledge of languages for the publication of the Gospel, cannot be main- tained ; yet, by the account in the Acts, as long as we explain it by itself alone, we might be led to that view, only a little modified. And we do not venture to decide, a priori, that the communication of such a supernatural gift of tongues was an impossibility. It must be our spe- cial business, first of all, to harmonize the facts as they are reported in the historical records, for not till then can we examine how they are re- eminent modern critics — that they mean simply an expositor, one who repeated the in- structions of Peter in his Gospel, with explanatory remarks; — for this designation of Mark is always prefixed to early accounts of his Gospel, and at the same time from the fact of his acting in this capacity with Peter, his capability is inferred to note down the report made by him of the Evangelical history. Thus certainly the passage in Papias must be understood: Mup«of fiiv ipft^vevrrjc Uerpov yevofievog, oaa ifiv7}/i6vev