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Preface

In the following pages Scriptures relating to the person of Christ are examined and considered, with the object of learning what was held at the beginning by the apostles - their teaching (Acts 2 : 42).

It should perhaps be stated at the outset that what comes to light does not always agree with what is usually regarded as orthodox, and may therefore be disliked by those who are unable or unwilling to change or modify their opinions. However, the writer is convinced that what is here presented will be helpful to those who genuinely seek the truth. There is no pretension to exhaust the subject or claim that what has been written is without defect. However, it must be stressed that as the doctrine put forward is firmly based in Scripture, and therefore true in substance, (though not presented dogmatically) there can be no admittance of alternative views. This may not be acceptable to those who like to think that almost any views as to the person of Christ are admissible, because in their minds the Scriptures contain such incomplete and conflicting thoughts, that the apostles must have held no coherent doctrine at all, or if they did, that it is not now ascertainable.

That the doctrine here put forward has been obtained from the Scriptures will be apparent from the reading of these pages. It is the product of their careful and prayerful consideration for nearly half a century, and involved the weighing of the various views generally held as to God and Christ and their rejection. Little help has been obtained from sources other than the Scriptures themselves, and the substantial number of quotations from them are intended to show that what is said has their support. It will be noted that all significant passages in Scripture relevant to the subject have somewhere been considered; there has been no selective use of Scripture, that is, quoting of passages favourable to certain views and ignoring others that don't fit.

Of course where persons are bent on making difficulties it will no doubt still be possible to do so, as say, by insisting on certain interpretations of difficult passages. However, an honest reading of Scripture would not lead us to go to obscure passages and extract doctrines which are in conflict with clear and express statements found elsewhere, or are out of accord with the general teaching of Scripture. Neither ought it to be necessary for us to go into tortuous explanations to circumvent the plain statements of Scripture. Such a treatment of the Word of God is not wise (Proverbs 8 : 8/9). If such a treatment is necessary it suggests that it is our views that need changing or modifying; not the language of Scripture. We ought not to suppose that the readers of Scripture in olden times were expected to take the words in anything other than their normal sense.

In saying all this, the writer appreciates how difficult it often can be to change or even modify views firmly held for a long period. Because of this the writer himself has taken so long to arrive at what is here presented for the reader's consideration. When dealing with Scripture there are undoubtedly problems of translation and interpretation, but the biggest difficulties are usually those within ourselves, such as a determination not to see things which conflict with our own cherished beliefs. Bearing all this in mind the writer would seek to answer any reasonable objection to what is presented, but would not wish to merely argue over views already shown to be false or nonsensical.

It will be appreciated that it is the person of Christ that is here considered. His sacrifice and teaching are also important. Though the latter are not gone into in detail it is hardly possible to speak of the one without touching on the others. It is the person who gives value to the sacrifice and weight to the teaching. There is therefore an overlap which must not be overlooked.

The critic may note that there is some repetition, some passages of Scripture being quoted a number of times. This is partly because in dealing with Scripture we are dealing with real (solid) things, so that many things seen taking a side view, will also be seen from a front one. Thus, the four Gospels all overlap, each one giving some things not found in the others, but also many things found in the others as well. Similarly, in making the chapters complete in themselves it has been necessary to have an overlap with other chapters which deal with the person of Christ from a somewhat different viewpoint. Apart from this it may be acknowledged that because of the lenghty period over which the various sections have been written, it has been only too easy to forget that some points have already been made once.

In brief, the chapters and appendices cover the following:-

Chapter 1. The intermediary place Christ occupies between God and men.

2. The link that Christ has with God on the one hand and with mankind on the other.

3. What Christ is in Himself - the second man who is the image of God.

4. Christ's origin before time was.

5. Christ's destiny when time shall cease to be.

6. The foregoing in summary form.

Appendix 1. The error of views which divide up God, making of Him a trinity of persons.

2. The error of views which divide up Christ, giving Him divine and human parts.

3. What is meant when Scripture says of Christ that he is God.

4. Passages regarding the person of Christ which have an uncertain textual basis or are difficult to translate.

5. Erroneous views as to Christ's origin.

6. In brief, the history of views as to the person of Christ.

7. John's Gospel chapter 1 verses 1-18.

8. Colossians chapter 1 verses 12-23.

9. Hebrews chapter 1 verse 1 to chapter 3 verse 6.

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