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(Romans 6:4) |
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Many are zealous for the glory of Christ and would reject out of hand any doctrine that they thought was derogatory to his Person, and rightly so. However, one does not get the impression that Christians are so militant when it comes to the question of the glory of the Father. The Reformation recovered the truth as to the way of salvation (justification by faith) and in the 1800’s the truth as to Christ’s assembly was recovered (the one body). By these things the Romish ideas of works, penance and indulgences were rejected as out of accord with Scripture. At the same time much of the gross idolatries of the Church of Rome were rejected (image worship, the mass, etc.). Then in the later recovery of the truth the ecclesiastical systems of men were rejected as being out of accord with Scripture. However, the creeds of the Church of Rome, though often formally rejected, still retained a pervading influence. It was considered that the so-called anti-Nicene fathers were floundering as to the Person of Christ, but that the so-called Nicene and Athanasian creeds more or less established the truth. This the present writer does not accept. The Church was sinking into idolatry and other wickedness and its pronouncements on the Person of Christ should be viewed with great circumspection. The truth as to God and Christ remained to be recovered. Alternative views, such as those of the Arians understated the glory of Christ, whereas the orthodox creed overstated it and effectively claimed for the Son not only his own glory but that of his Father also. |
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The glory of Christ was effectively overstated by claiming all the glory that He is given as a Man as well as all the glory that attaches to God. This effectively makes Him greater than his Father who only has the glory that attaches to God. Claiming that Christ is God over all, effectively neutralises the place of exaltation that the Father has given Him. It makes the Father give Him a place of Lordship , subservient to Him, that must in some way be less than absolute supremacy (Philippians 2:9-11). The effect may well be in some minds to belittle the glory that Christ has been given as Man because his glory as God is greater. (I do not like using the expressions of Christ ‘as God’ and ‘as Man’ because they are not found in Scripture. However, for the immediate purpose, that of dealing with theological conceptions as to the person of Christ, |