AND HISTORICAL RESEARCH UPON THE NEW TESTAMENT. 175 



the worshippers. This identity must, in turn, have opened up avenues in 

 the Hellenistic mind for the entrance of the highest Christian 

 conceptions." * 



These things teach us, plainly, that the Christian position, to which 

 victory came, was not one of words but of facts, not one of claims 

 only but of irresistible power. True, the Lord of All was described 

 in terms which had already been applied to Roman emperors and 

 divinities, but the Messianic dignity and glory of Jesus soon 

 demanded appellatives that no king of earth had arrogated ; for His 

 followers passed from the titles of Saviour and Lord to those that 

 were required to describe One who died and rose again, who was 

 the First-begotten from the dead, destined in due time to put 

 all His enemies under His feet, and to take unto Himself all rule and 

 authority on earth — even as in Heaven. The claims of earthly 

 potentates are thus left far behind when we contemplate the Son of 

 God gathering unto Himself all the fullness of power, and in due 

 time realizing the eternal purpose that IN ALL THINGS He is to 



HAVE THE PRE-EMINENCE. 



The Rev. John Tuckwell, M.R.A.S., said : Those of us who can 

 remember the anxiety which was felt thirty years ago concerning 

 the criticism of the Old Testament will remember also that it was 

 clearly foreseen that similar criticism of the New Testament would 

 inevitably follow. But it was felt that the criticism of the New 

 Testament would involve the authority of our Lord, whose treatment 

 of the Old Testament was not in agreement with the views of the 

 critics. That apprehension has been verified and the criticisms have 

 taken similar lines of theorizing. 



First of all, new theories of composition have been adopted. We 

 are told that the Synoptic Gospels and certain of the Epistles are 

 composite. I have here a facsimile of one of the pieces of papyri 

 supposed to belong to the " Logia." Let me read some of the 

 sentences written about A.D. 300 " . . . and then shalt thou 

 see clearly to cast out the mote that is in thy brother's eye." That 

 clearly is copied from the Gospels. Again " Jesus saith, except ye 

 fast to the world ye shall in no wise find the Kingdom of God ; and 

 except ye keep the sabbath ye shall not see the Father." That 

 looks as though it had been made up, and its genuineness may 



* Professor H. A. A. Kennedy, D.Sc, in The Expositor for April, 1909 

 (p. 306), in article entitled " Apostolic Preaching and Emperor Worship." 



