and as it matured in the mind of the leading apostles. No doubt the Gospels and Epistles were
written by certain men, at a certain time, in a certain place, under certain surroundings, and for
definite ends; and all these questions are legitimate objects of inquiry and eminently deserving of
ever-renewed investigation. Many obscure points have been cleared up, thanks, in part, to these
very critics, who intended to destroy, and helped to build up.
The literary history of the apostolic age, like its missionary progress, was guided by a special
providence. Christ only finished a part of his work while on earth. He pointed his disciples to greater
works, which they would accomplish in his name and by his power, after his resurrection. He
promised them his unbroken presence, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, who, as the other Advocate,
should lead them into the whole truth and open to them the understanding of all his words. The
Acts of the Apostles are a history of the Holy Spirit, or of the post-resurrection work of Christ in
establishing his kingdom on earth. Filled with that Spirit, the apostles and evangelists went forth
into a hostile world and converted it to Christ by their living word, and they continue their conquering
march by their written word.
Unbelieving criticism sees only the outside surface of the greatest movement in history,
and is blind to the spiritual forces working from within or refuses to acknowledge them as truly
divine. In like manner, the materialistic and atheistic scientists of the age conceive of nature’s laws
without a lawgiver; of a creature without a creator; and stop with the effect, without rising to the
cause, which alone affords a rational explanation of the effect.
And here we touch upon the deepest spring of all forms of rationalism, and upon the gulf
which inseparably divides it from supernaturalism. It is the opposition to the supernatural and the
miraculous. It denies God in nature and God in history, and, in its ultimate consequences, it denies
the very existence of God. Deism and atheism have no place for a miracle; but belief in the existence
of an Almighty Maker of all things visible and invisible, as the ultimate and all-sufficient cause of
all phenomena in nature and in history, implies the possibility of miracle at any time; not, indeed,
as a violation of his own laws, but as a manifestation of his law-giving and creative power over
and above (not against) the regular order of events. The reality of the miracle, in any particular
case, then, becomes a matter of historical investigation. It cannot be disposed of by a simple denial
from à priori philosophical prejudice; but must be fairly examined, and, if sufficiently corroborated
by external and internal evidence, it must be admitted.
Now, the miracles of Christ cannot be separated from his person and his teachings. His
words are as marvellous as his deeds; both form a harmonious whole, and they stand or fall together.
His person is the great miracle, and his miracles are simply his natural works. He is as much elevated
above other men as his words and deeds are above ordinary words and deeds. He is separated from
all mortals by his absolute freedom from sin. He, himself, claims superhuman origin and supernatural
powers; and to deny them is to make him a liar and impostor. It is impossible to maintain his human
perfection, which all respectable rationalists admit and even emphasize, and yet to refuse his
testimony concerning himself. The Christ of Strauss and of Renan is the most contradictory of all
characters; the most incredible of all enigmas. There is no possible scientific mediation between a
purely humanitarian conception of Christ, no matter how high he may be raised in the scale of
beings, and the faith in Christ as the Son of God, whom Christendom has adored from the beginning
and still adores as the Lord and Saviour of the world.
Nor can we eliminate the supernatural element from the Apostolic Church without destroying
its very life and resolving it into a gigantic illusion. What becomes of Paul if we deny his conversion,A.D. 1-100.