ing, as he thought, "no sin at all in me;" and Alford pronounces this to be the only right interpretation, adding, however, for himself, "no point of appliance whereon to fasten his attack.”

1

Turning now from the testimony of Christ to that of inspired men, we read in the first Epistle of John as follows: "Ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin ;" and "He that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous." Paul also teaches that "he made him to be sin, who knew no sin, that we might become the righteousness of God in him; "2 and the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews avers that Christ "through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot unto God."3 Such proof of the actual sinlessness of Christ is conclusive.

And the total impression made by the record of his life affords evidence of the same fact; a kind of evidence which cannot easily be overrated. For it does not depend upon minute points of criticism which only a scholar can understand, but upon the broader features and general tone of the narrative which can be appreciated by every upright mind. The eye of an unlearned but thoughtful reader is almost sure to take in the great features of the picture, and judge them correctly. To borrow an illustration, the microscopic eye of the scholar is

1 1 John iii. 5, 7.

2 2 Cor. v. 21.

3 Heb. ix. 14, cf. vii. 26.

often less useful in this respect than the unaided eye of the common reader. Yet unbelievers are not wholly insensible to the general effect of the gospel narratives; though they sadly mar that effect by rejecting what they please as false.

a

Says one of this class Humanity, as inf whole, presents an assemblage of beings, low, selfish, superior to the animal only in this, that their selfishness is more premeditated. But in the midst of this uniform vulgarity, pillars rise towards heaven and attest a more noble destiny. Jesus is the highest of these pillars, which show to man whence he came and whither he should tend. In him is condensed all that is good and lofty in our nature. He was not sinless ; he conquered the same passions which we combat; no angel of God comforted him, save his good conscience; no Satan tempted him, save that which each bears in his heart. And, as many of the grand aspects of his character are lost to us by the fault of his disciples, it is probable also that many of his faults have been dissembled. But never has any man made the interests of humanity predominate over the littleness of self-love so much as he. Devoted, without reserve, to his idea, he subordinated everything to it to such a degree that towards the end of his life the universe no longer existed for him. It was by this flood of heroic

will that he conquered heaven. . . He lived only for his Father, and for the divine mission which he believed it was his to fulfil. Whatever may be the surprises of the future, Jesus will never be surpassed. His worship will grow young without ceasing; his legend will call forth tears without end; his sufferings will melt the noblest hearts; all ages will pronounce, that, among the sons of men, there is none born greater than Jesus." With such language does Renan close his fiction entitled "The Life of Jesus,"language which is bold, positive, vivacious, flippant, but which is inconsistent, conceding either too much or too little. If Jesus had the moral defects of which he is accused by Renan, he was the most arrogant and blasphemous of men, and in the end will be so regarded. Ignorant of himself, and conniving at deception, he was at best a blind enthusiast, more to be pitied than to be revered, more to be admired that to be respected. But he was in reality free from those defects, and the eulogy of Renan does not approach the excellence of a true description of his character as delivered by the Gospels.

But how was it that he escaped the contamination of moral evil? This question is answered by the words of the angel to Mary: "The Holy Spirit will come upon thee, and the power of the Highest will overshadow thee; therefore also the Holy One that

is born shall be called the Son of God." By the action of the Holy Spirit at his supernatural conception, depravity was excluded from the human nature of Jesus, and he came into the world at birth as upright as Adam before the fall. As to the original and essential qualities of human nature, it behooved him to be made in all respects like his brethren; but as to sin and a bias to sin, it was proper that he should differ from them and fulfil all righteousness. His infirmities were natural, not moral. His susceptibilities of body and spirit were thoroughly human, but not depraved. He could feel the attractions of power, of honor, of repose, and the pangs of hunger and thirst and bereavement; but his love of right was always supreme, and his submission to the will of God perfect. Such was Christ as a man, holy, harmless, undefiled, from first to last without sin, the model man, giving us an example of what the race might have been had our first parents been steadfast in virtue, and of what the Christian should aim to become by the aid of divine grace.

1 Luke i. 35.

CHAPTER III.

THE UNITY OF CHRIST'S PERSON.

H

AVING shown that Jesus Christ was both

God and man, it remains for us to notice

briefly the evidence afforded by the Scriptures that he was but one person, and to explain as well as possible the meaning of this expression when applied to him. As to the evidence in question, a brief notice must suffice, because the fact which it establishes is now freely admitted by the great body of Christians, and because an attempt to define or explain the fact will require all the space which can be given to this topic.

The proof contained in the Gospels that Christ was but a single personality is abundant. Almost every page of the narrative may be said to teach this fact. For generally, if not always, Christ used a singular pronoun in speaking of himself. Thus, "I say unto you;" "I am the Good Shepherd;" "I am the true vine;" "If ye love me, keep my commandments;" "He that receiveth you receiveth me;" "Whosoever shall confess me before men, him will I also confess before my Father who is in