Part 3

The thirty-six miracles of which an account is given in the four gospels have been divided into three classes; their teaching is important:

1. The Nature miracles show the divinity of Christ. The feeding of the five thousand men (Matthew 14:15-21) reveals His creative power, and the stilling of the storm on the Lake of Galilee (Matthew 8:23-27) His divine command over Nature and its forces.

2. The Healing miracles reveal not only His divinity but His humanity and compassion. They set forth the one being who loves the human race with His whole heart. This class of miracles shows the mission of Jesus to be the extinction of sin and disease, and the redemption of man, body and soul.

3. The Moral miracles are the life of Christ and its effect upon the world.

Example of Living and Dying, the teaching of which is elaborated in the Acts and Epistles (Acts 1:8; 2:31-41; 13:23-42; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:13-20).

HOW CHRIST TAUGHT

With Authority (Matthew 7:28,29; Mark 1:22).--He declared that "All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth" (Matthew 28: 18). He did not quote precedents but said, "I say unto you."

With Persuasiveness and Love (Matthew 11:28-30; 19:13,14; John 3:17; Luke 9:56).--People of all classes gathered about Him, in the marketplaces, in the fields and by the seaside. They followed Him into desert places to hear the gracious words that fell from His lips.

With Originality (John 12:46).--He taught a new philosophy of sorrow and suffering, a new law of self-sacrifice and a new law of love for fallen humanity.

With Promise (Matthew 28:20; John 14:12-19; 16:1-14; Acts 1:4-8).--His work He declared was not to end with His resurrection and ascension, but was to continue. He promised to endue His disciples with power from on high in their task of converting a world. This promise of divine help was also extended to all His disciples in their effort to lead pure and righteous lives.

QUESTIONS

What can be said about the Founder of Christianity and His teachings? What did Christ teach; about the right relation of God to man, man to man, man to sin, man to salvation and man to death and the hereafter? What can be said of the forms of Christ's teaching; direct discourse (give examples), parables (give the teaching of the three classes), miracles (give the teaching of the three classes) and example of living and dying? How did Christ teach? What can be said of His authority, persuasiveness, originality and promise?

STUDY II

THE CHRISTIAN'S GOD

Scripture References: Genesis 1:1; 17:1; Exodus 34:6,7; 20:3-7; Deuteronomy 32:4; 33:27; Isaiah 40:28; 45:21; Psalm 90:2; 145:17; 139:1-12; John 1:1-5; 1:18; 4:23,24; 14:6-11; Matthew 28:19,20; Revelation 4:11; 22:13.

WHO IS GOD?

How Shall We Think of God?--"Upon the conception that is entertained of God will depend the nature and quality of the religion of any soul or race; and in accordance with the view that is held of God, His nature, His character and His relation to other beings, the spirit and the substance of theology will be determined." When one man says, "I believe in God" he may have in mind an entirely different conception of God from another man who uses the same expression. There is a Christian idea of God and there are many non-Christian ideas about God; it is the latter which keep men from heartily engaging in the service of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Wrong Conceptions of God.--Some of these are:

1. That He is a blind fate or unknowable force. Personality is denied, and it is asserted that this great force neither sees, cares nor even knows what men do or do not do.

2. Even if this great force be personal, and knows what is going on amongst men, He is perfectly indifferent to right or wrong actions.

3. God knows and sees all that is going on, but He has wound up this universe like a great clock. To help or succour any man in his distress would disarrange the whole system. Natural law must have its course; it is useless to pray.

4. God is revengeful or weak; in the first place men seek to keep out of His way, in the second they do not care.

When men adopt these wrong ideas of God and cherish them they are fashioned after them in life and character. Here are the stumbling-blocks which need to be removed before men, who think this way, can be brought into sympathy with the Church of Christ. Man can never come into personal loving relations with a Universal Substance or Force, no matter how mighty it is.

Right Conceptions of God are necessary for the true worship of the Almighty, for the exercise of proper conduct to our fellow men and for the upbuilding of our own spiritual life. Never was there a time when the great fundamental positions of the Bible, in regard to God, needed to be more plainly stated than to-day. When men stand firmly upon these positions a whole host of perplexities and anxieties will take their departure.

The Christian Conception of God has been thus expressed, "God is the Personal Spirit, perfectly good, who in holy love, creates, sustains and orders all." The essential matters covered in this statement are:

1. The nature of God. He is the Personal Spirit (Exodus 3:14; John 4:24) who can enter into personal relations with man, and who hears and answers prayer.

2. The character of God. He is perfectly good, pure and holy (Psalm 25:8; Nahum 1:7; Romans 2:4). Man may have perfect confidence, however matters may seem to him to go wrong with his imperfect vision of the world and the happenings in it, that there is a good God who governs all in the interest of righteousness (Matthew 13:24-30,36-43).

3. The relation of God to all other existences. He creates, sustains and orders all (Genesis 1:1; Psalm 19).