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| The Gospel is in the Old Testament, and Indeed in the Whole Universe. Prayer for Aid to Understand the Mystical Sense of the Work in Hand. PREVIOUS SECTION - NEXT SECTION - HELP
15. The Gospel is in the Old Testament, and Indeed in the
Whole Universe. Prayer for Aid to Understand the Mystical Sense
of the Work in Hand.
As, then, we have shown that the beginning of the
Gospel, according to one interpretation, is the whole Old Testament,
and is signified by the person of John, we shall add, lest this should
be called a mere unsupported assertion, what is said in the
Acts4526 about the eunuch of the queen of the
Ethiopians and Philip. Philip, it is said, began at the passage
of Isaiah: “He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a
lamb before his shearer is dumb,” and so preached to him the Lord
Jesus. How can he begin with the prophet and preach Jesus, if
Isaiah was not a part of the beginning of the Gospel? From this
we may derive a proof of the assertion made at the outset, that every
divine Scripture is Gospel. If he who preaches the Gospel
preaches good things, and all those who spoke before the sojourn of
Jesus in the flesh preach Christ, who is as we saw good things, then
the words spoken by all of them alike are in a sense a part of the
Gospel. And when the Gospel is said to be declared throughout the
whole world, we infer that it is actually preached in the whole world,
not, that is to say, in this earthly district only, but in the whole
system of heaven and earth, or from heaven and earth. And why
should we discuss any further what the Gospel is? What we have
said is enough. Besides the passages we have adduced, passages by
no means inept or unsuited for our purpose,—much to the same
effect might be collected from the Scriptures, so that it is clearly
seen what is the glory of the good things in Jesus Christ shed forth by
the Gospel, the Gospel ministered by men and angels, and, I believe,
also by authorities and powers,4527 and thrones
and dominions, and every name that is named, not only in this world,
but also in the world to come, and indeed even by Christ Himself.
Here, then, let us bring to a close what has to be said before
proceeding to read the work itself. And now let us ask God to
assist us through Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit, so that we may be
able to unfold the mystical sense which is treasured up in the words
before us.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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