Chapter 4

AUTHENTICITY AND CREDIBILITY OF THE GOSPEL NARRATIVES. 1. General Remarks--2. Their Authors Sincere and Truthful--3. Competent as Men--4. And as Witnesses--5. Character of the Works which they record-- Supernatural Character of our Lord's Miracles--They were very Numerous and Diversified, and performed openly--6. And in the Presence of His Enemies--7. The Resurrection of Jesus--Its Vital Importance--8. The Character of Jesus proves the Truth of the Record--Its Originality and Symmetry--It unites Tranquillity with Fervor--Wisdom with Freedom from Guile--Prudence with Boldness--Tenderness with Severity--Humility with the Loftiest Claims--He is Heavenly-minded without Asceticism--His Perfect Purity--His Virtues Imitable for All alike--Our Lord's Character as a Teacher--His Freedom from the Errors of His Age and Nation--His Religion One for All Men and Ages--This explained by its Divine Origin--Our Lord's Manner of Teaching--His Divine Mission--Divinity of His Person--Originality of its Manifestations--God His Father in a Peculiar Sense--He is the Source of Light and Life--He has Inward Dominion over the Soul--He dwells in Believers, and they in Him--The Inference--His Power over the Human Heart--Supernatural Character of the Gospel--A Word on Objections