The coming into the world of the Son of God was an event without parallel in the history of mankind. Even from the viewpoint of the secular historian it is an event which has had tremendous consequences, for it changed the current of history. The Christian historian sees it from another aspect. He views it in relation to the purposes and counsels of the Author of all things. He looks at it in the stupendous context of eternity in comparison with which the history of man shrinks into insignificance. Even the physical universe, vast and wonderful as it is, is to pass away, and all the doings of the great and mighty of this world will finally be lost in eternal oblivion. To view Christianity as a factor in human history, to view it even as the greatest factor, is one thing; to realize that it transcends history itself is another matter altogether. But this is the true viewpoint, for its origin is in the counsels of God in eternity past, while its effects are to endure to the glory of God and the blessing of millions of His creatures in eternity to come.
In the awful darkness of a world sunk in superstition and idolatry, vice and cruelty, Christianity arose like the dawn of a new, glorious day, The divine fiat "Let there be light" that went forth to dispel the darkness that once covered the earth, had its counterpart in the first century of our era. Well might the angel who appeared to the shepherds in the hills of Judea on that memorable night say, "I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:10, 1110And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:10‑11).
The brief but profound phrase "the testimony of the Christ" (1 Cor. 1:66Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: (1 Corinthians 1:6)) is an apt definition of Christianity. Sustained by a power no less than that of the Spirit of God, this testimony has continued down the ages. The world has never received it, or the world would not be what it is today. Opposed by the powers of hell, resisted by human potentates, insulted by the worldly, ridiculed by the wise, flattered by imitators, it has flourished during nineteen centuries. Strongest when most opposed, weakest when smiled on by the world, it has triumphed over all obstacles because, although perpetuated in frail human vessels, its light is divine and its power is not of men.
Christendom is not Christianity. The Lord once likened the kingdom of heaven to a grain of mustard seed, which is exceedingly small, but when grown, becomes a tree in which the birds of the air can find roosting places. From the gospel seed there has grown up a vast religious system which bears the Christian name but is, in character, no different from the world. This system, indeed, has become one of the features of the world and has harbored, and still harbors, all kinds of evil. Satan has used this system to destroy men's souls, and ambitious men have used it to glorify themselves instead of God.
The Lord gave warning of this admixture of the false and the true in the clearest terms when He uttered the parable of the wheat and tares (Matt. 13:2424Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: (Matthew 13:24).30), in which He made it perfectly clear that the enemy would introduce among true believers those who, like the tares, bore a mere outward resemblance to the true but in themselves were false and worthless. But the words of the divine Author of the faith could not fail. "Upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of hell [hales] shall not prevail against it." Matt. 16:1818And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18). His church continues to this day, outwardly lost in the confusion of sects and systems. but still one body composed of every true believer indwelt by the one Spirit. T. Carron