Essay 44 (9-13-04)

HYMNS TO CHRIST IN THE NEW TESTAMENT (1)

Some things said about Christ in the New Testament – usually in poetic form – are believed by some scholars to have an earlier date than the documents in which they appear, and that they were originally hymns. To put it another way, there was an oral tradition that developed long before there was a written New Testament, and among the earliest forms of this tradition may well have been these hymns or poems that expressed the basics of the Christian faith in rhythmic, concise, easy-to-remember fashion.

We know that there was considerable material about Jesus – written and unwritten – that was not included in the New Testament. Luke begins his gospel with, "Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us . . ." (Luke 1:1). It is reasonable to conclude that the physician-writer had a small library of written materials at hand, and his research would have exposed him to oral traditions about (or by) Jesus that had not yet found their way into written form.

Paul cites one of these: "Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that he said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’" (Acts 20:35). The scholars call this agraphe (not written), for it does not appear in the gospel narratives. But Paul presumes that his hearers might recall this saying of Jesus. It was evidently part of a considerable oral tradition that "floated" among the earliest Christians – some being more reliable than others.

Some of the more unreliable traditions eventually found their way into written form. M. R. James’ The Apocryphal New Testament, a book comparable in size to the New Testament, is a collection of much of this material. Its value is that it informs us of the curiosity the ancient believers had about Jesus – especially "the hidden years." There are numerous stories about his infancy and childhood, usually fantastic in nature. One tells of the boy Jesus making clay pigeons with his playmates, but Jesus’ pigeons take on life and fly away. And when a playmate falls from a tree and is killed the boy Jesus restores him to life. It is understandable that the ancient church deemed such stories as apocryphal.

But some material was studiously crafted and reflected the essence of the faith, and belong to the earliest tradition. These hymns we are studying fall into this class. Their value is that they indicate what the early church saw as basic – the core gospel or the catholic/universal faith. They would be the stuff of a slogan that emerged centuries later: "In essentials, unity . . ." In capsule form they express the faith of the early Christians and the ground of their unity. It is understandable that the writers of the New Testament would draw upon them, particularly when they had reason to get into rather weighty theology – Christology in particular.

In passing I might add that the New Testament writers – Paul at least --not only quoted from Christian sources, but pagan as well. In 1 Corinthians 15:33 ("Do not deceived: ‘Evil company corrupts good morals’") the apostle is quoting Menander, a saying that had probably become a popular proverb. In Acts 17:28 Paul quotes from two pagan writers in telling the Athenians about the God he worshipped – "In him we live, and move, and have our very being" and "We are all his offspring." Weighty theology! And from pagan sources!

Did the truths from these pagan writers become the word of God because the apostle quoted them, or did he quote them because they were the word of God? Did he quote these truths from pagan writers because they were "inspired," or did they become "inspired" because he quoted them? If your view of inspiration is threatened by such questions, it might be helpful to point out that it was not inspiration alone that determined what documents would constitute the Bible.

I think Prof. Krister Stendahl at Harvard was right when he insisted that it was not inspiration that determined Scripture – somewhat to my chagrin, for I had assumed that documents were adjudged canonical on that basis. "No," he said, "inspiration was not enough. There was a higher standard. Many documents were seen as inspired, but not worthy of canonization. It was apostolicity that determined canonicity." He was saying that a document had to be by an apostle, or one close to the apostolic tradition, to be accepted as Scripture.

So, not only might Menander, a Greek dramatist, that Paul quoted in 1 Corinthians, and Epimenides and Aratus (or Cleanthes) that he quoted in Acts 17 been inspired of God, but the likes of Shakespeare, Milton, and C. S. Lewis as well. Even you or I might be led (inspired) by God to say or write something. But that does not qualify them or us for a place in the Bible!

In a class at Perkins School of Theology (SMU) long years ago, a professor asked me why I quoted Paul with such assurance. "Because he was inspired," I answered. He retorted, "Inspired? Wasn’t Shakespeare inspired?" I lamely rejoined that Shakespeare might have been inspired, but not like Paul. I would now answer -- with Stendahl’s insight – "Yes, Shakespeare may have been inspired, but he was not an apostle of Jesus Christ, or close to such an apostle." Or I would have answered the professor’s first question with, "I quote Paul as authoritative because he was an apostle of Christ."

So, these hymns before us that grew out of the life of the early church may well have been inspired of the Holy Spirit, but they became part of Holy Scripture only as they were drawn on by an apostle or one within the apostolic tradition.

Now that I have settled the question of inspiration (!), we can look at the first hymn on our list.

He was manifested in the flesh,
Justified in the Spirit,
Seen by angels,
Preached among the nations,
Believed on in the world,
Received up in glory. – 1 Timothy 3:16

These hymns – that might well have been chanted in the primitive assemblies – are Christ-centered, exalting him in one way or another. This one is unique in that it includes the ascension, which is not emphasized in the gospels – mentioned only in Luke in fact. And yet the ascension is clearly one of the facts of the gospel – death, burial, resurrection, ascension. While this hymn does not mention the passion and resurrection, they are implied in depicting Jesus as proclaimed and believed on (as the risen Lord) among the nations. The hymn shows that early on the church understood that its faith was catholic in outreach, for all people in all nations.

Affirmation of the preexistence of Christ is another feature of these hymns. "He was manifested as a man" – as it could be translated – implies a previous existence. That angels and the Spirit are mentioned as attending Jesus and empowering him shows that the early Christians believed that God was with him and in him. That he was at last exalted to the right hand of God shows that he is worthy to be worshipped as Lord.

These hymns also have the feature of being heavy theology in contexts that do not seem to call for high voltage teaching. It is like rolling out a cannon to shoot a rabbit. The hymns are not drawn on to solve some impending crisis. In the context of this hymn the writer is urging Timothy toward correct behavior "in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." It is apparently the reference to "the truth" that led the writer to mention "the mystery of godliness," and then comes the hymn. The hymn reveals the mystery – the "open secret" (as it could be translated) of what God has done through Christ.

Yes, it is weighty theology – exalting Jesus Christ in profound terms – but that was the faith of the early church. They were deep into Christology – crafting creedal statements about what Jesus Christ meant to them. His significance reached to heaven itself – heaven before and heaven afterward!

You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
That though he was rich,
Yet for our sakes he became poor,
That you through his poverty might become rich. -- 2 Corinthians 8:9

This is my favorite among the hymns, not only for its profound description of the sacrifice of Christ, but also for its beautiful and captivating poetic symmetry. The radical antonyms – (a) rich, (b) poor, (b) poverty, (a) rich – are overwhelming. I can hear them now – a small band of believers huddled in a catacomb during persecution – chanting to each other in hardly more than whispers, perhaps antiphonally, those forceful lines. One side chants to the other This is the grace of God! The other side responds Though he was rich for our sakes he became poor! Then together, That through his poverty we might become rich!

The hymn races the heart and cheers the spirit. The lines are not only pregnant with meaning, but they capture in capsule form the gospel of the grace of God. Again, the preexistence of Christ is there – he was rich in heaven with God. Then the incarnation – for our sakes he became poor. Then the passion of Christ – through his poverty. And finally redemption for believers – we become rich.

It is nothing less than amazing that rank and file people could craft such profound theology. Indeed, it must have been the leading of the Spirit. But this is who they were – a people captivated by the risen and glorified Christ. It was Jesus – a man come from heaven – who filled their hearts with praise and devotion. It was not ritual, or form, or a church, or dogma that stole their hearts, but a Person. However poor they may have been in this world’s goods, that Person made them rich. And how? Through his poverty! Theology doesn’t get deeper than that.

Again, the context in which this hymn appears – which has to do with raising funds for the poor saints in Judea – does not seem to call for heavy theology. It would appear to call for practical exhortation. But that is where Paul was, and it is where the early church was – into theology about Christ. Even practical issues like money involved theology. Giving money and giving oneself involved the grace of God, as the apostle notes in 2 Corinthians 8:1-8. Then he inserts this hymn at verse 9 to show what grace is, that it is personified in Jesus Christ. Grace is a Person – one who was rich but became poor for our sakes, so that through his poverty we become rich.

These are hymns to Christ, but also hymns of grace.

(To be concluded)

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