himself (ap' cavтoû); but what things soever he shall hear, these shall he speak: and he shall declare unto you the things that are to come.1 If it be said that according to these statements it is the Spirit who is the Prophet of the present dispensation and not the Son, the answer is that the Spirit of Christ and Christ Himself are one in operation; for though the Spirit is another Paraclete, and not identical with the Son, yet in the mysterious life of God the acts and words of each Person of the Holy Trinity are those of the Three, and the Spirit of the Son, as the Teacher of truth, is not to be distinguished from the Son whose Spirit He is. Jesus Christ, then, is still the Prophet of the Church, teaching her now by His Spirit as He taught during His earthly life by His own human voice.

As far back as the earliest days of the Ministry, it was recognized by John the Baptist that a greater Baptist had arisen in the person of the Christ; he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit.2 The Synoptic Gospels place this testimony at the beginning of their record, but make no further reference to it, for the fulfilment of John's prediction did not fall within their scope. The fourth Gospel, with other aims, recurs frequently to the baptism of the Spirit, ending with the anticipatory gift of the Spirit to the Church

1Jo. xiv. 25 f., xvi. 13f.

2 Mc. i. 8 (Mt. iii. 11, Lc. iii. 16).

on the night after the Resurrection.1 The writer is conscious, however, that the gift could not be received in its fulness till the Son had returned to the Father: as yet (he says) there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not as yet glorified (οὔπω ἣν πνεῦμα ὅτι Ἰησοῦς οὔπω ἐδοξάσθη).

The glorification of the Son of Man was succeeded almost immediately by the Coming of the Spirit. The world received visible and audible evidence of the Ascension in the works and utterances of the promised Paraclete: the Christ, S. Peter claims, being... by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he hath poured forth this, which ye now see and hear3 The Baptism of the Spirit had begun, to continue so long as the Incarnate Son is with the Father. For the presence of the Spirit with the Church is the complement of the presence of the Son in heaven, a "vicarious power "4 which fills the place of the absent Lord and makes Him spiritually present with us, and by which He speaks and teaches to the end of time. I come unto you... I have yet many things to say unto you.... I will see you again. So the Lord

1 cc. i., iii., iv., vi., vii., xiv.—-xvi., xx.

4 Tertullian, de praescr. 13 vicariam vim Spiritus sancti. De virg. vel. i. vicario domini Spiritu sancto.

5 Jo. xiv. 18, xvi. 12, 22.

speaks in His last discourse, and the Spirit fulfils His words. The prophetic office of the Ascended Christ is realized in the experience of the Spirit-taught Church.

I. In the first age this office manifested itself in a new gift of prophecy. The Christian Prophets of the first age were second only to the Apostles as foundation stones in the building of the Church.1 It would probably be an error to suppose that the somewhat erratic and effusive manifestations which S. Paul endeavoured to bring under control at Corinth were the normal fruits of the prophetic Spirit. The first efforts of Christianity to grapple with the problems of Greek life were made under conditions which tended to keep the standard of spiritual attainment low in cities such as Corinth and Thessalonica.2 Our estimate of the place which prophecy held in the Apostolic Church must be formed on a wider view of its work. We must not forget the prophets and teachers in the Church at Antioch who, as they ministered to the Lord and fasted, received the inspiration which prompted the first great mission to the Gentile. world, nor the probability that Barnabas and Saul themselves were of their number. Judas and Silas, who were chosen to interpret to the Church at

11 Cor. xii. 28, Eph. iv. 11 (cf. ii. 20 Tolkodoμnlévтas éπì Tậ θεμελίῳ τῶν ἀποστόλων καὶ προφητῶν.

2 Cf. I Cor. xiv. 26 ff. and I Thess. v. 20 πроøηтeías μǹ è¿ovleveîte.

Antioch the great decision of the mother-church, on which the future of Gentile Christendom depended, were themselves also prophets.1 To an Ephesian prophet we owe the priceless Apocalypse of S. John, and it is clear from his book how great was the influence of the prophets of his time in the churches of the great province of Asia. In S. John's eyes the Spirit of prophecy and the testimony of Jesus were identical.2 Even in reference to the Corinthian prophets S. Paul had found himself able to write: He that prophesieth speaketh unto men edification and comfort and consolation.... If all prophesy, and there come in one unbelieving or unlearned, he is reproved by all, he is judged by all, the secrets of his heart are made manifest; and so he will fall down on his face and worship God, declaring that God is among you indeed.3

4

Such was early Christian prophecy at its best. Is the gift extinct? In one sense prophecies, as it seems, are done away; the manifestations described in the letters to Corinth subsided, and after some fitful recoveries, disappeared. But the Church retains what is essential: not only have we the New Testament records of first century inspiration, but

3

1 Acts xiii. I ff., xv. 27, 32.

2 Apoc. xix. 1o ἡ γὰρ μαρτυρία Ἰησοῦ ἐστὶν τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς προφητείας. I Cor. xiv. 3, 24.

41 Cor. xiii. 8 αἱ προφητεῖαι καταργηθήσονται.

the power of the prophetic Spirit makes itself felt in the great books, the stirring words, the quickening and uplifting influence of the best Christian teachers, whether priests or laymen. There have been within our own memory writers, preachers, workers, before whom the secrets of men's hearts have been made manifest, whose words and lives have compelled many to declare that God is among His people indeed. The prophetic order may have ceased or have been suspended, but the Spirit of prophecy still bears witness to the prophetic office of the Ascended Christ in the teaching of the living Church.

2. But the work of Christ the Prophet extends far beyond the small circle of teachers who possess a gift of inspiration. It is carried on continuously through the whole Church, regarded as the Witness and Keeper of the word of God, the pillar and ground of the truth. When he, the Spirit of truth, is come (so our Lord has promised), he shall guide you into all the truth. It cannot be believed that this promise was limited to one age or to one succession of Bishops. Neither the Apostolic age nor the Roman See was by Christ's gift invested with a monopoly of infallible guidance. The gift belongs to the whole Body of Christ, and it is converted into actuality by the gradual, age-long leading of the Spirit of Christ which dwells in the Body. It is a 11 Tim. iii. 15. 2 Jo. xvi. 13.