were conceded, all His claims must be held valid, and
accordingly the Sanhedrim passed a resolution to the effect that, "if
any man did confess that Jesus was Christ, he should be put out of the
synagogue."[045]

The name "Christ" denotes the offices which Jesus executes as our
Redeemer. Three classes were set apart by anointing--the Prophet, who
made known the will of God; the Priest, who confessed sin and offered
sacrifice for the people; and the King, who acted as their leader and
commander. Jesus was consecrated for His work as our Redeemer by
anointing, but not, so far as we know, with material oil. He who
anointed Him was God the Father, and the oil that descended upon Him was
the Holy Ghost, of whose influence oil was the symbol. "God, even thy
God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy
fellows."[046] He fulfilled the office of a Prophet by revealing the
Father, and making known the will of God for our salvation; of a Priest
in the sacrifice of Himself which He offered up to God for us, and in
the intercession which He makes on our behalf at His Father's right
hand; of a King in the victory He won over man's enemies, and in the
power He imparts to His people, by which they overcome evil in
themselves and in the world. It was not until after He had finished His
work that His followers so closely associated Him with the Messiahship
as to speak of Him not as Jesus only, nor as Christ only, but as Jesus
Christ. This twofold name occurs very rarely in the Gospels--once in
Matthew, once in Mark, never in Luke; but in the Epistles it is the name
by which He is designated and made known to the world. To believe in
Jesus Christ is to accept Him in all His offices, and to take home the
truth which John had in view when he penned his Gospel: "These are
written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God;
and that believing ye might have life through his name."[047]

SECTION 4.--HIS ONLY SON

God is love. Love must have an object, and from eternity the Father was
not alone. The only-begotten and well-beloved Son was with Him, dwelt in
His bosom, and shared His glory. The Filiation or Sonship of our Lord
follows the statement of His proper name and the declaration of His
Messiahship. It is expressed in the designation, "Only Son," which is
His divine name, peculiar to Himself, incommunicable to any other being.
He is the Son of the Father, and is His only Son inasmuch as He alone
par