The Person of Christ (Phillip Schaff)

The Person of Christ

The Perfection of His Humanity Viewed as a Proof of His Divinity

A book which truly exalts Christ and sets the heart aflame for Him! In this popularly written three-part book, Dr. Philip Schaff first sets forth the human perfection and character of Christ in such a way as brings the honest reader to worship Him as God incarnate; then shows the emptiness of any and all alternative explanations for His person; and finally presents a collection of writings by unbelievers concerning the moral perfection of Jesus in order to demonstrate the universal belief in the perfection of Christ.

Schaff makes abundantly clear that men ought to give up their strange and empty theories about Christ in order to bow before Him and give Him the honor He deserves.  An unbeliever will have a difficult time shaking off the forcefulness of Schaff’s argument, and so the book is a good choice to give to non-Christians who are interested in Christ and somewhat intellectually inclined.

There are some liberal Christian groups who profess Christ but are, perhaps, skeptical of His deity or miraculous deeds. This book should help to correct anyone who holds to this view. And Christians themselves can read it to see more of the glory of their Lord, both in His own person and in His unparalleled impact on the world. And so we recommend this book very highly!

Endorsement

“For years I searched for a copy of this rare and excellent meditation on The Person of Christ, having read only scattered quotes from it in various places. It was a great joy to finally purchase an 1880 edition from a bookstore in England several years ago and to read through it carefully. As a historian, Philip Schaff had an unusual ability to sum up in a few sentences the broad strokes of a man’s life and character, giving the reader a feel for the man himself. His descriptive powers were never put to better use than when he attempted to capture something of the unique glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is truly a great blessing to have this book reprinted in the twenty-first century and once again available for purchase!”  — Charles Leiter, author of The Law of Christ and other books

From the book:

“We propose to take up the man, Jesus of Nazareth, as he appears on the simple, un­sophisticated record of the plain and honest fishermen of Galilee, and as he lives in the faith of Christendom; and we shall find him in all the stages of his life, both as a private individual and as a public character, so far elevated above the reach of successful rivalry, and so singularly perfect, that this very perfection, in the midst of an imperfect and sin­ful world, constitutes an irresistible proof of his divinity” (p. 22).

About the Author

Phillip Schaff was born and raised in Switzerland, educated in Germany, and emigrated to the United States in 1844. He died at his post as professor emeritus at Union Theological Seminary in New York City in 1893. He was respected as a preeminent church historian for much of that time.

Table of Contents

1. Childhood and Youth of Jesus
2. His Training
3. Public Life
4. His Freedom from Sin
5. Perfect Holiness
6. His Intercourse with Men
7. Unity of Virtue and Piety
8. Completeness and Universality of Christ’s Character
9. Harmon of All Graces and Virtues
10. Christ’s Passion and Crucifixion
11. Summary: Christ’s Character the Greatest Moral Miracle of History
12. Christ’s Own Testimony Concerning Himself
13. Examination of False Theories

Collections of Impartial Testimonies to the Character of Christ

• Pontius Pilate and His Wife
• The Centurion at the Cross
• Judas the Traitor
• Flavius Josephus
• The Talmud
• The Heathen Writers Against Christianity
• Tacitus
• Pliny
• Celsus
• Lucian
• Porphyry
• Julian the Apostate
• Spinoza
• Thomas Churr
• Denis Diderot
• Jean Jacques Rousseau
• Napoleon Bonaparte
• F. Pecaut
• Gothe
• Thomas Carlyle
• William Ellery Channing
• David Friedrich Strauss
• Theodore Parker
• Frances Power Cobbs
• John Stuart Mill
• Theodor Keim
• Postcript – Two Letters