CHRIST JESUS taught that his works, however uncommon and wonderful, were always in obedience to, and not in suspension or violation of, the law of God. This is the unmistakable and inflexible import of his words, and none of his utterances permit the contrary interpretation. Let us take some of the more familiar examples. He declared on one occasion that of himself he could do nothing, and that his works were the works of the Father. The most ingenious sophistry is unable to pervert the plain meanings of this statement so as to make it capable of the notion that Jesus ever did anything contrary to God's law.
Many sophisms, more or less subtle and plausible, have been perpetrated from lime to time in certain Christian apologetics, in the attempt to avoid the inevitable doctrinal consequences of the plain significance of these words of our Wayshower. The dogma which this class of Christian apologists have persistently sought to make an integral part of the religious thought of Christendom (and for many centuries they succeeded only too well) is to the following effect: That the works of Jesus were exclusively peculiar to himself, because of his more divine personality as the Son of God; that Jesus could and did delegate to certain chosen followers the power to perform these works, but that, being contrary to the course of God's government, with this single exception these works are intrinsically incapable of performance by any persons whatsoever to whom the power has not been delegated by Jesus.' At least one church asserts that Jesus delegated to one of his disciples the power to redelegate to his successors, through all succeeding generations, the exclusive authority and ability to perform these works. Many other churches assert that such delegated power and authority was delegated by Jesus to certain immediate followers only, and that since those individuals disappeared from earth, the days of the miracles have passed.
In the first instance it is held and taught that the days of the miracles have not passed entirely, but that their performance is limited to the very few to whom the authority and ability to perform them has descended through a line of "apostolic succession." It is evident that if this contention were well grounded, the works of Jesus would be performed by all such alleged successors, and would be performed by them most abundantly and conspicuously, in order to obey the command of Jesus to perform them, as well as to convince the world of the legitimacy of the claims made and to extend and strengthen their church. Yet where now, and where during many centuries, have these "miracles" been accomplished?
