Had the source of Christ's mighty power been merely a doctrine, it might have been received, or at least suggested, from abroad. But his power lay in the impression which his manifestation and life as the Incarnate God produced; and this could never have been derived from without. [79] The peculiar import of his doctrine, as such, consists in its relation to himself as a part of his self-revelation, an image of his unoriginated and inherent life; and this alone suffices to defy all attempts at external explanation.

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Footnotes:

[79] We recall here the profound sentiment of a prophetic German mind: "The pearl of Christianity is a life hidden in God, a truth in Christ the Mediator, a power which consists neither in words and forms, nor in dogmas and outward acts; it cannot, therefore, be valued by the common standards of logic or ethics."--Hamann, iv., 285.