(_b_) That the object of saving faith is, in general, the whole truth of God, so far as it is objectively revealed or made known to the soul; but, in particular, the person and work of Jesus Christ, which constitutes the centre and substance of God's revelation (Acts 17:18; 1 Cor. 1:23; Col. 1:27; Rev. 19:10).
The patriarchs, though they had no knowledge of a personal Christ, were saved by believing in God so far as God had revealed himself to them; and whoever among the heathen are saved, must in like manner be saved by casting themselves as helpless sinners upon God's plan of mercy, dimly shadowed forth in nature and providence. But such faith, even among the patriarchs and heathen, is implicitly a faith in Christ, and would become explicit and conscious trust and submission, whenever Christ were made known to them (Mat. 8:11, 12; John 10:16; Acts 4:12; 10:31, 34, 35, 44; 16:31).
_Acts 17:18_--"_he preached Jesus and the resurrection_"; _1 Cor. 1:23_--"_we preach Christ crucified_"; _Col. 1:27_--"_this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: whom we proclaim_"; _Rev. 19:10_--"_the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy._" Saving faith is not belief in a dogma, but personal trust in a personal Christ. It is, therefore, possible to a child. Dorner: "The object of faith is the Christian revelation--God in Christ.... Faith is union with objective Christianity--appropriation of the real contents of Christianity." Dr. Samuel Hopkins, the great uncle, defined faith as "an understanding, cordial receiving of the divine testimony concerning Jesus Christ and the way of salvation by him, in which the heart accords and conforms to the gospel." Dr. Mark Hopkins, the great nephew, defined it as "confidence in a personal being." Horace Bushnell: "Faith rests on a person. Faith is that act by which one person, a sinner, commits himself to another person, a Savior." In _John 11:25_--"_I am the resurrection and the life_"--Martha is led to substitute belief in a person for belief in an abstract doctrine. Jesus is "_the resurrection_," because he is "_the life_." All doctrine and all miracle is significant and important only because it is the expression of the living Christ, the Revealer of God.