'«Ec y^j£^^< ■, :«e-^^^l ,<^^'^^ : -C'CCr" e< \ CCttCCCCc C - 1 c ccc<. c c c ceo c: Kc C^i CCCCO 'C< rtr CC ■ CC > C* <" -- CC -ac CC ' CC : CC <■ ^ ti f phrases already explained, p. 96. Explanation of' John vi. 46, ibid. John viii. 14, p. 99 j — ver. 23, JiJrf. ;— ver. 38, ibid, John xiv. 28, ibid. Trinitarian solutions of the Father's superiority, ibid. This text the strong hqld of Arianism, p. 100. Unitarian in- terpretation, ibid. Explanation of John xviii. 37, p- 101. Rom. x- Q, ibid. I Cpr. X. Q, ibid. 1 Cor, x. 4, p, 102. Gal. i. 1, ibid. Heb. ii. 14, ibid. This text does not prove the assumption of human na- ture to be a voluntary act, p. 159. Heb. vii. 3, p. 103. Imaginary analogy between Christ and Melchisedec, ibid. Heb. xi. 26, ibid. The reproach of Christ explained, ibid. Heb. xii. 25, 26, p. 104. Heb. xiii. 8, p. 105. .1 Pet, i, 11, ibid. 1 Pet. iii. I9, 20, ibid. f Spirits in prison' are the heathen world, p. 106. 1 John i. 1, 2, p. 107 ;— parallel to John i. 1—14, ibid, l John iv. 2, p. 108.—' to coma xvi TABLE op CONTENTS. come in the flesh' is to be a real man, p. 108. Rev. xxii, 10, ibid. The texts in this Section generally given up by Arian and Trinitarian wri* ters, p. 109. SECTION V. Attributes supposed to be ascribed to Christ which infer Pre- existence and Divinity. Eternity, p. 1 10. Immutability, ibid. Power to lay down and re- sume his life, p. 111. Irresistible power, p. 113. Omnipresence, p. 114. Omniscience, p. 115. Remarks, p. 118. Christ alone knows, and is known by, the Father, p. 11 9. Free from sin, p. 121. Remarks, p. 122. The perfect character of Christ proves the truth of the evangelical history, ibid. SECTION VI. Alleged Superiority of Christ to Angels. Preliminary remarks, p. 123. Various senses in which the word angel is used in the Scriptures, ibid. Existence of angels as a superior order of beings not a doctrine of revelation, nor to be traced in any book previously to the Babylonian captivity, p. 125, The senses in which Christ is represented as superior to angels, ibid.; — as a mes- senger of God, ibid. 3 — as a judge, ibid- ; — and as the head of a new and superior dispensation, p. 126. Texts cited, p. 127. Mark xiii. 32, triumphantly appealed to by the Arians, p. 128. How explained by Trinitarians, ibid. Texts from tKe Epistles, p. 129. Heb chap. i. explained, p. 131. Angels in this chapter uniformly signifies former prophets and messengers of God, ibid. SECTION VII. Titles and Characters attributed, or thought to be attributed, to Christ, which are supposed to imply Superiority of Nature. I. Jehovah, p. 136. This title not given to Christ in the New Testament, ibid. — II. God, p.137. Mr. Lindsey and others deny that this title is ever given to Christ, Hid. ' Partakers of a'divine nature,' a title applied to christians, but not to Christ, p. 138. Matt. i. 23, Immanuel, does not prove that Christ is God, ibid. Luke i. 16, 17, if genuine, not applied to Christ, p. 13g. John i. 1, ibid. John X. 33, Christ denies that he calls himself God, though, as a pro- phet, he might assume the title, p. 140, John xx. 28, various inter- pretations of the exclamation of Thomas, ibid. Acts xx. 28, ' Blood of God," Dr. Doddridge thinks the phrase inspired, p. 141. Athana- sius imputes it to the Arians, ibid. ; — certainly spurious, ibid. Rom. ix. 5, ' God over all' not necessarily applicable to Christ, p. 222. Slichtingius's very plausible conjecture, p. 142. 1 Tim. iii. IS, « God manifest TABLE OF CONTENTS. xvii manifest in the flesh/ p. 144 ; — different readings of the original, iMd. — the text never appealed to in the early stage of the Arian contro- versy, Uid. Tit. ii. 13, p. 146. Contrary to the tenor of Scripture to speak of Christ as ' the great God,' ibid. Heb. i. 8, ' God is thy throne' the true sense of the text, p. 147. 2 Pet. i. 1, ' God' means • the Father,' p. 148. 1 John iii. l6, the word' God' an interpolation, ibid. 1 John v. 20, the pronoun this clearly refers to a remote ante- cedent, ibid, otherwise Jesus Christ might be proved to be antichrist, p. 149. Remarks, ibid. — III. Christ One with God p. 150; as his disciples are one with him, ibid. 1 John v. 7, proved an interpo- lation^ p. 15 1.»— omitted in the best modern editions, p. 153; — and omitted or marked as doubtful in the earlier English versions, p, 154. Arguments in favour of the text stated and answered, ibid. Gibbon's account correct, p. 156, note. First cited, and probably forged, by. Vigilius Tapsensis, p. 160. — IV. Equal with God, p. 16I.— V, Fulness of Godhead, ibid.— Yl. The Son of God, p. l63. The Son, p. 164. God his own Father, ibid. The first-born, i. e. the first who rose to immortal life, ibid. The beloved Son, p. l65 ; — t. e. chosen to peculiar privileges, ibid. Only begotten Son, ibid, j — a phrase peculiar to John, p. 166. Used by him where the other evangelists use beloved, ibid. The Son of God equivalent to the Messiah, p. 167.— VII. Christ the Image of God, p. 169. The ef- fulgent ray of his glory, ibid. No mysterious emanation of the Soa intended by this metaphor, ibid. — ^VIII. Lord of glory, p. 171. — IX. Alpha and Omega, ibid. Rev. i. 10, 11, Dr. Doddridge lays great stress upon a clause now known to be spurious, p. 172, »«<«.— j X. Lord of all, p. 173. The Son and the Lord of David, ibid.—1Ll. Prince or Leader of life, p. 174. — XII. Fills all in all, p. 175. Eph. i. 22, Christ the head supplies his body, the church, with all things needful, i^it/. — XIII. A Saviour or Deliverer, p. 1 76.— XIV. King of kings, and Lord of lords, ibid. SECTION VIII. Collection of Passages whic'h are supposed to teach that Christ is the Maker and Preserver^of all Things. John i. 3, p. 177, Ver. 10, p. 178. 1 Cor. viii. 6, the new dis. pensatidn intended, ibid. Eph. iii. Q, the words ' by Jesus Christ" an interpolation, ibid. Col. i. 15 — 18, explained, p. 179- Unitarian interpretation censured by Arians and Trinitarians, ibid. Christ ne- ver represented as creator of natural objects, ibid. The apostle details not things, but stales of things, ibid. ; — creation sometimes signifies only a change of state, p. 181; — things often used for persons, p. 182j — heaven and «ar' and does not always imply guilt, p. 212. III. Christ TABLIS OF UUIN lENTS. xis til, Christ appointed to raise the dead, p. 213. 1 Cor. xv. 23, proves the proper humanity of Christ, ibid, Mr. Tyrwhit's judicious observations, ibid, Christ raises the dead by his Father's power, p. 214. JV. Christappointed totheofEceofuniversal judge,p,215. Matt- XXV. 3 1 , &c. understood, by some, of the destruction of Jerusalem, ibid. Many texts assert the judicial office of Christ, p. 2l6. &c. Hence many reflecting persons have inferred his superior nature, p. 218. But the Scriptures attribute this office to him as a Man, p. 219. They represent the apostles and all christians as assessors with Christ in this office, ibid. Events often ditFerent from what the language of pro- phecy leads to expect, p. 220. Prophets said to perform what they only predict, p. 221 . This principle may perhaps apply to the judge- ment of the world by Jesus Christ, ibid. ; — countenanced by our Lord's expressions, John >ii, 48, p. 222. Advantages of this hypothesis, p. 223. SECTION XI. Concerning the Worship of Jesus Christ. Religious worship and idolatry defined, p. 224. Christian idolatry distinguished- from Heathen, p. 225. Socinian worship of Christ ex- ploded, ibid. Modern -Arians abandon the worship of Christ, and hence claim the title of Unitarians, ibid. Christ said to be the ob- ject of religious regard, p. 226; — of faith, ibid. ; — of love, p. 227. Love to Christ not a personal affection, p. 228. Committing the care of the soul to Christ, p. 230. Great mistake of Dr. Doddridge atid others upon this subject, ibid. Christians live to Christ, p. 231. Ex- ternal homage paid to Christ while on earth, ibid. ; — this no more than civil respect, ibid. John v. 23, explained, p. 232. Baptism to be administered into the name of Christ, ibid. Form of baptism no proof of Christ's equality or unity with the Father, ibid. Angels required to worship Christ, p. 234. Every knee to bow at his name. Hid. Adjuration by him, ibid. Appealed to as a witness, p. 235. Chris- tians described as those who invoke his name, ibid. This phrase ex- plained, ibid. Dependance on his direction and blessing, p. 236. Doxologies addressed to Christ, p. 236. Thanksgivings to him, ibid- Prayer to Christ, p. 239. Devout wishes of blessings from him, p. 2495 — not to be confounded with prayers, ibid. SECTION XII. Direct Arguments for the proper Humanity of Jesus Christ. Not necessary to the validity of the Unitarian doctrine, p. 243- — 1. The total silence of three evangelists, p. 244. How accounted for by Athanasius, Chrysostom, and others, ibid, note.— 2. Pre-exist- b 2 ence xn TABLE OP CONTENTS. ence and divinity of Christ not expressly taught in the New Testa- ment, p. 245. — 3. Great difficulties upon the supposition that this* ■fact was revealed- during our Lord's personal ministry, p. 34?. Still greater difficulties upon the supposition that it was not then knovirn, p. 248. — 4. Christians not charged with polytheism by the Jews in the apostolic age, ibid.— 5. Christ in the most unqualified language styled a Man after his ascension, p. 249. An angel incarcerated in a human body not properly a man, p. 250. — 6. Jesus often calls him- self the Son qf Man, ibid. Remarks upon this phrase, p. 25 1 . — 7. Christ appeared as a man, with all the incidents and infirmities of hu- man nature, and was universally regarded as such by his conterapo- jaries, p. 252. — 8. The writer to the Hebrews asserts and argues that he was a mere man, and could not be a being of superior nature, p. 253. 9. The great body of primitive christians for the two first centuries and upwards were believers in the simple bumatiity of Jesus Christ, p. 255. This fact of high importance, arid fully established by Dr. Priestley, p. 250. The proper humanity of Christ must be the first impression upon the primitive converts, ibid. 5 — and must have con- tinued till John wrote his Gospel, p. 257. Nor is there any proof that the writings of this evangelist produced any sudden change of opinions on this subject, ibid. The Unitarians always maintained that their doctrine was the prevailing belief till the time of Victor, A. D. 200, p. 258. That the Jewish christians were in general Uni^ farians, is proved by their not being excommunicated, ibid.; — by the concessions and the moderate language of Justin Martyr, p. 25Q ;— r by the direct testimony of Origen, p. 260 ; — confirmed by Eusebius, ibid. No distinction upon this subject between Nazarenes and Ebio- njtes, p, 261. Dr. Horsley constrained to concede this point to Dr, Priestley, ibid, note. No foundation for the hypothesis of an orthodox Jewish church at .^lia, p. 2G2. That the great body of Gentile chris- tians were Unitarians, attested by Origen,' p. 263 ;— and most expli- citly by TertuUian, p. 265. Dr. Horsley's extraordinary method of repelling Tertullian's testimony, p. 266. Testimony of Atbanasius to the Unitarianism of the Gentile church, p. 266 j — and of Jerome, Hid. note. Conclusion, ibid. APPENDIX TO SECT. XIL Abstract of the Controversy between Dr. Horsley and Dr. Priest- ley concerning the Existence of a Church of orthodox He- brew Christians at Mlia. Origen's assertion stated by Dr. P., p. 270j— contradicted by Dr. H., who charges Origen with wilful falsehood, and asserts the exist- ence TABLE OF CONTENTS. xxi ence of a Hebrew orthodox church Ht ^lia, a colony established by Adrian after the demolition of Jerusalem, ibid. Dr. P. consalts the ■wrong reference, p. 272. Charges the archdeacon with making ad- ditions to Mosheim, p. 273 j — denies" the existence of the Hebrew church at ^lia; — and accuses Dr. H. of being a fal^fier of history, and defamer of the dead, .p. 274. The archdeacon resents the charge^ p. 2/4; — acknowledges that he borrowed every thing from Mosheijii, ibid-; — and retorts upon Dr. P., ibid. Sets himself to prove the fact he had asserted !n seven pro- positions, p. 275 ; — the three first acknowledged facts, but nothing to the purpose, ibid. ; — the three next are gratuitous and improbable assumptions, p. 276. j — ^the seventh proposition argued from the tes- timony of Jerome, p. 277. Dr. H.'s extraordinary mode of bring- ing Jerome's testimony to bear upon the question, p. 278. ;-!-acknow>- ledges that his argument rests chiefly upon his six propositions, which only assume the fact to be proved, ibid. Dr. H.'s bold conclusion, p. 274; — not warranted by his premiies, ibid. Dr. H. asserts the migration cf the Jewish christians from Pella to ^lia in order to enjoy the immunities of Adrian's colony, p. 280 '; — appeals to Epiphanius's testimony to the fact, ibid. ; — who mentions the return of the christians after the war of Titus 60 years before, p. 281.; — the archdeacon deprecates chronological objections, ibid, j — these christians must have been fourscore years of age when they returned to JEYia, 1 p. 282. Aquila, surveyor of Adrian's works, con- verted by them, bears testimony to their activity and zeal, ibid. Ati- other chronological difficulty, ibid. Aquila's conversion was before Adrian's war broke out, ibid. Dr. H., now a bishop, complains of the trouble his opponent gives him by his chronological objections, p. 283 j — believes that the Hebrew christians who abandoned the Mosaic ritual were not banished by Adrian, ibid.; — but forgets to provide for them in the interval between the destruction of Jerusalem and the building of .iEiia, ibid, note ; — or to reconcile this supposition with the facts before alleged, as the foundation of his charge against Origen, ibid. His lordship wishes to trust the church of JEVm to herself against future attacks, p. 284. Dr. P. maintains that his lordship's assumptions are contradicted by the clearest facts, ibid. ; — laughs at his lordship's protest against chronological objections, p. 285 ; — declares the church of THnltarian Jews to have fallen upon the head of its founder, ibid. ;— «nd gives the bishop a spirited challenge to resume the controversy, ibid. ; — which his lordship prudently forbears to accept, ibid, j — and both par- ties retire equally well satisfied with the result, ibid. ' NOTE xxii TABLE OF CONTENTS. NOTE TO THE APPENDIX. Dr. Horsley triumphantly appeals to Barnabas's testimony to prove the early orthodoxy of the Hebrew church, p. 386. Dr. Priestley's reply, iMd. Jeremiah Jones's estimate of the value of Barnabas's testimony, ibid. Dr. H., sensible of the weakness of his argument from the church of ^lia, endeavours to bolster up his charge against Origen by two citations from his Reply to Celsus, p. 287 j — both charges unfounded and trifling, ibid. Dr. P's. severe remark, p. 289. Dr. H. misled by Mosheim : and having brought the charge, thought himself bound to support it, iiid. note. Little reason for the Quar- terly Reviewers to compliment Dr. H. upon his triumph, ibid. ;^or to represent Theology as his forle, ibid. Strictures upon observations relating to the Unitarians in a late Quarterly Review, ibid. Dr. H.'a illiberal reflections upon Dr. P., p. 29O. Dr. P.'s reply, ibid. PART THE SECOND. A Summarv View of the various Opinions which have been en- tertained concerning the Person of Christ} with the Argu- ments for^ and Objections against, each. Sect. I. Proper Unitarian Scheme, p. 29 1 j— the doctrine stated, ibid. Reasons why they assume the title of Unitarians, p. 2g6. Arguments fof the Unitarian doctrine, ibid. Objections urged, p. 299. Reply, p. 302. Arians, who believe Christ to be the Maker and Governor of the world, not properly Unitarians, p. 308. — Sect. 11. The Soginian Scheme stated, p. 309. Objections against it, p. 311. = — Sect.- III. Low Arian Scheme, p. 313 5— opposed, p. 314. — Sect. IV. High Arian Scheme stated, p. 315. Argument in favour of it, p. 318. Objections against it, p. 319. Objections against limited Arianism, p. 321. Sect. V. Semi-Arian Scheme stated, p. 322. Arguments in its favour, p. 323. Objections, p. 324. — Sect. VI. The Indwelling Scheme stated, p. 325. Arguments and objections, p. 326. Sect. Vn. Sabellian Scheme, p. 327.— Sect. Vin. Swe- denborgian Doctrine, p. 328 Sect. IX, Tritheism, p. 330.— "Sect. X. Trinitarian Doctrine, ibid. Arguments in favour of the Deity of Christ, p. 331. Objections, p. 332. — Hypothesis of the, Realists, p. 3365— of the Nominalists, p. 337.— Proper Athanasifin Scheme, p. 338. — Remarks, p. 33g. — Remarks upon those who adopt Scrip- ture langiiage declining all explanation, p. 341. TEXTS TEXTS COMMENTED UPON AND EXPLAINED. MATTHEW. Ch. Page i. 23 138 iii. IJ 165 ix. 2 211 — 4 115 xi. 27,. .35, lip, l64 xii. 18 165 — 25 . 115 xiii. 40, 41 127 xvi. 27 127 xvii. 5 165 xviii20 114 xxi. 25 32 xxii. 41— 46 173 XXV. 31, &c. 12s, 215 xxviii. g 231 .17. . . . , . . Hid. ^"18.. 113, 202 19.. .... . 232 20.. 115, 207 MARK. i. 1 164, 167 ii. 7 211 -10, 11 ibid. viii. 38 128 xiii. 26, 27 ibid. 32 ibid. xvi. 12 83 LUKE. i. 10, 17 139 iii. 27 167 iv. 41 . ibid. V. 22 115 vii. 39, 40 ... . ibid. — 48 212 ix. 26.. 2J6 ^46,47...... 116 ».22. 119 Ch. Page xxii. QJ 167 xxiv. 52 231 JOHN, i. 1—14 14,139,165 177, 178 -15 26 -18 35, 165 -33,34 167 — 50. ibid. ii. 19—21 .... . HI -24,25 115 iii. 12. i 44 — 13 26 — 16 ,. . 165 -^18 ibid. iv, 25 J16 — 29 •■ ibid. V. 18 161, 164 -23 232 — 26, 27 216 -28,29 2J3 vi. 25—66 37 — 46 98 — 56 12 — 64... 116 vii. 27..^ 7 viii. 14 gg '— 23 ibid. 38 ibid. ^^■""^ 4^» • f ■ • • ^ • 43 46 121 58 45 ix. 2. ., 211 X. 17, 18 Ill -30...., 150 -33 140 xii. 34 252 — 39 26, 136 — 47; 48,,,.,. 222 CA. Page xiii. 3 . 67 13 173 xiv. 7........ . 247 9— H 120 13, 14 209 — 21. $27 — 28 m xvi. 28 Of 28—30.,.. 11$ xvii. 5 68 =24 75. xviii. 33 , , 20S 37 ,, 101 XX. 23 ........ 211 — 28 140 — 31 }67 xsi. 17 ii7 ACTS. i. 11 216 iii. 14 121 — 15 174 V.31. 174, 176, 231 vii. 52 121 — 5g 239 ix. 14 235 X. 36 174 xvii. 31 217 XX. 28 141 ROMANS. 1.3, 4 168 -7 243 viii. 29 164 ^32. ... 164 34 210 ix. 1 235 — 5 ,. 142 X. 6 101 -9 aiQ xiv. 9. . . ,. .... 174 XXIV Texts eonMenietlMpon and explained. 1 CORINTHIANS. Ch. Ch. Page ii.3. i. 2 235 -Q. ii.8 171 - 10. viii. 6 17s X. 4 102 -9 101 xii. 10 119 XV. 21 213, 2'49 — 24—27,.... 206 — 28 164 — 47 77 xvi. 22 227 2 CORINTHIANS. iii. 16 169 iv. 4 iliid. — 14 214 V.14.. ,. 231 -21 121 viii. 9. 78 xii. 8,9... 240 xiii. 14 242 GALATIANS. i. 1 102 iv. U. . ._ 130 EPHESIANS. i. 20. 21 130 -22,23 175 iii. 9 178 iv. 9 82 V. 19, 20 237 -30... 12 PHILIPPIANS, ii. 5—9 82 -6 161 - 10 234 - 19 236 iii. 21.... 113'j 214 iv. 13 210 COLOSSI AN S. i. 1 — 5—18,... 179 -15 94 -17 96 - 18 164 Page 117 161 131 iii. 10, 11 175 1 THESSALON'. iv. J0 214 V. 27 234 2 THESSALON'. i. 7 131 ii. 16, 17 242 1 TIMOTHY. i, 2. .' 242 -12 237 ii. 5 249 iii. 16 144 vi. 20 230 2 TIMOTHY. i. 11, 12 230 - 14 iliid. iv. 17, 18 236 TITUS, ii. 13 146 HEBREWS. i. 2, 3 -3 -6 165, -4-9 - 8 — 10 -8 - 10. - 10—12 - 13, 14. ii. 2,3 -5—18 -10 -14 ;.. - 18.. iii. 3, 4 iv. 12, 13 vii. 3. - 26 - 28 xi. 3 185 169 234 131 189 147 175 110 133 134 253 175 102 210 189 118 103 121 164 17 Ch. Page xi.26 103 xii. 2 175 — 25,20 104 xiii. 8 lt)5 20,21 236 JAMES. ii. 1 171 V. 6 121 1 PETER. i. 8 227 — 1 1 105 ii. 21,22 121 iii. 18 122 — 19,20 1^5 — 22 135 2 PETER. i. 1— 148 iii. 18 237 1 JOHN. i. 1—5 17, 107 iii. 5 122 — 16 148 iv. 2 108 — 9 165 v. 1 226 -7,8 151 -2O 148 2 JOHN. ver. 7 149 REVELATIONS. i. 5 165 -5i6 237 -8 114, 171 -10,11 172 — 17, 18 ibid^ ii.2 117 -23. ibid. iii. 10 122 — 14 96, 189 v. 8—14 238 xvii. 14. 176 xxji. 13. 173 — 16..,. 108,135 AN IN QUIR Y INTO THE SCRIPTURE DOCTRINE CONCERNING THE PERSON OF CHRIST* INTRODUCTION. J. HREE principal hypotheses have been maintained corii ceraing the person of Jesus Christ. 1. That Jesus of Nazareth is a proper human being, the greatest of all the prophets of God. 2. That a pre-existent created spirit of a higher or lower degree in a supposed celestial hierar- chy animated the body of Jesus. 3. That the divine nai ture, or a divine person, was so united to the human body and soul of Jesus as to form one person, who is both truly God, and truly man. The first of these is the doctrine of the Unitarians ; the second is that of the Arians ; and the third is that of the Trinitarians. All Christians agree that Jesus of Nazareth was to out- ward appearance a man like other men : and that though he was an inspired prophet, who performed miracles, was raised from the dead, and ascended into heaven, he is not, on these accounts solely, to be regarded as a being of rank superior to the human race, but that separate and di- rect evidence is necessary for the establishmwjt of this specific fact. Plence it follows that, in this inquiry, the whole burthen B of 2 INTRODUCTION. of proof lies upon those who assert the pre-existence, the original dignity, and the divinity of Jesus Christ. If any one affirm that a being who has every appearance, and every incident and quality of a man, is not a real man, but a being of an order superior to mankind, it is incum- bent upon him to prove his assertion. If he fail in his proof, his hypothesis vanishes, and the person in question must be regarded as a real man. It is therefore by no means necessary for the Unitarian to adduce proof of the proper simple humanity of Jesus Christ. It would be equally reasonable to demand of the Jews a demonstration of the proper humanity of Moses. If the Arian or Trinitarian doctrines be not satisfactorily proved by direct and specific evidence, the Unitarian doc- trine must be received as true. For who is so unreason- able as to require evidence to prove a man to be a man ? In this controversy, therefore, the proper province of the Ari^n and Trinitarian is to propose the evidence of their respective hypotheses ; that is, to state those passages of Scripture which they conceive to be conclusive in favour of their doctrines. The sole concern of the Unitarian is to shoiu that these arguments are inconclusive : that the passages in question are either of doubtful authenticity, or misunderstood, or misapplied. This is the precise state of the question. It is admitted by all parties. It must be continually kept in view. This view of the subject points out the true and only proper method of conducting the argument. It is by pro- posing and carefully examining the controverted texts. He who will not submit to this labour must be content to remaia ignorant, or to take his opinions upon trust. The following observations may be of use to guide our inquiries. 1 . If Jesus or nis apostles peremptorily and unequivo- cally declare the doctrine of his pre-existence and original dignity, JNTRODUCTION. 3 dignity, their evidence must without hesitation be admitted. They could not be mistaken. 2. Nevertheless, when a fact is contrary to the esta- blished order of Nature, and the antecedent improbability is very great, the direct evidence must be proportionably strong. The doctrine of the pre-existence and high ori- ginal powers of Christ ought not to depend upon a few obscure, mystical, and ambiguous texts. 3. In examining the validity of an argument from Scrip- ture, the first inquiry is, whether the text be genuine ; the second is, to ascertain its true import, and the correctness of its application. 4. In owler to judge of the true sense of a disputed text, it is necessary to consider the connexion in which it stands ; the scope and design of the writer ; the customs and modes of thinking which prevailed in the age and country in which the author wrote ; his own turn of mind and peculiar phraseology, and whether he means to be understood literally or figuratively. Also, similar passages and forms of expression must.be compared with each other, so that what is obscure and doubtful may be illus- trated by what is clear and intelligible. 5. Impartial and sincere inquirers after truth must be particularly upon their guard against what is called the natural signification of words and phrases. The con- nexion between words and ideas is perfectly arbitrary ; so that the natural sense of a word to any person, means no- thing more than the sense in which he has been accustom- ed to understand it. But it is very possible that men who lived two thousand years ago might annex very different ideas to the same words and phrases ; so that the sense which appears most foreign to us, might be most natural to them. 6. It ought by all means to be remembered, that pro- found learning and acute metaphysical subtilty are by no B 2 means 4 INTRODUCTION, ineans necessary to settle the important question concern- ing the person of Christ. The inquiry is into a plain mat- ter of fact, which is to be determined like any other fact by its specific evidence, the evidence of plain unequivocal testimony ; for judging of which, no other qualifications are requisite than a sound understanding and an honest mind. Who can believe that the decision of the great question whether Jesus of Nazareth is the true God, and the Creator and Governor of the world, depends upon a critical knowledge of the niceties of the Greek Article? With equal reason might it be maintained, that no person can know any thing of the History of Greece, who is not perfect in the metres of the Greek dramatic writers*. 7. Inquiry to be useful must be impartial. The mind must be kept open to conviction, and ready to follow evi- dence whithersoever it leads ; to sacrifice prejudices the most deeply rooted and the most fondly cherished, and to embrace truths the most unexpected and unwelcome. Truth must ultimately be favourable to virtue and to happiness. I'he subject is divided into Two Parts. The First con- tains A Selection and Examination of those Passages in the New Testament which have been alleged in favour of the Pre-existence and original Dignity, Power, and Divi- nity of Jesus Christ. The Second Part' comprehends A summary View of the various Hypotheses which have been ■ formed concerning the Person of Christ, and of the Ar- guments for and against each Hypothesis respectively. ' Who ever heard of a juryman being challenged because he was not a good grammarian ? The incarnation of a God, the incarceration of the Creator of the world in the body of a helpless puling infant, is a faut, the credit of which must rest, like that of all other facts, not up- on grammatical siibtilties, but upon evidence direct, presumptive, or circumstantial, upon the validity of which every person of common sense is competent to decide. PART PART THE FIRST. SELECTION AND EXAMINATION OF THOSE PASSAGES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT, WHICH HAVE BEEN ALLE- GED IN FAVOUR OF THE PRE-EXISTENCE, THE ORI- GINAL DIGNITY, POWER, AND DIVINITY OF JESUS CHRIST. GENERAL DISTRIBUTION. 1 HESE passages will be arranged under the following heads. I. The arguments which are alleged to prove that the Jews in the time of Christ believed in the pre-ex- istence of their expected Messiah. II. The narratives of the miraculous conception and birth of Jesus Christ. III. The texts which are conceived to express in the most direct and unequivocal language the pre-existence of Jesus Christ. IV. The texts which, if they are not to be admitted as direct arguments, are nevertheless thought to be most correctly interpreted as alluding to this im- portant fact. V. Those in which attributes appear to be ascribed to Christ, which are thought to establish his pre- existence, and by many even his divinity, VI. Those passages which are understood as affirming the superiority of Christ to angels. VII. Those 6 GENERAL DISTRIBUTION. [Part I. VII. Those passages which ascribe Names,^ Titles, and Characters to Christ, which are supposed to infer great original dignity in a pre-existent state, and by many to prove his supreme divinity. VIII. Those which are supposed to teach that Christ is the Maker, Supporter, and Governor of all things. IX. Those passages from which it is inferred that Christ was the Medium of the divine dispensations to mankind antecedently to his supposed incarna- tion, and particularly of the dispensations of di- vine providence to the patriarchs, and to the Jewish nation. X. Those which express the exaltation to which Christ is advanced, and the offices with which he is now or will hereafter be invested, and which it is argued V are incompatible with the supposition of his proper humanity. XI. The passages which require or exemplify homage and worship to be offered to Christ, to which it is conceived that no creature, at least no man how- ever exalted, can be entitled. This part will close with XII. A selection of passages from the New Testament to prove, if it were necessary, the inferiority and pro- per humanity of Jesus Christ. SECTION Sect. l.J EXPECTATION OF THU JEWS. SECTION I. THAT THE JEWS EXPECTED A PRE-EXISTENT MESSIAH. One text only is alleged with any plausibility in favour of this supposition. John vii. 27. " We know this man whence he is : but when the Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is." Grotius and Doddridge explain this passage as allu- ding to the miraculous conception of Jesus. Dr. Whitby more justly understands it as referring to a tradition among the Jews, that the Messiah was to be con- veyed from Bethlehem soon after his nativity, and to be concealed from the world till Elias came to anoint him. It is said that some of the modern Cabalists maintain that the angel Metatron, who led the Israelites in the wil- derness, will be the soul of the Messiah. But it is noto- rious that the ancient Jews, and indeed the Jewish nation in generalj in all ages entertained no such expectation. Trypho the Jew, in his Dialogue with Justin Martyr early in the second century, represents the notion of the pre- existence and incarnation of Jesus, as not only wonderful, but silly : and he reproaches the Christians for their be- lief in the miraculous conception of Christ, which he ri- dicules as a fiction equally absurd with that of Jupiter and Danae. He says, that all his nation expect the Messiah to be a man born like other men. Justin Martyr Opp. Edit. Tbiriby, p. 233 — 6. Dr. Priestley's Hist, of Early Opinions, vol. iii. p. ^30 — 40, Ben Mordecai's (H. Taylor's) Lett, vol. i. p. 359^-61. SECTION ARGUMENT FROM [Part I. SECTION II. ARGUMENT FROM THE MIRACULOUS CONCEPTION OF JESUS CHRIST. J. HE narrative of this event is contained in the two first chapters of the gospels of Matthew and Luke. And the miraculous birth of Christ is regarded by many as a con- siderable presumptive evidence o^ his pre-existence. But, 1. The narrative itself is of very doubtful authority. The Ebionite gospel of Matthew and the Marcionite gospel of Luke did not contain these accounts : and both those sects maintained their own to be the uncorrupted, unmutilated copies of these evangelical histories. From Luke iii. 1, compared with ver. 23, it appears that Jesus was born fifteen years before the death of Au- gustus, that is at least two years after the death of Herod ; a fact which completely falsifies the whole narrative con- tained in the preliminary chapters of MatthevT^ and Luke. If the relation given of the miraculous conception were true, it is utterly unaccountable, that these extraordinary events should have been wholly omitted by Mark and John, and that there should not be a single allusion to them in the New Testament ; and particularly, that in John's history, Jesus should be so frequently spoken of a§ the son of Joseph and Mary, without any comment, or the least hint that this statement was erroneous. i The Ebionites, who were Hebrew and Unitarian Chris- tians, and the Gnostics, who were philosophizing Gentile believers, who differed from each other in almost every other opinion concerning the person of Christ, agreed in disbelieving the miraculous conception. There was no- thing Sect. ^.J THE MIRACULOUS COTSfCEPTION. 9 thing in the peculiarities of these sects which should ren- der them averse to this opinion. Both would naturally have been pleased with any circumstance which would have exalted the dignity of the founder of their faith : but both these sects had their origin in the apostolic age, and had probably at that time never heard the report. Also, if the facts related in the account of our Lord's nativity were true ; viz. the appearances of angels, the star in the East, the visit of the Magi, the massacre of Beth- lehem, Sec. they must have excited great public attention and expectation, and could not have failed to have been noticed by contemporary writers, who nevertheless observe a total silence on the subject. 2. The miraculous conception of Jesus would no more infer his pre-existence, than the miraculous formation of our first parents, or the miraculous conception of Isaac, of Sampson, of Samuel, and of John the Baptist, would prove that these persons had an existence before they came into this world, and were beings of a superior order to the rest of mankind ' . ' See upon this subject Dr. Priestley's History of Early Opinions, vol. iv. book ill. chap. 20. Also the Notes, in the Improved Version of the New Testament^ on the Prefaces of Matthew and Luke. SECTION 10 TEXTS SUPPOSED TO ASSERT [Part. I. SECTION III. TEXTS EXAMINED WHICH ARE CONCEIVED TO EX- PRESS. IN THE MOST DIRECT AND UNEQUIVOCAL TERMS THE PRE-EXISTENCE OF JESUS CHRIST. J. HE writers of the New Testament are commonly reck- oned eight. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paulj James, Peter, and Jude. Of these writers six, viz. Matthew, Mark, Luke, James, Peter, and Jude, are generally allow- ed to have advanced nothing upon the subject of the pre- existence, and superior nature and dignity of Jesus Christ. At least it will be admitted that, if there be any allusions in these writers to this extraordinary fact, they are so faint and obscure that, independently of the rest of the New Tes- tament, they would not of themselves have proved, per- haps not even suggested the idea of, the pre-existence and divinity of Christ. The credit of thesa facts depends wholly upon the testimony of John and Paul. Of the six writers who make no mention of the pre- existence and divinity of Jesus Christ, three are professed historians of the life, the miracles, and the doctrine of Christ J apd one continues his history to upwards of thirty years after our Lord's ascension ; and relates many inter- esting particulars of the lives, the sufferings, and the doc- trine of the apostles, the subjects of their preaching, the miracles which they performed, and the success of their mission. But neither the history nor the discourses of Christ, nor those of his apostles for thirty years after his ascension, contain the least hint of his pre-existent state and dignity. But how can this total silence be explained and account- ed Sect. S.J THE PRE-EXISTENCE OF CHRIST. li- ed for, if the popular doctrine concerning the pre-existence and divinity of Christ is true ? Is it credible, or even pos- sible, that three persons, in diiFerent places and at different times, should undertake to write the history of Christ, each meaning to communicate all that was necessary to be known, with their minds fraught with the overwhelming idea that the person whose history they were about to write was a superior Being, a great angel, the Creator of the world, or the Almighty God himself in human shape, and that the belief of this great mystery was necessary to the salvation of their readers ; and yet through the whole of their narrative should abstain from mentioning or even glancing at this stupendous fact ? How would a modern Arian or Trinitarian have acted in similar circumstances? Would he have left his readers under the impression which necessarily results from the perusal of the three first evan- gelical histories and that of the Acts, viz. that the founder of the christian faith was a man like to his brethren, and only distinguished from them as the greatest of the pro- phets of God, who had been raised from the dead and exalted to the right-hand of the Most High ? — That six of the writers of the New Testament should have observ- ed such a profound silence upon a subject of which their hearts must have been so full, and with which their ima-' gination must have been so overpowered, may well induce .a considerate mind to pause, and to reflect whether this could have happened if Jesus of Nazareth were in truth a being of high, perhaps the highest order in the universe? Athanasius, Chrysostom and others accounted for this extraordinary silence from the great prudence of the evan- gelists, and their unwillingness to give offence to the new converts ; but this is a supposition which will not now satisfy an inquisitive mind i. ' See Dr. Priestley's History of Early Opinions, book iii. chap. 4, 5,6. The 12 TEXTS SUPPOSED TO ASSERT [Parti. The evidence therefore of the pre- existence and supe- rior dignity of Christ must rest upon the testimony of John and Paul. And if it appears that these apostles were au- thorized to supply the defects of their predecessors, and that their testimony to the received doctrine is clear and unequivocal, it must without doubt be admitted. But observe, they never declare nor hint that they were authorized to teach any new doctrine concerning the per- son of Christ : nor do they lay down any such doctrine , to be received as an article of faith. If they say any thing upon the subject, it is in an--incidental way, and not as if they were introducing any strange and astonishing disco- very. It is further to be observed, that the style of these two writers is in many instances highly figurative. In the gospel of John our Lord sometimes uses metaphors of the most obscure and offensive kind, such as ' eating his flesh* and ' drinking his blood,' to express the reception of his doctrine. Chap. vi. 56. And Paul in his epistles introduces many harsh and uncommon figures, viz. ' We are mem- bers of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones,' to express the union of true believers under Christ as their head. Eph. V. 30. It is therefore reasonable to expect that such writers will use figurative language concerning Christ ; and it is peculiarly necessary, in reading their writings, to distinguish carefully between what is literal and what is figurative. With regard to the apostle Paul, it is worthy of remark that little or no evidence is pretended to be produced from his larger epistles, in favour of the popular doctrine con- cerning the person of Christ. Few proofs are alleged from the episde to the Romans, the two to the Corinthi- ans, that to the Galatians, the two to the Thessalpnians, or those to Timothy, Titus, or Philemon. The principal appeal is to the epistles to the Philippians and Colossians, which Sect. S.j THE PRE-EXISTENCE OF CHRIST. IS which are figurative throughout beyond all others ; and to the epistle to the Hebrews, the a'uthor of which is doubt- ful, and in which the writer indulges himself in an inge- nious, but forced and fanciful analogy between the Mosaic institute and the Christian dispensation. Is it possible to believe that this stupendous doctrine, if it were true, would be found clearly expressed in no other part of the sacred writings but in the mystical discourses of the evangelist John ; in two of the obscurest epistles of Paul ; and in the epistle of another unknown writer ? Surely, if it were fact that Jesus of Nazaretl^ was truly God, or the Maker of the world in a human shape, it is a fact that would have blazed in every page of the New Testament ; and would never have been mentioned by the sacred writers but with the most evident marks of astonishment and awe. Persons who have not much attended to the subject, and who have been educated in the belief of these extra- ordinary doctrines, are surprised when they come to learn how few passages of Scripture can be produced in favour of the pre-existence and divinity of Jesus Christ. The truth is, that these texts, so few in number, are so often cited and repeated, and insisted upon, that they occupy a very prominent place in the memory and imagination, and are commonly thought to be much more numerous, clear and decisive, than in fact they are. Like the stars in the firmament, they dazzle the eye of the superficial spectator, and excite the ideas of number and magnitude far beyond the reality. The eye of reason, aided by philosophy, dimi- nishes their number, deprives them of their glare, and reduces them to their true proportion 2. •See Dr. Priestley's History of Early Opinions, vol. i. Introd. sect. 1, 2. vol iii. book iii. chap. 0,7. Dr. Carpenter's Letters to Mr. Veysie, letter 2, The 14 TEXTS SUPPOSED TO ASSERT [Part I. I. The first passage which is alleged as decisively proving the pre-existence of Jesus Christ, is John i. 1 — 14. " In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." &c. The expression Word, or Logos as it stands in the ori- ginal, has been understood in a great variety of senses, ac- cording to the different hypotheses which have been enter- tained concerning the person of Christ. 1 . The early platonizing christian writers conceived the Logos to be the intelligence of God personified, or con- verted into a real person, and united to a human soul 3. 2. The proper Trinitarians assert that the Logos is truly God, necessarily derived from the Father, but of the same nature with him, and in all respects equal to him. This is the doctrine held by bishops Bull and Horsley, Dr. Wa- terland, and others. 3. Others maintain that the Logos, or Word,. is the first and greatest of created beings, in whom the fulness of the godhead dwells, and with whom the divine nature is so intimately united, that he is truly and properly one with God. This is the hypothesis of Dr. Thomas Burnet, Dr. poddridge, and many other learned men. 4. Dr. Clarke, and those who have been called Semi- Arians, maintain that the Logos is a being uncreated, but from all eternity begotten, i. e. in some incomprehensible manner derived from the will and power of the Father, possessed of all divine attributes, self- existence alone ex- cepted, and the delegate of the Almighty in the creation, support, and government of the universe ; that he as- sumed human nature, and animated the body of Christ. ^ See Priestley's History of Early Opinions, vol. ii. book ii. chap. 5. Lindsey's Second. Address to the Students at the two Universities, chap, ii, 5. The Sect. S.J THE PRE-EXISTENCE OF CHRIST. 15 5. The Arlans affirm that the Logos is the first and greatest of created beings, delegated by the Father to be the Maker and Governor of this world, or system, or of all worlds and systems, and the medium of all the divine dispensations to mankind. He became incarnate to redeem the world, and animated the body of Christ. This is the hypothesis supported by Dr. Whitby in his Last Thoughts; also by Mr.Whiston, Mr. Emlyn, Dr. Price, and many others. 6. An opinion has been taken up by some learned moderns, that the Logos is merely a spirit of an order su- perior to mankind, who assumed human nature in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, but who had no concern in the formation of the world, nor in any of the preceding dispensations of God to mankind. These hypotheses, with the arguments for and against them, will be stated more at large in the Second Part of this Inquiry. Y. Many have maintained that the word Logos means the wisdom and power of God, by which all things were originally made, which attributes were eminently display- ed in the mission, doctrine, miracles, and character of the man Jesus. This is the explanation advanced and approved by Grotius, Lardner, Lindsey, Priestley, and most of the modern Unitarians. According to this interpretation of the word, Mr. Lind- sey, in his List of False Readings and Mistranslations, p. 40, has given the following new translation of the proem to John's gospel : " In the beginning was wisdom, and wisdom was with God ; and God was wisdom. The same was in the be- ginning with God. AH things were made by it, and without it was nothing made. In it was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. « There 16 TE3CTS SUPPOSED TO ASSEkt (^Part L " There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the light, that all men through him might believe.. He was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of that light. That was the true light which came into the world, and enlighteneth every man. i " It, i. e. divine ivisdom, was in the world, and the world was made by it, and the world knew it not. It came to its own land, and its own people received it not. But as many as received it, to them it gave power to become the sons of God, even to them who believe on its name. Who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. " And wisdom became man and dwelt among us, and we beheld its glory, the glory as of the well beloved of the Father, full of grace and truth." Mr. Lindsey argues at large in favour of this interpre- tation in the third chapter of the Sequel to his Apology; and Mr. Wakefield in his Translation of the New Testa- ment gives the same sense. This interpretation is supposed to be favoured by Solo- mon's description of wisdom, Prov. viii.; — by the use of the word Logos in the Old Testament for the wisdom and power of God ; see Psalm xxxiii. 6 ; — by the cus- tom of the Chaldee paraphrasts in using the Word of God for God himself; see Isa. xlv. 12 ; xlviii. 1 3. Gen. i. 27 ; iii. 8 ; and Lindsey's Sequel, p. 380. — And lastly, it ap- pears that Philo and other platonizing philosophers in or near the apostolic age used the word Logos t;o express the personification of the divine attributes. Against this interpretation the following objections have been urged : 1.] That the word ' beginning' (apxvi), though often occurring in the writings of John, alinost uniformly signi- fies the beginning of our Lord's ministry, or of the new dispensation ; Sect. 3.J TH£ FRI-IXISTENCE OF CHRIST. 17 dispensation ; and very seldom, if ever, the beginning of the world ; much less does it express duration from eter- nity 4. John vi. 64, " Jesus knew from the beginning who it was that would betray him." Chap. xv. 27, " Ye have been with me from the beginning ^." 2.] It does not appear that the word Logos is ever used for wisdom (a-o^nx) in the Old Tesiament. When it is said that the heavens were made by the word of God, the allusion appears to be to the account of the creation in the book of Genesis, where every thing comes into existence at the command of God. " He spake, and it was done." Psalm xxxiii. 9. S.] The expression " all things," (7r«vra,) in the wri-< . tings of John, never signifies the created universe. 4.] The word y/vo^«/, which is translated to be made, occurs nearly seven hundred times in the New Testament, and more than a hundred times in the writings of this evan- gelist ; but it is no where used in the sense of creation 6. 8. Another interpretation of the Logos has been pro> posed, which is less liable to objection. The Logos is the man Jesus Christ by whom God hath spoken to the worlds the teacher of truth and righteousness. * The history of John beginning with the same words as the history of Moses, Genesis i. 1, has induced many to infer that they espreM the same date^ though no conclusion can be more precarious. * The word af j^ij occurs six times in the gospel (jf John (besides twice in the prucm), and eleven times in his epistles: in all which places it clearly expresses the beginning of the gospel ; exceptin g chap. li. 11, where it is used for the tirst miracle ; and chap, viii, 44, and 1 John iii. 8, in which places the devil is said to have been from the be- ginning a liar and murderer. The other texts where the word occurs arc, John vi. 64; viii. 25 ; xv. 27 ; xvi. 4. 1 John i. 1 ; ii. 7, 13, 14, 24j iii. 11. 3John,5,6. See Simpson's Essays on Language of Scrip- ture, Ess. vii. * Heb. iv. 3 ; xi. 3. James iii. g ; have b.een alleged as exceptions : but they will all admit a fair interpretation without assigning to the word yjvoju.ai so unusual a sense. Simpson, ibid. p. 27. See Improved Version, in loc. c This 18 TEXTS SUPPOSED TO ASSERT [Part I. This was the interpretation of thePolish Socinians : it was adopted by Hopton Haynes, the friend of Sir Isaac Newton^ and has lately been revived with some modifications, and defended, by Mr. J. Palmer, of Birmingham, in the Theo- logical Repository, vol. vii. ; by Mr. Cappe, in his Dis- sertations ; by Mr. Simpson, in his Essays ; by Dr. Car- penter, in his Reply to Mr. Veysie ; and it is adopted in the Improved Version. It is a considerable presumption in favour of this inter- pretation, that it harmonizes with the introduction to tlie first epistle of John, which is a kind of comment upon the proem to the gospel, which contains many of the same or similar expressions, and which is universally under- stood of the person of Christ. 1 John i. 1, 2. " That which was from the begin- ning, which we have heard, which we saw with our eyes, which we have looked upon, or beheld, which our hands have handled, of -the word of life. And this LIFE was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear wit- ness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was WITH the father,' and was manifested to us." Ver. 5, " God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another." It is impossible not to remark the similarity of phrase between the epistle and the gospel ; the words ' begin? ning,' ' word,' ' life,' ' light,' « darkness,* &c. occurring in both. But it is plain that the Word of life and light, which from the beginning was heard, and seen, aid touched, and manifested, and home witness to, in the epistle, is Jesus Christ : and therefore it is Jesus Christ to whom the same or a similar phraseology is applied in the gospel. The Sect. S.3 THE PRE-EXISTENCE OF CHRIST, 19 The following is the translation and exposition of the passage, upon this hypothesis. Ver. 1. "In the beginning 7 was the Word », and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god 9." From the commencement of his public ministry, Jesus was a teacher of truth and life. And as Moses was w-ith God in the mount to receive the law, (Exod. xxxiv. 28 ;) so Jesus withdrew from the world, into the wilderness or elsewhere, to receive his instructions and qualifications from God. And being a prophet of the highest order. ' Or from thejirst. See Cappe's Diss. vol. i. p. 10; and Simpson's Essays, No. vii. p. 5. Improved Vers, in loc. See p. IJ, note 4. * i. e. Jesus, the person by whom God spake to mankind. Hence, Rev. xix. 13, he is called the Word of God: and 1 John i. ], the Word of Life; because he taught the doctrine of eternal life. Our Lord appears to be denoted hy the same title, J-uke i. 2, They who from the beginning wereeye- witnesses, and ministers of the Word. And 9gain, Luke iv. 36, And they were all amazed and spake, saying, T(ff Aoyoj oJrofj Qualis est hie doctor?. Who is this Word, or teach- er? See Schleusner in verb. Christ is called Life, because he is the teacher of Life ; Truth, because he is the teacher of Truth; the Way, because he teaches the Way of righteousness ; the Light, because he introduces Light into the world : so he is called the Word, because he teaches the Word or doctrine of God. ' In the Scriptures the word God is applied; 1st, To prophets who were commissioned to deliver messages from God. John x. 35, " He called them gods, to whom the word of God came." — ^2aly, To a prophet who was authorized to work miracles. Exod. vii, 1, "The Lord said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh, and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet." Here Aaron is to deliver the message, but Moses to perform the miracle. — Sdly, To magistrates, and persons in high civil authority. Psalm Ixxxii. 1, " God standetJi in the congregation of the mighty ; he jndgeth among the gods." See also ver. 6. Exod. xxi. 6; xxii. 8, p. Deut. x. 17. 1 Sam. xxviii. 13. In all these senses the title God might with peculiar propriety be applied to Jesus, for to him was communicated the Spirit without measure : John iii. 34. And when asked by Pilate whether he was a king ; he replied, " I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause I came into the world." John xviii. 37. Crellius conjec- tured that the true reading of the original was ©es, " the word was God's;" but this conjecture, though ingenious and not improbable, yet, being unauthorized by manuscripts, versions, or quotations ineccle- siastical vvriters, is inadmissible, c 2 to so TEXTS SUPPOSED TO ASSERT H-iHi i> to whom the divine will was fully revealed, who was en- dued in a very superior degree with miraculous powers, and who was appointed Lord and Kingj in that new dis- pensation which he was authorized to introduce to super- sede the Mosaic covenant, he is for these reasons, in the well known phraseology of the Jewish scriptures, entitled to be called a god, though obviously in a sense infinitely below that in which the same expression is applied to the Supreme Original Being. Ver. 2. " This Word was ia the beginning with God 10." Before he appeared in public, from the very cora- njencement of his ministry, he had intercourse with God, and was called, and qualified by him, for his high and important office. Ver. 3. " All things ii were done 12 through him '3^ and '" The stress in this clause appears to lie upon the words ev ap%7» ' in the beginning,' or ' at first.' Jesus did not obtrude himself into his high office without a proper call. He did not appear in public till he had been fully instructed, qualified, and di-sciplined for his great un- dertaking. Compare Heb. v. 5, " Christ glorified not himself to be made a high priest, but he that said unto him. Thou art my son, this day have 1 begotten thee." " Jll ihings] (iravrtx,), i. e. all things which concern the new dis- pensation which Jesus was commissioned to introduce. This word is often used in a restricted sense, and in this sense in particular 1 John ii. 20, " Ye have an unction from the holy One, and know all things." See also Johnxiii, 3> xiv. 6; xvi. 13. 2 Pet. i.3,4.Eph. i. 8, 21, 22. Acts i. 1. '• If^eTe done] (eysvsT'o ). Though y(vo|xa; never signifies ' to create," yet, as Mr. Cappa observes, (Crit Rem. vol. i. pag. 39,) it is a word of very general signification : it signifies ' to be,,' 'to" come to pass,' ' to be done," as well as ' to be made.' John xv. 7, '• Ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." xix. 36, " These things were done (syivsro), that the Scripture might be fulfilled." See 'also Matt. V. 18 ; vi. 8 ; xxi. 42 ; xxvi. 6. Improved Version in loc. ; and Dr. Carpenter's Letters to Veysie, p. 79. Mr. Cappe renders the text, " All things were by him, and without him was not any that has been," Mr. Simpson, (Diss. vii. p. 45,) " All things were formed by him ; all the regeneration of mankind which the Gospel produced was effected by his instrumentality." He observes, p. 28, that "though the Sect. 3.] THE PRE-EXIST£NCE OF CHRFST. 81 and without him not a single thing was done, which hath been done'*." Every thing relating to the introduction of 'the new dis- pensation has been accomplished, either by Jesus himself, or by his apostles and messengers, who derived their com- mission and powers from him, and who performed nothing without his express warrant and authority. Ver. 4. " By him was life ^^, and the life was the light of men." Jesus is the revealer of a future life by a resurrec- thc apostle John never uses yivo/xaf for proper creation, yet he often employs it to denote a change of state, condition, or properties." Dr. Carpenter well remarks, that " the common rendering of ver. 3, * all things were made by liira ;' and of ver. 10, ' the world was made by him,' has perhaps more than any thing contributed to establish in the minds of the unlearned the Trinitarian or the Arian hypothesis concerning our Saviour," viz, that he was the Creator and Former of the material universe. " Through him,'] Si' aure, ' through his instrumentality.' He was the mediator of the new covenant : the only medium of the christian dispensation : the only person who derived his instructions and powers immediately from God. His apostles derived their authority, qua- lifications and powers from him. John xv. 26, " When the advocate is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father." Ver. l6, " Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you and appointed you." Acts ii. 32, 33, " Jesus, having received from the Father the promise of the holy spirit, has poured forth this," &c. '* Not a single thing, (sfc.'] bSb ky 6 fsyovey. See Campbell. The apostles derived all their powers from Christ, and could do nothing without him, John xv. 5. Compare ver. 4, " As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abide in the vine ; so neither can ye, unless ye abide in me." — He was probably personally present w th, and oci casionally he visibly manifested himself to, his apostles in the course of their ministry : Matt, xxviii. 20. They worked miracles in his name : Acts iii. 6; ix. 34, He converted Paul, appeared to him re- peatedly, and directed his missionary journeys : Acts ix 5 ; xviii. ^. 2 Cor. xii. S, g. See also Rev. i, 1. ■* By him was life.'] ,Iohn vi. 69, " Thou hast the words of eternal life." 1 John v. 11, " This is the -record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his son." Hence our Lord calls himself " the Resurrection and the Life," John xi. 25. " The Way, the Truth, and the Life," John xiv. 6. In like manner, and for like reasons, he ift called " the Light," John viii. 12 j xii. 35, 36, See Csppe, p. 43, 44* Imp. Ver. in loc. tion 22 TEXTS SUPPOSED TO ASSERT [_Part.I tion from the grave ; and this heavenly doctrine is the principal means of instruction, reformation, and comfort to mankind. Ver. 5, ^' And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness hath not overtaken it 16." This glorious light which Jesus kindled, and which diflFuses its beams over a benighted world, still continues to shine. It is not yet extinguished, nor ever shall be. Ver. 6, 7, S, 9. " A man, whose name was John, was sent from God '7 . This man came for a testimony, to bear witness concerning the light, that through him all might believe. He was not the light, but sent to bear witness of the light. The true light was that which, being come into the world ^^, is enlightening every man." John the Baptist was divinely commissioned to announce the approach of a greater prophet, whose beneficent errand it would be to enlighten and to bless the human race. John, though he was himself a burning and a shining light, equal to any o^ the prophets who preceded him, was not. nor did he ever profess to be, any thing more than the humble harbinger of a far greater prophet t* Darkness hath not overtaken it."] a xafsXaSiv. Compare ver. Q. 1 John ii. 8. " The word i(.a.fa,\anSa,vta is often used of the day and night ahd their vicissitudes." See John xii. 35, ' Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you :' and 1 Thess. v. 4. See Cappe's Crit. Rem. ibid. p. 46. Some render the words " the dark- ness comprehended it not," — mankind in general did not understand the true nature of it. Simpson'.ij Essays, p. 45. " " To be sent from God," is to be a prophet, to come to men with a divine message. If John was sent from God, it implies that he had been previously tvith God, to be instructed by him. This explains the phrase in verses 1 and 2, where it is said that the Word, Jesus, was with God. See Cappe, p. 23. " That which being come.'] Cappe and Campbell read he who, &c., as being more intelligible, though not exactly corresponding with the original. For the trajection, see Campbell's valuable note. True, is often used in Scripture to signify great, illustrious, excellent. Cappe, ibid. p. 48. Everyman, i. e. Jew and Gentile, all nations, Jebn xii. 32, Acts xvii. 30. 1 Tina. ii. 4. Rom. ii, 10, Heb, ii, g. Cappe, ibid. who Sect. 3.]] THE PRE-EXISTENCE OF CHRIST. 29 who was to succeed. That great prophet is Jesus of Na- zareth, who, havmg risen like the sun upon a benighted world, is to this hour, and will ever continue to be, dif- fusing light, and hope, and happiness to all of every na- tion, Jew or Gentile, who are willing to receive the benefit of his beautiful and cheering rays. Ver. 10. " He was in the world i9, and the world was enlightened by him ^o, yet the world knew him not." Jesus appeared in public ; to all without distinction he proclaimed '® The world.'] MiTfuos per metonymiam significat incolas orbis ter- rarum «) generatim, universum genus humanum : |S) speciatim, magnam hominum multitudinem, &c, Schleusner in verb. — This word occurs upwards of a hundred times in the writings of John, but seldom if ever in the sense of the visible creation, or the material world, Simpson, p. 35. And as it is said that the world knew him not, it is evidently to be understood here of intelligent beings, of cdankind in general. lb. p. 37. " JVas enlightened ly him.'] With some hesitation I adopt the method of supplying the ellipsis, proposed by my learned and ingenious friend Dr. Carpenter in his Letters to Mr. Veysie, p. 79- ?• d. eysvefi 6 xoir[tos 'i/s(pwn.uT'os, when the' proselyte is made, ye make him &c." This gives a better sense than the common translation, " the world was made by him," if understood of the new moral creation. For in that case it would not be strictly true that the world knew him not. For the new-created world did know him, and acknowledge his authority. But the world might be enlightened by Christ, and at the same time might refuse to derive benefit from him, or to submit to his claims. They shut their eyes against the light, and chose darkness because their deeds were evil. Mr. Simpson indeed obviates this objection by observing, that verbs which signify the simple act or effect, sometimes express only the design and tendency, and at other times the endeavour or using means : q. d. The tendency of his doctrine was to reform the world. Ibid. p. 38. This is ingenious, and may be just j but the other inter- pretation seems to suit the connexion bett&r. Mr. Simpson's own translation is : " He was in the world, and the world was formed by him, yet the world knew him not." Which he paraphrases thus :'" He was publicly conversant with men j many were reformed by him ; and he imparted the best means of renovating the 24 TEXTS SUPPOSED TO ASSERT [Part I. proclaimed his heavenly doctrine : but, though a few well ditjjosed p.ersons received his message and became his fol- lowers, the bulk, of munkind disregarded his declarations, and rejected his authority. Ver. 1 1 , 1 2, J 3. " He came into his own country *i, and his countrymen received him not. Nevertheless, to as many as received him, and believed in his name, he granted the privilege of becoming children of God. Who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of Godss." The ministry of Jesus was exercised in Galilee drid Judea, among his own countrymen the Jews. These in general rejected his credentials with disdain. A small number, however, who were of a better temper, acknow- the human race, yet mankind in general did not believe in him." Ibid. p. 46. Mr. Cappe gives quite a new turn to the passage. He translates the text; " He was in the world, and the world was made for him." g. d. ^' He was foi; some time freely and publicly conversant among his countrymen, preaching the word of God; — yet, though the Jewish dispensation was calculated to excite the expectation of him at this time, to reveal him, and recommend him, &p. ; that world, the sub- jects of the Jewish dispensation, to whom such advantages in this respect had been vouchsafed, knew him not." "Cappe, ibid. p. 10. - Of this interpretation the learned and excellent writer gives a very particular and ingenious vindication, p. 50 — 62. But though he has brought abundant evidence to prove that Sicx, with a genitive sometimes expresses the final cause, I nevertheless feel some reluctance to un- derstand it in this passage in a sense so unusual, when the construction does not require it, and a very good and obvious sense can be given without it'. L'ut the intelligent reader will foim his own judgement which of these interpretations is to be preferred. It may not be amiss to remark, en patsanl, that the evangelist by this form of expression, c v.atr^i. vi. 58. Jam. i. 17; iii. 35, 17- LeClerc. " If ' ascending up to heaven' is not to be taken literally, neither is • descending from heaven' to be understood of a local descent. For the Son of Man, as it is here asserted, could not come down from heaven, where he had confessedly never been." Lindsay's Sequel, p. 2I6, '* Compare James i, 17, " Every good gift is from above, and Cometh down from the Father of light." iii. 15 — 17j " This wisdom dascendeth not from above j .... but the wisdom that is from above- iis first pure," Sec. " E cotlo descendit yywfli (Tsatrtv." — Juvenal. " Audire desidero coelo aliquid lapsum." Arnobius, lib. ?. It is observable that Mark and Luke relate this incident of the ap- plication of the elders to demand our Lord's authority, and the reply of Jesus concerning John's baptism, in the same words as Matthew, as if they had been solicitous to notify to their readers that descending from heaven Signifies nothing more than coming with divine authority. Mark xi. 27- Luke xx. 1. the Bedt. 3.] THE PRE-EXISTENCE OF CHRIST. 33 the second is literal. Good writers do not in grave dis- course capriciously change the meaning of their words : and in this case there is no necessity to suppose a change. On the contraryj the sense is perfectly clear^ intelligible and apposite without it. It is replied, that it is no uncommon thing, in two an- tithetic clauseSj for the same word to be taken in its pri- mary sense in one clause, and figuratively in the other. Many instances of this kind, it is said, occur in the New Testament, of which 1 Thess. v. 4, et seq. is referred to as an example : " Ye are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief 33," and the like* But it may be answered that such a change, in the meaning of the same word in the same sentence with- out notice, is not common, nor to be admitted without necessity. 3. " Who is in heaven.** This clause is omitted in the Vatican and some dther manuscripts. '' This objection to the common interpretation of the second clause of the text in John, from the change of the sense of an important word without any notice or necessity, though so obvious and forcible, is not, that I recollect, raentidned by any critic but Raphelius, whose Words I transcribe. Praef. ^17- " Coronidis loco objectloni cuidam adhuij reijporlderidum est. Sci- licet facile quisquam putet, si ascendere in coelurh idem sit quod scire inysteria divina, opposituni descendere, idem fore quod nwcire. Ad Ijuam objectiouem respondit Dunnhauerus quod ejus nulla sit sequela, ^uia nihil sit insolitum inter duas voces oppositas, unam proprie, al- teram figtirate, accipi. Non probavit banc suam thesin exemplis, tjuoniam oper* pretium baud esse duxit : cum plurima ejus rei occur- rant in S. Codice. Unicum solummodo allegabo, 1 Thess. v. 4. seqq. iibi in Una oraiione dax voces «oa?dtque dies modo proprie modo impro- p'rie accipiuntur, tlti facile intelliget qui verba Pauli debita animi con- Siderabit attentione." It is singulitr that, if examples afe so numerous, only one should be produced. Albany rate this chaqge of signification is not to be admit- ted without obvious necessity. It is a fair remark, that if ' ascendibg t-o heaven ' signifies knowing the divine counsels, ' descending from D heaven' 54 TEXTS SUPPOSED TO ASSERT [Part 1. manuscripts, and is at least of doubtful authenticity. See Griesbach ; and the Improved Version. Of those who receive it as genuine, the believers in the deity of Christ understand it as expressing his om* nipresence34. Arians and Socinians translate the words, " who was in heaven. " So John ix. 25, " Whereas I was blind, now I see35." The Arians understand the clause of the pre-existence of Christ ; the Socinians^ of his translation to heaven after his baptism. The Unitarians in general consider it as a continuation of the figure or allegory in the first and second clauses : heaven' may signify not knowing them. But the- figure is preserved if the person spoken of ascends to learn heavenly truths, and descends to communicate them. And this sense is confirmed by the language of Jesus concerning John's b<-iptism : Matt. xxi. 25. . '* Who is in heaven,'] as " he is now present there by bis divine na- ture, which fills both heaven and earth." Doddridge. See Whitby. "'O CUV svTiu apayai, who was in heaven. Compare chap, ix, 25, fU(pXos m, aprt fiXsitua' and chap. i. 1 8, The only begotten Son, o ouv ets tw v.o\itw, who is or was in the bosom of the Father. " This," says Dr. Harwood. (Soc. Scheme, p. 32,) " is so direct, positive, and solemn an assertion of the pre-existence of our Saviour from the mouth of our blessed Lord himself, that I see not what criticism can evade it. The ancient Socinians indeed framed a hypothesis that oilr Lord after his baptism was caught up into heaven. But this journey to paradise, 'which has so much the air of a, Mahometan tale, has no existence in the sacred page. "^" Nothing can be more unreasonable and ground- les|," says Dr. Clarke, (Script. Doct. p. 84, No. 574,) " than the Socinians' interpretation of this passage, who feign that Christ was taken up into heaven, as Moses of old into the mount, to receive his instructions, and then came down again to preach. " Perhaps a So- cinian might justly retort upon these learned divines, that his fiction is at least as probable as the Arian fiction of a created Logos, who, being invested with such stupendous powers as to supersede the Deity himself in the creation, support, and government of the universe, re- duced himself afterwards, by a metamorphosis more wonderful than any recorded by the Roman poet, to the condition of a senseless and helpless infant. But it is time to abstain from harsh language and in- jurious reflections. These are not the weapons by which this important contest is to be decided, and the battle won. *' The Sect. 8.3 THE PRE-EXISTENCE OF CHRIST. S5 ** The Son of Man, who Is in heaven, ■who is instructed in the gracious purposes of God to man^^." The true sense of the whole text may therefore be ex- press.ed thus : No one has ever been admitted to a participation of the divine counsels, except the Son of Man, Jesus of Naza- reth, who has been commissioned to reveal the will of God to men, and who is perfectly instructed and quali- fied for this office. This text seems to be exactly parallel to John i. 1 8, "No man hath seen God at any time : the only -begotten Son, who is in the bosom of his Father, he hath declared him." q. d. No one knows the purposes of God, but his faithful servant and messenger Jesus Christ, who is in- structed in his counsels, and has revealed his will. To the same purpose, Matt. xi. 27, " All things are delivered to me by my Father, and no man knoweth the Son but the Father, neither knoweth any man the Father save""the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him." q. d. The Father has communicated to the Son his whole will ; and no one knoweth the extent of the Son's commission but the Father. Nor is any. one instructed in the mind and will of God but the Son, and those who are taught by hira^?. '° This interpretation of the text is not peculiar to the Unitarians. Le Clerc says, " II faut expliquer c&ci coaime Texpression monler au .del: c'est i. dire, de la connoissance que Notre Seigneur avoit regue des secrets du ciel. Yoyez ch. i. 18. " Dr. Campbell also refers to the same text, which he explains in a similar way: " By the expression b toy BIS ''<"' M^irciv, ' who is in the bosom of the Father,' is meant not only who is the special object of the Father's love, but who is ad- mitted to his most secret counsels. By tuv ev tw epUvta, ' who is in heaven,' is meant whose abode, whose residence, whose home is there." " See Improved Version, " Monstrat orationis series agi de my* steriis ad salotem Jiumanam pertinentibus, quorum rerelatio Filio est credita." Grotius, See likewise Le Clerc in loc, D 2 From 36 Texts supposed to assert [Part I, From this illustration of the text the following con- clusions are dedticible : 1.3 That the phrase ' to descend from heaven* does not necessarily and universally signify a local descent. '; 2.] That this phrase, according to our Lord's own interpretation and use of it, Matt. xxi. 25, sometimes ex- presses nothing more than coming with a divine com- mission and authority. 3.] It is therefore no perversion of plain language to understand and explain these words in this sense ; the sense in which our Lord himself explained them. 4.3 That from the phrase ' he came down from heaven,* no argument can be derived in favour of the pre-existence of Jesus Christ, unless these words occur in a connexion which makes it absolutely necessary to understand them in a literal and local sense^s. John iii. 31. " He that cometh from above is above all : He that is of the earth is earthy, and speaketh of the earth : He that cometh from heaven is above ^11." ' He that cometh from above,' or ' from heaven/ is he who cometh with a divine commission and authority. ' He that is of the earth' is a teacher who has no pretensions to such authority, — the priests and Levites who instructed the people and expounded the law. Their instructions were falHble and imperfect : those of Jesus, the prophet of the Most High, were infallible and divine. ' '* No stress is laid (though possibly it might .bear an argument) upon the absurdity of the, Jewish notion of a local heaven above the firmament, where God and angels reside, and where Jesus is supposed to have existed previously to his incarnation. Modern discoveries in astronomy amply refute this puerile hypothesis. God is at all times equally and every where present. And heaven is a state, and not a place, To be perfectly viriuous and perfectly happy is to be in hea- ven,, whatever be the bcal situation of the being in question. Or, Sect. 3.] THE PRE-EXISTENCE OF CHRIST. S7 Or, as Mr. Lindsey supposes, perhaps the Baptist may refer to himself and to former prophets and messengers of God, and may mean to speak modestly and dispara- gingly of his own authority and commission from God, in comparison with that of Jesus, which was indeed far more illustrious and divine. See Mr. Lindsey's Sequel, p. 217 ; and Grotius in loc. V. John vi. 33. " The bread of God is that which cometh down from heaven and giveth life to the world." Ver. 35. " I am that bread of life." Ver, 38. " For I came down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me." Ver. 42. " They said. Is not this Jesus the son of Jo- seph, whose father and mother we know ; how is it then that hje saith, I come down from heaven ?" Ver. 62. " What and if you shall see the Son of Man ascend up where he was before ?" As the greatest possible stress is laid by the advocates for the pre-existence of Christ upon the expressions which our Lord uses in this discourse, it is necessary to consider them in their connexion. It has been already proved that ' to come down froni heaven' is a phrase not unfrequently used to express com- ing with divine authority. The only question therefore is, whether there is any thing in the connexion in which thp words occur in this discourse which limits their signi- fication to a local descent. After the miracle of the loaves and fishes, Jesus cross- ed the sea of Galilee ; and the next day the multitude followed him, with a determination to compel him to as- sume the title of king. The miracle he had wrought convinced them that he was the Messiah, and that he was able to deliver their country from the tyranny of the Ro- man S9 TEXTS SUPPOSED TO AssERt [Part L man government. Jesus, knowing their mean and secular views, resolved to release himself from these selfish and unworthy attendants ; and for- this purpose he delivers a discourse which they could not comprehend, and the de- sign of which was to shock their prejudices, to disgust their feelings, and to alienate them from his society. Ver. 25. The multitude, having found him, begin the conversation with the question, " Rabbi, when earnest thou hither ?" Ver. 26, 27. Jesus declines giving a direct answer, and reproves their selfish and secular motives : " Verily, ye seek rae not because ye saw miracles, but because ye ate of the loaves. Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that which endureth to everlasting life, which the Son of Man shall give you, for to him the Father, that is God, hath given his attestation 39," Ver. 28. They then asked him, " What are the works which God requireth us to do ?" Ver. 29. " Jesus answered. That ye believe on hinl whom God hath commissioned." / Ver. 30, 31 . "They replied, What miracle dpest thou, that seeing it we may believe thee? Our fathers ate manna in the desert, as it is written, ' He gave them bread from heaven to eat.' " The Jews , expected that when the Messiah came, he would be made known by some public visible sign from heaven. See Matt. xvi. 1 ; xxiv. 3. 1 Cor. i. 22. This is what the multitude now ask for. Notwithstandingthe great miracle of the loaves, they are not perfectly satisfied till they obtain this visible sign ; which they are the more encouraged to expect, as Moses actually exhibited a sign of this description, viz. the manna which descended from heaven. f See Dr. Campbell's Translation. Ver. Sect. S.] THE PRE-EXISTENCE OF CHRIST. 39 Ver. 32, S3. " Jesus said to them, Moses did not give you that bread from heaven ; but my Father is giving you the true bread from heaven. , For the bread of God is that which is descending from heaven, and giveth light to the world." Jesus here; speaks figuratively. He means the doctrine of eternal life which he was cooMnissioned to teach. But he uses c^biguous language, which the multitude under* stood literally, and expected the immediate descent of some species of food better than the manna which Moses had given to their ancestors. Ver. 34. " They said to him. Master, give us always this bread." Ver. 35 — *0. Jesus now confounds and perplexes their understandings by speaking of himself personally as the promised bread from heaven : *' Jesus answered, I am the bread of life. IJe who com- £th to me shall never hunger, he who believeth on me shall never thirst. All whom the Father giveth me will come to me. But I descended from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. This is the will of him who sent me, that whoever acknowledgeth the Son, and believeth on him, should obtain eternal life, and that I should raise him up at the last day." Jesus is the bread from heaven — but this bread is his doctrine, as all allow, — his person therefore is here put for his doctrine, which like manna comes from heaven. But having mentbned himself personally, he speaks of a personal descent from heaven, that is, as has been already proved, of a divine mission. But the Jews, taking the whole literally, are puzzled to account for his singular and, as they thought, extravagant language. Ver. 41, 42. '* The Jews murmured against him, be- cause he said I am the bread which descended from hea> ven. And they said, Is not this Jesus the son of Joseph, whose 40 TEXTS SUPPOSED TO ASSERT ' [Part I, whose father and mother we know^O; how then doth he say, I descended from heaven ?'* Ver. 43 — 51. Jesus continues to assert the divinity of his mission and the vivifying power of his doctrine, in language still more offensive and unintelligible to the multitude : " Jesus therefore answered, Murmur not among your- selves. No man can come unto me unless the Father who hath sent me draw him, and him I will raise up at the last day. Every one who hath heard and learned from the Father cometh unto me. Not that any man, fexcept him who is from God, hath seen the Father. He that believeth on me hath eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the desert, and died. This is the bread which is descending from heaven, that whoso eateth thereof may not die. I am the living bread which descended from heaven. Whoso eateth of this bread shall live for ever : and the bread which I shall give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world;" Our Lord first states plainly that he had a mission from the Father, and that all who practically believed his doc- ■ trine should be entitled to eternal life. He then expresses the same sentiments in figurative language. Moses gave manna from heaven, he gives bread from heaven — ^those who ate manna were mortal, those who eat his bread are immortal -^nay, he is himself this life-giving, bread-^to be- come immortal they must eat him, his very flesh, which he is ready to impart to them for this purpose. What can this mean, but that he was ready freely to ■"•Observe how currently Jesus is spoken of as the son of Joseph, and as one whose father and mother were well known : and this with- out any remark by the evangelist to caution his readers against the popnlar error concerning his nativity, which surely he would haves done if he had known any thing of our Lord's miraculous cqnceptiori^ especially as he had omitted that fact in his history, impart Sect. S.j THE PRE-EXISTENCE OF CHRrsT. 41 impart his heavenly doctrine? But the Jews, understand- ing him literally, are lost in astonishment at the extrava- gance of his discourse. Ver. 52. " The Jews then debated among themselves, saying. How can this man give us his flesh to eat ?" Ver. 53 — 58. Jesus, knowing their mean and secular motives, and desirous of being forsaken by them, does not condescend to correct their mistake, but proceeds to express himself in language still more offensive and dis- gusting : " I say unto you, Unless ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life, and I will raise him again at the last day. For my flesh is truly meat, and my blood is truly drink. He who eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood abideth in me, and I in him. As the Father liveth who sent me, and I live by the Father, so he that eateth me shall live by me. This is the bread which descended from heaven. It is not like the manna which your fathers ate, for they died. He that eateth this bread shall live for ever." It is universally agreed that the meaning of our Lord in this highly figurative passage is, that the man who re- ceives, digests, and practically improves his divine and heavenly doctrine, shall be raised by him to everlasting life. This doctrine he compares to bread from heaven, from God, far excelling the manna which their fathers ate. He further compares it to his own person, his flesh, his blood ; which bread, which person, which flesh and blood descending from heaven, will make those who eat and drink it immortal. The Jews observing the seriousness and solemnity of our Lord's manner, and understanding his declarations in 4 strict literal sense, are more offended and disgusted than ever, 42 TEXTS SUPPOSED TO ASSERT [[Part f. ever, and resolve to forsake his socfety, probably conceiiT- ing him to be disordered in his mind*' ! Ver. 60. " Many of his disciples having heard- it, said This is hard doctrine, who can bear it?" This is such extravagant unintelligible raving, that it is impossible to endure it any longer. ^ They did not speak out : but Jesus judged from their looks and whisperings what passed in their minds : and in order to fix them in their purpose of leaving him, he adds one more remark in the same strain, which served to confirm them in their former opinion : Ver. 61, 62. "Does this offend you? What then, if you should see the Son of Man ascending thither where he was before 4s?" q. d. Are you so disgusted with what I have said, as to be upon the point of deserting me, after all your pro- fessions *' Our Lord's own friends and near relations suspected him at times to be beside himself. Mark iii. 21 . See 2 Cor. v. 13. And his enemies repeatedly, publicly, and without any regard to decency, charged hira •with insanity. John viii. 48, " Say we not well that thou art a Sama- ritan, and hast a demon ?" 9. d. a blasphemer and a madman. John x. 20, '• Many said. He hath a demon and is mad, Why hear ye him J" - y. d. Why do yon listen to a man that is raving mad } Ver. 21 : " Others said" more justly, " These aVe not the words of him that hath a demon," q. d. of a madman. " Can a demon," q. d. a madman, " open the eyes of the blind ?" See Improved Version, in Joe. **This text has always been considered as the strong hold of Ari- anism, the palmary argument for the pre'-existence of Jesus Christ ; and the glosses as they are called, of the Socinians and Unitarians, by which they evade what is stated to be the plain obvious meaning of the text, are animadverted upon with no light degree of severity. And Unitariaiis themselves have appeared almost to despair of giving- a satisfactory explanation of it. Dr. Price, in the Appendix to his Sermons, p. 392, says : " I must think this text as decisive a declaration of Chri&t's pre-existence by himself as words can well express. Were I, what some of my best friends wish to see me, a Sociniah, I should probably in this case, in- stead of seeming to wrest a plain text, either give it up and own a difficulty, or with a magnanimous openness, like that of Dr. Priestley Sect. 3.] THE PRE-EXIST ENCE OF CHRIST. 43 fessions of regard : What then would you say, if, after having eaten my flesh and drunk my blood, you should see me in my own person ascending up to heaven again, from whence, as I told you, I the bread of life came down ? This language must have appeared to our Lord's self- ish and ambitious followers, who understood it all in a literal sense, more absurd and extravagant than any thing which ithey had heard before ; and would no doubt fix them in their resolution to renounce all connexion with him. It is, however^ highly probable that our Lord still in- tended the same thing by the same figurative expressions. By his person, the Son of Man, he still means his doc- trine. By ascending up where he was before, i. e, to heaven, he still means the knowledge of sublime and mysterious truths, beyond the reach of common appre- hension^; in objecting to the authority of Moses and Paul, question the propri- ety of building an article of faith, of such magnitude, upon the correctness of John's recollection and representation of our Lord's language." But with the permission of this able and candid writer, our Lord's language by no means necessarily implies his pre-existence, even if it should be taken in its literal acceptation : for in this sense it better ex- presses the Socinian hypothesis of a personal ascent to heaven previ- ously to his public appearance, than the Arian notion of a pre-existent Logos. It seems to have escaped the attention of the learned advo- cates for Arianism, that it is the Son of Man, not the Son of God, it is Jesus in his htiman form, that is spoken of as having been in heaven before. There is no occasion, therefore, at any rate, to have recourse to the supposition of a lapse of memory in the evangelist. The in- terpretation proposed above appears to me to explain the text satisfac- torily without the supposition of a local ascent : but it is offered with diffidence to the candid and inquisitive reader, as the author does not recollect to have met with it before, though LeClerc seems to hint at something similar. To the deeply prejudiced, and to those who are not accustomed to judge of the sense of a passage by the connexion and context, it will necessarily appear harsh and unnatural. To the judgement of the calm, serious, and impartial inquirer it is now submitted. The 44 TEXTS SUPPOSED TO ASSERT [Part I. The sense then appears to be this: Are you offended at what I have already taught : What would you say if I were to rpveal truths still more foreign to your conceptionSj, and more offeiisive to your prejudices ? Exactly corresponding with this is our Lord's remark to Nicodemus: John iii. 12, " If I have told you earthly things and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I teil you of heavenly things ? " This will be called a forced interpretation. And it is certainly very different from the plain literal meaning of the words. But it is most agreeable to the connexion. It is nothing more than a continuation of the same allegory, in which, throughout, our Lord's doctrine is represented by him as ' bread from heaven,' as ' living or life-giving bread,' as ' himself,' as ' his own flesh and blood,' which must be eaten and drunk in order to secure immortal life. Seeing the offence which his discourse had already given, what could be more suitable to his design than to add. What if I should speak truths which would be still more obscure and offensive? or, in the language of th? allegory. What if you see me the Son of Man (i. e. my doctrine) ascend to heaven where I was before, i. e. go further out of your reach, and become still more perplexing 3nd mysterious ? Thus the text appears not as an insulated remark un- connected with the context ; but as an observation ap- propriate to the occasion, and couched in language similar to what he had already used ; not more harsh than the tenor of the preceding discourse, but made purposely obscure and offensive, that " seeing they might see and not perceive, and hearing they might hear and not un- derstand." Luke viii. 10. It is obvious to remark that the words taken in this sense have no relation to the pre-existence of Jesus Christ. Alsb, if this be the true interpretation, there is no refe- rence SieCt. S.] THE ?RE-EXISTENCE OF CHRIST. 45 rence in the 62d verse to our Lord's local ascension; nor in the preceding discourse is there any allusion either to his deathj or to his supposed atonement, or to the institution of the eucharist. The whole discourse relates to his divine and heavenly doctrine only. At the conclusion, our Lord suggests a hint that his language was to be taken in a figurative and not in a li- teral sense. Ver. 63. " It is the spirit that giveth life : the flesh profiteth nothing : the words which I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life." q. id. It is the hidden meaning of niy senigmatical dis- course which alone is useful. If you could actually eat my flesh it would do you no good. The doctrine which I teach is that heavenly bread, that flesh and blood, which if received, digested, and reduced to a living principle of action, will lead to everlasting life. This declaration of Christ is a key to the whole pre- ceding discourse. But the selfish and ambitious persons who were in his train were too much disgusted with what they had already heard, to listen to any explanation. They found that Jesus was not the man to take the lead in a po- litical revolution. Their ambitioup projects were disap- pointed, and they abandoned his party. Ver. 66. " From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him." This was what our Lord desired. He was now desert- ed by those who had followed him from mercenary and political motives only. He was no longer teased to assume a secular crown : and he was left in privacy with the apo- ptles and a few others whom he had selected, and whom he gradually instructed and qualified to propagate his gospel in the world. VI. John vi'i. 42. " If God were your Father, ye would love 46 tEXTS SUPPOSED TO ASSERT [Patt L love me ; for I proceeded and am come from God. I came not of myself ; but he sent me." Dr. Whitby and Dr. Doddridge think that in these words there is an allusion to the eternal generation of the Son ; the word s^eKSbiv, to proceed^ not being applied to any other apostle or prophet. But as it is said of Jesus, that ' he was in the beginning with God,' to express his divine instruction and commis- sion, so the expressions ' he proceeded,' or ' came out from the Father ' and came to mankind, very naturally in- dicate that he was the chosen messenger of God to the human race'^^. The last clause explains the preceding. Compare John xiii. 3 J xvi. 27, 28. 30. VII. John viii. 58. " Jesus answered. Verily, verily, I ssky unto you. Before Abraham was born^*, I am." This text is held up as a triumphant argument for the deity, or at least the pre-existence, of Jesus Christ. 1. " I that am truth itself," says Dr. Guyse in his paraphrase upon the text, " assuredly tell you that how young soever I be, yet before Abraham Was born, and, before all worlds, I had a real existence, as the unchange- able I AM, who ordered Moses to speak of me to your fathers under that name." " Something more is implied," says Dr. Sherlock, (Disc. vol. iv. on Philip, ii. 6,) " in the expression I AM, ^ E^i)X6oy KKi-^KM- q. d. e^s\Bujv :^kui, ' a Deo missus sum.* Grotius. See Lardner on the Logos, p. 21. ** Befike Abraham^ was born,^ itptv ASiaafi y^veirflai, syo eifii. So Arrian Epict. irpiH 'lUTeMpccfT) ysvsa-^M, ' before Hippocrates was born.' Eaphel, in loc, who cites other parallel instances from Herodo- tus. IIpiv yevsa-iat ^[/,a.s, '' before we were born.* Platon. Fhaedon. See Wolfius, and Archbishop Newcome. than Sect. &J] THE PRE-EXISTENCE OF CHRIST, 47 than that he had long existed before his comiag into the world ; something peculiar, as we may learn from the original use of the words, they being the very same which God made choice of to express his own eternity and power^ when Moses inquired after his name. Now what could tempt our Saviour to use and apply this expression to himself, when he knew that it had never been applied to any but God ?" ** 1 cannot imagine, " says Dr. Doddridge in his Note upon this text, " that if our Lord had been a mere crea- ture, he would have ventured to express himself in a manner so nearly bordering upon- blasphemy, or have permitted his beloved disciple so dangerously to disguise his meaning." After the solemn appeal of these grave and learned men to this text as a decisive proof of the deity of Christ, who would suspect that, when our Lord made the declaration upon which this important conclusion rests, there is no reason to believe that he had the slightest allusion to the text in Exodus iii. 14,, without which every appearance of argument vanishes away ? The truth is, that the translators of the Old Testament having rendered erroneously a passage in Exodus, and the translators of the New Testament having also mistranslated a text in John ; from a combination of the two, the un- learned or inadvertent reader draws a conclusion still more erroneous and pernicious than either or both the others. When Moses asks by what name he shall describe the Almighty to the Israelites ; God answers him, Exod. iii. 14, "I will be what I will be," — a phrase expressive of the immutability of the divine nature and counsels : which the public version renders, " I am that I am." In the text in John, our Lord says to the Jews, " Before Abraham was born, I was," for so it must be rendered in order to make sense, as expositors generally allow. But the pub- lic 48 TEXTS SUPPOSED TO ASSERT {[Part li lie version renders the words " I am ;" which, being con- nected in idea with the same words in the English version in the book of Exodus, have led to the conclusion that our Lord assumed a title peculiar to the Supreme being : he is therefore God, equal to, or one with, the Father. It is plain that no such inference would have been thought of had the translation of the two passages been more correct. Nor can it be reasonably alleged that the words of our Lord are a citation fronj the Sep.tuagint ver- sion and not from the Hebrew original. For the words in the LXX. are Eyw s;/i/ o flv, " I am the Being." And such would probably have been the words of the evan- gelist, had he intended to express in Greek an allusion to this text, which our Lord had delivered in his native, that is the Syro-chaldaic tongue 45. 2, " Before Abraham was born t existed.'* The present tense of the substantive verb is sometimes used for the past. John xiv. 9, " Have I been (sijjn, am I,) so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me ?" Psalm xc. 2, ~" Before the mountains were brought forth thou wert (o-y bi, thou art,) God." John v. 13, " He that was healed knew not who it was," (r/f so-ti, who it is.) In other verbs the present is also sometimes used for the preterite. John viii. 2,5, " They said to him, Who -^ ^ . ■ i . !■ ■" This supposed allusion of our Lord to the declaration in Exodus IS not noticed either by Calvin or Beza, though the fornier understands it as an assertion of his divine nature. The latter indeed appears td incline to refer the expression to the divine decree concerning Christ as mediator : " Quatenus est oculis fidei visus ab Abrahamo — alioqui lion videretur Clirisius apposite disserere." Neither the LXX. trans- lation nor the Latin Vujgate wotild be likely totlead any one into the same error into which the English version leads an English reader. The I/XX. is cited above The Latin Vulgate reads, " Ego sUra qui sum : sic dices filiis Israel, Qui est misit me ad vos." Indeed the sup- posed allusion of our Lord to the words in Rxodus, is so palpably ground- less, and so completely abandoned by all learned and judicious critics, that one cannot help wondering that so enlightened and liberal a writer as Archbishop NeWcome should have given any countenance to it. art Sect. 3.] THE PRE-E3iISTENCE OF CHRIST. 49 art thou ? Jesus said unto them, Even what I told you at first," (A«Aw, I tell.) See also John xii. 9 ; xv. 27 ; XX. 14 ; xxi. 4. 12. Acts ix. 26*6, The Jews evidently understood the language of Jesus as an assertion of his existence, before the birth of Abraham > for in the paroxysm of their rage they took up stones to stone him as a liar and a blasphemer. This text is regarded by the supporters of the Arian hypothesis as a decisive proof of the pre-existence of *® Newcome in loc. " Eyw eijm,(, prsesens pro imperfecto : eram. sya> nts'Kov, Nonnus. Sic in Graeco. Ps. xc. 2." Grotius.— " I am, that is, 1 was." Bishop Pearce, who observes in his note that the present tense is sometimes used for the preterite, and refers to John viii. 25 ; i. 18. Matt, xxiii. 39. and his notes upon them. " Le present se prend sourent dans I'Ecriture pour I'imparfait, qui est un terns dont les langues Orientales manquent." Le Clerc. — " I assure you in the roost solemn manner, I existed before Abraham drew the breath of life. " Harwood. — " The peculiar use of the present tense in the usage of scriptural expression is to imply determination and certainty, as if he had said. My mission was settled and certain before the birth of Abra- ham." Wakefield. — "The words may be rendered, I was. The present for the imperfect, or even for the preterperfect, is no unusual figure with this writer." Campbell. — " Dixerat prius, diem suam ardenti desiderio expetitum fuisse ab Abraham. Quia hoc Jndaeis in- credibile erat, subjecit se tunc quoque fiiisse." Calvin. The expositors and critics are, almost unanimous in giving to the words eyiu sif/,i the sense of past time. Nevertheless a learned writer in the Theological Repository, vol. iv. p. 350, objects, " If it be said that sy"' ^'F' ™^y ^^ translated / was, this appears to me more easily asserted than proved. Indeed the present tense of eijiw in Greek and of sum in Latin may in some instances be translated have been, but l imagine in those only where the present time is taken in with the past, and a continuance of being is implied." And Dr. Carpenter, in his Letters to Mr. Veysie, p. 246, remarks, that " for the interpretation which requires £ycy sjf*(, lam, to have the sense of / wai, no justifica- tion appears in the writings of John,' at least, if in any part of the New Testament." The learned reader will judge how far the evidence alleged supports the general sense of critics and expositors, that the present tense is here used, to express what is called the imperfect, lam, for I was. It is observable that in the text above cited, John v. 13, the Cam- bridge manuscript for n; srtv reads «; ijv. The Vuljgate, the old I talic, and ^za, translate " quis esset," E Christ ; 50 TEXTS SUPPOSED TO ASSSERT [P^Tt I. Christ ;' ami the Unitarian exposition of it is treated by them with great contempt*?. " The Socinian interpretation of this passage," says Dr. Clarke, (Scrip. Doc. No. 591.) " is very languid and ' unnatural, that Christ was before Abraham in the fore- knowledge and appointment of God. The plain meaning isy that he was really with God in the beginning, and be- fore the world was." This language is rather too confident, especially as the learned advocate of this high-Arian or semi-Arian hypo- thesis has not condescended to state his objections to the Unitarian interpretation. The venerable bishop Pearce has given his explanation of the text in less offensive terms. " What Jesus here says relates, I think, to his existence antecedent to Abraham's days, and not to his having been the Christ appointed or foretold before that time : for, if Jesus had meant this, the answer would, I apprehend, not have been a pertinent one. He might have been appointed. "" Dr. Harwood in his Observations on the Socinian Scheme, p. 42, allows himself great freedom and warmth of language upon this sub- ject. "That plain declaration," says he, "of our Saviour to the Jews, that before Abraham was, he had an existence, will, I think, for ever stand in full force against all the acumen of criticism, and saga- city of refinement, which may be employed to invalidate and explain away its natural and obvious signification. The intei-prelation that our Lord had an existence in the divine decree before Abraham, and that it was before the times of this patriarch fore-ordained that he should appear in such an age and state of the world, is extremely forced and futile, and does not discriminate our Lord from thyself, O reader, who hadst from eternity an existence in the divine decree. It is plain that our Saviour's audience took these words in their natural, acceptation 5 for, upon his asserting to them that he was in being before their great ancestor, they were instantly transported with fury against him as a blasphemer and impostor, and took up stones with a design to murther bim. These actual violences of the Jews prove, I apprehend, better than a thousand inane and chimerical theories, how our Redeemer •was understood, and intended to be understood." After all, notwithstanding this fine declamation, the Jews might, for any thing that appears, misunderstand our Lord's words, as unques- tionably they did, foretold. ^Ct. 3.] THE PRE.EXISTENCE OF CHRIST. 51 foretold, for the Christ ; but if he had not had an existence before Abraham's days, neither could he have seen Abra- ham, nor could Abraham have seen him^s." In his own liberal and gentle spirit. Dr. Price, in his Discourses upon the Person of Christ, p. 135, makes the following observations upon the Unitarian interpretation of this text : " The interpretations which the Socinians give of these texts are such as cannot easily occur to- any plain man; By saying that he existed before Abraham, they think that he only meant that his existence was intended before Abraham : and by the glory which he>had with the Father before the world was, they understand the glory which he had in the divine foresight and appointment before. the world was. 1 must own to you that I am inclined to wonder that wise and good men can satisfy themselves with such explanations. But I correct myself. I know that Christians, amidst their differences of opinion, are too apt to wonder at one another, and to forget the allowances which ought to be made for the darkness in which we are all involved. Sensible of this truth, and hoping to be ex- cused if I should ever express ray conviction in too strong language, I proceed to recite to you some other texts<9." It cannot, I think, be denied.that the words of our Lord in this declaration to the Jews, will, when considered in their grammatical import and construction, bear the sense " The learned prelate conjectures that the evangelist wrote AtpoMy. euipccKS cTB, " did Abraham see thee?" which he thinks would best suit the connexion : but his conjecture is unsupported by any authority, * It is curious to observe how Dr. Clarke, Dr. Price, and Dr. Har- wood are led away by the notion that the Socinian interpretation is languid, forced, and unnatural, without assigning any reason why they think 50, and without reflecting that a sense which, from established associations, may appear most obvious and natural to one, may to an- other, whose train of associations is different, appear forced and far- fetched. The bishop of Rochester (Dr. Fearce) does not fall into this error. which 52 TEXTS SUPPOSED TO ASSERT [Part I. which the Arian expositors annex to them, and in which the Jews appear to have understood them. But against this interpretation it may be alleged, that the word f/ja;, even when used absolutely, very rarely, if ever, expresses simple existence ^o ; that it is not probable that our Lord would have been sO very open and eKplicit upon this high and mysterious subject to his enemies, when he was so reserved to his friends, and does not appear to have hinted it even to his disciples 5' ; that if he had in- tended in this instance to announce his own pre- existence so very explicitly as many believe, he would have taught this extraordinary doctrine more frequently, in a greater variety of phrase, and would have laid greater stress upon it ; and finally that this fact, so solemnly declared, would have been more attended to, and would have made a more permanent and vivid impression. It would have been a subject of general conversation and scrutiny, of ad- miration, or offence. Whereas the idea of such a claim on the part of our Lord vanished immediately. The dis- ciples did not notice it. The Jews did not repeat it. And it is not alleged as a charge against our Saviour that he arrogated this extraordinary attribute. It is probable therefore that Jesus did not mean to be understood in '" " By interpreting s(jw,i as meaning to exist, they take it in a sense different from its most common acceptation, and from the meaning in which it is used in every instance in which it occurs in this very chap- ter-" Simpson's Essay ix. p. 105. *' " Did we not daily experience/' says an excellent writer, (Mr. Lindsey) in the Comment, and Essays, vol. i. p. 408, " the power of prejudice to darken our understandings, and hinder us from seeing the most palpable contradictions, one might be surprised that any could ever suppose our Lord to be so very open and familiar with those Pha- risees, his most bitter adversaries, as to tell them such a wonderful se- cret concerning himself, that he was the I AM, Jehovah, the eternal God, as some construe his words, or according to others, that he had existed with God from the beginning, before the world was, at the same time that he kept his disciples quite in the dark about things so prodigioua and extraoidinary." the Sect. 3.] THE t>RE-EXlSTENCE OF CHRIST. 53 the sense in which the Jews did or pretended to apprehend him, and for which the Arian expositors contend. An- other sense may be given to our Lord's declaration, which is liable to fewer objections, and which is perfectly con- sistent with the proper humanity of Christ. 3. " Before Abram shall become Abraham, I am he" i. ei the Christ. It was promised to Abraham that he should be the fa- ther of many nations ; and, as a pledge of the accomplish- ment of this promise, by special divine appointment his name was changed from Abram to Abraham. Gen. xvii. 4j 5. In this declaration to the Jews, our Lord solemnly avers, that before the accomplishment of this promise to Abraham he appears as the Messiah. This e:splanation of the text was proposed, though not absolutely adopted, by Slichtingius, Wolzogenius, Steg- man, ana others of the old Socinians. It has been revi- ved and defended by a writer in the Theological Reposi- tcay, vol. iv. p. 348 j and Dr, Carpenter, in his Letters to Mr. Veyae, p. 246, expresses his approbation of it. In favour of this interpretation it is stated, 1.) That the ori- ginal word ('yev£ cularly those which relate to the Messiah, and the dispen^ sation of the Gospel 60. Of this language a very remarkable instance occurs, Luke XX. 38. Our Lord argues against the Sadducees the doctrine of the resurrection, from the declaration of God to Moses, Exod. iii. 6, " I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob : for he is not a God of the dead, but of the living." And to obviate the ob- jection that the patriarchs were now in fact dead, he adds, " for all live to him :" that is, As it is the determined purpose of God to raise them to life, they are in his all- comprehending view actually alive. The Gospel and its blessings are represented as peculi- '^» " Nothing is more common with the writers of the New Tes- tament than to represent those things as having had existence from the beginning, which were always designed by God to come to pass, and were promised in the propjiets. And as this was more especially the case m the Gospel, so we find it represented throughout the Scrip- ture as having existed in the eternal counsels of the Almighty." Dr Dawson at Moyer's Lectures, p. 08, 6q. e> / • arly Sect. S.] THE PRK-EXISTENCE OF CHRIST. 61 arly the objects of the divine purpose and decree. Matt. XXV. 34, " Come, and inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." 1 Cor. ii. 7, *' The mystery which God ordained before the world to our glory." Eph. iii. 9, " The mystery which from the beginning of the world has been hid in God." This dispensation and its blessings had been promised and foretold by the prophets. Rom. i. 2, " The gospel of God which he had promised before by his prophets in the holy Scriptures." See_also Acts xxvi. 22, 23. 1 Pet. i. 10, 11. Of this dispensation it was the divine purpose that Jesus should be the publisher, and the medium through which its blessings were to be conveyed to mankind. 1 Pet. i. 20, " Who verily was fore-ordained before the foundation of the world." Acts ii. 23 ; iv. 27, 28. John i. 44. Hence he^as the object of the Father's love — John xvii. 24, " Thoulovedst me before the foundation of the world" — and " had glory with the Father before the world was." ver. 5. And his violent death constituting an essential part of the divine plan, he is represented. Rev. xiii. 8, as " the lamb slain from the foundation of the world." And the happy state of things under the dispensation of the Messiah being thus predestinated in the divine coun- sels, Abraham is represented as having actually seen them two thousand years before the birth of Christ. John viii. 56, " Your father Abraham desired to see my day ; he saw it, and was glad." The prophet Isaiah also " saw his glory," John xii. 41. Believers are " chosen before the foundation of the world, and predestinated to the adoption of children," Eph. i, 4, 5 : " predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things according to the counsel of his own will." ver. 11. And 62 TEXTS SUPPOSED TO ASSERT [Parti* And what is thus predestinated is described as actoaHy accomplished from the beginning of time, 2 Tim. i. 9, " Who hath saved us — according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began." Our Lord describes his apostles as already in posses- sion of the honour which he intended for them. John xvii. 22, " The glory which thou gavest me, I have given them," And the apostle Paul represents virtuous believers in general, as already in possession of that felicity which God in his great wisdom and mercy has ordained for thera^ Rom. viii. 29, 30, " Whom he foreknew he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son ; whom he did predestinate, them he also called : whon^ he called, them he also justified : whom he justified, them he also glorified:" in purpose glorified is archbishop New- come's translation, with whom agree Grotjus, Locke, Doddridge, and others. John v. 24, our Lord declares, " He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life." See also John vi. 47. 54. From this induction it clearly follows that persons^ things, and states of things, are not unfrequently described in the Scriptures both of the Old and New Testament as actually existing, when they exist only in the divine purpose and decree^!. When therefore our Lord de- clares to the Jews, " Before. Abraham was born I was , he" the plain meaning is, I was marked out in the divine counsels as the Messiah. 5.) Though this interpretation is by some expositors rejected with contempt, it is not destitute of support from the authority of many able and learned critics and di- vines ^s." "This," " See Slichtingius and Wolzogenius in Toe* Also Cardale's True Doctrine of N. T. p. 84—92. and Sinapson's Dissert. Essay ix. "* Eyo) Eifii, praesens pro imperfecto,' eram. Syrus. Sic in Graec. Psakn xc, 2-. •' Fuerat autem ante Abrahamum Jesus, in divina con- stitutione." §eCt. 3-3 THE i>RE.EXI3TENCE OF CriRIST. 63 '^This," says Dr. Lardner, (on the Logos, p. 14,) " may be thought a strong text for the pre-existence of our Saviour's soul. But really he there only represents his dignity as the Messiah, the special favour of God to- stitutione." Rev. xiii. 8. 1 Pet. i. 20. Grotius in loc. — " Ego quamvis non existimem Christum hie sirapliciter agere de se, qaatenus Deus est, sed quatenus est oculis fidei visus ab Abrahamo, Dei videlicet homi- num mediator, sive Deus in carne manifestatus, (nam alioqui non videretur Christus apposite disserere,) tamen quia ut mediator consi- derari non potest, nisi vere sit Emmanuel, et hac etiam ratione dicitur agnns a constitutione niundi occisus, imo vero Christus fuisse heri et hodie, putavi servandam esse antithesin." Beza in loc. " Regessit Jesus eos multum falli in sestlmanda aetate Sua : nam, prime, se fuisse ab omni aeiernitate. Secundo, licet tricessimum multis annis superasse non videretur, attamen de se in mundum mit- tendo, longe ante Abrahami tempora, decretum ^ Deo factum esse, quod cum benigne ^ Deo Abrahamo revelatum fuisset, se e& quoque ratione, Abrahamo notum fuisse." Hammond in loc. This reference, by Beza and Hammond, of the existence of Christ as mediator, to an existence in the divine decree, is the more remark- able, as the known orthodoxy of these expositors places them above all suspicion of partiality to Unitarian interpretations. " Priusquam Abraham esset ego sum. Judaeiipsi dicunt, legem ac Messiam longe ante mundum conditum fuisse. Nam quae a Deo de- stinata et constituta sunt, antequam rebus et factis ipsis exhibeantur, apud Deum esse dicuntur. Sic Joannes de vita aeterna dicit : 1 Joh. i. 2. Hinc et Petrum Christum praecognitum dicit ante mundi con- stitulionem." Slichtingius in loc. " Poterat Christus dicere se fuisse ante Abrahamum non actu sed divina praedestinatione ac constitutione. Vid. 1 Pet. i. 20. Atque hie sensus pulchrc convenit cum eo quod Christus supra dixerat Abra- hamum vidisse diem suam. Neqne est quod quis banc responsipnem. vel explicatjonem textus frigidam vocet, propterea quod sic non Chris- tus tantum sed omnia quae in decreto divino fuerunt, fuisse dici pos- sunt antequam Abraham fieret. Observandum enim est Christum non simpliciter dicere se fuisse in Dei decreto antequam Abraham fieret, sed se fuisse Messiam, Itaqae indicat Christus se ad banc dignitatem tam sublimem, longe antequam Abraham nasceretur, Dei decreto esse designatum." Wolzogenius in loc. " Notre Seigneur veut dire qu'il n'est pas surprenant qu' Abraham ait prevu le tems auquel Dieu avoit resolu de leur envoyer son Fils, pareeque le Fils de Dieu etoit avant Abraham. Surquoi les interpretes sont partages. Les uns entendent le verbe J'etoisde la divinite eter- nelle qui a habite en Jesus Christ dans le tems marque par la Sagesse; divine : et les autres, entre lesquels est Theodore de Beza, de I'huma- nite mesme de Jesus Qhrist/ qui etoit dans le decret de Dieu, qui ap- pelle ce qui n'est pas, comme s'il 6toit." Le Clerc in Joe, wards 64 TEXTS SUPPOSED TO ASSERT [Part I. wards him, and the importance of the dispensation by him. It is a way of speaking resembling that in Rev. xiii. 8, " the Iamb slain from the foundation of the world," ex- plained by 1 Pet. i. 20, " who verily was fore-ordained before the foundation of the world." The Jewish people have a saying, that the Law was before the world was created. In like manner, the dispensation of the Messiah was before the dispensation of Abraham in dignity, nature', and design, though not in time." " Before Abraham was born, I was." " I cannot see," says Mr. Cardale (True Doct. of New Test. p. 85,) " that this rendering must necessarily imply either his eternal generation or his actual existence before Abraham. But it should be rather understood, as I conceive, of God's eternal and wise designation or appointment of him to the office and work of a Saviour ; when, in pursuance of an- cient promise and prediction, he should be born into the world, and appear and act as the Messiah, Nor does this appear to me such a low and languid sense as some have represented it ; but the only true, rational, and consistent one, and perfectly consonant to the sacred writings both of the Old and New Testament j where, the spirit of God', who seeth the end from the beginning, often speaks of fu- ture things as already existing, or even as already past, to denote the certainty of their accomplishment." Isa. xlvi. lOjvii. 14. Rom. iv. 17. " Our Lord," says Mr. Lindsey (Sequel, p. 222,) " without regarding the impertinent question of the Jews, goes on to confirm what he had before been saying con- cerning Abraham : ' Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am :' that is, You need not be surprised at what I have asserted of the great account Abraham made of me; for I assure you, that before Abraham himself was born I am he, or the Christ. Not that he actually existed before Abraham, but only in the destination and appointment Sect. 3.] THE PRE-EXISTENCE OF CHRIST. 65 appointment of God, to whom all live who are in any fu- ture time to be brought into being." " Jesus did not say," says Dr. Priestley in his Note upon the Text, ' either that he had seen Abraham, or that Abra- ham had seen him,*but only his day :' All that he meant was, that as the future glory and happiness of the poste- rity of Abraham was connected with his kingdom, and that this had been intimated to Abraham, this kingdom of his must have been intended in the divine counsels be- fore the time of Abraham. Christians are also said to be chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world ; Eph. i. 4 : though it is certain they had no being at that time. But in the eye of God, whatever is to be may be said already to exist. With him a thousand years are as one day, and one day as a thousand years." "It was determined," says Mr. Wakefield, in his In- quiry into the Opinions of Christian Writers, p. 129, *' in the counsels of Providence, before the ages, before Abra- ham was ; that the Messiah should appear, that Jesus of Nazareth should be the Messiah. So the names of tJie true servants of God were written in the book of life from the foundation of the world. Rev. xiii. 8 ; xvii. 8. Events determined are often spoken of in Scripture as already ac- complished. Matt. xvii. 1 1 ; xxvi. 45. This manner of spealdng, with a view to the pre-determinations of the Deity, was customary among the Jews. ' Before the world was created the Lord Jehovah created the Law, he pre- pared the garden of Eden for the just.' Targum of Jona- than on Gen. iii. 24." " In the conversation, of which this clause is a part," says Mr. Simpson in his accurate Essay upon this Text, p. 1 12, " Jesus says/' Your father Abraham earnestly de- sired to see my day, and he saw it, and was glad.' This cannot signify that Abraham was alive while Jesus was speaking, or during any part of his ministry. The apostle I Paul 66 TEXTS SUWOSED TO ASSERT [Part I. Paul will assist us in the interpretation of this passage. Gal. iii. 8, he says, ' The Scripture having foreseen that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, proclaimed before ^lad tidings to Abraham, saying, Through thee all natbns ishall be blessed.' Abraham's seeing the day of the Mes- siah, therefore, means only his having very general. infor- mation of the previous divine purpose and appointment ithat the Messiah should descend from him. In like man- ner, the clause ' Before Abraham was born, I was he,* signifies that previous to Abraham's existence God had appointed that Jesus should be the Messiah. Since every event from the beginning to the end of time, and through- out eternity, is present to the omniscient mind of the Deity, and since every thing which he appoints will certainly come to pass, his original appointments are represented in the language of Scripture as being actually fulfilled before the events really take place." ^ In the explanation of this important text it was thought necessary to be thus particular, because it is in a great measure decisive of the whole controversy : for, if this declaration does not establish the pre-existence of Christ, no other passage can. And the impartial reader will con- sider whether, when our Lord had declared, " Your father Abraham saw my day," meaning thereby in prophetic ■vision ; and when, immediately afterwards, he assigns as a reason, " Before Abraham was born, I was he," it be not most reasonable, and most consistent with the connexion, to understand these words in the corresponding sense, not of real existence, but of existence in the divine purpose. Further, As it appears to have been common with the sacred writers to represent persons and things as actually existing, which existed only in the divine counsels, it fol- lows that wherever Christ or his glory is represented as {existing previously to his appearance on earth, it may ijustly be understood of an existence in the divine purpose and Sect. 3.]| THE PRE-EXISTENCE OF CHRIST. 67 and decree only, unless the connexion necessarily deter- mines it to the contrary signification. VIII. John xiii. 3. *' Jesus knowing that he was come from God and went to God." See No. VI. He came from God as the messenger of his will to man- kind. See John i. 6. He was returning to God, having finished his embassy, to render an account of his mission. Dr. Harwood (Soc. Sch. p. 45,) cites this text as de- cisive in favour of the pre-existence of Christ. Dr. Clarke, with more judgement, appeals to it (Scrip. Doct. No. 51,) only as a proof of the inferiority of the Son. IX. John xvi. 28. "I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world ; again, I leave the world and go to the Father." It is here argued, that as the last clause clearly refers to a local ascent into heaven, so the first and corresponding clause ought in all reason to be understood of a prior local descent from the Father. Hence Arians and Trinitarians argue the pre-existence of Jesus Christ, and the Polish Socinians infer his ascent into heaven antecedently to his public appearance as a messenger from God. On the other hand it has been urged, that " it is fre- quent with the best authors, and with the sacred writers in particular, when the same words are put in opposition to each other, to take the one in a literal, the other in a figurative sense. Matt. viii. 22, ' Let the dead bury their dead.' " So Jesus came into the world in a figurative sense as a messenger from God ; but he left the world and went to the Father literally and locally when he ascended into heaven. But it is better to take both clauses figuratively. As F 2 Jesus 68 TEXTS SUPPOSED To ASSERT [Part I, Jesus came into the world when he appeared in public as a messenger from God ; so, conversely, he left the worH and returned to the Father when his mission closed, and he ceased to appear any longer as a public teacher 63. X. John xvii. 5. " And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thy own self, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was." 1 . This text is understood by many Trinitarians as a petition to the Father from our Saviour in his divine na- ture, requesting that his human nature might be assumed to a participation of those honours which the divine nature had from all eternity possessed. The truth of this hypo- thesis it would be useless to discuss*^. 2. By the advocates for the pre-existence of Christ, this text is understood as a prayer to be restored to that dig- *' Slichtingius argues strenuously, from the opposition of the two clauses, the local ascent and descent of Christ. Wolzogenius, Grotius, and Mr. Lindsey, Comui, and Ess. vol. i. p. 39.5, contend for the figu- rative interpretation of the first, and the literal sense of the latter clause. It may be remarked, that in this text the Arians take both clauses in the same, i. e. the literal sense : and the Unitarians understand one literally, and the other figuratively. In John iii. 13, " Who bath ascended up into heaven but he that came down from heaven ?" the Arians understand the first clause figuratively, and the second literally ; whereas the Unitarians interpret both clauses figuratively. And surely it is always right to interpret the same words in the same sense, whe- ther literal or figurative, where they occur in the same sentence, unless the connexion imperiously requires contrary. Upon this princi- ple, the figilrdtive interpretation of both clauses in the present case ap- pears the most eligible. ^*"Nnnc autem, O Pater, adsumito hane mortalem naturam-ad participationem honoris et dignitatis et gloriae, qua antequam mihi banc conjungerem naturara, ante creationem mundi, imo ab omni aeternitate fruebar." Hammond in loc— -" Declarat se nihil adven- titium cupere, sed tantura ut appareal talis in came, qualis fuit ante conditum muiidum." Calvin.— Dr. Whitby gives the same interpre-. tation, which he supports by a quotation from Theophylacf, " Tyjv CLvSpiump /*8 fuifiv ayays si; frjv So^ay, ijy ei^oy Tfocpa, eoi tym Xoyo;." nity Sect. Sf] THE PRE-EXISTENCE OF CHRIST. 69 tiity and felicity which he possessed with the Father, before the foundation of the world, and of which he had volun- tarily divested himself when he became incarnate. This it is alleged is the natural obvious meaning of the words. If interpreted by the rules of sound criticism, they will bear no other sense. The words Trapx tnamut, ' with thy own self,' are opposed to the words stt/ tjjj- yvig, ' upon the earth,' in the preceding verse : and the words Tra^a (TO/, ' with thee,' in the Scriptures and in all good writers, are used in a local sense to express ' in thy house,' ' in thy presence,' and the like ; and never signify * in thy purpose or decreets.' This text is held up by the Arian expositors as an un- answerable argument for the pre-existence of Christ, and the interpretation of the Unitarians is treated by them with very little ceremony. " To suppose with the Socinians," says Dr. Doddridge, who agreed with the Arians in the belief of a created Lo- gos, " that this refers only to that glory \^hich God intend- ed for him in his decrees, seems to sink and contract the sense far short of its genuine purpose." " The Socinian interpretation of this passage," says Dr. Clarke (No. 607), " is too much forced." The value of such kind of observations has been already stated. Low and forced interpretations mean nothing more than interpretations to which these learned exposi- tors had not been accustojned ; but which might neverthe- kss be true. • ' Dr. Harwood, as he is wont, uses language still more "' See Numb xxii. g, " Who are the men that are (ifafa iroij with thee in thy house ?" 1 Sam. xxii. 3, " Let my father and mother be (ffa/>a o-ci) with thee in thy house." "We shall receive," says the mother of the seven martyrs, " the prize of virtue, and we shall be {itapa. ®£ui) with God :" i. e. in his presence. Joseph. Opp. torn. ii. p. 509 See Aristoph, Plut. vi. 394. Demosth. de Coron, § 25. Hgrwood Soc, Sch. p. 46—48. triumphant, 70 TEXTS SUPPOSED TO ASSERT [Part I. triumphant. "■ Was there no intimation," says he (Soc. Sch. p. 46,)' " in the whole New Testament of the pre- existence' of Christ, this single passage would irrefragably demonstrate and establish it. It is a plain solemn address to the Deity, that, since he had glorified his name upon earth, he would be pleased to re-admit him to that state of glory and happiness which he had possessed in his pre- sence before the creation of the world. Upon this single text I lay my finger. Here I posit my system. And if plain words be designedly employed to convey any deter- minate meaning ; if the modes of human speech have any precision ; I am convinced that this plain declaration of our Lord, in an act of devotion, exhibits a great and im- portant truth which can never be subverted or invalidated by any accurate and satisfactory criticism." The learned writer adds in a note, " The solemnity with which I once heard Dr. Benson appeal to this text greatly affected me when I was a young man. Dr. New- come also, the very learned and worthy bishop of Water- ford, (afterwards archbishop of Armagh,) in a visit with which he condescended to honour me, insisted on this text as decisive." These authorities are considerable. But authorities, at least equally grave, may be produced on the other side. And the question must be determined by reason, not by authority. 3. " O Father, glorify thou me with thyself, with the glory which I had with thee," that is, in thy immutable-.- purpose and decree, the glory which was intended for me " before the world was." This is the sense in which the words are explained by the Polish Socipian expositors and by the modern Unita- rians : and if this sense be admissible, no argument can be drawn from this text in favour of the pre-existence of Christ. The Sect. 3.] THE PRE-EXISTENCE OF CHRIST. 71 The great error of njost expositors seems to be concerni ing the nature of that glory which was the object of our Lord's earnest petition upon this solemn occasion. It is commonly supposed that he solicits some personal benefit ; some high distinction to be conferred upon himself as the reward of his obedience and sufferings. But this would have been a selfish request, unworthy of the dignity and disinterestednes3 of our Lord's character, The glory to which he aspired was that of fulfilling the purposes of his divine mission ; of redeeming mankind from the bondage of ignorance, idolatry, vice, and misery ; and restoring- them to the knowledge and love of God, and to the hope of immortality. That this is the true meaning of our Lord in this prayer, will appear from the following considerations : 1.) It is represented in Scripture as the glory of God, to will and to accomplish the virtue and happiness of man- kind. Luke ii. 14, " Glory to God in the highest for peace on earth and goodwill towards men." John xv. 8» " Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit." Phil. i. 11," Being filled with the fruits of righteousness^ which are by Jesus Christ, to the praise and glory of God.'* See also John xii. 28. 31, 32 ; xvii. 4. Rom. xv. 7. 2.) Christ himself represents the success of his doctrine as constituting his own true glory, and as the proper re- ward of his sufferings : John xii. 23. When the Greeks expressed a desire to be introduced to him, Jesus, in con- templation of the future triumphs of his gospel, saith ; " The hour is come that the Son of Man should be glo- rified. Verily I say unto you. Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone ; but if it die, it- bringeth forth much fruit." 3.) This is the glory which Christ communicated to his apostles, and which they participated in common with the, Father and himself. Ver. 22, " The glory which thou gavest rae I have given them." — To them he i com- municated 73 TEXTS SUPPOSED TO ASSERT [Part I. municated the doctrine he had received from God. Ver. 8, *' I have given them the words which thou gavest me." — To them he gave a commission similar to that which he had himself received from God. Ver. 18, " As thou hast sent me into the world, so have I also sent them into the world." — To them he promised the holy spirit to qua- lify them for their work, and to ensure success to their exertions. John xiv. 16, " I will pray the. Father, ^nd he shall give you another comforter (advocate) who may abide with you for ever." Chap. xvi. 13, "When the spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth." •7— And this glory is conferred upon the apostles, that they may be associated with God and Christ in diffusing the blessings of the gospel. Chap. xvii. 22. 20, " That they may be one, even as we are one : that they all may be one; as thou. Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us : that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." 4.) This glory of Christ as the instructor and redeemer pf mankind, was the object of the divine eternal purpose, 2 Tim. i. 9, " According to his purpose and grace, which was given (i. e. intended and determined to be given) us in Christ J-esus before the world began." See also Eph. i, 5. 10 J ii, 10. 5. ) This glory of Christ, in the success of his gospel, and the universal extent of his spiritual dominion, is the subject of many prophecies and promises. See particularly Isa.liii. 10—12. 6.) This glory of Christ, in the recovery of mankind from sin and death, having been the object of the divine eternal and immutable purpose, and the subject of the di- vine promise,, is represented by our Lord as what he pog sessed with the Father before the world was. It has been already proved under Text VII. that such a prolepsis is not unusual : and that persons, things, and states Sect. 3.2 THE PRE-EXISTENCE OF CHRIST. 73 States of things, are not unfrequently represented, in the language of the sacred writers, as actually existing, when they exist only in the divine counsel and decree. And the language which is here used by our Lord may justly be interpreted in this sense. It is not true that the preposition tioc^x with a dative case always has a local signification. When applied personally, it sometimes sig- nifies ' in that person's estimation or account ;' viz. 2 Pet. iii. 8, " One day is with the Lord (Trce^as Kv^ion, ' in the account or estimation of the Lord,') as a thousand years""." Further : — In this very prayer the prolepsis is repeatedly used, which justifies a similar interpretation of the fifth verse. Ver. 4, " I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do." Our Lord had not then completely finished his labours : See chap. xix. SO. Ver. 1 2, " None of them is lost but the son of perdition." Judas had not at that time destroyed himself. Ver. 22, " The glory which thou gavest me, I have given them."- The suc- cessful discharge of their apostolic mission was an honour intended for them and promised,- but of which they were not at' that time actually in possession. Also, ver. 24, " That they may be with me where I a?re," i, e. am to exist hereafter ; " that they may behold my gfory which thou hast given me," i. e. intended for me. 7.) Hence we conclude, that the true interpretation of this celebrated clause in our Lord's valedictory prayer, — • that which best suits the connexion, and which is most con- sistent with the dignity and disinterestedness of his cha- racter, — contains no proof of his pre-existence, but is per- fectly compatible with his proper humanity, viz. " And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thy own self;" q. d. allow me to participate in that which is tliy " See also Rom. iL 1 1 ; xi. 25 ; xii. l6, and Schleusner in verb. See Dr. Carpenter's valuable observations upon this text in his Letters tp Mr. Veysie, p. 247—255. own 74- TEXTS SUPPOSED TO ASSERT [Part I. own greatest glory, " with the glory which I had with thee before the world was;" the glory of recovering lost man- kind to virtue and happiness, a glory which was intended and reserved for me in the eternal immutable counsels of infinite wisdom and benevolence. Many expositors have explained the text in reference to the divine counsels and decrees ; but few, if any, before Mr. Lindsey, appear to have given the right interpretation of the object of our Lord's dying request*'. " This," says Dr. Lardaer, (Log. p. 15,) " according to Jewish phraseology may be very well understood of the glory always designed for Christ by the immutable pui;- pose of God. That our Lord had not before his nativity the glory which he here prays for, is apparent from the whole tenor of the Gospel, and from clear and manifest expressions in the contest ; for the glory which he now prays for is the reward of his obedience." " What so proper," says Mr. Lindsey (Sequel, p. 243,) *' " ttapa, a-eautui'm coelb, opponitur enira ei srtt i-ij; yrjs. ti) Jo|^ ]) i\%ov, destinatione tua : ut 1 Pet. i. 20. Simile loquendi genus Eph. i. 3. Sic legem fuisse ante mundum aiunt Hebrsei. tfapct o-oj, refer ad illud iix?v, et intellige ut diximns in decreto tuo." Grotius. — " Saepissime de rebus quae a Deo certe constituta atque decreta sunt ut fiant, dicitur qcasijam actu ipso facta sunt. 2Tim. i. 9. Coloss. iii. 1." Wolzogenius in loc. ; who concludes a long note upon the text •with these words of Augustin : " Ad hoc valet, quod ait, Et nunc glo- rifica me. Hoc est, sicut tunc, ita et nunc ; sicut tunc in praedestina- tione, sic et nunc perfectione. Fac in mundo, quod apud te jam fuerat ante mundum ; fac in suo tempore, quod ante omnia tempora statuisti." " Glorificari a Patre petit in coelo. Ad quod volum suum impe- trandum non adducit merita sua, ut qui ex officio fecisset quicquid fe- clsset, sed decretum Petri." Brennius. " Cur non dicamus quod planum, quod certum, quod SS. Literis apertissime testatum est, Christum petere gloriam illam sibi dari, quse sibi ante mundum conditum a Patre Deo illo uno destinata erat ?" Slichtingius. " Comme il s'agit ici de la gloire de I'humanitede Jesus Christ, car la divinite ne pent ni perdre ni acquerir de la gloire dans le ciel, oil il n'y a rien de sujet au changement : on ne peut pas douter, que Jesus Christ ne veuille parler du dessein que Dieu avoit de I'elever qnelque jour i la gloire, ayant que le monde fyt cree." Le Clerc. « for Sect, S.] THE PRE-EXISTENCE OF CHRIST. 75 " for the holy and benevolent Jesus to ask at the close of life, as the success of that Gospel by which the virtue and happiness of mankind was to be promoted, which had been his sole aim and pursuit, for which he had lived, and for which he was about to die ? To suppose him to pray for his own happiness and advancement^ and to animate himself with a prospect of that from God, as is the com- mon opinion of the glory he sought, would not be suitable to that perfection of moral character which we cannot but ascribe to him, nor acting up to that idea of that en- larged universal benevolence which seems to have ac- tuated him." " What propriety," says Dr. Priestley (in loc.) " could there be in Christ praying, as the reward of his suflFerings, for the same state of glory which he had enjoyed before them ? This would be to make it no reward at alL Whereas he now, very naturally, asks for that reward which had been promised to him when he should have ful- filled the conditions on which the promise was made." XI. John xvii. 24. " Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given, me be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me, for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world." Some expositors have strangely supposed that our Lord is here authoritatively claiming and insisting upon a right, in consequence of previous stipulations in the counsels of Heaven ; and hence infer not only his pre-existence but even his divinity ''^ No "' It is unaccountable that Dr. Doddridge should have fallen into this egregious error. He thus pai-aphrases the text : " O Father, per- mit me to say that I vs^ill, that is, 1 importunately ask it, and in con- sequence of the mutual transactions between us I am bold to claim it, and insist upon it as a matter of right," &c. But 76 TEXTS SUPPOSED TO ASSERT [Part I. No conclusion can be more unfounded. The word Bihu, * I will,' expresses nothing more than simple de- sire, ' I request.' Matt. xii. 38, " Master, we desire (BsKoLiBv) to see a sign from thee." See also Mark vi. 25 ; X. 35. 'Father, I request that they whom thou hast given me be with me where I am ;' or, as Dr. Campbell renders it, * where I shall be.' The present tense is used for the future, to denote the certainty of the event. ' That they may behold my glory which thou hast given me.' That glory is described as actually given, which it was the purpose and determination of God to bestow; See ver. 5. This glory, it has been proved already, was that of in- structing and reforming the world. Our Lord prays that his apostles may be witnesses to the great success of his Gospel. How low and unworthy of our Saviour's character, to suppose that he prays thus earnestly for nothing more than that his apostles might be admitted to see some personal honour with which he was to be hereafter adorned ! " For thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world." q. d. In thine eternal counsels thou didst select But this is notliing to the language of Dr. Guyse, whose exposition vrould lead us to conclude that the Father wished to beofl'his bargain, if the Son had not held him closely to the terms of the bond. " The upshot, O my Father, of tay will and pleasure, which J insist on as matter of right, according to my purchase and thy agreement, is, that all whom thou hast given me may be admitted into my immediate presence in heaven, where I already am in my divine nature, and for ever shall be?in my entire person," &c. , The learned Calvin, whose disciples these pious expositors professed to be, would have taught them better if they had consulted his Com- mentary : ' ' Velle pro optare positum est : neque enim praecipientis, sed rogantis, est oratio." — " This argument," says Dr. Campbell, "" i? built upon an Anglicism in their translatiops, for whi^h th? sacre4 author is not accountable." me Sect. 3.] THE PRE-EXISTENCE OF CHRIST. 7? me to the high honour of being the messenger of peace and good- will to mapkind"'. To love, in Scripture phraseology, is to select to pecu- lia,r privileges. Rom. ix, 11 — 13, " Before the children were born, having done neither good nor evil, that the purpose of God, according to election, might stand, it was said. The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated ;" i. e. I have chosen, without regard to personal merit, to grant privi- leges to Jacob which will be denied to Esau. XIl. 1 Cor. XV. 47. " The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven'"." " He came originally from the heavenly world to which he is now returned." Doddridge. The Polish Socinians, who believed that Christ after his ascension was advanced to a dignity superior to that of the highest angel, and was constituted vice-regent of the whole created universe, understand this text as asserting that the body of Christ was of celestial substance and origin 7i. 'The ® "■ He prays that his apostles and followers may be partakers of his spiritual gifts, and contribute to the spreading of the Gospel, and promoting the virtue and happiness of mankind, in which he himself had been destined before all ages to be the prime instrument, and they to have the honour of being inferior workmen under him." Lindsey's Sequel) p. 257. '" Se'Jtepo( ccvipctiTfo; 6 Ku^io; e^ spacva. The words Ko§(oi are wanting in the Epbrem, Clermont, and four other manuscripts in the Coptic, Ethiopic, Vulgate, and Italic versions ; in Origen, Basil, Gre- gory Nyssen and Nazianzen, Tertullian, Cyril, and others. It is said that they were introduced by Marcion. The words 6 spavio; are added at the end of the verse in two uncial MSS. and in the Vulgate and Ethiopic version : and they are cited by Ambrose, Augustin, Jerome, &c. The genuine reading perhaps is Sevtspo; av^pcwrro; eJ epa,vB, 6 bpnyto;. 'See Griesbach. — " Primus homo de terra, terrenus: secun- dus homo de ccelo, coelestis," Vulgate. ^' " Quasi dixisset apostolus, Secundus homo, nimirum, Dominus ille, ex cqbIo. scilicet, est : habita nerope ratione corporis." Crellius. — This Y8 TEXTS sppposEp TO ASSERT [Part I, * The second man will be the Lord from heaven,' i. e, will descend from heaven to raise the dead. This is the interpretation of Newcome, Whitby, Alexander, and others, who, though themselves believers in the doctrine, do not regard this passage as asserting the pre-existence of Christ. The Vulgate reads the text, " The first man was of the earth, earthy. The second man tvill be from heaven, heavenly." This is not improbably the true reading ; and the sense is, ' The first man, taken from the earth, was frail and mortal ; the second man will descend from heaven in a heavenly form, and with immortal radiance and vigour.' XIIL 2 Cor. viii. 9. " For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich." No person, whose mind was not wholly pre-occupied with a persuasion of the pre-existence of Christ, would This ingenious and learned writer proceeds to state the expedience and necessity that the body of Christ should be of heavenly substance. " So great a being," says he, " than whom no one is more nearly United to God, who is raised above all celestial spirits, so as to govern them all, God only excepted, annon decviit, immo- annon etiam ne- cesse fuit, celestem etiam naturam et angelicam, si non praestantiorem' saltern parem, Dei autem ipsius naturae simillimam et proximam adi- pisci ?" Slichtingius and Brennius, both of them men of great learning and ability, adopt the same strange interpretation. It is chiefly in this ex- travagant notion of the advancement of a human being to the govern- ment ofthe universe, and making him the object of religious worship, a doctrine which, as Dr. Price says, " would make Christianity itselif incredible," that the Unitarians of the present day differ from the old Socinians ; to whom, notwithstanding their gross error in this parti- cular, they nevertheless look with great veneration, as the most en- lightened critics and expositors of the age in which they lived. — e0 siecYu, i, e. ef,ayn>s, " coelestis: habens jam corpus cceleste." Grotius, Sect.' 3-3 THE PRE-EXISTENCE OF CHRIST. 79 €ver dream of finding it in this text. If the fact were an- tecedently established, this passage might indeed be ad- mitted as a graceful allusion to it : but it can never with any propriety be alleged as a proof. For when it is said of any man, that though he is rich he spends nothing, who in his senses infers from it that he existed before he was born ? Upon this principle, every miser would have a claim to pre-existence. Dr. Clarke, with great propriety, takes no notice of this text in his arguments for the pre- existence of Christ. Others, with less judgement, have held it up as a decisive proof of this favourite doctrine, and have indulged to no little asperity of reflection upon those who thought differently. " He was rich" — " rich," says Dr. Doddridge^ " in the glories of the heavenly world, and in supreme domi- nion and authority there, yet for your sakes he became poor." " Rich," says archbishop Newcome, " in the glories of the divine nature, he became poor by taking on him hu- man nature, and appearing even in a humble state of life." " Rich," says Dr. Harwood (Soc. Sch. p. 46,) "in his pre-existent state in glory, honour, and happiness, with a greatness of soul which can never be sufficiently extolled, he abdicated all this, and became poor. The apostle's ar- gument upon tWs scheme only is cogent, apposite, and very elegant and persuasive. To interpret this of our Lord being rich in miracles, and becoming poor in them at his crucifixion, is such a jejune and forced criticism, as I ima- gine was never used to explain any author." This lofty language is now become too familiar to ex- cite alarm : and, as inquirers after truth, we are to con- sider not what the apostle's expositors are pleased to say for Mm, but what he has actually said himself; which is this : " Ye know the Idndness of our Lord Jesu« Christ,.that though 80 TEXTS SUPPOSED TO ASSERT [Part I. though he was rich, yet for your sakes he lived In po- verty", that ye through his poverty might be rich," Observe here, that the apostle does not say that having been rich he became poor ; that he passe'd from an ante- cedent state of opulence to a subsequent state of poverty ; much less does he insinuate that the riches which our Lord possessed consisted in the dignity and felicity of a pre-ex- istent state. The apostle affirms the existence of two con- temporary events, that Christ was rich, and, at the same time, that he lived in poverty. That this is the proper primary meaning of the apostle's words, no person ac- quainted with the original can doubt. Whether the ge- nius of the Greek language will even admit of the sense '^ The only shadow of argument which can be adduced from this text in favour of the pre-existence of Christ, is from the words sirtu- X^^^^ irX8o-(0f ujv in the public version, ' though he was rich he be- came poor/ But 1 .) The verb Ttruiysaui does not properly signify ' to become poor,' but ' to be poor.' — Stephan. Thes. *rcu;^£ua;, ' men- dicus sum,' ' mendicus vivo.' He translates the text ' q. vestri causa mendicans visit.' — Constantin. Lex. •gtw^iviaj, ' inops dego,' ' men- dico.* In the New Testament it only occurs in this place, in the LXX., six times. See Trommii Concord, in verb. 2.) The construction requires that the two states should be simul- taneous. The aorist expresses a perfect action, in past definite time ; which time is ascertained by the connexion. Christ iirifwytvirs, ' was poor.' When ? — 'jtXovirio; uiv, ' at the time that he was rich.' For this observation I am indebted to the late reverend and learned James Pickbourn, who distinguished himself by the^ccuracy of his remarks upon the English verb, and by some other learned publications'.' It is objected that ttAso-joj wv may refer to past time, as •fvfXo; wv, John ix. 25, signifies ' having been blind.' But the adverb aprj, ' now I see,' which immediately follows, shows that the participle which pre- cedes is to be understood in a preterite sense. And had the apostle' intended to express that the state of poverty was subsequent to that of affluence, he would probably have introduced the word strx, or iiriB- poy, before the verb e'!frui^£vitay[j,os proprie, direptio. Nomina in /aoj desinentia fere oclixi- nem, non rem significant. Sed interdum tamen passive usurpatur, ut significat vel rem raptam, vel rem avide diripiendam,etvindicandam." Schleusner. — SeeWefstein, and Wakefield's Inq, p. 186. 3. The construction of the sentence requires that this clause should express the humiliation of Christ, and consequently that dpir. should be taken in a passive sense. It would be trifling to say, that, being in the form of God, he thought it no robbery to be in the form or like- ness of God. Le Clerc, in his notes upon Hammond, remarks, " that to justify the common translation, the Greek ought to have been xat *"% rjyui^evoi dpTCxy^ov iivai tira, @eui, ou,uiS "• ''• ^•" See also Dr. Clarke, Scrip. Doct. No, 934. 3. The 88 TEXTS SUPPOSED TO ASSERT [Parti. •Tray^og. for a^irayjj.ix, ' a prey,' ' a booty/ ' a thing ob- tained by force, and retained with eagerness.' In this sense the second clause of the sentence is in op- position to the first. It is the first step in his voluntary humiliation. ' Who, being in the form of God, did not esteem as a prey' (and therefore did not eagerly grasp, did not claim as his inherent right, did not refuse to relinquish,) ' this likeness to God.' The latter clause is plainly exegetical of the former ; this likeness to God is the very same thing as being in the form of God. See Wakefield's Inquiry, p. ] 85. This interpretation has the sanction of many eminent ex- positors". 3. The early writers, who used the Greek language, and to whom the phrase must have been familiar, understood the words in this sense. In the Letter from the Churches of Vienne and Lyons to those of Asia and Phrygia, they say of the martyrs, " They were snch zealous followers of the example of Christ, who, being in the form of God, did not eagerly retain that likeness to God," (' did not covet to be ho- noured as God,' Dr. Clarke,) " that though they had often been cast to wild beasts, and had endured all manner of torments, yet they would by no means suffer themselves to be honoured with the title of martyrs." Euseb. Eccl. Hist. 1. 5. . Origen, in his Commentary upon John, says, " Tlie goodness of Christ appeared greater and more divine, and truly after the image of the Father, when he humbled himself, &c. (i) ei apirr/yijo-aro) than if he had eagerly grasped or tenaciously retained his likeness to God." Huet. p. 34, Novatian says, " Christ, though he knew that he was in the form ofGod, did not eagerly grasp (or tenaciously retain) equality with God. For though he knew that he was God, he never compared himself with God bis Fatherj" &c. De Trin. c. 17. See Clarke, ibid. '■' " .ffiqualitatem quam cum Patre habebat ambitiose retinere no- luit, velut facere solent praedones, qui quod semel rapuerunt sumroa cura et studio retinent." Vatablus.-— " Pro rapina ducere, dicit pro rapaciter uti, et retinere, ut Latini dicunt, in hostiumnumero habere, pro occidere ut hostem. Sic enim poni solet verbum ■fiyeKr^a.t, ut non solum cogitationis sit, verum etiam rei." Copf. v. 25. Castalio.— -" If dpTdnyf/^a, be synonymous to d^ira.yix,os, as ^a.it'dff^x to ^a/iCftirjJtOS, (pujrKTjj^a, to pwTt(r[t.os, &c. the proper meaning seems to be a prey, or booty, and may be either just or unjust. They therefore hardly give the exact signification who explain it by a thing very desirable^ or to be Sect. 3.] THB PRE-KXISTENCE OF CHRIST. 89 Dr. Clarke, No. 934, "He did not covet to be honoured as God : was not greedy or fond of, or unwilling to let go the prize : so the words more strictly signify." Mr. Lindsey : (Seq. p. 272, ,&c.) " Being in the form of God, he did not look upon it as a prize to be hastily catched at to be like God, did not eagerly covet to be ho- noured for his godlike powers, was not ambitious of dis- playing them." The following appears to me to be the true interpretar tion of the text. Christ was " in the form of God." He possessed mira>- culous powers, and exerted them at pleasure. " But' he did not account as a prey this likeness to God." q. d. He did not conceive of these extraordinary powers as a posses- sion in his own right, acquired by his own energies, for the enjoyment of which he was indebted to none, in the ex- ercise of which he was controulable by none, and for the proper employment of which he was accountable to none : having the same paramount right to these powers which a man has to a prey which he has obtained in the field, or a booty which he has acquired in war. Far from it. Jesus knew that, great as his powers were, they were not his own, but given ; that they were communicated not for his personal benefit, but for an important purpose; that they were to be employed in subservience to the will of him from whom they were derived; that when the proper season came, they were to be laid aside ; and that, to accomplish the design of his mission, he was to submit to humiliation and suffering like an ordinary person, as though he were quite destitute of miraculous powers. . He therefore ex- hausted or divested himself, assumed the form of a Ser- bs coveted. Nothing is properly a prey or booty till in possession. The apostle therefore may be supposed to say, ' who was not eager or te- nacious in retaining this likeness,' " &c. Peirce.— " Omnium bona ]prs4ain t^ain 4uceres." Cicero in Yerjeip, y.l5. 90 TEXTS SUPPOSED TO ASSSERT [Part I. vanl, and became in fashion and appearance as an ordi- nary man. 3. " But made himself of no reputation"." Literally, * he emptied himself.* This phrase is opposed to the preceding. So far from tenaciously grasping, and refusing to relinquish, he voluntarily, and of his own ac- cord, divested himself of every thing that is intended by the form or likeness of God. If the immutable attributes of Deity are intended, these were concealed — or the pre- existent glories of the Logos, these were quiescent — or his extraordinary miraculous powers, these were voluntarily suspended, while he suffered himself to appear and to be treated as though he possessed them not. See 2 Cor. viii. 9. 4. " He took upon him the form of a servant :" Or, " Assuming the form of a slave °^" In the form of God he really existed (uTrap^wv) — the form of a ser- vant he voluntarily assumed (AaSwy). Invested with a high and honourable commission from God, he submitted to a life of labour and dependence. Mark x. 45, " The Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to mi- nister." Luke xxii. 27, " I am in the midst of you as one that serveth." 5. " And was made in the likeness of men*'." "' AXX' taurov sKsvuiirs. " E\inanivit.semetipsum." Vulg. — " Ces- savit a miraculis etoperibus illis divinis." Slichtingius. i *" ftoc(p))!' SaXs Xa?coy. Here the sentence closes. Wakefield. " sv ofji.otuifi,oi.n oLv^puntuiv yEvofiBvos' " being made like other men." Wakefield. — " Cum similis esset hnminibas, illis nempe primis, i. e. peccati expers." Grotius. — " Nothing," says Dr. Clarke, ibid. " can be more unnatural than the comment of Grotius upon these words, ■who understands them to signify that Christ was like Adam in a state of innocence. Whereas the plain meaning of the apostle is, that Christ, being in the form of God, humbled himself by condescending to take upon him the form of a man." How natural does every one's own hypothesis appear to himself! Grotius is, I think, mistaken in his comment. But surely it involves no extravagance equal to that of supposing that it was an act of condescension in Christ to be is man, which Sect. S.] THE PRE-EXISTENCE OF CHRIST. 91 Or, " Being in the likeness of men." Trinitarians and Arians argue from this text, that, ante- cedently to his divesting himself of the form of God, he was not in the likeness of men, but a being of superior or supreme rank, either a Logos or a God, who voluntarily laid aside his glory, and became incarnate. Unitarians understand this language solely of a volun- tary suspension of his miraculous powers. Though, pos- sessing them, he made no display of them for his own per- sonal benefit, but appeared in all respects Uke a man who was favoured with no such extraordinary distinction. This interpretation is fully justified by parallel passages in the Old and New Testament. Sampson was endued with supernatural strength. He said to Delilah, " If they bind me, then shall I be weak, and shall be (mj s/j- tmv avS^uTrwv) as one of the men :" in the public version, very properly, " as another man." Judges xvi. 7."^ H. 13. 17. See also Psalm Ixxxii. 6, 7, *' I said. Ye are Gods, but ye shall die like men," (wV avO^wTTOi) like other men. Gal. i. I, " Paul an apostle, not; from men, nor through manj" i. e* not from or by ordi- nary men. 6. " And being found in fashion as a man '*','* Or, " Being in fashion as a man." The word sv^itku, ' to find,* often expresses nothing more than simple existence. 1 Cor. xv. 15, " We are which Dr. Clarke calls the plain meaning of the text. Mr. Peirce (in loc.) thinks that Christ is said to be in the likeness of men, because he was not really a man, but a human body inhabited by the Logos. It is more reasonable to explain this phrase of our Lord's declining to exert his supernatural powers, and so appearing like an ordinary man. " xai tr^rjjjMrt supeieij w; acvipunro;.] ■' 'S^i^ixM, generalim, omnetu babitum et statum alicujus rei externum significat : spedalim vero di- citur de habitu, cultu, gestu, forma ac conditione externa corporis hu- mani." Schleusner. — Mr. Peirce considers this clause as exactly pa- rallel to the preceding; ivpsSets answering to ygvo/Aevoj, and a^p^i)jM.«rt to iijiiifuiipm, Peirce in loc. found 92 TEXTS SUPPOSED TO ASSERT [Part I. found (z. e. we are) false witnesses of God." See also Est, i. 6. Isa. liii. 9. 1 Cor. iv. 2. Matt. i. 18. The word (r%YiiLa, translated ' fashion/ signifies the whole external appearance of any thing, and particularly of a human being. The sense therefore seems to be nearly the same as in the preceding clause ; viz. being in external appearance a man, i. e. like other men. 7. " He humbled himself, and became obedient to death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God on his part has very highly exalted him "," — ^' exalted him higher than before j" viz. before his humiliation and suf- ferings. Upon the whole, the following appears to be the most correct version, and the true sense of this celebrated pas- sage : *' Let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus:" *' Who, being in the form of God," i. e. a prophet in- vested with extraordinary miraculous powers, " Did not esteem as a prey this resemblance to God:" Did not regard these powers as a property acquired by his own exertions, to which he had an independent inde- feasible right, which he would exercise at pleasure, and upon no consideration relinquish, but as a trust, to be ex. ercised only for the benefit of others, and to be suspended or resigned at the divine command, or when the purpose of his mission required. " But divested himself of it, assuming the form of a slave," When the purposes of his mission required it, he con- ducted himself as though he were totally destitute of all supernatural gifts. And far from usurping the authority " Has very highly exalted him,'] ints^v^w'rs, " God has advanced hitn higher than before :" i. e. before bis incarnation. Peirce. — Rather, ' before his sufferings, when he appeared as a prophet working mira- cles, or in the form of God,' of Sect. S.] THK PRE-EXISTENCE OF CHRIST. 03 of a king, as some of his ill-advised followers urgently re- commended, so humble was his station, so assiduous his labours, and so dependent his condition, that he appeared, and chose to appear, in the rank of a menial servant. " Becoming thtis like other men," i, e. as one who pos- sessed no extraordinary powers : *• And being in. outward appearance as an ordinary man, he humbled himself;" i. e. still further, " becoming obedient to death, even the death of the cross. Where- fore God on his part has exalted him higher than he was before." For whereas, antecedently to his sufferings, he was, though in a very dignified character, no more than a pro- phet working miracles in the name of God, he is now ad- vanced, since his resurrection, and as the reward of his obedience and self-denial, to a much happier and more ex- alted state. Be you therefore like him obedient, self-de- nying, actively and perseveringly benevolent ; and upon all occasions prompt to sacrifice your own ease and grati- fication to the good of others, to a sense of duty, and to promote the great purposes of rational existence. According to this interpretation, the exaltation of Christ consists in his possession of a divine commission and vo- lun&ry miraculous powers. His humiliation consists in declining to use those powers for his own benefit, in sub- mitting to a humble, laborious, and dependent condition^ and finally, in resigning himself to, suffering and death in obedience to the will of God, and for the good of man- kind. Thus this celebrated text, admitting of a fair interpre- tation consistently with the proper humanity of Jesus Christ, if not decisive in favour of this doctrine, may at least be regarded as neutral. It is one of those passages of which no use can be made in deciding the controversy. XVI. 94 TEXTS SUPPOSED TO ASSERT [Part I. XVI. Col. i. 1 5. " Who is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of every creature :" or, " of the whole cceationflO." Upon this text very great stress is laid for the purpose of illustrating the mode of the derivation of the Son from the Father. 1 . The Trinitarians understand the words as ex- {iressive of the eternal necessary generation of the Son of God. This is the interpretation of Calvin, Beza, and others, who evade the infeifence of the Arians, that the Son must be a creature, by insisting that in this case the expression would have been ' first created,' not ' first begotten'Qi. 2. Dr. Clarke insists strongly upon this text to establish his doctrine, " that the Son is the eternal and voluntary, but not cTeated production of the Father's power." " It is observable," says this learned writer (Scr. Doct. No. 937, ) " that St. Paul here does not call our Saviour -TrpciOTOKTta-To;, 'first-created;' but Tr^uotoTOKog, first-born:* signifying in general that he was before the creation of all things brought forth, produced by, derived from, the Father; but not declaring in what particular manner. Coi. i. 17. — What the figurative word rs%9sig,' generated' or 'Begotten,' properly and literally implies, this the Scrip" ture has no where revealed or explained." He produces many passages from ancient writers to show that in this sentiment they coincided with him. °° fff turoroKOf irxaris Kfiascas. *' " Non ideo tantum primogenitns, quod tertipore prsecesserit om- nes creaturas, sed quia in hoc a Patre sit genitus, ut per ipsum conde- reritur." Calvin. — " Facilis est responsio ad Arianoram cavillutn — ■ nam h4c ratione dicendus fuisset tffwroy x-rttrisis. At cum dicitur TtpcutoToxos, manifeste distinguitur quod getlkUm est ab eo quod est conditum." Bera. S.The Sect. S.j THE PRE-EXISTENCE OF CHRIST. 95 S. The Arians understand the text as expressing the creation of the Logos by the Father before all worlds. " It obviously denotes," says Dr. Harwood, (Soc. Sch. p. 35,) " that the Son of God is the very first being whom the power and goodness of the Supreme produced into existence." To the same purpose is Mr. Peirce's note upon the text. 4. Grotius, and with him the Socinian and most of the Unitarian expositors, interpret the text as referring to the new creation. Eph. ii. 10 j iv. 24, The word Jirst-horn is used to express excellence in its kind. Ps. Ixxxix. 27. Jer. xxxi. 9. Jobxviii, 13.92 And of the new creation Christ is the head and chief, being the chief instrument of God in the renovation of the moral world. 5. The. word w^wroTmog, ' first born,' occurs again, ver. 1 8, " who is the beginning, the first-born from the dead :" where it plainly signifies that Christ was the first person who was raised from the dead to an immortal life. There can be little doubt that this is the true mean- ing' of the word in the 15th verse. It is so, probably, in the few remaining passages in which this epithet is ap- plied to Christ in the writings of Paul. Rom. vili. 29. Heb. i. 6. And certainly Revel, i. 5 : " The first-born, from the dead j" the very phrase which is used Coloss. i. 18. '^ "^puiforoxof, primus in creatione nova, de qua 2 Cor. v. IJ. Apoc. xxi. 5." Grotius. — " Per crealuram non intelligitur creatura vetus sed nova. Hujus creaturae Christus est primogenitus, id est, omnium primus a Deo creatus." Crellius. — " itpuiroto-Aov Hebraeis dicitur quod primum et quod suramum est in quoque genere. Ps. Ixxsix. 28r^2B," .Brennias. — The first born, i. e. the cliief, the lord of all mankind : ver. 23 : Mark xvi. 15, " of the new creation ; of Jews and Gentiles, now blended into one mass." Lindsey's Seq. p. 478. Dr. Priestley's Eat, Op. vol. iii, p. 496. Haynes on Attrib. p- m- XVII. 96 TEXTS SUPPOSED TO ASSERT [Part I. XVII. Col. i. 17. " He is before all things^ :" i. e. in time, dignity, and excellence, in the natural creation, if that be the subject of the apostle's discourse ; or, of the new creation, if that be the subject treated of, as Unitarians maintain. This question will be discussed hereafter. Mr. Lindsey explains the phrase of " priority in the destination and purpose of Almighty God," Seq. p. 482. Grotius, Brennius, and the old Socinians un- derstand it of the high rank and dignity to which he is now advanced, and the authority which is given him over all creatures, as they apprehend. No argument for the pre- existence of Christ can be drawn from this ambiguous text. XVUI. Rev. iii. 14. " These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning," or head, " of the creation of God." The natural creation, according to Arians and Trinita- rians — the new moral creation, as Unitarians believe. And that it will bear this interpretation is acknowledged by learned Trinitarians themselves. Beza and Hammond both explain the words in this senses*. Mr.Lindsey justly observes, that "our Lord having cha- racterized himself, first, as the truth, or teacher of truth ; next, as the faithful martyr to the truth ; it is much more consistent with these characters to proceed to represent himself as the head of the new creation, the leader and chief " KKi aurtf so-T"! itfd Tfavrcuv.] itpa is an adverb of time and place, and sometimes, figuratively, of excellence. James v. 12. 1 Pet. iv. 8." Scbleusner. "' " *P%'!» a 1*^0 principium ducuntomnesres conditae : vel potius novi Sect. S.] THE PRE-EXISTENCE OF CHRIST. 9T chief of the whole army of martyrs^ than as the being who created all things." Coram, and Essays, vol. i. p. 449, The old Socinians understood the words of the univer- -sal dominion to which Christ was, as they thought, ad- vanced after his ascension into heavenS*. These are all the passages which the author, many years ago, after a careful perusal of the New Testament, could discover and select as what then appeared to him clear and unequivocal assertions of the pre-existence of Jesus Christ ; as to the generality of Christians they still appear. He has stated those criticisms and interpretations of them which he now thinks to be just, and by which he was gra- dually, and not without much reluctance, induced to aban- don his former conclusions as erroneous and unscriptural. He does not expect that these interpretations will afford the same satisfaction to all his readers, even to those who are most candid and ingenuous, who are sincere inquirers after truth, and who value it above all price. It was long before he himself attained the satisfaction which he now feels. But truth, aided by time, will gradually make its way. And in the mean while, it is surely not too much to expect, that it will be allowed. that these texts, which at the first glance appear so decisively to assert the pre-exist- ence of Christ, nevertheless admit of an interpretation, founded upon the principles of just criticism, perfectly consistent with his proper and simple humanity. Upon these texts, which lie at the very foundation of the Arian and Trinitarian doctrines, it has been thought expedient to insist at large. These being thus copiously dilcussed, the remaining articles may be dispatched with greater bcevity. novi seculi, i. e. ecclesise, caput.verum, et unicutn principium." Beza. — " Qui primus pater et auctor est ecclesise chri&tianae," Hanamond. — " Novae creationis." Grotius. *' " Princepg omnium creaturariim D?i." Brennius, H SECTION 98 TEXTS SUPPOSED TO ALLUDE TO [P&Tt I. SECTION IV. A COLLECTION OF TEXTS, WHICH, IF THEY DO NOT DIRECTLY ASSERT THE PRE-EXISTENCE OF CHRIST, HAVE NEVERTHELESS BEEN THOUGHT TO ALLUDE TO IT, AND TO BE MOST EASILY EXPLAINED UPON THAT HYPOTHESIS. In the preceding Section it has been shown that the phrases ' to be with God,' and ' to^ascend into heaven,' mean, to be made acquainted with the divine purposes and will : and that the correlate phrases ' to be sent by God,' f to come from God,' ' to descend from heaven,' and the like, express a divine commission to reveal the purposes and will of God to mankind. Also, that the phrase, ' being in the form and likeness of God,' signifies being invested with miraculous powers ; and the correspondent phrases, ' being in the likeness of a man,' or ' the form of a servant,' when put in opposition to ' the form of God,' signify appearing in a humble condition, like an ordinary man, who possessed no such miraculous powers. It has also been proved that, in the language of Scrip- ture, persons, or things, or states of things, are spoken of as actually existing, when they exist only in the divine purpose and decree. These principles being premised, there will be little difEculty in the explanation of those texts which, though they cannot be regarded as asserting, are nevertheless understood by many as alluding to, the pre- existence of Christ. 1 . John vi. 46. " Not that any one hath seen the Father, save he who is of God, he hath seen the Father." i. e. Sect. 4.] THE PRE-EXISTENCE OF CHRIST. 99 i. e. No one is acquainted with the Father's will, but he who hath received a commission from him. 2. John viii. 14. "I know whence I came and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come and whither I go." i. e. I know from whom I received my authority, and to whom I am accountable ; but you are wilfully ignorant of both. 3. John viii. 23. " Ye are from beneath ; I am from above : ye are of this world ; I am not of this world." i. e. You are of a mean and worldly disposition ; I am, i. e. my doctrine is, from heaven ; and its tendency is to purify and exalt the mind. John xv. 19. Col. iii. 2. 4. John viii. 38. "I speak that which I have seen with my Father : and ye do that which you have seen with your Father." Ver. 44, " Ye are of your Father the devil." i. e. I teach you what I have learned from God : ye do what you have learned from the devil. The expression in both clauses is figurative. 5. John xiv. 28. " My Father is greater than I." This is a very perplexing text to those who believe in the proper deity of Christ. Some say, the Father is great- er than the Son in his divine nature, the Son being an emanation from him^ ; — others, that he is greater than ' Of this mind are the Athanasians ancient and modern j Alexander of Alexandria, Athanasius, Novatian, Gregory Nazianzen, Bull, Wa- , terland, Whitby. "Quod autem Hilarius dicit, 'Patrem esse majo- rem Filio, Filiura tamen non esse minorem,' intelligendnmest Patrem esse principium Filii, qui natur& tamen est aequalis Patri. In divinis personiSj^ordo est : inxqualitas non est : quemadmodum distinctio est, diversitas nulla est," Erasmus, — " The primitive fathers owned that the Father was greater than the Son as to his original, the Son being begotten by him; and yet declared that he \vas God, and equal to God, as to his essence." Whitby. H 2 the 100 TEXTS SUPPOSED TO ALLUDE TjO [Part I. the Son in his human nature® ; — and some, in his official capacity as mediator. This latter is the interpretation of Hammond, Doddridge, and Guyse. The, Arians claim this text as decisive in their favour. " The sense," says Dr. Clarke in his usual manner, " in which the Socinian writers understand these words is very low and mean. The plain meaning is, that God the Father is greater than the Son." Scr. Doct. No. 830. But this learned writer appears not to have, recollected that his own Logos was as much inferior to the infinite self- existent Deity, as the meanest worm. Nor would Dr. Clarke say, whatever our Lord might mean, that his dis- ciples understood him in this sublime sense: it is plain that they must have regarded him as a human being, otherwise their minds would have been overwhelmed with astonishment and terror. But surely our Lord must have use8 his words in that sense in which he knew that his hearers would understand them, viz. That God was infinitely more wise and powerful and good than he ; and therefore able to reward him, and to protect them when he was withdrawn from them 3. This is the interpretation of the Unitarians. Nor is this phra- seology, which Dr. Clarkd thinks so " flat and insipid," without example in Scripture. Job xxxiii. 1 2, 13, " God is greater than man : why then dost thou strive against • Beza is very angry with the Ariana for not being satisfied with one or other of these solutions, either of which ought to have silenced them, " si sanabiies fuissent aut etiamnum essent." Neither of them, how- ever, in Baza's judgement, expresses our Lord's true meaning, viz. " that his future state of exaltation would be greatly superior to his present state of hutrjiliation." But the pious reformer seems to have thought that any arguments were good enough for the Arians. And they might have guessed a good while befere they had discovered what he tells them is the truth. * " na,ryjp fj-a {j,sii,uiy, rnittens misso. Hoc autem idco dicitur ut intelligatur, et se ibi tutum fore, et ipsis in Patre^lus foturum prae- sidii, quam in sua corporali pr«sentia." Grotiu*. him?" Sect. 4.] THE PRE-EXISTENCE OF CHRIST. 101 him?" John x. 29, " My Father, who gave them me, is greater than all." 6. John xviii. 37. " To this end was I born, and for this came I into the world :" " From another and much better abode," says Dr. Doddridge. But how will this interpretation apply to John xvii. 18, " As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world." ' To be sent into the world' is to be invested with a divine commission: 'to come into the world' is to appear in public under a pro- phetic character. Chap, iii. 17. 19; ix. 39; xi. 27. 7. Rom. X. 6. "The righteousness (or justifica- tion) which is by faith speaketh thus ; Say not in thy heart. Who- shall ascend into heaven ? (that is, to bring Christ down from above.)" q. d. The language of faith in the Gospel is not. Who shall teach us divine truths ? as though Christ had not revealed all that was needful, and it would be necessary for him to visit this world again. See John iii. 13.* 8. 1 Cor. X. 9. " Neither let us tempt Christ^, as some of them" (the Israelites in the wilderness) "also tempted him, and were destroyed by serpents." For ' Christ,' the Vatican and Ephrem manuscripts,, and the Syriac and Coptic versions, read Ku^/o^, ' Lord,' and the Alex. Ms. @soy, ' God.' Epiphanius charges Marcion the heretic with substituting Xp/orov, ' Christ,' for Yiv^iov, 'Lord.' If we retain the feceived text, archbishop Newcome *" Solent qui rem perquam difficilem volunt significare, uti simili- tndine ascensus in ccelum, &c. Inteilige, nihil opus de eo nos labo- remus." Grotius. , * Christ] yLpifftw. Irenasus certainly read Kvptov, Lord, See Wet- sfein inloc. Griesbach retains Xpiffftv (Christ); but b^ marks Kvpioy (Lord) as the preferably reading. says, 102 TEXTS SUPPOSED TO ALLUDE TO [Part !• says, " the sense is, Nor let us tempt, try, prove, provoke Christ now, as some of them did God at that time." See the Improved Version in loc. 9. 1 Cor. X. 4. " They drank of the spiritual rock which followed them : and that rock was Christ." i. e. A type or similitude of Christ, from whom flow all the refreshing blessings of the Gospel. 10. Gal. i. 1. "Paul an apostle, not of man nor by men, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father who raised him from the dead." g. d. " Not of, nor by, ordinary men," see Phil. ii. 7 : but by Jesus Christ, the sole head and governor of the church, from whom alone an apostolic mission could be derived. 11. Heb. ii. 14. " Forasmuch then as the chil- dren are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself like- wise took part of the same 6." The expression ' took part' seems to indicate a volun- tary assumption of human nature, and so it is translated by Dr. Harwood, and expounded by Dr. Doddridge. It ought to have been rendered ^he participated oi the szme* And it no more implies that to become a man was a vo- luntary act in Christ, than the other expression, translated * are partakers,' implies that it is a voluntary act in other human beings. " The word TrapaTrAijcr/wf," says Mr. Peirce, " does not here import a faint likeness or resem- blance, but a proper and exact conformity. For he as properly partook of flesh and blood as any of the chil- dren do." The sense therefore is, that Christ was in every respect really and truly a man, as much so as any, of the children of God whom he came to save. And this * Took part of the same.'\ " it-e-tBa-ys, i. e. iMivuivfjire, ii,erciXc(.tBV." Cyrill. Phavorinus. See Schleusner. The word, therefore, which, our translators render took part, is equivalent to that which they trans- late are partakers ; and by no means necessarily implies a volun- tary act. rprtainly Sect. 4.]] THE PRE-EXISTENCE OF CHRIST. 103 certainly is the scope of the writer's argument, as will be evident to every unprejudiced person who reads the para- graph with attention. 12. Heb, vii. S. "For this Melchisedec — without father, without mother, without descent (or pedigree), having neither beginning of days, nor end of life, and made like to the Son of God ; abideth a priest continually." The writer of this epistle having found in Psalm ex. the priesthood of the Messiah compared with that of Mel- chisedec, strains the similitude to as many points of resem- blance as possible. As Melchisedec was a priest, without any mention having been made in the Old Testament of his pedigree, either by the father's or the mother's side ; so Christ, be- ing of the tril^e of Judah, ver. 14, is also a priest, without priestly pedigree. And as the history contains no account either of the birth or the dea^h of Melchisedec, but only exhibits him as a living man ; so Christ, since his ascension, is be- come a living priest, and is no more subject to change or death 7. 13. Heb. xi. 26. " He (Moses) esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt." " Such reproach as Christ endured." Newcome. — " Oiog Xpia-ros sTrotOt." Photius. — So Lindsey : and others. See chap. xiii. 13.— r" Typical of the sufferings ' " Haec non sunt nimium nunc urgenda cum obsoleverit prorsus ea ratio sic explicaiidae Scripturse." Le Clerc in Hammond, with his usual good sense. — If this be the true interpretation, which to me seems unquestionable, it puts an end to all the curious speculations concern- ing the person of Melchisedec : some supposing that he was the Logos, some, an angel, and some, Shem the son of Noah; and likewise, concerning the person of Christ, as being in his divine nature without mother, and in his human nature without father, and the like, with which divines have puzzled themselves to little purpose. See Peircp, and Improved Version, note. of 104 TfiXTS SUPPOSED TO ALl^UDE TO [[Part I. of Christ." Grotius.— " Which the Israelites sufFered as expectants of the Messiah.' Beza and Hallet.— " The reproach which he incurred by the worship of the visible Jehovah, whom Paul considers in his future character of the Christ.". H. Taylor in Ben Mordecai's Lett. p. 297. The best interpretation of this text is that of Dr. Whit- by, Dr. Sykes, Le Clerc, and others. The word Christ signifies ' anointed,' i. e. separated, consecrated. Hence it is applied to the Israehte nation, Ps. cv. 15; " Touch not my anointed" (LXX. ' mychrists,' tcdv xpta-rwv) i. e. my chosen and consecrated people. Habakkuk iii. 13, " Thou wentest forth for the salvadon of thy people, even for thine anointed," rov xp/o-roy era, ' thy christ,' ' thy chosen people.' ' Moses estefemed the reproach of Christ,' that is, of the chosen and holy people of God, ' greater riches than the treasures of Egypt,' q. d. He preferred the state of a despised Israelite to the opulence and grandeur of an Egyptian prince. Dr. Clarke, with great judgement, takes no notice of this text. 14. Heb. xii. 25, 26. " See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him w-ho- speaketh from heaven," &c. See Haggai ii. 6.^ The speaker here alluded to is God himself, who, at the giving out of the Law, spake from mount Sinai, but who now by his spirit speaks from heaven. 1 Pet. i. 12. *' The stress of the argument," says Peirce, " lies in the different manner of his speaking, his speaking on earth * Archbishop Newconie strangely conceives of this passage as "fa- vouring the supposition that our Lord was the angel of the covenant ■who presided at giving the Law." Br, Clarke takes no notice of this text. and Sect. 4.3 THE PRE-EXISTEKCE OF CHRIST. ]05 and his speaking from heaven." See also Grotius and Whitby. 15. Heb. xiii. 8. " Jesus Christ is thesanie yes- terday, and to-day, and for ever." " In the tenor of his declarations, as well as in the glo- ries of his divine nature." Dr. Doddridge. '* The meaning of this place, as appears from the con- text, is, that the doctrine of Christ once taught by the apostles ought to be preserved unchanged." Dr. Clarke, No. 662 : and with him agree CalvinS, Whitby, Le Clerc, Newcome, and the majority of expositors. This inter- pretation is confirmed by ver. 9 : "Be not carried away with divers and strange doctrine." The word Christ of- ten stands for the doctrine of Christ. Eph. iv. 20, " We have not so learned Christ," ?'. e. his doctrine. See also Phil. iv. 13. Acts v. 42. 2 Cor. iv. 5. 1 Cor. i. 24. 16. 1 Pet. i. 11." Searching what — the spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow." * * The spirit of Christ' is that prophetic spirit which re- vealed .the advent and the sufferings of Christ, as, John xiv. 17, ' the spirit of truth' is that inspiration from God which would reveal and attest the doctrine of the Gospel. See Grotius in loc. ; Clarke, No. 1209; and Lindsey's Seq. p. 283. 17. 1 Pet. iii. 1 9, 20. " By which also he (Christ) went and preached unto the spirits in prison. Who some time were disobedient, when (once) the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was preparing." 9 " App'aretnon de aterna Christi essentia apostolum disputare, sed de ejus notitii, quae omnibus seculis viguit inter pios, ac perpetuum ecclesise ftindainentum fuit." Calvin. More 106 TEXTS SUPPOSED TO ALLUDE TO [Part I, More correctly ; " By which also, after he was gone, he preached to the spirits, i. e. persons •" in prison : who formerly disbelieved." q. d. By which spirit, communicated to his apostles- af- ter his ascension, (7ro^v9sie, see ver. 22, where the very same word is used in the same sense,) he proclaimed the Gospel to persons who wete imprisoned in ignorance, idolatry, and vice, of the same description with those to whom Noah preached while the ark was building. Who indeed then preached with little eflect, &c. Those to whom Christ preaches by his spirit since his ascension are not the self-same persons to whom Noah preached, but persons of the same cast artd character, the same race of idolaters and unbelievers, bound in the same chains of ignorance, vice, and prejudice. This is the interpretation of GrotiusU, and seems to be the best solution of this obscure and entangled text. Of the advocates for the pre-existence and divinity of Christ, some suppose with Dr, Whitby, Dr. Doddridge, &c., that Christ by his prophetic spirit, in the days of Noah, tvarned the inhabitants of the antediluvian world, '" Spirit is not unfrequently used for perwn. See 1 Tim. vi. 21, compared with 3 Tim. iv. 22. Philem. v. 25. 1 John iv. 2, 3. " " iv M, per quem Dei spiritum missum in apostolbs. iropv&sii, postquam in caelum ascendit: vid. ver. 22 Job. xiv. 2, 3. sy ipvXa.K.n, i. e. iu came. aifEiflrjo-atri Ttota. y.. r. \. loquitur quasi iidera fuissent, et fuerant iidem non apt^^j-ui, sed genere. Homines a Deo plane ab- alienati. Noee non crediderunt : Chrislo crediderunt." Grotius. Christ was raised to life by the spirit, that is, the power of God : by which spirit, after he was gone to heaven, he preached by the mi- nistry of his apostles to the spirits in prison, not to the dead, but to the Gentile world who were without any sense or knowledge of God. Chap. iv. 6, " The Gospel was preached to them that were dead." Isa. xlii. 6, 7, " I give thee for a light to the Gentiles, to bring out the prisoners from the prison. Who were some time disobedient in the days of Noah." — " He preached not to the same individual per- sons ; but to men like them, m the same circumstances." Lindsey's Seq. p. 283 — 288. Dr. Clarke makes no use of this text. See Imp. Ver. not. in loc. who Sect. 4.] THE PRE-EXISTENCE OF CHRIST, 107 who then rejected his admonitians, and are now suffering in prison, i. e. in hell. Others, with Gregory Nazianzen, understand this text as teaching that Christ descended into hell to preach the Gospel to the imprisoned souls of those who perished in Noah's flood. 18, 1 John i. 1 , 2. " That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of Life ; for the Life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal Life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us." This text is parallel to John i. 1 — 14 ; and they are mutually explanatory of each other. Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of the Christian faith, who is there called ' the Word,' is here entitled ' the Word of Life,' — he is the7-e said to have been " in the beginning ;" here, he is " that which was from the beginning," i, e. from the commencement of the new dispensation. — In the Gospel it is said, " in him was Life ;" in the Epistle he is styled " the Life/' " the Eternal Life ;" for this was the main object of his mission, the great doctrine which he was authorized to reveal. — In the Gospel, " the Word was with God ;" in the Epistle, *' this Eternal Life was with the Father," i. e. he was instructed by God, and re- ceived his commission from him. — In the Gospel, " the Life was the Light of men, and John was sent to bear witness to it ;" in the Epistle, " the Life was manifested, and his disciples saw it and bare witness." — Finally, in the Gospel, " the Word was flesh ;" the teacher of life was a real man : in the Epistle, this Word of life was also a real person, the object of sense ;"he was heard, and seen, and felt. He was not, as the Docetae then taught, a spi. ritual lOS TEXTS SUPPOSED TO ALLUDE TO [Part I. ritual being in the shape of a man, but without the essen- tial properties of humanity, intangible, and impassible 12. 19. 1 John iv. 2. " Every spirit that confesseth that J6esus Christ is come in the flesh, is of God," See ver. 3, and 2 John, ver. 7. Calvin and bishop Horsley argue from this phrase the pre-existence and divinity of Christ. Grotius and the old Socinians interpret the words ' coming in the flesh,' of the humble and suffering state in which Christ appeared. Dr. Priestley and Mr, Lindsey explain the phrase as ex- pressive of the real and proper humanity of Christ, in op- position to the doctrine of the Docetas, which was then growing into fashion, that Christ was a man in appearance only. Of this doctrine the apostle expresses the strongest disapprobation, ver. 3, " Every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God : and this is that spirit of antichrist" — " which the world hear- eth." Ver. 5. Thus it appears that the doctrine against which the apostle expresses a marked indignation, and which he denounces as the very essence aijd spirit of antichrist, is that which denies Christ to be a real man, and which maintains that, he was a being different from what he ap- peared to be. This was the doctrine which the world received with applause ; and the reason is plain : because it diminished the odium which was attached to the Chris- tian religion, from the low extraction, the mean condition, and the ignominious execution of its original founder '3. 20 Rev. xxii. 16. "I am the root and the off- spring of David." Comp. chap. v. 5. g. d. . . ■ " -^,— — J " See Sect. III. No. t Also Impr. Version in loc. ^^ Lindsey's Sequel, p. 2SQ — 291. — " Every spirit which confess- eth that Jesus Christ is truly man is of God, in opposition to the Docetae, who maintained that he was man only in appearance." Dr. Priestley's Sect. 4.] THE PRE-EXISTENCE OF CHRIST. 109 q. d. I am a sucker or plant from the root of David. That root, of which it was foretold that it should grow out of the house of David. Isa. xi. 1 , " There shall come forth a root from the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots." Ver. 10, "In that day there shall be a root of Jesse." Isa. liii. 2. Hos. xiv, 6. Rom. XV, 12. See Grotius in loc. r From the review which has been taken of the texts contained in this Section, we may conclude, that, though if the doctrine of the pre-existence of Christ had been an undoubted fact, established upon independent evidence-, some of these passages might be understood as containing an allusion to it, y€t that no one of them can be admitted as a direct proof of the popular doctrine. All of them may be well explained upon the supposition of the proper humanity of Jesus Christ, and the majority of them are in fact interpreted by the most learned and judicious of the Arian and Trinitarian expositors as having no bearing upon the doctrine of the pre-existence. Priestley's History of Corrupt, vol. i. p. S. — " ' Coming \a the flesU' is a very awkward and unnatural phrase," says bishop Horsley, " to €xpress no more than his being truly irian ; it naturally leads to the notion of one who had his choice of different ways of cofning." Hors-. ley's Charge, p. 15 — 18. — But the controversy with the Docetae made that expression proper, which would otherwise have been harsh. And this sufficiently accounts for the apostle's using it, without having recourse to the unfounded and unscriptural supposition of our Lord's haviirga choice of different ways of coming into the world., SECTION 110 DIVINE ATTRIBUTES SUPPOSED [Part I. SECTION V. ATTRIBUTES SUPPOSED TO BE ASCRIBED TO CHRIST, WHICH INFER HIS PRE-EXISTENCE AND DIVINITY. I. Eternity. 1 . John i. L " In the beginning was the Word." Answer. The beginning of the Gospel dispensation is here intended. See Sect. III. 1. 2. Col. i. 15. " The first-born of every creature." Answer. Compare ver. 1 8. The first who was raised from the dead to immortal life. Sect. III. ] 8. 3. Heb. vii. 3. "Having neither beginning of days nor end of life." Answer. This being predicated of Melchisedec, and not proving his eternity, it cannot prove the eternity of Christ. Sect. IV. 12. 4. Heb. xiii. 8. "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever." Answer. That is, the doctrine of Christ, as the con- text requires, and Calvin himself allows. Sect. IV. 15. II. Immutahility . Heb. i. ]0 — 12. "And thou, Lord, in the be- ginning didst lay the foundations of the earth ; and the heavens are the works of thy hands : they will perish, but thou wilt remain," &c. Answer, These words are a quotation from Ps. cii. 25, and are certainly addressed to the eternal God. The writer of this epistle having cited the promise, Ps. xlv. 6, that God would support the throne of the Messiah, in an eloquent Sect. 5-3 TO pE ASCRIBED TO CHRIST, 111 eloquent apostrophe he addresses the Supreme Being in the language of the Psalmist, acknowledging and adoring that immutability of the divine nature, and of his wise and benevolent purposes, which constitute the surest pledge of the stability of the Messiah's kingdom i. III. Power to lay down his Life, and to resume it at pleasure. 1. John ii. 19 — 21. "Jesus answered. Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up :" — " he spake of the temple of his body." Matt. xxvi. 61 . Answer. The resurrection of Jesus is uniformly ascribed in the Sacred Writings to the power of God. Acts ii, 32 ; x. 40 ; xvii, 31. Rom. vi. 4 ; viii, I 1. Our Lord's expression therefore is to be understood figurative- ly ; not that he would raise himself, but that he would be raised by God. Thus, when it is said " the dead shall rise," 1 Thess, iv, ,16. all that is intended is, that they shall be raised by a divine power. Mark v. 41. John xi. 44 ; v. 28, 29. 2. John X. 17, 18. " Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take (AaSt;)/, to receive) 2 it again. This command- ment have I received (sAaSov) of my Father." ■ See Emlyn's Works, vol. ii. p. 340. Also Lindsey's Sequel, p. 488 ; and the Impr. Vers, in loc. Dr. Clarke, though he prefers the application of the words to the Son, as being the delegate of the Fa- ther in the creation of the world, admits the possibility that they may ' be intended as a description of the immutability of the Father, for a confirmation and assiirance of wliat he had declared." Ver, 8, g. Script. Doct. p, 81. No. 552. * " XoLftXxvisi, manu aliquid ciapio, Matt. xiv. I9 : alia quacunque ratione accipio. Matt. vii. 3 : rursum accipio, recupero, Matt. xix. 29, Joh. xiii. 12" Schleusner. — The word is by no means necessarily takqn in an active sense. If 112 DIVINE ATTRIBUTES SUPPOSED [J^^^^ ^' If this text is to be understood of tfie death and resur- rection of Jesus, it is to be explained upon the same prin- ciples as the preceding : and though active verbs are used, they are to be taken in a passive sense. " I have autho-. rity to receive it again," q. d. If I voluntarily expose myself to suffering and death, I am. assured by my Father that the life so sacrificed shall be speedily restored. I shall receive again the deposit which I resign. Grotius3 explains the text differently, q. d. I have power to expose myself to imminent peril, and I have power to rescue myself at pleasure : so that no person can deprive me of life till I voluntarily resign it, and wave the power with which I am intrusted, of rescuing myself front all violence. Our Lord, to whom the spirit was given without mea- sure, John iii. 34, possessed a voluntary power of working miracles : but his mind was so disciplined by his tempta- tion, and by other circumstances, as to exercise these powers only upon proper occasions. It is evident in par- ticular, that it was optional with him, whether he would submit to a violent death in order to fulfil the purposes of his mission. When the officers came to arrest him, he struck them to the ground with terror. John xviii. 6. — Had he thought fit to desire "it, legions of angels would have been sent for his rescue. Matt, xxvi. 53. — Before the appointed time was arrived, he repeatedly de- livered himself from danger by miracle, Luke iv. 29, John viii. 59. — And the apostle Paul, Philipp. ii. 8, re- presents our Lord's submission to crucifixion as a volun- tary act, in which he spontaneously suspended the exer- cise of his miraculous powers. ' — ~— ^ • — 1 1 . , I , , I I ' " Ostendit Christus aliquid in se exitniuni. Alii etsi periculo se ofFerre poterant, non tamen quoties volunt se periculo possunt eximere, quod ipse poterat. kateiy, k. r. A. i. e. vitam periculo jam praesenti eripere." Grotius, It Sect. 5.] TO BE ASGRIBBD TO CHRIST. 113 It may perhaps be objected, that if our Lord had refu- sed to submit to a violent death, the design of the Gospel dispensation would have been frustrated. But this is a case which could not have occurred under the divine government; events which result from the election of voluntary agents being equally certain with those which are effected by mechanical causes. And it is more ho- nourable to our Lord's character to conceive of him as intrusted with voluntary powers, which the habitual rec- titude of his mind would prevent him from abusing to improper purposes, than to suppose that he was never ca- pable of performing a miracle, but when prompted by an immediate divine suggestion : in which case there would be no room for the exercise either of discretion or bene- volence. And the language of the New Testament evi- dently favours the supposition that the miracles of Christ were voluntary acts, while the apostlts possessed miracu- lous powers in a very inferior and limited degree. IV. Iri'esistihle Power. 1. Matt, xxviii. 18. " Ail power" (f^acr/ar, au- thority,) " is given to me in heaven and on earth." This text does not refer to power as an attribute of Christ, but to his authority and universal dominion; which is a different question, and will be considered elsewhere. Sect. X. 2. Philip, iii. 2 1 ." Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working (energy) whereby he is able even to subdue (subject) all things to himself." Answer. That Christ will be invested with authority to raise the dead, is a doctrine generally received by chris- tians ; — ^and that there is a sense in which all things will be made subject to him, is admitted by Unitarians equally with other christians. That this power, whatever it be, i is 114 ttfVmE ATtMBT/TBS 3UPP63ED fPart I. is derived from God, the apostle expressly teaches, 1 Cor. XV. 27. How far this authority is consistent with the proper humanity of Christj will be the subject of future inquiry. Sect. X. 3. Rev. i. 8. " I am Alpha and Omega, saith the -liord God, who is, and was, and who is to c6me, the Almighty." This is the most approved reading of the text. See Griesbach and the Improved Version, The words are undoubtedly to be understood as uttered in the person of God, and not of Jesus. The words reapeated ver. 11, "where Christ is the speaker, are certainly spurious. V. Omnipresence. 1. Matt, xviii. 20. "For where two or three are fathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Answer. The apostles certainly did not understand these words as an assertion of the divine attribute of om- nipresence. For Peter, without any marks of astonish- ment at so extraordinary a declaration as that must have appeared to be if he had so understood it, and without any comment, proceeds in his usual way to propose a question upon a difSculty which had occurred to him : " Master, how often shall my brother oflFend, and I for^ give ?" The declaration therefore must be taken figura- tively. The context limits the promise to the apostles only. See Pearce and Newcome. — Ver. 19, " If two of you shall agree on earth concerning any thing which they shall ask, it shall be done for them by my jFather who is in heaven." This promise must necessarily be in- tended of prayers offered by the impulse of the spirit. The reason follows : " For where two or three are gathered together iii my name, there am I in the midst of them." q. d. Such requests, dictated by ray authority, and prompt- ed Sect. 5,] To BE ASCRIBED TO CHRIST. 115 ed by the spirit which I will communicate, will be as efE- cacious as if I myself were personally present. 2. Matt. «xviii. 20. " Lo, I am with you alway, even to the end of the world*." Answer. The promise is addressed to the apostles only. It is limited to the termination of the Jewish dis- pensation by the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple: during which interval Christ was often personally present with his apostles ; and always by the communication of the •Holy Spirit. See Mr. Lindsey's Sequel, p. 74. yj. Omniscience ; the Knowledge of the Thoughts and Purposes of the Heart. 1. Matt. ix. 4. "Jesus knowing their thoughts." Compare Markii. 8, " When Jesus perceived in his spi- rit that they reasoned thus within themselves." , See also Luke V. 22. Perhaps the historians might mean nothing more than that he judged from their countenances whr:t was passing in their minds. 2. John ii. 24,25. " He knew all men; and needed not that any should testify of man : for he knew what was in man." 3. Matt. xii. 25. " But Jesus knowing their thoughts." 4- Luke vii. 39, 40. " Now the Pharisee said livitljin himself, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what this woman is -And Jesus answering, said, Simon, I have somewhat to say to thee." Observe, that the Pharisee expected as a matter of course that a prophet would know by inspiration the cba- *Tathe end of the world] sui; njs<£ias too ccmvoi. "To theend of the age." Pearce, Wakefield, Newcorae. i.e. " of the Jewish age or dispensation, which seetns to limit the promise to that period of time. Chap, xxiy, 3," Pearce. J 2 racter 116 DIVINE ATTRIBUTES SUPPOSED [Part L racter and thoughts of those who approached him, without inferring or suspecting that a prophet was a being of higher order than rnankind. 5. Luke ix. 46, 47. " There arose a reasoning among them, which should be the greatest. And Jesus perceiving the thoiights of their heart " Compare IVfatt. xviii. 1. Mark ix. 33. 6. John iv. 25. " The woman saith, I know that when the Messiah cometh he will tell us all things." i. e. All things relating to the true and acceptable wor- ship of God ; which was the subject of discourse. 7. John iv. 29. "Come, see a man who told me ^1 things that ever I did : is not this the Christ ?" Observe here, first, the very restricted sense in which the phrase "all things" is used. Jesus had hinted at .very few incidents only of this woman's private life, and she reports that he told her all things. — Observe, further; that the Samaritans fully expected that the Messiah would possess great and supernatural knowledge of human con- cerns, characters, and thoughts ; notwithstanding which, they had no expectation of him as a being of celestial origin. 8. John vi. 64. " Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who would betray him." Compare chap. xiii. 11. 9. John xvi. 28 — 30. " I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world. Again, I leave the world, and go to the Father. His disciples said to him, Now thou speakest plainly ; — now we are sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any should ask thee: by this we believe that thou earnest forth from God." From the connexion it is evident that, by the phrase * all things,' the apostles meant the thoughts and specula^' tions which were passing in their minds. His accurate knowledge Sect. 5.3 TO BE ASCRIBED TO CHRIST. llf knowledge of these speculations convinced them that he came from God : by which they could only mean that he was an inspired prophet. For his knowledge of their thoughts would warrant this conclusion, but would prove nothing relative to ar pre-existent state and a descent from heaven. Lastly ; the use of the phrase in this sense must to the apostles have been familial and intelligible : for when our Lord saith, " I came forth from the Father ;" they immediately reply, " Now thou speakest plainly ;" and repeat his words no doubt in the sense in which he used them, i. e. as expressing a divine commission. 10. John xxi. 17. " Thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee." 1 1. Col. ii. 2, 3. " To the acknowledgement of the mystery of God [even of the Father and of Christ] in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and know- ledge." Griesbach omits the words in brackets. The manu- scripts vary. The relative iv do, rendered ' in ivhom^ is by archbishop Newcome translated 'in which,' as referring to the word mystery. See chap. i. 27. 12. Rev. ii. 2. " I know thy works." Each of the epistles to the seven churches bf Asia is introduced with this preface. 13. Rev. ii. 23. " And all the churches shall know that I am he who searches the reins and the heart." Compare 1 Kings viii. 39. Solomon, in his prayer at the dedication of the temple, saith, *' Thou, even thou, only knowest the hearts of all the children of men." To say nothing of the doubtful authenticity of the Apo- calypse, or of this portion of it, these passages would prove nothing more than that Christ, in his exalted stated is ac- quainted with the circumstances of his churches, and with the character of individual members. 14. lieb. IIS^ DIVINE ATTRIBUTES stit-posEC £Part L l4. Heb. IV. 12, 13. " The word of God is Mngi and powerful, is a discerner of the thoughts and in- tents of the heart :— neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his fight," (before it,) " but all things are liaked and open to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do." Though Dr. Clarke (No 6.57,) and a few others ex- plain this text of Jesus Christ under the character of the Logos, the great majority of commentators understand it of the doctrine of the Gospel, See Grotius, Wbilby, and Peirce. liemarhs. 1. It appears that it was a received opinion among the Jews, that inspired prophets were acquainted, to a certain extent, with the thoughts and characters of those with whom they conversed. And they probably expect- ed that the Messiah would possess this knowledge in still greater perfection. John i. 49. 2. It is evident from the history that our Lord did ' actually possess this knowledge in a very high degree^ He knew the character of Nathanael, and his actions while in solitude. John i. 47, 48. — He was acquainted with the history of the woman of Samaria. John iv. 1 7, 18. — The death of Lazarus was revealed to him while he was at a distance from Bethany. John xi. 14. — And in many instances he discovers an intimate knowledge of the cha- ■ racters of his hearers, and of the thoughts which were passing in their minds. 3. When it is said of Christ, that "he knew all things," it is evident that the words are to be taken in a very restricted sense. He was nbt properly omniscient, for he knew not the season when his own prophecy would be fulfilled. Mark xiii. 32. Nor does our Lord ever us^ this language concerning himself. In fact, the phrase \ occurs Sect, 5.3 TO BE ASCRIBED TO CHRIST. 119 occurs no where but in the writings of John, and he ap- plies it to christians in general;. 1 John ii. 20, " Ye have an unction from the holy One, and ye know all things." All therefore that can reasonably be understood by this expression, as applied to our Lord, is, that every thing ne- cessary for the purposes of his mission was revealed to him. 4. The apostles possessed what is called " the power of discerning spirits," 1 Cor. xii. 10; that is, pro- bably, the power of discerning men's thoughts and cha- racters upon certain occasions. Acts v. S. g. 1 Cor. V. 4. This was the same, power which Christ possessed, but in a much higher degree. In the apostles it was li- mited and temporary. In him it was no doubt more ex- tensive and permanent. But the measure of it cannot be accurately ascertained, 5. To argue the doctrine of the divinity of Christ, or even of his pre-existence and superior nature, from the strong and hyperbolical expressions which the evangelist John, unsupported by any other sacred writers, uses con- cerning the knowledge of Christ, especially when it is considered that he applies the same language to christians in general, is drawing a grapd conclusion from very pre- carious premises. VII. Christ alone knows ike Father^ and is known iy the Father. 1 . Matt. 3ci. 27. " No man knoweth the Son, but the Father ; lieither knoweth any man the Fa,ther, save the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him." 2. Luke X. 22. " All things are delivered to me by my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is> but the Father ; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him." |lence it is coQcIiided that there is somethuig very mysterious 120 DIVINE ATTRIBUTES SUPPOSED [Part I. mysterious in the person of the the Son, which no oiie but the Father knows ; and that the Son alone can com- prehend the essence of the Father: and from this mutual comprehension is inferred a unity of essence and equality of persons 5. No conclusion can be more unfounded. It is. plain that he to whom the Son reveals the Father, knows the Father. But what can a man thus learn of God ? No- thing surely but his revealed will. In the same sense, precisely, the Son knows the Father, i. e. he knows his will, his thoughts, and purposes of mercy to mankind. And the Father alone knows the Son, knows the nature, the object, and the extent of his mission. See John i. 1 8 j X. 14, 15. S. John xiv. 7. 9, 10, 11. "If ye had known me, ye had known my Father also." — " He that hath seen me, hath seen the Father." — " Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me ?" — " The Father who dwelleth in me, he doeth the works." Dr. Thomas Burnet, Dr. Doddridge, and others, who contend for what is called the indwelling scheme, under- stand our Lord as asserting that the essence of the Father is in some mysterious manner united to the essence of the Son, so as to communicate to him true and proper divi- nity. But this mystical language of the evangelist, when translated into popular phraseology, means nothing more than that our Lord spoke and acted under a divine com- mission. In the same sense our Lord prays that his apo- stles may be united with the Father and himself. See chap, xiv., 20; xv. 4; xvji. 11. 21 — 26.6 ° " These words plainly declare that there is sometliing Inexplicably mysterious in the nature and person of Christ." Doddridge.-^Qn-'the other side,.see Clarke- and Grotius, * See a valuable note of Dr. Clarke's upon these texts (Scrip. Opct, No. 600) ; also Whitljy in loc, viir. Sect. 5^3 To BE ASCRIBED TO CHRIST. > 121 VIII. Christ was perfectly innocent, and free from Sin. 1 . John viii. 46. " Which of you convinceth me of sia ? And if I say the truth, why do you not believe me ?" Rather, as Dr. Campbell translates, and as the con- nexion requires, " Which of you convicteth me of false- hood ?" 2, Acts iii. 14. " But ye denied the Holy One and the Just." S. Acts vii. 52. " And they have slain them who shewed before of the coming of the Just One, of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers." 4. James v. 6. " Ye have condemned and killed the Just One ; and he did not resist you 7." Mr. Dodson supposes that in these texts there is an al- lusion to Isa. iii. 10, which he thinks to have beenwilfuU ly corrupted by the Jews in the original Hebrew, and which, in conformity to the LXX. and to Justin Martyr, he translates thus : " Wo to them, because they have devised evil against themselves, saying. Let us destroy the Just One, for he is of no use to us." This the learned translator understands to be a prophecy of the rejection and sufferings of the Messiah, here and in othei* places described as the Just or Righteous One. 5. 2 Cor. V. 21. " He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin." 6. Heb. vii. 26. " For suph a high priest became us, who was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners." 7. 1 Pet. ii. 21, 22. " Christ suffered, leaving us an example : — who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth." 7 " tov S^i%tu *• most properly," the sense of a^e or dispensation, is well known. See Matt. xiii. 40, Col. i. 26. Eph. iii. 2 1 . ' The age to come' means ' the Christian dispensation.' Heb. vi. 5. Eph. ii. 7. See Dr. Sykes's Note 00 Heb. i. 2, K 2 messen- 132 ALLEGED SUPERIORITY OF fPart t. messengers 9,") the prophets mentioned ver. Iv " as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they." Christ was declared to be the Son of God by hisresur- rection from the dead ; by his ascension into heaven he had actually been put into possession of his inheritance. In this respect he far excelled all the prophets and messen- gers of God who had preceded him. And it is with re- spect to these, and not to angels, that the comparison with Christ is instituted in the beginning of this epistle. Ver. 5. " For unto which of the angels (or, " of those messengers,") said he, at any time. Thou art ray Son," &c. Ver. 6. " And when he bringeth again the first- born into the world, he saith. Let all the angels (or " mes- sengers") of God worship him :" rather, *' pay homage to him 10." By a bold prosopopoeia, the former prophets and mes- sengers of God are summoned to do homage to Christ, in consequence of his resurrection from the dead,, and to ac- knowledge him as their superior. ' Messengers.'] The connexion requires that the word ayy£Xoi, ' an- gels,' in this chapter, should be taken in its usual sense ot messengers, not angels. See Wakefield's TranSl. and Imp. Vers, in loc. '" Christ is the first-born, as being the iirst who was raised from the deadj Col. i. 18. Rev. i. 5. See Peirce and Newcome. — It is well known that 7ff oo-Kuveoi is often used for civil homage, and does not ne- cessarily signify religious worship. See Schleusner. The quotation is from Deut. xxxii. 43 ; LXX. The words are not to be found in the Hebrew. They are applied to the Hebrew nation upon its resto- ration from a calamitous and desolate state : and it is with a very great latitude of interpretation, which was indted common in that-age, and in which this writer frequently indulges, that they are made applicable to Christ. The meaning, however, is sufficiently obvious. See Sykes in loc— The prosopopoeia here is something similar to that in Isa, xiv.Q, where the departed heroes are represented as marching forth from the grand receptacle of the dead, to meet and taunt the king of Babylon upon his descent thither. ^^er; 7. Sect. 6.] CHRIST TO ANGELS/ 133 Ver. 7. "And of the angels (or, " concerning those messengers,") he saith, Who maketh his angels spi- rits, (rather, " who maketh his messengers winds/') and his ministers a flame of fire." Former prophets and messengers of God are compjired to wind and lightning. They sptoke and acted under a di- vine impulse, and the effects of their mission were fre- quently awful and alarming ; but their office was of short duration, and their powers were transient ". Ver. 8, 9. " But unto the Son he saith.Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever:" or, " God is thy throne," i. e. the supporter of thy throne. Psalm xlv. 6, 7. q. d. The power and authority of former prophets, such as Moses, Elijah, and others, however great and awful for a time, was but transitory and evanescent ; but thy kingdom is immoveable, thy dominion is everlasting. *' A sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy king, dom : thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity ; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." Or, " companions," i. e. all those who, like thee, were messengers from God to men. This is a plain indication that the writer is here speaking not of angels, but of pre- ceding prophets, who might justly be regarded as fellow- servants and fellow-labourers with Christ. Ver. IS, 14. " But to which of the angels (or, " of those messengers,") said he at any time. Sit thou at my right hand," &c. — " Are they not all ministering spi- *' Another remarkable instance of lax interpretation. The quotation is from Psalm civ. 4, the proper translation of which i», ." He maketh the winds his messengers, and the lightnings his ministers." It is an assertion in beautiful and poetic language of the sovereign dominion of God over the powers of nature. But this writer avails himself of the ambiguity of the language, and accommodates the words to the autho- rity of the prophets. rits? 134 ALLEGED SUPERIORITiV^ OF [Part I. rhs ? (rather, " ministers ^^" or " servants,") sent forth to minister to them who shall be the heirs of salvation," or rather, " to those who were about to be heirs of salva- tion 13." 5. d. Though I call them fellows, or companions, yet they were not equals : they were servants, he is a son an^ a sovereign ; they were sent to announce and to prepare the way for that dispensation which he was to introduce, and in which he was to preside. They were only his he- ralds and harbingers to the members of that holy and happy community over which he is appointed to rule as a prince, 12. Heb. ii. 2, 3. " For if the word spoken by angels (" messengers," i. e. former prophets, who were only servants,) was steadfast, and every transgression re- ceived a just recompense j how shall we escape if we neg- lect so great salvation, which at first began to be spoken by the Lord"?" IS. 1 Pet. " Ministering spirits,'] i, e. ' persons,' or ' inspired ministers.' See 1 John iv. 1 — 3, " Beloved, believe not every spirit ; but try the spi- rits, whether they be of God." Why ? " i3ecause many false pro- phets are gone out into the world." A spirit, therefore, is a prophet, one who pretends to inspiration. '• Every spirit, (i. e. every prophet,) that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is of God :" and '< Every spirit, (J. e. every one professing to be a prophet,) who con- fesseth not this truth, is not of God." So that the word spirit does not necessarily signify an incorporeal being, which is the idea con- veyed to the English, or rather to the inadvertent, reader : but minis- tering spirits were inspired persons, prophets of a former age, who sus- tained the office of servants, not the relation of sons. '^ Who shallle heirs of salvation.] rsg fhiWw fa,; ■x.i^tjpwoit.BW," those ■who should afterward belong to the Christian church." Pierce.— rijif Oix8/!AEVi)y fiEXJistrav, ' the world to come,' mentioned chap. ii. 5. Pro- phets were ministers : to whom ? Not to their contemporaries, who did not comprehend their prophecies, but to future believers, to those who would afterwards possess the blessings which they foretold, to us who are confirmed in the faith of Christ, by seeing their prophecies accomplbhed in him. " In the remainder of this chapter the writer, seemingly apprehen- sive lest his meaning should be misunderstood, enters into a direct proof Sect. 6.] CHRIST TO ANGELS. 135 1 3. 1 Pet. iii. 22. "Jesus Christ, who Is gone into heaven, and is at the right hand of God, angels, (or '* messengers,") and authorities and powers being mad& subject unto him." i. e. The missionaries and teachers of the Gospel, even those of the highest rank and greatest influence in th§ church, together with all their spiritual gifts and miracu- lous powers, being placed under his direction, and at his disposal. See Impr. Version in loc. 14. Rev. xxii. 16. " I, Jesus, have sent my an- gel," or, " this messenger of mine," i. e. John, who saw the vision, " to testify unto you these things." See Wake- field in loc. Or possibly there may be an allusion to the angel-mystagogue, who, in the vision, explained to John the prophetic symbols. See chap. i. 1 . - ■ ■ ■ — ■■ ■■■■ -I. — — I ij . ■ -I ■ ^ ■ I proof tBat Jfesusi though he was so much superi6r in rank and charac- ter to all former prophets, was not an angel or superior spirit, but a proper human being, in all respects like his brethren. See Impr. Vers, in loc. SECTION 1S6 TITLES AND CHARACTERS [Part I. SECTION VII. TITLES AND CHARACTERS ATTRIBUTED TO CHR1ST,0R THOUGHT TO BE SO ATTRIBUTED, WHICH ARE SUP- POSED TO IMPLY SUPERIORITY OF NATURE. I. Jehovah. J. HIS word, the appropriate name of God, is esteemed so sacred by the Jews, that wherever it occurs in the Old Testament they forbear to pronounce it, and substitute the word ' Lord' in its place. The versions, ancient and mo- dern, have mostly followed this example. That Christis called ' Lord' in the New Testament is sufficiently ob- vious : but the present question is, whether this title is ever applied to him in the sense of ' Jehovah.' The support- ers of the divinity of Christ maintain the affirmative^ viz. I. John xii. 39 — 4 1 , " Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said. He hath blinded their eyes, &c. These things said Isaiah when he saw his glory, and spake of him." The quotation is from Isaiah vi. 10, where the prophet speaks of himself as having had a vision of Jehovah upon a throne. And the glory which Isaiah saw being the glory of Jehovah, it is concluded that Jesus is Jehovah. This is the argument of bishop Pearce and bishop Lowth, and of Trinitarians in general. Archbishop New- come explains the text of Christ as the representative of Jehovah, or, as Henry Taylor, of the visible or subordi- nate Jehovah ; with whom many Arians agree. But Dr. Clarke, after Grotius, and with him all the Unitarians, un- derstand the evangelist as affirming, That the prophet saw, that Sect. 7.] ATTRIBUTED TO CHRIST, 1 S7 that is, foresaw, the glory of Christ, as Abraham saw, i. e. foresaw, his day. John viii. 56 K II. Heb. i. 10. " And thou. Lord, in the begin- ning hast laid the foiindation of the earth," &c., A quotation from Psalm cii. 25 ; where it is an address to Jehovah, as it is likewise in this place. The author here confirms his doctrine of the permanent establishment of the throne of Christ, from the consideration of the immu- tability of God by whom it is supported, and whom he thus solemnly addresses in the language of the Psalmist 2. ir. God. It is generally believed that ' God' is a title not unfre- quently applied to Christ in the New Testament. This is held by many to be a strong argument in favour of his true and proper deity. But as it is undeniable that the word is used in different senses in the sacred writings, the Arians explain it, when applied to Christ, as expressive of his delegated dominion over the world and church. This also is the sense in which the word was understood by the old Socinian writers. The Unitarians plead that Christ is called God, as being a prophet invested v?ith miraculous powers ; in the same sense in which, Exod. vii. 1, Moses is said to be a god to Pharaoh. But Mr. Lindsey,' Seq. p. 1 98, and some modem advocates for the Unitarian doc- trine, deny that Jesus is ever styled God in the New Tes- tament. It is very remarkable that some of those lofty titles and characters which are attributed to Christ, and which are * See Clarke's Scrip. Doct. No, 5Q7. Ben Mordecai's Letters, vol. i. p. ^1. Lowth and Dodson pn Isaiah, v, 1. Lindsay's Seq, p. 354. • Some argue from Rom, x, 13, " Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved :" from Joel ii. 32. But the words may be rendered " Whosoever shall call himself by the name of the Lord," Others understand the words as a phrase expressing the pro- fessors of religion, the Worshippers ef the true God. thought 138 TITLES AND CHARACTERS [Parti. thought by many to indicate his superior nature an(i dig- nity, are also used of christians in general, who are said " to be one with him and with the Father," " assessors with him in heavenly places," and " to be filled with all the fulness of God." But there is one expression, viz. " partakers of a divine nature," applied by the apostle Peter, 2 Pet. i. 4, to all believers, which is stronger than any which are used of Christ, and which, if it had been applied to him, would have been held forth as an irrefra- gable- proof of his proper deity : to such an argument it would have been very difficult to have given a satisfactory reply. That explanation of the words which all are now constrained to admit, would then have been treated as a forced and languid interpretation, and an attempt, hardly consistent with honesty, to wrest plan words from their natural and obvious meaning, in order to bend them to a preconceived hypothesis. This instance shows how little Stress is to be laid on such phraseology, and how cautious we ought to be of interpreting these strong expressions in a literal sense. I. Matt. i. 23. " — that it tnigh tbe fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet. Behold, _a virgin shall bring iarth a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel ; whigb, being interpreted, is, God with us." .^nsmr. Not to insist upon the evidence produced, Sect. 11,, of the spuriousness of the first two chapters of the gospel of Matthew, the prophecy here cited, from Isaiah vii. 14, has no relation to the birth of the Messiah. The design of the prophet is, to announce that before a young woman, shortly to be married, should have a soft grown up to years of discretion, the two kingdoms of Syria and Israel should be overthrown. The name Immanuel, given in prophetic vision to this child, was a symbol that God would be with and deliver his chosen people. And had that name been given to Christ in prophecy, or other- wise. Sect. 7.3 ATTRIBUTED TO CHRIST, 13^ wise, it would have meant nothing more^. It was common agaong the Jews to give significant names, and in those names to introduce the name of God j vh. Adonijah, My Lord is Jehovah, — Eliezer, God is my helper. And, Jer. xxxiii. 1 6, Jerusalem is called The Lord our righteousness. n. Luke i. 16, 17. " And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he (John) shall go before him, L e. the Lord their God, in the spirit and power of Elias." This is the language of the angel to Zecharias : but the doubtful authenticity of this story has been already noticed. Sect. II. And though strictness of construction warrants the ap- plication of the pronoun him to the antecedent God, yet as the phrase * Lord our God ' is never applied to Christ in the New Testament, no Jew would ever think of such an application of the words. John was the forerunner of the Lord their God, by being the forerunner of Jesus, the great messenger of God to mankind*. ' III, John i. 1 . " — and the Word was God," or, « a god." I. e. An inferior God derived from the Supreme, and delegated by him, — or, ' God was Wisdom ;' — or ' the Word, i. e. the Teacher, was a prophet endued with mi- raculous powers ;' — or, if the conjecture of Crellius and others be allowed, 0=a for @£og, ' the Word was God's ;' ' the teacher was sent from God.' See Sect. III. 1. ' " God was with us in Christ, by his wisdom and power comrau- iricated to him for the instruction and benefit of men." Lindsey's Seq. p. 184. — See Lowth and Dodson on Isaiah vii. 14. "'He will lead the way in the sight of God." Wakefield, with whom archbishop Newcome agrees* — Dr. Clarke (Scr. Doct.^534,) admits that the construction of the sentence is favourable to the ortho- dox interpretation, but that this is contrary to the style of Luke, and to the whole analogy of Scripture. Calvin, CattaUo, and Watetland (Sena, f. 203^) lay great stress iipon this text, IV. John 140 TITLES AND CHAEACTERS fPart I. IV. John X. S3. " For a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy, and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God." Our Lord had just declared, ver. 31, " I and my Fa- ther are one." But he peremptorily denies the conclusion which the Jews drew from his language. He even maintains, ver- 34, 35, that if he had given himself the appellationof God, he should have been fully justified by the Jewish Scrip- tures, in which this name is given to prophets and magis- trates. But that as to himself, though possessed of powr ers superior to those of any former prophet, he had never affected to call himself by a higher title than the Son of God. V. John XX. 28. *' And Thomas answered and said unto him. My Lord and my God." This is a sudden exclamation of astonisment and joy. q. d. My Lord ! and my God ! How great is thy power ! Or, My Lord, and my God, has done this^ !— It is how- ever objected that the words are expressly said to be ad- dressed to Christ, and are an acknowledgement of his proper deity, for which the apostle would have been se- verely reproved if he had been wrong ^. Biit who can believe that this sceptical apostle, who im- mediately before had been doubting whether his Master was a living man, would, from the sensible and satisfactory evidence he had now obtained of his resurrection, directly infer "that he wa§ the living and eternal God ? What an infinite distance between the premises and the conclusion J If, then, the words are not to be taken as a mere excla- mation, but as an address to Christ, the apostle's meaning 'Whitby's Last Thoughts, p. yy. Lindsey's Apol. p. 2g; Sequel, p. 200. Archbishop Newcome in loc. ' Erasmus, Grotius^ and Beza in loc. Dr. Doddridge caljs these words " an irrefragable, argument of the deity of bur blessed Lord." seems Sect. 7i] ATTRIBUTED TO CHRIST. 341 seems to be, q. d. Gonvinced of the truth of thy resur- rection, r Acknowledge thee as my master, and submit to thee as my god, as a prophet coming with divine creden- tials, and supported by divine authority. See John x. 34, 35. Erasmus, Grotius, and others remark that this is the first, and indeed the only instance occurring in the Go- spels, in which Christ is addressed by his disciples under the title of God. And this fact may be fairly considered as a presumption that he never was addressed by them under this name, and that the words of the apostle are to be understood as an exclamation only. VI. Acts XX. 28. " — and to feed the church of God', v?hich he has purchased with his own blood." " The blood of Christ," says Dr. Doddridge, " is here called the blood of God, as being the blood of that man who is God with us. And I cannot but apprehend that it was by the special direction of the Holy Spirit that so re- markable an expression was used." *' Our Scriptures," says St. Athanasius, " no where mention the blood of God. Such impudent expressions are only used by Arians7." So widely do these eminent and learned writers differ. The true reading is unquestionably Kv^m, ' Lord.' This is the reading of the Alexandrine, Ephrem, Cambridge, and many other valuable and ancient manuscripts ; of the Syriac, Coptic, and other ancient versions ; and of Atha- nasiiis, Eusebius, Chrysostom, and other. ecclesiastical wri- ters. The word ' God' in the Received Text rests only iipon the authority of the Vulgate version, and of a few manuscripts of little note 8. VII. Rom. ' OpSaiis Se Mit,a, ©ea xafl' ijj*«f tfaf aJsJtuxan a! yf a^ai : kpiocvwY to. ■rtiimfx rtK^i.riif.a.rit. Atjianas. cont. Apollin., apud Wetstein. in loc. ' See Imp, Vers, jn loc. and Griesbaph's invaluable note in his se- cond edition. This happens rather unfortunate for the credit of Dr. Doddridge's 142 TITUES AND CHARACTERS [Part I. Vil. Rom. ix. 5. *' Whose are the fathers, and of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever." Erasmus, Grotius, Dr. Clarke, and others observe, thaU thmigh the word God is found in all our present copies, it was wanting in those of Cyprian, Hilary., Chrysostoni,and others, and is therefore of doubtful authority. Erasmus further remarks, that the words may be trans- lated differently, according to different modes of punctua- tion. He prefers placing the stop after cr«fx«, ' flesh.' q. d. " Of whom is Christ according to the flesh. God who is over all be blessed for ever." This interpretation is ap- proved by Le Clerc, Dr. Clarke, Mr. Locke, Mr. Lind* sey, and the majority of Unitarians. Dr. Whitby, in his CommehtarieSj denies that the words will bear the construction which Erasmus gives; and Doddridge's pious remark. For surely the Holy Spirit which inspired, would also have preserved the text. Mr. Wakefield retains the word ©£B, upon the authority of the Etbiopic version ; and with Dr. Clarke, (Scr. Doct. 538,) he explains the " blood ofGod" as meaning the " Son of God." But this learned critic did not advert to a fact men- tioned by Dr. Marsh in his Notes upon Michaelis, p. 6ll, viz, that the editors of the Ethiopic version had a very imperfect rnanuscript of the Acts of the Apostles, the chasms of which, i. e. the larger part of the book, they supplied by translating from the Vulgate. So that in the Book of the Acts, the Ethiopic version is of no authority whatever. See Marsh's Michaelis, vol. ii. p. g6. Seven manuscripts only, and those of no antiquity and of little valiie, read ©es, ' God.' This reading is supported only by the Vulgate an4 Philpxenian Syriac versions, which last reads Kvpig, ' Lord,' in the margin. It is cited by no writers before Epiphanius and Ambrose, and they are doubtful. — The ancient Syriac reads Xptffre, ' Christ.* But in this it is singular, and unsupported by versions or authorities. — Forty-seven manuscripts read Kupia kou ©es, ' Lord and God :' but these manuscripts are neither of high antiquity nor of great value j and this reading is quite unsupported by the ancient versions and ecclesi- astical writers. — Ten manuscripts, of which four are ancient, read Kvpis, ' Lord :' these manuscripts are of the highest antiquity and au- thority, and of different families. All the readings in which these ma- nuscripts agree, are, by the best critics, admitted as genuine. And tills reading is supported by the most approved ancient versions and ecclesiastical authorities. See Wetstein and Griesbach. tains Sect, Vi] ATTRIBUTED TO CHRIST. 143 maintains that the text is dedsive in favour of the deity of Christ. With him agree Hammond, Doddridge, and the Trinitarians. But, admitting' the common transla- tion to be the true one, the Arians and Socraians under- stand it not of the proper divinity of Christ, but of his sup- posed dominion over the created universe. See Clarke, 539. Slichtingius proposed a most happy and plausible con- jecture ; the transposition of a single letter, uv o, for h m, which gives a new and beautiful turn to the whole sen- tence, viz. " Of whom is the adoption, — of whom are the fathers, — of whom is the Messiah, — of whom is God over all blessed for ever." Thus the climax rises gradually, and finishes where it ought. Whereas in the Received Text, while the apostle is professedly reckoning up all the privi- leges of the Hebrew nation, the greatest of all, and that which would ever be uppermost in the mind of a Jew, is totally omitted, — that God owned himself in a peculiar sense their God. See Heb. xi. 16. This conjecture, ingenious and even probable as it is, not being supported by a single manuscript, version;, or au- thority, cannot be admitted into the text. But one may almost believe that the present reading might be owing to an inadvertence in one of the earliest transcribers, if not in the apostle's own amanuensisS. VIII. 1 Tim. * It is singolar that Slichtingius proposes it as an objection to his own conjecture, that the phrase, " God over all," is more appropriate (p Christ, who was made regent of the universe, than to the Supreme Being himself. " Chrisito rectius hie titulus con venit, ut intelligeretur Christum non super quaedam tantum, sed super omnia dominnm ac deum eflfectumesse," — So extravagant were these great critics in some opinions, while they were so eminently judicious in others. But the strongest minds could not at once burst asunder the adamantine bonds of antichristian prejudices. It is Wonderful that they advanced so far. And it is owing to their great energies and extraordinary success, that modem inquirers, who have followed their footsteps, have been enabled to advance still fafther than th^lr venerable predecessors its the true interpretation 144 TITLES AND CHARACTERS [Part I. VIII. 1 Tim. iii. 16. « And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." ,_ . - There are three different readings of this passage. 1 . That of the Received Text : " God was manifest in the flesh," 0£Of (abbreviated into 0S) e*," by the men who were chosen to be his messengers and ambassadors to the world. " — preached unto the Gentiles:" — his gospel was pub-- Hshed to all nations, and Gentiles as well as Jews were in- vited to accept the blessing. and some others j but, as Dr. Clarke observes, (Scr. Doct. 540,) "we are to judge, not from the present copies of these writers, but from their manner of commenting upon the placie, how the text was read in their days." Griesbach cites Ghrysostora, Theodoret, and Theophy- lact, as reading Qsos. -. " Cyril does not cite this text in reply to Julian, who denies that Christ is ever called God in the writings of Paul. " 'Of, ' he who.' See a similar construction, Rom. xiv. 2. 5. Arch- bishop Newcome, who refers to Mark iv. 25 ; Luke viii, 18 j Rom. viii. 32. " Lectio baec difficilior, et insolentior ca:teris." Griesbach. '^ In the flesh!] Perhaps tlie meaning may be, ' he who was really knd truly a man,' in opposition to the doctrine of theDocetae, that he was a man in appearance only. See chap. i. 4 ; vi. 20. Compare 1 John iv. 2, 3 5 2 John> ver. '7. Imp. Ver. note, '* See Benson. One copy reads ay9f!W7roiy. L "—believed 146 TITLES AND CHARACTERS [Parti. " — believed on in the world,'*-^ — many embraced and professed his doctrine. " — was elevated in glory ^V' — be had a glorious as- cension into heaven ;— or rather, he was elevated above principalities and powers to a station of the highest dig- nity and authority in the church. 3, O, quod, ' that which,' &c. is the reading of the Clermont manuscriptj the Syriac, Ethiopic, Italic, and Vul- gate versions, and of. all the Latin ecclesiastical writers without exception 16. q. d. Great is that mystery of godliness which was manifested in the flesh, i. e. the Gospel which was preached by men in humble life. Many of the Latin fathers explain the word mystery, of the person of Christ. IX. Tit. ii. 13. " Looking for that blessed hope, even the glorious appearance of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ." Or, as some contend, according to the construction of the original, " of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ," 78 jotgyaAS ©£» y.cci 2wTJ/fOf ti^uv I}jo-8 XfitrxS. It is said, that in order to justify the common translation, the article ts should be prefixed to 'S.oorri^os- In reply to this- argument. Dr. Clarke well observes, (Scr. Doct. 541,) that though " the words will gramma- tically bear this construction, it is much more reasonable, and more agreeable to the whole tenor of Scripture, to un- derstand the former part of the words to relate to the '^ avEXij^fli), " met with a glorious reception," Benson ; who ex- plains it of the great success of the Gospel in the apostolic age. But the text will hardly bear out the learned writer in this interpretation. The word, or its derivatives, occurs fourteen times in the New Testa- ment, and without a single exception expresses local ascent or change. Ev Jo^, ' in glory ;' not ej; h^a.v, ' into glory.' '°Pf modern critics Beza, Whitby, Pearson, LeC]erc,Woide, Dod- dridge, &c. adhere to ©EOf, ' God.' Calvin, Slichtingius, Pl-zipcovius, Erasmus, Dr. Clarke, Wetstein, Benson, Harwood, Griesbadh, Wake- field, Lindsey, &c. read oj or 0. Father : Sect. 7.3 ATTRIBUTED TO CHRIST. 1,47 Father : the word God, with any high title or e^thet an- nexed, always signifying the Father only i7." X. Heb. i. 8. " Thy thi:one, O God, is for ever and ever." This is a quotation from Psalm xlv. 6. Arid it is well known that the words of the original will equally well bear to be translated, " God is thy throne;" that is, the support of thy throne. See Grotius, Clarke, and Pierce in loc. "Mr. Lindsey contends that this must be the proper trans- lation, because it is most analogous to the language of Scripture. 2 Sam. vii. 13. 16. 1 thron. xvii. 12. I*. Psalm Ixxxix. 4. Archbishop Newcorae translates, " Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever :" but he remarks, that in the Psalm the same words are addressed to Solomon. " See likewise Clarke's Reply to Nelson, p. 85, &c. And to the same purpose Erasmus and Grotius in loc. The author is not unapprised of the great zeal with which this argu- ment for the proper deity of Christ, from the construction of the Greek article, has been lately resumed and pursued by that eminent philan- thropist Granville Sharp, Esq. and his learned coadjutors Bishop Bur- gess, Dr. Wordsworth, and Dr. Middleton. That many of the obser- vations of these respectable writers are ingenious, acute, and just, as far as the Greek language is concerned, is, I believe, universally ad- mitted. But the witty and shrewd writer of Six, more Letters to Granville Sharp, under the signature of Gregory Blunt, has ably and amply refuted the argument derived from this principle in support of the doctrine of the deity of Christ. Indeed it is an indignity to the human understanding to maintain that a doctrine, which, if true, would shine conspicuously in every page of the New Testament, should de- pend for its evidence upon the critical use of the Greek article by the plain and unlettered writers of the New Testament ; together with what would be equally necessary, the immaculate correctness of tran- scribers. If this is the state to which the controversy is reduced, it would be better to give up the point at orfce. A doctrine of such mag- nitude as the proper deity of Christ, must have clearer and more sub- stantial evidence, or none at all. That Dr. Middletorfs Theory of the Greek Article will not bear him out to the extent to which he has ap- plied it, has been amply and satisfactorily shown in an able critique upon that learned and laborious treatise,, by the hand of a master, in the Monthly Review, N. S. vol. Ixii. See also Mr. Winstanley's able Vindication, &c. in reply to Mr. Sharp. l2 XI. 2 Pet. 148 TITLES AND CHARACTERS [Part I. XI. 2 Pet. i. 1 . " Through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." TS Qsa vi^cov Kcct (TUTn^og. The words may be trans- lated, " our God and Saviour Jesus Christ." Answer. It is admitted that the original will bear this translation ; but the common version is also admissible. And it is preferable, because, as Dr. Clarke observes. No. 289, " the word God generally stands for the Father;" and the same words are repeated in the next verse in a con- struction which determines the sense without any ambi- guity. " Grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord :" sv sTn- yvuast T8 0SK Kai lt}irii th Kv^iii yj^cov. To which may be added, that two manuscripts and the Syriac version, in- stead offQiS, ' God,' read Kup/a, ' Lord.' XII. 1 John iii. 16. " Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us." The word ©ta, ' of God,' has the authority of one ma- nuscript only, and that of little note^ of the Vulgate ver- sion, and of the" Complutensian edition. It is unques- tionably spurious, and is left out of Griesbach's corrected text, and of Archbishop Newcome's, Mr. Wakefield's, and the Improved versions. XIII. 1 John V. 20. " And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him, that is true : and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Christ Jesus. This {pinog) is the true God and eternal Life." *' To paraphrase this of true religion," says Dr. Dod- dridge, in his note upon the text, *' is quite enervating the ibrce of Scripture, and taking a liberty with plain words by no means to be allowed. It is an argument of the deity of Christ, which almost all who have written in its defence have Sect. 7-3 ATTRIBUTED To CHRIST. 140 have urged, and which I think none who have opposed it have even appeared to answer i8." Let us try the learned expositor's principle by the ap- plication of it tb a similar case. 2 John V. 7. " Many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This (ovtos) is a deceiver and antichrist." According to Dr. Doddridge's mode of reasoning, to refer the singular pronoun this, to a remote and plural an- tecedent, " is taking a liberty with plain words by no means to be allowed." This, then, is an argument to prove that Jesus Christ was an impostor, and even anti- christ, which none who espouse his doctrine " have even appeared to answer." Upon the same principles, therefore, by which Dr. Dod- dridge and others would prove that Jesus Christ is the true God, they might prove that he is a deceiver and anti- christ ; which indeed he would have been, had he pre- tended to be, what they erroneously call him, the true God. In both instances the pronoun HTog, this, which usually belongs to the proximate^ is to be connected with the re- mote antecedent. The deceiver and antichrist is he who confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, or, that he is a real man. The true God is that Being whom Jesus hath given his disciples understanding to know: it is his Father and our Father,' his God and our God. From the review of the preceding texts we may remark; 1 . That the number of texts in which it can be presumed that Jesus is called ' God,' is comparatively very email. 2. That of these, some are evidently spurious, and ■* Dr. Doddridge is particularly unfoitunatd in the selection of most of those texts upon which he professes to lay the greatest stress in sup- port of bis system. See particularly his notes upon Acts xx, 28; and Bev. i. 8. 1 1, ia 150 TITLES AND CHARACTERS [Part I. in others the application of the epithet to Christ is by no means clear and decisive. 3. That if the title God is ever applied to Christ, which perhaps may be admitted in one or two instances, it is in that inferior sense which our Lord himself explains, John X. 35, where he shows that in the language of Scrip- ture they are called gods, to whom the word of God came. And it is further observable, that our Lord never assumes this title himself. IIL ■ One wilh God. I. John X. SO. " I and the Father are one." 'Ev iT^ev, ' one thing,' not ' one person/ as Grotius, Clarke, and even Calvin ^9 have observed, q. d. ' to be in my hand,' is the same as ' to be in the hand of my Fa- ther;' for I bear his commission, and act under his autho- rity. Chap. xvii. 1 1 , Our Lord prays that the apostles may be one, as he and the Father are one. And again, ver. 21, " that all who believe may be one. as thou. Father, art in me, and I in thee ; that they also may be one in us." Dr. Doddridge, who affirms " that this text so plainly demonstrates the deity of our blessed Redeemer, that it may be left to speak for itself," adds, " How widely dif- ferent that sense is in which christians are said to be one with God, will sufficiently appear by considering how fla- grantly absurd and blasphemous it would be for them to draw the same inference." But, at any rate, a phrase which is applicable to believers in general, cannot, of it- self, when applied to Christ, prove that he is in nature one IS "Abusi sunt hoc loco veteres ut probarent Christum esse Patri ijMafftov : neque enim Christ us de unitate substantiae disputat, sed de consensu quern cum Patre habet, quicquid scilicet geritur a Christo, Patris virtute confirmatum iri." Calvin. — Not sis, \unus,) ' one and the same person,' but h, (unum,) ' one and the same thing.' The Father has communicated his power to the Son. Tertnllian, Nova- tian, Origen, Chrysostoin, gnd Basil, explain the words in the same manner. Dr. Clarke, ibid, No. 594. with Sect. 7.] ATTRIBUTEP TO CHRIST. 1.51 with God. And in the connexion in which it stands, it may be explained in a sense perfectly compatible with our Lord's proper humanity. II. 1 John V. 7, 8. " For there are three that bear record in heaven : the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost : and these three are one. jind there are three that bear witness in earth; the Spirit, and the water, and the blood ; and these three agree in one." The words included in Italics are manifestly spurious. For, 1 . They are unnecessary, and do not suit the con- text. There is no similar expression in the Scripture. The sense is complete without it : and the spirit being made a witness both in heaveiji and earth, destroys the an- titiiesis. 2. These words are not to be found in any Greek manuscript that -is older than the fifteenth century. S. This text is found in no Latin manuscript older than the ninth century. In many of the later manuscripts it is also wanting. In some copies it is only inserted in the margin, with additions and variations, which give room for suspicion of fraud and forgery ^o. 4. These words are wanting in all the ancient ver- ^ons. They are not to be found in the Italic version made before the time of Jerome, nor in the Syriac^i, nor in the copies " The text is found in a considerable majority of Latin manuscripts, thongh it is wanting in maiiy. It appears in one or two wbicli are be- lieved to be of the ninth century, though Griesbach doubts it. In many it is written not in the text, but in the margin by a later hand ; which makes it probable that it was wanting in the older copies, from which these were transcribed. *' Tremellius translated this text out of Greek into Syriac, and Gut- birius and Scbaaf have inserted this translation into the text of their editions of thenSyriac version. A most unwarrantable and unpardon- able liberty to be taken with the Sacred Writings. They, however, probably believed the text to be genuine. But what can be said in excuse 152 TITLES AND CHARACTERS [Part I, copies of the Nestorian or of the Jacobite christians in Asia, nor in those of the christians of St. Thomas in the East Indies. Nor does it appear in either of the Arabic versions, nor in the Coptic, the Ethiopip, the Armenian, the Sahidic, or the Sclavonian. 5. This text is omitted by all the Greek fathers, even by those whose subjects would naturally have led them to cite it, who ransacked the New Testament for ar^ guments in favour of the doctrine of the Trinity, and who have quoted the words immediately preceding and follow- ing the disputed text. Irenseus cites this chapter to prove the deity of Christ, but takes no notice of this text. rDionysius of Alexan- dria, in his epistle to Paul of Samosata, concerning the doc- trine of the Trinity, cites the eighth verse, but omits the seventh. — Athanasius never mentions this text even in those books in which he enumerates all the scriptures he can find to prove the deity of the Son and the Spirit. — ■ The Fathers of the Council of Sardica produce John x. 20, to prove a trinity in unity, but take no notice of this text, though more to their purpose. — Gregory Nazian^en, in his five Orations de Theologid, alleges the next words to prove the deity of the Spirit, but is silent concerning the heavenly witnesses. — Cyril of Alexandria cites the verses before and after this text to prove the deity of the Spirit, but omits the seventh verse. — Leontius, in the name of the Nicene fathers, defends the deity of the Spirit from ver. 6, but t^kes no notice of the seventh. — Griesbach says that no one of the Greek fathers ever cites the text, nor is any mention made of it in the Acts of any Coun- excuse of those modern expositors and translators, whp, in order to serve a party or a personal purpose, continue, in defiance of palpable evidence, and in opposition to better knowledge, to retain this notor rious passage in the sacred text I cil. Sect. 7.] ATTRIBUTED TO CHRIST, 153 cil, general or provincial, that is in repute among the Greeks 22, 6. This text is not cited by any of the Latin fa- thersSSj even where it would have been most pertinent, and where the subject seemed to require it. It is not found in the Treatise upon the Baptism of Ile- retics, bound up with Cyprian's Works, though the au- thor cites the verses before and after it; — nor yet inNo- vatian, who wrote upon the Trinity ; nor in Hilarius; nor Phoebadius ; nor in Ambrose, who cites the verses before and after it ; nor in Leo Magnus, who, in his Letter to Flavianus presented to the Council of Chalcedon, com- ments upon the whole context ; nor in Faustinus ; nor in Jerome ; nor in Augustin, who maintains that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are mystically signified by the Spirit, the water, and the blood. Bede, in the eighth cen- tury, wrote a comment upon the epistle, in which he ex- pounds the eighth verse, but takes no notice of the se- venth. All this is acknowledged by Dr. Mill, who is ne- vertheless an advocate for the genuineness of the text, but \vho allows that, for about seven hundred yeai>s, it was ■wanting in the Bibles of the Latin church. 7. The best editions of the New Testament, since the Reformation, have omitted, or at least have fixed a mark of caution and suspicion upon, the disputed text. It was wanting in the first and second editions of Eras- mus, A. D. 1516 and 1518, but was inserted in the third, to silence the clamour which had been excited against him. *' Ne cui esset causa calumniandi." It was omitted in the ** Griesbach Append, p. Q ; apud Nov. Test. vol. ii. ad fin. Emlyn's T'racts, p. 313 — 3 J 6. Benson on Epp. vol. ii. p. 645. " " A patribus Latinis non citatur, ubi vel maxime ad retn pertine- ret, atque omnino expectari posset." Griesbach, edition 154 TITLES AND CHARACTERS [Parti. edition of Aldus, 1518 ; in that of Haguenau, 1581 ; of Strasburg, 1 524 ; of Colinseus at Paris, 1 534. In the ver- sion of Luther, and the edition of Zwinglius and Bollin- ger, in the editions of Bowyer and Knapp, it is marked as doubtful ; and is wholly omitted in those of Harwood, of Matthasi, and of Griesbach. Wetstein marks it as cer- tainly spurious, but he professedly publishes the Received Text vpithout alteration s*. In the old English Bibles of Henry the Eighth and of Edward the Sixth, the words were printed in small types, or were inclosed in brackets. In Queen Elizabeth's Bible of 1566, the same caution was continued. But between 1566 and 1580 the words began to be printed as they now stand, without any distinction, but by whose autho- rity is not known. In defence of this disputed text it has been alleged, 1. That the text was contained in some ancient Greek manuscripts which are now lost. I. ) The text appears in the Complutensian Poly- '* " Primum ediderunt illud comma Complutenses ; dein Erasmus in tribus postremis editionibus : ex his propagatum fuit in l^tepbanicas : hinc in Bezanas, inde in Elzevirianas, caeterasque." Griesbach. — Ben- gel, like Mill, maintains the genuineness of the verse, after having produced evidence sufficient to convince every reasonable person that k must be spurious. But though he candidly allows that the words are not to be found in any known Greek or ancient Latin copy, he is unwilling to despair ; but piously hopes that some copy may still be discovered whicl)>cQntains this precious relic. " Et tamen etiam atque etiam sperare licet, si non autographum Johanneum, at alios vetus- tissimos codices Griecos qui hanc periocham habent, in occultis provi- dentiae divine^ forulis adhuc latentes, suo tempore, productum iri." Bengel. N. Test. p. 770. 771' — Wetstein remarks upon this, " Non equidem invideo ei, qui hac spe lactatur." This verse is omitted in Archbishop Newcome's Translation, in Mr. Wakefield's, and in the Improved Version. " I must own," says the bishop of Lincoln, " that after an attentive consideration of the controversy relative to that pas- sage, I am convinced that it is spurious." Elements of Christian Theo- logy, vol. ii, p. 90, note. See Jortin's Remarks on Eccl. Hist. vol. iii. p. 100. glot. Sect. 7.3 ATTRIBUTED TO CHRIST. 155 glot, published by Cardinal Ximenes about 1510, from manuscripts some of which are now lost^s. Answer. Stunica, the editor of this celebrated work, when challenged by Erasmus, could not produce a single Greek manuscript in which this text was found. He con- tented himself with appealing to the Latin copies as of the highest authority, and probably translated the text from the Vulgate into Greek. 2.) Robert Stephens, a man of great ability and learning, published a splendid edition of the Greek Testa- ment at Paris in A. D. 1550, from sixteen manuscripts in the Royal Library. He has inclosed in brackets the words £v spavM,* in heaven,' and marked them as wanting in seven manuscripts ; from which it has been concluded that the remainder of the text was found in those seven copies, and that it was entire in all the rest. . Answer. It is most certain that Stephens had no more than seven manuscripts which contained the catholic epi- stles. There is every reason to believe that these manu- scripts are still in existence ; and that they leave out the whole seventh verse. And as Stephens himself has put the bracket in the right place, after the words in terrd, * in earth,' in his Latin editions of 1539 and 1540, it is highly probable that the misplacing of it in the Greek edition of 1550 was an error of the press, many of which have been detected in that magnificent but inaccurate work 26. It ^* Of these, what Stunica calls the Rhodian manuscript was the most celebrated. It was brought from the island of Rhodes. These ma- nuscripts were preserved for many years in the library of Alcala ; but iu the year 1749 they were sold by an ignorant librarian to a rocket* maker, and destroyed. " This very circumstance," says Dr. Marsh, " may console us for their loss : for as rockets are not made of vellum, it is a certain proof that the MSS. were Written on paper, and there- fore of no great antiquity." Marsh's Michaelis, vol. ii. p. 440. S44. ^ GrieSbach contends' that the placing of the bracket must certainly have been a typographical error, for no manuscript exists, which, omitting 15^ TITLES AND CHARACTERS [Parti. It is further alleged, that Beza declares that He had ac-' tually read the words in some of Robert Stephens's an- cient books ;— but this is certainly incorrect. It is not probable that Stephens carried the manuscripts with him to Geneva ; nor could Beza have seen in the books what the books did not contain, Be2;a left out this assertion in the third and succeeding editions of his New Testa- ment 27. 3.) It has been conceived that LaurentiusValla was in possession of seven Gr£ek manuscripts which contained the .disputed text. The only evidence in the case is, that Valla does not in this instance note the difference between his manuscripts and the Latin text. — But his notes upon this epistle are few and trivial ;— he might possibly have a omitting the words ev spuviu, retains the rest of the text. And he triumphantly asks, Who can be so silly as to believe that Stephens pos- sessed seven manuscripts containing the disputed text, not one of which now exists : or if one, why is it not produced ? Or let the pa- trons of this opinion show, if possible,' bow seven sUch manuscripts could be lost between the years 1550 and 170O, when it is known that Greek manuscripts were in such high request, and purchased at such an enormous price. ' Ibid. p. S. See upon this subject Travis's Let- ters to Gibbon, and Person's I,etters to Travis. " Beza's words are : " Hie versiculus^ omiiino, tpihi^retinendus vi- detur : legit Erasmus in I5ritannico codice — legimus el nos in nonuul- lis Robert! nostri veteribus libris." In the third and following edi- tions, instead of the words in Italics he wrote extaU It is difScult to sav€ the credit of the learned reformer in this hardy assertion. Ben- gel candidly observes, th^t he does not say " ego legi," but " nos le- gimus," and seems to mean nothing more than that he read the ma- nuscripts with the eyes of Stephens, as Erasmus did the British ma- nuscript with the eyes of his correspondent there. Beza concluded, from the place of (he crotchet in Stephens's book, that his manuscripts contained the disputed text. See Wetstein in loc. Hence we see the foundation of Gibbon's famous remark upon this celebrated text : " The three witnesses have been established in our Greek Testaments by the prudence of Erasmus, the honest bigotry of the Gompluteiisian editors, by the typographical fraud or error of Ro- bert Stephens in the placing of a crotchet, and by the deliberate false- hood or strange misapprehension of Theodore Beza." Gibbon's Hisf. yol, iii. p, 545. 4to. Latin Sect. 7.] ATTRIBUTED TO CHRIST. 157 Latin copy in which the seventh verse was omitted : — or, finally, as he only notes variations in those passages in which he thinks that the Latin text should be corrected by -the Greek, he might think it prudent not to notice the va- riation here. See Griesbach, ibid. 2. The text is still found in some Greek manuscripts. 1.) In the Montfort manuscript in the library of Trinity college, Dublin. This manuscript, given by Archbishop Usher to Trinity college, is certainly that to which Erasmus alludes in his controversy with Stunica, and upon the sole authority of which he introduced the text of the heavenly witnesses into his third edition, where it stands an exact transcript of the text of this Codex^s. This manuscript was written in the fifteenth or sixteenth century, is of no authority, and evidently interpolated from the Latin Vulgate ^9. 2.) The text is found in the Berlin,, or Ravian ma- nuscript. Answer. This manuscript has been long known to be in a great measure copied from the Complutensian Poly- glot, retaining even the errors of the press. It was ex- amined throughout in the year 1 796 by Pappelbaum, who discovered that the portion which was not transcribed from the Complutensian edition was taken from Stephens's third ■• " Ex codice Britannico reposuitnus, quod in nostris dicebaturde- esse, ne cui sit causa caluraniandi : tametsi suspicor ilium codicem, ad • nostros esse correctum." Erasmus. — In his letter to Stunica he cites the words differently from the Codex : but in his text be cites correct- ly, " ne unica quidem literula differt." Hence Griesbach concludes that there is no foundation for the supposition that Erasmus's British manuscript is different from the Codex Dublinensis. *' Griesbach mentions, as evident proofs of corruption from the I^atin, the omission of the article before the witnesses, and more par- ticularly ver. 6, where it follows the Vulgate in reading o 'Xpurros, in- stead of ro KvBUiho,, and is the only Greek mani^script in which this reading is found. GrieSbacb, ibid. p. 4. See Marsh's Michaelis^ vol. ii. p. 284. edition, J58 TITLES AND CHARACTERS [^Part I. edition, with the addition of a few articles from Stephens's margin, and the Complutensian, inserted in the text to conceal the fraud^O. 3. ) The Codex Guelpherbytanus D, is a manu- script of the first epistle of John. It contains the disputed text, but it also contains the versions of Castalip, Vatablus, and Beza. It was written in the seventeenth century, and is of no authority whatever 3* . 4.) Matthasi mentions two other manuscripts which contain the disputed text. One is a manuscript of the thirteenth century, and in this the seventh verse is written in the margin by a later hand. The other is of no autho- rity, having been written since the time of Erasmus and Beza, whose version it contains 3s. 3. It is contended that the text is cited, or clearly al- luded to, by some of the earliest Latin fathers. 1.) Tertullian. cont. Praxeam, c. 25. " Ita, con- nexus Patris in filio, et filii in paradeto, tres efficit cohas- rentes, alterum ex altero. Qui tres unum sunt, non unus ; quomodo dictum est. Ego et Pater unum suraus^^." ™ See Griesbach, ibid. p. 4, aod Pappelbaura, Examen Cod. Rav. Berolini, 1796. *' See Griesbach, ibid. p. 7. Marsh's Michaelis, vol. ii. p. 263. Mi- chaelis, says, " It is entitled neither to collation nor description : but John V. 7. is with many so favourite a passage, that no trouble bestowed on it is thought too great." ^^ See Pope's Letters to Nisbet, p. 339. The latter of these ma- nuscripts is probably the Cod. Guelph. D, already noticed. Neither Griesbach, nor Michaelis, nor Marsh, cite these avttho'rities of Mat- thsei. On the contrary, Michaelis says, (ibid. p. 289,) not oneof them has the spurious passage, 1 John v. 7- Griesbach concludes his exa- mination of Greek manuscripts with these words : " Verissimum igi' tur est, nullum codicem Graecum inveniri adhuc potuisse, qui comma controversom a prima manu exhibeat, pra;ter unicum Dublineosem seu Britannicum." ^ " 80 the connexion of the Father with the Son, and of the Son with the Paraclete, makes three cohering one with another, which three are one thing, not one person, as it is said ' 1 and the Father are one,' •• j^inswer. Sect. 7.] ATTRIBUTED TO CHRIST. 159 jinstoer. In these words there is no reason to suppose the least allusion to the disputed text, which would most certainly have been often quoted by TertulHan in his vo- luminous worksj if it had been found in his copy of the New Testament. 2.) Cyprian, de Unitate Eccles. p. 79, edit. 1700, says : " De Patre, et Filio, et Spiritu sancto, scriptum est, Et hi tres unum sunts*." jinswer. This was probably Cyprian's gloss upon the words in the eighth verse. Such glosses were common in that age. Augustin puts the very same interpretation upon ver. 8i Cyprian himself was fond of these mystical senses. And Facundus, an African bishop of the fifth century, in- terprets ver. 8 in the same way, and expressly appeals to Cyprian as authorizing the interpretation 35. 3.) The text is found in a Preface to the catholic epistles inserted in some of the Latin copies of Jerome, and sometimes ascribed to him. — ^But this prologue is certainly spurious, and is not found in any manuscripts earlier than the ninth century. , Griesb. p. 24. 4.) Eucherius, bishop of Lyons A. D. 440, is said to have cited this text explicitly in his Treatise de Formu- '* " Of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit it is written. These three are one." This is the argument in which the great strength of the cause lies, and which induced Dr. Mill to retain the text in oppo- sition to all the objections, in common estimation irrefragable, which he has produced against it. *' Augustin, bishop of Hippo in Africa, cont. Maximin. cap. 22, " Tres sunt testes, et tres unum sunt : ut nomine Spiritus accipiamus Fatrem, nomine autem sanguinis, filium ; et nomine aquae, spiritum sanctum." — Cyprian, in his book Ue IJnit. allegorizes our Lord's ' tunic, which was woven without a seam, as an emblem of the church. Griesbacb, ibid. p. 15, Facundus pro Def. Trium Capitulor. 1. i»c. 3, after having given the interpretation of the Spirit, the blood, and the water, as signifying the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, adds, " quod Joannis apostoli testimonium b. Cyprianus de Patre, Filio, et Spiritu sancto intelligil." He then quotes Cyprian's words. lis. 160 TITLES AND CHARACTERS [Part I. lis, c. 1 1 .• — Upon this testimony Archdeacon Travis lays great stress in his defence of the disputed text. But Mn Porson has shown that the words were not inserted in the earliest editions of Eucherius, and are probably an inter- polation 3^. 5.) This text is clearly and indisputably cited by Vigilius Tapsensis, a writer at the latter end of the fifth century, in a work written against the Arians. The credit of the text rests solely upon the authority of this writer, who was a person of no good fame, who was accustomed to publish works under the names of other writers of re- pute, and who is suspected by many to have been the au- thor of the Athanasian creed 37. Griesbach concludes his learned and laborious research into the genuineness of this celebrated text, with the fol- lowing just and pertinent remarks : " If witnesses so few^ so doubtful, so suspicious and so modern, and arguments so trifling, are sufEcient to esta- blish the genuineness of any reading, in opposition to tes- timonies and to arguments so numerous and so grave ; no criterion would remain of truth and falsehood in criticism ; and the whole text of the New Testament would be left doubtful and uncertain 3^. IV. Equal ^° Travis's Letters to Gibbon, ed. 3, p. 420. Person's Reply, p. 316. Griesbach, ibid. p. l6, I?- " " Igitur comma controversum septiraum, prsecipue, ne dicam tinice, nititur testimonio, i fide, atqu^auctoritate Vigilii Tapsensis, et librorum huic attributorum auctori ante quern nemo clare idexcitavit. Jam de Vigilio observandum est parum laudabilem esse hunc scripto- rem quod libellos suos sub nominibus fictis Athanasii, Augustini, Ida- cii, &c. maluerit in lucem emitlere, quam suum nomen profiterl. Eundem hominem plures viri dbcti auctorem esse existimarunt sym- boli istius celeberrirai Athanasio suppositi." Griesbach, ibid. p. 21. " The learned writer adds : " Ego quidem, si tanti esset, sexcentas lectioties ab omnibus rejectas atque futilissimas defendei-e possem te£- timoniis et rationibus seque niultis atque validis, imo, pluribus plerurn- que atque validioribus, quam sunt ea quibus utuntiir bujus dicti pa- troni : nee haberent genuini textus defeilsores tot, tantaque argomenta quae Sect. 7.] ATTRIBUTED TO CHRIST. 161 IV. Equal with God. 1 . John V. 1 8. " Therefore the Jews thought the more to kill him, because he had not only broken the sab- J)ath, but said also that God was his own (/Sioj/) father, making himself equal with God," ta-ov tm ©em. Answer. Jesus never claimed equality with God. Nor did the Jews mean to charge him with so gross a blasphe- my. They accused him of justifying his own violation of the sabbath by the authority and example of God ; in this respect making himself like God. See Clarke, No. 580 ; and Grotius in loc. Compare John x. 33. Mark ii. 7. 2. Philip, ii. 6. " — thought it not robbery to be equal with God." lira 0fM, ' like God ;' did not account as a prey this like- ness to God : did not regard his miraculous powers as the acquisition of his own power and wisdom ; for the exer- cise of which he was not accountable to any. See p. 133. V. Fulness of Godhead. Col. ii. 9. " For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the godhead bodily 39: and ye are complete (TrfTrAjjfw/ASi'o/, quae conatui meo inani opponere possent, quot quantaque fautoribus hujus dicti supra opposita sunt." Griesbacb, ibid, ad fin. The latest champions of this forlorn hope are Kiiittel, Hezelius, and Travis, whose zeal " e xar' eitiyvuKriv a viris doctissimis Porsono et Marshio, ut par erat, repressus ac castigatus." Griesbacb. — The re- plies to their arguments by Person, Marsh, and Griesbacb have proba- bly set the controversy at rest. Hezelius, " utpote vir veri amantissi- mus," has already acknowledged his error. And few will have the hardihood to revive the controversy. The principal writers upon the subject previous to the controversy eaccited by Archdeacon Travis, are Mill, Bengelius, Wetstein, and Mattbsei in loc. Martin and Emlyn's Dissertations upon the text. Sir "Isaac Newton's Letter to Le Clerc. Wolfii Cur. Philol. vol. v. p 2g3 —324, P. Simon. Hist. Crit. c xviii. Hist, de Vers. c. ix. ; and the controversy between Stunica and Erasmus, Crit. Sac. vol. ix. p. 3547. See Pope's Letters to Nisbet, p. 340. The whole evidence i? cor- rectly stated by Griesbacb in the Appendix to his Nov. Test. Graec. vol. ii. ed- 2. A. D. 1796. M « filled') 162 TITLES AND CHARACTERS [Part I, ' filled') in him who is the head of all principality and power." In the epistle to the Ephesians, chap. iii. 1 9, the apo- stle prays that they may be filled with all the fulness of God, i. e. with knowledge of the divine will, and confor- mity to the divine image. But the epistle to the Colos- sians was written at the same time, when the apostle's mind was occupied with the same train of ideas, which he ex- presses in the same or similar metaphorical language. The fulness of Godhead, therefore, which resides in Christ, is the fulness of divine knowledge, gifts, powers, and autho- rity. This resides in him bodily, i. e. in reference to his mystical body, the church, of which he is the head. That this is the apostle's meaning is evident from the context. For he immediately adds, " Ye are filled in," or bi/ " him," Filled, with what ? with the fulness of the Godhead no doubt, which is the only subject of which he is treating. q. d. Ye, his members, are filled by him who is your head ; filled with knowledge, gifts, and powers 4°. There is no image in which the apostle more delights, or upon which he more expatiates, than that of the church being the body of which Christ is the head, and of which individual chris- tians are represented as particular parts and limbs. 1 Cor. xii. 27, " Ye are the body of Christ, and members in par- ticular." Compare Eph. v. 30 ; i. 23. In consistency with this metaphor, believers are said to be " circumcised in Christ," Col. ii. 1 1 : " dead and buried with him/' ver. *^ See John xvii. 21 — 23, " I in them, and thou in me ; that they also may be one in us," &:c — " The fulness of the Godhead," sajs Mr. Pierce, " is the same thing which he calls ' all the fulness of God,' Eph. iii. 19 : it is that plenty of excellent gifts which from the God- head was communicated to Christ, by him to be imparted to us in or- der to the filling us : a fulness of grace and truth. John i. 14, 16, 17 : " Ye are complete in him." It would have led the English reader much better into the apostle's thought, had it been rendered, " Ye are filled by him.*' Peirce in loc. Simpson's Essays, vol. ii. p, 379. 12. Sect. 7.] ATTRIBUTED TO CHRIST* 163 12. 20: " raised with him," ver. 13. Chap. iii. 1, " as- cended and seated in heaven with him," Eph. ii. 2. 5, 6 ; and in every respect vitally united to him, associated with him, and deriving supplies of life and vigour from him, as the body from the head. According to this interpretatioti, there is no foundation for the argument which many derive from this text to prove the proper deity of Christ, and particularly to establish that hypothesis which represents Christ as God, in consequence of the deity of the Father dwelling in hira*'. VT. Jenus is sty-led the Son of God in a peculiar sense, and tvith peculiar epithets. 1. The Son of God. Mark i. 1. " The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." This title occurs upwards of forty times in the New Tes- tament : it is used by all the evangelists, by the apostle Paul in his epistles, and by our Lord himself. ■" " In whom the fulness of deity substantially dwells." Dr. Dod- dridge in his note. He adds, " I assuredly believe, that as it contains an evident allusion to the Shechinah in which God dwelt, so it ulti- mately refers to the adorable mystery of the union of the divine and human natures in the person of the glorious Immanuel." But there is no evidence whatever of any allusion to the Shechinah, much less could such an allusion afford any warrant to the.strange supposition of a physical union of the self-existent deity with the created spirit which animated the body of Christ, so as of the two to constitute one single intelligent agent. Dr, Whitby, in his Commentary, understands vtsorijf of the divine essence : but in his Last Thoughts, p. 83, he ex- plains it, with Dr. Clarke, (No. 645,) of the fulness of divine wisdom and power. Beza finds m this text (illustris hie locus si quisquam alius) the whole mystery of two natures in one hypostasis, and of the equality of the Son with the Father. Erasmus, in his usual manner, acknowledges that all which is said concerning the divine nature of Christ is true, but that this text has no reference to it : " earn rem hie non agit Paulus." He, with Grotius, explains the text of the doctrine of Christ which excels and supersedes the law of M<3ses, ; ■ m2 2. The 164 TITLES AND CHARACTERS [Part I, 2. The'Son. 1.] Matt. xi. 27. " No man knoweth the Son, but the Father." Comp. Luke x. 22, 2.] Mark xni. S2. " — heither the Son." 3.] John iii. 35. " The Father loveth the Son.'* This phraseology occurs upwards of twenty times in the writings of John. 4 ] 1 Cor. XV. 28. " Then shall the Son also him- self be subject unto him that put all things under him." This phrase does not occur again in the acknowledged writings of Paul. 5i.] Heb.j. 8. " But to the Son he saith" — e.] Heb. vii. 28. " The Son who is consecrated for evermore." 3. God is called his own Father. Christ is God's own Son. 1.3 John V. 18.. '' He said also that God was his oivn father" — TraTt^a i^tov. 2.3 Rom. viii. 32. " He that spared not his own Son" — t8 /§/a vi8. Christ was the beloved Son, more highly favoured than the rest of his brethren. 4. Christ is the first-born. 1,] Col. i. 15. "The first-born of the whole creation" — tt^utotokos. See p. 94. 2.] Col. i. 18. "Who is the beginning, the first- born from the dead." This passage determines the signification of the phrase to be. The first person who was raised to an immortal life : being thus the first-born of the new creation ; the ' first of the sons of God who obtained possession of the inheritance. 3.] Rom. viii. 29. " — that he might be the first- born among many brethren." q. d. That Sect, 7.] ATTRIBUTED TO CHRIST. 165 q. d. That he being the first-born might have many brethren, who like him should be raised to immortality. 4.] Heb. i. 6. " But when he bringeth the first- bom again into the world." 5.] Rev. i. 5. " The first-born from the dead." 5. The beloved Son. 1.] Matt. iii. 17. "And, lo! a voice from hea- ven, saying. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." See Mark i. 11. Luke iii. 22. 2.3 Matt. xii. 18. " — which was spoken by Isaiah (xlii. 1), Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved, (^Heb. * my chosen one,') in whom my soul is well pleased." This shows that the word beloved here, as in other places, expresses being selected to possess peculiar privi- leges. See Rom. ix. 13. 3.] Matt. xvii. 5. " — a voice came out of the cloud, which said. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased : hear ye him." This was on the mount of transfiguration. See Mark ix. 7. Luke ix. 35. 2 Pet. i. 17. 6. Christ is the only begotten Son — fiovoysviis. 1.] John i. 14. " — we beheld his glory, as of the Qoly-begotten of the Father." 2,] Ver. 18. " The only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father." 3.] John iii. 16. " God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son." 4.] Ver. 18. "—he hath not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God." 5.] 1 John iv. 9. " God sent his only-begotten Son into the world." These 166 TITLES AND CHARACTERS [Part I. These are the only passages in the New Testament in \which the word occurs in reference to Christ*^. Observe here, 1 . That John is the only one of the sa- cred writers who applies the title ' only begotten' to Christ. — 2. That this word in the original properly sig . nifies *an only child.' Luke vii. 12 ; ix, 38. — 3. That it is often metonymically used to express ' dearly beloved.' See Heb. xi. 17. And the same word in the original Hebrew, which by the LXX. is rendered ^ovoysvvig, ' only- begotten,' is in other passages translated ayocTrriTos, ' be- loved.' Jer. vi. 26, Amosviii. 10. — 4. Hence it is pro- bable that as the word xyxTrrjTog, ' beloved,' does not oc- cur in John as a title of Christ, this writer uses the word [xovoyBvTjg, 'only-begotten,* instead of it, and where the other evangelists would use ' beloved.' — 5. It is evident that Dr. Clarke has no just ground to conclude, from the use of a word peculiar to John, and unknown to the other sacred writers, that this word is intended to convey the extraordinary doctrine, that there is something peculiar and mysterious in the derivation of the Son from the Father *3. Rema-i-hs. ** The word n-woyEvifj; occnis only in four other places in the New Testament: Luke vii. 12, "The only son of his mother :" viii. 42, " Hc'had one only daughter :" ix. 38, "he is my only child." Heb. xi. 17 >" He who had received the promises, offered up his only son." — ^The word /AOvoyEvij; occurs but four times in the Old Testarnent,' and fhat as a translation of TTT^. Psalm xxii. 20, " Deliver my dar- ling from the power of the dog." LXX. p.oyoygyi) f/.a, ' my only one,' i. e. my life. Psalm xxv. 16, "1 am desolate and afflicted:" LXX. [ji,ovoysvyji £1(^1 : t/. d. I am solitary. Psalm xxxv. 17, " Bescue my darling from the power of the lions." Judges xi. 34, Jephtha's daugh- ter was his only child. The same Hebrew word TipT^ is in six places rendered by ayairryroj, 'beloved:' Gen. xxii.2, "Take now thy son, thy only son Isaac :" LXX. rov ayocrrrirov . See also ver. 12. 1(5. Jer. vi. 26. Amos viii. 10. Zech. xii. 10. Compare 1 Chron.xxix. i. Prov. iv. 3. Trommii Concord, in verb. ^' See Grotius on" John i. 14 . Matt. xiv. 33 : and Lindsay's Sequel, p. 412, &c. " Only-begotten signifies being so derived from the Fa- ther in a singular and inconceivable manner^ as thereby to be distin- guished SeCt.'7.] ATTRIBUTED TO CHRIST. 167 Remarks. ' 1. The expression 'The Son of God,' or 'The Son,' among the Jews appears to have been equivalent to ' The Messiah.' Mark i. 1, "The Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." — John i. 50, " Thou art the Son of God, thou art the King of Israel." — Luke iv. 41, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of God." — chap. xxii. 67, *' Art thou the Christ ? tell us." — ver. 70, "Art thou then the Son of God ?" — John xx. 31, " These things are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God." This title was probably taken from Psalm ii. 7, which, by the ancient Jews, was understood of the Messiah. 2. That he was the Messiah, or the Son of God, was pro- bably made known to Jesus at his baptism : Luke iii. 27, This accounts for his own assumption of the title upon various occasions. And being invested with a commission of the highest importance, and with powers superior to those of any former prophet, he is distinguished above the rest by the title of ' beloved,' ' well-beloved,' and ' only-begotten Son.' That Jesus was the Son of God, or the Messiah, was at the same time made known to John the Baptist, and to all who were witnesses to his baptism. See John i. .S2. 34. gaished from all other beings," Dr. Clarke, Scr. Poet. p. 230, This is a favourite notion of Dr. Clarke, and his great salvo against the charge of Arianism : but it is quite unworthy of him. He was misled by his hypothesis, and did not sufficiently attend to the connexion in which the word is introduced. I see no reason to suppose, with Gro- tius, Mr. Lindsey, and others, that there is any reference in the term Monogenes to the doctrine of the Gnostics. The word used at the baptism and transfiguration of Christ was probably TTT^, which the wangelists, writingin Greek, would render by one or other of the words used by the LXX. Matthew, Mark, and Luke adopted ayantt\roi, ' beloved.' John renders it by \t,wayivr^i, ' only-begotten.' See Simp^ son's Essays, vol. ii, p. 275. The 168 TITLES AND CHARACTERS [Parti* — The miracles of Christ also sometimes extorted a con- fession of his Messiahship from the grateful subjects of them, and from the admiring multitude. But the grand and decisive proof of his being the Son of God arose from his resurrection from the dead. Rom. i. 3, 4. Heb. i. 6. 3. All christians are children of God, being the heirs and expectants of a resurrection to a happy and immortal life: John i. 12. Rom. viii. 14 — 17. Christ first rose from the dead, and obtained possession of the promised inheritance. For this reason he is called the first-born, ver. 29 ; and christians are brethren, and co-heirs with him, ver. 1 7. 1 John iii. 2. 4. There is no sufficient evidence to prove that Jesus is called ' the Son of God ' for any other reason than as being the Messiah. Neither because he is the second person in the Trinity — nor because be is a necessary ema- nation from the Father — nor because he is the voluntary but uncreated production of the Father's power — nor be- cause he is the first and greatest of created beings — nor because he is the mediator between God and man — nor because of his exaltation to universal authority and domi- nion, as the old Socinians believed — nor because of his own plenary inspiration, being also the fountain of spiri- tual gifts, and appointed to the office of universal judge, which was the opinion of Dr. Lardner**. " It is announced by the angel, Luke i 35, that Jesus should be called ' the Son of God' onaccount of his miraculous conceptionj But as it does not appear that he ever received that appellation fronn any one on that account, it being generally allowed that the fact, if true, was unknown during his personal ministry, this circumstance is rather an additional presumption against the truth of the narrative. Upon this subject see Dr. Watts's Works, vol. vi p. 647. Ridgley's Body of Divinity, vol. i. p. 124. Clarke's Scr. Doct. part ii sect. 13. Lardner on the Logos, p: 2g. Lindsey's Sequel, p. 139, and p. 412. Slichtingius on 1 John iv. 9. Grotius on Matt. xiv. 33. Dr. Price's Sermons, p. 110. Dr. Carpenter's Letters to Mr. Veysie, p. 181. VII. Sect. 7.3 ATTRIBUTED TO CHRIST. 169 VII. Christ the Image of God, the Effulgence of Divine Glory. 1 . 2 Cor. iv. ,4. " — lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." Chap. iii. 16. The teachers of the Gospel reflecting as mirrors the rays which are continually pouring upon them from Christ, gradually become perfect and resplein- dent images of Christ : That is, they clearly exhibit the doctrine which he has commissioned them to teach. In a similar sense Christ is the image of God, reflecting the light derived from him ; clearly manifesting his heavenly doctrine to all who are willing to receive it. 2. Col. i. 15." — he is the image of the invisible God45." 3. Heb. i. 3. " Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person." " The brightness of his glory," {uiruvyoia-^u. r^g So^);^,) *' the effulgent ray of his glory," Doddridge*^. Hence the Nicene fathers infer that the Son is o^oaa-iog, co-essential with the Father, "God of God, Light of Light, of the same nature and substance with the Father : begotten and not made." And Dr. Clarke and Mr. Peirce argue that the derivation of the Son is immediately *• Compare 1 Cor. xi. y, where the man is said to be the image and glory, or the glorious image, of God. The words are indeed used in a different sense from that in which they are applied to Christ, but the example sufficiently shows that no argument can be drawn from such language in favour of the pre-existence and superior nature of Christ. *• "Atfauyao-ju.a, splendor solis repercussus." Schleusner : — " qualis est solis in nube qui dicitur if apijXioj ." Grotius. — ^In this sense Christ is the bright reflected image of God : as 2 Cor. iv. 4. 15X18 pyyo;, Hesysbius. — gxXaft^J'if, Suidas & Phavorinus. — «x«f ^Xjb, Lex. MS. Bibl. Coislin. apud Schleus.— ' A ray of the sun's light.' The sense is the same : Christ derives from the Father the light which he diffuses. Sviicer. The?, vol. i. p. 425. Wetstein in loc. from lYO TITLES AND CHARACTERS [Part I. from the Father himself, and in a way different from that of all created beings'^7. But nothing can be more unreasonable than to draw such important and extraordinary conclusions from a me- taphorical expression ; the plain meaning of which is no more ttian this, that Christ was sent by God to give light to the world. John viii. 12. Chap. i. 4 — 10. " The express image of his person," y^x^enKTYi^ rns viro- TToctTiocg avta. " An image of himself," or "of his very self 48." So John xiv. 9, Jesus saith, " He that hath seen me * See Nicene Creed, and Dr. Whitby in loc. " In both the expres- sions here used our author may perhaps design to disJtinguish Christ from all other beings, and to shov/ how much he transcends them. To this purpose he represents him as immediately derived from God — no one intervening as the minister or means of that derivation." Perrce. ■ — See also Dr. Clarke's Scr. Doct. No. QSO, and part ii. § 12, p. 23?. But there must be an end of the use of all figurative language, if me- taphors are to be strained to a sense so remote from their usual and obvious meaning. *' " XOifoxty^p, ipsa imago, ac figura, alicui rei, (v. g. nummo) im- pressa, aut insculpta : a ya,pa, commonly translated ' Lord,' pro- perly signifies * Master,' in opposition to Sj?Ao?, ' slave.' So ver. 16 : " The servant, ^aXog, is not greater than his Lord, xu^iog." In this sense this title is challenged by Christ, and in this sense it was used of him, and to him, by his disciples. See Luke xii. 42 — 48. John xv. 15. Rom. xiv. 7, 8.52 2. Matt. xxii. 41—46. " How then doth David, in spirit, call him Lord, saying, The Lord said unto my Lord," &c. *' If David then call him Lord, how is he his *• " irpuiros, sntnmus dignitate, Joh. i. 15, iirya,-(t>i, contemptissU mus hominum." Grotius. — " They who apply these texts to prove Christ to be the supreme God, and parallel them with Isa. xliv. 6 ; xlviii. 12, should ask themselves how it can be said of God that he was dead, or, if dead, who could bring him to life again." Lindsey's Sequel, p. 293. See also Wetstein in loc. " Mr. Evanson, who admits the divine authority of the Apocalypse, nevertheless rejects the epistles to the churches, for reasons which he assigns in his Disson. p.. 338. " " Kuffoj is a title of authority given to kings. Gen. xl, 1 ; to princes, nobles, and governors. Acts xxv, 26. It is also an appellation of respect and reverence to a prophet, 1 Kings xviii. 7 ; to a husband^ Gen. xviil. 12 j to a master, John xv. 15. It is used as a civil mode ofaddress, John xii. 21." Simpson's Essays, vol. ii, p. 263. Son?" 174" TITLES AND CHARACTERS [Part I. Soft?" See Psalm ex. 1. Compare Mark xii. 38. Luke XX. 41. If this Psalm is a prophecy of Christ, and if our Lord is not merely arguing with the Jews upon their own prin- ciples, as in the case of demoniacs, Matt. xii. i!7, the pro- per answer to this question seems to be, that the Psalmist was transported in vision to the age of the Messiah, and speaks as though he were contemporary with Christ. This mode of writing was not unusual with the prophets. See Isaiah liii. David, like Abraham, was permitted to seethe . day of Christ. John viii. .56. 3. Acts X. 36. " The word which God sent to the children of Israel by Jesus Christ, he is Lord of all." Ovrog ea-Ti 7r«yrw>' xv^iog. i. e. of Jews and Gentiles, as appears from the con- text 53. 4. Rom. xiv. 9. " For to this end Christ both died and rose again, that he might be Lord both of the dead, and of the living." Christ is Lord of the dead, as he will be invested with authority to raise them to life, and to judge them accoi'd- ing to their works. He is Lord of the living, as the whole human race will ultimately profess subjection to his gospel. XL Prince or Leader of Life and Salvation. 1. Acts iii. 15. " Ye killed the prince (agx^yovy leader,) of life.",/, e. the person who> by his resurrection from the dead, led the way to immortality. 2. Acts \. 31. " Him hath God exalted to be a, prince, (a^-x^yjyovjS.lea.der,) and a Saviour, to give repent- ance to Israel, and remission of sins." *' See Clarke on Tdn. No. 620, and Doddridge in loc. q, d. a Sect. 7.] ATTRIBUTED TO CHRIST. 175 q. d. a leader to that salvation which consists in de- liverance from the power and the punishment of sin. 3. Heb. ii. 10. " It became him — to make the captain {u^xnyov, the leader,) of their salvation perfect through sufferings." 4. Heb. xii. 2. " Looking unto Jesus, the author (afX'Jyo'') t^he leader,) and the finisher (t^A^wt^j', the perfecter,) of our faith s*." q. d. The example and the judge who will eventually bestow the reward. XII. Christ is, oralis, all and in all. 1. Eph. i. 22, 23. "And gave him to be head over all things to the church, which is his body, the ful- ness (^To TrXjypw/Aa, the complement, ) of him who filleth all in ^11." Christ is the head ; the church is the body, which com- pletes the whole mystical person, and which in ail its parts and limbs derives vigour and nourishment from the head^*. 2. Col. jii. 10, 11 ." Ye have put oflF the old man, and put on the new — where there is neither Greek nor Jew, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free : but Christ is all and in all." Jews and Gentiles are by Chrigt formed into one new man, (see Eph. ii. 15,) which is neither Jew nor Gentile, slave nor master, but simply the mystical body of Christ, in which all the component parts are harmoniously, and without distinction, blended, q. d. All invidious distinc- tions are absorbed in the profession of Christianity *6. XIII. " See Simpson's Essays, vol. ii. p. 197. " Qui nobis exemplo soo hunc cursutn praeiit, idenique ejus erit /S/saffiur^jf. Conf. ch. xi. 40." Grotius. ** See Hallet's Obs. on Script, vol. i. p. sp. •' Gal. iii. 28, is exactly parallel to this passage in the epistile to the Colossian* : '.J There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor 176 TITLES ATTRIBUTED TO CHRIST. [Ptirt I. XIII. Saviour or Deliverer. Acts V. 31. "Him hath God exalted to be a prince and a saviour" — crwTJjf. This title is applied to Christ upwards of fifteen times in the New Testament. Christ was the deliverer of the Jews from the bondage and curse of the Law, Gal. iii. 13 ; — of the Gentiles from the bondage of idolatry, Gal. iv. 8; — and of all mankind from sin and misery 67. XIV. King of king* , and Lord of lords. Rev. xvii. 14. "And the Lamb shall overcome them ; for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings," See also ch. xix. 16. g. d. A great king, a mighty lord. It is a common fornj of the superlative degree. See Ezek. xxvi. 7. Ezra vii. 12. ss nor free, there is neither male nor female : for ye are all pxse (i\s, ' one person/) in Christ Jesus."— "Ye are all one body, making up one person in Christ Jesus." Locke in loc. — Ver. 27, " As many of you as are baptized into Christ have put on Christ." — " So that to God looking upon them there appears nothing but Christ." Locke, ibid. '" The word crtwfyjp, saviour, expresses 'deliverer;' and o-oirijjoia,. salvation, ' deliverance in general.' See Acts vii. 25. Jud. iii, p.. 15.. 2 Kings xiii. 5. See Simpson's Essays^ vol. ii, p. 259. ^ *• Simpson, Ess. VI. sect. 71. SECTION Sect. 8.] 177 SECTION VIII. COLLECTION OF PASSAGES WHICH ARE SUPPOSED TO TEACH THAT CHRIST IS THE MAKER AND PRESER- VER or ALL THINGS. I. John i. 3. " All things were made by him, and without him was not any thing made which was made." The whole proem of the Gospel of John has been al- ready considered at large, and this text in particular. See p. 20, where it is translated, " All things were done through him, and without him not a single thing was done which was done." Christ, the Logos or Teacher of truth, was the medium through whom every thing relating to the new dispensation was accomplished i. ' Dr. Price, Serm. p. 143, maintains that "the termtvorld'm Scrip- ture means only 'this world:' and that ii. 1, Tertullian, Sect^ 8.] BY JESUS CHRIST. 179 Tertullian, Jerome, Ambrose, Augustin, and others : and there can be little doubt that they are spurious, being probably a marginal gloss, introduced carelessly or inten- tionally into the text. They are rejected in Griesbach's second edition, and in Mr. Wakefield's and the Improved Version. But if they were genuine, the connexion requires that they should be understood in reference to the moral cre- ation. "The sense most suitable to the place," says Archbishop Newcome, " is this : Who hath created all things, that is, Jews and Gentiles, anew to holiness of life." See chap. ii. 10. 15 ; iv. 24.4 V. Col. i. ] 5 — 1 8. " Who is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of every creature : For by faim were all things created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities or powers ; all things wer^ created by him and for him : and he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church : who is the beginning, the first-born from the dead." This text is regarded by the supporters of the popular opinions concerning the person of Christ as a most deci- sive and unanswerable argument in their favour. And the Unitarians, who interpret the passage of the moral creation, and their arguments, are treated with very little respect even by the most moderate of their opponents. Dr. Harwood says, (Soc. Scheme, p'. 33,) " Words, I think, have no meaningj and are not the true signs of men's ideas, if these plain and clear passages do not con- tain and manifest this position : that Jesus Christ was the I I I T II I I. ■ I , ■ I ' ' ■ ' i 1 .1 I t * The archbishop admits the words into the text, but marks their donbtfulness by placing them in crotchets : he used the first edition of Qriesbacb. See Mill, Bengelius, Wetstein, and Griesbach in lop. N 2 person 180 CREATION OIL ALL THINGS [Pajt J. person who, by the directiojiof the Deity, originally form-^ ed all things." Dr. Clarke (Scr. Doct. No. 550) says ; " Nothing can be more forced and unnatural than the Socinians" interpretation of this passage ; who understand it figuira- tively of the new creation by the Gospel." Mr, Peirce (in loc.) remarl?;s, that " the interpretation which refers what is here said of our ^aviour to the new creation, or the renovation of all things, is so forced and violent, that it can hardly be thought that men would ever have espoused it, but for the sake of a hypothesis." Dr. Doddridge (Not. in loc.) says, that " to interpret, this, as the Socinians do, of a new creation in a spiritual sense, is so unnatural, that one could hardly believe, if the evidence were not so undeniably sifong, that any set of learned commentators could fall into it." Notwithstanding, however, all the severe reflections df these and other learned critics, the Unitarians persist in their interpretation of this celebrated text, as importing nothing more than the great change introduced by the Gospel in the state of the moral world, and the authority and agency of Chriiji: in this new dispensation. In vindi- cation of which interpretation, the following observations are submitted to the consideration bi the judicious and im- partial reader : 1 . Jesus Christ is no where in the New Testament; expressly said to be the creator or maker of the heavens, the earth, the sea, or of any visible natural objects. 2. "When the apostle descends to the detail of things which were created by Christ, instead of naming the sun, the moon, the stars, the earth, and its inhabitants, &c. which is what we should reasonably expect if a na- tural creation was intended, he only specifies thrones and dpminipns, and principalities and powers 5 which are not physicc^l S^ecti 8.3 BY JESUS CHRIST. 181 physical beings, but mere states of things, ahd artificial distinctions of political society 6. 3. The word kti'^w^, to create, in the language of Scripture expresses not only to bring out of nothing into existence, but likewise to introduce what actually exists into a new state of being, and particularly to transfer from a state of nature into a state of privilege, and cove- nant with God. 1.) The advancement of the Hebrew nation to a state 6f privilege and favour is described as creation, Isa. sliii. 1, " Thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel." — Ver. 1, " I have created him for my glory. I have formed him, yea, I have made him." — Ver. 15, "lam the Lord your holy One, the creator of Israel, your king." — Hence this favoured peo- ple are said to be, or to exist. Isa. Ixiii. 19, " We are of old." For this reason the Jews are called by the apostle " things that are," in contradistinction to the Gentiles, who are described as " thfngs that are not." 1 Cor, i. 28,'" God hath chosen the things that are not, to bring to nothing the things that are." ' This is a consideration of great weight, which one would thin^ must make a deep impression upon every reflecting mind. It is curi- ous to observe how very different the detail of the apostle's commen- tators is from his own. " His nature," says Dr. Doddridge, in his paraphrase upon the text, " has a transcendent excellency, superior to any thing that is made. From him were derived the visible splen- dours of the celestial luminaries, ihe sim, the moon, and the stars, even all thd hosts of these lower heavens, and from him the yet brighter gloHes of invisible and angelic beings." All this is perfectly natural; and had the apostle's theory been the same with that of his learned expositor, his induction of particulars would, no doubt, have been the same. It is evident, therefore, that "Dr. Doddridge meant one thing, and the apostle Paul another. ■ * ?v auro) Exriirflr) ra, icavTct.. — "Htt^cu, creo, ex nihilo produce, item ex materia praeexistente formo. Metaphorice, Mirabili virtute aliquid efficio, corrigo ac emendo." Schleusner. — xricriy, creatio, is sometimes used in a very lax sense for ordinatio, imtitulum : 1 Pet, ii, 13, "Obey every ordinance {xnast) of man," ^c, 2.) The 182 CREATION OlJ ALL THINGS [Part L 2.) The advancement of believers, both Jevs^s and Gen- tiles, to the privileges and hopes of Christianity, is also called creation : and in contradistinction to the state of the Jews under the Mosaic oeconomy, it is called a nevs^ creation. Eph. ii. 10, " We are his workmanship, cre- ated anew in Christ Jesus to good works." Col. iii. 10, " And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him who created him."- — Hence converted Gentiles, who before were not, are said to be, or to exist. 1 Cor, i. 28, " Of him are ye in Christ Jesus :" and conversion to Christianity is a new creation. 2 Cor. v. 17, "If any man be in Christ Jesus, (q. d. be- come a christian,) there is a new creation7.'* 4. In the Scriptures, and particularly in the wri- tings of Paul, men are often mentioned in terms which more properly express inanimate beings ; they are called not persons, but things : viz. I Cor. i. 28, " God hath chosen the foolish things (ra juwf a ) of the world to con- found the wise, (ts? iro^pug, the wise men,) and the weak things (r« cco-Obvyi) to confound the mighty things (ra iT-xp^a)," i. e. persons, &c. Compare Matt. xi. 27. John iii. 35; vi. 37—39.8 Hence it clearly and distinctly follows, that according to the customary language of the sacred writers, and par- ' See Dr. Taylor's Key to the Apostolic Writings, chap. ii. § ly. \Q; chap. vi. S 99. 102. • See Mr. Tyrwhitt's excellent Essay on the Creation of all Things by Jesus Christ. Comm. and Essays, vol. ii. Ess. xiv. p. 9. "The general language of Scripture," says this learned and accurate writer, " concerning, this new creation is briefly this : Believing Jews and Gentiles, considered jointly, are called the whole creation : Markxvi. 15. Col. i. 15. 23. The J^ws are represented as the first-fruits. of it; James i. 18; and Jesus Christ as the. first-born, or heir: Col. i. 15. Heb. i. 2. — Each individual believer is styled a new creature : GaL vi. IS. 2 Cor. V. 17. And by it all believers, botH Jews aud Geotiles» are so perfectly made one, that all former distinctipns betwreen them are entirely lost in their common celation to Christ." Col. iii. 11. ticularly Sect w 8k] By JESUS CHRisf. 183 ticularly of the apostle Paul, ' to create all things,' may signify nothing more than to bring men into a new and a better state ; to transfer them out of a state of nature into a state of gteat moral privilege and advantage. 5. The words heaven and earth, in the language of Scripture, figuratively express the civil or moral di- stinctions of mankind in a social state,- -1 .) Civil distinc- tions. Matt. xxiv. 29, " The stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken :" i, e. the Jewish polity shall be dissolved. Joel ii. 10, "The earth shall quake, the heavens shall tremble :" i. e. men of all ranks, whether of low or of high degree, shall be in con- sternation. Compare Hag. ii. 6, 7. Acts ii. 19. Rev. vi. 12. 15.— 2.) Moral distinctions. Matt. xi. 23, "Thou, Capernaum, that art exalted to heaven;" &c. Eph. iii^ 15, " Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named ;" i. e. the great body of christians living promis- cuously among Jews and Gentiles: or, perhaps, consisting of both. Compare Eph. i. 10 : and Mr. Locke's Note. Hence it appears that ' creating all things in heaven and earth,' may signify the introducing some great" change into the moral or political state of mankind, and particularly under the relation ofjews and Gentiles. 6. ' Things visible and invisible' are phrases of the same import as things in heaven and things in earth. 7. As heaven expresses the privileged state of those who participate in the benefits of the Jewish or Christian dispensations, so the distinction of orders, which, according to the crude mythology of the East, was sup- posed to exist among the inhabitants of heaven, appears to be used by the apostle, in the way of analogy, to ex- press the different ranks and offices which subsist in the Jewish or the Christian church, all of which are regulated and new-modelled by Christ; who, in this sense, creates 184 CREATION. OF ALL THINGS [Part Ii all things in heaven and earth, whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities or powers, q. d. Jesus Christ having introduced a new and better state of things into the moral world, and having formed a church consist- ing of Jews and Gentiles, without. any, distinction, has also completely organized this holy community, and has ap- pointed and qualified its various officers, apostles, evan- gelists, prophets, teachers, and the like, in their several orders and degrees, for the promulgation of the christian doctrine, and for the instruction and edification of the church 9. 8. " All things were created by him li av-ii) : he was the founder of the new dispensation ; he appointed apostles, teachers, he. he supplied them with spiritual gifts and powers to qualify them for their important work lo j — ""and for him" (sig avrov) ; to accomplish the pur- poses of his mission: — " and he is before all things" (tt^o TTayTUJv) ; he has precedence in time, character, and dig- nity : — " and in him all things consist" (a-vr^a-T^Td') ; he is the bond of union, as the head to the body. So the sentence proceeds, "he is the head of the body, the church/' the source of vital influence and energy". ' See part i. sect. vi. p. 125. '" " 'Tfavra,, intellige omnia quae ad novara creationem pertinent., , Certutn est per Verbunn creata- omnia. Sed quse praecedunt,' csten- dunt hie de Chiisto agi, quod liominis est nomen : quomodo etiani Chrysostomus liunc accepit locuni." Grotius. " "He is before all things, and by him all things consist." It fol- lows : " he is the head of the body, the church : who is the begin- ning, the first-born from the dead, that in all things he might have the pre-eminence." All this is natural and just, if the preceding verses contain a figurative description of Christ, as having founded and or- ganized the christian dispensation. But to be the first who rises from the dead, though i high distinction for a human being, is but a poor addition to the pre-eininence of one who is the Creator and Pre- server of all things, the Maker and Lord of angels and farchangel^- This, surely, is not the conclusion to which we should expect to have been led by so lofty a description, if the words are to be taken in their primary and vulgar acceptation. 9, Ex. Sect. 8.] BY JEStrS CHRIST. 18i 9. Explaining this passage of the moral creation is most agreeable to the context. The apostle is not speak- ing of natural objects, either in the preceding or the sub- sequent passages ; but solely of the office and dignity of Christ, as the founder and publisher of the Gospel dis- pensation. No hpmage is required to be paid to him as the Maker of heaven and earth, the preserver and supporter of all things. This stupendous fact, if here intended, is left in a completely insulated state, without a comment, and without any conclusion being drawn from it but what would follow with equal force, and with greater propriety, from the supposition that Christ was a human being whom God had raised from the dead, and placed at the head of the new dispensation. 10. This interpretation is strongly confirmed by the consideration jhat where the natural creation is plain- ly spoken of, it is uniformly ascribed to the Father. Seef Acts iv. 24. Where the moral creation is plainly intend- ed, it is as uniformly ascribed to Christ. Eph. ii. lO. But doubtful passages are to be explained by what is clear and unquestionable : wherever, therefore, the expressioia is indefinite, whenever creation is ascribed to Christ, it is to be understood of a moral creation only, and not of a proper natural creation ^2. VI. Heb. i. 2, 3. " — by whom also he made the worlds'3— upholding all things by the word of his power." '^ This argument is Dr. Priestley^s/who observes very justly, " If this be not a natural and just rule of interpretation, lam not acquaint- ed with any which ought to be called such : and this clearly gives the creation of the world to the Father, and not to Christ." Dr. Priest- ley's Letters to Dr. Price, part i. p. 117 — !22. — Dr. Lardner refers to Grotius's interpretation of this passage as what he approves and adopts. Logos, p. 69. Mr. Lindsey, Seq. p. 477, observes from Wej- stein, " that if we expound this passage by the parallel epistle to the Ephesians, we must understand it to speak of the new creation. £ph, i> ID; ii. 10. 15." The 18(3 CRKATION OF ALL THINGS [Part ti The common irxterpretation of this text is, ' That Christ as God, or as commissioned and delegated by God, was the maker of all worlds, and of all things that are con- tained in them.' This interpretation is supported by Whitby, Hammond, Le Clerc, Peirce^*, Newcome, and many others. One great and indeed insurmountable objection against this sense of the passage is, that the word (a/wy) in the original is seldom if ever used, either in a singular or plural form, to express the material world. It properly signifies ' ages' or ' dispensations J^.' See Matt. xii. 32 ; xiii. 39. Mark x. 30. Luke xviii. 30. 1 Cor. ii. 6 ; X. 11. Col. i. 26. Heb. vi. 5 ; ix. 26. Dr. Sykes and many with him understand the text as affirming that Christ, as the Logos, was the medium of all the former dispensations of God to mankind ; the an- tediluvian, the patriarchal, and the Mosaic dispensations. Dr. Doddridge renders the words, " by whom he also constituted the ages." It cannot be denied that the words " Mr. Peirce remarks, that " if these texts are read without a bias from prejudice, and a fondness for hypothesis, they naturally offer this sense ; that as the Son gave being to all the creatures, so he main- tains them all in being." lliis learned and good man does not seem to have suspected that Arians also might have their " prejudices" and their " fondness for hypothesis," as well as Socinians and Unitarians. '^ " The term cutuv, in the New Testament, whether singular or plural, never signifies the material world." Simpson's Essays, vol. ii. p. 93. — " The word oLicuva.;, which we render worlds, (says Dr. Sykes in loc.) does not signify the 'heavens and earth, and all things in them,' but it means properly ' ages, or certain periods of time :'^such were the Patriarchal : that of the Law : that of the Messiah : that of the' Antediluvians; Nor is there one instance in the New Testameiit in which more than this seems to be meant by this word." Chap, xi. 3, which in the public version is translated " through faith we un- derstand that the worlds (aicovay) were framed by the word of God," and which is commonly understood as asserting the creation of all things by the divine power, is translated by Dr. Sykes, " By faith we understatid that the Ages were adapted or fitted by the word of God, i. e. by his command or direction suited to their proper etidi,'' See Schleusner in verb. will Sect. 8»] ■ feY JEStiS CHRIST. I8t will bear this interpretation, could the fact here supposed be proved by other and independent evidence. But this text will not of itself prove it ; because it admits of another very feir and probable interpretation, perfectly consistent with the proper humanity of Christ. Slichtingius, Crellius, and the old Socinians, by * the ages,' THg atuvocs, understand the Gospel dispensation only which was introduced by Christ, and of which he is the head. They regard this text as having the same sig- nification with John i. S, and consider it as alluding to Isaiah ix. 5, where in the LXX. the Messiah is predicted as *' the father of the future age 16." This interpretation has been lately revived and very ably defended by Mr. Simpson, in his Essays on Scripture, Ess. VIII. who main- tains, by a variety of arguments, that the plural number is here used to express excellence : q. d. by whom also he constituted the Age, /. e. " of the Messiah, eminently distinguished for moral and religious advantages." The principal objection against this interpretation, and which it is doubtful whether the learned writer has suf- ficiently obviated, is that of Dr. Whitby, in his Note upon the text, *' that uiuves absolutely put doth never signify the church, or evangelical state ; nor does the Scripture ever speak of the world to come in the plural, but in the singular number only." A less exceptionable interpretarion, thereforej is that which was proposed by Grotius ; and adopted by Dr. Lardner, Mr. Lindsey, and many others. ' For whom, or with a view to whom, he constituted the ages.' q. d. ^ " Secula IJeus per Christum fecisse dicitur, non quod omnia quae unquam extiterunt secu^ per eum condiderit, sed quod condiderit alir qua, nempe nova et a pfioribus diyersa, iisque Ibnge feliciora — articu- lus yocl oHuiya; pr^gxus^ generalem vocis si^nificationem, ad specia- Jem aligqam, minusque communem solet restrit^ere." Slichtingius and Crellius in loc. All 183 tREATION OF ALL- THINGS pPaft tj AH former dispensations were arranged mth a view to that of the Messiah '7. To this, which Dr. Lardner justly calls " a most apt and beautiful sense," the principal objection is, that it is -contrary to the usual construction of the Greek language^ in which the preposition §;«, when it governs a genitive, as in this instance, usually expresses the instrumental causcj and ought to be rendered bi/, or through ; whereas when it signifies the final cause, /br, or luiih a view to, it com- monly governs the accusative case. But this rulie, though general, has many exceptions^ which are not only to be met with in classical writers, but in Josephus, a contemporary writer, and a Jew. The construction^ therefore, of the language will fairly admit the sense which Grotius gives to the text^^. " Upholding," ipspc^jv, directing or governing,- " all things by the word of his" the Father's "power:" i. e. by " " Videtur Ji' a, hie recte accipi piosse pro fi' ov. Vid. Beza iti Rom. vi. 4. Videlur respicere ad dictum vetus Hebraeorurrij propter IVIessiam conditum esse mundum." Grotius. — See Lardner on the Log. p. /O. Lindsey'sSeq. p. 483. Second Address, p. 297, Im- proved Vers, in loc. '* Of the use of this construction, the learned fJewcome Cappe has produced ample proof and various examples from writers sacred anc} profane, in his Critical Remarks on SS. vol. i, p. 51, vf here he applies it with great plausibility to John i, 10, which upon that interpretation nearly coincides with the text in Hebrews. It thay be further added^ that the scholiast upon the Plutus of Aristophanes, p. 6, edit. Basil, notices this use of Jia with a genitive, as sometimes, though rarely, expressing the final cause. In Thucyd. Hist. 1. vi. sect, y , the con- spirators determine to assassinate Hipparchus Ji" sicep, cujus causa, ' on whose account' they had exposed themselves to peril. Josephus repeatedly uses the phrase Jia Aoywv, to express that persons came with a view to or for the purpose of conversation. Antiq. 1. xviii. c. vii. § 7; 8 ; c. X. § 3. edit. Hudson. The same phraseology is used by Plutarch. See Glass. Philol. p. 1046. Vigerus de Idiotism. c. ix. sect. 2. — Schleusner in verb. ex. 19, cites 'X Pet. i. 3, as art exam- ple of Sia with a genitive being used to express the final cause. Rom. vi. 4, cited by Beza and Grotius, is doubtful. 1 Cor. xiv. ig, Sia vws, i. e. with a view to be understood^ is more to the purpose. See Locke hi loc. authority Sect. 8.] BY JESUS CHRIST. 189 authority received from God, and supported by mira-. culous works 19. VII. Heb. i. 8. 10. « To the Son he saith. Thy throne, O God," or, " God is thy throne for ever and ever."— Ver. 10. "And thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid" the foundation of the earth," &c. This is an address, not to the Son, but to the Father, whose immutability and omnipotence are the pledge and guarantee of the Son's everlasting kingdom. See Sect. V. p. liO. VIII. Heb. iii. 3, 4. " This person was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who builded the house hath more honour than the house ; for every house is builded by some one, but he who built all things is God." This text has no reference to the creation of the world. The Christian dispensation is represented by the writer as an household, {oikos) ver. 2. Of this household God is KetTcxa-Ksvoca-ots, the master and regulator : ver. 4. Both Moses and Jesus are appointed to stations under him : ver. 2. Moses, indeed, only as a servant, to announce future -blessings : ver. 5, But Jesus, as a Son, was intrusted with the management of the family, ver. 6. and therefore he takes precedence of all the domestics, and even, of Moses himself: ver. 3.?" IX. Rev. iii. 14. '* The beginning (apx*?) °^ '^^ creation of God." Rather, thfe head of the creation of God, i. e. of the new creation. See Sect, III. p. 96. ' " " Sensus est, Christus verbo potentiae paterns, i. e. jussu, regit cuncta. p£f£(v saepe est regere." Grotius. ^ See Impr. Vers, in'loc. " O Ktt.tacmsutx.o'a.Si ' he thai orders, go- verns, and presides.* Wisd. ix. 10." Whitby. — " Moses pars fatnio ji^, Christus supra familiam." Grotius. Uemarks, 130 CREATION OF AtL THINGS [Parti. Remarks. 1. In the whole New Testament there are but nine texts which are produced, or which can with any shadow of reason be produced, to prove that Jesus is the Creator, or Former, and Supporter of the world. 2. Of these the two first are, John i. 3, and 10 ; and in order to draw an argument from these, the word, •yivoiAoci must be strained to a sense differept from that ia which it is to be understood in any other passage of the New Testament, though it occurs there upwards of seven hundred times. — The ] Cor. viii. 6, is allowed to be little to the purpose. — Eph. iii. 9, is a manifest interpolation : and, if genuine, is by orthodox expositors explained of the new creation. — Col. i. 16, 17, is the passage upon which the greatest stress is laid ; — but in this, when the apostle enters into detail of things created, they are not natural objects, such as sun, moon, stars, earth, sea, &c. ; but artificial distinctions, thrones, dominions, &c. ; and the conclusion drawn, that he is head over all things to the church, &c. is such- as might naturally be expected, from his being the founder of the new dispensation ; but very different from what would properly follow from his being announced as the Creator of all things, the Maker and Lord of angels. — ^To make the argument from Heb, i. 2, available, the word aiccvcxs, translated ' worlds,' must be taken in a sense different from that which it ever bears in the New Testament. — Ver.lO^ is interpreted by many Arian and Trinitarian expositors as addressed to God, and not to Christ ; and by all must be considered as doubtful. —Heb. iii. 4, is most certainly nothing to the purpose : — and Rev. iii. 14, is a text both of doubtful authority and doubtful meaning. Such is the evidence upon which the grand conclusion rests, that Christ is the Creator, the Supporter, and the Governor, original or delegated, of this Seel:, 8.] BY JESUS christ. 191 this and of all worlds, of all their inhabitants, and of all things which the universe contains. 3. Had it been the intention of the sacred writers to have communicated the extraordinary and momentous fact, that Jesus Christ was the Maker and Supporter of the universe, it would have been very easy for them to express this doctrine in plain language, which could not have been misunderstood, as all now do who hold this opinion ; and as they have themselves done, in ascribing the formation of all things to God. See Acts ivl 24. 27 • xix. 24, and innumerable other places in holy writ. 4. If the fact were true, that the person who ap- peared under the form of a man, who had been an infant in a cradle, v^ho had gradually grown up to maturity, subject to hunger and thirst, and all the infirmities of hu- man nature, who had afterwards suiFered upon a cross, and been confined to a tomb ; if it were true that this feeble, suffering, dying man was no less a person than the Creator and Lord of nature himself in the disguise of a human being, the communication of this amazing fact, to those who had no antecedent suspicion or expectation of it, must have filled their minds with astonishment ; it must have been always present to their thoughts,, and could not but have made the most prominent figure in their discourses and writings. They must have recurred to it again and again, and have expressed themselves upon the subject in every form and variety of language which would indicate the unusual warmth and agitation of theiir feelings. 5. Notwithstanding all these grave considerations, three out of four of the evangelists take not the least no- tice of this extraordinary event ; — the fourth, if he men. tions it at all, mentions it in language which upon no pther occasion carries the same sense j and having barely hinted 1^2 CREATION OF ALL THINGS BY JESUS CHRIST. [f*art I. hinted it at the beginning of his history, he drops the subject, and never recurs to it again. — The historian of the doctrine and mission of the apostles for upwards of thirty years after the resurrection of Jesus, is totally si'ent upon this subject. — The apostle Peter, who speaks in rap- tures of the glory of his Master upon the mount of trans- figuration, ( 2 Pet. i. 1 7,) makes no mention of his being the Creator of all things. — James and Judeare both silent. — In twelve out of thirteen undoubted epistles of the apo- stle Paul, some of them of great length, in which he takes pleasure in expatiating upon the blessings of the Gospel, and the glories of its great Founder, to whom he was himself under peculiar personal obligation, that apostle suggests not the least hint that his admired and beloved Master was the Creator and Lord of the external world. In one short epistle only, and in one passage of that epi- stle, is he supposed to assert this amazing fact : and this he does in language so unusual, so mystical, and symbo- lical, that, comparing what is difficult with what. is plain, it may well be admitted that the writer's true meaning may be widely different from what is commonly believed, -'— The unknown writer of the epistle to the Hebrews, if he meant to declare this wonderful fact, uses language which, in all other cases, conveys a very different sense : — and the single expression in the Book of Revelation^ if authentic, is at least equivocal. 6. The obvious and necessary consequence is, either that the sacred writers knew nothing OF THIS extraordinary FACT, or, what would be still more extraordinary, that, knowing it, they did NOT think, it of sufficient IMPORTANCE TO INSIST PPON IT. SECTION Sect. 9.] 193 SECTION IX. THE QUESTION CONSIDERED, WHETHER JESUS CHRIST WAS THE MEDIUM OF THE DIVINE DISPENSATIONS TO THE PATRIARCHS AND TO THE HEBREW NATION t AND WHETHER HE EVER APPEARED UNDER THE NAME AND CHARACTER OF JEHOVAH*. It is maintained by many that two beings are mentioned in the Old Testament under the name and character of Jehovah; the one Supreme, the other subordinate, the angel or minister of the Supreme, the medium of divine operations and dispensations ; and that the subordinate Jehovah was the spirit who animated the body of Christ. First : This doctrine of two Jehovahs appears to be plainly contradictory to the Jewish Scriptures, which ex- pressly and solemnly teach, that " Jehovah our God is one Jehovah," or rather, " Jehovah is our God, Jehovah is one.*' Deut. vi. 4. A declaration cited with the highest ' This extraordinary doctrine, that a subordinate being should as- sume the name and the character of the Supreme ; a doctrine which to all Unitarians appears diametrically contrary to the letter and to the spirit of the Scriptures, and directly subversive of the fundamental doctrine both of the Jewish and Christian revelations, has been sup- ported by many able and learned advocates, ancient and modern, since the time of Justin Martyr, who probably first invented it, and who imagined that this great secret was communicated to him by express revelation. See Just. Mart. Dialog, edit. Thirlby, p. 258, and Mr. Lindsey's Second Address, chap. ii. sect. 3. The last and ablest adyo- cate of this strange hypothesis was the late Mr. Henry Taylor, in a book entitled The Apology of Benjamin Ben Mordecai to Elisha T.evi. Lett. ii. and iii. The arguments of this learned writer have been so thoroughly discussed, and so completely refuted, by Mr. Lindsey, in the Sequel to his Apology, chap. vi. that, if such an issue could be hoped for in a theological discussion, it might be presumed that the question was now set finally, and for ever, at rest. This Section con- tains a brief abstract of the argument on both sides. o appro- 194 WHETHER CHRIST APPEARED [Part I. approbation by our Saviour, Mark ix. 29. 32. See like- wise Neh. ix. 6. Nor is it pretended that this doctrine was ever received by the Hebrew nation. In support of this extraordlnaf-y position it is alleged, I. That one Jehovah is represented as the object of the senses, — He walked in the garden, and his voice was heard by Adam, Gen, iii. 8 ;— he .descended to see the tower of Babel, chap. xi. 5 ; — the God of Israel was seen by the seventy elders, Exod, xxiv. 9 ; — He talked with Moses from the mercy-seat, chap. xxvi. 21, 22,— and exhibited his glory to Moses in the mount, chap, xxxiii. 18 ; xxxiv, 5, But the supreme Jehovah could never be the object of sense : he can neither be seen or heard. Answer. If the supposed subordinate Jehovah is a pure spirit, he could no more be the object of the senses than the Supreme :— but if the subordinate Jehovah could ma- nifest his presence by sensible symbols, so likewise might the Supreme. II. The existence of two Jehovahs is expressly mentioned in some passages of Scripture, and in others it is evidently implied. 1. It Is expressly mentioned, Gen. xix. 24, " Je- hovah rained fire and brimstone from Jehovah out of heaven." — Hos. i. 7, " Jehovah saith, I will save them by Jehovah their God." Answer. This is nothing more than an idiom of the Hebrew language, in which the noun is repeated for the pronoun. The same argument would prove the existence of two Solomons. 1 Kings viii. l, " Then Solomon as- sembled the elders to king Solomon ;" — and of two Re- hoboams : 1 Kings xii. 21, " Rehoboam assembled the p>eople to bring back the kingdom to Rehoboam." See also Dan. ix. ] 7. 1 Tim. i. 1 8. ' Zech. Sect 9.i] UNDER TME NAME OF JEHa\fAH. 19.5 Zech. ii. 9. " Thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will shake my hand over thee, &c. and ye shall know that Je^ hovah of hosts hath sent me." See ver. 11. Answer. The prophet here makes an abrupt trans* ition from the person of Jehovah to his own : q. d. YoU shall know that I am a true prophet 2. See Acts i. 4. 2. As a proof that where two Jehovahs are not expressed^ they are sometimes plainly alluded to, appeal is made, 1.) To the word Elohhn, which is commonly transla- ted ' God,' which in the original is in a plural form, and is thought by some to imply a plurality of persons in the divine essence^. Answer. This is a trifling argument. In all languages it is a common anomaly for words of a plural form to have a singular signification. The word Elohim is almost uni- formly used in apposition with singular verbs. It is not limited, like Jehovah, to express the Supreme Being alone : and though in a plural form, it commonly expresses one object only. It stands for one angel. Judges xiii. 2'2 ; — for one golden calf, Exod. xxxii. 31; — for one idol. Judges xvi. 17 ; — for Moses, Exod. iv. 16 ; vii. 1 ; — and for Samuel, 1 Sam. xxviii. 13. 2.) The plural number is sometimes used when God is introduced as speaking. Gen. i. 26, " God said. Let us * " The fulfilling of these words, saith the prophet, shall be an un- deniable evidence of the truth of my mission." Mr. Lowth in loc. — This is a text upon which great stress is laid to prove the existence of two Jehovahs, one the sender, the other the sent. ' The word Elohim is commonly derived from a word which signi- fies power. But the Hutchinsonians, a sect which rose in the last century, and which was of considerable use in reviving attention to the Hebrew language, derive this word from nhnjuravit .- they read it y^leim, and translate it ' the covenanters,' q. juratores : and they suppose an allusion to the three persons entering into covenant for the redemption of man. Such reasoning needs no refutation. o 2 make 196 WHETHER CHRIST APPEARED [Parti., make man in our image." Gen. xi. 7, " Let us go down and confound their language." Answer. This is nothing more than the author's dra- matic way of writing. We are not to suppose that God actually said to the waters, " Bring forth abundantly," or to the birds and fishes, " Be fruitful and multiply." Per* haps the expression " Let there be" may denote energy ; -^-and " Let us make" may denote forethought; and upon this occasiop such language might be employed by the writer to intimate that man is the noblest work of God, the most distinguished production of divine power and wisdom in this world. Dr. Geddes says that the Jews un- derstood these words to have been addressed to the sur- rounding angels : but there is no need to have recourse to this supposition. In Eccles. xii. 1, The Received Text reads " Remem- ber thy Creators :" and from this plural form a plurality of persons has been inferred. But Dr. Kennicott has shown that the best manuscripts have the singular number. in. It is alleged that the word ' angel' is often used in connexion with the subordinate, but not with the Supreme Jehovah. It is urged that Exod, xxiii. 20—23, Jehovah having promised to send an angel to keep the Israelite nation in the way, and to bring them to the promised land, adds, " Beware of him, and obey his voice, for my name is in HIM." Here it is said that the name of Jehovah is ex- pressly given to the conducting ahgel. But this remark is very erroneous. An angel is pro- perly nothing more than a messenger, and the angel here alluded to vpas'probably Joshua, who acted in the name, that is, by the authority, of God. Exod. xxxiii. 3. Jehovah says to Moses, " I will send an angel before thee, and I will drive out the Canaanite, &c. Sect. 9.J UNDER THE NAME OF JEHOVAH. 197 &c. for I will not go up in the midst of thee, lest I con- sume thee by the way." — But, whatever be the meaning of this threatening, which cannot be understood in a literal sense, as though God were afraid of trusting himself with so rebellious a people, lest his indignation should unawares gain the ascendancy over his wisdom, at the intercession of Moses it was revoked. Ver. 14, " My presence shall go with thee," &c. To assert that the angel of Jehovah is a phrase only used of the subordinate Jehovah, is assuming the very point in dispute. Any sensible symbol of the divine presence is called an angel, and this symbol is called indifferently the " angel of Jehovah," or, " Jehovah himself." See Sect. VI. p. 123. — Gen. xvi. 7, " The angel of Jehovah found her:" but ver. 13, it appears that this angel was Jehovah himself. This facf is still more evident from Exod. iii. 2 — 15, " The angel of Jehovah appeared to him in a flame of fire in the midst of a bush : — and when Jehovah saw — God called to him out of the midst of the bush : — I am the God of thy Fathers, the God of Abraham, &c. — Moses said, They will say to me. What is his name ? — And God said to Moses, I Am that I Am. Thus shall ye say ; Je- hovah, the God of your Fathers, hath sent me : this is my name for ever." What room is there here for the supposition of a Jeho- vah subordinate to the Supreme? The person who speaks is God himself: and it is plain that the words ' Jehovah,' ' I Am,' * God,' ' God of your Fathers,' ' God of Abra- ham, Isaac, and Jacob,' are all names for one and the same divine person: also, that the phrase 'angel of Jehovah* means either the visible symbol of the divine presence, or Jehovah himself. Gen. xvii. 1 j xxxi. 11, J 2; xxxii. 24; and Exod. xii. 21, which have been appealed to in sup- port of the strange doctrine of two Jehovahs, admit of a similar explanation. IV. The 198 WHETHER CHRIST APPEARED [Part I. IV. The Chaldee paraphrasts of the Old Testa- ment, Onkelos and Jonathan, are said to acknowledge a distinction between the two Jehovahs, by giving the title ' Mimra,' i. e. Word, to the Jehovah-angel *. Gen. xxviii. 20, " Jacob vowed, If God will be with me, then shall Jehovah be my God." Onkelos renders it, If the Word of the Lord be with me, then shall the Word o/the Lord be my God. — Deut. iv. 24, " Jehovah, thy God, is a consuming fire." Onkelos : Jehovah, thy God, his Word is, &c. Gen. i. 27, " Jehovah created man," &c, Jonathan ren- ders it, The Word o/' Jehovah created man. — Chap. iii. 9, " God called to Adam." In the Targum : The Word of God called, &c. — Chap, xviii. 1 , " Jehovah, God, ap- peared to Abrara." In the Targum ; The Word o/ Jeho- vah appeared, &c. See Gen. iii. 22 ; xix. 24. jl'riswer. This argument is evidently founded upon a palpable mistake. In the Chaldee idiom the term Mimra, ' Word,' is substituted for the reciprbcal pronoun self; so that the ' Word of Jehovah' means nothing more than ' Je- hovah himself.' Thus Numb. xv. 32, " A certain man said in his word" i. e. within hiinself, " I will go forth and gather sticks." 2 Sam. iii. 15, 16, " Phaltiel put a sword between his word" i. e. himself, " and Michal, the daugh- ter of Saul." Eccl. i. 1 2, "Solomon said in his ivord" i. e. in himself, " Vanity of vanities is this whole world^." Secondly- : * The Chaldee versions of the Old Testament are called Targums, a word which in that language signifies a translation. Of these Tar- gums, the two principal are those of Onkelos, which is a close and faithful translation of the Pentateuch, written, as Dr. Prideaux thinks, near the time of Christ, and that of Jonathan, which is a paraphiiastie version of the Prophets of considerably later date. Anotlier Targum on the Law, is ascribed by the Jews to the same Jonathan, who was contemporary with Gamaliel; but by internal evidence it appears) to have been written some centuries afterwards, and is a work of Itttlje re- pute. Prideaux, Conn. vol. ii. p. 531. ' Mr. Lowman, in his Three Tracts, at the end of a chapter' upon this Sect. 9.] UNDER THE NAME OF JEHOVAH. 199 Secondly: It is maintained that the Jehovah angel animated the body of Christ. It would be sufficient to reply, that no such being exists as the Jehovah-angel : but as the Arian hypothesis main- tains that the great Angel, who was the medium of divine dispensations to the Je>vs, is the spirit which became incar- nate in Christ, it will be proper to state a few of the prin- cipal arguments. The following texts, among others, have been alleged from the Old Testament : Isa. Ixiii. 8, 9, " He was their Saviour : the angel of his presence saved them : in his love and pity he redeemed them," But this alludes to the tem- poral deliverances of the Jews. — Hos. i. 7, " I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by Je- hovah their God," i. e. I myself will deliver them. — Ezek. xxxiv. 23, " I will set up one shepherd over them, even David." Compare Zech. xiii. 7, " Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is my fellow, saith Jehovah," or, as Archbi.shop Newcome renders it, *' against my friend, and against the man who is near to me." — Hos, iii. 5, " The children of Israel shall return, and seek Jehovah their God, and David their king." Com- pare Micah iv. 7> " Jehovah shall reign over them for ever," Hence it is concluded that David, i. e. Christ, the descendant of David, is Jehovah. Such arguments admit of no reply. One can only won- der that learned men can impose upon themselves by such slender and miserable sophisms. this argument, observes justly, that " if the person appearing in the Shechinah was indeed only an angel personating the Most High, it should seem that the whole worship of the Jewish church for two thou- sand years together, was offered to an object beside and against the in- tention of every worshipper, beside and against the chief fundamental doctrine and rule of worship in their revelation, and against the chief principles of all religion, according^ to the light of nature." The 200 WHETHER CHRIST APPEARED [Part I. The arguments from the New Testament are more plau- sible. Most of them have been stated and examined else- where. I shall subjoin a few which do not so properly fall ^nder any other head. It is alleged that the glory of Christ in the New Testa- ment Is represented in terms similar to those which ex- press the glory of the Shechinah, or symbol of the divine presence, which rested upon the mercy-seat. 1 Thess. i. 7, *' The Lord will be revealed in flaming fire." — Rev. xxi. 23, " The glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb was the light thereof." Compare Deut. iv. 24 ; ix. 3. — But no conclusion can be drawn from the obscure and figura- tive language of prophecy. Malachi iii. 1. " Jehovah, whom ye seek, shall come suddenly to his temple." The prophecy, it is said, was fulfilled when Jesus visited the temple. — But this argu- ment assumes the feet to be proved. Jesus visited the temple as the messenger of Jehovah, not as the imaginary Jehovah-angel. Our Lord, weeping over Jerusalem, exclaims, Luke xiii. 34, " O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would I have ga- thered thy children together, and ye would not!" This is explained of the superintendance of the Jehovah-angel. But it may be better understood of our Lord's frequent and earnest exhortations to repentance. Or perhaps, like other prophets, Jesus may here mean to speak in the name of God. So Matt, xxiii. 24, "Behold, I send unto you pro- phets and wise men." — ^Deut. xxxi. 23, Moses says to Joshua, " Be of good courage, thou shalt bring the chil- dren of Israel into the land that I sware unto them, and I will be with thee." The feebleness and inconclusiveness of such arguments as these need not to be insisted upon. Other texts, which are produced to prove that the Jehovah-angel animated the body Sect. 9.] UKDER THE NAME OF JEHOVAH. 201 body of Christ, have beeiu examined already under their proper heads 6. The currency which the opinion, that Christ was the Jehovah-angel, and the medium of the divine dispensations to the Israelite nation, has obtained among learned and in- quisitive persons, is truly surprising, considering the pre- carious foundation upon which it rests. " It is the una- nimous opinion of all antiquity," says Dr. Clarke on Trin. p. 121, " that this angel who said, Exod. iii. 6, ' I am the God of thy Fathers,' was Christ." But Acts iii. 13, the apostle Peter says, " The God of Abraham, and the God of Issaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our Fathers, has glorified his son Jesus ;" and Jesus could not be the God whose son he was. Mr. Lindsey therefore justly re- marks, Seq. p. 332, " One may not scruple to say, with the authority of St. Peter and St. Luke, that all antiquity was certainly mistaken in the opinion ascribed to them by Dr. Clarke, so far as they entertained it." * These texts are Matt. iii. 1 — 3. John i. 1 — 14 j xii, 41.1 Cor. x. 4, 9- Heb. i, 2. Rom. x. 13. Heb. xi. 26. 1 Pet, iii. 18—20. Ueb. i, 8, g. 202 EXALTATION OF CHRIST COMPATIBLE [Part I. SECTION X. THE PRESENT EXALTATION OF CHRIST, AND THE HIGH OFFICES WHICH HE NOW SUSTAINS, OR, TO WHICH HE IS TO BE APPOINTED HEREAFTER, ARE SAID TO BE IN- COMPATIBLE WITH THE SUPPOSITION OF HIS PROPER. AND SIMPLE HUMANITY. First ; C^hfLis r is said to be advanced to universal do- minion, and is represented as at all times present to assist and protect those who submit to his authority. I. His Government is universal. 1. Matt, xxviii. 18, "All power," f^str/as, domi- nion, or authority, " is given to me in heaven and upon earth." This doctrine is variously explained. 1.) The Trinitarians say, that universal dominion is given to the Son in his mediatorial capacity, as the re- ward of his obedience and sufferings i. 2.) The Ariaiis maintain that Christ, the Logos, is reinstated in the government of the universe, or, of this system, or world, or of angels and men, and is appointed to be head and governor of the church. But if the Logos was from the beginning the Maker and Lord of all things, it is difficult to conceive how a mere restoration to ho- nours which he originally possessed, and voluntarily re- ' " Meminerimus vero, quod Christns jure suo semper apud Patretn habuit hoc, illi in carne nostra datura esse, vel, ut clarius loquar, in persona mediatoris." Calvin in loc. — 'So that it appears after all, that nothing was given to Christ which he did not already possess. See also Beza, Whitby, and Guyse in loc. linquished Sect. 10.] WITH HIS SIMPLE HUMANITY. 203 linquisbed for a time, can with propriety be represented as the reward of his mediatorial undertaking 2.. ■ 3.) Some say that Christ, who, previously to his incarnation, had been only the tutelar angel of Judea, is now advanced to a dominion over other guardian angels, who were before of equal rank with himself, and is ap- pointed governor of the world and of the church 3. 4.) The Polish Socinians held that Jesus, though a mere human being, as a reward for his transcendant merit, and his obedience to death, is exalted to the throne of universal government, is made the ruler of angels and archangels, and is become the proper object of religious homage*. * Clarke on Trio. p. 268. " Our Lord's dominion is indeed vastly extensive, even coextended with the rational creation : But as it is de- rived, it is neither universal nor supreme, as the Father's is." Dr. D. Scott on the Trin. p. 107. ' This singular and extravagant hypothesis is supported by Mr. Peirce on Heb. i. 9 ; also by Mr. Henry Taylor in Ben. Mord. Lett. ii. p. 303. * " Per mortenn et resurrection em suam, omnem potestatenn in ccelo et in terra, i. e. illimitatura regnum atque imperium super omnes crea- turas in coslo et in terra existentes....qu9propter etiam ipsi, summo jure debetur cultus non modo adorationis, sed etiani invocationis in rebus onsnibus, quae ad nostrum sive temporale siwe sempiternum bo- num spectant. AVolzogehius. — Christus ad dextram Dei in coelis coi- locatus, etiam ab angeUs adorandus est.. ..Omnem in coelo et in terra potestatem accepit; et omnia, Deo solo excepto, ejus pedibus sunt suh- jecta." Catach. Eccles. Polon. sect. iv. — Well may Dr. Price say, fSerm. p. 140,) that "there is nothing in Athanasianism itself mor^ extravagant than this doctrine of Socinus and his followers," and that " it not only renders the Scriptures unintelligible, but Christianity it- self incredible. Consider whether such an elevation of a mere man is credible, or even possible ? Can it be believed that a mere man could be advanced at once sohigh as to be above angels, and to be qualified to rule and judge this world ? Does not this contradict all we see or can conceive of the order of God's works ? Do not all beings rise gra- dually, one acquisition laying the foundation of another, and preparing for bJghej: acqaisilions ? What would you think were you. told, that 3 child just born,, instead of growing like all other human creatures, had started at once to complete manhood, and the government of an eiBpire i This is nothing ta the fact I atn. considering." , 5.) This 204 EXALTATION OF CHRIST COMPATIBLE £Part I. 5.) This text is understood by many to express some unknown personal dignity and authority to which our Lord is now advanced, as the reward of his obed;ence and sufferings, and by which he was enabled in the primi- tive age to communicate the holy spirit to the first teachers of Christianity, and to protect, assist, and direct them in their labours : and by which he is at all times operating ef- fectually for the benefit of the church, though in an un- known ^nd imperceptible manner 5, 6 ) Mr. Locke, in his note upon Eph. i. 10, shows that in the writings of Paul the words " heaven and earth" stand for " Jew and Gentile." And if this sense be ad- mitted in the present case, the meaning of our Lord's de- claration will be, q. d. All authority is given me over Jews and Gentiles: that is, All men, without distinction, will be invited to become the subjects,, and to participate in the privileges, of my kingdom. And this interpretation de- rives probability from the exhortation which immediately succeeds : " Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations." It is a question among learned Unitarians of the present day, whether the reign of Christ upon earth is real and personal, or symbolical and figurative. Dr. Priestley, though he first defended the figurative hypothesis, became in his later publications a decided advocate for the personal dominion of Christ. He thought that the kingdom of Christ would not commence till the period of the Millen- nium, and that he would then appear in the clouds, to raise martyrs and confessors from the dead, to restore the Jews to their own country, and to govern the world for a thousand prophetic years of peace and prosperity, virtue and happiness 6. On * See Grot, in loc. This appears to have been the opinij^n of Dr. Priestley and other modern Unitarians. " See Dr. Priestley's hypothesis stated and defended in his Notes upon Sect. IQ.] WITH HIS SIMPLE HUMANITY. 205 On the other hand, Mr. Lindsey and many others with him conceive, that those expressions which appear to at- tribute to Christ personal dignity and authority are wholly figurativie. They plead that the kingdom of Christ is uni- formly opposed to that of Satan. But it is conceived that in this connexion Satan is a symbolical and not a real per- son, and that his government expresses not the rule of a powerful evil spirit, but the prevalence of idolatry, super- stition, and vice. It is therefore reasonable to conclude that the dominion of Christ is to be understood in the same figurative sense : that it expresses not the personal autho- rity of our divine Master, but the prevalence of his religion in rhe world, the empire of truth, and virtue, and happi- ness, which is continually extending its beneficial influence in proportion to the progress of christian principles, and which we have every reason to believe will in due time be- come universal and perpetual. And though it is pleaded by the advocates for the personal dominion of Christ, that Jesus, being a man, like other men, was capable of being influenced by personal considerations, and that it is refining too much to suppose that he was altogether free from every bias of this nature; it seems, nevertheless, to be more consistent with the acknowledged piety, humility, and dis- interested benevolence of our Lord's character, to Conceive of him as acting under the influence of these generous principles and comprehensive views, rather than from the upon Rev. xx. He apprehended this period of Christ's second coming to be very near. In the spring of 1794> a {ew days before he set sail for America, he said to a friend, that in his judgement this great event could not be more remote than twenty years. And it was his firm conviction, that this period of Christ's personal dominion will be of very long duration. He even conjectures that every prophetic day of the Millennium represents a natural year. He conceived that Christ is at all times actively employed for the benefit of mankind, bat that he does not enter Upan his kingdom till the Millennium arrives. Mr. Evanson also advances a similar hypothesis in his Reflections on "Reli- gion in Christendom, p. 39,, and p. 147, 148. comparatively 206 EXALTATION OF CHRIST COMPATIBLE [Part I; comparatively low and interested expectation of personal recompense 7. 2. John xviii. 33, " Pilate said. Art thou the king of the Jews?" — Ver. 36, " Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world." — Ver. 37, " Pilate said, Art thou a king then ? Jesus answered. Thou sayest that I am — a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth." 3. 1 Cor. XV. 24 — 27, " Then cometh the end^ when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even th<; Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy shall be destroyed, even death." In this passage Death, a symbolical person, is placed in, the list of those enemies of Christ who are hereafter to be destroyed : it is probable therefore that the other enemies here alluded to are symbolical persons likewise : and thus the whole paragraph is a figurative description of the ul- timate triumph of the Gospel over all opposition, and of the final extermination of idolatry and superstition, of ig- norance, and vice, and misery. 4. Eph. i. 20 — 23. See p. ] SO. " 5. Philipp. ii. 9 — 1 1, " — Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name : that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things on earth, and things under the earth ; and that every tongue should con- fess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Fa- ther.", '■ " Agreeably to the prejudices and imaginations of Jews and Gen- tiles, the subjection of all inankind to the rules of piety and virtue, de- livered by Christ, is shadowed out under rhe imagery of a mighty king, to whom all power was given in heaven and earth," &c, Lindsay's Sequel, p. 473. Compare S^eCt. 10.3 WITH HIS SIMPLE HUMANITY, 207 Compare Col. i. 17, 18 ; ii. 10, la the epistles to the seven churches, in the Apocalypse, chap. ii. iii., Jesus as- sumes a sovereign authority. And chap. xix. contains a symbolical representation of the final triumph of the Go- spel, and of the judgements of God upon its enemies and persecutors. II. Christ is represented as personally present for the ^id and Protection of those who submit io his Autho' riiy. 1 . Matt, xxvlii. 20, " And, Io, I am with you al- way, even to the end of the world," luoq T^g a-vvTiKsiag th cuicjvog, ' to the conclusion of this age.' GiOtius, Whitby, Doddridge, and the Polish Socinians, also Dr. Priestley and many others, understand this text as a promise that Jesus will be personally present with his disciples, acting for their benefit to the end of time. And Dr. Whitby contends that this is the only sense in which the evangelist uses the phrase wherever it occurs in his writings 8. Dr. ' The places in which these words occur in the Gospel of Matthew are, chap xiii. 3Q, 40, " The harvest is (he end of I he world, or age, and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tare, are gathered and burnt in the fire, so shall it be in the end of this 'world, or age." — Ver. 4Q, " They gathered the good ( fish) into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it beat the end of the world, or age."^^(^hap. xxiv. 3, *' What will be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of Ihh world, or age?" Here the phrase unquestionably mfeans the Jewish dispen- sation, or rathei' polity. For, in reply to the question proposed by his disciples, our Lord imnsediately proceeds to foretel the calamities which should precede the destruction of Jerusalem, And ver. 34, he declares, "This generation shall not pass till all these things are ful- filled." This phrase, which, as Mr. Wakefield observes in his note upon Matt. xiii. 39, " is an idiom of the Hebrew language," occurs but once more in the Neiy Testament, Heb. ix. 26, " but now, once, in the end of the world, fTTi trvvrs.\aia, Tuiv ouuivuiv, ' at the completion or conclusion of the ages,' hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." — '' But let me ask," says Mr. Wakefield, ibid. " when did Christ appear, but towards the end of the Jewish polity, civil and ecclesiastical ? They therefore, \vho interpret this phrase by 'the 203 EXALTATION OF CHRIST COMPATIBLE [Part L Dr. Whitby was certainly mistaken in this assertion, as appears from the note below. It may nevertheless be con- ceded that our Lord is, or may be, personally present in this world, and actively engaged at all times in some un- known manner for the benefit of his church. But it does not follow that this is the meaning of the promise in Mat- thew; much less can it be concluded that Christ in his present state, however exalted and glorious, is invested with those divine attributes of omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence, which are usually ascribed to him. The truth is, that the Scriptures have left us totally in the dark with regard to the present condition, employment, and at- tributes of Christ, and therefore it is in vain to speculate upon the subject. The interpretation which is given to this text in Mat- thew, by Bishop Pearce, Mr. Wakefield, Mr. Lindsey, and others, viz. " I am with you alway, to the conclusion of this age," is that which by Unitarians is generally and justly preferred. Our Lord says " I am with you," that is, as Mr. Lind- sey observes, Seq. p. 75, " with you who are now present with me, — you may be assured of extraordinary assistance and support. But he does not promise the same to suc- ceeding christians: the miraculous aid and gifts of which he obviously speaks, were confined to the age of the apostles." Mr. Lindsey thinks that " this limitation, which our Lord himself prescribes, throws great light upon many passages of Scripture." — I. " It rfiay account for our ' the end of the world,' or ' the consummation of all things,' do so without any authority, and in direct opposition to the idiom of the He- iMew language, and the sense of a plain text of Scripture." — That ex- cellent and judicious commentator Bishop Pearce, and after him Mr. Wakefield, interpret the parables of the tares and of the fish, chap, xiii., of the eveols which took place at the destruction of Jerusalem, when the Christians, warned by divine admonition, retired from Judoa before the desolation of the country by the Komans. See Pearce's Comment, in loc. Lord's Sect. 10.] WITH HIS SIMPLE HUMANITY. 209 Lord's appearing to his apostles and to Stephen after his ascension. Acts vii. 55; ix. 4." — 2. " It affords a satis- factory reason why Christ has never visibly manifested him- self since the apostolic age. Whatever agency of Christ there may be now in the affairs of his churchy it is wholly unknown to us." — 3. " This limitation of the extraordi- nary powers exercised by Christ, and imparted to his apo- stles, and confinement of them to the first ages of the church, will be a clue to lead us to the meaning of many passages in the New Testament, and will help us to avoid those many errors which men have fallen into, by applying to the case of christians in general such things as related only to the apostles, and to the miraculous gifts conferred on them." These remarks appear to be highly judicious and im- portant, and are capable of very extensive application. 2. John xiv. 13, 14. " And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name 9, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it." See chap. xv. 23. This discourse is addressed to the apostles only, and the promise is limited to them. The meaning is, that what- ever in the course of their ministry they requested in the name, that is, with a view to promote the doctrine and ^ This is not to be understood as a direction to all christians to con- clude all their prayers with the name of Christ, as though there was any particular charm in those words to make their prayers available. The fact seems to be, that our Lord himself possessed a voluntary power of working miracleSj but the apostles only an occasional power, when prompted by some inward suggestion. And the language used upon such occasions generally corresponds with this supposition. Christ " rebukes the disorder :" — he says to the leper, " I will, be thou clean j" and to the dead, " I say unto thee. Arise." The language of the apostles is in a humbler strain : " In the name of Jesus Christ," saith Peter to the lame man, " rise up and walk ; — Eneas, Jesus Christ niaketh thee whole." Thus acknowledging themselves the servants of Christ, and that they performed miracles by power derived from him, and exercised in subservience to his cause. p kingdom, 210 EXALTATION OF CHRIST COMPATIBLE [Part I. kingdom, of Chfist,: if the request was proper lo, it should be granted. And upon the whole it is promised, that they should be amply qualified by him for the discharge of the apostolic office, 3. Rom. viii. 34. " — who also maketh interces- sion," fyruyx**'^'' interferes, " for ug^'." This expression is applied to Christ only in this passage and in Heb. vii. 25, and probably means that Christ in his exalted state is employing his p6wers in some unknown manner for the benefit of the church. 4. Philipp. iv. 13. "I can do all things through Christ, who strengtheneth ne." .The word ' Christ' is omitted in the Alexandrine and Ephrem manuscripts, and in some ancient versions. Ad- mitting it to be genuine, it may allude to the promise of Christ to be present with his appstles, and may. express the apostle's confidence, that he who had invested him with the apostolic office would qualify him for it, and support him in the faithful discharge of it. .5. Heb. ii. 1 8. " For in that he himself suffered, being tempted, he knows how to succour those who are tempted." q. d. Having himself been a great sufferer, he knows how to sympathize with those who are afflicted; and in the great discoveries, and the rich and precious promises of the '" That this limitation was always to be understood is evident both from the reison of the thing, and from the fact that Paul, who " was not behind the very chief bf the apostles," besought the Lord thrice to have his complaint, the thorn in the flesh, renaoved, but without suc- cess; 2 Cor. xii. " " svrvy)(a.veiv vifep Tivoi, pro commodo alicujus facere aliquid." Schleusner. — ^It is a word of very' genera! import, and is used to ex- press any kind of interference on account of another, Mr, Lindsey thinks that " the perpetual intercession of Christ may be the continual Operation and effect of his mission and doctrine in the world." Seq, p. 88, notQ. See Irapr, Vers, in loc. Gospel, Sect. 10.] WITH HIS SIMPLE HUMANITY. 21 1 * Gospel, he has made ample provision for their support and consohtion. Under this head it may be remarked that Christ some- times authoritatively pronounces the forgiveness of sins : from which his enemies, who were his contemporaries, and many christians in modern times, have erroneously infer- red that our Lord arrogates to himself divine attributes. Matt. ix. 2, " He said to the sick of the jialsy, Son, be of good cheer: thy sins are forgiven thee," Hearing this, the scribes said within themselves, " Why doth he thus speak blasphemies ? Who can forgive sins but God alone ?'* See Mark ii. 7. '" In this passage there is probably an al- lusion to an opinion known to have prevailed among the Jews, that every sin was visited with a specific punishment, and that bodily diseases, accidents, and the like, were pu- nishments inflicted for particular crimes. Job's friends, from his misery infer his guilt : and the Pharisees assume that a man was born blind, either as a punishment for sins which he had committed in an antecedent state, or for the sins of his parents. John ix. 2. See also Luke xiii. 1 — 5. Our Lord upon every occasion peremptorily denies their principle : but in the case of the paralytic, he silences the cavils of the Jews, and supports his divine authority by healing the disease. Mark ii. 10, 1 1. — In the same sense he confers upon his apostles authority to forgive sins, i. e. to heal diseases, and to remove, and in some cases to in- flict, calamities. John xx. 23, " Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them, and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained." Compare Matt, xviii. 1 8. W In '■' " Their principle indeed was right, but their application was evi- dently wrong. — Alnnighty Saviour, may we each of us receive from thee forgiveness of our sins!" Doddridge in loc. But our Lord's reasgning was very different from that of the pious expositor. • '^ Upon this principle, that sin and disease are, according to the theory of the Jews, almost reciprocal terms, the text 1 John v. l6, may p 2 perhaps 212 EXALTATION OF CHRIST COMPATIBLE [Parti, In Luke vii. 48, our Lord pronounces, concerning the woman who washed and perfumed his feet, " Thy sins are forgiven," " thy faith hath saved thee." This woman was probably a Gentile : and, as it is said " her sins were many," it is probable that she had been remarkably ad- dicted to idolatrous superstitions : but that by our Lord's preaching and miracles she had been convinced of his di- vine mission, and converted to the worshipof the true God. By this symbolical action she declared her conversion^ which our Lord graciously accepted ; and by his kind ad- dress to her he publicly testified that she was now trans- lated from the community of sinners, i. e. heathen idola- ters, into the community of saints or holy ones, i. e. the true worshipers of God : her faith in him had obtained this privilege for her. There is no reason to believe, thdt, antecedently to her conversion, she had been immoral in her conduct : nor is it to be supposed that a woman of in- famous character would have been admitted into our Lord's presence, oi- even into the Pharisee's house. It is well known to all who have attended to Scripture phraseology, that the word sinner often signifies nothing more than hea- .then J and saint expresses only a professed worshiper of the true God : and that a conversion from heathenism, and ad mission' into the community of true worshipers, is some- times expressed by the terms "• repentance, and forgiveness of sins '*,' and that without any immediate regard to per- sonal character. The Gospel dispensation is represented in the New Testament, and particularly by the apostle perhaps admit the easiest explanation : ' The sin not unto death' may mean a curable disorder, for recoverjj from which it may not be un- reasonable to pray. ' The sin Unto death' may be an incurable ma- lady; in which case prayer for recovery would be useless and improper. Compare James v. 14, 1.3. ■• See this fact established by Mr. Locke, in his Commentary on Rom. V. 8, note (q); and in Dr, Taylor's Key to the Apostolic Wri- tings, chap. vi. vii. Paul Sect. 10.] WITH HIS SIMPLE HUMANITY. 213 Paul in the Epistle to the Romans, as a scheme for ob- taining remission of sins both for Jews and Gentiles ; that is, for recovering them from error and superstition, to the knowledge and worship of the true God. Thus the apo- stle Peter speaks of Christ as exalted to be a prince and a saviour, to give repentance to Israel, and remission of sins. Actsv. 31. — It cannot be doubted that the Gospel teaches the free forgiveness of moral offences to the sincere peni- tent : but this could not with propriety be represented as the distinguishing peculiarity of the Christian dispensation, because the promises of forgiveness in the Old Testament are as numerous, as clear, as full, and as decisive, as any that are to be found in the New. See Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7. Psalm li. 17. Isaiah Iv. 7. Micah vii. 18. III. Jesus Christ is qppointed to raii,e the Dead. 1. John v. 28,29. "The hour is coming, in which all that are in their graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth : they that have done good, to the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation." 2. John vi. 40. " I will raise him up at the last day." S. John xl. 25. "■ I am the resurrection and the life." 4. 1 Cor. XV. 21 , 22. " For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, eo in Christ shall all be made alive." " The apostle in these words,"says Mr.Tyrwhitt, " sug- gests a remarkable analogy between the two dispensations of death and life, with respect to the nature of the persons by whom they were introduced.. — The foundation of which analogy seems to be no other than this ; that Christ, as to his nature, was in no respect materially different from Adam; 214 EScALTATION OF CHRIST COMPATIBLE [Parti. Adam ; that he was a man in the same sense of the word in which it was applied by St. Paul to Adam, and in which it is commonly applied to all the sons of Adam. We m'ay reasonably presume that the apostle, in speaking of Adam and Christ, with respect to their natures, if he had known of any material distinction between them, would have been no less attentive to the circumstances of opposition than to those of resemblance. That instead of saying, ' As by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead,' he would have said, '■Although by man came death, the resurrection of the dead came by a person of a nature far superior to that of maiji^.' " 5. Philipp. iii. 20, 2 1 . "—the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body, that it. may be fashioned like to his own glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself." 6. 1 Thess. iv. 16. " For the Lord himself shall descend with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God : and the dead in Christ shall rise first." 7. 2 Cor. iv. 14. " Knowing that he who raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you." See also John v. 21. 1 Cor. xv. 14 — 26. Rev. i. 17, 18. Rom; xiv. 9. Dr. Price observes, Serm. p. 147, that the power which the Scriptures teach us that Christ possesses, of raising to life all who have died, and all who will die, is equivalent to the power of creating a world. How inconsistent is it to allow to him one of those powers, and at the same time to question whether he could have possessed the_ other ! Dr. Priestley replies. Letters, p. 142, that Dr. Price ac- knowledges that the power by which Christ raised the '^ See Mr. Tyrwhitt's admirable Dissertation on this textj in Com- mentaries and Sssays, vol. ii. p. \5i, dead Sect. 10.3 WITH HIS SIMPLE HUMANITY. 215 dead when he was on earth " was not properly his own, but that of his Father, who was in him, or acted by him." It may also be added, that the Scriptures teach that Christ is to raise the dead, but not that he made the world. IV. Jesus Christ is appointed to the Office of universal Judge, and to dispense the Reiuards and Punishments of a future Life: an Office to which, as many think, it is incredible that a mere human Being should be ad' vanced. The passages which are usually understood to assert this doctrine are very numerous, and many of them are per- haps principally applicable to the destruction of Jerusalem. I shall produce some which appear to be most decisive, and refer to the rest. The fact itself is not disputed, that the Scriptures, taken in a literal sense, teach that Christ is to judge the world. The difficulty to be considered is, whe- ther his elevation to this office can be reconciled to the doctrine of his simple and proper humanity. 1 . Matt. XXV. 3 1 , to the end. " When the Son of Man shall come in his glory, and all his holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory. And before him shall be gathered all nations ; and he shall se- parate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats," &c. This passage, in connexion with the preceding dis- course, is interpreted by some as a scenical representation of the calamities which were shortly to overtake the Jewish nation, and of the escape of the Christians from the ge- neral desolation '6, But it ia commonly understood as a figurative description of the final appearance of Christ to judge the world. Other texts to the same purpose in this "^ See Bishop Pearce's Cumm. in loc. and Nisbett on the Coming of the Messiah, p. 140. evangelist 216 EXALTATION OF CHRIST COMPATIBLE [Part L evangelist are, Chap. vii. 22 ; xiii. 40, 41 ; xvi. 27 ; xxvi. 64. See also Mark xiii. 26 ; xiv. 62. Luke xxii. 70. 2, Lukeix.26. "For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed when he shall come in his own glory, arid in his Father's, and of the holy angels." Matt. x. 33. Luke xii. 8 J xxi. 36. Also Luke iii. 16, 17. 3. John V. £6, 27- " For as the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in him- self ; and hath given him authority to execute judgement also, because he is the Son of Man. Marvel not at this:"&c. " Because," says Archbishop Newcome, " he hath as- sumed human nature." But the text gives no counte- nance to this gloss. The words are ' because he is,' not * because he chose to be, the Son of Man.' .A few manuscripts of no great account, the Syriac and Armenian versions, and some of the Fathers, join the last clause of the 27th verse to the beginning of the 28th. q. d. " Marvel not at this, that he is the Son of Man." And Theophylact accuses Paul of Samosata of introducing this punctuation in order to countenance his Unitarian opini- ons. But the charge is unproved, and the motive impro- bable. The best authorities favour the received punctua- tion : and the text implies that there is a peculiar propriety in delegating this office to a human being. Compare John V. 22. Grotius supposes an allusion to Daniel vii. 13, 14, and interprets the text of the advent of Christ for the destruc- tion of Jerusalem. 4. Acts i. 1 1 . " — This same Jesus, who is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in hke manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." This declaration is thought to assert in the most explicit language Sect. 10.] WITH HIS SIMPLE HUMANITY, 217 language the visible personal return of Christ. See Dr. Priestley's Not. in loc. 5. Acts xvii. 31. " Because he hath appointed a day, in which he will judge the world in righteousness, by that Man whom he hath ordained, whereof he hath given assurance to all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead." 6. Acts X. 40, 42. " Peter said to Cornelius, Him God raised up, and showed him openly ; — and he com- manded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is he who was ordained by God to be the judge of the living and the dead." ' 7. Rom. ii. 16. " — in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel." Compare chap. xiv. 10. 8. 1 Cor. i. 8^ " — that ye may be blameless in the day of the Lord Jesus." See chap. v. 5. 2 Cor, i. 14. 9. 2 Cor. V. 10. " For we must all appear before the judgement-seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in the body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." 10. 1 Thess. ii. 19. " For what is our hope, our joy, our crown of rejoicing ? Are not even ye in the pre- sence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming ?" Comp. chap. iv. 16. 11. 2 Thess, i. 6 — 10. " — when the Lord Jesus Christ shall be rsveal^d from heaven with his mighty an- gels in darning fire, taking vengeance on them who know not God, — who shall be punished with everlasting destruc- tion, — when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and £0 be admired in all them that believe." 12. 2 Tim. iv. 1 . " I charge thee before God and the 218 EXALTATION OF CHRIST COMPATIBLE [Part I. the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearance, and his kingdom." 13. 1 Pet.i.7. " — that the trial of your faith may be found unto praise, and honour, and glory, at the, ap- pearing of Jesus Christ." See chap. v. 4. 14. Rev. i. 7. " Behold, he comeih with clouds, and every eye shall see him," &c. 15. Rev. ii. 7 " To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life." — See ver. 10. 17; chap. iii. 5. 12. 21 ; chap. xxii. 12, 13. From these declarations it is concluded that Jesus is ap- pointed to appear in person to raise the dead^ to judge the world, and to award to every individual of the human race his final sentence of reward or punishment. This is an office of such transcendant dignity and importance, and re- quires powers so far superior to any thing which we can conceive to belong to a mere human being, however me- ritorious and exalted, that to many it appears utterly incre- dible that such an office should be assigned to oiie who was himself at one time a peccable and fallible man, and, as such, liable to appear at the tribunal of eternal justice. The righteous judge of the whole earth, the unerring ar- biter of the destinies of all the innumerable generations of mankind, must surely be himself a personage of rank far superior to kny who stiall then be summoned to his tri- bunal. This argument has appeared so forcible to some persons of much learning and reflection, that this consi- deration alone has prevented them from acceding to the Unitarian hypothesis, though they have acknowledged that particular texts might admit of a satisfactory explication upon Unitarian principles. That this is a great difficulty cannot be denied : but possibly it may be alleviated by at- tentioa to the following considerations : 1. The Sect. 10.] WITH HIS SIMPLE HUMANITY. 219 1. The Scriptures teach that Jesus Christ is ap- pointed to judge the worid. The same Scriptures, in con- nexion with this very appointment, expressly represent Jesus as a Man delegated to this high office : Acts xvii. 3 1 . Whatever, therefore, our prejudices may suggest to the contrary, it is in fact not inconsistent with divine wis- dom, nor with the reason and order of things, that a hu- man being should be appointed to the office of universal judge. It is even implied, John v. 27, that the proper hu- manity of Christ is an essential qualification for the office. And it is certain that wherever Jesus is mentioned Under the character of a judge, he is never in that connexion re- presented as a being of an order different from, and supe- rior to, mankind. Nor is this qualification ever hinted at as necessary for executing this solemn office. 2. Jesus and his apostles do notappear tohavefelt any difficulty in the appointment of a human being to the office of universal judge. They simply state the fact in the clearest and most unequivocal manner, that God will judge the world by the Man whom he hath ordained. They give no explanation, they make no comment, they obvjlate no objections. This is a strong presumption that, ac- cording to their ideas, the office required no qualifications which a man appointed and assisted by God might not possess. 3. If to judge the world be an office which Jesus is to execute in person, and if it requires powers and qua- lifications superior to those which he possessed on earth, these may be attained either by the regular and progres- sive improvement of his powers, in the long interval be- tween his ascension and the day of judgement '7^ or they may '^ •' Christ is also said to judge the world. But whatever may be requisite to his doing this may be as easily imparted by God, as the power of raising the dead. Though when you say that his qualifica- tions 220 EXALTATION OF CHRIST COMPATIBLE [Parti. may be imparted to him for the occasion by God himself, whose organ and delegate he will be on that grand occa- sion ; and who could as easily qualify a man, as an angel, or a logos, for this important purpose. 4. Whatever may be intejided by the expression 'judging the world," the apostles of Christ> and believers in general, are to share in that honour and office with their Master.— Matt. xix. 28, " When the Son of Man shall sit on the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." — 1 Cor. vi. 2, " Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world?" — Ver. 3, " Know ye not that we shall judge angels?" It is indeed alleged that christians are said to judge the world only in a figurative and improper sense ; but tha,t this of- fice is attributed to Christ really, properly, and without a figure. But this distinction is quite gratuitous and unau- thorized. For any thing that appears to the contrary, the apostles and other christians will be constituted judges of the world in the very same sense with Christ, though pro- bably in an inferior degree. For he, in this, as in all other things, must have the pre-eminence'^. 5. The sense in which a prophecy is fulfilled is often very different from that which the literal interpreta- tion would lead us to expect. It is therefore highly pro- bable that the mode in which Christ will eventually exe- cute the office of judging the world, will bear little or no tions for discharging this office were acquired suddenly, you overlook the Jong interval between his ascension and his second coming, in •which you cannot suppose that he is doing and learning nothing.'' Dr. Priestley's Letters to Dr. Price, p. 140. " " Judging the world is no proof of a nature superior to man. Our Saviour says, John v. 27, ' and has given him authority to execute judgement, because he is the Son of Man.' Not so, the Arian will say; but because he was the Son of God, and was before all worlds. But this is being wise above what is written," Dr. Priestley's Letters to Dr. Price, p. 140. resemblance Sect. 10.] WITH HIS SIMPLE HUMANITY. 221 resemblance to that which the expressions naturally sug- gest : and in their true sense they may mean nothing more than what a human being, exalted and endowed as Jesus is, may be qualified to perform. God declares to the pro- phet Jeremiah, chap. i. 10, " See, I have set thee this day over all nations, to root out, and to pull down, and to de- stroy, and to build, and to plant;" when nothing more was intended than to authorize the prophet to declare the" di- vine purpose. And the promise to Peter, Matt. xvi. 1 9, that whatsoever he bound or loosed on earth, should be bound or loosed in heaven, is usually understood in a si- milar sense. The prophecy concerning the destruction of Jerusalem is expressed in language as strong, and in figures as awful, as those which relate to the last judge- ment ; and the personal appearance of Christ himself, with his angels, is as expressly asserted ; see Matt. xxiv. 29. Luke xxi. 25, &c.: yet, for any thing that appears, these calamitous events were brought to pass by natural means, and probably without any personal, certainly without any visible, interference of Christ. He was only so far concerned in it, as, in the symbolical language of pro- phecy, to declare authoritatively that the event would happen. 6. May we not then be permitted to conjecture, that when Christ is represented as appointed by God to judge the world, -nothing more may be intended by this language, but that the final states of all and every indivi- dual of mankind shall be awarded agreeably to the decla- rations of the Gospel? This supposition is perfectly ana- logous to those cases which are cited under the preceding head, especially to the strong expressions which are used concerning our Lord's advent for the destruction of Jeru- salem ; the accomplishment of which in a figurative, and not a literal sense, seems intended to direct our minds to the interpretation of those symbols which typify, and of that 222 EXALTATION OF CHRIST COMPATIBLE [Part I. that language which announces, the personal agency of Christ and-his disdplesin the awful solemnities of the final judgement. This explanation affords a very easy solution of the language of Paul concerning the saints judging the world. The apostles and christians in general may fitly be represented as assessors with Christ on the tribunal of judgement, as by the very profession of Christianity they bear their solemn testimony, to the unbelieving world, of the divine declaration by Jesus Christ, that there is a life to come, in which men shall be rewarded according to their works. In perfect analogy to this interpretation, Christ is figu- ratively represented as a lawgiver, because the precepts of his Gospel are laws to govern the conduct of his disciples : — he is figuratively a priest, because he voluntarily deli- vered himself up as a victim ; and sacrificed his life in the cause of truth, and in obedience to the will of God. — He is figuratively a conqueror and a king, and universal do- minion is ascribed to him, because his Gospel and religion will gradually prevail through the world, and all nations will eventually submit to its authority. — In like manner, Christ is figuratively a" judge, because the final states of all mankind will be awarded in a future life agreeably to the solemn, repeated, and explicit declarations of his Gospel. Our Lord himself appears to give some countenance to this interpretation, by the language which he uses, John- xii. 47, 48, " If any man hear my words and believe not, I judge him not, for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him. The word that I HAVE SPOKENj THE SAME SHALL JUDGE HIM AT THE LAST DAY." It is a consideration of some weight, that this interpre- tation relieves the doctrine of the proper humanity of Jesus Christ Sect. 10.] WITH HIS SIMPLE HUMANITY. 223 Christ from that great difficulty which has been stated above, viz. that a mere man should be appointed to judge the characters, and to assign the final states of all the hu- man race ; and obviates an objection which, to some in- quisitive and reflecting minds, has appeared insurmount- able 19. It is obvious that the same arguments will apply to the personal agency of Christ in the resurrection of the dead, though the difficulty in this case may not perhaps be quite so great as in the other. And if any should object that such a latitude of interpretation would make the plainest language unintelligible, let the objector consider, that no language is less intelligible than that of unfulfilled pro- phecy, which may nevertheless be made perfectly intelli- gible by the event. The personal agency of Jesns in the general resurrection of mankind is not more distinctly as- serted, than his visible and immediate agency in the disso- lution of the Jewish polity. But as the event proves in the latter case, that nothing more was intended than a solema and authoritative prediction of the catastrophe, it is not im- possible that it may be equally so in the former. And it is a fact certainly known, and universally admitted, that in the language of prophecy the prophet is often said to do that which he is inspired to foretel. See Hos. vi. 5. Rev. xi. 6.20 " In this light it has been said that this objection appeared to the late reverend and learned Hugh Farmer of Walthamstow, who thought that difficulties from particular texts might be overcome. To the wri- ter of this note this eminent divine, whose name would do credit to any cause, distinctly Acknowledged that TertuUian's celebrated testi- mony to the unitarianism of the primitive christians, upon which great stress is justly laid by Dr. Priestley in his controversy with Bishop Horsley, had never been answered. »" See Dr, Priestley's Letters to Dr. Price, No. IX. SECTION i 224 WHETHER CHRIST IS THE OBJECT [^SfiCt. 11. SECTION XL CONCERNING THE WORSHIP OF CHRIST. IvELiGious Worship is homage, mental or verbal, ad- dressed to an invisible being, who is supposed to be capa- ble of attending to such addresses, and to possess a volun- tary power of doing good or evil to the worshiper. Idolatry, strictly speaking, is the worship of an image, or of a being of whom an image is the symbol. In a more general sense, it is addressing religious worship to a being who is not authorized to receive it. Hence it follows, that religious worship which in the estimation of one person is an indispensable duty, is by another regarded as idolatrous. The worship of the Virgin Mary and other saints, as they, are called, in the Roman church, is by Protestants deemed idolatry. And upon the same principle, the worship o£ Christ by Trinitarians, Arians, and Socinians, is idolatrous in the judgement of Unitarians, who conceive of God alone as the proper object of religious worship. A con- clusion which Trinitarians readily allow, if the UnitariiUi doctrine is true ; and from which indeed some deduce an argument for the proper deity of Christ, as they think it incredible that the great body of christians should have been suffered for so many centuries to apostatize into ido- latry. But not to insist upon the language of prophecy, which foretells this great apostasy, they who use this argu- ment forget that the same reasoning would also establish transubstantiation itself. Unitarians, though they regard the worship of Christ as idolatrous and unscriptural, and productive of many hurtful consequences; and though, on this account, they think it their duty to enter their public protest Sect. 11.] OF RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. 225 protest against it, are very far from presuming to criminate their fellow-christians who fall into this great and common error. Jt is not for them to judge of the means and op- portunities of information which their mistaken brethren may possess, or of the motives by which they may be in- fluenced. Nor do they pretend that the worship of Christ was ever alluded to in the cautions and warnings of the first teachers of Christianity, nor do they believe that this species of idolatry was ever in the contemplation of the sa- cred writers. The idolatry which they continually and justly held up to infamy and abhorrence, was heathen ido- latry, which was not only in the highest degree absurd in the theory, but which countenanced and even required the practice of the most odious and degrading vices. The old Socinian doctrine, that Christ, after his ascen- sion, was advanced to the government of the universe, and became the proper object of a secondary religious worship, is now universally exploded. Even the modern Arians, who, like Dr. Price, acknowledge Jesus Christ to be the Maker and Governor of the world, and to be the Lord their Maker, have, however inconsistently with their prin- ciples, and with the examples of their predecessors, gene- rally abandoned the worship of Christ. And upon this ground they lay claim to the honourable distinction of Uni- tarians. But as they continue to ascribe divine attributes and works to Christ,, though they deny him divine ho- nours, this claim is hardly allowed by the stricter Unita. rians. At any rate, these Arians cannot avail themselves of the argument which many derive from the supposed au- thorized worship of Christ to prove his pre^existence and superior dignity ; but are equally concerned with the proper Unitarians, to explain the passages alleged for this purpose in consistence with pure Unitarian principles. It is proposed to state the principal texts in which the worship of Christ is said to be either taught or exemplified C in 226 WHETHER CHRIST IS THE OBJECT [Part I. in the New Testament, from which it will be easy to col- lect how far they admit of being reconciled to the doctrine of his proper humanity. Religious worship is either mental or external. I. Mental. — Christ is said to be represented as the Object of religious Regard. 1. Of Faith. 1. Rom. X. 9. " If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lr>rd Jesus Christ, and believe with thy heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." q. d. If thou shalt sincerely believe in the resurrection of Jesus, and shalt profess thy faith in him as the true Mes- siah, thou shalt be entitled to the blessings of the Gospel. See Locke in loc. 2. 1 John V. 1 . " Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ, is born of God." q. d. Every one who believes Jesus to be the true Mes- siah, becomes by his profession a member of the christian church, and is adopted into the family of God. — See also Johniii. 36. Acts xvi. 30, 31 ; xxvi. 18. Gal. iii. 26. 1 Pet. ii. ^. It would be endless and useless to cite all the passages which require faith in Christ. It is obvious from the texts above cited, that Faith has no mystical meaning annexed to it, as some have imagined. Faith in Christ is either spe- culative or practical. Speculative faith is, as the apostle defines it above, assent to the proposition that Jesus is the Christ, and that he rose from the dead. This constitutes - a person a christian, and entitles him to the external pri- vileges of the Gospel. In the language of the New Tes- tament, he is ' regenerated,' ' called,' ' forgiven,' ' justi- fied,* ' adopted,' ' sanctified,' and ' saved :' he is ' a son and Sect. 11.3' OF RELIGIOUS WORSHIP, 227 and. heir,' he Is ' chosen and holy :* that is, he is separated from the unbelieving and idolatrous world, he is translated out of the ' kingdom of darkness' and of ' Satan' into the ' kingdom of light' and of ' God's dear Son.' He is ad- mitted into the new covenant, and stands in the same re- lation to God as the descendants of Abraham, Isaac^ and Jacob formerly did. Practical Faith is acting up to the conviction of the un- derstanding ; and this is indispensably necessary to the fu ture reward. He that heareth the sayings of Christ, and doeth them, is the wise man who buildeth his house upon a rock. 2. Christ is the Object of Love. 1. John xiv. 21. " He that hath my command- ments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me ; and be that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself unto him." 2. 1 Cor. xvi. 22. " If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema, Maran-atha." q. d. Let him be excluded from the christian commu- nity. " The Lord is comfing," who will animadvert upon him as he deserves. The apostle alludes to the solemn form of excommunication among the Jews, after they had been deprived by the Romans of the power of inflicting ca* pital punishments. They thus expressed their firm ex- pectation, that God would interpose in some way or other to carry into eflFect the sentence which they were not per- mitted to execute. 3. 1 Pet. i. 8. " Whom, having not seen, ye love." See also Matt. x. 37. John xvi. 27 ; xxi. 15, 1 6, 17. Eph. vi. 24. Our Lord has so explicitly and repeatedly declared, that all the love which he requires of his disciples is, to obey the precepts of his Gospel, that it seems surprising that per* Q 2 sonal 228 WHETHER CHRIST IS THE OBJECT [PartX- serial affection to Christ shouId.be so often represented and insisted upon as a christian duty of the highest importance. The apostles and other immediate followers of Christ, who knew him personally, and had derived personal benefits from him, in addition to the greatest veneration for his character, could not but feel the most affectionate attach- ment to his person. But it is impossible that christians of kter times, who have had no personal intercourse with Christ, and who have received no personal benefits from him, can love him in the same sense in which the apostles and his other companions did. They may indeed figure, to their imaginations an ideal person ; they may ascribe to this person the most amiable attributes ; they may fancy that they are under greater obligations to him than to the Father himself; in the warmth of their imaginations,, they may conceive of themselves as holding converse with him, and their affections may be drawn out to this ideal bene- factor to a very great extent; their faith and hope, and love and joy, may swell even to ecstasy : — but this is not love, to Christ ; it is nothing but a fond and groundless aff"ection to a mere phantom of the imagination. Our Lord's de- claration remains unaltered : " He that hath my com-. MANDMENTS, AND KEEPETH THEM, HE IT IS THAT LovETH ME." This doctrfne must necessarily appear very cold and spiritless to those who delight in high flights of, fancy and of feeling in the concerns of religion. They may perhaps represent it as the very Jiigid zone of Chris- tianity. But it is the Christianity which their Master taught, and from which they who are content to learn of him only, will not feel themselves authorized to de- part. It is indteed impossible for any person of reflection and, Sensibility to read the injeresting account of Christ in the artless narrative of the evangelists, without being deeply impressed with the wisdom and majesty of his doctrine, and widi Sect. 11.] OF RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. 229 with the simplicity and purity, the humility, the meekness and fortitude, the habitual unaffected piety, the enlarged active benevolence, and the mild but conscious dignity of his exalted character. But this is no more than an unbe- liever might experience, and what many have expressed : and cannot with any propriety be called Love to Christ, in the sense in which that phrase is commonly understood. Also, no one can truly appreciate the blessings of the Go- spel, without great thankfulness to God for the gift of his Son to be the Saviour of the world. Any thing beyond this appears to be incomprehensible, irrational, and un- scriptural. That our Lord himself did not challenge per- sonal affection as a christian duty, is further evident from his declaration, Mark iii. 35, " Whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, or sister, or mother." ^. d. The man who performs his duty to God, is he who bears the truest affection to me. And though, while on earth, our Lord cultivated personal friendships, and the apostles must all have felt the most ardent personal affec- tion to their revered Master; and Paul in particular, having been under peculiar obligations to Christ, often labours for words to express the warmth of his attachment ; yet even this apostle explicitly renounces the personal friendship of Christ himself; if it should prove, which he states as pos- sible, an impediment to him in the exercise of his ministry : 2 Cor. v. 16^ " Henceforth know we no man after the flesh : yea, even though we have known Christ after the fleshi yet now, henceforth, know we him no more." q. d. If I had been the intimate friend of Christ, and in the habit of daily personal intercourse with him, I must forgo all the delight and advantage of his society, in or- der to fulfill the purposes of the mission to which I am appoioted. 3. The 230 WHETHER CHRIST IS THE OBJECT [Patt t. 3. The Care of the Soul to be committed to Christ. In support of this strange position, which some repre- sent as the most important of christian duties, only one text is produced, and that most evidently misapplied. 2 Tim. i. 11, 12. " — The Gospel, whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. For which cause I also suffer these things : nevertheless I am not ashamed ; for I know in whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him," t^v Tra^ceSviKriv u8, my deposit, " against that day." " That is," says Dr. Doddridge, " I know to whom I have trusted all my most important concerns ; and I am fully persuaded that he is well able to keep that precious and immortal soul which I have deposited with him, unto that great and important day, when the promised salvation shall be completed." But certainly this is not the true meaning of the apostle. The word 7tocpoiSy]}c^ occurs only in two other places in the New Testament. See Griesbach in loc. In this chapter it is repeated, ver. 1 4, where it is rendered, " that which was committed to thee ;" and again, 1 Tim. vi. 20, " that which is committed to thy trust." In both passages it means the Gospel, the doctrine of Christ. And this is un- doubtedly the sense in which the word is used here: " I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which he has in- trusted to me unto that day." The holy and generous apostle triumphs in the thought, that, whatever becomes of himself, the great cause in which he is embarked shall never fail. The doctrine of Christ, the interest of truth and righteousness, shall survive and prosper, and shall en- dure and advance to the end of time*. 4. Christians ' See Qriesbach, GrotiBS^ and Benson in loc. Tbe case of Stephen, Acts Sect. 11.]] OF llELIGIOTTS WORSHIP. 231 4. Christians are to devote themselves to the Service of Christ. 2 Cor. V. 14. " For the love of Christ constraineth us while we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead ; and he died for all, that they who live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but to him who died for them, and rose again." See also Rom. xiv. 8, 9. Phi- lipp. i. 20, 21. They live to Christ, whose lives are devoted to promote that cause for which he lived and died, and rose again; and to this end he died and rose, that all being now raised by him to the hope of life may consecrate their existence to his service. II. External Homage required or exemplified to Christ. 1. Christ was worshiped during his -Residence on Earth. 1. Matt, xxviii. 9. " Jesus met them, saying, All hail ! and they came and held him by his feet, and wor- shiped him." — ■Ver. 17, " When they saw him, they wor- shiped him." 2. Luke xxiv. 51, 52. " While he blessed them he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven : and they worshiped him." See also Matt. ix. 18; xv. 25. John ix. 38. The worship in these instances offered to Christ was civil respect, not religious homage. The word Trpoa-Kuvsco is often used in this sense, as well as the English word worship, Dan. ii. 48, " Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshiped Daniel." — Acts x. 25, " Cornelius fell at Peter's feet, and worshiped him." These were in- Acts vii. 5g, is brought as an instance of committing the soul, i, e. the departing spirit, to the care of Christ. See Doddridge in loc. This passage is considered p. 239. dications 232 WHETHER CHRIST IS THE OBJECT (Tl^rte I. dications of high respect to persons visibly present, who Were supposed to be messengers fronvGod, but who were not believed to be themselves gods. But the question is concerning the lawfulness of addressing worship to Christ, now that he is no longer sensibly present. 2. Christ is said to challenge the same Honours which are due to the Father. John V. ^. " That all men may honour the Son, even as (jca^wf) they honour the Father. He that ho- noureth not the Son honoureth not the Father who sent him." The obvious meaning is, that Christ, being the messen- ger of God, the very same regard is due to his message which would be due to an oracle delivered by God him- self; and that to disregard Christ under this character is the same affront to the Supreme Being, as it would be to disregard the voice of God himself 2. S. Baptism is to be administered into the Name of Christ, together with those of the Father and the Spirit. Matt, xxviii. 1 9. " — teach all nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." Hence many have inferred the proper deity of Christ, * " So far is this much-cited text from proving that divine worship is to be paid to Christ equally with the Father, that it does not relate to worship at all." Lindsey's Seq. p. 110, &c. — See also Clarke on the Trinity, No. 689. It is surprising that learned Trinitarians, and still more so that the Polish Socinians, should argue from this text, that the same honours which are due to God, are also to be paid'to Christ. See Whitby, Doddridge, and Wolzogenius in loc. "Socinians," says Dr. Price, " choose to be called Unitarians ; but they have no exclu- sive right to this title, and former Socinians had no right at all 5 for they concurred with Trinitarians in worshiping a deified man." Price's, Serm. p. 143, note. and Sect. 11. J OF RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. 2S9 and that he is the object of reh'gious worships, if there be any force in this conclusion, it niust arise either from the name of Christ being introduced into the rite of baptism, or from its being connected in the same formulary with those of the Father and of the Holy Spirit. That baptism into the name of any person signifies no- thing more than the acknowledgement of his authority, and expresses no belief in his proper deity, is evident from what the apostle says of the Israelites, 1 Cor. x. 2, that they were " baptized into Moses." And when the same apostle expresses his apprehensions, 1 Cor. i. 15, *' lest any should say that he had baptized into his own name," he could not suspect that they would represeiit him as claiming divine honours, but merely, as assuming to be the head and leader of the christian sect. Nor does the uniting the name of the Son with that of the Father and the Holy Spirit in the administration of baptism, prove the dpity of Christ, or that he is any thing more than an exalted human being : much less does it prove that he is the proper object of religious worship. For, waving the consideration whether the text be ge- nuine, whether it was intended as a formulary of the rite, whether the names of the Father and Spirit were ever used in primitive baptism, whether the precedents in the New Testament are not all into the name of Christ only ; and finally, whether a positive institution, which contains no direct address to an invisible being, can with any propriety be regarded as an act of religious worship ; it is certain that • " The christian church In succeeding ages has acted a wise and safe part in retaining these words : and they contain so strong an inti« mation that each of these persons is properly God, and that worship is tQ be paid, and glory to be ascribed, to each, that I cannot but hope they will be the means of maintaining the belief of the one, and the practice of the other, among thegenerality of christians to the end of time." Doddridge in Ipc. — See Grotius in loc. j and Lindsey's Apo- logy, p, 117, &c, no 234. WHETHER CHRIST IS THE OBJECT [Parti. r.o inference of equality in rank or homage can be drawn from the association of different names in the same sen- tence. See 1 Chron. xxix. 20, " AH the congregation bowed down their heads, and worshiped the Lord and the king." — ] Sam. xii. 1 8, " The people feared the Lord and the king." — 1 Tim. v. 2], "I charge thee before God, and Jesus Christj and the elect angels, that' thou observe these things." 4. Angels are required to worship Christ. Heb. i. 6. " Let all the angels of God worship him :" i. e. Let all former prophets and messengers ac- knowledge him as their superior. See p. ] 32. 5. Every Knee is to bow at the Name of Jesus. Philipp. ii. 9, 10. " Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name J that at the name," sv cyoij:,oni, in the name, " of Je- sus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth," &c. Tiie learned Peirce, whose system countenanced the worship of Christ, explains this text in his paraphrase as not bearing upon that question. " Upon this account God has advanced him higher than before, and freely bestowed on him an authority that is superior to whatever he granted to any other : that bi/ virtue of the authority of Jesus all should be constrained to submit to God." 6. Adjuration by Christ. 1 Thess. v. 27. " I charge," o^xtl^oc, I adjure, "you by the Lord, that this epistle be read to all the holy bre- thren " Dr. Clarke observes, that the expression is ambiguous. God may be the person intended. It seems indeed to be nothing more than a solemn request and charge. 7. Christ Sect. 11.] OF RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. 235 7. Christ is appealed to as a Witness. Rom. ix. 1 . " I speak the truth in Christ, I lie not." i. e. " Christ being my witness," says Dr. Clarke, No. 69Y. But the words admit of a different interpretation. Mr. Locke's explanation is, " As a christian I speak the truth :" and with him agree Crellius, Dr. Taylor, and many others. See 2 Cor. xii. 19. 1 Tim. ii. 7. 8. Christians are described as invoking the Name of Christ. 1. Acts ix. 14. " Ananias answered, Lord — -he hath authority, here from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name*." That Jesus was the person to whom this answer was addressed, is evident from ver. 17. But these words may be rendered, ' who are called,' or ' who call themselves, after thy name,' i. e. who profess them- selves thy disciples. See Acts ix. 21 ; xxii. 16. Rom. X. IS, 14. 2. 1 Cor. i. 2. " — with all that in every place call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ." Or, rather, as Mr. Wakefield renders it, to all in every place " thai take upon themselves the name'of our Lord Jesus Christ^." 9. Dependence ■* " fTj'fxaXs/xgi'sj rt oviiho, (re, all that call themselves by thy name." "Wakefield. — iE,trtKa\BOij,M is used both in the active and the middle or reciprocal sens^, s ^/.wov, itpos j3oi)9gi«v rtva, ifa.paKOi.\ui, aAXa xa;, stfOvo/ia^Ojiiai. Phavorinus apud Schleusner. — Acts vii. 5g, " They stoned Stephen, STeiKa.XByi.Bvw, invoking and saying," &c. See 1 Pet, i. 17. Calling upon, or calling one's self by, the name of the Lord is no uncommon periphrasis for being truly religious. Deut. xxviii. 10. Joel ii. 32. Psalm Ixxix. 6. James ii. 7. See Wakefield on Acts ii. 21. " Hinc factum est, ut formula siriJcaAedrfla* o^o/xa rivof significaret in universUni, prqfiteri religionem altcujus." Schleusner. ' Dr. Doddridge, in his note, remarks, " This strongly implies that it naight well be taken for granted that evejy true christian would often pray 236 WHETHER CHRIST IS THE OBJECT [Part I. 9. Dependence upon Chriet for Direction and Success. Philipp. ii. 19. "I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly." — Ver. ?4, " I trust in the Lord that I also myself shall come shortly." The apostle in^his journeys, and in the general execu- tion of his mission, appears to have been under the special direction of Christ. See Acts xiii. 1,2; xvi. 6, 7. 9, 10. 10, Doxologies alleged to be addressed to Christ. 1 . 2 Tim. iv.' 17, 18. " — the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom, to whom be glory for ever and ever." Dr. Clarke, No. 7 1 0, remarks, that " it is somewhat ambiguous whether this be spoken of Christ, or of God the Father, but that it seems rather to be meant of Christ.^' And where Christ is mentioned under the character of a king, glory or honour may fitly be ascribed to him ; mean- ing thereby to express a wish that the glory of his king- dom may be everlasting, or that the great founder and ruler of this spiritual empire may be held in everlasting ho- nour by his admiring and grateful subjects. 2. Heb. xiii. 20, 21. " Now the God of peace make you perfect,— working in you that which is well- pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever." Dr. Clarke observes, ibid. No. 744, that " it is ambi- pray to Christ, as well as address the Father in his name." More to the purpose is the observation of Mr. Locke, " ' Called by the name of Jesus Christ.' These words are a periphrasis for christians, as is plain from the design of this verse." — ' ' Etfixa^siffSai significat cognominari. Matt. X. 3. Luc. xxii. 3. Act. i. 23 ; iv. 36. ; aliisque in locis, in quibus est passivee, non activae significationis. Igitur e'jrniaXsur&tu cvojxa est vocari nomine Jesu Cbrisii quasi agnomine, quod notat sin- gularetn conjunctionem quae nobis cum Christo intercedit, qualis est sponsae cum viro, vel qualis servi cum hero, qui de nomine heri etiani appellatur. Itaque s-kmclX. k. r. K. est blc tantum periphrasis Chris- tianoruni." Hammopd in loc. guous Sect. 11.] OP RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. ^37 guous in the construction, whether this refers to Christ or to the Father." He applies the same remark, No. 746, to 1 Pet. iv. 11, where the relative may also refer to the re- moter antecedent. And it is more consonant to the usual practice of the sacred writers to address doxologies to God, S. 2 Pet. iii. 1 3. " But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ ; to him be glory both now and for ever. Amen." Three manuscripts and the Syriac version add the words *' and of God the Father." It is also to be remembered that the epistle itself is of doubtful authority. 4. Rev. i. 5, 6. " Unto him who loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever." One manuscript cited by Mill and Griesbach reads thus : ** Grace and peace from Jesus Christ, — even from him who loved us (t« ayaTrj/crai/rof), and made us kings and priests to God — to him" (?. e. God) " be glory." The very different readings of this disturbed passage, says Mr. Lindsey, Apol. p. 144, " show that it has suffered by the negligence of transcribers, and therefore no certain con- clusion can be drawn from it." 11. Thanksgiving addressed to Christ. 1. Eph. V. 19, 20. " Singing and making me- lody in your heart unto the Lord : giving thanks to God even the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." " The connexion seems to determine the word ' Lord' to be meant of God." Dr. Clarke, ibid. No. 7 1 3 .—And in the parallel passage, Col. iii. 16, "singing With grace in your hearts unto the Lord :" the best manuscripts and Griesbach's text read " God." 2. 1 Tim. i. 1 2. " I thank Christ Jesus my Lord, who 238 WHETHER CHRIST IS THE OBJECT [Part I. who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry." The Clermont copy and ^thiopic version read, "I thank him who enabled me, sv X^i present with him, for he cites the very words of our Lord's reply. But this is no warrant to others who are not in- dulged with the same privilege. 1 3. Devout Wishes of Blessings from Christ supposed to be equivalent to Prayers. Wishes and prayers are very far from being terms of the same import. A wish is merely the expression of desire. Prayer is that expression addressed to one who is supposed to be present, and able to accomplish it. And if this per- son, though not sensibly, is believed to be really present, prayer is an act of religious worship. To wish, may be in- nocent and proper in some cases in which prayer would be unreasonable and idolatrous. I may innocently wish that a person in power may grant an office to a friend, to ask ' See Mr. Lindsey's Sequel, p. 6 — fl. Haynes on the Attributes, p. 152. Lindaey's Exam, of Robinson's Flea, Sect. VI. for Sect. 11.] OF RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. 241 for which, if the person were present, might or might not be proper according to circumstances ; but to pray to him for it when he is absent, with an expectation that he will hear and grant the request, would be downright idolatry. Paul and the other sacred writers commonly begin and end their epistles with devout wishes for evangelical bless- ings from God and Christ, upon those to whom their epistles are addressed. These have been regarded by many as equivalent to prayers and acts of religious worship of Christ equally with God, from which they have inferred that Christ is truly God, and the proper object of divine worships. But this conclusion is certainly erroneous. Otherwise it would follow from the benediction. Rev. i. 4, " Grace be to you, and peace from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne," that these seven spirits also are proper objects of divine worship. The Gospel is often called ' grace or favour,' because it is a free, unmerited, unsolicited, unpurchased gift. Sometimes it is called the ' gracfe or favour,' or * free gift of God,' because it comes originally from God, — some- times, as Philipp. iv. 23, it is called ' the favour of Christ,' because Christ was the authorized publisher of these glad tidings. And the purport of the benevolent wish so often repeated in the apostolic writings, is, that those who are the object of it may enjoy all the blessings of the Gospel dis- pensation, which is the free gift of God through Jesus * Melancthon; in a letter to Camerarius, ia 1532, after predicting the disputes and disturbances which would some time or ether arise about the Trinity, adds, " I take refuge in those plain declarations of Scripture, which enjoin prayer to Christ, which is to ascribe the proper honour pf divinity to liim, and is full of consolation."-— See Mr. Lind- sey's Apol. p. ] 50. So Creliius argues in his Note upon 1 Thess. iii. 1 1, " Insjgne ut curae et providentis circa nos Domini Jesu argamentum, ita invocati ipsius exemplum. Votum enim ejusmodi, quod eum a quo aliquid voveo audire sum persuasus, precalionis vim habet, atque adeo ipsa, licet indirecta, precatio est." R Christ, 242 WHETHER CHRIST IS THE OBJECT, ETC. [Parti. Christ, by whom these glad tidings were communicated to the world. 1 . Rom. i. 7. " Grace be to you, and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ." q. d. May that peace be yours which is the fruit of the Gospel, the free gift of God by Jesus Christ. See chap. xvi. 20. 1 Cor. i. 3 ; xvi. 23. 2 Cor. i. 2. 2. 2 Cor. xiii. 14. " The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion" or partici- pation " of the Holy Spirit, be with you all." q. d. May you all enjoy the inestimable blessings of the gospel of Christ, the favour of God, and the gift of the Holy Spirit. 3. 2 Thess. ii. 16, 17. " Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God even our Father, who hath loved us, and given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts." q. d. May your hearts be comforted by the love of God revealed in the gospel of Christ. 4. 1 Tim. i. 2. " Grace, mercy, arid peace from God our Father, and from Jesus Christ our Lord." q. d. May you obtain forgiveness of sin and reconciliation with God, which are the privileges of the Gospel dispensation. Here, grace, mercy, and peace are put for the mercy and peace of the Gospel, as the way, the truth, and the life are put, John xiv. 16, for the true way to hfe. In the same manner other similar expressions of devout and benevolent wishes may be explained. And upon.the whole, we have abundant reason to conclude, that there is neither precept nor example in the New Testament to war- rant the addressing of prayers or any other kind of reli- gious worship to Christ. To one who forms his judge- merit from the New Testament, the Father only is God, and the proper and sole object of religious worship. SECTION Sect. t2.] 243 SECTION XII. ARGUMENTS TO PROVE THE PROPER HUMANITY OP JESUS CHRIST. XT is not necessary to the establishment of the proper hu. manity of Jesus Christ to produce specific arguments for this purpose, For who would require proof that one who appears in all respects as a man, is in fact a proper human being ? If Christ had, as ig universally allowed, all the external appearance of a man, he must in all reason be considered as a man, in no other way distinguished from his brethren than as being invested with an extraordinary divine commission. Whoever maintains that Christ is a being of superior order, an angel, a super-angelic Logos, or a God, it is incumbent upon him to substantiate his as- sertion by clear and satisfactory evidence. If these argu- ments, after being carefully examined, are found to be in- sufEcient, it is not at all necessary to produce proof that Christ is a mere man. The conclusion follows irresistibly, and of course. In the preceding sections, all the ievidence in favour of the pre-existence and superior nature of Christ has been produced and investigated ; and if we are satisfied that these texts, neither singly nor collectively, contain any valid proof of this important point, the as- sumption falls to the ground, and the proper humanity of Christ remains as a plain indisputable fact. As, however, the contrary opinion has for many ages been the prevailing belief of the christian world, it niay be of use to annex a coiicise view of the arguments which tend more immedi- ately to establish and confirm the doctrine that Jesus Christ was a man in all respects like otherraen, except in R 3 having 244" ARGUMENTS TO PROVE THE [Part I. having' been selected by divine vi^isdora to be the messen- ger of truth and mercy ta mankind. I. The total silence of the evangelists Matthew, Mark, and Luke concerning our Lord's pre-existence and divi- nity is utterly unaccountable, if these stupendous-facts are true, and w^ere known to those writers. This plain and unanswerable argument has been stated before'. II. The ' See above. Sect. JII. p. 10. Also, Letters upon Arianistn, in Re- ply to Mr. B. Carpenter, Lett. 8. Modern theologians pay little at- tention to this difficulty, which appears to have created, as it well might, very considerable embarrassment to the ancient ecclesiastical writers, who ascribe the silence of the evangelists to their great pru. dence in avoiding to shock the prejudices of their hearers, by divulging the obnoxious doctrine of Christ's divinity. Athanasius says, " the Jews of that age thought that Christ was a mere man, resembling other descendants of David, and did not believe either that he was God, or that the Word was made flesh. On this account the blessed apostles, with great prudence, in the first place taught what related to the hu- manity of our Saviour to the Jews, thgt they might afterwards bring them to the belief of his divinity." Athanas. 0pp. vol. i. p. 553. Dr. Priestley's Early Opinions, vol., iii. p. 89. Chrysostom says, " ' In the beginning was the Word.' This doc- trine was not published at first, for the world would not receive it. Wherefore Matthew, Mark, and Luke began at a distance : — they did not immediately say what was becoming his dignity, but what would suit the hearers. John, the son of thunder, advanced to,the doctrines of the divinity. As the lightning precedes the thunder, they flashed the oeconomy (i. e. the humanity) of Christ : but he thundered out the divinity." Chrysost. da Sig. Opp- vol. vi. p. 17 1. — I'riestley, ibid, p. 130. This writer also represents the apostle John as holding a solilo- quy with himself when he Was about to write his history. " Why do I delay ? Why do I not publish what angels are ignorant of? Why do I not writQ what Matthew, and Mark, and Luke, through a wise and praiseworthy timidity, passed over in silence, according to the orders which were given them ? I will write a book which will stop the mouths of all who speak unjustly of God. Leaving all things that come to pass from time, and in time, I will speak of that which is without all time, and is uncreated, the Logos of God." Chrys. ibid. vol. vi. p. 60Q. Dr. Priestley, ibid. p. 134. Epiphanius says, " the blessed John, coming and finding men em- ployed about the humanity of Christ, and the Ebionites in an error about the genealogy, and the Cerinthians and Merinthians maintaining that he was a mere man, descended of human parents, as coming last he began to call back the wanderers, and those who were employed about the humanity of Christ." Epiphan. Opp. vol. i, p. "J^T. Dr. Priestley, ibid. p. 140. Jerome Sect. 12.] PROPER HUMANITY OF CHRIST. 245 II. The pre-existence and divinity of Christ are no ■where taught as doctrines of revelation, but are left to be inferred from indirect arguments, obscure phraseology, and ambiguous hints. The doctrine of a future life, which is truly a doctrine of revelation, is taught in the most explicit language, so that no believer in the mission of Christ can possibly en- tertain a doubt of it. And if Christ were God, or the Maker and Supporter of the world under God, this doc- trine being of such high importance would, no doubt, have been taught with equal clearness and precision. That it is not so taught, is abundantly evident from the numerous controversies which have subsisted, and which continue to subsist upon that subject, and that not only among the ig- norant and prejudiced, but among persons equally honest, and learned, and inquisitive, and equally desirous of know* ing the truth. III. The apostles either did or did not know of the pre- existent state and dignity of Christ during his personal mi- nistry, and while they were personally conversant with him. Jerome says, '' John the aposile, whom Jesus loved, wrote his go- spel last of all, at the intreaty of the bishops of Asia, against Cerinthus and other heretics, and especially against the doctrine of the Ebionites, then gaining ground, who said that Christ had no existence before he was born of Mary." Hieronym. Opp. vol. i. p. 273. Dr. Priestley, ibid. p. 142. The prudent timidity and reserve which, by these early writers, is ascribed to the evangelists, is utterly unworthy of their character, and has no foundation in fact. Nor would it be adtnitted by modern ad- vocates of the pre-existence and divinity of Christ. The truth is, that the sacred writers never mention these extraordinary facts, because they had never heard of them. Otherwise silence would have been impossible. To write the life of Caesar, and forget tiie battle of Phar- salia, or to publish the history of Nelson, and to omit the victories of the Nile and of Trafalgar, would be nothing in comparison with three historians undertaking to write the life of Christ, and one (if them car- rying on the history of the promulgation of Christianity to thirty years Sfter our Lord's ascension, without giving one single hint that the sub- ject of their narrative was the Maker of the world himself in an ioc^r^ iiate form, if they had known this extraordinary fact. 248 ARGUMENTS TO PROVE THE [Pah I, If it is maintained that they were informed of this (amazing fact, it may justly be asked, When did they first come to the knowledge of it ? What marks are there of that astonishment and terror with which their minds must have been overwhelmed when this extraordinary secret was first divulged to them ? How could they ever recover themselves from this consternation so far as to be able af* terwards to associate and converse freely and familiarly ■with their Maker and their God, to put questions to him, and occasionally even to contradict and rebuke him ; and finally, to desert him when he was arrested, judged, and crucified ? — It is indeed alleged, that this impression of as- tonishment and dismay would gradually wear off. But the fact is, that it does not appear to have been ever excited. Through the whole course of his ministry, our Lord was uniformly treated by his associates and disciples as a nian, highly distinguished, indeed, by divine communications and powers ; but in no other respect different from his bre- thren. Their whole conduct to Christ is utterly unac- countable upon any other supposition. To affirm that the impression of his infinite superiority, if revealed, would have worn off, is gratuitous and improbable, nay, impos- sible, in the few short months or years in which he lived amongst them. / Did Abraham or Moses ever approach to that familiarity in their intercourse with God, which the apostles continually used, even to the very last, in con- versing with Jesus ? Let us for a moment make the case our own. If the discovery should unexpectedly be made, that a person with whom we have for some time associated as a companion, whom we have loved as a friend, have re- vered as an instructor, and have venerated as a saint, — ;is not what we have always presumed him to be, a man like ourselves, but an angel in human form ; is it possible that we could ever recover from the astonishment which this discovery would occasion, so as to converse with him again Sect. 12.3 PROPER HUMANITY OF CHRIST. 247 again upon the same terms of familiarity and ease ? What, then, would be the effect produced, if it were ascertained that this person was our Maker and our God ? — Nothing could be so disturbing to the mind, or so offensive to the prejudices of a Jew, as the novel and strange doctrines of subordinate Jehovahs, of delegated Creators, and of trini- ties of equal persons in a unity of the divine essence : and yet, as sonje think, all this was revealed to the apostles during the personal ministry of our Saviour, without giv- ing birth to one single expression of surprise, or calling forth a single commeiit. The difficulties upon the supposition that this informa- tion was communicated to the apostles during the perso- nal ministry of our Saviour are indeed so great, that it has been a prevailing opinion with many, that the doctrines of our Lord's pre-existence and divinity were not cora- .pletely divulged till after his ascension 2. But this con- cession - This question is not yet completely settled by the believers in jthese doctrines ; nor has it indeed been attended to as its importance deserves. For 1 will venture to say, it can never be solved upon the hypothesis of Arianism or Trinitarianism, so as to satisfy a judicious and impar- tial inquirer. The late ingenious and pious Mr. Gilpin, vicar of Bolr dre, in his Exposition of the New Testament, explains John xiv. T , as a declaration of the divinity of Christ, says, "I do not know whether, like Cerinthus and Merinthus, they believe Christ to be a mere man, or whether, as the truth is, they maintain that he was born of the holy spirit and Mary." See Huet. Not. in Orig. p. 74. This hesitation of Epiphanius amounts, in Dr. Horsley's estimation, " to the unwilling conjfession of a base accuser," that the Nazarenes were be- lievers in the divinity of Christ. See Horsley's Tracts, p. 26, and 144. The learned prelate, however, in the very same page, is obliged to make an " unwilling confession" of his own error. Dr, Priestley has stated the argument at length, and very satisfactorily, in Hist, of Early Opinions, book iii. chap. 8. who Sect. 12.] PROPER HUMAKITY OF CHRIST. 263 who forbad the Jews from coming within sight of the place, and who founded a colony in the vicinity, to which he gave the name of ^lia, the gfeat body of orthodox Jewish believers, who had hitherto observed the rites of Moses, at once abandoned these rites, and resorted in great numbers to the new city, in order to participate in the privileges of the ^lian colony ; that they joined the church of Gentile christians which was formed there; that Origen could not have been ignorant of this circumstance; and consequently that his account of the Hebrew chris> tians must have been a wilful falsehood. This strange hypothesis of the sudden defection of agreat body of people, and those people Jews, from the customs of their ancestors, which had been held sacred for more than sixteen centuries, and of their instantaneous intimate union with a community of people whom they had always been accustomed to shun with horror, and to whose lan- guage they must have been entire strangers^', is so incre- dible in itself, so contradictory to every known principle of the human mind, so unsupported by authority from ecclesiastical writers, so repugnant to historic evidence, and involves so unjust and cruel an aspersion upon one' of the most unblemished characters of christian antiquity, that it will not bear a moment's examination ; and the very statement of the case carries its own confutation's. It being thus established by competent evidence, that the great body of Jewish christians at the end of the se- " Adrian's colony probably consisted of Greeks j and Sulpitius Save- rus says " that Mark, a Gentile, was then appointed bishop at Jerusa* lem." Hist. p. 245. '"■ This curious fabric of a church at ^lia of orthodox Hebrew chris- tians, who had abandoned the ceremonies of the Law, rests solely upon the affirmation of Mosheim, supported by that of Dr. Horsley, but destitute of every shadow of support^ from christian antiquity; This, however, being the principal, and 'almost the only important topic of discussion between Dr. Horsley and Dr. Priestley, a brief review of this famous controversy will be given in the Appendix to^tbis Section. cond 264 ARGUMENTS TO PROVE THE [P^irt I. cond century were believers in the proper humanity of Jesus Christ, and this testimony remaining wholly uncon- tradicted, there being no proof whatever that any church of orthodox Jews ever existed ; it follows by direct con- sequence that the Jewish church must have been Unita- rian from the very beginning : for a change so great as that from believing the deity of Christ to the belief that he was a mere man, the son of Joseph and Mary, could not have taken place in so^short a time ; and if it had happened, it must have occasioned much violent contro- versy, of which some notice could not but have been ta- ken by the historians of the church. But no such con- troversy is upon record, therefore it never existed. The inference clearly follows, that the first Jewish converts believed, and consequently that the first christian missio- naries taught, that the Father was the only true God, and the proper object of worship, and that Jesus Christ was a mere human being, the faithful servant and honoured messenger of God 23. The direct evidence of the Unitarianism of the great body of Gentile christians, even as low down as the Couti- cil of Nice, is, if possible, still more clear and satisfactory than that of the Jewish believers. In the first rank is Origen. "There are some," says this learned writer in his Commentary upon John, " who participate of ' the Word that was in the beginning, the Word that was with God, and the Word that was God ;' — but there are others who 'know nothing but Jesus Christ, and him crucified:' .' the Word that was flesh.' Thinking that it is the whole doctrine of the Word, they only know Christ according " Dr. Priestley, ibid. p. 210. Dr. Priestley says, that in the whole course of his reading he never met with the mention of more than one orthodox Jewish christian j his name was Joseph. Epiphanius says, he met with him at Scythopolis, where all the rest of the inhabitants were Arians, Page isg. to Sect. 12.] PROPER HUMANITY OF CHRIST. 265 to the flesh. Such is the multitude of those who ARE REPUTED AS BELiEVERs2V And again, " The mul- titudes, Ta ttAjj^!?, of believers are instructed in the sha- dow of the Word, and not in the true Word of God 25." Tertullian's testimony is most explicit and unequivocal. "The simple, or rather the well-meaning, not to, say the unwise and unlearned, who always form the majo- rity OF BELIEVERS, since the very rule of faith transfers them from the many gods of the world to the one true God^ not understanding that the one God is indeed to be believed, but with his own CEConomy,(/. e. distribution into three persons,) are startled at the oeconomy. They presume that the number and arrangement of the trinity is a division of the unity. They therefore hold out that two, or even three gods are taught by us : but they as- sume that they are the worshipers of one God. We, say they, HOLD THE monarchy. Even the Latin clowns shout so loudly for the monarchy, that you would sup- pose they understood it as well as they pronounce it. But the Latins learn to shout for the Monarchy, and even the Greeks themselves are unwilling to understand the ceco- nomy26." This remarkable testimony ofTertuIlian to the zea- lous Unitarianism of the majority of believers, never has '* " raro Se b^i to ntXrfios rwy itaitis-iVABva.i vore," and while JEXi& ■was building at another place ? But, no doubt, his Lordship would have referred him to his former most ingenious and satisfactory repljr, p. 375 : " If they were not dwelling at ^lia, Dr. Priestley, if he be go pleased^ may seek their settlement." your liR. HORSLEV AND DR. PRIESTLEY. 285. your Lordship opposes a mere idle story picked up by Epiphanius, of Aquila being appointed by Adrian to su- perintend the works at Jerusalem, and being converted to Christianity ;" and he reminds the bishop that, " accord- ing to Epiphanius, this must have happened before the war began." " Your Lordship," he concludes, " may. >yell say that I have embarrassed your argument with chronological difficulties ; and when chronology is against a man, he is naturally against chronology." In reply to the bishop's concluding remark. Dr. Priest- ley says, p. 57, " My Lord, in humble imitation of your Lordship's style, I will say, the foundations of your church of Trinitarian Jews at Jerusalem, after the time of Adrian, are again, and I will venture to say for ever, overturned : and a church, the foundations of which were attempted to be laid on the grossest calumny, and on the ruins of the fairest character that christian history has to exhibit, would not expect any better fate. And it has fallen where it ought to have done, on the head of the architect." He adds, " If your Lordship should make a fresh attempt to rebuild this favourite church, I hope you will lay its foun- dations deeper than on an idle story of Epiphanius. — sAlso condescend to give some smill degree of attention to the humble subject of chronology. Otherwise, how pom- pously and magisterially soever your Lordship may write, ^ plain tale will be sufficient to put you down." DrI Priestley concludes with a spirited challenge to the newly- created bishop to resume the controversy. " Come forth then again, my Lord, and to all your powers of lan- guage be pleased to add those of argument. To use your own high platonic language, Come forth with the full projection of all your energies, and, if possible, overwhelm me at once." To this aiiimated challenge the right reverend adver- sary made no reply. The oracle was silent. The war- fare was accomplished. The prize was won. And both the contending parties retired from the field equally well satisfied with the result oftheconffict; Dr. Priestley with his VICTORY, and Dr. Horsley, with his MITRE. N O T E. 286 REVIEW Of THE CONTROVERSY BETWEEN NOTE^ The other questions which were agitated by these keen and learned polemics were of very subordinate importance. The venerable arch- deacon having pledged himself to prove that the divinity' of our Lord was the belief of the very first christians, appeals in his Eighth Letter, Tracts, p. ] 64, to a work of great antiquity, undef the title of the Epistle of Barnabas, which, though it is admitted not to have been written by the companion of Paul, the learned writer contends to have been a production of the apostolic age, and addressed by a Hebrew christian to his Jewish brethren. '' From this epistle he cites the fol- lowing passage : " The Lord submitted to suffer for our gouls, although be be the I^qrd of the whole earth, unto whom he said the day before the ■world was finished. Let us niake man after our image and likeness." He adds two or three other passages of the same import. He then remarks, that the writer mentions this doctrine " as an article of their common faith ; he brings no arguments, to prove it ; he mentions it as occasion occurs, without showing any anxiety to inculcate it, or any apprehension that it would be denied or doubted." And he trium- phantly concludes, 1' This, Sir, is the proof which I had to produce. It is so direct and full, that if this be laid in one scale, and your whole mass of evidence drawn from incidental and ambiguous allusions in the other, the latter will fly up and kick the beam." To this argument Dr. Priestley replies in the second of his Second Series of Letters to Dr. Horsley, by reminding his antagonist of the ' doubts entertained by many learned men of the genuineness of this epistle, and of the certainty of numerous interpolations, and those such as respect the very subject in question. Adding, " I must see other evidence than, this from Barnabas, before I can admit that the divinity or pre- existence of Christ was the belief of the apostolic age." This reply sufficiently invalidates the testimony of the pseudo- Bar- nabas. But an answer still more satisfactory is supplied by the learn- ed Jeremiah Jones, who was not, as Dr. Horsley states. Tracts, p. 127, "tlis tutor of the venerable Lardner," but the relation and pu- pil of the very learned Samuel Jones of Tewkesbury ; who was also the tutor of Maddox bishop of Worcester, Butler bishop of Durham, and Seeker archbishop of Qanterbury; to which catalogue we may add the name of a person who was fully their equal in literary cele- brity, and, if not restrained by principles of conscience, had been equal in ecclesiastical dignity, thelearned and pious Dr. Samuel Chandler, many years the able and admired pastor of the highly respectable presbyterian congregation of the Old Jewry. Jeremiah Jones, who, to the great loss of theological literature, died young> it\ the second volume of his admirable DR. HORSLEY AND DR. PRIESTLEY. 287 .admirable Treatise on the Canon of Scripture, republisbeJ a few years ago by the University of Oxford, part iii. ch. 37, after a very full and impartial inquiry into the subject, stales it as his opinion, which be sub- stantiates by abundant evidence, " that the epi&tle was written not by Barnabas, nor by any other Jew, but by some person who was ori- ginally a Pagan idolater ; that it is an apocryphal boo.l;, and was never read in the churches till the time of Jerome; that it contains mapy asser- tions which are absolutely false, and a great number of trifling, silly, and idle thinp." And upon the whole he concludes, from its having been cited " only by Clemens Alexandrinus and Origen, that it was forged at Alexandria ; and because there are so many pious frauds in it, tliat it was the forgery of some such person as corrupted the books of the Sibyls, and that it was written about the middle of the second centu- ry." Such is the direct, full, and decisive evidence derived by the archdeacon from the testimony of Barnabas tb the orthodoxy of the primitive Hebrew church. We give him this Barnabas ', I cannot conclude this long note without adding a word or two upon the subject of Origen's much-injured character. The archdeacon had charged this venerable man with " the allegation of a notorious falsehood," in asserting tliat the Hebrew christians in his time had not abandoned the law of their ancestors : Tracts, p. 156. Of this heavy charge he adduced the existence of his far-famed church at .^lia as a proof. But soon discovering that the foundations of this church were too weak even for its own support, and much more to bear the weight of this new and unprecedented attack upon the ve- racity of Origen, and being anxious to repel the severe retort of Dr. Priestley, that he was "a defamer of the dead," the learned dignitary applied himself with great industry to look out for some plausible con- firmation of his criminatory allegation. And the success of his re- searches was worthy of the cause. Two passages only are produced by the archdeacon. Tracts, p. 350, to state which, in the reverend ac- cuser's own translation, is to demonstrate the futility of the charge, " In the second book of the Answer to Celsus, Origen says. It is mr present purpose to evince Celsus's ignorance ; whp has made a Jew say to his countrymen, to Israelites believing in Christ, Upon what motive have you deserted the law of your ancestors ?..,.And how con- fusedly does Celsus's Jew speak upon this subject, wherj he might have said more plausibly, ici^owuirspw Some of you have relinquish- ed the old customs upon pretence of expositions and. allegories. Some again expounding, as you call it, spiritually, nevertheless observe the institutions of our ancestors. BxAsome, not admitting these exposi- ' " I shall tax the veracity of your witness — oi this Origen." flors- ley, p. 156. tionsj 288 REVIEW OF THE CONTROVERSY BETWEEK tions, are willing to receive Jesus as the person foretold by the propliets, and to observe the law of Moses according to the ancient customs.". " In these words," continues the archdeacon, " Origen confesses all. that I have alleged of him. He confesseSj in contradiction to his former assertion, that he knew of three sorts of Jews professing Chris- tianity... .one of whom had relinquished the observance of the literal precept," But where is this self-contradiction to be found ? Celsus ignorantly charged all the Hebrew christians with having deserted the customs of their ancestors. Origen, who knew that few or none of them had' done so, replies, that Celsus's Jew would have talked not more truly, but more plausibly, more consistently with his assumed character, and more like the truth, if he had only said that some bad relinquished their old customs, while the majority adhered to them. But the bishop says in his laboured reply to Dr. Priestley's Defence of Origen, Tracts, Disq. v. " Plausibility and truth, in this use of the word plausibility,; are the very same thing." They might be so in his Lordship's voca- bulary, but they are not so in common, acceptation. To say that his Lordship's assertions are plausible, is very difterent from allowing that tho^e assertions are true. Dr. Priestley, in the first of his Third Series of Letters, supposes that Origen might allude to a few who had relin- quished their ancient customs, though the majority had not. But this supposition,though not improbable, is by no means necessary to justify the character of Origen. Another passage, upon which the archdeacon places his finger, ibid, p. 353, as substantiating his charge against Origen, is in the first book of the reply to Celsus. Origen, defending the traiislation of Isa. vii. 34, "Behold a virgin shall conceive," alleges that' the word ^Imdi which the LXX. translate ' virgin,' and others ' a young woman,' is put too, AS THEY SAY, in Deuteronomy xxii. 23, 24, for ' a virgin.' " The fact is, that in all our present copies the word Alma, T]abi>, does not occur in Deuteronomy, but another word, nbina, which al- ways signifies ' a virgin." And' the archdeacon charges Origen with prevarication for citing the text in this doubtful manner. "Was it unknown to the compiler of the Hexapla what the reading of the Hebrew text in his own times was ? If he knew that it was what he would have it thought to be, why does he sefem to assert it upon hear- say only ? If he knew not, why did he not inform himself? " In truth, it is difficult to say why Origen uses this indefinite phrase. His copy might d\ff€r from the modern ones, or his judgement might be doubtful, or he might possibly have forgotten at the instant what the exact reading was, and his copy might not be at hand for him to consult j but whether any or none of these suppositions be correct, , surely DR. HORSLEY AND DR. PRTESTLEV. 289 snrely no human being but the Archdeacon of St. Albans would have ventured upon such feeble grounds to have taxed the character of the great and venerable Origen with notorious falsehood*. " What an appetite," says Dr. Priestley, " must a man have for calumny, who can seize upon such a circumstance as this to gratify it !" Third Series of Letters, p. 15. — — ■ — ■ — — -^ — ■ > ' Nor is it to be supposed that the archdeacon himself would have preferred so serious a charge upon such frivolous pretexts, had he not been completely misled by the. visions of Mosheim. For had the fable of the Hebrew orthodox church at iElia been true, Origen must have known it, as he resided for some time in the vicinity of Jerusa» lem, and he would in that case have merited the imputa,tion of a want pf veracity. But this ground being untenable, and the learned digni- tary having alleged his accusation of the venerable Father in such broad and unqualified terms, he probably thought it necessary in vindication of his own character to search for other proofs of his charge against that of Origen : with what success the reader is now competent to judge. The reader may now likewise form 3 just estimate of the truth of a curious obbcrvation in a late Quarterly Review, that " Dr. Priestley was regarded as a giant in theological controversy, till he was van- quished by a giant greater than himself." How far Bishop Hftrsley, conscious as he evidently was of the infirmity of his argument, which he in vain endeavoured to conceal under the pomp and colouring of. his language, would have relished the equivocal compliment of the same Reviewers in their critique upon his posthumous sermons, that " his principal forte was Theology," may not be so easily ascertained. To the liberal and enlightened author of the masterly " Dissertation wpon the Evangelical Sects," in the list Number of this Literary Journal^ -the Unitarians, in common with the rest of their non-con- formist brethren, are under great obligation, for his manly and unequi- vocal avowal of the grand principles of religious^ liberty, and his indig* nant reprobation of persfecution in every form. While the Unitarians can boast of their Lardners,' Lindseys, Jebbs, Wakefields, andTyrwhits, and many other names living, and dead, whose claim to literary cele- brity would not have been deemed equivocal had they imbibed their learning in royal colleges or national institutions, they can forgive the sarcasm of the worthy Reviewer that their doctrine " appeals to the vanity of the half-learned, and the pride of the half-reasoning." But they cannot suppress their astonishment that this able critic, who does not appear to bfe an enemy to revelation, should, in reply to a most judicious and important observation of the Barrister, " that Christ ne- ver required faith in his disciples, without first furnishing sufficient evidence to justify it," have ventured to affirm that the Barrister " makes this assertion in direct contradiction of many plain texts, and of the whole spirit of the whole gospels." We indeed have not sq jearned Christ. The candid writer, allowing that Unitarianism is " the most harm. w , less 290 REVIEW OF THE CONTROVERSY, ECT. In the fifth Disquisition annexed to his Collection of Tracts, pr, Horsley, then Bishop of St. Davids, labours, but without success, to establish his impeachment of Origen's character upon the ground of these two passages, from his answer to Celsus ; and having convicted Dr. Priestley of two or three trifling inaccuracies, he concludes with the following illiberal refl,ection : " This art, which Dr. Priestley is so apt; to employ, of reducing an argument, by well-managed abridgements, to a form in which it may be capable of refutation, indicates so near a resemblance between the characters of Origen and his Hyperaspistes ill the worst part of Origen's, that perhaps I might not be altogether unjustifiable, were I to apply to the Squire the words which Mosheini so freely uses of the Knight; ' Ego huic testi, etiamsi jurato, qui tam manifesto fumos vendit, me non credlturum esse confirrao.' " Dr. Priestley, disdaining to enter any further into the defence of Origen's character, in reply to the above calumnious insinuations of the bishop against himself, says. Fourth Series, p. 85, "To this con- junction of myself with Origen I heartily say, Amen. May my cha- racter be that of this great man with all its faults, and then it will be. as far removed as I wish it to be from that of the present Bishop of St. Davids, whom I scruple not once more to call, as I have abun- dantly proved the truth of the accusation, a falsifier, though I believe not a wilful falsifier, of history, and a defamer of the character of the dead." less of all heresies," declares his opinion that " it never can become a popular doctrine." The wiiflr of this note once entertained the same opinion ; and that at a time when, from a conviction of the truth of the Unitarian doctrine, he thought it his duty to make an open pro- fession of it. He has since learned from experience to place more confidence in the energy of Truth when proposed, in a plain and undisw guised form. If the critique was written by the respectable author to whom it is atlribuiedby common rumour, he will permit the writer of this Note to lay claim to a more convenient station for observing the progress of Uuitarianism, than the Reviewer, with all his acknowledged talents and" resources, can possess in the " antres vast and desarts idle" of the North. The Unitarians do not complain of decreasing numbers and empty chapels. Tlieir want is that of popular, eiilightened, and faithful ministers to large and crowded auditories. And the philoso- phic Reviewer may, if he pleases, smile at the fond credulity of the writer while he avows his firm conviction, that the only efl«ctual check which can be given to that torrent of absurdity and enthusiasm which threatens to overwhelm the country, and which excites just alarm in every considerate mind, is, not by opposing nonsense to non-r sense; and fanaticism to fanaticism, but by the calm, dignified, and irresistible progress of reason, truth, and virtue 5 by the prevalence of Unitarian principles, of the Lancasterian system of education, and of a firm, temperate, and truly primitive christian; discipline. PART THE SECOND. A SUMMARY VIEW OF THE VARIOUS OPINIONS WHICH HAVE BEEN ENTERTAINED CONCERNING THE PER- SON OF CHRIST, AND OF THE ARGUMENTS FOR AND OBJECTIONS AGAINST EACH. SECTION I. THE PROPER UNITARIAN SCHEME, OR THE DOCTRINB OF THE SIMPLE HUMANITY OF JESUS CHRIST. J. HE Unitarian doctrine is, that Jesus of Nazareth was a man constituted in all respects like other men, subject to the same infirmities, the sAme ignorance, prejudices, and frailties — descended from the family of David, the son of Joseph and Mary, though some indeed still adhere to the popular opinion of the miraculous conception — that he was born in low circumstances, having no peculiar advan- tages of education or learning, but that he was a man oi exemplary character, — and that, in conformity to ancient prophecy, he was chosen and appointed by God to intro- duce a new moral dispensation into the world, the design of which was to abolish the Jewish oeconomy, and to place believing Gentiles upon an equal ground of privilege and favotu? with the posterity of Abraham : in other words, he was authorized to reveal to all mankind, without distinc- tion, the great doctrine of a future life, in which men shall be rewarded according to their works. u 2 It 292 UNITARIAN DOCTRINE [Part 11. It does not appear that Jesus was at all conscious of the honour and dignity for which he was intended till after his baptism, when the Holy Spirit was communicated to Tiira in a visible symbol, and when he was miraculously announced as the beloved Son of God, that is, as the ^reat prophet or Messiah whom the Jews had been taught to expect ; after which, in the course of his public mini- stry, he occasionally spoke of himself as the Son of Man Mid the Son of God. After his baptism, it is generally believed by the Uni- tarians, that he spent some time in the wilderness, where he was fully instructed in the nature of his mission, and invested with voluntary miraculous powers, which, by the visionary scene of his temptation, he was instructed to exercise, not for any personal advantage, but solely for the purposes of his mission. Many, however, conceive that Jesus never performed a miracle but when he was prompted to it by a divine impulse. It has been main- tained by some learned men, that during the perioci of his residence in the wilderness Jesus was favoured with di- vine visions, in which," like the apostle Paul, (2 Cor. xii.) he apprehended himself to be transported into heaven ; and that the language which he uses concerning his de- scent from heaven is to be explained by this hypothesis : but the generality of Unitarians interpret these expres- sions of his divine commission only, and the perfect know- ledgewith which he was favoured, above all other prophets, of the will of God concerning the moral state of men, and the new dispensation which he was appointed to in- troduce. The Unitarians generally believe that Jesus, having ex- ercised his public ministry for the space of. a year, «aid perhaps a little more, suffered death publicly upon the cross, not to appease the wrath of God, not as a satisfac- tion to divine justice, not to exhibit the evil of sin, nor in any Sect. 1.] STATED AND EXPLAINED. 293 any sense whatever to make an atonement to God for it ;, for this doctrine in every sense, and according to every explanation, they explode as irrational, unscriptural, and derogatory from the divine perfections ; but as a martyr to the truth, and as a necessary preliminary to his resur- rection. And they hold that it was wisely ordered, to preclude cavils, that his death should be an event of great public notoriety, and inflicted by his enemies. The Unitarians also believe that Jesus was raised to life by the power of God, agreeably to his own predictions, on the third day, and'that by this event he not only con^ firmed the truth and divinity of his mission, but exhibit- ed in his own person a pattern and a pledge of a resur- rection to immortal life ; for which reason he is called the first-born of the whole new creation, and the first-begot- ten from the dead. The Unitarians further believe, that after having given sufficient proofs to his disciples, for forty days, of the truth of his resurrection, he was in a miraculous manner with- drawn from their society, a circumstance which is descri- bed as an ascension into heaven ; and that, in a few days after this event, the holy spirit was communicated to his apostles in a visible symbol on the day of Pentecost, by which they were endued with the gift of speaking various languages which they had never learned, and were fur- nished with many other gifts and powers by which they were qualified to propagate the Gospel in the world, and to exhibit a most satisfactory and public proof of the rgr surrection of their master from the dead. The Unitarians maintain, that Jesus and his apostles were supernaturally instructed as far as was necessary for the execution of their commission, that is, for the revela- tion and proof of the doctrine of eternal life, and that the favour of God extended to the Gentiles equally with the Jews J and that Jesus and his apostles, anU others of the primitive 29^4 UNITARIAN DOCTRINES [Part, II-. primitive believers, were occasionally inspired to foretel future events. But they believe that supernatural inspi- ration was limited to these cases alone ; and that when Jesus or his apostles deliver opinions upon subjects un- connected with the object of their mission, such opinions, and their reasonings upon them, are to be received with the same attention and caution with those of other per- sons in similar circumstances, of similar education, and with similar habits of thinking. The Unitarians admit, that, the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament, and especially the latter, contain au- thentic records of facts, and of divine interpositions ; but they utterly deny the universal inspiration of the writers of those compositions, as a qualification to which indeed they make no pretension, and of which they ofFer no proof; and the assertion of which tends only to embarrass the evidences of revelation, and to give advantage to its ene- mies. And they judge of the genuineness, of the mean- ing, and of the credibility of these works, exactly in the same way as they judge of any other ancient writings. , Many of the Unitarians believe that Jesus continued to maintain, occasionally at least, some personal and sensible connexion with the church during the apostolic age, which he expressly promised to do (Matt, xxviii. 20) ; and in this way they account for the continuance of those mira- culous gifts and powers which were exercised in his name while the apostles lived, and also for occasional personal appearances and interpositions which have never occurred since : but it is believed that he is now withdrawn from all sensible intercourse with this world, though some have conjectured that he may still be actually present, in it, and attentive to its concerns. The Unitarians believe, that Christ is appointed to raise the dead and to judge the world. With regard to the former, it is believed that he will be the instrument of his Father's Sect, l.jl STATED And explained. ' 29S Father's power. With respect to the latter, whether the declarations concerning it are to be understood literally or figuratively, whether Jesus will be personally invested with some high official character, or whether nothing more is intended than that the final states of men shall be award- ed agreeably to the declarations of his Gospel, cannot, they think, at present be ascertained. Probably, as is usual with prophetic language, the event will be very dif- ferent from what the literal sense of the words would lead us to expect. But whatever be the meaning of the de- claration, the part which Jesus will bear in it will^ they are confident, be no more than what may properly be al- lotted to a human being, (John v. 27 ;) and in the exe- cution of which his apostles and disciples will, it is said, be associated with him. Matt. xix. 28. 1 Cor. vi. 2, 3. The Unitarians, while they bow to the authority of Jesus as the great Prophet of the Most High, and receive with implicit submission whatever appears to them to have the sanction of divine authority ; while they regard the character of Christ as the most complete and the most in- teresting that was ever exhibited to the world ; while they feel themselves under indispensable obligation to obey the precepts of his Gospel, and, after his example, to diffuse to the utmost of their ability the knowledge of truth and the practice of virtue ; disavow all those personal regards to Christ, and direct addresses to him, either of prayer or praise, which properly fall under the definition of religious worship, as unfounded in reason, unauthorized by Scrip- ture, derogatory from the honour of the Supreme Being, the only proper object of religious homage, and as in a strict and proper sense polythelstical and idolatrous. And in this case, the Unitarians, so far from being conscious of any wilful derogation from the honour due to Christ, whom they acknowledge and venerate as their Lord and Master, are fully persuaded that they act in perfect con- '^ forniity 29^ ARGUMENTS IN FAVOUR OF [Part ll formity to his authority and example, and in a manner of which he would himself testify the most entire appro- bation if he were to appear in person upon earth,. They who believe in the proper humanity of JesuS Christ claim the title of Unitarians, not only because cus- tom, the arbiter of language, has ever since the Reforma* tion annexed, and till very lately limited, the appellation to that denomination of christians, but more especially, because they conceive that they are almost the only body cfchristbns who practically maintain the important doc- trine of the divine Unity in its full and just extent, and who exclude every creature, without exception, from every .degree of participation in those attributes, works, and HONOURS, which reason and revelation ascribe and appropriate to the only God, The Unitarians think it superfluous to produce any ar« guments to prove that a person who is repeatedly called a man, who had every appearance of a human being, who was born, who grew, who lived, who conversed, who felt, who acted, who suffered, and who died like other men, who was universally believed to be a man by all who saw and conversed with him, and was addressed and spoken of as a human being by all his contemporaries, . whether friends or enemies, was really what he appeared and af- firmed himself to be, truly and properly a man, an^ no- thing more than a man. This is a fact which must be admitted without hesitation, unless the most unequivocal and decisive evidence can be produced to the contrary. And they think that a fact so astonishing, and so contrary to experience and analogy, as the incarnation of a supe- rior spirit, is notto be received upori the authority of oblique hints, or of obscure, figurative, and ambiguous phrase- ology, but that it is reasonable to expect that the evidence of Sto 1.] THE UNITARIAN DOCTRINE. 297 of such a fact should be clear and decisive in proportion to its antecedent improbability. Now the Unitarians profess, that after having carefully consulted and examined the Scriptures, they can fipd no such clear and satisfactory evidence. They observe, that there is no allusion at all to the supposed pre-existent state and superior nature of Jesus Christ, in three of the evan- gelists, or in the history of the Apostles' preaching, and of the first plantation of the Gospel contained in the Acts of the apostles ; and that John is a very mystical w^riter, abounding in harsh metaphors and symbolical phraseology, very different from the siinplicity which characterizes the other evangelists. Nor can they discern any traces of that surprise and astonishment which must have seized the ra!nds of the disciples and companions of Jesus when it was first revealed to them that the master with whom they had so frequently and familiarly conversed, was the Lord their Maker, or at least a great celestial spirit in a human shape. The Unitarians also plead, that by a diligent investiga- tion of the Scripture language, by examining the connex- ion in which particular phrases occur, by a careful com- parison of different passages, and by making Scripture its own interpreter, it is not difficult to show that the few phrases which, in contradiction to the general current of the Sacred Writings, are supposed to teach the superior na- ture and pre-existent state of Christ, if such texts are ge- nuine, may justly be understood, and, by the established rules of fair and liberal criticism, ought to be interpreted in a sense consistent with his proper humanity. Particularly, they profess to prove that those passages in which Jesus represents himself as having descended from heaven, signify nothing more than the divine origi- nal of his doctrine': that where he is represented as the maker of all things, the new creation only is intended, that 298 ARGUMENTS IN FAVOUR OF [[Part II. that is, the new state of things which he was commis- sioned to introduce into the moral world ; and that the creation of natural objects is no where attributed to Christ. Also, that if the title God be ever applied to Christ in the New Testament (which some deny), it is only in the sense in which Moses is said to have been a god to Pharaoh, that is, as being invested with a divine commission, and a power of working miracles in proof of it. They also observe, that the same, or even stronger expressions are applied to christians in general than those from which the deity of Christ is usual 1 inferred. They maintain that the creation and support of the natural world and its in- habitants is uniformly ascribed to God ; and that there is no evidence whatever to prove that Christ was personally concerned in any of the former dispensations of God to mankind, either to the patriarchs or to the Jews, but that the contrary is explicitly and repeatedly asserted in the Scriptures. The Unitarians maintain that those peculiar expressions,' from which, what is called the doctrine of the eternal ge- neration of the Son is inferred, may be clearly proved to signify nothing more than the superiqr dignity of his pro- phetical character as the promised Messiah, and the chief of the prophets of God. They also remark, that the apostles, when speaking of Christ after his resurrection and ascension, use a kind of unqualified language concerning his person, which no Arian or Trinitarian would now adopt without much ex- planation and caution : such as, no doubt, the apostles themselves would have used, had they believed in the pre- existence or deity of Christ. Lastly, it has been stated by Dr. Priestley with irresis- tible evidence, that the Jewish christians almost universally, and a very great majority of the Gentile christians in the two first centuries, were believers in the proper humanity of 5«:t.I.] THE UNITARIAN DOCTRINE. 299 of Jesus Christ ; some admitting and others rejecting the circumstance of his miraculous conception : and these pri- mitive believers, having received the christian doctrine from the apostles and their immediate successors, must have had the best means of interpreting that obscure phra- seology which in later ages has been applied to the sup- port of those unscriptural opinions with which the vanity of heathen philosophy has corrupted and debased the pu- rity and simplicity of the christian faiths Against the Unitarian doctrine it is objected that our inquiries are to be directed not into the opinions of the early christians, whether converts from Judaism or hea- thenism, for they were men fallible and prejudiced like our- selves, but into the natural and obvious meaning of the Scriptures ; — that the Scriptures were written for the use of plain illiterate men, and are therefore to be understood in their most obvious and popular sense ; — that, although it might not fall in with the design of every one of the sacred writers to discourse upon the pre-existence or di- vinity of Jesus Christ, nevertheless, this doctrine is taught in various passages of the New Testament in the clearest and most unambiguous language, such as cannot be wrest- ed to any other meaning but by a mode of interpretation which would reduce every thing to uncertainty, and make all language useless ; — that this great doctrine is taught not in one or two passages only, or left to be inferred ^ See^ upon this subject, Haynes on the Attributes of God. Lard- ner on the Logos. Cardale's True Doctrine concerning Christ. Lind- sey'4 Apology and Sequel. Conversations on Christian Idolatry. Dr. Priestley's History of Corruptions of Christianity, History of Early Opinions, and Defences of Unitarianism. Cappe's Critical Remarks on Scripture, 2 vols. Simpson's Essays on the Language of Scripture. Belsham's Reply to Wilberforce, and Letters on Arianism. Dr, Car- penter's Unitarianism th^ Doctrine of the Gospel. . The Notes to the Improved Version of the) New Testament are intended chiefly to ex- hibit the most approved interpretations of the Unitarian expositors. from SCO OBJECTIONS URGED AOAtKST [Vut IL from an equivocal expression here and there, but that it is expressly asserted in a great number of texts in the New Testament, and in a great variety of phraseology, and that it is frequently alluded to and reasoned upon as- an unquestionable fact ; that, one positive assertion of Je- sus, or of his apostles inspired, or informed by him, is sufficient to overthrow every objection which may be urged, from the antecedent improbability of the fact, or from its contrariety to the general analogy of nature and course of events, an objection which is equally applicable to all other miracles ; — 'that, it is gratuitous assumption to affirm, that the only object of the mission of Christ was to teach the doctrine of a future life, a doctrine which was so ge- nerally acknowledged, and which is so easily proved by rational deduction, as almost to supersede the necessity of divine revelation for this purpose alone ; — that, the mind revolts at the idea of a human creature being appointed to the high office of raising the dead and judging the world, while the obvious propriety of assigning the offices of redeemer and judge to him who was the maker of the world, who supports and governs it, and who was the medium of all the moral dispensations of God to mankind, forms a strong presumptive argument in favour of the pre existent state and dignity, and of the superior nature of Jesus Christ ; — and finally, that this doctrine is so plain- ly revealed in the Scriptures, that although it may have been called in question by a few speculative or interested men at different periods, from very early times, it has ne- vertheless commanded the belief of the great body of pro- fessing christians from the first promulgation of the chris- tian religion to the present day. It is further objected, that it is very arbitrary and un- warrantable in the Unitarians to strike out of the Scrip- tures whatever they find in it which is inconsistent with their own principles and hypotheses, and which they can-. not Sect. 1.] THE UNITARIAN DOCTRINE. SOI not explain away, and particularly the history of the mi- raculous conception in Matthew and Luke ; — that it is very derogatory from the respect and veneration which is due to Christ to represent his character as liable to frailty and infirmity, to restrict his inspiration, and to charge him with prejudice and error ; — that to deny the plenary inspiration of the apostles, and of the other writers of the New Testament, is to make revelation useless, by invol- ving it in ambiguity and uncertainty : — and that as to the circumstance of saints being assessors with Christ in the high office of judging the world, both men and angels, whatever may be intended by these declarations, it is very evident from the slight and incidental manner in which one of these events is mentioned, and from the great so- lemnity and frequency with which the other is announced, that they are to be understood in different senses ; and that m one case the .expressions are to be taken literally, and in the other figuratively. It is also represented as great arrogance in the advo- cates for the simple humanity of Jesus Christ to appropri- ate to themselves the title of Unitarians, an honourable pame, to which it is contended that all christians have a just claim, the Trinitarians asserting a unity of essence in a trinity of persons; the highest Arians pleading that they contend for the existence of one God alone, from whom the Logos, who created and supports the universe, derives all his attributes and powers, and in whom all the respecf and homage which is paid to this divine person ultimately terminates ; and the lower Arians vindicating their claim to the title of Unitarians, because though they admit that the world is made and governed by Christ, who was in- vested with power and authority for this purpose by the Father, yet they regard the Father as the sole object of gll religious worship and homage. The. 302 REPLY TO OBJECTIONS [Part II, The Unitarians reply, that though they do not contend for the infallibility of the primitive christians, they never- theless think, that as it has been proved that a majority of the unlearned christians in the two first centuries were believers in the proper humanity of Jesus Christ, this fact forms a very strong presumption that such vuas the doc- trine taught by the apostles. The believers in the chris- tian religion could be under no temptation to derogate from the honour of theii^ master, and we know that they had very strong inducements to magnify his rank and dignity beyond the limits of truth, the disciples of Christ having from the beginning been exposed to disgrace and ridicule, as the followers of a crucified Nazarene. It is also much more probable that learned and philosophizing christians would introduce new and refined speculations concerning the person of Christ, than unlettered men in low circumstances, who commonly content themselves with plain facts, and adhere stiffly to old opinions. That they reject with indignation the charge so often and so unjustly alleged, of mutilating or corrupting the Sacred Text in order to render it subservient to their viewS and principles : they afErm that their only aim is to di- stinguish the genuine text from apocryphal interpolation j and that whenever they mark a passage as spurious or doubtful, the grounds of their objection to it are fairly stated : and they are willing to rest the validity of their conclusion upon the evidence produced. That they acknowledge that the Scriptures were written for the instruction of the illiterate as well as of the learned j and they believe that all which is essential either to doc- trine or practice is sufficiently intelligible even to the mean- est capacity : That, nevertheless, there is a degree'of obscurity neces- sarily attached to ancient writings, and. that a phraseology which is familiar and perfectly intelligible in one agp and country. Sect. 1.] AGAINST UNITARIAN DOCTRINE. S03 country, may be extremely ambiguous and obscure in another, where the habits of thinking and modes of ex- pression may be very different : That many of those passages upon which the doctrine of the pre-existence of Christ, of his superior nature, and of his voluntary incarnation, as it is called, is founded, were not intended to be readily understood even by the persons to whom they were immediately addressed ; our Lord himself upon various occasions in his public discourses, and particularly in those recorded by John, adopting a mystical language in order to conceal his true meaning from the Jews, who accompanied him from secular and unworthy motives, to disgust them with his doctrine, and to drive them from his presence : and it is highly probable that the language of Jesus upon these occasions was under- stood by his disciples in a sense perfectly consistent with his proper humanity. The apostle Paul likewise, in his epistles, frequently makes use of a highly figurative phra* seology in order to insinuate a doctrine, viz. the rejection of the Jews and the calling of the Gentiles, which he did not always think it prudent to mention in direct and un- equivocal terms, lest he should give unnecessary offence. The truth of this observation is well known to all who are conversant with that apostle's writings : That to object to an interpretation as unnatural and far-fetched, is ojily, in other words, to say that to the ob- jectors the interpretation is unusual ; for the meaning of language being perfectly arbitrary, a sense which may be very familiar, and appear perfectly natural, to one, may to another seem harsh and forced : That the Unitarians deny that they are justly charge- able with attempting to wrest and to distort the sense of the Scriptures, in order to adapt them to their own sy- stem ; but on the contrary they contend, and they produce evidejice to prove, that, according to the rules of fair and liberal 304 , REPLY TO OBJECTIONS [Part II. liberal criticism, the sense in which they explain obscure and disputed texts is the true sense of the sacred writers. And though they readily admit that one positive unequi- vocal declaration either of Christ or his apostles authori- zed and instructed by him, would be sufficient to set aside all the presumptions arising from the antecedent impro- bability of the fact, that, nevertheless, this improbability is to them a reason why they are very slow in yielding assent to any evidence short of the most express and un- questionable testimony, and why they are disposed to ex- amine with the utmost rigour whatever is advanced in proof of a fa'ct so unlikely, so unusual; so contrary Jo all analogy, and in their estimation of so little use. And they solemnly profess, that, after the most diligent and impartial inquiry, they can find no such explicit and un- equivocal assertions of the pre-existence and deity of Christ, nor indeed any evidence whatsoever of these extraordinary doctrines : That, notwithstanding all that may have been advan- ced by ancient or by modern writers to solve the difficulty, it still appears to the Unitarians utterly unaccountable that M^t;thew, Mark, and Luke, who undertook to write every thing concerning the history and the doctrine of Jesus of which it was needful that his disciples should be inform- ed, and the latter of whom has also written an account of the mission and doctrine of the apostles after their mas- ter's ascension and the gift of the Holy Spirit, by which they were fully instructed in the objects of their mission, should have omitted a fact so material, and so honour- able to their master, as that of his superior nature and pre- existent state, if they had been acquainted with it ; nor is it to be supposed that they would have concealed this fact, from that unworthy timidity and disgraceful caution which the early ecclesiastical writers have imputed to them ; That the divinity, or even the pre-existence of Jesus Christ Sect, i.] AGAmST UNITARIAN DOCTRINE* 305 Christ was the prevailing doctrine of the majority of chris- tians for the first and second centuries, the Unitarians do not allow ; and evidence of the contrary has been pro- duced, which has not been, and which cannot^be, invalida- ted. But they admit that these doctrines, together with other corruptions of the christian religion, were early taught by philosophic christians, who were ashamed of a crucified leader, and of the simple doctrine of Christianity; and that they were gradually introduced, and have long prevailed in the church ; and that they are now professed by a very great majority of christians. This fact, how- ever,- no more proves the truth of these doctrines, than it proves the truth of the real presence of Christ in the sa- crament, which is to this day the creed of the majority of christians. And they hope that, as th6 christian religion has by the energy of truth purified itself from the gross corruptions of Popery, it will go on to clear itself from all remaining errors, till it is gradually brought back to that purity and simplicity with which it first appeared in the world : and they regard it as the indispensable duty of every friend to christian truth and to human happiness, to contribute to the utmost of his power, by all prudent, just, and honourable means, to the removal of that rubbish by which the progress of the Gospel is so much impeded. The Unitarians do not presume to say that God might not, if he had pleased^ have revealed other doctrines to mankind by Jesus Christ besides that most important one of a future life. But they profess, that, after reading the New Testa- ment with the greatest attention, this doctrine appears to be the one great object of the christian revelation, which is in this view most worthy of God, and most beneficial to men. For how lightly soever some may regard the revela- tion of this doctrine, and how clearly soever they may imagine it to be inferred from the appearances of nature, it is well known that antecedently to the appearance of Jesus Christ the fashionable philosophy of the heathen world had 306 KEPLY TO OBJECTIONS ||Part If. had rejected it altogether : that the few who professed to expect a future life supported their opinion by evidence -the most irrelevant and unsatisfactory ; that the vulgar, who were the firmest believers, entertained notions con- cerning it the most gross and absurd; that the doctrine was seldom or never applied to any valuable moral pur- pose ; and that even the Jews themselves formed very confused and contracted opinions concerning the rewards and punishments of a future life. Nor could this state of opinion well have been otherwise, considering that the future eisistence of man depends upon his resurrection from the dead ; and consequently, that whatever argu- ments the phaenomena of the moral world might suggest, upon which however the heathen philosophers laid little Streas, they would be in a great measure counterbalanced by the improbability of a fact so contrary to experience and analogy as a resurrection from the grave. This is the objection which Christianity is calculated to remove, and which it has in fact so completely obviated, that, what- ever doubts or differences may have subsisted amongst christians concerning other articles of faith, none have ever called in question the doctrine of a future life. The Unitarians, who regard Jesus Christ as the son of Joseph and Mary, do not consider this circumstance as in the least degree derogatory from his prophetical charac- ter, any more than it derogates from the character and mission of Moses, of Elijah, or of Isaiah, that these pro- phets were born in the natural way. Nor is the doctrine of the proper huitianity of Christ at all implicated in the question concerning the miraculous conception. They maintain that it no more derogates from the au- thority bf Christ, than it does from that of Moses, that his inspiration should not extend beyond the proper objects of his mission, and that in other cases he should entertain the same opinions, and be liable to the same misconcep- tions, as his countrymen and those amongst whom he was Sect. 1. 3 AGAINST tJNlTARlAN DOCTRINE. SO? educated. Also, that the character of Jesus should have been gradually formed to that high degree of dignity and excellence which is exhibited in his history, by the prac- tice of virtue and by the discipline of his sufferings, is far more probable in itself, more agreeable to the language of the Scriptures, more honourable to Christ, and more useful as an example to his followers, than if he were by nature and necessity a perfectly holy and impeccable be- ing, incapable of being influenced by temptation of any kind, and consequently in no respect similar to his follow- ers, or capable of exhibiting to them a proper example of virtue in a state of probation. With respect to the plenary inspiration of the apostles and of the writers of the Old and New Testament, the Unitarians contend that it is a privilege to which they themselves never made any pretensions ; that it is a fact which can never be proved ; that to maintain this point is to derogate from the credibility of the sacred books, and to involve the defenders of it in inextricable difficul- ties, and even in palpable absurdities. And to the trite and frivolous objection, — that if all be not inspired it would be impossible tp distinguish what is of divine authority •from what is merely human, — it is sufficient to reply, that the difficulty is no greater than that of distinguishing out of a number of books equally pretending to divine autho- rity, those which are inspired from those which are not so, which, nevertheless, the advocates for plenary inspira- tion profess themselves able to do by the exercise of their understanding in judging of evidence. Further: to maintain that the office of judging the world is to be understood literally when attributed to Christ, and figuratively when attributed to his apostles and disci- ples, is a mere gratuitous distinction, unsupported by argu- ment, and advanced, without any authority, solely for the purpose of getting rid of a difficulty. X 2 In 308 REPLY TO OBJECTIONSj ETC. [Part ll» In reply to the outcry which has of late years been raised against the advocates for the proper humanity of Jesus Christ, for having appropriated to themselves the honourable title of Unitarians, to the exclusion not only of Trinitarians, but even of the great body of the Arians, it may be observed. That the controversy is only about a name, and therefore not deserving of that warmth with which it has of late been conducted. — That the title was first given to the Socinians, when it was not regarded in so honourable a light as at present, and that custom has limited it almost universally to those who believe in the proper humanity of Christ. — That it is defined by modern Unitarians to signify those christians who do not ascribe to a created being attributes, works^ or worship, which reason and revelation appropriate to God alone. — ^The Unitarians regard creation and providence as works of God, performed by his immediate act, without the inter- vention of any second or instrumental cause : This they believe to be the doctrine both of reason and of revelation'. — ^I'hey cannot therefore, consistently with these princi- ples, apply the title of Unitarians to those christians who ascribe these divine works to Jesus Christ,ihough such per- sons may at the same time, however inconsistently, decline addressing religious homage to the Lord their Maker. Their Arian brethren ought not to be offended at this limitation of the title of Unitarian. For it is upon simi- lar ground that the middle class of Arians deny it to the high Arians, who are worshipers of Christ, but who never- theless contend for the proper unity of God: and these again deny it to the Trinitarians, who zealously maintain the unity of the Godhead, though distinguished by a tri- nity of persons 2. — — ■ — " ^— — ■ " — 'T— r * That Arians were nt?t always so ambitious of passing muster with the Unitarians as they seem to be at present, will appear from the fol- lowing Sect. 2.] THE SOCINIAN SCHEME. S09 SECTION II. THE SOCINIAN SCHEME. X HE Socinians maintained that Jesus was a human being, at least that he had no existence previous to his miracu- lous conception. But they appear to have believed that his body was made of a substance superior to that of other men, that he might be capable of sustaining the glory of that state to which he was advanced after his resurrection. They maintained, that after having been declared at his baptism to be the Messiah, he retired into the wilderness, where he was admitted to some peculiar intercourse with the Supreme Being, and was occasionally taken up into heaven, to be instructed in the nature and purposes of his mission, and in all that he was to do and to suffer in the* discharge of it. And it is by this hypothesis that they explain all those texts in which mention is made of ascending into, or of descending from, heaven. After having fulfilled his ministry, he was publicly crucified. The Socinians deny that the death of Christ is in any degree a satisfaction for sin ; but they allow that he is said to expiate sin, inasmuch as by his death he ac- quired that universal empire which, authorizes and ena- bles him to deliver his faithful disciples from the punish- ment of sin. But every idea of compensation to divine lowing extract of a letter, now in my possession, from a learned Arian, William Whiston, to another learned Arian, James Peirce, dated Cambridge, July l6, 17O8 : " Your letter a little surprised me, to find myself suppos^ to be a Socinian or Unitarian. I never was, nor am now, under the least temptation of such doctrines. — I hope you -will do me the favour to be one of the examiners of my papers, T|i)J which time ypu will do kindly to stop so felse a report." justice 310* THE SOCINIAN SCHEME [Part II. justice they reject, as unworthy of the perfections of God, and contradictory to the plainest declarations of Scripture. The Socinians believed that Jesus Christ, after his re- surrection and ascension into heaven, was invested with universal and unlimited authority ; that all mankind, the righteous and the wicked, the living and the dead, were made subject to his government ; and that he was advan- ced to rule over angels of every order and degree, whether good or evil, and indeed over the whole created universe. In consequence of this exaltation, and by the appoint*- ment of the Father, he is now become the proper object' of religious worship and invocation, even of the very same kind of worship which is addressed to God himself ; and that for this Reason, as well as on account of the dignity and authority to which he was exalted, he is called God by the sacred writers. The Socinians further taught, that at the final consum- mation of all things Jesus Christ would again return to raise the dead, to judge the w®rld, to reward the virtuous with eternal life and happiness, and to consign the wicked to adequate punishment. This denomination of christians flourished in Poland in the sixteenth century. They took their name from Laelius Socinus, a nobleman of Sienna in Italy, and fromi Faustus Socinus his nephew, who were able and zealous advocates for the Socinian doctrine, and who, together with others equally zealous and enlightened, were very successful in spreading these tenets in Poland and Tran- sylvania. There was a great difference of opinion amongst the Soci- nians concerning the propriety of praying to Christ. Faus- tus Socinus strenuously maintained it, and declares them to be no christians who refuse to worship Christ, whati^ ever profession they may make of believing in him. Fran- cis David, a preacher of note in Transylvarua, taught that Jesus Sect. 2.] STATED AND EXPLAINED. SI V Jesus was put to death by the Jews contrary to the interim tion of the divine Being, who meant that he should be their king; and that since his resurrection and ascension he is placed in a state in which he is totally unacquainted with every thing that passes in the world, and consequent- ly that he cannot be the proper object of religious wor- ship. Socinus was sent for to convince Francis David of his error ; but, not being able to accomplish his purpose, and Francis David still persisting to teach, both publicly and privately, that to worship Jesus Christ was exactly the same thing as worshiping the Virgin- Mary and other saints, that venerable man was thrown into prison by order of the prince of Transylvania, where he died soon afterwards, a melancholy proof that persecution is not limited to any party. Socinus himself, though a great and good man, is not altogether clear from the suspicion of having been ac- cessary to the sufferings of Francis David. It was the uniform opinion of the Socinians, that the Holy Spirit was the energy of God exerted in the mira- culous gifts and powers communicated to the apostles and primitive believers, and not a conscious intelligent agent, either created or divine. Against the doctrine peculiar to the Socinians it has been objected, That the personal ascent of Jesus into hea- ven is not in itself probable, and is indeed founded upon the puerile supposition that heaven is a particular district of the universe where God resides and manifests his glory in a peculiar and sensible manner ; — that, had this local ascent and descent been a literal fact, there can be no doubt that other evangelists would have mentioned it be- sides John, as they have related his temptation and his transfiguration ; — that such a local ascent could be of no use, as the divine Being might have communicated the knowledge of his will to Jesus while he lived in this world, as easily and as distinctly as if he had been transported to the 312 THE SOCINIAN SCHEME. [Part II. the remotest regions of the universe ; — that the phrases * ascending to,' and ' descending from, heaven,' as applied to Jesus, are peculiar to St. John, and that there is no great difficulty in explaining them in a mystical and figu- rative sense, like many other of the bold and metaphorical expressions which occur so frequently in the writings of that evangelist. Also, that the advancement of a human being to the government of the whole created universe, exalting him above all the supposed orders of the celestial hierarchy, and making him the proper object of religious worship, and this for doing nothing more than any other human being, aided by the same power, might have done, is a fact, in its own nature, barely possible, and in its circum- stances in the highest degree improbable, contrary to all experience and analogy, not to be adnutted^but upon the most explicit and irresistible evidence ; and though not involving a contradiction so palpable as the Athanasian doctrine, it is nevertheless almost equally incredible, and would, if it were taught in the New Testament, constitute one of the strongest objections against the truth and di- vine authority of the christian religion. These objections are so obvious, and of such weight, that the Socinian doctrine now is universally exploded, at least in this country. The doctrines of the old Socinians are contained in the Bibliotheca Fratrum Polonorum; including the v/otks of Faustus Socinus, Crellius, Slichtingius and Wolzoge- jiius • also, in those of Przipcovius, and Brenius. See ^Isp Dr. Toulmin's Life of Spcinu^, SECTION Sect. 3:] LOW ARIAN SCHEME. 313 SECTICftT UK THE LOW ARIAN SCHEME. X HIS hypothesis maintains that the soul which animated the body of Jesus was a pre-existent spirit, but of what order or degree of the celestial hierarchy is not known. It is however denied that he had any concern in the for- mation of the wofld, or in the administration of providence antecedent to his supposed incarnation. It is maintained, that in consequence of his sufferings and death he Ls now . advanced to great personal dignity and authority^ and that he will hereafter appear to raise the dead and to judge the world. The Low Arians in general deny that the death of Christ was a satisfaction for the sins of men; and some of them maintain that he died only as a martyr and an example, and that his death is an expiation for sin solely as being a means of virtue : while others use language upon this subject which seems to imply that this event had some mysterious design, and answered some purposes un- der the divine government which they do not, or cannot, explain. They are unanimous in rejecting the worship of Christ, and the personal existence of the Holy Spirit. This denomination of christians is in the strictest sense Unitarian: they ascribe neither attributes, nor works, nor honours to Christ, which reason and revelation appro- priate to God ; and they differ from other Unitarians solely, or chieSy, in assigning an earlier date to the exist- ence of Jesus. The Low Arian hypothesis is founded upon a literal acceptation of those te^ts in which Jesus is said to have descended 314" LOW ARIAN SCHEME [Part II, descended from heaven, while, at the same time, a figu- rative sense is annexed to those passages which are by the great body of christians understood to represent him as the creator, or former, the supporter and governor of the world, and the medium of all the moral dispensations of God to mankind. This hypothesis is improperly called Arian, having no affinity with tile true Arian scheme in any article but the comparatively unimportant one, of the pre-existence of Christ. In all other respects it coincides with proper Unitarianism. And to the title of Unitarians the advo- cates of simple pre-existence, however erroneous in this particular, have an unquestionable right. This hypothesis has been embraced by many learned and respectable individuals ; but it has not yet found a learned public advocate. The following are the princi;- pal objections against it : 1. That this doctrine is perfectly novel in the history of.opinions concerning the person of Christ ; it was never heard of before the eighteenth century. '2. The hypothesis itself is of no use, and therefore it is in theory incredible. A pompous miracle is supposed to be performed to introduce a spirit of a superior order into, the world, to accomplish no purpose but what mighty for any thing that appears, have been equally well accom- plished by a human being acting under a divine com- mission. S, . It seems very arbitrary and unreasonable to take thpse texts in a literal sense which speak of the descent of Jesus from heaven, and to give a figurative interpreta- tion to those passages which, in language equally direct and explicit, represent him as the maker and governor of all things, and the medium of divine dispensations. 4. The phrase 'descending from heaven' was certain- ly in use at the time when the New Testanient was writ- ... ' ten. Sect. 3.] STATED AND OPPOSED. S15 ten, to express the divine authority of a person or doc^ trine, (see Luke xx. 4 ;) and that the disciples of Christ understood it in this sense, is evident from their not express- ing any astonishment at the discovery of so extraordinary and unexpected a fact, as that of the superior nature and dignity of their Master, and from their having continued to converse with him after this supposed discoyery upon the same terms of ease and familiarity as before. 5. The expression ' descending* or ' coming down from heaven,* even if it were to be understood literally, would not necessarily prove the pre-existence of Christ, but might be explained either upon the principles of the Polish Socinians, who supposed that Christ was really taken up to heaven to be instructed in the duties of his office, or upon the hypothesis of some modern Unitarians, who have thought that Christ, like Paul, was favoured with a visionary scene, in which he imagined himself to be transported into paradise. SECTION IV. THE PROPER OR HIGH ARIAN HYPOTHESIS. ^ JL HIS hypothesis maintains that the Son of God, who is also called the Logos, is a creature made out of nothing, inferior to the Father, and in all respects dependent upon him and subject to him : that the Logos was the instru- ment of God, some say, in the creation of all things, others in the formation of this world from matter already cre- ated by God ; some add, of this planetary system, and some, of all worlds and systems j and that he is the Maker of 316 HIGH ARIAN SCHEME [Part II. of angels and archangels, and of the whole material and intellectual universe. But whether he performed these works by his own pow- er, and according to the dictates of his own intellect and will, or whether he was merely the passive instrument of the Supreme Being, acting entirely under his direction in all things, is a question which does not seem to have beea thoroughly examined and discussedya-nd eonceming which no determinate opinion has been formed. It is likewise maintained that to this great Being is de- legated the administration of providence, that he upholds all things by the word of his power, and that by him all things consist, the whole created universe being sustained by his energy. Also, that he was the medium of the di- vine dispensations to the patriarchs and to the Jews, ap- pearing, as most of the supporters of the Arian hypothe- sis assert, though some deny it, to Abraham and to his chosen descendants under the name and character of Je- hovah, the angel and representative of the Supreme. This glorious spirit is supposed to have animated the body of Christ ; and it is asserted, that during his incar- nation and personal residence in this world, his attributes were in a considerable degree quiescent or suspended : but it is not positively decided whether he retained the consciousness of having existed in a former and more ex- alted state, or whether he performed miracles by his own power, or at the suggestion and by the power of the Fa- ther ; the advocates for this system being commonly in- cgpsistent not only with each other, but with themselves, upon this subject, in consequence of not having paid suffi- cient attention to it, and of not having made up their minds about it. The supporters of the Arian hypothesis maintain that Christ is with propriety called a man, as having been a /spirit united to a human body ; perceiving and acting by the Sect. 4.] STAtEi) AND EJCPtAINEl). 317 the mediutn of corporeal organs, agreeably to the usual definition of a human being, and to the familiar use of the word in various passages both of the Old Testament and the New. This glorious spirit is represented as having descended into this world not solely to instruct men in moral and religious truth, and to excite them to virtuous practice ; nor merely to reveal the doctrine of eternal life, and to exhibit a proof and pattern in' his own person of a resur- rection frgm the dead ; but to accomplish certain purposes by his sufferings and death, which could not have been effected by the humiliation and sufferings of any inferior being. In this view the death of Christ is sometimes de- scribed by the advocates for this hypothesis as an atone- ment for sin, as a satisfaction to the justice of God, as an affecting exhibition of the evil and demerit of sin, and of the displeasure of God against it, or as a most highly meritorious act of filial obedience. The Arians further maintain, that after the resurrection and ascension of Christ, he resumed the dignity and au- thority of which he had divested himself during the peri- od of his incarnation, was reinstated in his office of gover- nor of the world, and invested with the goveri;iment of the church ;- that he now sustains the character of high- priest and intercessor ; that he conducts the affairs of the world in subserviency to the interests of the church ; that he exercises a special guardianship over every individual christian ; that he reigns over the living and the dead ; that at the appointed season he shall return to raise the dead, to judge the world, and to assign to the righteous and to the wicked their respective states of happiness or misery ; and finally, that, after this grand transaction, he is to resign the mediatorial kingdom to the Father. Till lately, it was the uniform and, indeed consistent doctrine of those who held the Arian hypothesis, that Christ Sl8 a-rguMeNTs in favour of '£Pai»t II, Christ is the proper object of adoration and invocation, and religions addresses to Jesus were not uncommon ; but this practice seems now to be very generally abandoned, Arian divines have usually been advocates for the pro- per personality of the Holy Spirit, who is commonly re- presented by them as inferior to the Son, but superior to all other creatures, and as acting in subordination to the Logos in the ceconomy of redemption.. But this doc- trine is now very generally given up ; and the Holy Spirit is regarded by almost all learned christians, who are. not Trinitarians, merely as a divine energy. The following are the principal arguments in favour of the proper Arian hypothesis : That it is perfectly agreeable to the analogy of nature that one being should be made the instrument of commu- nicating existence and happiness to other beings, and that God usually conducts his dispensations towards his crea- tures by the intervention of subordinate agents : That it is expressly taught in the christian Scriptures that Christ existed with the Father before the world be- gan ; and particularly that it is affirmed of him, and of no other prophet, that he came down from heaven : That there are many passages in the New Testament which teach that the Logos, the Son of God, was the Maker, the Supporter, the Governor, and the Redeemer iof the world ; that it is his office to administer the affairs of the church ; and that he is appointed to raise the dead, and to judge all mankind according to jheir works : That these great works and this high authority do not necessarily infer the supreme divinity of the author or possessor of them, is evident from the express declaration of Jesus, that his Father is greater than he j that he is inferior to the Father in knowledge, in power, and in good- ness J also, that he is derived from, and is wholly depen- dent Sect. 4] THE HIGH ARIAN SCHEME. M9 dent upon, the Supreme Being for his existencfe, and for all his powers : That the doctrine which the Arians hold concerning the important design 'of the death of Christ, is confirmed by numerous passages in the Scriptures, especially of the New Testament, in which that event is represented as ful- filling purposes under the divine government beyond that of any human being, and as being the great anti-type of the expiatory sacrifices of the Levitical law. The Arians also observe, that titles and characters are ascribed to Christ ; that regards are claimed by him, and homage is paid to him, which would be highly improper and unbecoming if he were only an exalted man : That there was a peculiar propriety in appointing the same glorious person to be the redeemer of the world, and the final judge of all mankind, who was the original ma- ker and governor of the world, and the medium of all the former dispensations of God to the human race. This supposed harmony of the divine dispensations is repre- sented by the friends of the Arian hypothesis as a strong presumptive argument in its favoun Finally, it is maintained, that the great dignity and au- thority of Jesus Christ on the one hand, and his derivation from, and entire dependence upon, the Father on the other, was the prevailing doctrine of the first and purest ages of the christian church. The Arian hypothesis is opposed by the following ob- jections : That this hypothesis is equally inconsistent with the proper deity and the prope:r humanity of Jesus Christ ; for the Maker of the world in a human form could not with propriety be called a man : That if the Logos be the maker, supporter, and gover- nor of the world, he must be supreme God ; for there is but one former, preserver, and director of all : That S20 OBJEctioi^s AdAtNst [Part it. That if the Logos is Jehovah, he must be the supreme Jehovah, for there is but one Jehovah : That to admit two objects of religious worship, though the homage paid to one is called supreme, and that td the other subordinate, is wholly unauthorized and un- scriptural, and is, properly speaking, polytheism and idolatry : That it is more probable that the union of so exalted a spirit as the Logos with a human body would renda: the material system impassible and immortal, than that the attributes of the Logos would by such an union be degraded to a level with the faculties of other human be- ings : That the Arian hypothesis excludes the divine Being from almost all concern in the formation and government of the universe, and weakens the regards due to him from his creatures ; while, on the other hand, it tends to fill the mind with disquieting apprehensions, by representing the administration of the universe as in the hands of a be- ing of limited wisdom, power, and benevolence : That the Arian doctrine is vagUe and ambiguous ; it being a matter of great doubt amongst the advocates for this hypothesis, whether the Logos made and governs the world by the exertion of his own uncontrolled will and power, or whether he.acted by direction from, and in im- mediate subordination to, the divine Being who supplied him with power for the occasion : whether in his incar^ nate state he retained any consciousness of his pre-existent glories ; whether, and in what sense, and to what degree, his attributes were quiescent ; whether he performed his miracles by his own or by his Father's power ; and whe- ther he raised himself to life. Also, in what way the pre- servation and government of the universe was conducted while its proper maker and governor was reduced to the state of a human being, and even of an infant : That the doctrine of atonennent and vicarious soiFering, Seet. 4l] TriE Hrott arian scheme. 321 in every sense of it, and under rvery explanation, is irra- tional, unscriptural, and repugnant to the perfections of God: That the Arian hypothesis is absdidtely inconsistent with the Scripture account of the exaltation of Christ as the reward 6f his sufferings ; the dignity arid authority to which he is now advanced being no greater than what he originally possessed : Moreover, that the doctrine of a created Logos is not the doctrine of the two first centuries : that it was first suggested at the latter end of the third or the beginning of the fourth century ; and that, when first published, it excited general attention and alarm, and gave rise to a very long and vehement controversy. It cannot therefore be the doctrine of the Scriptures. Against the hypothesis; that the Logos was the former but not the creator of the world, and which limits his en- ergy and jurisdiction to this planet^ or to the solar system only, and which denies him to be the proper object of religious worship, it has been objected : That there is no foundation either in reason or Scrip- ture for maintaining that the maker and governor of the world is a different person from him by whom matter was created : That upon this hypothesis it may justly be asked, whe- ther, if spirits are immaterial beings, God was the creator of immaterial substance, and the Logos formed it into spirit- : That there is no appearance in nature which should lead us to conclude that the being who made this system is different from the being who inade other systems ; for that the created universe, as far as our observation extends, appears to be. one grand, connected, harmctnious whole ; from the immense extent of which, and from the mutual Y relation 323 SEMI-ARIAN SCHEME [Part 11. relation and connexion of its various systems, and clusters of systems, according to the latest discoveries of Dr. Her- schel, v/e are naturally led to infer the existence of one ^ply omnipresent, intelligent, omnipotent, and governing ..will : That those texts which are understood to ascribe- to .Christ the formation and government of the world, if they are to be interpreted literally, and as. relating to the natu- ral world, cannot reasonably be limited to any thing short of the whole created universe: " for without him," it is said, ." was not any thing made that was made : All things were made by him and for him :" And lastly, that if Christ be the creator, supporter, and governor of this world only, continually. present with us, acquainted with our wants, hearing our prayers, and able to help us, he must of necessity be the proper object of our religious homage : he is " the Lord our M^er," whom we are required to worship ; nor can it be more unreason- able to pray to Christ, than to ask a favour of any other friend who is present with us, or accessible to us K SECTION V. THE SEMI-ARIAN SCHEME. X HIS hypothesis maintains that the Son of God is the eternal voluntary production of the Father's power j that he derived his existence from the Supreme Being in an incomprehensible manner, different from and superior to ' Wfaistoii, Emlyn, Peil-ce, and Dr. Price were the learned and able adwcates of Arianism In the last century. all Sect. 5.3 STATED AND EXPLAINED. 323 all created existence; that he possesses all communicable attributes, and is equal to the Father himself in all things excepting necfess^ry existence ; that he is the delegate of God in the creation and government of the universe, and the medium of all the moral dispensations of God to man- kind ; that he appeared under the name and character of Jehovah to the patriarchs, and gave out the law to Moses at mount Siriai : and finally, that it w^as this glori- ous spirit which animated the body of Jesus. In favour of this hypothesis it has been alleged. That the Scriptures ascribe all divine attributes to the Son, excepting self- existence, which is necessarily incom- municable. That eternity itself is predicated of the Son ; and that an eternal derivation of existence involves no contradiction. For if God has been eternally omnipotent, he might from eternity exercise the power he possesses. To deny this would be a contradiction in terms : That the Logos is repeatedly and expressly called God, and is represented as the creator, preserver, and governor of all derived beings without exception. " Without Him was not any thing made which was made :" That he is every where represented as deriving his ex- istence from, and acting in subordination to, the Father ; That, nevertheless, he is never expressly called a creature, nor represented as having been made out of nothing ; nor is it any where said that there was a time when the Son did not exist, as the Arians positively teach : It is particularly insisted upon, that he is called ' only- begotten,* which implies a mode of derivation peculiar to the Son, different from and far superior to the mode in which creatures in general are brought into existence. Finally, it is strenuously insisted upon, that this doctrine was held by all the Anti-nicene fathers, who, while they earnestly plead for the preiexistence, voluntary derivation, Y 2 and ,324 , SEMI-ARIAN SCHEME. [Part ll. and entire subordination of the Son, pereiliptorily; deny hina to be a created being, nor would they allow that there ever was a time when he did not ejiist. And indeed the great alarm which was universally excited when this doc- trine was first published by Arius, proves almost to demon- stration that the hypothesis of a Logos created out of no- thing was perfectly novel, and unheard of before. The principal and eminently learned advocates of this hypothesis of an eternally^derived but uncreated Logos, are Dr. Samuel Clkrke the rector of St. James's, and Dr. Daniel Scott. It is obvious to remark that this scheme is open to all the objections which may be urged against the proper Arian hypothesis : besides, that it involves many difficul- ties peculiar to itself. The dist^nctio^ between generation and creation, as acts of the divine power and will, and the very supposition of an intermediate mode of existence between a self-existent and a created being, is arbitrary, unintelligible, and un- scriptural, not to say contradictory and absurd. The title of Son, as applied to Christ, has no relation to the metaphysical mode of his existence : it was con- ferred upon him at his baptism, as a designation of his official character of Messiah. The expression 'only-begotten' is pectiliar to the evan- gelist John, who uses it in the same connexion, and no doubt in the same sense, in which the othpr evangelists use 'beloved ;' which means nothing more than that Je- sus was the chief of all the prophets of God, and highly favoured above all others by the extent of his authority and the superiority of his miraculous gifts and powers. Lastly, the advocates of this hypothesis mistake the doc- trine of the primitive ecclesiastical writers, wlio, though they never taught, nor even thought of, the creation of the Logos, did not regard this glorious person as a per- manently Sect. 6.3 THE INDWELLING SCHEME. 325 manently derived intelligent agent, distinct from the Fa- ther, but as an arttribute of the Supreme Being, first oc- casionally, and afterwards permanently personified ', SECTION vr. THE INDWELLING SCHEME. X HIS hopothesis ^represents the Logos as a created being. • Dr. Watts seems to have regarded him as of the order of , human spirits, but as having existed previously to the for- mation of the world ; coinciding so far in opinion with the low. Arians. Dr. Thoma§ Burnet and Dr. Doddridge , assign to him the attributes and rank of the high Arian Logos, arid represent him as the maker of the universe, and the medium of all divine comniunications. In this Logos the Father is supposed to dwell by an intimate union, analogous to that of the soul and body ; , and in consequence of this union, or inhabitation of the Father, the attributes and works of God may be predi- ; cated of the Logos, and divine honours are due to bin}. This hypothesis is thought by its advocates to reconcile , in the easiest and the most satisfactory manner the proper deity of Christ with the proper unity of Gpd, as in this case the Son is God only by the Father's godhead. It is also considered as the best means of reconciling the inferiority of the Son with his proper deity ; because, upon this hypothesis, he possesses a, created as well as a divine,, nature. The Indwelling Scheme, as it is called by its advocates, is chiefly supported by those texts in which the miracu- ' Priestley's Early (DJJinions, book ii. chap, 2. lous 826 TR? INDWELLING. s.caEME. [Part II. lous works of Christ are ascribed, to the power of the FfitJjAt; dwelling in him, John xiv. 9 — 11 : which teach that he and the Father are one, John x. 30. But the principal, stress is laid on Col. ii. 9, " In him dwelleth all the ful- ness of the Godhead bodily ;" that is, say the advocates for this hypothesis, fully, really, and substantially ; not in shadows and symbols, like the Shechinah, or cloud of glory upon the ark, but in his essence and person. Of the advocates for this hypothesis, some, as Dr. Watts, deny the personality of the Holy Spirit; others, with Dr. Doddridge,' believe the Holy Spirit to be a cre- ated being, inferior to the Logos, but, like him, inhabited by the Deity, and therefore one with God. This hypothesis seems to have been first advanced by Dr. Thomas Burnet, in the beginning of the eighteenth century : it was adopted and defended by Paul Maty, a Dutch divine, A. D. 1724; but it made little progress upon the continent. In England the indwelling scheme was supported by. Dr. Watts and Dr. Doddridge, and was a favourite hypothesis with the disciples of that school : at present it has not many advocates. The following are the principal objections against the indwelling scheme. 1. That, like the low Arian hypothesis, it is perfectly new, and was never heard of till the eighteenth century. 2. That it will by no means answer the purpose for which it is proposed and supported ; namely, to reconcile the proper deity with the inferiority and proper humanity of Christ. For as the Son and Spirit were created beings, there was a time when they did not exist ; consequently they are not eternal, therefore they are not divine. 3. The hypothesis itself, so far as it diflFers from Ari- anism, is reducible to an absurdity. If by the indwelling deity be meant that the uncreated substance of the Supreme Being is so united with the cre- ated Sect. 7;3 the sabellian scheme. 327' ated substance of the Logos, as to form one compound substance ; and that the uncreated consciousness of deity- is so united to the created consciousness df the Logos, as to form one consciousness only ; so that the self-existent God and the created Logos united form one compound person, distinct both from God and the Logos; — though this doctrine does indeed secure the deity of the Son, it at the same time involves an absurdity too gross to be allowed by any considerate mind, and equal to any thing either in Athanasianism or in transubstantiation. But if by the inhabitation of deity in the Logos, nothing more be intended than that the will of the Son in all respects coincides with the will of the Father, that the doctrine which he taught was inspired by the Father, and that the miracles he performed were wrought by thepower of the Father ; or, in fine, any thing short of a personal substan- tial union with the Father ; — this kind of indwelling is perfectly similar to that which ail Arians, Socinians, and even Unitarians have always maintained, and is in fac^t giving up the deity of the Son and the Spirit. SECTION VII. THE SABELLIAN SCHEJJJE. This hypothesis assumes that Father, Son, and Spir'it, are difierent names for the same bfeinjg, the only living and true God ; who, as Maker and Gbvernor of the world, is called Father j as dwelling in the man Christ Jesus to au- thenticate his mission, to impart his doctrine and to per- form his miracles, takes the name of Son ; and as the iilspirer of the apostles, the author of spiritual gifts, and the S28 THE SWEDENBORGJAN DQCTRIKE. [Part II. the sanctifier and comforter of christians, , is called the. Holy Spirit. This is said to have been the doctrine of Sabelliqs bi- shop of Pentapolis in Africa, also of Paul of Samosata. bishop of Antioch, for which he was deposed in a council held at Antioch A. D. 269. The epithet Sabellian being obnoxious, no person at present chooses to assume it : but it is evident that this doctrine differs only in words from proper Unitarianism, or from what is called Nominal Trinitarianism, as will . be hereafter explained. The Unitarians allow that God is often called the Fa- ther; and sometimes the Spirit of God is used for God himself. But the character of Son is never applied to, the Supreme Being : it belongs eminently to Jesus as the , Messiah, the first-begotten from the dead, the first of the human race who, in consequence of a resurrection from , the grave, has been put into possession, of the promised,, inheritance. SECTION VIII. THE SW£DENB0RGIAN DOCTRliSTE. J. HIS system maintains that there is but one God ; that he existed from all eternity in a human form ; that to ac- complish the redemption of men and angels he assumed and animated a human body, and that his union to it be- came perfect by means of trials and conflicts ; that the trinity commenced at the incarnation, God himself being, the Father, the human body the Son, the joint operation of both the Holy Spirit, Christ suffered to redeem the world from the power of evil angels. The Swedenbor- gians believe that the last judgement took place, in thq spiritual Sect. 8.] THE SWEDENBORGIAN DOCTRINE. S29 spiritual world, A. D. 1757, and that the spiritual king- dom of Christ commenced on the 19th of June 1770. They deny the doctrine of the resurrection in its literal sense, and believe that men, when they die, enter upon the spiritual world, and are clothed with a vehicle which they call substantial, in opposition to material. They imagine that the spiritual world so nearly resembles the present state, that ft can with difficulty be distinguished; from it. The inhabitants eat and drink, and marry ; they have houses, palaces, and cities ; they carry on trade and commerce; they possess gold, silver and jevsels, books,, writings, and the like : but every thing is in a more per- fect state than in the material world. They also maintain that the whole Scripture, excepting the Book of Acts and the Epistles, have a twofold mean- ing, the natural and the spiritual : this they call the doc-, trine of correspondences : and they believe that the spiri- tual yeaning was never understood till it was revealed to Emanuel Swedenborg.' This strange doctrine was the reverie of Emanued Swe- denborg, a Swedish baron, who was born A. D. 1689, and died 1772. It is said to have been embraced by great numbers of persons upon the continent, and some of very high rank: butin this country, where freedom of discussion is allowed, it can hardly be expected to make many pro- selytes. The Swedenborgians call themselves the New Jerusalem Church. As the truth of this system depends upon the inspiration of Emanuel Swedenborg, who appears to have been an honest visionary, who fancied that he was indulged with occasional intercourse with the spiritual world, it is need- less to enter into any argument upon the subject i. ' See Dr. Priestley's Letters to the New Jerusalem Church ; and Proud and Hindmarsh's Replies to Priestley ; also Swedenborg's Uni- versal Theology, No. 734. SECTION 3 so TRITHEISM. £Pait Illi SECTION IX. TRITHEISM. This is the doctrine of three equal independent infinite beings, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is so diametri- cally opposite to the doctrine of the divine Unity so ex- plicitly taught in the Jewish and Christian Scriptures, and even to the dictates of right reason upon this important subject, that however near the doctrine of the Realist Trinitarians may be thought to approximate to it, Trithe- ism is expressly disavowed by almost all modern writers upon the subject. It is said to have been maintained by John Ascunage, a Syrian philosopher of the sixth centu- ry ; and to have been supported by John Philoponus, a grammarian of high reputation in Alexandria. SECTION X. TRINITARIAN DOCTRINE. X HE doctrine of the Trinity maintains that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God, three equal persons in the same divine substance, and yet there are not three Gods, but one God : or, in other words, that *' there are three persons in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory." The following, is a general view of the arguments in favour of this doctrine. 1. That Sect. 10.] TRINITARIAN DOCTRINE. SSI 1 . That Christ is expressly called God both in the Old Testament and the New. 2. That he appeared to the patriarchs under the name and character of Jehovah. S. That titles appropriated to the Supreme Being are applied to Christ, viz. Lord, Lord of hosts, Lord of all. King of kings and Lord of lords, Alpha and Omega, First and Last, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 4. That of Christ it is explicitly declared that he was in the beginning with God, and was God ; that in him all the fulness of the Godhead dwells bodily, that is, sub- stantially ; that he thought it no robbery to be equal with God, or as God ; that he and the Father are one ; and that he is in a peculiar and appropriate sense the Son of God, well-beloved, and only-begotten. 5. That attributes appropriate to the Supreme Being are ascribed to Christ, viz. eternity, omnipresence, omni' science, omnipotence, and immutability. 6. That divine works are also ascribed to Christ, viz. the creation, the support, and government of the world, the resurrection of the dead, and the final judgement of all mankind. 7. That divine honours are challenged by him, and divine worship addressed to him ; that he is represented as the proper object of prayer, of thanksgiving, of obedi- ence, of trust, of self-dedication, and of joy : also, that he' is joined with the Father in acts of social worship and in* vocation, and in the doxologies of the heavenly world. 8. That the appstles uniformly address him, and speak : to him, and of him, under the impression of his proper deity, 9. That the, true and proper deity of Christ has been the doctrine of the christian church from the earliest age, which, with the exception of a very small number of indi-» - viduals, has been uniforro and unanimous in its profession'. of this faith. Against S32 TRINITARIAN DOCTRINE [Part II. Against this doctrine it has been objected : 1 . That if the Son and Spirit be each of them truly and properly God, there must be more Gods than one ; for it is a contradiction in terras to say, that there are three distinct, intelligent, conscious agents, each of which is tru- ly God, and yet that there is but one God. 2. .That the proper deity of Christ is absolutely incon- sistent with his proper. humanity. It is impossible that God should become incarnate, and suffer, and die : It is equally impos^ble that he should so unite himself to a hu- man soul, as to become one conscious person or intelligent agent with it. But if the consciousness remains distinct, they are, properly speaking, two distinct persons : and Jesus Christ, who appeared in a human body as the in- structor of mankind, who suffered and died upon the cross, ■ and who was raised again to life, was in no proper sense God, but a mere man ; so that this doctrine, so far, co- incides with the proper Unitarian scheme, and is incon- sistent with the commonly-received opinion concerning the atonement of Christ, and the satisfaction made to th$ • justice of God. 3. That to maintain concerning propositions which re- late to the same individual person Christ, that some are to be understood 'of his human nature only, some of his divine nature alone, and some of his complex person as God-man, is a mode of interpretation which the Scripturess neither teach nor warrant, which is contrary to every rule of sober and rational criticism, and which tends to convert plain language into unintelligible jargon. 4. If Jesus is ever spoken bf as God either in the Old Testament or in the New, which some deny, it must be in the same sense in which Moses is said to have been a God to Pharaoh, and in which prophets and magistrates are also called gods, that is, either as possessing authority, or as acting under a divine commission, or as working rniracles. Sect. 10.3 STATED AND ILLUSTRATED. 33^ 5. That Christ is in no instance styled Jehovah : that all arguments in proof of the ascription of this title to him are fallacious in the extreme: and that there is but one Jehovah, the true God, the only proper object of worship, who never gave his name or his glory to another. 6. That the few passages in which the creation of all things is ascribed to Christ, are to be interpreted of the moral world, and of the new^ creation, that new state and oi'der of things which was introduced by Christ. 7. The Unity, or equality of Christ with God, is in- consistent with his exaltation as the reward of his obedi- ence and sufferings. ' 8. The inferiority of Christ to the Father, the limita- tion of his attributes, the derivation of his commission and of all his miraculous powers from him, and his unlimited subjection to him, are taught in the most direct and un- qualified terms by Christ himself. The apostles of Christ also uniformly teach his inferiority to the Father ; and even after his resurrection and ascension they speak of him as a man, without giving the least intimation that he also possessed a superior and divine nature, or taking the least pains to guard against being mistaken, though it is acknowledged that the mass of believers at that time were strongly prejudiced against the doctrine of the divinity of Christ. 9. The principal arguments of the Trinitarians are founded upon mistranslations, misinterpretations, or cor- ruptions of the Scripture. The famous text of the hea- venly witnesses, i John v. 7, is a palpable forgery ; and the expression ' God manifest in the flesh,' 1 Tim. iii. 1 6, is very suspicious. ' That he thought it no robbery to. be equal with God,' Phil. ii. 6, is a gross mistransla- tion : and the unity which subsists between the Father and him is explained by himself to b6 the same which subsists between him and his disciples, John xvii. 22. If the fulness S34 TRINITARIAN fiOCTRINE [Part II. fulness of the Godhead dwell in him, his disciples and believers in general are said to be filled with the fulness of Christ and of God, — At any rate, whatever may be meant by the fulness of Godhead dwelling in Christ, it ■was no more than what " it pleased the Father should dwell in him." 10. If the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are the same being, there is no equality ; if they are distinct, equal, co-ordinate persons, there is no proper unity. 11. The conduct of the apostles, and the familiarity of the behaviour of the companions of Christ, during his personal ministry, plainly prcwe that they had no concep- tion of the divinity of his nature j nor do their history or their writings contain any indication of the astonishment which they could not but have felt When this amazing fact was first disclosed to them. 12. The Jews, the inveterate enemies of Christianity, never charge the apostles or their immediate successors' with introducing an idolatrous religion, though it is well known that this charge was urged with great vehemence by them as soon as the doctrine of the deity of Christ was advanced in the christian church ; and that the com- monly-received doctrine of the Trinity is to this day one of the principal sources of the animosity, hatred^ and con- tempt which the Jews, the zealous advocates of the divine unity, express against the christian religion. 1 3. Christ is not represented in the Scriptures as the proper object of religious worship. He never requires it.- He even expressly prohibits religious invocation of him- self, John xvl. 23. Nor is there any propei* example to authorize religious addresses to him. 14. It is strenuously maintained that the doctrine of the divinity of Christ was not known in the apostolic age : that it was never admitted at all amongst the Jewish chris- tians 5 and that it made very slow progress even amongst the Sect. 10.] STATED AND ILLUSTRATED. 335 the Gentile believers ; so that in the time of TertuUian, and even of Athanasius, a great majority of unlearned christians were Unitarians : that the doctrine of the perso- nification of the Logos was first introduced by the Plato- nic philospphers who embraced Christianity, and who were ashamed of the simplicity of the doctrine of the Gospel, and of the meanness and sufferings of its author ; also, that the equality of the Son was not generally admitted till after the Council of Nice, nor the personality and equality of the Holy Spirit, till the fifth century. Finally : The same mode of reasoning which is adopt- ed to prove the doctrine of the Trinity is equally appli- cable to that of transubstantiation ; a few figurative ex- pressions, literally interpreted, appearing to favour the doc- trine, and the majority of believers having for many cen- turies received it. And if Trinitarians .plead that their doc- trine is a sublime mystery, to be received and adored, but not examined, this is no more than the plea of the Catho- lic in behalf of his incomprehensible mystery of transub- stantiation '. To obviate the objections against the popular doctrine of the Trinity, various hypotheses have been advanced by the advocates for that doctrine, wha are all reputed to agree in the same fundamental principle, and who do in fact agree in the use of the same language with respect to the person of Christ. The principal of these hypotheses are those of the Realists, of the Nominalists, and of the genuine Athanasians ; to which may be added the case of those who, professing to believe the doctrine of the Trinity, adhere chiefly to the language of Scripture, and decline all explanjition upon the subject. ' " 11 y a bien tie lieu de s'etonnerj que des gens qui reconnoissent les mystires de la Trinite et de I'lncarnation refusent de reconnoitre la presence reelle, et la Transubstantiation, puisqu'on pent former de plus grandes difficult6s contre les premiers que contre le dernier, si Ton veut auivre les sens et la raison seulement." Lettres Choisies de M. Simon, p. 42. 1. The 336 TRINITARIAN DOCTRINE [Paft IL I. 'The Realists. These writers maintain that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are three distinct, conscious, intelligent agents or persons ; that the Son and the Spirit derive their existence from the Father by eternal necessary emanation, called generation as it respects the Son, and procession in reference to the Holy Spirit ; and that with the single ex- ception of self-existence, in regard to which the Father is called the Root and Fountain of Deity, and is superior both to the Son and the Spirit even as to their divine na- ture, they are in all respects independent of him, and equal to him, being necessarily-existent, and absolutely perfect. The distinct personality, together with the proper equa- lity, and oeconomical subordination of the Son and Spirit, are supposed to be maintained with peculiar advantage by this hypothesis : and the Unity of the deity is thought to be sufficiendy preserved by the supremacy of the Father, and the derivation of the Son and Spirit from the sub- stance of the Father, by communication of the same es- sence. Some of the principal supporters of this doctrine amongst the English divines, are Cudworth, Owen, Howe, Bull, Sherlock, Waterland, and Horsley. To this hypothesis it is objected, 1. That if the three persons are in all respects equal, and all absolutely perfect,^ they are three gods ; and that this hypothesis is downright Tritheism. 2. That if one be supreme and the others subordi- nate, if one be self-existent and the others derived, the Son and Spirit cannot be absolute in all perfections ; and therefore, in this view of the hypothesis, they cannot each be truly God. 3. Hence it follows that the hypothesis of the Realists, beinor Sect. 10.] THE NOMINALISTS. SS? being in one view inconsistent with the unity of God, and in another view with the full equality and proper deity df the persons, is inconsistent with itself and with the Scrip- tures, and therefore cannot be true. 4. Besides the absurdity of supposing an absolutely perfect being to have been in any sense derived, whether by necessity or by a voluntary act, the very notion of the peculiar and distinct modes of the emanation of the Son and Spirit, the former by generation, the latter by proces- sion or spiration, whether from the Father only, as is taught by the Greek church, or from the Father and the Son, as the Latin church inculcates, is unintelligible and unscrip- tural. II. The Nominalists. These writers maintain that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are three distinctions in the one self-exist- ent Deity, analogous to the faculties of understanding, will, and power in men ; to which three distinctions per- sonal terms may be applied 2. The principal advantage claimed by this hypothesis is» that it preserves the proper Unity of God, while it main- tains the divinity and equality of each of the three persons, " Dr. Wallis, Savilian professor of mathematics at Oxford, in his Considerations on the Trinity, p. 7, (l6c)3,) speaks of it as " a sill/ mistake, that a divine person is as much as to say a divinity, or a God, when indeed a divine person is only, a mode, or respect, ox relation oC God to his creatures. He bears to his creatures these three relations, modes, or respects ; that he is their Creator, their Redeemer, their Sanctiiler : this is what we mean, and all that we mean, when we say God IS three persons. He hath those three relations to his creatures ; and is thereby no more three Gods, than be was three Gods to the Jews because be calls himself the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." This truly Unitarian doctriiie received the marked approbation of 4be University of Oxford, while Dr. Sherlock's hypothesis, " that the three persons of the Trinity were three distinct infinite minds," under- went a public censure. With this modal hypothesis Mr. Lindsey sa- tisfied bituself to remain in the church and to use the liturgy, some years afier he became a Unitarian. Apol. p. 228. z Amongst 3S8 Ddc TRINE OP THE [Tart II. ■ Amongst the ancients, Augustin, the celebrated bishop of Hippo in Africa, was an advocate for this hypothesis ; and amongst the moderns, Calvin, Hooker, Burnet, Wal- lis. South, Baxter, and others. Against this hypothesis it is objected, 1 . That if by distinctions or persons attributes only are meant, the term person is used in a sense very diffe- rent from that which custom has established, and in a manner which must necessarily deceive those who are not upon their guard against this unprecedented abuse of lan- guage. 2. This hypothesis, in fact, annihilates the proper per- sonality, and thereby the real existence of the Son and Spirit ; and though the advocates of this hypothesis hold the language of proper Trinitarians, yet, in ideas, they co- incide altogether with the Sabellians, or even with , the proper Unitarians. S. This hypothesis converts a great part of the lan- guage of the New Testament into unintelligible jargon. Thus, when it is said that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world, it is the same as saying that one attribute or distinction of the Deity sent another attri- bute or distinction of the Deity to be the Saviour of the world. And when the Son prayed to the Father, one at- tribute or distinction of the divine nature prayed to an- other attribute or distinction of the divine nature. 4. If it should be maintained that the three persons in the Godhead are three distinctions^ or, as some have ex- pressed themselves, three somewhats that are not to be understood or explained, this is substituting words instea^ of ideas, and is in fact little better than giving up the question. III. The proper Athanasian Scheme. This hypothesis maintains that there are three distinct persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit j the two Sect. 10.] PROPER ATHANASIANS. 389 two latter eternal and necessary emanations from the Fa- ther: t]ie Son by generation, the Holy Spirit by proces- sion : that they are in all pther respects equal to each other, J?ut united together by a mutual penetration of each other's substance, which is called Emperichoresis, or Circqmin- cession. See Ben Mordecai's Letters, p. 999. This was the doctrine of Athanasius himself, and of the Nicene fathers amongst the ancients, and of Bishop Bull amongst the moderns. It is supposed by its advor cates to possess all the advantages of the doctrine of the Realists: while, by the peculiar hypothesis of the' Em- perichoresis, it precludes the charge of Tritheism, It is a great objection against this scheme, that the emr perichoresis, or mutual penetration of the divine substances, ■which is the grand peculiarity of it, is unfounded both in reason and in revelation, and is absolutely unintelligible. If the hypothesis means to assert the existence of three absolutely perfect beings, whose knowledge, power, and will uniformly coincide, and who occupy the same infinite space, it is open to the celebrated objection of Loclj.e and WoUaston against a plurality of infinite beings : for two or more such beings cannot even in idea be separated or distinguished from one being. Their existence therefore carf be of no use : it can account for no phaenomena, and is utterly incredible and absurd. It is well known that what is called the Athanasian creed does not express the doctrine of Athanasius him- self, and is a forgery of much later date. From a comparison of the precedipg scl^emes it is obyL- ous to remark : 1 . That however the advocates of the Real and fO'o- rainal systems may agree in the use of the same language, their ideas are in fact as widely distant as those of the Umtarians and the Tritheists ; o^e party maintaining that there is but one God, whose three attributes are called by z 2 different 340 REMARKS UPON THE [Part If» different names, or who himself bears different names when acting under different relations ; the other party afHrming the existence of three distinct infinite minds, participating of the same nature and substance, equal in power and glory. 2. The doctrine of the Trinity in every shape and under every explanation is. utterly incredible ; and the admission of it among christians as an article of belief, and a revealed truth, is to rational unbelievers a great objec- tion against the divine origin of Christianity, and one of the greatest impediments to its progress in the world. The Jews, the Mahometans, and all serious believers' in the Unity of God, regard the doctrine of the Trinity with abhorrence, as an infringement upon the most funda- mental article of natural religion. The nice distinctions, the metaphysical subtilties, and the scholastic jargon, which have been introduced into the Trinitarian controversy, naturally lead unbelievers to conclude that Christianity is a system of abstruse specula- tion rather than of useful practical truth ; and therefore that it cannot be of divine original. Further : Intelligent unbelievers, and men of no reli- gion, when they observe that persons, whose real sentiments are so directly opposite to each other, as those of the Real- ists and Nominalists, can nevertheless agree in the use of the same ambiguous language to impose upon the simpli- city of unlearned christians, are easily led to conclude that the teachers of Christianity are not themselves believ- ers in its divine authority, but that they profess it as a craft to maintain themselves at the expense of their deluded followers. Hence it may naturally be expected that mere statesmen, who are indifferent to all religions, will conclude that Chris- tianity, like other superstitions, may be usefully employed a? an engine of state} by a hypocritical profession of which, and Sect. 10.] DIFFERENT HYPOTHESES. 341 and a liberal support of a class of persons who shall be authorized to teach the creed of the state, they may main- tain a great political ascendancy over the minds of the ignorant and superstitious vulgar. Hence likewise, regarding all teachers of religion as hy- pocrites or enthusiasts, they are disposed to oppress and persecute those, who, animated with a truly christian zeal to restore the religion of Jesus to its primitive purity, en- ter their public and solemn protest against prevailing and established errors, and to inflict pains and penalties upon such persons, as disturbers of the public peace : thus fix- ing upon the christian religion the stigma of persecution, which is most opposite to its true nature, and exciting still more strongly the prejudices of unbeHevers against it. 3. From these considerations, and upon these princi- ples, the Unitarians justify their exertions to detect the corruptions of the christian doctrine, and to represent Christianity in its true light, as the revelation of a future life of reward and punishment, confirmed by the resur- rection of Christ from the dead : a doctrine of the great- est practical importance, and in the reception of which all christians are agreed. And till this reformation is accom- plished, they have little hope that the christian revelation will meet with general reception, or that any considerable moral advantage is to be expected from those abstruse, complicated, and unintelligible systems of faith which often assume the name of Christianity, and of which the genuine doctrine of Christ commonly constitutes a Very limited proportion. IV. To avoid the difficulties attending all explanations of the doctrine of the Trinity, a fourth class bf professed Trinitarians have contented themselves with adopting, as they say, " Scripture language," at the same time declining all explanadon of the subject. They S42 TRINITARIANS DECLINE EXPLANATION. [Part II, They content themselves with observing, that the Scrip- ture teaches that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are each of them truly God ; divine names, titles^ and attributes, works, and worship being ascribed to each. They observe also, that the same Scripture likewise teaches that there is but one God : each of these positions, thersr fore, must be in some sense true. But in what sense the divine persons are three, and in what respect they are one, is not explained ; it is therefore, say they, presumption in any one to attempt it : and being a doctrine of pure revelationj it ought to be left in the simplicity and obscu- rity of the Scripture language. This hypothesis, there- fore, affirms that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is Godj and yet there are not three Gods, but one God. But it leaves it doubtful whether the per- sonality of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit be a real or a modal personality : that is, whether the three persons be three distinct intelligent agents, or three modes, attri- butes, relations or distinctions of the same intelligent Be- ing- - Where nothing is affirmed, nothing can be denied : but it may behove the advocates for the use of fhis ambiguous and unmeaning phraseology to consider, 1 . Whether they can seriously maintain that there is any medium between the ^eal and the Nominal schemes ; in other words, whether they are not under a necessity of admitting that the three persons in the Trinity either are, or are not, three distinct intelligent agents. 2 . Whether they can seriously believe that the Scriptures liave left it a matter of doubt whether there be three equal intelligent beings^ all of whom are the proper objects of worship ; or whether one Being alone is revealed as the object of religious adoration, by whatever names or cha- racters he may be described. 3. Whether they are themselves seriously in doubt concerning beet. lO.J ON THE USE OF EQUIVOCAL LANGUAGE. 343 concerning the Scripture doctrine upon this subject ; and whether this doubt arises from the obscurity of the Scrip- tures^ or from t^ieir own voluntary inattention to the sub- ject, and their unwillingness to take sufficient pains to gain satisfaction upon a subject of such high importance. 4. Whether it be not a concern of the greatest magr nitude, and well deserving the most serious inquiry, to determine whether the object of religious worship be one, or three infinite beings. 5. Whether it be a mark of real respect to the Scrips, hires to use their language without ascertaining its mean-> ing ; and whether this be not the way to keep themselves and others in perpetual ignorance ; also, whether they must not allow that it is the proper province of reason to investigate the true sense of the Scriptures. 6. Whether the indisposition to inquire and to attain clear and definite ideas upon a subject of such great and acknowledged importance as the doctrine of the Trinity, does not in some measure arise from an unworthy fear^f the result of these inquiries, and from a secret suspicion that the question will not bear examination. 7. Let it also be very seriously considered, whether the common use of ambiguous language, which \yill ne- cessarily lead plain and unlearned christians to exclude that there are three objects of religious worship^ while the person who uses such language is himself persuaded that there is, or at least that there may be, only one, be consistent with the true simplicity of the christian charac- ter J jind whether it does not justly expose the person who uses it to the charge of "handling the word of God de- ceitfully." THE END. Printed by R, and A. Taylor, 6''ive Lune, Lonxtan. The following Works^ ly the same Authob^ are sold ly R. HuNTEE, Successor to Mr. Johnson, St. Paul's Churchyard. 1. A SUMMARY VIEW of the EVIDENCE and PRACTICAL IMPORTANCE of the CHKISTIAN REVELATION, in. a Series of Discourses., Second Edition. 4s. % 2. LETTERS if|)on ARIANISM, and other TOPICS of META- PHYSICS and THEOLOGY, in Roply to tlie Lectures of the Rev. B. Carpenter. 4s. 3. 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The PROGRESS of INTELLECTUAL, MORAL,and RELI- GlOUSIMPROVEMENTduiingthepresentReign, represented in aDISCOUllSKj delivered before the Unitarian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, at Essex-Street Chapel, on Thursday, March 31, 1814, in Commemoration of the liepeal of the Penal Laws against the Impugneis of the Doctrine of the Trinity, To which is annexed AN APPENDIX, containing a Summary Review of a Publica. tionof the LordBishop of St. DAVID'S, entitled " A Brief Memorial, on theRepeal of the 9 and 10 William HI. &c." Boards, 5s. . 7- LETTERS addressed to the Right Reverend the Lord Bishop of LONDON, in Vindication of the Unitarians from the Allegations of His Lordship jn the CHARGE delivered to the CLERGY of the Diocese of LONDON at His Lordship's Primary Visitation. Second Edition. 3s. 6d. 8. A LETTER to the UNITARIAN CH|IISTIANS in SOUTH WALES. To which are annexed : — 1. Letters in Reply to the Bishop of St. David's Letters to the Unitarians. — 2. 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