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ESSAY VI.

On the Deity of Jesus Christ.

THE doctrine of a Mediator, through whom a

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just and holy God deals mercifully with believers, is the grand peculiarity of revelation: it must therefore be of the greatest importance for us, to form a proper estimate of the personal dignity of this Mediator. The doctrine, which I shall here attempt to establish from Scripture, may be thus stated: That Jesus Christ is truly and really God, one with and equal to the Father; being 'from eternity possessed of all divine perfections, ' and justly entitled to all divine honours; yet personally distinct from the Father, and so called his own Son, and his only begotten Son. 'that in order to the performance of his mediato'rial office, he assumed our nature into personal 'union with the Deity: and became One with us,

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truly Man, like us in all things, sin alone ex'cepted and that he is thus God and Man in one 'mysterious incomprehensible Person; so that "all the fulness of the Godhead dwells in him "bodily."

No argument can properly be brought against the doctrine of our Lord's essential Deity, as here stated from those Scriptures which speak of his human nature, his mediatorial office, or his inferiority to the Father in both these respects: for our doctrine implies this, and even absolutely requires it. We need not therefore insist on this part of the subject: it is generally allowed by all, except deists and atheists, that "Christ is come in the "flesh" though numbers contend that he could not have come in any other way; and others deem him a mere creature, though of a supra-angelick nature, and maintain that he is called God only in consequence of his mediatorial exaltation. But the idea of a creature, however exalted, being advanced to divinity, is so repugnant to all rational principles, as well as to the declarations of Jehovah, that "he knows no God besides himself, "and will not give his glory to another," that it will not be necessary to discuss the subject before us, with any particular reference to these distinct opinions. It will fully answer the purpose, if we can evince that our Redeemer is by nature "GOD "over all, blessed for evermore." At present I shall adduce a few select arguments in direct proof of this point; leaving some other things, that belong to the subject, to be considered in the next Essay.

I. The reader will naturally turn. his thoughts

to those Scriptures, in which Jesus Christ is expressly called GOD, and LORD. "Without con

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troversy," says the apostle, "great is the mystery of godliness, GoD was manifest in the "flesh." He allows that the doctrine which he advanced was very mysterious, and that this could not be controverted or denied; but he seems to glory in it on that very account, because he considered it as THE GREAT MYSTERY OF GODLINESS. We may therefore be sure, that they, who would so interpret the words as to render his doctrine scarcely mysterious at all, do not understand them: but all who suppose him to mean that Jesus was Emmanuel; GOD WITH US; that the child born at Bethlehem was THE MIGHTY GOD, as the prophet foretold: consider this proposition both as a great mystery, and as the source, centre, and support of godliness. It would be superfluous, in this brief attempt, to do more than refer the reader to the well known passages which are commonly brought forward in this argument; and to intreat him to read them with attention, as the word of God, and with earnest prayer to be enabled to understand and believe them: for it seems impossible for human language to express any sentiment more strongly than they express the Deity of Christ. He "who was in the beginning with God, and was GOD; who made all things," so that "with

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'1 Tim. iii. 16.

2 Is. vii. 14. ix. 6.

3 John i. 1-18.

Phil. ii. 5-8.

Col. i. 15-17. Heb. i.

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"out him was not any thing made that was made;" by whom, and for whom, all things were created, "and by whom all things consist," and who " "úpholds all things by the word of his power;" must be "GOD over all, blessed for evermore:" for "he that made all things is God;" which surely none but an avowed atheist will deny.

These and several other passages of the same kind, will come again under consideration, towards the close of this Essay: and this first argument may be concluded by intreating the reader to consider what the apostle could mean by saying, "The second man is the LORD from heaven,' if Christ be a mere man, or a created being.

II. Several texts of the Old Testament concerning Jehovah are applied in the New to Christ. The prophet Joel declares, that "whosoever shall "call on the name of Jehovah shall be delivered:"" and the apostle Paul expressly refers this to Christ: for he adds "how shall they call on "him of whom they have not heard? or how shall "they hear without a preacher ?" It is manifest, that Joel predicted the judgments, which awaited the Jews for rejecting the Messiah :3 but certainly they did very earnestly call upon Jehovah, the God of their fathers, to deliver them from the power of the Romans; yet they were not delivered,

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Joel ii. 32. Rom. x. 13-16. 3 Acts ii. 16-21.

because they would not join with those who called on the name of Jesus; and they only who called on him were saved. As therefore "the Scripture "cannot be broken," Christ must be JEHOVAH; Paul considered him as such, and the event demonstrated him to be so.-The Psalmist says, "Taste and see, that Jehovah is good;" and to this the apostle manifestly refers, when he uses these words, "If so be, ye have tasted that the "Lord is gracious-to whom coming as to a liv

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ing Stone, &c;" and in what follows, the attentive reader will perceive, that he applies to Christ in the most unreserved manner, what the Prophet had spoken of "Jehovah, God of Hosts him"self."-The Evangelist, mentioning a most extraordinary vision of Jehovah in his temple, with which Isaiah was favoured, declares that the prophet" then saw the glory of Christ, and spake "of him."-Paul applies to Christ's coming to judgment, what the same prophet had written of Jehovah swearing by himself, that " every knee "should bow down to him, and every tongue "should confess to GOD." Indeed the whole passage referred to, especially the last verse, "In "JEHOVAH shall all the seed of Israel be justified, "and shall glory," proves that Emmanuel was especially meant, in whom alone believers are justified and glory.*

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1 Ps. xxxiv. 8. Is. viii. 13-15. xxviii. 16. 1 Pet. ii. 3-8.

3 Is. xlv. 21-25.

• Is. vi. John xii. 39–41.

Rom. xiv. 9-12. 4 1 Cor. i. 30, 31,

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