II. CREATION. 4. John i. 3: All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. All things were made by it; and without it, &c.-Bible 1596. (See pages 120, 126, and 272.) REMARKS. It is not said that all other things were made by him, as if he was one created being.... Not only the great objects of nature were formed by him, but every individual being, every animal, derived existence from him.-Hill. All things in the Christian dispensation were done by Christ; i. e. by his authority, and according to his direction; and in the ministry committed to his apostles, nothing has been done without his warrant. John xv. 4, 5: "Without me, ye can do nothing."-Eds. of Imp. Ver. The creation has been considered as the work of a being different from, and inferior to God; it has been represented as betraying either weakness or malevolence in its former, and some may be unwilling to admit that in all its parts it has proceeded from the Supreme God. himself. Yet this I positively affirm: I admit no demiourgos, I allow not the God of the Jewish Scriptures to be distinguished from the great source and centre of all perfection. It was the Word, the power, the active will of God, by which all things were called into existence. -Hincks. 5. John i. 10: He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. See page 122, col. 2d; page 126, col, 2d. REMARKS. The cases where you means to make, or produce, are so numerous and obvious, that a moment's delay in respect to this part of the subject would be useless.Stuart. He, the Light, the Logos, not Jesus Christ personally, who has not yet been introduced, was in the world, and the world was made by him. It was the same divine power which created the universe which now displayed itself in diffusing the light of heavenly truth.-Hincks. Toua is a word of very general signification: it signifies, to be, to come to pass, to be done, as well as to be made.-Cappe. The subject of the introduction, and of the whole gospel, relates to the new state of things, the renovation or reformation of mind and habits which Jesus came to produce.-Simpson. ILLUSTRATIVE TEXTS. h Gen, i. 3: And God said, Let there be light, and there was light. Ps. xix. 1: The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handywork. Ps. xxxiii. 6-9: By the word of Jehovah were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. ... For he spake, and it was [done]; he com‐ manded, and it stood fast. Ps. xcv. 5: The sea [is] his, and he made it; and his hands formed the dry [land]. Ps. cxlviii. 3-6: Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light. ..... He commanded, and they were created. Isa. xliv. 24: I [am] Jehovah that maketh all [things]; that stretcheth forth the heavens ALONE; that spreadeth abroad the earth BY MYSELF. Jer. xxvii. 5: I have made the earth, the man and the beast that [are] upon the ground, BY MY GREAT power, and BY MY OUT-STRETCHED ARM. et al. i Acts iv. 24-30: Lord, THOU [art] God, who HAST MADE HEAVEN AND EARTH, and the sea, and all that in them .... is. Of a truth against THY holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together. And now, Lord, behold their threatenings; and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word,... and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of THY holy child Jesus. Chap. xvii. 24-31: GOD, THAT MADE THE WORLD, and all things therein. ... HE hath appointed a day, in which HE will judge the world in righteousness, by [that] man whom he hath ordained, &c. ... j Isa. xlii. 1-8: Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, [in whom] my soul delighteth: I have put my spirit upon him. ... Thus saith God Jehovah, He that created the heavens, and stretched them out; He that spread forth the earth: 1 Jehovah have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; to open the blind eyes, &c. I [am] Jehovah: that [is] my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. See Matt. iii. 17; xi. 25. OBSERVATIONS. 4-11. To prove that the attribute of omnipotence belongs to Christ, Trinitarians have adduced a class of passages which seem to exhibit him' as the Creator of the universe; the act of creation requiring, as they conceive, the possession of unlimited power. With these persons some Unitarians agree in considering Jesus as the Maker of the world, or of the universe, but deny the necessity of omnipotence for the performance of such a work; Christ being, in their opinion, merely an instrument in the hands of the Deity. We do not hold it inconceivable, that the Almighty One may have employed some inferior intelligence to create the world, or the universe, and to direct its concerns; and if the texts of Scripture quoted in the first of the corresponding columns really teach that Christ is the Former of all things, material and spiritual, we should adopt the opinion modified according to the Arian hypothesis; these texts implying, at the farthest, nothing more than that he is the instrumental or secondary cause. But the opinion is in itself improbable; for, if admitted to be true, it would have the manifest tendency to withdraw our affections and confidence from the Supreme Being, and to fix them on one who, though inferior, would be to us God all in all. It is not, however, necessary to believe that our Lord was the Creator of the universe, either as the Almighty, or as an agent employed by him. From a vast variety of passages in the Old Testament, we discover that God created the world by his own power or command, without the instrumentality of any exalted, though inferior spirit; and from several texts in the New Testament, we learn, that, instead of attributing the workmanship of the heavens and the earth and the sea to Jesus of Nazareth, the apostles treated of and addressed the God and Father of their Master as the only Architect of the universe. The whole tenor of Scripture is, indeed, inimical both to the Arian and the Trinitarian doctrine on this subject; the language of the speakers and writers denoting the existence of ONLY ONE CREATOR, whose best-beloved Son and Servant was Jesus Christ. In opposition, however, to the great number of texts favourable to this doctrine, a very few are discovered in the writings of John and Paul, which seem to countenance the doctrine of Christ's agency in the natural creation. It is admitted that some of these obscure passages might suit the doctrine, if it were expressly declared in other portions of Holy Writ; but there does not appear to be any solid reason for thinking that "the beloved disciple," in the introduction to his Gospel, designed to represent the Logos or Word as signifying the person of Jesus Christ, but rather the manifested Power or Wisdom of God; or that the creation mentioned by the Apostle of the Gentiles was any other than the change effected in the moral world by the God and Father of all, through the instrumentality of our blessed Saviour. Creation is here ascribed to the Son in very full, clear, and expressive terms. Not sublunary things only, not this inferior system, but all things, whether above or below, that are in heaven, and that are in earth: not inanimate things only, or the inhabitants of this globe, but also what is remote and distant; all things visible and invisible; and not only all rational creatures of an inferior rank and order, but the very highest orders of angels or archangels.-Waterland. The purpose of St. Paul is to declare, that Christ is the former and master of the whole church on earth and in heaven, of the whole community of the holy; that he is the author of all their blessings; that all authority among them is from him; that all are ruled by his laws; that the whole kingdom on earth and in heaven exists through him, and, figuratively speaking, "for him," as its monarch.-Norton. ILLUSTRATIVE TEXTS. * Heb. xii. 2: Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of [our] faith; who, for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, &c. 11 Cor. i. 30: Of him [God] are ye in [or by] Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. Chap. xv. 57: But thanks [be] to God, who giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ. m 2 Cor. v. 17,18: Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things [are] of God, who hath reconciled us unto himself by Jesus Christ. n Eph. ii. 10: We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works. See chap. i. 10; ii. 15; iv. 23, 24. o Col. i. 16: For by him were all things created that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether [they be] thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him. all the things. Wakefield. all has been created.Norton. in him.-S.Clarke, Wakefield. visible and invisible.-Com.Ver. the seen and the unseen. Carpenter, Norton. by him and for him.-Com. Ver. through him and for him.-Wakefield and Norton. through him and to him.-Carpenter, Drummond. p Col. i. 12-15: Giving thanks unto the Father, who hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light; who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated [us] into the kingdom of his dear Son; in whom we have redemption, [even] the forgiveness of sins. (G.) Who is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of every creature. Ver. 18-20: And he is the head of the body, the church; who is the beginning, the first-born from the dead, that in all [things] he might have the pre eminence: for it pleased [the Father], that in bim should all fulness dwell, and, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, [I say,] whether [they be] THINGS IN EARTH, or THINGS IN HEAVEN. q See Part First, pages 19-21. OBSERVATIONS. 6. If all things here signify every thing contained in the universe, the passage will, of necessity, evince Christ to be the Creator. As, however, we have not yet learned that Christ was the Maker of the world, but are certain that he was the Author and Finisher of our Faith, and that all the blessings of the Gospel come by his agency,' we think it very probable, that, instead of alluding to the production of all worlds, or systems of worlds, the apostle referred to the new creation—to all things relative to the Christian religion. The Trinitarian ought never to cite this passage in support of his system; for it expresses the distinguishing doctrine of Unitarianism in the most explicit and comprehensive language. "There is NONE OTHER GOD BUT ONE," says the Unitarian Paul:— "To us there is one GOD, THE FATHER; and one Lord, Jesus Christ." m 7. On the authority of the most ancient manuscripts and versions, GRIESBACH omits the last clause of the verse, "by Jesus Christ," as not having been written by the Apostle Paul. Suppose, however, that the entire passage were genuine, it would be more suitable to the context, and to the whole tenor of the Epistle," to understand it—like that of a similar passage in the Letter to the Colossian church -as referring, not to the creation of the universe, but to the spiritual reformation of Jews and Gentiles;—an interpretation which has been adopted by the most eminent commentators, even of the Trinitarian body. It is evident that the disputed words, at the utmost, imply only that Christ was the instrumental cause of the natural or the spiritual creation; and, consequently, that he is distinct from, and inferior to, the Being whose agent he was. 8. A slight inspection of this text is favourable to the doctrine of our Lord's agency in the creation of natural objects; for if, in the most extensive sense of the words, "all things visible and invisible" were created by Christ, it will inevitably follow, that the universe, and all it contains, is the production of his hands. A closer view of the passage will, however, show that it does not necessarily relate to the natural creation. The apostle, both before and after, treats of the blessings arising from the Gospel dispensation; and hence we think it improbable, that, in such a place, he would introduce observations respecting the formation of the universe. It is also remarkable, that, in the enumeration of those objects which he says were created by Christ, he mentions only things in heaven and earth, such as "thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers;" and takes no notice of the heavens and the earth themselves, or the seas, or of the sun and the moon and the stars;-objects which it is very improbable he would have omitted, when stating in detail the works of creation. His style is very different from that which is used in almost all the passages of Scripture containing allusions to the natural creation;" PARAPHRASES ON COL. i. 16. From bim were derived the visible splendour of the celestial luminaries, the sun, the moon, and the stars, even all the hosts of these lower heavens; and from him the yet brighter glories of invisible and angelic beings who dwell and reign above, by whatever names distinguished; whether they be thrones, &c. These, with all other things in the celestial as well as terrestrial regions, are the productions of his almighty power, and were made that he might be exalted and glorified in them.-Doddridge. Under this new dispensation, introduced by Christ, a most extraordinary and astonishing revolution has taken place in the moral world. It is, as I have just expressed it, a new creation: a creation, not indeed of natural, but of moral objects; not of things, but of states of things; not of external dignities, but of religious privileges. Under this new and heavenly dispensation, Jews and Gentiles undergo a glorious and a happy change; they who were formerly the members of the visible church, and they who possessed no external badge of relation to God, are now formed into one harmonious community; and those who were most eminent for rank and station under the former covenant, cheerfully resign all former distinctions for the common, but truly honourable character of believers in Jesus. This happy change was introduced by him, by his doctrine, his miracles, his sufferings, his resurrection, his exaltation, and by the mission of his spirit; and it terminates in his well-earned honour.-Belsham. For all who by faith in him enter into his universal and everlasting dispensation, are created anew to holiness and blessedness; both Jews and Gentiles; both those in the usual walks of life, and those who live in the seclusion of state, or who exercise their functions in sacred privacy,* (however exalted their greatness, dominion, dignity, and authority,+) all who have embraced the sanctifying privileges of his Gospel have been anew-created through him, as the agent of that great and gracious Being who by him hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings, and to him as his subjects and peculiar people, zealous of good works. -Carpenter. *Or, both the living and the dead.-C. + "Thrones, dominions, dignities, authorities," denote persons possessing offices of power, dominion, dignity, or authority, of various ranks, ecclesiastical as well as civil.-C. ILLUSTRATIVE TEXTS. r See page 21, No. 25–27. s 2 Cor. v. 17, 18: If any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature :* old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things [are] of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, &c. Gal. vi. 15: In Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.† Eph. i. 8—10: Having in all wisdom and prudence made known unto us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he hath purposed in himself concerning the dispensation of the fulness of times, THAT HE MIGHT GATHER IN ONE ALL THINGS in Christ, WHICH ARE IN HEAVEN, AND WHICH ARE ON EARTH, [even] in him. Chap. ii. 10—18: We are his [God's] workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works. [Christ] is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition [between us, even] the enmity; having abolished in his flesh the law of commandments [contained] in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, [so] making peace, &c. (G.) Col. iii. 9-11: Ye have put off the old man with his deeds; and have put on the new [man], who is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him, &c.—See Eph. iv. 22—24. He t Isa. lxv. 17, 18: Behold, I create new heavens, and a new earth. I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. See chap. xliii. 1, 7, 15, 18, 19, 21; li. 16; lxvi. 22. u 1 Cor. i. 27, 28: God hath chosen the foolish things of the world, to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world, to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, [yea,] and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are.— See Gal. iii. 22. 1 Tim. vi. 13. Also John vi. 37, 39. Rev. xxi. 27. it is a new creation.-Locke, Christie. [be is] a new creation.-Wakefield. [there is] a new creation.-Scarlett, Carpenter, Imp. Ver. + nova creatio.-Beza, Piscator. la nouvelle création.-Le Clerc. the new creation.-Locke. a new creation.-Doddridge, Carpenter, Imp. Ver |