СНАРТER III.

Of the Conduct of our Saviour himself, with reSpect to his own fuppofed Pre-existence and Divinity.

IF

F we look into the gofpel history, we fhall find, that all that our Saviour himfelf taught, or infinuated, were his divine miffion in general, or his being the Meffiah in particular; with the doctrine of the refurrection, and that of himself coming again to raise the dead and judge the world. Thefe doctrines, accompanied with moral inftructions, and reproofs of the Pharifees, for corrupting the law of God, made up the whole of his preaching. He never told his difciples that he had pre-exifted, or that he had had any thing to do before he came into the world; much lefs that he had made the world, and governed it; and there is abun

dant evidence that this was admitted by the chriftian Fathers.

Athanafius expreffes his fenfe of the difficulty with which the Jews admitted that Chrift was any thing more than a man very strongly in the following paffage: "He calls his humanity the fon of "man; for the Jews, always oppofing God, "held a twofold blafphemy with respect to "Chrift; for fome of them being offended "at his flesh, viz. the fon of man, thought "him to be a prophet, but not God, and "called him a glutton and a wine-bibber; "who were forgiven, for it was then the

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beginning of the preaching, and the world "could not yet believe him to be God, "who was made man; wherefore Chrift

fays, Whofoever shall speak a word against "the fon of man, viz. his body, it shall be

forgiven him. For I will venture to fay, "that not even the bleffed difciples them"felves were fully perfuaded concerning his

"

divinity, till the holy fpirit came upon them "at the day of Pentecoft. For when they "faw him after his refurrection, fome wor"Chipped

VOL. III.

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fhipped, but others doubted, yet they "were not on that account condemned *.”

The Fathers fay, that whenever our Saviour faid any thing that might lead his difciples to think that he was of a nature fuperior to that of man, they were offended, and that he conciliated their efteem whenever he reprefented himself as a mere man, fuch as they expected a prophet, and the Meffiah to be. Chryfoftom reprefents John the Baptift likewife as gaining profelytes to Chrift, when he fpake of him in low terms, but as deterring them when he seemed to fpeak of him in a higher capacity.

* Την δε ανθρωποτητα αυτά υιον ανθρωπου. νυν γαρ φησίν εδέξασθη ο υιός τε άνθρωπο, οι εν αει τω θεω προσκρουσίες Ικδαίοι, διτίην προς χρισον την βλασφημίαν εκέκληντο απ μέν γαρ τη σαρκι αυτό, ήγεν τω υιω τε άνθρωπε προσκοπο Τουλές, προφήτην αύτον, αλλ' ο θεόν είναι ενόμιζον, και φαγον αυτον και οινοπότην εκαλέν, οις καὶ συγνωμην εδωκεν αρχή γαρ αν το κηρυγματος, και όπω εχώρει ο κοσμος θεον πιςεύειν γενομενον ανθρωπον. διο φησιν ο χριςος όξι, ος αν ειπη λόγον κατά το υιου το ανθρωπο, ήγουν το σωματος αυτός αφεθησεται αύτως τολμω γαρ λέγειν οτι εδε αυτοί οι μακαριοι μαθηται το τέ λειον περί της αυτό θεοτητος ειχαν φρονημα, έως το πνεύμα το αγίων αυτοίς τη πεντηκοση επεφοίτησεν. επει κ μετα την ανασασιν ίδωντες αυτον, οι μεν προσεκύνησαν, οι δε εδιςασαν αλλ' εκ εκ τότε κατεκρίθησαν. Sermo major de fide, in Montfaucon's Collection, vol. 2. p. 39.

Obferve,

"Obferve," fays he, "how, when he said, He that cometh after me was before me, "and I am not worthy to

"latchet; he took nobody. fpake of his humanity, and

loose his shoe

But when he

used a lower

ftyle, then the difciples followed him. "Nor is this the only cafe of the kind, for "the multitude were never brought to him "when any thing high and lofty, as of a God,

was faid of him, fo much as when they "heard fomething mild and humble, and more adapted to the falvation of men *." Accordingly Chryfoftom speaks of our Lord's disciples as having regarded him as a man in their intercourfe with him. Nathaniel, he fays, "confeffed Chrift as a man, "when he addreffed himself to him, by the "title of Son of God. John, i. 49. as ap

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pears by his adding, thou art the king of

Θεα δέ μοι κακείνο πως οτι μεν ελεγεν, ο οπίσω με έρχομενα εμπροσθεν με γέγονε, και οτι εκ ειμι ικανῷ λυσαι τον ιμαζα το υποδηματα αυτό, εδενα είλεν. οτι δε περί της οικονομίας διελέχθη, και επι το ταπεινότερον τον λόγον ηγαγε, τοτε ηκολέθησαν οι μαθηται. ο τέτο δε μόνον εςι κατιδειν, αλλ' οτι εκ ετως οι πολλοι προσαγονται οτ αν τι μεγα κι υψηλον περι θες λέγηται, ως οτ αν χρησον καὶ φιλαν θρωπον και εις την των ακέοντων σωτηρίαν ήκον. In John i. Hom. 17. Opera, vol. 8. p. 93.

F 2

Ifrael"

Ifracl." Ibid.

p. 106. He fays, that when Nathaniel was introduced to Jefus, his miraculous conception was not known *. As Chryfoftom has written the moft largely on this fubject, I shall quote from him a pasfage or two of fome extent, that we may more clearly perceive how he, and (as he was by no means fingular in his ideas) how the chriftian Fathers in general thought with refpect to this question.

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“Anothes reason," he says, "why Chrift reprefented himself so much as a man, was the weakness of his hearers; and because they who first faw and heard him were "not able to receive more fublime difAnd that this is no mere

" courses.

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conjecture, I will endeavour to fhew "from the fcriptures themselves. If he "delivered any thing great, fublime, and worthy of his glory; but why do I fay, great, fublime, and worthy of his "glory; if he faid any thing above “human_nature" (fomething is here omitted in the Greek, but fupplied in the Latin verfion) they were thrown into

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