ipsa natura hominem credendum esse qui ex homine fit, ita eadem natura præscribit et Deum credendum esse, qui ex Deo fit (s)."

The angel addressed the Virgin Mary in these words: "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also, that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God (t)."-" And the reason," says bishop Pearson, "is clear, because that the Holy Ghost is God; for, were he any creature, and not God himself, by whom our Saviour was thus born of a virgin, he must have been the son of a creature, not of God (u).”

Christ is also emphatically called "the Son" only, in many passages of Scripture: "No man knoweth the Son, but the Father (x)."—" He that believeth in the Son hath everlasting life (y)." -He is likewise called "the only begotten Son of God."-" God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (z)."

St. John, in the beginning of his Gospel, speaks

(s) Novat. cap. 11.
(u) Att. 2.

(y) John, c. 3. v. 36.

(t) Luke, c. 1. v. 35.
(x) Matt. c. 11. v. 27.
(*) John, c. 3. v. 16.

of

of Christ under the name of "the Word (a).”— "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not any thing made, that was made. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among men; and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth," The expression, "In the beginning was the Word," must mean that the Word existed from all eternity,

that

(a) This title is not taken, as some have imagined, either from Plato or from Philo, (with whose writings there is no sufficient reason to think that the Evangelists were acquainted) but from the Scriptures of the Old Testament, and from the subsequent style of the ancient Jews in conformity thereto. Vide Parkhurst's Lexicon, under the word Aoyos. The divine person, who has accomplished the salvation of mankind, is called the Word, and the Word of God, not only because God at first created, and still governs, all things by him; but because as men discover their sentiments and designs to one another by the intervention of words, speech, or discourse, so God by his Son discovers his gracious designs in the fullest and clearest manner to men. All the various manifestations which he makes of himself, whether in the works of creation, providence, or redemption, all the revelations he has been pleased to give of his will, are conveyed to us through him, and therefore he is by way of eminence fitly styled the Word of God. Vide Macknight in loc.

that is, THE WORD OF THE FATHER WAS BEGOTTEN FROM EVERLASTING OF THE FATHER, since St. John is referring to times not only prior to the birth of Christ, but also to the creation of the world (b)." And the Word was with God," that is, the Word was united with the Father, or was OF ONE SUBSTANCE WITH THE FATHER.—“I and my Father are one (c)," was a declaration of Christ himself recorded by this same Evangelist: "And the Word was God," or, THE VERY AND ETERNAL GOD.-" The same was in the beginning with God," that is, the Word was united with the Father from all eternity." All things were made by him, and without him was not any thing made that was made (d)."-This proves that by the Word St. John means Christ (e), since the creation of the world is in Scripture repeatedly attributed to Christ (f), and consequently the Word being made flesh was Jesus Christ. It is also a further

proof

(β) Εν ἀρχῇ ἦν, ἐδεν ἕτερον ἔσιν αλλ' ή το εἶναι ἀει δηλωτικόν, nas άweigws sivas. Chrys. Hom. 2. in Joan.

(c) John, c. 10. v. 30.

(d) The creation is also attributed to the Word of God in the following passage, 2 Pet. c. 3. v.5.

(e) St. John also calls Christ the Word of God, Rev. c. 19. v. 13.

(f) Heb. c. 1. v. 2 and 10. 1 Cor. c. 8. v. 6. Col. c. 1. v. 16. Eph. c. 3. v. 9.

proof of the divinity of Christ, since none but God can create: "He that built all things is God (g)."-We have before seen that the creation of the world is attributed to God the Father, which is an additional proof of an incomprehensible identity or unity of substance between the Father and the Son.

What has been already stated concerning the sense in which we are to understand the title of the Son of God, and the assertion of St. John in the beginning of his Gospel, concerning the Word, may be considered as a sufficient illustration and proof of the former part of this article; "THE SON, WHICH IS THE WORD OF THE FATHER, BEGOTTEN FROM EVERLASTING OF THE

FATHER, THE VERY AND ETERNAL GOD, OF ONE SUBSTANCE WITH THE FATHER." But as the divinity of our Saviour is the main point upon which this article rests, and as it is the principal cause of separation to many who dissent from our established religion, it may be right to adduce some other passages of Scripture in support of this doctrine, and also to state some testimonies of the early opinions of Christians upon this subject.

St. Paul exhorts the Philippians to the practice of humility from the example of Christ Jesus,

(g) Heb. c. 3. v. 5.

Jesus, "who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross; 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 in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (h).”—In this text the divinity of Christ, both before his incarnation and after his ascension, is clearly pointed out: "Being in the form of God," signifies being really God, just as, "took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men," signifies that he was really a man in a low and mean condition and the following words, "thought it not robbery to be equal with God," expressly declare Christ's equality with God. Indeed this passage, taken in this its obvious sense, so decisively proves the divinity of Christ, that those who deny that doctrine give a different meaning to one part of it, and assert that another part

(h) Phil. c. 2. v. 6—11.

is