Ha 
 
LIBKARY 
 
 OF TnK 
 
 PltllVCETOIV, ]¥. J. 
 
 DONATION OF 
 
 SAMUKI. AGNKW, 
 
 C /l /L / ^' F P H ] . A D E I. P H I A . P A . 
 
 ^^^'- lA-J ^ 
 
 No. 
 
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A 
 
 DISSERTATION 
 
 ON THE 
 
 
 BY JAMES KIDD, D. D. 
 
 PROFESS OR OF ORIENTAL LAJfGUAGES IN MARISCHAL-COLLEGE 
 AND UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN, &,C. Lc. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA : 
 
 PUBLISHED AND SOLD BY ALEXANDER TOWAR, 
 
 No. 255, Market Street. 
 
 J. Anderson, Printer. 
 
 1823. 
 
TO 
 
 The Reverend ASHBEL GREEN, D.D. LL.D. 
 
 The Reverend GEORGE C. POTTS, 
 
 jMINISTER of the fourth PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IX 
 PHILADELPHIA, 
 
 THE FOLLOWING DISSERTATION 
 
 IS, WITH MUCH RESPECT, 
 
 ESTEEM, AND GRATITUDE, 
 INSCRIBED, BY 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 Preface "7 — 8 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 Introduction -- 9 — 20^ 
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 The principles connected with the subject, in which the 
 supporters and opponents of the doctrine of the Eternal 
 Sonship agree ~ 21 — 28 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 The principles in which the supporters and opponents 
 of the doctrine of the Eternal Sonship may or may not 
 agree 29--36 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 Meaning of the term 'o \oyc?, The Word, 37 — 43 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Observations on terms expressing Related Staies — Proof 
 of the Eternal Sonship from the qualities describing 
 the Second Person in the Godhead, and from the dif- 
 ferent expressions of Scripture respecting him 44 — "74 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 Examination of Passages of Scripture, which prove our 
 
 Lord's Sonship to be Eternal 75 — 120 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Continuation of the Examination of Passages of Scrip- 
 ture, which prove the Sonship of Christ to be Eternal 121 — 167 
 
vi CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER Vm. Pagf- 
 Dedaration of our Lord, concerning his Eternal Son- 
 ship - 168—217 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 General Observations on Passages of Scripture, declaring 
 the Eternal Sonship of our Lord 218 — 24?» 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Observations on the expression Son of Man 250 — 266 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Objections to the Eternal Sonship of our Lord, founded 
 on assumed meanings of Scripture, refuted 267 — 287' 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 The Word and The Son are both designations to which 
 
 eternity is attributable 288 — 297 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 Examination of the term Father, in connexion with the 
 term Son, when used to designate Persons in the Di- 
 vine nature 298 — 318 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Opinions of some of the Fathers, Reformers of the Church, 
 S^c. respecting the Eternal Sonship of Christ 319 — 354 
 
 Conclusion - - - - - - 355 — 356 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The doctrine of the Eternal Sonship of 
 Jesus Christ has been received by the Ortho- 
 dox Church in all ages. — Of late years, how- 
 ever, its truth has been questioned ; and the 
 subject has, in consequence, become a topic 
 of controversy amongst different classes of 
 Christians of no inconsiderable standing in 
 the religious world. — Induced by this discus- 
 sion to examine the question with particular 
 care, — the Author presents to the public the 
 result of his inquiries. His object has not 
 been to meet all the cavils of controvertists, 
 but, as far as possible, to ascertain the exact 
 tenor of Scripture. He trusts his research 
 has been conducted with impartiality and 
 candour. It has been undertaken without 
 the most distant feeling of prejudice against 
 the opposers of the doctrine which he has 
 
VIll PREFACE. 
 
 vindicated ; several of whom he ranks among 
 his correspondents, and most esteemed per- 
 sonal friends. 
 
 Though the following JDissertation forms, 
 by itself, a distinct work, — the Author pre- 
 sumes to think that it may be read with ad- 
 ditional advantage after his " Essay on the 
 Doctrine of the Trinity, "^^ 
 
DISSERTATION 
 
 mtvml %omm of efit(^t< 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Introduction, 
 
 Man, in every age, has directed his atten- 
 tion to that superior power by which the 
 energies of creation are wielded. From the 
 contemplation of himself, and the beings 
 with whom he mingles, he has been directed, 
 either through the medium of sense or re- 
 flection, to survey that which is mightier 
 than himself or his fellows. An impulse, 
 undefined, inherent in his nature, has led 
 him to conclude, that all power does not stop 
 within those limits by which he feels him- 
 self circumscribed ; and his excursive facul- 
 ties have carried him in quest of the last link 
 
10 THE ETERrAL SONSHIP 
 
 in the chain of the universe. A something, 
 within, tells him, that the displays of intelli- 
 gence, or the emotions of affection, are allied 
 to objects greater than the sensible beings 
 whom he beholds. This conviction has in- 
 duced him to undertake and prolong the 
 search for that superintending principle, by 
 which, in consequence of its greater power, 
 he concludes that his happiness or sufferings 
 are affected. He has ransacked the earth, 
 he has held converse with the stars, he has 
 invoked creation around him, he has sought 
 to enter the recesses, dark, fleeting, and illu- 
 sive, beyond him, to obtain the knowledge 
 and propitiate the favour of this pervading 
 might. The opinions which man has formed, 
 and the conclusions which he has drawn on 
 this subject, depend on the means afforded 
 him to develope the intricacy, and on the 
 state of the powers of his mind which are 
 employed in the evolution of these means, 
 to acquire the wished-for result. But the 
 actual condition of man has proved an in- 
 superable barrier in the pursuit. It is the 
 repelling influence which has resisted his 
 progress and defeated his attempt. Corrupt 
 in his nature, and depraved in his desires, 
 he has desired to find this superior being 
 
OF CHRIST. 11 
 
 " like unto himself," that his wishes might be 
 gratified, without fear. Limited in his know^- 
 ledge, his ken has been unable to exercise the 
 means in his power. Degraded in his con- 
 ceptions, he has, in general, figured out one 
 w^hose greatness consists in uncontrolled vice, 
 and whose power is exhibited in the fulfil- 
 ment of unhallowed passions. Confined bj 
 his senses, his research has been fettered 
 w^ithin the circle of sense. Though the pur- 
 suit, in itself, is the greatest wisdom, his me- 
 thod of conducting it exhibits one continued 
 career of folly, ending in the most deplorable 
 consequences. " Professing themselves to be 
 wdse, they became fools, and changed the 
 glory of the uncorruptible God into an image 
 made like to corruptible man, and to birds, 
 and four-footed beasts, and creeping things." 
 Thus •' darkness covered the earth, and gross 
 darkness the people;" thus the world was 
 overwhelmed with the gods, the images, and 
 altars, and temples, and oracles, the lust and 
 murders, and unutterable crimes of Poly- 
 theism. The research, calculated in its own 
 nature to lead to the happiest results, from 
 the mode of conducting it, devastcd man- 
 kind with a crowd of woes ; and the wrecks 
 of that soul, which man himself had over- 
 
12 THE ETERNAL SON SHIP 
 
 thrown, were devoted to " the creature, more 
 than the Creator." Yet, in the midst of this 
 desolation, some minds arose to shed streaks 
 of light " athwart the gloom profound.'- A 
 congeries of those who elevated themselves 
 from the surrounding ruin have left record 
 that they did not wholly subscribe to the 
 demoralizing creed, and, by their precepts, 
 have endeavoured to inculcate, if not pure — 
 purer sentiments and practice, than then 
 swayed mankind. Yet the wisest of these 
 philosophers were able to advance but a few 
 steps in that path where the rest of men 
 had gone so lamentably astray. Their great- 
 est efforts were only valuable, in comparison 
 with the existing ignorance ; they were un- 
 satisfied with their own attempts; and So- 
 crates, the greatest of these sages, has left on 
 record the inefficacy of their attainments, 
 imless He whom they sought should seek 
 man, and proclaim to him the nature and 
 will of that Being "whose goings forth" he 
 could not scan. That Being has sought man, 
 and has revealed himself to him; the pro- 
 clamation of " glad tidings" has been made ; 
 the messenger, foretold by prophets and 
 hymned by poets, has come, and, in his com- 
 ing, has brought " healing in his wings" to 
 
OF CHRIST. 13 
 
 the disordered soul. In the inspired scrip- 
 tures, man is told what he is, and what the 
 great First Cause is ; what the Deity has re- 
 quired of him, and what the Deity will per- 
 form in his behalf. This volume unfolds, as 
 far as it is necessary for the moral being to 
 know, and as far as his faculties can compre- 
 hend, the doctrine, the nature, and qualities 
 of that God, " with whom we have to do." 
 On the importance of a right knowledge of 
 the Deity we do not now expatiate : that 
 knowledge is the foundation of all our hopes, 
 in time and eternity. The consequences of 
 ignorance of his nature are visible in what 
 the heathen world was, and is ; " as they did 
 not like to retain God in their knowledge, 
 God gave them over to a reprobate mind." 
 The command of God, most frequently 
 urged, is, to knoio himself— -to know that " he 
 is the Lord." When he smiles upon his 
 people, well pleased ; when his " compas- 
 sions" for their ignorance " flow, and fail 
 not ;" when he " sets his eyes upon them for 
 good" — his promise, indicative of his purpose 
 of love, is, *' I will give them an heart to know 
 me, that I am the Lord." When the pro- 
 phet sees the days of the Messiah, revealing 
 the nature and will of God, he describes the 
 2 
 
14 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 Spirit of the Lord as resting upon him — " the 
 spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spi- 
 rit of counsel and might, the spirit of know- 
 ledge and of the fear of the Lord." This 
 spirit is said to " make him quick of under- 
 standing in the fear of the Lord." All know- 
 ledge is said to be absorbed in this know- 
 ledge — " the fear of the Lord is the beginning 
 of knowledge." The voice of nature, evident 
 in the efforts of man, without revelation, 
 through the ages of Paganism ; the voice of 
 heaven, in the revelation which it has made ; 
 the voice of that Spirit which first " breathed 
 into man's nostrils the breath of life," when 
 he " became a living soul," is, to that soul 
 — Know Me. Accordingly, the Christian 
 churches have, in all periods, treated this 
 doctrine as the most important of their be- 
 lief, because it involves within itself all other 
 articles of faith and practice. The summary 
 which they have found, when searching the 
 scriptures, is, that God, in his essence, is one 
 and indivisible ; and that, in that essence, 
 there are three Persons, in related states, viz. 
 the Eternal Father, the Eternal Son, and the 
 Eternal Holy Ghost. 
 
 Centuries have passed over Christendom ; 
 it has had its dark and its enlightened eras, 
 
OF CHRIST. 15 
 
 its corrupt and reformed churches, its philo- 
 sophical and theological advocates — and this 
 belief, collateral with that of a Trinity, has 
 been firm as the belief of Divinity itself. 
 But, in recent years, a new opinion has been 
 boldly announced, and ingeniously maintain- 
 ed, that, while the scriptures reveal the ex- 
 istence of three persons in the Godhead, they 
 have not revealed their existence, as regards 
 two of these Persons, in the related states of 
 Eternal Father and Eternal Son. Philoso- 
 phy, philology, criticism, and authorities, 
 have been employed in this speculation. 
 
 The object of the following observations 
 is to maintain, that the doctrine of the re- 
 lated state of Eternal Son, or the Eternal 
 Sonship of the second Person of the Trinity, 
 is revealed in *' the scripture of truth." 
 
 In this investigation, the inspired volume 
 is the uniform standard to which the writer 
 wishes to adhere — comparing scripture with 
 scripture, and deducing legitimate inferences 
 from the obvious import of its contents. 
 Such an investigation, conducted with the 
 humility and reverence which the subject 
 requires, is calculated, by the process, and by 
 the conclusion attained, to enlarge our views 
 of God, as he has revealed his nature — to 
 
16 
 
 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 expand the capacity in the contemplation of 
 the grandeur of Him who fills heaven and 
 earth with his glory — to illustrate the self- 
 existent aspect of the being of God, and his 
 redeeming aspect in the restoration of man 
 — and to explore the everlasting purpose of 
 the glorious Three, who, in their eternally 
 related states, said, in consultation, " Let us 
 make man ;" and who, in the developement 
 of that purpose, have created man anew. It 
 is an investigation calculated to elevate the 
 immortal spirit to communion with Him, 
 who, in immense love and intelligence, " in- 
 habiting the depths of eternity," has' infused 
 love and intelligence into the angelic armies 
 of heaven — into the " just men made per- 
 fect" — and, in a state of progressive improve- 
 ment, into those inhabitants of earth whom 
 he has chosen. The examination conduces, 
 when properly conducted, to a charitable and 
 beneficent frame of mind. It is not respect- 
 ing the fact, whether Jesus Christ be a Di- 
 vine Person, equal with the Father, but 
 whether he exist, as that Divine Person, in 
 the related state of Eternal Son, There is 
 no scope, arising from the subject itself, for 
 ihe display of angry passions or polemical 
 weapons. The position, sought to be esta- 
 
OF CHRIST. 17 
 
 blished, is not, whether our Lord and Saviour 
 Jesus Christ be God, but whether, as God, his 
 title and mode of existence be the Son of God. 
 Regarding, therefore, pure uncreated essence, 
 employed in the research of that God who is 
 love, the survey ought not to produce dis- 
 cordant feelings ; but ought, in the spirit of 
 him, whom we seek to discover in his own re- 
 velation, to reflect that love, the eternally 
 related state of which, in the persons of the 
 Godhead, it is our essay to explore. The 
 question ought not to engender one unhar- 
 monious emotion. It does not, in its more 
 immediate aspect, refer to man or his con- 
 dition ; it does not teach what he is, but what 
 God is. Yet, in its consequences, man's best 
 interests are involved, and, when the deci- 
 sion is properly deduced from the word of 
 God, his interest, in the result, is intense. 
 We are placed, by the issue of this question, 
 on a position which connects us with past 
 and future ages. We are either to hail the 
 belief of the churches in this doctrine, con- 
 veyed through eighteen centuries, as a part 
 of the '' faith once delivered," by Christ, 
 " to the saints," or, as the fallacious decision 
 of those, who, either from ignorance or de- 
 ceit, acquiesced in *' a cunningly devised 
 2* 
 
IB THE ETERNAL SOxNSHlF 
 
 fable." We are especially interested in the 
 effects which will be produced on posterity, 
 to whom, by our belief or disbelief hi this 
 doctrine, according to the word of God, we 
 are either to tiansmit a troubled and tainted 
 stream of error, or a flow of pure and unadul- 
 terated truth. But, the position attempted 
 to be proved, does not depend on the vene- 
 rable sanction of antiquity, or on the dic- 
 tates of Fathers, Reformers, Councils, or 
 Synods ; we rely on revelation alone, as far 
 as understood by us, in the word of truth. — 
 We do not condemn vigorous research and 
 philosophical inquiry into any system which 
 has been established ; but, if no other proof 
 of its truth be found, except its antiquity, 
 and the illustrious names associated with it, 
 — let it fall. We do not condemn any opi- 
 nion because it is new. We do not oppose 
 those who deny the Eternal Sonship of 
 Christ, because their tenets are compara- 
 tively novel ; but, because we apprehend 
 these tenets are contrary to the Scriptures. 
 Neither the shade of antiquity, nor the glare 
 of novelty, can interrupt the steady light 
 which unalterable truth casts on its prin- 
 ciples. 
 
 An objection may be made, by some, to 
 
OF CHRIST. 19 
 
 this undertaking, that the subject is too ab- 
 struse, — too intricate to be unravelled, — and 
 that it is soaring too far into " the deep 
 things of God." The objection conceals it- 
 self in a petitio principii, a begging of the 
 question. The very point at issue is, that God 
 has made a clear and specific revelation that 
 Christ is the Eternal Son of God, and that, 
 though in one sense, all the ways of God are 
 mysterious, — though " clouds and darkness 
 are round about him," yet, the doctrine, and 
 objects announced in his word, as the objects 
 of belief, must be approachable by the intel- 
 lect. In other words, the Bible was pro- 
 mulgated to be understood. The opponents 
 of the doctrine contended for, as well as its 
 adherents, are agreed in one point, viz. that 
 the subject may be understood by a correct 
 knowledge of the Bible. To it they both 
 appeal for the confirmation or rejection of 
 their respective tenets. We shall now make 
 this appeal, and commence the investigation 
 of the subject. 
 
 This Dissertation, on the Eternal Sonship 
 of Christ, will naturally be divided into three 
 series of positions. 
 
20 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 I. The principles connected with the sub- 
 ject, in which the supporters and opponents 
 of the doctrine agree. 
 
 II. The principles in which they may or 
 may not agree. 
 
 III. The principles which are maintained 
 by the supporters, and denied by the oppo- 
 nents, of the doctrine. 
 
 May truth, not victory, be our aim ! — May 
 Christian love and knowledge, not party zeal 
 and prejudice, be our guidance ! May glory 
 to God be the result ! 
 
OF CHRIST, 21 
 
 CHAPTER IL 
 
 The principles connected with the subject^ in 
 which the supporters and opponents of the 
 doctrine agree. 
 
 These parties both agree in the doctrine of 
 the Unity of the Divine Essence^ and the sub- 
 sistence of Three Persons in that Essence. 
 
 It is proper to remark, at this stage of our 
 observations, that we assume as granted, the 
 existence of the Trinity in Unity. This con- 
 troversy does not embrace the subject of the 
 Trinity, or involve the discussion of the Di- 
 vinity of Christ. — The reader will readily 
 perceive the exact point at issue. It is this : 
 The existence of three persons in the God- 
 head is mutually admitted. The perfect 
 Divinity of Christ, as well as his perfect hu- 
 manity, or that he is " God and man in two 
 distinct natures, and one person, for ever," 
 is mutually admitted. The question is, whe- 
 ther this person, who is perfect God, is, as 
 a Divine person, the Eternal Son of God. 
 There is no dispute between us and those 
 
22 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 who deny the Eternal Sonship, respecting his 
 nature, and his perfections inherent in that 
 nature ; but the object of controversy is res- 
 pecting the mode of relation which exists be- 
 tAveen this person and the other two persons 
 of the Godhead. In one word, we do not 
 contend against Unitarians, Socinians, and 
 Arians, but against those, who, fully acknow- 
 ledging the Deity of Christ, deny his Eternal 
 Sonship. As, therefore, the principles which 
 we have now mentioned are the subjects of 
 mutual agreement, there can be no room for 
 controversial remarks on these topics. 
 
 Chequered as the history of the church of 
 Christ has been, and though its aspect has 
 presented every varied appearance of faithful 
 adherence or determined hostility to the truth, 
 yet, as a collective body, it has preserved 
 entire this grand article of its belief — the 
 existence of the Godhead in Trinity. The 
 early introduction of an insidious philosophy 
 amongst many of its votaries, aided by all the 
 deceitful efforts of the great and opulent, did 
 not undermine the reliance on this doctrine. 
 The arm of power could not crush it; the 
 power of an Emperor could not remove it ; 
 the iirc of persecution could not extirpate, 
 nor the smile of treacherous accommodation 
 
. Of CHRIST. 23 
 
 allure its adherents. Though every other 
 Christian principle has, at one period or 
 other, been apparently lost in the tide of er- 
 ror, or buried in the darkness of bigotry, and 
 of a philosophy, falsely, so called, — this prin- 
 ciple has withstood the flood, and appeared 
 through the gloom. When the Christian 
 church, by the efforts of malignity, was dis- 
 united into warring parties, this doctrine 
 could not be dissevered from those, whose 
 mutual opposition was displayed in every 
 other point, except in the retention of this 
 doctrine. 
 
 The three grand divisions of Christendom, 
 viz. the Greek, Roman Catholic, and Protes- 
 tant churches, whatever virulence they may 
 have exhibited to each other, in other mat- 
 ters, have maintained, in its integrity, their 
 adhesion to the Triune principle. — Though 
 the crescent has triumphed over the cross, in 
 the loveliest domains of the Greek church, — 
 though that church has debased the purity of 
 the faith, and the fiends of superstition, of 
 ignorance, and vice, have been let loose 
 through its territories, — though Christian be- 
 nevolence must sigh over its Caloyers and 
 Papas in prostration before the Panagia, — 
 though desolation has marked its reis^n over 
 
24 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 the seat of the seven churches, and their 
 " candlestick has been removed out of its 
 place ;" — still, we trust, there w^ill, even there, 
 be found some, who have " held fast" what 
 they " first received and heard." Through 
 an overruling Providence, they have still re- 
 tained the doctrine of the Holy Three, and 
 the atonement of the Son of God. Even 
 now,* the Christian heart beats in unison 
 with these descendants of the great and good. 
 The long-lowered banner of the Cross, un- 
 furled from its dust and humiliation, floats 
 over the Parthenon, on the Acropolis of 
 Athens. While the symbol, reared by Con- 
 stantine, leads to the battle for religion and 
 liberty, against the tyrant Moslem ; and the 
 hopes and wishes of every free-born spirit 
 are congenial with those of the struggling 
 Greeks — the hopes and wishes of the belie- 
 ver's spirit, for the restoration of purity of 
 faith, and for freedom to the enslaved soul, 
 are excited by the remembrance that those, 
 combating for earthly liberty from that hill 
 where Paul preached, retain the faith of that 
 Godhead which he declared. Though the 
 annals of the Roman Catholic church are 
 
 ^ September, 1821. 
 
OF CHRIST. 25 
 
 Stained with blood, and its details exhibit a 
 frightful catalogue of errors and crimes, yet 
 the truth of this fundamental doctrine has 
 been inviolably maintained, and has survived 
 the general wreck which men were permitted 
 to make of the rest of the Christian edifice. 
 It is one of the peculiar glories of the different 
 churches of Protestantism, that, in all the 
 Creeds which they have drawn up, the doc- 
 trine of the Trinity has been the prominent 
 article. This has been their comfort in the 
 hour of adversity, and the test of their fellow- 
 ship in the time of prosperity. They have 
 retained it in the fertile regions and thronged 
 cities of Europe ; they have carried it to the 
 swamps and deserts of America. — Admiring 
 their resolute adherence to this doctrine, we, 
 however, deprecate every species of persecu- 
 tion, or civil impediment, to which those of 
 opposite sentiments have been exposed, and 
 rejoice that just notions of liberality have, in 
 the present day, removed the obstacles which 
 ought never to interrupt the civil rights of those 
 who differ from the rest of the community in 
 opinions purely religious. The churches, 
 which have been connected by interest or con- 
 tiguity, have not only upheld this principle, but 
 those, who have been for ages separated from, 
 3 
 
26 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 and unconnected with, the rest of Christen- 
 dom, and whose very existence was unknown 
 by the nations of Europe, have kept this article 
 of faith. The Christian religion, professed 
 in Abyssinia, and in the churches recently 
 discovered in India, has, in the insulated situ- 
 ation of these churches, and in their long se- 
 clusion from all other believing nations, main- 
 tained the faith of the Trinity derived from 
 the apostles. The homage of earthly poten- 
 tates is simultaneously rendered by European 
 States, whose treaties of concord and amity 
 are concluded in the name of the Holy and 
 Undivided Trinity. The two greatest ene- 
 mies of Christianity, the Jews and Moslems, 
 have united in the rejection of this doctrine ; 
 and the Christian world, in the expression of 
 its faith, in a national or church capacity, has 
 united to maintain this doctrine. 
 
 The second principle, in which both parties 
 agree, is, that the Supreme Being, in his pro- 
 cedure with created intelligeiices, and in his 
 exhibitions to them^ declares that he exists in 
 states of personality, whether these are de- 
 nominated Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, or 
 are known by other collateral designations. 
 We and our opponents agree, that God, in 
 his dealings with man, has announced that 
 
OF CHRIST. 27 
 
 the persons, in his essence, act in a related 
 capacity in man's redemption, being; termed 
 the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 
 The opponents of the Eternal Son ship ad- 
 vance, that the person who more immediately 
 accomplished oiu* redemption, became Son 
 when he assumed our nature, and appeared 
 on earth ; while its advocates affirm that this 
 assumption did not constitute his Sonship, 
 which is essential to the Divine nature, and 
 consequently eternal. We wish, particular- 
 ly, to impress on our readers, the difference 
 between the principle in which both agree, 
 viz. the existence of the acknowledged re- 
 lated states in the Godhead, as regards man ; 
 and the principle, which we are subsequently 
 to attempt to explain, viz. the existence of 
 these related states, as regards the Godhead 
 itself. The one is constituted by the aspect 
 of the Divinity to man ; the other is consti- 
 tuted by the aspect which the Divinity has to 
 itself. For example : when that person, who 
 accomplished our redemption, is termed the 
 Priest of the church, his Priesthood arises 
 from the aspect w^hich he bears to man ; his 
 Priesthood, and the existence of man, are 
 necessarily and mutually co-relative, as he 
 could not be Priest of the church without the 
 
28 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 existence of man. But, when we examine 
 his designation of immutable God, this has 
 reference to the Divinity totally independent 
 of creation, as the quality of immutability, 
 and his own being, are essentially coeval. 
 When the supporters and opponents of the 
 Eternal Sonship agree concerning the perso- 
 nality of the Godhead, as Father, Son, and 
 Holy Spirit, the latter refer to the procedure 
 of these three toward creation. When the 
 former announce their view of the doctrine, 
 they refer to the existence of Deity, indepen- 
 dent of creation, and maintain that this doc- 
 trine, i. e. the Eternal Sonship, is neither 
 affected nor changed by creation. 
 
OF CHRIST. 29 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The principles in which the supporters and op- 
 ponents of the doctrine of the Eternal Son- 
 ship may or ynay not agree. 
 
 The doctrine connected with the subject, 
 in which both classes may or may not agree, 
 is that the three persons existing in the God- 
 head, exist in relation or in related states 
 to each other; and that these related states 
 are essential in the Godhead, and eternal as 
 the Godhead itself. We have already re- 
 marked, that this Essay is not an attempt to 
 prove, from Scripture, the doctrine of the 
 Trinity, and, consequently, belief in the exis- 
 tence of the three persons of the Godhead 
 is assumed as admitted. All who believe the 
 doctrine contended for, as a necessary accom- 
 paniment, believe the related states of the 
 divine persons, whilst the opponents do not 
 necessarily deny this. Both opinions are 
 adopted by different oppugners of the Eternal 
 Sonship; and most of them do affrm that 
 the persons of the Godhead exist in related 
 3* 
 
30 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 states. In this part, then, of our examina- 
 tion, we have to expose the fallacy of those 
 who, denying Christ's Eternal Sonship, de- 
 ny also the essentially related states of the 
 Divine persons. As a more correct form of 
 expression, we shall, for the most part, adopt 
 the term related state ^ instead of relation, or 
 relationship, when speaking of the connexion 
 subsisting between Divine persons. 
 
 As it is admitted that there are three per- 
 sons in the Godhead, these three must exist, 
 either independently of each other, or in re- 
 lated states. If they exist independently of 
 each other, they are then, each, an indepen- 
 dent person; and, if each be an independent 
 person, he may act independently and sepa- 
 rately from the rest; consequently, there are 
 three independent and separate Deities ex- 
 isting in the Divine essence. This goes to 
 affirm that there are three Gods, and intro- 
 duces Polytheism. The persons in the God- 
 head do not, therefore, exist independently, 
 but in related states. We may farther re- 
 mark, that if the three persons exist, inde- 
 pendently of each other, each, as a Divine 
 person, must possess all the qualities of Deity 
 inhering in himself; consequently, each, in 
 dependently of the others, possesses self-ex- 
 
OF CHRIST. 31 
 
 istence, eternity, iiiimensity, and immutabi- 
 lity. There thus would be tliree self-exis- 
 tences, eternities, immensities, and immuta- 
 bilities; — but the conclusions are so absurd 
 and impossible, that it is needless to con- 
 tinue. 
 
 We may observe, in addition, that the Di- 
 vine essence, being simple, indivisible, and 
 absolute, cannot be multiplied. Whatever 
 persons subsist in that essence, they must 
 be natural and necessary to it ; for nothing 
 can begin or end in that essence. Its nature 
 and perfections are immutable : therefore, 
 whatever number of persons exists in that es- 
 sence, the persons must subsist naturally and 
 necessarily, and must each possess that es- 
 sence, which is indivisible. In consequence 
 of the indivisibility of the Divine essence, 
 related states must be naturally and necessa- 
 rily constituted between the Divine persons 
 existing in that essence; because each pos- 
 sesses the very essence and perfections which 
 are indivisible. Seeing there are related 
 states of personality essentially existing in 
 the Divine essence, we have to ascertain 
 whether God has communicated to man the 
 actual mode of these states. The difference 
 will readily be perceived, between the simple 
 
32 THE ETERNAL SON SHIP 
 
 announcement of the fact, that there are re- 
 lated states^ and the declaration of what these 
 states are. As the Deity has proclaimed to 
 man the essential exstence of persons in the 
 Godhead, and, as we have shown, that these 
 persons must exist in related states, and not 
 in independence, we shall now endeavour to 
 prove that he must also have communicated 
 to man the mode of these related states, viz. 
 their respective designations, and the consti- 
 tuted related states indicated by these desig- 
 nations. God is the supreme Governor of 
 moral intelligences; and, in his capacity of 
 Governor, confers benefits, and claims duty 
 from his moral subjects. In order to enable 
 them to ascertain and perform their duty, he 
 has revealed that he is; but, that their duty 
 should be performed aright, he has declared 
 the qualities inhering in his nature ; he has 
 revealed his self-existence, eternity, immen- 
 sity, and immutability, — his omniscience and 
 omnipotence, and his moral attributes. The 
 simple revelation of his supremacy and go- 
 vernment could not be a perfect revelation, 
 because it is not sufficient, unless accompa- 
 nied with the announcement of the Divine 
 qualities, to convey adequate knowledge of 
 the Being who required the homage of the 
 
OF CHRIST. 33 
 
 subjects; otherwise, the homage must have 
 been tendered to an " Unknown God." But 
 God could not give an imperfect revelation of 
 himself. He has, therefore, not only pro- 
 claimed that " he is," but that, amongst his 
 other perfections and characters, he is " a re- 
 w^arder of all those who diligently seek him." 
 Man could not have rendered proper service, 
 unless this declaration had been made. God, 
 in his word, demands service from his crea- 
 tures, and the same word proclaims his na- 
 ture, that his reasonable creatures may know 
 what kind of service is required. God de- 
 mands the love of his subjects; but love is 
 excited and continued by the contemplation 
 of the qualities of the objects which it ad- 
 mires; — to excite and continue love in his 
 subjects, God has announced his qualities. 
 He exacts obedience, and obedience cannot 
 be paid to a Being, unless the attributes of 
 that Being are announced. God, in fine, has 
 revealed his existence and attributes, — there- 
 fore, the revelation was necessary. But God 
 not only claims worship in the character of 
 moral Governor, but especially demands wor- 
 ship in his character as existing in related 
 states; John v. 23: "that all men should 
 honour the Son, even as thev honour the Fa- 
 
34 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 tlier. He that honoureth not the Son, ho- 
 noureth not the Father which hath sent him." 
 Hebrews i. 6. " And again, when he bringeth 
 in the first begotten into the world, he saith, 
 And let all the angels of God worship him." 
 These passages are not, at present, quoted to 
 shew w^hat these related states are, but that 
 God has demanded worship in these states. 
 Created intelligences, then, throughout his 
 universe, are commanded to pay their homage 
 to the Godhead, in its existence in related 
 states. But how can that homage be pre- 
 sented, unless the mode of these, states be 
 revealed? " For who hath known the mind 
 of the Lord?" " Whosoever shall call upon 
 the name of the Lord shall be saved. How 
 then shall they call on him in whom they have 
 not believed ? And how shall they believe in 
 him of whom they have not heard ?" To be- 
 lieve in God, as regards his related state, to 
 call upon him in that capacity in which ho- 
 nour is required by all the persons in the 
 Godhead, and to be saved by him as the God 
 of Salvation, require the previous knowledge 
 of his mind, and of what his related states 
 of persons are. This revelation, then, must 
 be given in the inspired Volume. The ho- 
 mage, w liich God demands, must be ascribed 
 
OF CHRIST. So 
 
 to liim in his eternal, uncreated existence, as 
 well as in his creating and redeeming aspect 
 to man, which latter is contingent, and not 
 necessarily essential. The apostle exclaims, 
 " Now unto the King eternal, immortal, in- 
 visible, the only wise God, be honour and 
 glory for ever and ever. Amen." Man must 
 therefore present " honour and glory to 
 God," in his " eternally, immortally," re- 
 lated states of persons. Had not the mode 
 of these eternally related states been revealed, 
 such " honour and glory" could not have 
 been paid, neither could God have exclaimed, 
 when his creatures failed to render this ser- 
 vice : " If I be a Father, where is mine ho- 
 nour ? If I be a Master, where is my fear ?" 
 The revelation of the mode of the eternally 
 related states must, therefore, be given in the 
 word of God. 
 
 There are only, in the Scriptures, two sets 
 of designations employed to describe the 
 Divine persons, which can be conceived to 
 be applicable to his essentially related states. 
 These are the Father, the Son, and the Holy 
 Spirit; and the Father, the Word, and the 
 Holy Spirit, We do not select these terms, 
 at present, from any particular passage, but 
 
o6 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 from the different places, at large, where the 
 persons of the Godhead are mentioned. 
 
 We are now arrived at the Third division 
 of the subject, vi2;. 
 
 Those principles which are maintain- 
 ed BY THE supporters, AND DENIED BY THE 
 OPPOSERS OF THE DOCTRINE. 
 
OF CHRIST. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Cleaning of the term *o P^oyo^^ The Word. 
 
 Having discussed all the preliminary mat- 
 ter, we come now to the pith of the contro- 
 versy. In consequence of an alleged contra- 
 diction in the term Son, and of other objec- 
 tions, subsequently to be mentioned, those 
 who oppose the fact of a revelation having 
 been made of the Eternal Sonship, and yet 
 maintain that there are related states in the 
 Deity, affirm that the only related state es- 
 sentially existing in the Godhead, which is 
 revealed of the second person, is that of The 
 Word, while the term Son designates the con- 
 tingent relation in which that person stood 
 when he assumed humanity. We shall en- 
 deavour to prove that The Word is not the 
 designation applied by Scripture to the se- 
 cond person, in his essentially related state 
 in the Godhead; and, then, endeavour to il- 
 lustrate the manner in which that term is 
 predicated of the second person of the God- 
 head. 
 4 
 
38 THE ETERNAL SON SHIP 
 
 Those who object to the expression Eter- 
 nal Son, on account of its presumed contra- 
 diction, and adopt the expression Eternal 
 Word, as free from contradiction, forget that 
 the latter conveys no conceivable declaration 
 of the related states of the ever-glorious Per- 
 son on whom it is conferred. — Tlie very 
 choice of the latter phrase, by the opponeats 
 of the Eternal Sonship, betrays a perversion 
 of fair reasoning and just conclusion. In 
 order to remedy a presumed difficulty, arising 
 from the application of the epithet Eternal to 
 the term Son, and to avoid alleged contradic- 
 tion in their account of the related states in 
 the Divine persons, they involve themselves 
 in the greater and insuperable difficulty of 
 choosing a term, which cannot, by any im- 
 plication, mean, and which never was in- 
 tended to designate, any related state subsist- 
 ing between persons. 
 
 The Scriptures are written in Languages 
 wherein the ideas of mankind are clothed in 
 corresponding words. Amongst other desig- 
 nations of the second person of the Godhead 
 is that of 'o Aoj/of, The Word, derived from 
 My CO, I speak. When applied to any person, 
 there must be some connexion between the 
 idea involved in it and that person. This 
 
OF CHRIST. 39 
 
 must readily be admitted. But the question 
 is, does it apply to the relation subsisting 
 between two persons ? Does it indicate their 
 related state ? Can it be applied to one of 
 these persons ; and can it predicate his re- 
 lated state to the other? Until those who 
 reject the phrase Eternal Son and adopt that 
 of Eternal Word, prove these positions, (and 
 on them the onus probandi — the weight of 
 proving, rests,) the assumption of this term, 
 in the signification which they adopt, is a 
 violation of all just principles of language, 
 and of all correct and determinate forms of 
 expression. The presumed inferiority, which 
 is expressed in the term Son, is also found, 
 to the same extent, in that of Word: — for 
 speech or word, according to our ideas, is 
 uniformly posterior to the actual existence of 
 " the person who employs it. But the grand 
 objection to the use of the expression The 
 Word, indicative of the related state of the 
 second person in the Godhead, is found in 
 this circumstance, that it indicates no par- 
 ticipation or affiliation of nature. It is only 
 a quality inhering in the nature, and not 
 tlie nature itself. The universal consent of 
 mankind and the agreement of all nations 
 coalesce in this definition of the terra. — - 
 
40 THE ETERNAL SON SHIP 
 
 Predicated of any person, it may exhibit the 
 character of that person, in that particular 
 aspect to which the quality refers, but it can 
 never denote a related state existing betw een 
 him and another. There is internal proof, 
 that the inspired Volume no where indicates, 
 that the term, The Word, expresses a related 
 state. It is not joined with any other desig- 
 nation expressive of a relation. We need not 
 enter into the long discussion concerning the 
 genuineness of 1 John v. 7. We have only 
 to refer to the controversy, between Professor 
 Person and Arch-deacon Travis, which is 
 now almost universally allowed to have proved 
 that the verse in question is an interpolation. 
 This verse, then, being expunged, there only 
 remain John i. 1: — 14. and Rev. xix. 13. 
 where the term more immediately denotes a 
 person. In none of these passages does its 
 use refer to another person existing in rela- 
 tion with the person who is denominated 
 The Word. On the contrary, when, in the 
 first of these texts, the ineffable glory of this 
 person is described, the sacred writer, to de- 
 lineate its effulgency, refers to another cha- 
 racter which The Word possessed — a charac- 
 ter more expressive of his excellent glory, and 
 denoting his related state, which The Word 
 
tJF CHRIST. 41 
 
 (lid not. The writer says, '^ And we beheld 
 his glory, '^'^ viz. the glory of The Word ; he 
 then wishes to convey a notion of that glory, 
 to effect which, he suddenly breaks off to 
 another description, involving other ideas, viz. 
 those of a related state ; " this glory^'' he 
 says, was " the glory as of the only begotten 
 of the Father, '^'^ John, then, (verses 15 — 18.) 
 bears witness of this person who was The 
 Word, who had glory as " The Word," and 
 " as of the only Begotten of the Father." 
 He expressly declares that he is " the only 
 begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the 
 Father." The tenor of these verses is im- 
 pressively forcible. John endeavours to por- 
 tray the eternal existence of The Word, and 
 his external procedure in creation. He en- 
 deavours to describe the glory of The Word, 
 but failing to exhibit it clearly, in that cha- 
 racter, to the intellects of men, he directly 
 refers to the state in which The Word was, 
 for a display of his glory, viz. his related state 
 " as the only begotten of the Father." In 
 the subsequent part of his work, the Evange- 
 list ceases to mention this person under his 
 denomination of The Word, and continues to 
 designate him by other expressions, generally 
 indicative of his related state. In the xix 
 4* 
 
42 THE ETERNAL SON SHIP 
 
 chap, of the Apocalypse, v. 13. the trium- 
 phant rider is usually understood to be the 
 Messiah as the Mediator, and, from the im- 
 port of the context, the application of the 
 phrase " Word of God," is expressive of his 
 character as Conqueror, and not of a related 
 state in which he exists. In fact, in this de- 
 scription, The Word is applied to him in his 
 contingent character of Mediator, not in his 
 eternally related state ; and, in consequence, 
 it does not here denote his absolute eternity 
 in the Godhead.* 
 
 Having thus shown that the term The 
 Word, cannot apply to the related state of 
 the second person in the Godhead, we shall 
 now illustrate the manner in which it is ap- 
 plied to that person. 
 
 As words are representatives of qualities 
 of, and ideas in, the mind, and, as The Word, 
 when predicated of this person, must exhibit 
 him in some character, the character indi- 
 cated by this expression is that of the abso- 
 lute Divinity of the person described, when 
 he especially acts as the essential representa- 
 tive of the Divine perfections and counsels, 
 
 * For an illustration of the epithets in the Apocalypse, see 
 the Letter of Dr. E. D. Clarke, in Walpole's Travels in the East-. 
 —London, 1820. 
 
OF CHRIST. 43 
 
 and, ill liis mediatorial office, as the repre- 
 sentative of the Divine will concerning ' the 
 church, and the glorious plan of redemption 
 and salvation. 
 
 In farther illustration of the subject, we 
 shall attempt to prove the Sonship of the se- 
 cond person in the Godhead, from the quali- 
 ties describing him, and from the different 
 expressions of Scripture concerning him. We 
 shall endeavour to answer the objections used 
 against the term Son, mid Eternal Son, and 
 the objections urged against the Eternal Son- 
 ship, in consequence of alleged contradic- 
 tions. 
 
44 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Observations on terms expressing Related 
 States — Proof of the Eternal Sonship^from 
 the qualities describing the Second Person 
 in the Godhead, and from the different ex- 
 pressions of Scripture respecting him. 
 
 We have already shown, that, if there are 
 three persons eternally in the Godhead, these 
 persons must exist in related states, — that the 
 mode of these eternally related states must 
 be revealed to man in Scripture, — that there 
 are, in the Bible, only two sets of designa- 
 tions, viz. the Father, the Word, and the 
 Holy Spirit — and the Father, the Son, and 
 the Holy Spirit, which have been considered 
 as revealing the mode of these eternally re- 
 lated states ; and that one of these sets, viz. 
 where the term The Word is employed, does 
 not contain any designation of the eternally 
 related states of the second person in the 
 Godhead — consequently, the term Son, must 
 be the designation of that person. 
 
OF CHRIST. 45 
 
 In consequence of the nature, at present, 
 necessarily inhering in man, he is restricted 
 in the range of his intellect, especially when 
 employed in examining pure spirit. Habi- 
 tuated to objects of sense, from which he 
 obtains all his notions of individuality, he 
 cannot separate these sensible objects from 
 his notions of person or character. To he is 
 more or less assimilated, in his reflections, 
 with the things in contact with his senses. 
 Hence there is no existence of person or in- 
 dividual, singularly or relatively, however 
 different from matter, whose epithet is not 
 originally deduced from material objects, ex- 
 cept the predication of simple being itself. 
 The underived notion of being is inherent 
 in the mind. It is the foundation of all 
 knowledge and reasoning. It cannot be 
 traced to any combination of sensible ob- 
 jects, because it is the origin from which all 
 combinations are derived ; it cannot be de- 
 rived, because it is the source of all deriva- 
 tions. It cannot be deduced from any mode 
 or form of being, because it is simultaneous 
 with being, and all its modes and forms. It 
 cannot be defined, either by analysis or syn- 
 thesis, because it is previous to analysis and 
 synthesis. The term r\yrv Jehovah., in Hebrew, 
 
46 THE ETERNAL SONSHiP 
 
 and *o m he who is, in Greek, are of the de- 
 scription which predicate simple being. The 
 intellect of man, when endeavouring to grasp 
 the nature or essence in which being inheres, 
 is unable to analyze the distinction, or to 
 compound, in definite precision, the union of 
 being and essence. Yet, the two are insepa- 
 rably engrafted in our thoughts, in the same 
 notion, and the apprehension of this union of 
 being and of essence, in which being is, is 
 the abstract method by which man endea- 
 vours to disentangle his mental powers from 
 the contemplation of material objects. In all 
 applications of the abstract notion of being 
 to surroundhig objects, we uniformly involve 
 it with materiality, not because these col- 
 lateral ideas are necessarily connected, but 
 because they have always been simultaneous 
 in our minds. The mind fixes on the exter- 
 nal object tangible by the senses, and iden- 
 tifies the external appearance, with the pre- 
 dication of being proposed to it. When the 
 prolongation of being, as it is known amongst 
 the race of men, is announced, the mind 
 iHStantly fixes on the objects that are pro- 
 longed, and that are externally visible, — 
 associates them with those that preceded, 
 and by this association, establishes a rela- 
 
OF CHRIST. 47 
 
 tion ill the manner of thinking concerning 
 the objects, as well as between the objects 
 themselves which are contemplated. By this 
 process, the mind apprehends the relation 
 which was really true in itself, before it was 
 thus ascertained. In the Greek, the most re- 
 fined and correctly expressive of the ancient 
 languages, the prolonged object is termed 
 'vto^ So7i, derived from the infinitive vn of the 
 Hebrew verb n-n he ivas, the origin of r\)r\' 
 Jehovah, the name of God expressing his 
 self-existence. The Saxons express both 
 the luminary of day and the prolonged ob- 
 ject of being by the same designation. These 
 are similarly spelt in the Saxon-English — 
 Sonne. Our Saxon Ancestors assimilated the 
 reflection of the likeness in the prolonged 
 object derived from him who preceded him, 
 witli the reflection of the light which the 
 material world derives from the luminary of 
 day. The only underived term, in our no- 
 tions, viz. that indicative of being, is employ- 
 ed by the Deity to represent himself, and to 
 indicate his being, and his continuity of 
 being. In the present stage of intellect, 
 there cannot be employed words or repre- 
 sentative signs to indicate his mode or modes 
 of being, unless derivative from, and collate- 
 
48 THE ETERNAL SONSHIl^ 
 
 ral with, those words and representative signs 
 which are predicated of material objects ; be- 
 cause all modifications of beingf are relative. 
 They are relative, either with respect to 
 simple being itself, or with respect to them- 
 selves. But all the relative notions which 
 man possesses are derived from material ob- 
 jects. Every term, then, indicative of the 
 modifications of being, must be one deduced 
 from sensible likenesses. Whatever terms 
 are employed, therefore, to delineate the 
 related states in the Godhead, must partake 
 of this allusion to the material world, and of 
 the usage of this allusion adopted in lan- 
 guage. The Godhead is expressed by the 
 only simple, underived notion which language 
 possesses: within the Godhead there are re- 
 lated states: man has no pure underived 
 words to express related states, because his 
 knowledge of such states is primarily derived 
 from external nature. The revelation of 
 these states must, then, be clothed in mate- 
 rially derivative designations, which are not 
 strictly applicable to the spiritually related 
 states of the Godhead, and involve an ap- 
 parent difficulty or contradiction, on account 
 of the transference of mutually acquired 
 epithets and notions to the uncreated, pure, 
 
OF CHRIST. 49 
 
 and eternal Mind. But the apparent diffi- 
 culty or contradiction is increased, in our re- 
 flection upon it, when qualities are ascribed 
 to such related states designated by those 
 terms which are necessarily employed. The 
 qualities of pure bein^, in the essence of the 
 Godhead, applied or transferred to the re- 
 lated states in the Godhead, must necessarily 
 produce a seeming discordance, because they 
 are, in one case, attributed to that which has 
 no material derivation in our notions, and, 
 in the other, to related states ; the knowledge 
 of the modes of which, and their designa- 
 tions, are necessarily derived, and insepara- 
 ble from, our material associations. From 
 the constitution of the human soul, any re- 
 lated state or characteristic procedure of the 
 Godhead, invested with the qualities of self- 
 existence, eternity, immensity, and immuta- 
 bility, must involve, when traced to our 
 original acquirement and present definition, 
 an association of qualities belonging to pure 
 being, united with notions derived from ma- 
 terial appearances. Whatever term, then, 
 God has employed to announce his related 
 state, it must, in our apprehension, be accom- 
 panied with this association, arising, and in- 
 separable from, our limited understanding. 
 S 
 
50 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 Yet, there will be found sufficient precision to 
 enable us to combine the designations em- 
 ployed, with the related states which they 
 specify. Terms, expressive of relation, im- 
 ply a similarity of nature, a comparison and 
 the possession of qualities, which enable the 
 comparison to be instituted. The expression 
 'o Koya?^ The Word, which we have already 
 considered, contains none of the essentials of 
 a related term. — For these, and other reasons, 
 we have rejected it as expressive of a related 
 state, and given it its proper meaning. 
 
 In accordance with the preceding obser- 
 vations on the language employed to deno- 
 minate related states, we shall now examine 
 the term, *o '\jiq?, The Son. The related states 
 in the Godhead are thus designated in Mat- 
 thew, xxviii. 19. " Go ye, therefore, and teach 
 all nations, baptizing them in the name of the 
 Father^, and of the Son,' and of the Holy 
 Ghost.^^ We have evinced, that whatever 
 designation is applied to the second person in 
 the Godhead, illustrative of his related state, 
 must be derived from, and associated with, 
 sensible objects, and that, when qualities are 
 ascribed to this divinely related state, they 
 must be transferred, from their application to 
 pure being, to their designation originally de- 
 
OF CHRIST. 51 
 
 rived by us from external objects and their 
 relations. There is no term of a related 
 state, of which any natural perfection of the 
 Deity can be predicated, that is not liable to 
 this sort of objection, which is as applicable 
 to the expression, the Eternal Word, as to 
 that of the Eternal Son. Investigate all the 
 stores of language, examine all the terms 
 used on earth, and, it will be found, that they 
 must, and do, partake of this objection. If 
 there be any force in it, man should object 
 to the nature of his presently constituted in- 
 tellect, which will not contribute notions and 
 terms that are alone congenial to pure un- 
 alloyed spirit. To commence the argument 
 with the sweeping announcement that the 
 phrase Eternal Son is nonsense, — is a prepos- 
 terous violation of all just reasoning, and 
 argues a monstrous want of knowledge of 
 the source from which are derived all our 
 notions of individuality and of related states. 
 When the opponents have, by fair and vigo- 
 rous reasoning, shown the absurdity of our 
 assertion, let them adopt the conclusion that 
 it is nonsense. But, to assume, as the pre- 
 mises, the very point in question, — to settle 
 the controversy by a dogmatical, ex cathedra 
 sentence, without a single step of of reason- 
 
62 THE ETERNAL SON SHIP 
 
 ing, — is the argumentation of a child, and 
 not of a philosopher. 
 
 We may observe, that the second person 
 in the Godhead has different epithets, — some 
 of them derived from his aspect within the 
 Godhead, and some from his aspect towards 
 man. He is termed the Son of God, signifi- 
 cant of his eternally related state in the God- 
 head; the Word, significant of his absolute 
 Divinity, and of his being the representa- 
 tive of the Divine Perfections, Counsels, and 
 Will. In his aspect towards man, he is 
 called Messiah or Christ, the Anointed ; Je- 
 sus, the Saviour ; Son of Man, possessing the 
 human nature ; the Lord, moral Governor, 
 in his judicial rectitude and beneficent kind- 
 ness. 
 
 Let the reader avoid confounding our Lord's 
 human nature with his personality. — He is 
 a Divine person ; he possesses the Divine 
 nature as a Divine person ; he assumed hu- 
 man nature, which never had personality of 
 itself, — otherwise, Christ would have been 
 two persons — an impossibility. 
 
 The following remarks, which are the sen- 
 timents of Dr. Owen, will assist us in making 
 the requisite discrimination. 
 
OF CHRIST. 
 
 63 
 
 Sometimes that which is announced con- 
 cerning the person of Christ, is verified or 
 true only in one of his natures. " The Word 
 was with God, and The Word was God."— 
 " Before Abraham was, I am."—'' Upholding 
 all things by the word of his power." These 
 expressions are referable to Christ, and are 
 true only of the Divine nature. " To us a 
 child is born," &c. This is true only of his 
 human nature. 
 
 Sometimes that which is spoken of the 
 person belongs not distinctly and originally 
 to either nature, but belongs to his person, on 
 account of the union of both natures. These 
 are the most direct enunciations concerning 
 his Person— such as Prophet, Priest, King, 
 &c. 
 
 Sometimes his person is denominated by 
 one of his natures, when the acts of the other 
 are assigned to him. Example : " They cru- 
 cified the Lord of Glory." He is the " Lord 
 of Glory" in his Divine nature only; and, 
 from this, his person is denominated. So 
 " He (God) purchased the Church with his 
 own blood." " The Son of Man, who is in 
 heaven." He is God only in his Divine na- 
 ture ; he is Son of Man only in his human 
 nature. 
 
o4 THE ETERNAL SON SHIP 
 
 Sometimes the person is denominated from 
 one nature ; and that which is ascribed to it, 
 is common to both natures. Thus, " of whom, 
 as concerning the flesh, Christ came, who is 
 over all, God blessed for ever. Amen." 
 
 Sometimes the person is denominated from 
 both natures ; and that which is proper to 
 one alone, is ascribed to him. " What think 
 ye of Christ ? whose son is he ? They say 
 unto him, The Son of David." 
 
 We prove that his designation of Son is 
 expressive of his eternally related state, from 
 the qualities ascribed to him as Son ; — Eter- 
 nity is ascribed to him as Son. 
 
 The Spirit, the third person in the God- 
 head, is admitted, by all sides, to be eternal 
 He is expressly declared to be so in Scripture. 
 Hebrews ix. 14. '' How much more shall the 
 blood of Christ, who, through the Eternal Spi- 
 rit, offered himself ivithout spot to God, purge 
 your conscience from dead tvorks, to serve the 
 living GodP^ But this same Spirit, this 
 Eternal Spirit, is the Spirit of the Father. 
 Romans viii. 11. ^' But if the Spirit ofhiin that 
 raised up Jesus from the dead divell in you ; 
 he that raised up Christ from the dead shall 
 also quicken your mortal bodies, by his Spirit 
 tlmt dwelleth in you."^^ Galatians i. 1. " Paul 
 
OF CHRIST. OO 
 
 an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, hut by 
 Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised 
 him from the dead,^'') This Eternal Spirit is 
 declared to be the Spirit of the Son. Gala- 
 tians iv. 6. " And, because ye are sons, God 
 hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your 
 hearts, crying, Abba, Father,''^ Being, then, 
 the Spirit of the Father and of the Son, these 
 latter persons must possess the same qualities 
 as those which inhere in the Spirit. The 
 Spirit is denominated Eternal ; consequently, 
 the Father and the Son are Eternal. These 
 terms indicate related states, which are thus 
 Eternal. Script, .e, then, has proclaimed the 
 Eternity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 
 If they possess Eternity, they must also pos- 
 sess all the collateral qualities of Godhead, viz. 
 self-existence, immensity, immutability, om- 
 niscience, omnipotence, and the moral attri- 
 butes. If the Spirit, for instance, be immense, 
 which he must be, as he is Eternal, the Fa- 
 ther and the Son are also immense ; for the 
 Spirit is the Spirit of the Father, and he is 
 the Spirit of the Son : the qualities, therefore, 
 which inhere in him, inhere in the Father and 
 in the Son. The Son of God is, therefore, 
 as Son, immense. — The same may be shown 
 of all the attributes of Deity. The Son pos- 
 
56 THE ETERNAL SON SHIP 
 
 sesses, in himself, all the effulgent and ineffa- 
 ble perfections of Godhead, independently of 
 creation, providence, and redemption ; he had 
 this "■ glory with the Father before the world 
 was." Though nature, animate and inani- 
 mate, were swept from being, he must retain 
 this glory. No contingent displays of power 
 or goodness can increase or diminish it. Last- 
 ing as his Godhead, no revolution in creation 
 can affect it. Though he had neither assumed 
 humanity, nor received the revenue of re- 
 deeming glory, this unutterable glory, in the 
 vastness of his Eternity, must have been his 
 " who inhabiteth the depths i.. Eternity." The 
 proclamation to the intelligences of heaven is, 
 " Let all the Angels of God worship him ;" 
 and the command to men is to honour and 
 worship him. Sonship is ascribed to Christ 
 as his related state in the Divine Essence. 
 
 The different repetitions of the voice from 
 heaven, prochiiming our Lord to be the Son, 
 are acknowledged to be the voice of God, in 
 the person of the Father. Matthew iii. 17.; 
 xvii. 5. Mark i. IL ; ix. 7. Luke iii. 22. ; ix. 35. 
 John i. 32 — 34. " This is my beloved So7i, in 
 whom I am icell pleasecV^ " Thou art my be- 
 loved Son, in whom lam well pleased. '^'^ " This 
 is my beloved Son ; hearhim.^^ " Thou art my 
 
OF CHRIST. 57 
 
 beloved Son, in thee lam well pleased.^^ Was 
 it our Lord's human nature that God the 
 Father proclaimed to be his Son, with whom 
 he \ras well pleased? Surely not: because 
 our Lord's human nature never had subsis- 
 tence by itself, ft could not, therefore, be 
 with this, simply considered. — With what, 
 then, ^\ as it ? Certainly, with the Divine 
 person, in its union with the human nature, 
 and with all the acts performed by that Di- 
 vine person, in union with the assumed hu- 
 man nature; — and if so, this Divine person 
 is, properly speaking, the Son of God. This 
 Divine person retained, and could not but re- 
 tain, his related state of Son to the Father or 
 first person, after he had assumed the human 
 nature into personal union with his Divine. 
 Consequently, the Divine nature of Christ 
 subsisted in the related state of Son, in the 
 Godhead, before he assumed the human na- 
 ture into union with himself. God, in the 
 person of the Father, was, therefore, eternally 
 well pleased with God in the person of the 
 Son. — From these facts, we deduce the con- 
 clusion that the Sonship of Christ is eternal. 
 
 It may be objected, by an opponent of the 
 doctrine which we maintain, that it is neither 
 the Divine nature in personality, nor the hu- 
 
58 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 man nature without personality, that is the 
 proclaimed Son of God, — but that it is both 
 in union. We answer, that if the Divine na- 
 ture of our Lord necessarily possess person- 
 ality in itself; — if it were the same in itself, 
 before it assumed the human nature into 
 union, that it was after that assumption ;-r- 
 and, if it would necessarily have continued 
 the same, though no such assumption had 
 ever taken place,— -the assumption of his hu- 
 man nature into union with itself could have 
 made no alteration or change in the Divine 
 nature or persons ; therefore, though the enun- 
 ciation of Son be predicated of our Lord in 
 human nature, that predication is true only of 
 his Divine nature and person. If men be 
 sometimes called sons of God, they have hu- 
 man personality ; and, there was a time when 
 they were not the sons of God ;— -but the hu- 
 man nature of our Lord never had person- 
 ality of itself. If our Lord be called the Son 
 of God, he can only be so, in that nature, 
 which possessed Sonship, in the proper sense 
 of the term. It must, therefore, be, with re- 
 spect to his Divine nature, that he was, and 
 is, the Son of God. That nature was, of it- 
 self, capable of personality: of this his hu- 
 man nature never was, and never could be 
 
OF CHRIST. 6y 
 
 capable. Hence, our Lord is the Son of God, 
 with respect to his Divine nature, which 
 alone was capable of Sonship. Our Lord, 
 therefore, with respect to his Divine na- 
 ture, ever was, and ever will be, the Son of 
 God. 
 
 In the different proclamations of Christ's 
 Sonship, the Holy Spirit, on one occasion, 
 like a Dove, — on another, like a white cloud, 
 accompanied the voice from heaven. Though, 
 at these times, our Lord's bodily appearance 
 was that of a man, yet his personality was 
 that of the Son of God. The voice from 
 heaven concerned the person addressed, not 
 the appearance with which he was invested. 
 
 In order to consider, aright, the differ- 
 ent voices of the Father, proclaiming the 
 Son to the church and the world, we refer 
 to Matthew xi. 27. *' AH things are deliver- 
 ed unto me of 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." 
 
 When the proclamations were made, our 
 Lord was either about to commence his pub- 
 lic ministry or engaged in its most important 
 transactions. It was necessary that the Fa- 
 
y. 
 
 60 THE ETERNAL SON SHIP 
 
 ther should make such a declaration con- 
 cerning the Son ; for, whatever other views 
 men might have entertained concerning the 
 Saviour, in his work of Redemption, they 
 could not have known that, though invested 
 with our nature, he was the Son of God. 
 
 All the three Evangelists, who record our 
 Lord's Baptism, say that the heaven was 
 opened, the Holy Spirit descended, and the 
 voice of God, in the person of the Father, 
 was heard. John, testifying the fact from 
 what he heard and saw, bears record of Christ, 
 that "this is the Son of God." "He was," 
 says John, "before me;" even this person, 
 of whom he bears record, that he is the Son 
 of God. But John was before Christ in 
 priority of time, in human nature. He, 
 therefore, announces the existence of the re- 
 lated state of the Son, before the assumption 
 of Christ's humanity. 
 
 In the circumstances attending Christ's 
 Baptism, we perceive that the three blessed 
 persons in the glorious Godhead revealed the 
 eternally related state in which they stand 
 to one another, as Father, Son, and Holy 
 Spirit, each represented by a particular sym- 
 bol. The Father was represented by the 
 voice ; the Son by his human nature ; and the 
 
or CHRIST. 61 
 
 Spirit by the Dove. It will not be asserted 
 that the voice was a person ; it was only the 
 symbol of a person, and that person was the 
 first or the Father. It will not be affirmed 
 that the Dove was a person ; it was only the 
 symbol of a person ; and that person was the 
 third or Holy Spirit. Neither can it be said 
 that tlie human nature of our Lord was a 
 person ; it was only the symbol of a person; 
 and that person was the second or Son. 
 
 Those who maintain that the proclamation 
 of the Father refers to our Lord's human na- 
 ture only, confound the symbol with what 
 is represented by it. To say that the voice 
 addressed the human and Divine natures in 
 union, as Son, is to confound the relation of 
 these natures to the Father, and to represent 
 each as possessing the same related state to 
 the Father, which is absurd. Nothing, there- 
 fore, could have been addressed, except our 
 Lord's Divine nature. 
 
 Our Lord was declared Son by the angel 
 Gabriel. Luke i. 31 — 35, '' And the angel 
 answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost 
 shall come upon thee, and the poxoer of the 
 Highest shall overshadow thee : therefore also 
 that Iwly thing ivhich shall be born of thee shall 
 be called the Son of God.'''' A slight con- 
 6 
 
62 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 sideration of this passage will lead the reader 
 to perceive that the three persons of the God- 
 head are distinctly mentioned to Mary by 
 the angel. The Holy Ghost is obviously 
 mentioned as a person. The Highest refers 
 to the person of the Father : and the Son of 
 God is expressly named ; — '* that holy thing 
 which shall be born of thee shall be called 
 the Son of God." Now, was not our Lord 
 as much God and man in the womb, and 
 when he was born, as he is Tioic ? From the 
 moment that he assumed our nature, he was 
 as really God and man, as he is at the present 
 period. That which is the subject of the an- 
 gel's announcement is the Son, — a Son with 
 proper personality. But our Lord's human 
 nature never had personality of its own. 
 From the moment of its assumption into union 
 with the Divine nature, it subsisted in Divine 
 personality. The angel says, that " the holy 
 thing which should be born, should be called 
 the Son of God." Our Lord, therefore, was 
 the Son of God, with respect to his Divine 
 personality, and not with respect to his hu- 
 man nature. He was surely to be called Son 
 of God, with respect to that nature and that 
 peronality which were capable of Divine 
 Sonship. It is evident, therefore, that it was 
 
 I 
 
OF CHRIST. bo 
 
 in our Lord's Divine nature and personality 
 that the ano-el meant that our Lord should 
 be called the Son of God, because his human 
 nature never had personality of its own. 
 
 The difference of name which the angel 
 ascribes to our Lord is striking, and evidently 
 denotes a distinction in the application of 
 the terms Jesus and Son of God; the one 
 being referable to his human, ^nd the other 
 to his Divine nature. The angel first an- 
 nounces our Lord's humanity, as it was the 
 object Avhich the senses of men beheld, and 
 which, consequently, was the prior impres- 
 sion on the mind, when men either visually 
 perceived, or mentally apprehended, the per- 
 son of our Lord. " And behold, thou shcdt 
 conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a So7i, 
 and shalt call his name Jesiis.^^ The angel 
 alludes to the compound person of our Lord, 
 as Messiah, composed of his Divine and hu- 
 man natures, or the manhood existing in 
 union with the Divinity. It is obvious that, 
 in this case, whatever actions are ascribed to 
 this compound person, they must be the ac- 
 tions of the Godhead, operating through the 
 medium of the assumed humanity. The epi- 
 thets descriptive of the person, either in his 
 existence before these actions occurred, or 
 
64 THE tTERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 after their performance, must, in conse- 
 quence, really belong to the actual agent, 
 which is the Divine nature. This Divine na- 
 ture, however, in our apprehension of our 
 Lord as Messiah, can never be abstracted 
 from the bodily tabernacle through which his 
 Divinity acted. Consequently, it is said of 
 this Divinity, " He shall he greats and shall 
 he called the 'Son of the Highest: and the 
 Lord God shall give unto him the throne of 
 his Father David: and he shall reign over 
 the house of Jacohfor ever; and of his king- 
 dom there shall he no end.^^ 
 
 Such were the triumphs which were to 
 grace, and the achievements which were to 
 illustrate, the Messiah. His greatness and 
 his state of " Son of the Highest," are indi- 
 cative of his Divinity ; — his being the Son of 
 David, whose typical throne he was to ob- 
 tain, indicates his humanity ; — his reign over 
 the house of Jacob, and his eternal kingdom, 
 point out the union of his Divinity and hu- 
 manity. The astonishment of Mary, on re- 
 ceiving this information, induced her to in- 
 quire how events so marvellous as those an- 
 nounced were posssible. " Hoiv shall this 
 he, seeing I know not a man ? And the angel 
 answered and said unto her. The Holy Ghost 
 
OF CHRIST. 
 
 65 
 
 shall come upon thee, and the poiver of the 
 Highest shall overshudoiv thee : therefore also 
 that holy thing ivhich shall he horn of thee shall 
 he called the Son of God.'^'' The energy of 
 two persons in the Godhead is represented as 
 engaged in the formation of our Lord's hu- 
 man nature. These persons are the Holy 
 Ghost, and the Highest or Father. 
 
 The question to be decided, is what object 
 was termed the Son of God ? Was it the 
 human nature considered by itself? This it 
 could not be, seeing that humanity never ex- 
 isted of itself, without inhering in the Divi- 
 nity. Was it the humanity and Divinity 
 when united, which, in consequence of their 
 union, obtained this as a new appellation ? 
 We apprehend that it was not. We conceive 
 that the peculiarly appropriate name of our 
 Lord's Divine person is Son of God ; — that 
 his person was not changed by the assump- 
 tion of humanity, and that it is his eternal 
 person, in the complex natures of Divinity 
 and humanity, which is denominated Son of 
 God. 
 
 In summing up our observations on the 
 Incarnation, and in proof of the foregoing 
 conclusions, we shall consider the scope of 
 the angel's enunciation of the names of oijr 
 
 6* 
 
66 THE ETERNAL 30N9HIP 
 
 , Lord. Luke i. 30—35. " And the angel said 
 unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast 
 found favour with God. And, behold, thou 
 shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth 
 a Son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He 
 shall be great, and shall be called the Son of 
 the Highest: and the Lord God shall give 
 unto him the throne of his Father David : 
 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob 
 for ever ; and of his kingdom there shall be 
 no end. Then said Mary unto the angel. How 
 shall this be, seeing I know not a man ? And 
 the angel answered and said unto her. 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." 
 Matth. i. 20. " But, while he (Joseph) thought 
 on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord 
 appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, 
 thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee 
 Mary thy wife : for that which is conceived 
 in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall 
 bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name 
 JESUS : for he shall save his people from 
 their sins. (Now, all this was done, that it 
 might be fulfilled which was spoken of the 
 Lord by the Prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin 
 
OF chUisi. 67 
 
 shall be witli child, and sliall bring fortJi a 
 son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, 
 which, being interpreted, is, God with us.) 
 Then Joseph, being raised from sleep, did as 
 the Angel of the Lord had bidden him, and 
 took unto him his wife: and knew her not 
 till she had brought forth her first-born Son : 
 and he called his name JESUS." 
 
 It is affirmed by the angel that the Virgin 
 should conceive and bring forth a son. The 
 language employed is in accordance with the 
 usual notions of mankind. The angel an- 
 nounces an appearance, viz. that of a son 
 born and indicated in the ordinary manner. 
 This substance, when conceived and born, 
 was to receive from men a designation or 
 name, according to Divine appointment. — 
 This name is given for a two-fold reason: 
 first, an obvious and established custom among 
 men, to assist them in distinguishing one es- 
 pecial appearance in human nature from ano- 
 ther; second, to denote, not only his especial 
 appearance, or to affix an epithet to the like- 
 ness he bore, but, likewise, to denote and dis- 
 tinguish the character, employment, and ob- 
 ject, for which this peculiar appearance was 
 conceived, and was born, and did act, viz. — to 
 save his people from their sins. This name 
 
68 
 
 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 was Jesus. The name was given by Divine 
 appointment ; but was not, de facto, — actually 
 given by God. It was his will that it should 
 be given ; and the deed of naming devolved 
 on man. The name is announced prospec- 
 tively, as an act to take effect when the ap- 
 pearance was presented to the world. In the 
 angel's address, he says to Mary, " TViow," 
 consequent on the conception and birth, 
 " shalt call his name JESUS."^^ In his ad- 
 dress to Joseph, he says that Mary should 
 bring forth a son, — " and thou (Joseph) shalt 
 call his name JESUS.^^ This act of naming 
 was, therefore, dependent, in its execution, on 
 the deeds of men. There is a chain of events, 
 in this transaction^ connected with the exis- 
 tence and deeds of mortals. The conception 
 and birth were connected with the existence 
 of Mary, — and the subsequent deed of nam- 
 ing was rendered dependent on the act of 
 Mary, and on the act of Joseph. Each of 
 them was separately assured that he and she 
 should thus nominate the appearance which 
 should come into the world ; and, in conse- 
 quence, Joseph " called his name JESUS.^^ 
 The appearance of Jesus in the flesh was an 
 act emanating from the aspect of God to- 
 wards man. It was not inherent in the Di- 
 
OF CHRIST. 69 
 
 vine essence like its own necessary existence 
 and natural attributes ; it was occasioned by 
 the situation of man, and, therefore, in re- 
 gard to the actual existence of God, was a 
 contingent display of the Deity. The name 
 assigned to the appearance of our Lord, arose 
 from his contingent appearance, indicative 
 of his aspect to man. But the other names, 
 announced by the Angel, were not contin- 
 gent ; they did not depend on his aspect to- 
 wards man ; nor did they result from the si- 
 tuation of man. " He shall be great, and 
 shall be called the son of the Highest." The 
 vastest range of human intellect, — the most 
 gorgeous appearance of man's energies and 
 workmanship employed in his service, could 
 not render him great. The achievements of 
 this glorious one, in rescuing man from the 
 deepest abyss of degradation and misery could 
 not give him greatness; for that greatness 
 must have preceded, and been the source of, 
 his achievements in effecting their rescue. 
 His greatness, therefore, was inherent in him- 
 self. It was lodged in his nature, and its ex- 
 hibitions were dependent on himself, and not 
 on man. Human nature is not possessed of 
 absolute greatness. All its greatness is com- 
 parative : its displays result from opportunities 
 
70 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 — are dependent on the existence of fellow 
 men, and are consequent on their inferiority 
 in physical and mental endowments. A breath 
 may create it ; a breath may wither it. The 
 greatness of Christ w^as not thus contingent 
 and fleeting. " Of his kingdom there shall 
 be no end.'* It was before man ; the situa- 
 tion of man could not produce it ; — it could 
 only give occasion for its exercise. His hu- 
 man nature, therefore, was not, in itself, ab- 
 solutely great, but must have had another 
 source of influential greatness. The Divine 
 nature and person displayed, through it, the 
 inherent and absolute greatness of Godhead. 
 Collateral with this greatness is his name ; 
 " and he shall be called the Son of the High- 
 est." Had his greatness been human, there 
 might have been room for supposing that this 
 designation " Son of the Highest," was a 
 figurative expression. But his greatness is 
 real. Its reality was not essentially connected 
 with human nature. His collateral epithet 
 must correspond with his real greatness ; it 
 is founded on, and inseparable from, that 
 greatness. His greatness is a quality inher- 
 ing in him. Collateral with that greatness 
 is his state, — a related state of existence, 
 termed Son — descriptive of him wdio wa§ 
 
Of CHRIbT. 71 
 
 invested with greatness. Where the rea- 
 lity of his greatness is found, there must 
 also the Sonship of the Highest be found. 
 In his Divinity alone he is absolutely 
 ^^ great ;^^ — in his Divinity alone he is 
 *^ Son of the Highest. " This designation 
 depended not on mortals ; their deeds could 
 no^ affect it; their wish to honour or disho- 
 nour him could not increase or diminish his 
 quality of greatness, nor render more or less 
 true his related state of *' Son of the Highest." 
 Men were participant in conferring on him 
 the term Jesus — " Thou shalt call his name 
 JESUS." The will or intention of men had 
 no participation in the term " Son of the 
 Highest;"— "/Ze shall be called, &c.— " In 
 the one case they were to act as instruments ; 
 in the other, they were to acknowledge and 
 honour, him in that state which could not be 
 caused by the creation or extinction of the 
 human race. The angel continues, " there- 
 fore also that holy thing which shall be born 
 of thee shall be called the Son of God. " This 
 collateral designation is also independent of 
 the will or caprice of mortals. They have 
 no farther concern with it than to receive it. 
 Essentially connected with his " greatness, " 
 and his related state as *' Son of the High- 
 
72 THE ETERNAL SONiiHIP 
 
 est," is his epithet—" Son of God." In that 
 nature in which he was absolutely great, he 
 was Son of the Highest, or Son of God. — As 
 we have already shown that his greatness 
 preceded his human appearance, and was 
 necessarily in himself, this quality must have 
 inhered in him in his «tate collateral with its 
 existence. That state is announced to be the 
 Son of the Highest, the Son of God. — Eter- 
 nal as his greatness, is his eternity, as Son 
 of the Highest, as Son of God. 
 
 Matthew says, that in the incarna- 
 tion, ancient prophecy was fnlfilled. " Be- 
 hold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall 
 bring forth a son, and they shall call his 
 name Emmanuel, which, being interpreted, 
 is, God with us. In the fulfilment of this 
 prophecy, events are announced, in some of 
 which mankind were to act as instruments, 
 and be participant in the transaction. The 
 being with child, and the birth, were connect- 
 ed with the existence of Mary. But the fact 
 of being " Emmanuel, God with us, " did not 
 depend on the existence of the Virgin, or 
 of any other individual, or set of individuals. 
 He must have been in the nature of God pre- 
 viously to his appearance, otherwise the then 
 generation of mortals, and the fact of his re- 
 
OF CHRIST. 73 
 
 sidence amongst them, not the qualities of 
 his nature, would have constituted him God. 
 But this is an impossibility. " Before Abra- 
 ham was," or Abraham's children were, he 
 was " God with us." He was not thus desig- 
 nated by any specific act, or by any specific 
 individual, — as he was termed Jesus, but 
 'Hheij, (i. e. generally,) shall call" him "God 
 with us." The third person is idiomatically 
 used to signify general expression, or general 
 fact. They shall call, synonymous with he 
 shall be called. Thus, in English, we write 
 and speak, they say, they shall say, for it is 
 said, it shall be said: In French, 07i dit, — one 
 says, for they say, it is said. When Christ 
 appeared in the flesh, he was to be generally 
 called " God with us," as a necessary conse- 
 quence of his Godhead. 
 
 There are, therefore, two parts in the dif- 
 ferent declarations of the angel. The one 
 specifies the humanity of our Lord, and the 
 time in which that humanity should be de- 
 signated "Jesus." It particularizes the in- 
 dividuals who should be employed to give 
 effect to this designation. It details the con- 
 nexion of the human race with that event, 
 and the miraculous conception and birth col- 
 lateral with the existence of that race. The 
 7 
 
74 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 Other part of the declaration announces the 
 being and qualities of him who came; — 
 their self-existent, eternal, and immutable 
 aspect in the Godhead; — the self-existent, 
 eternal, and immutable "greatness," or "great- 
 ness" of the Godhead, which he possessed ; 
 — the related state in which he existed divine- 
 ly " great," viz. the " Son of the Highest," 
 " Son of God ;" — the nature which he pos- 
 sessed, viz. that of " God;" — the aspect of 
 that nature to man when he came, — " God 
 with us." 
 
OF CHRIST. 75 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 Examination of Passages of Scripture, ivhich 
 prove our LorcVs Sonship to be Eternal 
 
 Christ is affirmed, by the apostle Paul, to 
 be the Son, and, as Son, to possess the qua- 
 lities of Godhead. Hebrews i. 1. " God, 
 who at sundry times, and- in divers manners, 
 spake in time past unto the fathers by the pro- 
 phets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by 
 his Son, ivhom he hath appointed heir of all 
 things, by whom also he made the ivor Ids : who 
 being the brightness of his glory, and the ex- 
 press image of his person , and upholding all 
 things by the word of his power, ivhen he had 
 by himself purged 'our sins, sat down on the 
 right hand of the Majesty on high : being made 
 so much better than the angels, as he hath by 
 inheritance obtained a more excellent name 
 than they. For unto ivhich of the angels said 
 he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day 
 have I begotten thee ? And again, I will be to 
 him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son ? 
 
76 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 And again, ivhen he hringeth in the first be- 
 gotten into the world , he saith. And let all the 
 angels of God ivorship him,'''' &:c. 
 
 The apostle affirms that, instead of the 
 former revelation by prophets, God had " in 
 these last days spoken unto us by his Son^ 
 To this person, different acts and qualitie^s 
 are ascribed. The reader will remember our 
 remarks on related terms, showing that all 
 words denoting, or illustrative of, such terms, 
 must be obtained from the ordinary usages 
 of language, and originally derived from sen- 
 sible objects. In correspondence with this 
 wsage, is the present passage. A character 
 is introduced whose employment is to speak 
 to the Church; his name is given, denoting 
 a related state, — " Son" of God. We have, 
 then, to ascertain, from the context, whether 
 this related state be essential and eternal in 
 the Godhead, or arise from the aspect which 
 this person bears to man, — and whether this 
 be a necessarily self-existent, or a contingent- 
 ly related state. 
 
 Of this person, it is said, '-'• Whom he (God) 
 hath appointed heir of all things, by ivhom also 
 he made the loorlds.'''' In the first clause, the 
 passage, as Macknight has observed, w^ould 
 be better rendered constituted, instead of ap- 
 
6F CHRIST. 77 
 
 pointed^ Tieir of all things. There is no phrase- 
 ology in reference to the Son, in his related 
 state to the Father, which could describe his 
 possession or authority over all things, — ex- 
 cept that of " /^eiV." Whilst the one Divine 
 person is announced as Father, it is inconceiv- 
 able to us what other designation, from our 
 stores of ideas and language, could be em- 
 ployed, unless the present term. For, be it 
 remarked, it is not the authority and power 
 of the Godhead, simply considered, in its 
 Divine nature, which is expressed, — but the 
 authority and power of a person related to 
 another person in the Godhead, wliich is de- 
 scribed. Instead, therefore, of denoting in- 
 feriority in him who is constituted " heir of 
 all things,^^ or priority in him who does con- 
 stitute him, — we only discover that our no- 
 tions have no other resources, in describing 
 the power and property mutually enjoyed, in 
 the related state of Father and Son, — than 
 to denominate the latter heir. The expres- 
 sion, therefore, no more denotes inferiority 
 on the part of the Divine Son, than the ex- 
 pression Father, implies that the Father will 
 die, and be succeeded in his power and au- 
 thority by the Son. — The latter position will 
 not be affirmed by the boldest opposers of 
 
78 THE ETERNAL SON SHIP 
 
 the Eternal Sonship ; and, if they themselves 
 cannot predicate of the one related person 
 what the words literally imply,— by what 
 refinement of sophistry can they literally 
 apply these words to the other ? The desig- 
 nation " heir, " is connected with that of 
 '* Son,^^ and is employed on account of the 
 use of the latter term. Power, dominion, or 
 authority, would have expressed Divine sway 
 over created objects ; but could have con- 
 veyed no idea of their mutual exercise, in 
 the person of him, who stood in the related 
 state of Divine Son to his Divine Father. — 
 This heirship being essentially in the Son, 
 must be of the same nature as his other qua- 
 lities ; which, if they are ascertained to be 
 eternal, and that they are so we shall imme- 
 diately prove, — must, likewise, render this 
 heirship eternal. The appointment, there- 
 fore, cannot have arisen from any external 
 circumstances foreseen or existing ; but must 
 be constituted by the inherent nature of God- 
 head itself. The mutual possession of all 
 things is attributed to God, in the related 
 states of the Father and the Son ; and this 
 mutual possession causes the term heir to be 
 used in reference to the latter person. 
 
 ** by ivhom also he made the ivorlds.^^ 
 
OF CHRIST. 
 
 The act of creation is, in several passages of 
 Scripture, expressly ascribed to God, in the 
 person of the Son. It is an act of omnipo- 
 tence, which could be only exercised by God 
 
 ^ himself, mediately or immediately. That it 
 was not exercised mediately is evident from 
 the account in Genesis, and from every men- 
 tion made of the transaction in Scripture. 
 This person must be Eternal Son, because he 
 could not have been rendered Son by the act 
 of creation, or by any proceedings subsequent- 
 ly occurring amongst created existences; — 
 otherwise, creation must have caused a change 
 in the Divine nature ; — the finite must have 
 changed the infinite, and introduced, not only 
 a change in the Divine nature, but must have 
 
 ^ produced the existence of persons in that 
 nature, viz. of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost: 
 — or else the Son must stand in the related 
 state of Son to his own creation; — he who 
 created must occupy the situation of son to 
 that which he did create and which differs 
 from his own nature ; — but these suppositions 
 are manifestly absurd. The Sonship of Christ 
 is, therefore, independent of, and unconnected 
 with, creation, in any aspect. It is absolute 
 and inherent in the Godhead. The high- 
 est grades of immortal and created spirits, 
 
80 THE ETERNAL SOINSHIP 
 
 thrones, dominions, principalities, powers, 
 spirits of the just men made perfect, bow 
 before him. — There is a peculiar sublimity 
 in the Apocalypse when describing the throng 
 of intellectual beings in the state of per- 
 fection ; — the congeries of minds that had 
 blazed in unclouded splendour and stainless 
 purity ; " those who had come out of great 
 tribulations ;" those whose circuit had been 
 through myriads of worlds, and whose only 
 resting place and halt of complete develope- 
 ment of knowledge were the Divine Being 
 gnd perfections ; and those who had seen 
 dimly, darkly, and in part, the depths of 
 creation, providence, and redemption, but 
 who were then " seeing face to face," — then 
 " knowing, even as also they were known," 
 — all these, in one ascription and adoration, 
 address the Son, " For thy pleasure they (all 
 things) are and w^ere created." 
 
 " Who being the brightness of his glory , 
 and the express image of his person.^^ 
 
 He who was the effulgence or resplendent 
 shining or brightness of his Father's glory, 
 (for all these terms convey the meaning of 
 the original,) must have possessed Divinity 
 within himself, essentially and eternally. If 
 there ever was a time when the Son stood not. 
 
OF CHRIST. 81 
 
 within the Godhead, in the related state of 
 8on to the Father, — then, there was a time 
 in which there was no brightness or efful- 
 gence of the Father's glory ; because it is the 
 express characteristic of the Son to be " the 
 brightness of the Father^s glory,'^'' — But the 
 glory of the Godhead is inherent w ithin it- 
 self. Its displays to man cannot render it 
 more or less effulgent. When " the heavens 
 declare the glory of God," they only exhibit 
 the glory which preceded, and which now 
 shines in, their appearance. Glory is only 
 given to them, as a medium, to " declare" its 
 aspect of effidgence, in the contingent work 
 of creation. The glory of God is underived, 
 like the self-existence of the Godhead. It is 
 the source of all glory. Its exhibition and 
 its effulgence or brightness are different. — 
 The media employed to declare it, and its 
 effulgence, are different ; — for the effulgence 
 and the glory are collateral. There could be 
 no glory w ithout this effulgence ; — and there 
 could be uo effulgence without this glory. 
 Their collateral existence is inseparable ; — • 
 for, without this brightness or effulgence, 
 glory is stripped of the principles which con- 
 stitute it to be glory, and, without the glory, 
 the effulgence cannot be presented. — We shall 
 
82 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 not, at present, stop to inquire, whether, by 
 the Father's glory, the apostle intended his 
 nature or his perfections as God. Whichever 
 of these we understand to be the meaning, 
 our reasoning remains unaffected. But, from 
 collateral passages, and tlie uniform tenor 
 of Scripture, it is evident, that he meant 
 to specify the Divine perfections. (See Ro- 
 mans i. 23.) If, then, there ever was a time, 
 in which the effulgence of the Father's glory 
 or perfections was not, — there was a time, 
 when the effulgence of his glory or perfec- 
 tions was not self-existent ; and, if ever the 
 effulgence was not self-existent, it was not 
 eternal, immense, and immutable. But, we 
 have shown, that the glory and its effulgence 
 are collateral, and inseparable, and, in conse- 
 quence, what is predicated of the efTulgence, 
 is also predicated of the glory or perfections. 
 The Divine perfections, therefore, if this ef- 
 fulgence be not self- existent, are not self- 
 existent, eternal, immense, and immutable ; 
 and, consequently, the Godhead is contin- 
 gent. But this is impossible. Without the 
 eternity of this effulgence, there could nei- 
 ther be light, nor the source of light, — life, 
 nor the source of life. There could neither 
 be Creator nor creation,-— the Uncreated noi 
 
OF CHRIST. 83 
 
 the created mind. Without the eternity of 
 this effulgence, there must have pervaded 
 space, the long night " of nothingness." — 
 Nay, space itself could not have been; — 
 there must have been a dreary void, which 
 connot be conceived,- — because it is impossi- 
 ble. Without the eternity of this effulgence, 
 the sun could not have ruled the day, nor 
 the moon the night, — and God, and Angels, 
 and men, and worlds, and earth, and all 
 things, must have been absorbed in the chaos 
 of nonentity. As this effulgence is eternal, 
 he w^ho possesses it must be eternal. He is 
 the Son ; in that related state, he possesses 
 this quality. His Sonship and his effulgence 
 are coeval. He is, therefore, the Eternal 
 Son of God the Father. 
 
 The Son is " the express image of his per- 
 sonJ^'' The term " express imcige,^^ must mean 
 likeness, or an express or exact representa- 
 tive ; because, an image of a Divine person, 
 in any literal sense, is an impossibility. " His 
 person'''^ refers to the Divine nature, in which 
 this person is Father. The Son is a repre- 
 sentative of the Father, as a Divine person, 
 in the Divine nature. None but a Divine 
 person can be an express representative of 
 another Divine person in the Divine nature. 
 
84 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 Now, if, in any moment, the Son was an ex- 
 press representative of the Father, the Son 
 must have been so from all eternity, and 
 must be so in self-existence. For, as the Fa- 
 ther is eternal in his nature, that which ex- 
 pressly represents him must, in like manner, 
 be eternal ; otherwise, it could not be an ex- 
 press representation. It could only be a 
 contingent and dependent representation of 
 him ; but this is no representation of him in 
 iiis nature. For, the express representative 
 of the nature must possess the express qua- 
 lities of the nature of him whom he repre- 
 sents. He, who is this representative, must 
 be an eternal representative. If this repre- 
 sentative be presumed ever to have had a 
 beginning, or to have arisen from an aspect 
 towards man in the representing person, then, 
 the express representation of nature could 
 never have been. For, that w^hich has a 
 beginning, or is derived from external pro- 
 cedure towards creation, and is, in conse- 
 quence, inseparably connected with creation, 
 could not have been a representation of that 
 nature which has no absolute connexion with 
 creation, and is, of itself, independently of 
 creation, — absolutely eternal. To suppose a 
 commencement of essentially eternal repre- 
 
OF CHRIST. 85 
 
 seiitatioii, is to suppose the impossibility of 
 an essentially eternal representation of the 
 Divine nature. But, it is positively affirmed, 
 that there is an express representation of the 
 Divine nature in the person of the Father. 
 It must, therefore, be eternal. Now, this 
 quality of express representation is declared 
 to inhere in the Son. As Son, in the related 
 state of Son, he is the express image or re- 
 presentation of the Father. This quality is 
 eternal ; the Son, in whom this quality in- 
 heres, is, therefore, Eternal Son. 
 
 The aspect of the Deity, in his perfec- 
 tions and nature, proclaims the Eternity of 
 the Sonship. The aspect of the Deity, in 
 his procedure with man, proclaims the same 
 doctrine. Yet, there is this difference ; in 
 his aspect as Deity, both his nature and per- 
 fections, or glory, are alike indicative of the 
 Eternal Sonship ; — in his aspect to creation, 
 his perfections are exhibited in his work- 
 manship, while his nature or essence can 
 never be exhibited by it. The grand display 
 of his glory is within the Godhead, and is, 
 therefore, necessary, and constituted by it- 
 self; the contingent exhibitions of that glory 
 are discoverable in the universe, and are as 
 perfect and complete as contingent exhibi- 
 8 
 
86 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 tions can be. " The heavens declare the glory 
 of God ; and the firmament sheweth his handy 
 work. Day unto day uttereth speech, and 
 night unto night sheweth knowledge." The 
 expanse and the glorious orbs which be- 
 spangle it, — the regularity and harmony of 
 their motions, — the splendour of their hues, 
 and the vastness of their dimensions, pro- 
 claim the glory of God, displayed in their 
 workmanship. The flood of radiance poured 
 from the sun, and the mellow light of the 
 moon — declare his glory. But, glorious as 
 these are in themselves, they tell pf a pre- 
 ceding, an ineffable glory, employed in their 
 construction and appearance. Splendid as 
 they are, they evince that there is another 
 splendour, which even the " heaven of hea- 
 vens cannot contain," — whicli none can ex- 
 hibit, except the Son, who is the effulgence 
 of the Father's glory. He possessed this 
 glory before all worlds ; for he describes it, in 
 addressing the Father, as " the glory which 
 he had with him before the world was." 
 This glory or effulgence of the Divine per- 
 fections could not be essentially increased 
 or diminished by his appearance in the flesh ; 
 for, in his character of The Word, or in his 
 absolutely divine nature, the apostle John 
 
OF CHRIST. 87 
 
 says, " And the Word was made flesh, and 
 dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, 
 the glory as of the only begotten of the Fa- 
 ther,) full of grace and truth." The intel- 
 ligences, who display the powers of mind 
 which he has endowed, exhibit the manifes- 
 tations of this glory. But, whether we con- 
 template the range of angelic spirit, or the 
 mightiest spirit of mortal, they are only con- 
 tingent and subordinate to the essential God- 
 head. The Seraph who has veiled his face 
 before the resplendence of the Highesf, and 
 who, immediately, has received his commands 
 and fulfilled his purposes, — the mind which 
 has soared through creation's objects, and 
 scanned creation's laws, — which has enjoyed 
 the sublimest of the sublime, even contem- 
 plations of the manifold displays of this glo- 
 ry, — these beings are only faint scintillations, 
 when compared with the energy of that glo- 
 ry " which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, 
 neither can it enter into the heart of man to 
 conceive." 
 
 Whilst we are thus assisted, by intelli- 
 gence and materiality, to advance some steps 
 in the investigation of the effulgence of this 
 glory, as manifested unto us, and whilst we 
 are led to ascertain, from its manifestation, 
 
88 THE ETERNAL SO^SHIi' 
 
 what it is in itself, — we have no external 
 meMa to guide us, in the investigation of the 
 express representation of the Father's person 
 in the Divine essence. This theme is inscru- 
 table bj human intellect. What that essence 
 is, we know not. Its qualities alone can be 
 examined. This subject eludes all the capa- 
 ])ilities of thought. It is beyond creation ; 
 its margins are beyond our ken ; its bounda- 
 ries are not approachable by our powers. As 
 far as known to us, its comprehension is 
 alone with that Being " whose goings forth 
 have been from of old, from everlasting." 
 Farther than systems, farther than minds, far- 
 ther than thoughts of minds, it is " invisible" 
 to human reasoning and human conception, 
 and lies with the '^ eternal, immortal King." 
 We are surrounded by its qualities in their 
 manifested brightness; we meet them in the 
 minutest and widest existences of being, — 
 yet the loftiest aspiration of spirit has not 
 ascended to the height of the knowledge of 
 the substance, in which these qualities inhere. 
 The brightest ray of soul has set, ere it could 
 shine on this midiscovered, undiscoverable 
 realm of immensity. But what this essence 
 is, the Son is; — in his related state, it is his 
 essence, and with it, he necessarily enjoys its 
 
OF CHRIST. 89 
 
 coeval qualities. He is self-existent, eternal, 
 immense, immutable. 
 
 As by his omnipotence the Son created all 
 things, by the same omnipotence he upholds 
 all things, — " Upholding all things by the 
 ivord of his powerP This is analogous to the 
 declaration, — Colossians i. 17. " By him all 
 things consist." He is the superintending, 
 guiding ruler of minds and of spheres. 
 
 Thus far the Apostle has portrayed the 
 nature in which this person was, and is, the 
 Son. But, from the indefinite periods of 
 eternity, — from the indefinite periods before 
 the creation of worlds, and from the periods 
 which have elapsed during their continuance, 
 — the Apostle turns to describe actions per- 
 formed in time, connected with men, and 
 achieved in their behalf. At the time *' when 
 he (the Son) had purged our sins^ he sat doivn 
 at the right hand of the Majesty on high,^^ 
 The act of making purification of our sins, 
 could not have been accomplished in that 
 Divine nature, in which the Apostle had for- 
 merly described the Son. In that nature, he 
 could not make purification of our sins ; con- 
 sequently, this purification was achieved in 
 that nature which he assumed, — the assump- 
 tion of which could not change his Divine 
 8* 
 
90 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 nature, and could not, therefore, affect his 
 Sonship, which is inherent in that nature. 
 The elevation of the human nature, in conse- 
 quence of its union with the Divine, is illus- 
 trated ; " he (in that human nature,) sat doivn 
 at the right hand of the Majesty on high,^^ — 
 meaning, that this nature obtained the highest 
 possible honour. It could not, literally, oc- 
 cupy the right or left of the Divine Majesty ; 
 there being no such places, and no juxta- 
 position connected with Deity. 
 
 The atonement which the Son effected in 
 our nature, and the consequent elevation of 
 that nature, do not properly enter into our 
 present investigation. 
 
 We have now shown, from the passage 
 examined, that the Son is eternal as Son, 
 because he is "appointed" or constituted 
 " heir of all things ;" because " he made the 
 worlds;" because he is the "brightness" 
 or effulgence " of" the Father's " glory" 
 or perfections ; because he is " the express 
 image" or representation " of" the Father's 
 *' person" in the Divine nature ; and, because 
 he " upholds all things by the word of his 
 power." 
 
 The Apostle continues the subject in a 
 
OF CHRIST. 91 
 
 dillierent shade of sentiment. Hitherto he 
 has described the absolute qualities and ac- 
 tions of the Son, in, and from, himself, and 
 has referred to what he accomplished for 
 men in the purification of their sins ; but he 
 now commences a comparison of this Son 
 with the created objects, which were most 
 exalted and glorious in the estimation of the 
 Hebrews. They gloried exceedingly in the 
 law of Moses, because it was promulgated, 
 and often enforced, by the ministry of angels ; 
 and the Apostle illustrates the incomparably 
 superior nature of the Son,- in consequence of 
 his inherent dignity : " Being made so much 
 better than the angels, as he hath by inheri- 
 tance obtained a more excellent name than 
 they,^^ — The recapitulation of the Son's inhe- 
 rent nature, and the procedure and grandeur 
 of his achievements in human nature, have 
 afforded scope for the delineation of the 
 essential excellency of the Son ; whilst his 
 comparative greatness, arising from what he 
 is essentially in himself, and what created 
 beings are in themselves, affords scope for 
 farther elucidation of the Son's splendour. 
 He is not made better than the angels by 
 any external act, but he is in himself yivofjuvo? 
 — being, rather than being made, — existing so 
 
92 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 much better than the angels, by how much 
 he hath by inheritaiice Ki^^i^^ovoiMiKiv, obtainedy 
 — or hath inherited a more excellent name. 
 He is Son, and whilst the Father and he mu- 
 tually enjoy corresponding designations and 
 dominion, the act of possessing such desig- 
 nations and dominion must be expressed in 
 relative terms. To the Son, such possession 
 is ascribed by his inheriting. Neither crea- 
 tion, nor any act of creation, could cause 
 him to inherit the name of Son ; for it is a 
 related state, not existing between creation 
 and him, but between his Father and him in 
 the Godhead. Creation could not give him 
 inheritance in his name of Son, because crea- 
 tion is posterior to him and to his work as 
 Son. This inheritance is consequently in the 
 Divine nature. Others, both angels and men, 
 obtained, metaphorically, this excellent name, 
 but it was by their creation or adoption, not 
 by inheritance^ that they obtained the appella- 
 tion of sons of God. It was an external act 
 of the Deity which conferred it; but the 
 name of this person, as Son, is underived ; it 
 is inherited in his nature as God, and his in- 
 heritance is coeval with his nature — Eternal. 
 " For unto which of the angels said he at 
 any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I 
 
OF CHRIST. 93 
 
 begotten thee?'"' The passage from which this 
 is taken is Psalm ii. 7. " I will declare the 
 decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou 
 art my Son ; this day have I begotten thee. 
 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen 
 for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts 
 of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt 
 break them with a rod of iron ; thou shalt 
 dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." 
 It is obvious that the first part of these ex- 
 pressions used after the word decree, cannot 
 refer to the subject of the decree, but is a 
 prelude intimating the related state of the 
 person addressed. The events of the decree 
 are announced as future, — transactions which 
 were to be unfolded in the development of 
 the decree, — triumphs which were to be ac- 
 quired, and which were to be the result of a 
 process. But this promise of future triumph 
 was made to a person who then was, and, 
 subsequently, was to be. He is described 
 under two designations; the Messiah or the 
 Anointed, v. 2, and the Son, v. 7th & 12th. 
 But the actual coming of the Messiah took 
 place at the incarnation or assumption of hu- 
 man nature by the second person of the God- 
 head. It is admitted, that before that event, 
 he was only Messiah prospectively, not de 
 
94 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 facto. Previously to that assumption, this was 
 the designation that would be his — not the 
 designation that actually was his. If he was 
 also Son prospectively, and not de facto ^ when 
 this enunciation of the decree was made, — 
 and if he only became Son when the decree 
 began to take effect, then, there is no desig- 
 nation of any person actually addressed. But 
 this is contrary to the express indication of 
 the passage. For the Son, the person ad- 
 dressed, is represented as then in being, as the 
 Son ; — the homage of the Kings and Judges 
 of the earth is commanded to be paid to him, 
 and blessings are indiscriminately promised 
 to all those who trust in him.. " Blessed are 
 all they that put their trust in him." To pay 
 homage in obedience and love ; to trust and 
 obtain blessings in him ; to kiss or love this 
 person as Son, who was not then in being as 
 Son — are impossibilities, and absolute con- 
 tradictions in terms. Previously, then, to his 
 Messiahship, and independently of that cha- 
 racter, the person addressed, at that time, 
 existed. But the enunciation of the decree 
 bears intrinsic evidence of the then existence 
 of this person as Son. *' Thou art my Son, 
 this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me 
 and I shall give -— — ." '' This day or now I 
 
OF CHRIST. 95 
 
 have begotten^ — even now thou art with me as 
 ♦So??." Thou art with me in that nature, in 
 that absolute Godhead, to which " a thou- 
 sand years are as one day, and one day as a 
 thousand years." " This day,^^ as has been 
 well remarked by the Rev. Adam Gib, of 
 Edinburgh, " cannot be understood as pro- 
 " perly denoting m\y one of inaii'^s days, either 
 '^ in David's time or afterwards. It can only 
 *> be understood of God^s day, the day of eter- 
 " nity; which, with God, is all one day, with- 
 " out any yesterday or to-morrow, — one per- 
 ** mament day, without any succession of 
 *' parts, — a perpetual 7ioiv, co-existing with 
 ** every one of man's days. Thus, as the 
 " great Laither observes, upon this place : * If 
 ** * we will speak as the thing is, — to-day, 
 " ' every day, and always, the Son of God is 
 " ' begotten : For, in eternity, there is nei- 
 " * ther past nor future ; but a perpetual to- 
 " ' day.'^ And, as he further observes, upon 
 " that text : ' to-day is here to be taken for 
 " ' God's time, not ours: For God is not 
 " * there speaking with us, but with him who 
 " ' is with God beyond time.' " The term, 
 in the original, signifying day, expresses ei- 
 ther the definite period comprehended under 
 iorday, or any indefinite portion of time: 
 
96 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 whichever of these meanings we adopt, must 
 be determined by the circumstances in the 
 context. As we have evinced that the state 
 of Son w^as prior to the actual Messiahship, 
 and, consequently, not derived from the cir- 
 cumstances of creation — this state must be 
 inherent and inseparable from the Godhead, 
 and must, therefore, be Eternal. 
 
 One grand objection offered to our inter- 
 })retation of the passage is the phraseology, 
 / have begotten thee. If this objection refers 
 to the expression used, we reply, it is the only 
 term by which the relation of twp persons, 
 when described as that of Father and Son, 
 r/an be delineated to the human understand- 
 ing, when the mode by which the Son be- 
 comes participant of the Father's nature is 
 announced. This enunciation in Scripture is 
 only to us indicative of the fact that there is 
 such a participation of nature, though we 
 cannot apprehend the mode or process of the 
 participation. To raise an objection on ac- 
 count of the impossibility of a process ana- 
 logous to that by which participation is ef- 
 fected amongst mankind, is to rebut a diffi- 
 culty which is raised by the opponent him- 
 self, for no such assertion was ever made, nor 
 was ever such notion entertained by any of 
 
UF CHRIST. 97 
 
 the defenders of the doctrine of the Eternal 
 Sonship. They only f^ffirm, from the decla- 
 ration of Scripture, that there is a mode by 
 which the nature of the Father is partici- 
 pated by the Son ; and that the fact is de- 
 clared that the Son is begotten by the Father, 
 and is signified by the only term, which man- 
 kind possess, to designate the mode of partici- 
 pation of nature from him who is Father to 
 him who is Son. If the objectors assert that 
 there can be no such participation, and, con- 
 sequently, no mode by which the participa- 
 tion is effected, their statement is, in fact, 
 levelled against the related states of the God- 
 head, and is applicable to the terms Father 
 and Son, as well as to the proposition that the 
 latter person is begotten. But we have al- 
 ready shown, that there are, and must be, re- 
 lated states in the Godhead. If the objectors 
 affirm that we cannot understand the mode of 
 the alleged participation, we need not join 
 issue. In this, we perfectly agree, and con- 
 fess that the mode of this participation is as 
 incomprehensible to us as to them. 
 
 The Apostle quotes this enunciation of 
 
 the Son's eternal existence to distinguish the 
 
 difference of the foundation of his Sonship 
 
 from that of angels and men, in their relation 
 
 9 
 
98 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 to God. The emphasis of the sentence is 
 laid on begotten, opposed to the sonship of 
 angels and men, which is only figurative. 
 This latter sort of sonship does not arise from 
 participation of the Divine nature, but is 
 founded on the act of creation or adoption. 
 Christ, in the person of the Son, took to him-' 
 self this designation: John iii. 16. " For God 
 so loved the world, that he gave his only he- 
 gotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him 
 should not perish, but have everlasting life." 
 If the term only begotten Son, be said to apply 
 to Christ, on account of his miraculous con- 
 ception, there can, then, be no more reason 
 for giving this epithet to Christ, than to 
 iVdam, who was as much the immediate and 
 extraordinary workmanship of God, as the 
 body of Christ was of the Holy Ghost. Paul 
 repeats this enunciation when referring to 
 Christ's resurrection ; Acts xiii. 32, 33. " And 
 we declare unto you glad tidings, how that 
 the promise which was made unto the fa- 
 thers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us 
 their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus 
 again ; as it is also written in the second 
 Psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I 
 begotten thee." This, however, cannot im- 
 port, that by raising Christ from the dead, 
 
OF CHRIST. 99 
 
 God begat him into the relation of a Son ; 
 for, in that case, every one whom God has 
 raised, or shall raise from the dead, will there- 
 by be his only begotten Son, But God, by 
 that event, declared, but did not constitute 
 the Messiah, in his Divine nature, to be his 
 only begotten Son, — in defiance of the machi- 
 nations of the Jewish rulers and priests, who 
 put him to death and crucified him, in his 
 human nature, as a blasphemer, because he 
 asserted that he was the Son of God, " mak- 
 ing himself equal with God." To show the 
 truth of Christ's assertion, God, by the resur- 
 rection, declared him to be what he really 
 was, and enabled men to apprehend and ac- 
 knowledge him, in the eternity of his Son- 
 ship ; but, by that transaction, he did not 
 constitute him Son of God. Romans i. 3, 4. 
 ** Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, 
 which was made of the seed of David, ac- 
 cording to the flesh, and declared to be the 
 Son of God with power, according to the spi- 
 rit of holiness, by the resurrection from the 
 dead." Christ had, before this, been declared 
 to be the Son of God by voices, — particularly 
 at his baptism. In Hebrews v. 5. " So also 
 Christ glorified not himself to be made an 
 High Priest; but he that said unto him, 
 
100 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 Thou art my Son, to-day have I begotten 
 thee." Christ is affirmed not to glorify him- 
 self as Messiah or Mediator, when he was 
 made High Priest, for he had glory whicli 
 no Priesthood or Mediatory office could give 
 him, even the glory which he enjoyed with 
 his Father. Christ himself announces that 
 he was Son before his incarnation, which 
 event, therefore, could neither confer nor 
 affect Sonship. John iii. 17. " For God sent 
 not his Son into the world to condemn the 
 world ; but that the world through him might 
 be saved." In the state in which he was from 
 everlasting, he was sent, after the language 
 of men, to fulfil the purposes of redeeming 
 love. 
 
 We have shown that the person described 
 by the Psalmist, and referred to by the Apos- 
 tle, is really and essentially Son, that is, he 
 is begotten by the Father. He is not con- 
 stituted begotten Son by incarnation, be- 
 cause, according to the second Psalm, he was 
 in being as Son before the incarnation : ho- 
 mage and love were to be given to him ; 
 blessings were in him, and he was the object 
 of trust or reliance, as Son, before incarna- 
 tion. He is not constituted begotten Son by 
 the miraculous formation of his human na 
 
OF CHRIST. 101 
 
 ture in the womb, because, the formation of 
 Adam was equally the miraculous work of 
 God, yet Adam did not, and could not, by 
 that event, become participant of the Divine 
 nature. Our Lord is not constituted begot- 
 ten Son by his resurrection, for, in that case, 
 all who were ever raised by the resurrection 
 would, thereby, become begotten sons of God, 
 participant of his nature; — an impossibility. 
 He came into the world existing as Son, for 
 he was sent not to become Son, but, as Son, 
 to effect that purpose which could only be ef- 
 fected by himself. As none of the circum- 
 stances of creation did constitute him begotten 
 Son, he can only be so in the Godhead. 
 
 " Thou art my Son," says God, " this day 
 have I begotten thee." Begotten is the term 
 meaning, in the universal acceptation of man- 
 kind, the notion of participation of nature 
 and qualities enjoyed by one person (Father,) 
 and received by another, (Son,) existing in 
 related states. It is quite immaterial to our 
 argument at what time this begetting is un- 
 derstood to be predicated, as it is a begetting 
 of nature and qualities. Whether it is af- 
 firmed to be, at the present moment in which 
 we write, or at any previous or future period, 
 — ^the reality of the begetting or being begot- 
 9* 
 
102 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 ten^ cannot be affected. It cannot be altered 
 by the use of terms, definite or indefinite. It 
 was true at the period when David wrote, 
 centuries before tlie incarnation; it was true 
 when the angel announced the circumstance 
 to Mary, immediately before the incarnation, 
 and when the voice from heaven, after the 
 incarnation, proclaimed it on the banks of the 
 Jordan, and on the mountain of transfigura- 
 tion. Now, if the Son be begotten by the 
 Father, he is participant of the Father's na- 
 ture and qualities, for the very idea of this 
 begetting, which does not occur in creation, 
 or by means of creation, implies the partici- 
 pation of nature and qualities. If the Son 
 be participant of the nature and qualities of 
 the Father, he must possess the quality of 
 Eternity, which is essential to the nature of 
 the Father. And as the procedure of the 
 absolute Godhead, within itself, must be col- 
 lateral with the nature and qualities of God- 
 head, the procedure of the Father in beget- 
 ting, and of the Son in being begotten, must 
 be Eternal. If true, at any one moment, it 
 must be true this day, and yesterday, and 
 to-morrow, — from everlasting to everlasting. 
 The begetting by the Father cannot cease, 
 for it is inherent in him, as absolute God, to 
 
OF CHRIST. 103 
 
 beget, independently of, and before, all cre- 
 ation. The Son cannot cease to be begot- 
 ten, for it is, in like manner, inherent in 
 him, as absolute God, independently of, and 
 before, all creation, to be begotten. If the 
 fact of the participation of nature be true, at 
 any one period, it is true for ever, because 
 the nature is eternal, and must, in all times, 
 possess eternity in its qualities and absolute 
 procedure. The procedure of God, in cre- 
 ation, can be considered, according to our 
 notions, as consummated at different times: 
 the procedure of God, within his nature, can 
 never be consummated, for, in that nature, 
 there is no " variableness, neither shadow of 
 turning." In it, there is neither beginning 
 nor end ; in it, there is neither commence- 
 ment nor consummation ; w hat is. true con- 
 cerning it, is true for ever. 
 
 The Apostle continues the enunciation of 
 the Son's titles to ascendency: — '^ And again, 
 I IV ill be to kirn a Father, and he shall be to 
 me a Son.^^ 
 
 In the enumeration of Christ's qualities 
 and actions, in the beginning of this chapter, 
 there is a striking intermixture observable 
 in the recapitulation. The Apostle mingles 
 those qualities and actions, which are only 
 
104 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 applicable to absolute Deity, with those con- 
 nected with his appearance in the flesh, as 
 Messiah, and with what was accomplished 
 in that character. He ascribes to our Lord 
 attributes essential to his being as God, in 
 connexion with those peculiar to his office as 
 Mediator. He obviously supposes that those 
 who perused his epistle would be able, from 
 their previous knowledge, to apply his re- 
 marks to the respective and specific natures 
 alluded to, without a distinct mention of each 
 nature, when he ascribed perfections and 
 achievements to it. Those, who do. not pos- 
 sess that knowledge of Christ's respective 
 natures, which the Apostle pre-supposes, 
 must be involved in great difficulty, when 
 endeavouring to investigate the qualities and 
 actions which are thus intermingled. This 
 knowledge can only be attained by a care- 
 ful perusal of all corresponding passages, 
 by an accurate examination of the places 
 where the person and nature of Christ are 
 described, and by strict and just attention 
 to the connexion of the verses of this chap- 
 ter. The difficulty is increased, and rendered 
 almost perplexing, when, as in the present 
 process, the same interchanging application 
 is introduced to prove Christ's ascendency. 
 
OF CHRIST. 105 
 
 While one step must, by fair interpretation, 
 be referred to his qualities in the Godhead, 
 another step, by interpretation equally just, 
 must be referred to his power, offices, and ac- 
 tions, in his Mediatorial capacity. The ex- 
 planation and application must not depend 
 on our own arbitrary selection, or on pre-con- 
 ceived opinion, but on legitimate reference 
 to the passages quoted, indicating the pro- 
 cess of reasoning which the Apostle has ac- 
 tually chosen, not the reasoning which we 
 would choose for him. 
 
 The passage last quoted' is taken by the 
 Apostle from 2 Samuel vii. 12 — 17.; and 1 
 Chronicles xvii. 4 — 15, in the revelation 
 made to Nathan, and not from the revela- 
 tion made to David, 1 Chronicles xxii. 8 — 
 10. and xxviii. 6, 7. In these latter places, 
 the words are, "He shall be my Son, and I 
 xvill be his Father," which is not the order 
 in which they are quoted by the Apostle. — 
 The revelation made to Nathan refers pecu- 
 liarly to the Messiah; whilst that made to 
 David has reference to Solomon. In the re- 
 velation to Nathan, 2 Samuel vii. 12 — 14. 
 it is said, "When thy days be fulfilled, and 
 thou shalt sleep with thy Fathers, I will set 
 up thy seed after thee, w^hich shall proceed 
 
106 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 out of tliy bowels, and I will establish his 
 kingdom. He shall build an house for my 
 name, and I will stablish the throne of his 
 kingdom for ever. I will be his Father, and 
 he shall be my Son," &c. In the other pas- 
 sage, contained in the revelation to Nathan, 
 this declaration is given at greater length. 
 1 Chronicles xvii. 11—14. " And it shall 
 come to pass, when thy days be expired, that 
 thou must go to be with thy fathers, that I 
 will raise up thy seed after thee, w^hich shall 
 be of thy sons ; and I will establish his king- 
 dom. He shall build me an house, and I 
 wdll stablish his throne for ever. I will be 
 his Father, and he shall be my Son ; and I 
 will not take my mercy away from him, as I 
 took it from him that was before thee: But 
 I will settle him in mine house, and in my 
 kingdom for ever; and his throne shall be 
 established for evermore." But Solomon 
 was appointed king during David's life. (1 
 Kings i. 33, 34.) Solomon w^as not settled 
 in God's house or temple, and was not raised 
 up by David's sons after the reign and life 
 of David. He who w^as announced to Na- 
 than, could not, therefore, have been Solo^ 
 mon, but must have been the Messiah who 
 w^as " settled in God's house or temple,, and 
 
OF CHRIST. 10 
 
 ill God's kingdom for ever," and who was 
 both Priest and King in that spiritual king- 
 dom. In the enunciation to David, Solomon 
 is expressly mentioned : 1 Chronicles x'x.iu 
 9, 10. " Behold, a son shall.be born to thee, 
 who shall be a man of rest, and I wal give 
 him rest from all his enemies round about: 
 for his name shall be Solomon, and I will 
 give peace and quietness unto Israel in his 
 days. He shall build an house for my name, 
 and he shall be my son, and I will be his 
 father ; and I will establish the throne of his 
 kingdom over Israel for ever." This decla- 
 ration is not consonant with the circum- 
 stances of Messiah, who had not " rest from 
 his enemies," but was persecuted and cruci- 
 fied by them : these events, however, are all 
 strictly applicable to Solomon. In the enun- 
 ciation to Nathan, David's posterity is pro- 
 mised the establishment of the kingdom un- 
 conditionally ; but conditions are expressly 
 annexed in the revelation to David. 1 Chro- 
 nicles xxviii. 7. '' Moreover, I will establish 
 his kingdom for ever, if he be constant to do 
 my commandments and my judgments, as 
 at this day." David, therefore, enjoins the 
 service of the Lord on Solomon, v. 9. "If 
 thou seek him he will be found of thee ; but 
 
108 THE ETERNAL SON SHIP 
 
 if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for 
 ever." If it be said that this interpretation 
 of these passages is not correct, because it 
 is affirmed, in 2 Samuel vii. 14, 15. " If he 
 commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the 
 rod of men, and with the stripes of the chil- 
 dren of men : But my mercy shall not de- 
 part away from him," &:c. we answer, that the 
 word "i'^«, asher, in the 14th verse, translated 
 ff he, ought, as Pierce has shown, to be ren- 
 dered whosoever, i. e. " whosoever of Messiahh 
 subjects committeth iniquity, I ivill chasten 
 him with the rod,^^ &c. Various passages 
 might be adduced, in which a similar transi- 
 tion is made from the character and glorious 
 reign of the Messiah, to the conduct of his 
 professed subjects and children. Punishment 
 is denounced on his professed followers, 
 " if they commit iniquity, and forsake the 
 law" of God. In Psalm Ixxxix. 30—32. a 
 particular illustration of this mode of digres- 
 sion is exhibited. As we assert that the re- 
 velation to Nathan, " I will be to him a 
 Father, and he shall be to me a Son," is ap- 
 plicable to the Messiah alone, — it may also 
 be objected that the reasoning of the apostle, 
 proving Christ's superiority over the angels, 
 is fallacious, seeing the same promise was 
 
OF CHRIST. 109 
 
 made to David respecting Solomon, who was 
 not, thereby, proved to have been superior to 
 the angels. But the promise alluded to has 
 a meaning, when it is applied to Messiah, 
 very different from what it has when applied 
 to Solomon. For, in the former case, it refers 
 to the support which Messiah would receive 
 during the period of his appearance on earth 
 — a support explained by the declaration of 
 what God was to him in that Divine nature 
 which gave his Messiahship all its value and 
 worth; and, in the latter case, it refers to 
 the peculiar affection and care which God 
 would bestow on Solomon as his adopted son. 
 God, therefore, declares to the Messiah, in 
 prophecy, what he would do for that nature, 
 which being assumed by the Son, possessed 
 Sonship in union w ith his Divine nature. 
 
 God, in the first declaration in this (5th) 
 verse, speaks of the conversation and inter- 
 course within the Divine nature. " Thou 
 art my Son, this day have I begotten thee." 
 In the second declaration, he does not say, I 
 will beget him (as Son) and he (the Son) 
 shall be begotten by me, in his Mediatorial 
 character, — but, " I will be to him a Father, 
 and he shall be to me a Son." The relation 
 mentioned in the first declaration, as we 
 10 
 
110 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 have already shown, could never have had 
 a beginning or an end ; the duration of the 
 relation mentioned in the second, is equally 
 extensive, in regard to Christ's actual Son- 
 ship ; but, in our Lord's mediatorial charac- 
 ter, the Father did ostensively become Fa- 
 ther, in the perceptions of men, because they 
 beheld that appearance, even our Lord's hu- 
 man nature, which, though not the origin or 
 commencement of his Sonship, was the ori- 
 gin or commencement of what they visibly 
 beheld as Sonship. This appearance did not 
 create his Sonship ; but it created his visible 
 appearance as Son. It did not constitute his 
 Sonship ; but it constituted the external, sen- 
 sible display which mankind perceived. It 
 did not begin his Sonship ; but, with it, com- 
 menced the intellectual and corporeal per- 
 ception of Christ's Sonship. It was not be- 
 gotten as Son ; but it was taken into union 
 by the begotten Son. It was no addition to 
 his Sonship ; but it was an addition to the 
 medium by which men beheld his Sonship. 
 The prospective coming of the human nature 
 did not induce the Father to say, " I will be 
 to him a Father," on account of the creation 
 of that nature in time, and its exhibition in 
 future ages; but, because, in future ages, 
 
OF CHRIST. Ill 
 
 men would behold that which was the exter- 
 nal display of Sonship. This external dis- 
 play was future and contingent, and an ob- 
 ject of perception to men, as much as the 
 heavens and all their glory are, with respect 
 to God, future and contingent, and, with re- 
 spect to men, objects of perception. God 
 was powerful in the creation of the heavens ; 
 but that display of power did no more cause 
 the existence of Omnipotence, than the dis- 
 play of the Sonship to men caused the exis- 
 tence of Sonship. God says, " I will get me 
 honour upon Pharoah, and upon all his host, 
 upon his chariots and upon his horsemen." 
 But God did not, thereby, create his honour ; 
 neither was the destruction of Pharaoh the 
 cause of God's honour. God says, '' I will 
 be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a 
 Son ;" but he does not say, I will beget him, 
 who is Messiah, my Son. He had already 
 declared, according to the words quoted by 
 the Apostle from the second Psalm, that 
 Sonship was an inherent, self-existent, re- 
 lated state, eternal as his nature. But, as 
 the destruction of Pharaoh was an external 
 display of honour by him who had eternal 
 honour ; so the human nature of Christ, in 
 itst miraculous conception and preservation, 
 
112 THE ETERNAL SONSHIR 
 
 was an external display of that Sonship which 
 was self-existent and eternal. As the Egyp- 
 tians were the media by which God manifest- 
 ed his honour, so the human nature was the 
 medium by which God manifested the Son- 
 ship, as eternally existing in the Divine na- 
 ture, in its related states. 
 
 In continuation of the proof of the ascen- 
 dency of Christ, the Apostle introduces ano- 
 ther quotation : " And again ivhen he bring- 
 eth in the first begotten into the ivorld, he 
 saith, And let all the angels of God worship 
 him.^^ Some render the term Tr^carGTOKov^first- 
 born, instead of first-begotten. Whichever 
 reading we adopt, it is immaterial to the 
 Apostle's reasoning in this passage. As there 
 is no Son begotten after this Son, and as 
 none else could be begotten, the phraseo- 
 logy is in accordance with his being heir of 
 all things. The first-begotten and first-born 
 are the related terms used by mankind for 
 that person who is heir, or possesses the domi- 
 nion and property. According to the inter- 
 pretation which is given to the adverb TratAiv, 
 by translating it the second time,, or agahi^ a 
 different meaning is affixed to the circum- 
 stances of Christ's superiority deduced from 
 tlie quotation, though the Apostle's reason- 
 
OF CHRIST. 113 
 
 ing remains unaffected. When 7r*Aiv is tran- 
 slated the second time, the passage must be 
 read — " But when he bringeth again, i. e. the 
 second time, the first begotten into the world, 
 he saith," &c. That is, — When God, by the 
 resurrection, which may be compared to ano- 
 ther incarnation, brought Christ a second 
 time into the world, preparatory to his ascen- 
 sion and glory in human nature, he com- 
 manded all the angels to worship him, not 
 only in his Divine nature, but through that 
 human nature which was assumed by the 
 Divine ; as he saith in Psalm xcvii. 7. " Wor- 
 ship him, all ye gods," i. e. angels of God. 
 In the usual reading, as in our translation, 
 when TTxKiv is rendered again, in the begin- 
 ning of the sentence, it is, by a transposition 
 of the Greek sentence, joined to he saith, and 
 bears the same sense as in the foregoing 
 verse, viz. to point out another testimony 
 concerning Christ, referring to the time of his 
 incarnation, when he came into the world, 
 and when this commandment was issued to 
 the angels. But there is no evidence that 
 any such commandment was issued at the 
 time of Christ's incarnation. On the contra- 
 ry, the Apostle, in his epistle to the Philippi- 
 ans, ii. 8 — 11. expressly declares that it was 
 10* 
 
Ill THE ETERNAL 30NSHIP 
 
 after his death that the angels were appomted 
 to worship Christ, through the medium of his 
 human nature. " 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 ex- 
 alted him, and given him a name which is 
 above every name : That at the name of Je- 
 sus every knee should bow, of things in 
 heaven, and things in earth, and things un- 
 der the earth ; and that every tongue should 
 confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the 
 glory of God the Father." The translation, 
 then, which renders TrocXtv the second time, 
 indicating that it was after Christ's resurrec- 
 tion or second coming into the world, that 
 the commandment to worship was given to 
 the angels, — is undoubtedly correct. As 
 mankind possessed a new medium by which 
 they gave homage and worship to the God- 
 head, when Christ came in the flesh ; so the 
 angels, after his resurrection, when he en- 
 tered heaven in his human nature, possessed 
 not a new object of worship, but a new 7ne- 
 dium by which they might present glory to 
 God. This adoration of the Son, in his hu- 
 man nature, was not adoration to a different 
 person, or to another being, but to that same 
 
OF CHRIST. ii£; 
 
 being whom they had worshipped from their 
 creation, and who now had another appear- 
 ance, which could be no addition to his God- 
 head or personality, but which was subsist- 
 ing in his Godhead and Divine personality. 
 The actual commencement of the worship of 
 mankind to God, in the human nature, was 
 simultaneous with his appearance on earth 
 after his birth or first coming: the actual 
 commencement of the worship of angels to 
 him, in the human nature, was simultaneous 
 with the appearance of the first begotten, 
 after his resurrection or second coming, when 
 he ascended up on high. This human na- 
 ture was both the medium of worship and that 
 which was worshipped. It was the medium of 
 worship, because it indicated the Divine na- 
 ture in which it had subsistence ; it was that 
 w^hich was worshipped, because it was in a 
 Divine person, and with a Divine person, 
 whose personality w^as not changed or en- 
 larged by its assumption. The medium 
 through which worship was given was new, 
 and had a beginning ; that which was wor- 
 shipped was from everlasting, for it was not 
 to the human nature, as human nature, that 
 homage was paid, but to the human nature 
 united to the Divine, inhering in a Divine 
 
116 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 person, and insej)arately connected with his 
 personality. 
 
 The Apostle proceeds in his reasoning: 
 " And of the Angels he saith,^^ (quoted from 
 Psalm civ. 4.) " Who maketh his angels spirits, 
 and his ministers aflame of fire. But unto the 
 Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever 
 and ever; a sceptre of righteousness is the scep- 
 tre of thy kingdom,^^ An attempt has been 
 made to evade the force of the latter part of 
 this passage, evincing Christ's Divinity and 
 his Sonship in the Divine nature, by trans- 
 lating it, God is thy throne, i. e. the support 
 and glory of thy throne, — and this, because 
 it is affirmed, that 'o ko^, God, is in the Nomi- 
 native case. But such translators forget that 
 the Nominative is frequently used for the 
 Vocative, by the Attics, the most elegant 
 and correct of Grecian writers. In the Sep- 
 tuagint, it is frequently thus used, particu- 
 larly in the Psalms ; and St. Paul has adopted 
 it in Romans viii. 5. and in the 9th verse of 
 the Chapter which we are now examining. 
 " Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated ini- 
 quity : therefore God, (or more explicitly and 
 justly translated — O God,) thy God hath 
 anointed thee tvith the oil of gladness above 
 thy felloivs:^'' — meaning, thereby, that in hu- 
 
OF CHRIST. 117 
 
 man nature he was thus anointed above all cre- 
 ated natures. These two verses, which we are 
 examining, (8, 9,) are taken from Psalm xlv. 
 6, 7. Any comment must weaken the force 
 of their application to the Eternal Sonship of 
 Christ. — Can sophistry evade, can ingenuity 
 distort the import of this address v/hich deci- 
 sively elucidates the Eternity of our Lord's 
 Sonship ? O God, ('o ©go?) in the singular 
 number, is never used absolutely or without 
 a restriction to some peculiar consideration 
 of it, respecting any, except the only true 
 God. God himself declares to the Son, " O 
 God, thy throne is for ever and ever." The 
 Eternal God declares the throne of his Son, 
 of his begotten Son, to be Eternal. 
 
 The Apostle proceeds,-^" And, Thou, 
 Lord, in the beginning, hast laid the founda- 
 tion of the earth ; and the heavens are the ivork 
 of thine handsJ^"^ The conjunction and, in 
 the beginning of the sentence, is introduced 
 by the Apostle to connect the foregoing testi- 
 mony with this present, quoted from Psalm 
 cii. 25. where the conjunction is not found. 
 The passage is a continuation of the testi- 
 mony respecting the Son. If it do not apply 
 to the Son, but to the Father, as some affirm, 
 the Apostle must have introduced into the 
 
n8 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 reasoning a subject foreign to the discussion, 
 and totally unconnected with the argument. 
 If this declaration do not refer to the Son, 
 the Apostle, after having commenced a pro- 
 cess to prove the superiority of the- Son, ab- 
 ruptly introduces remarks, not only without 
 any specific reason, but completely foreign 
 from the object which he wished to prove, 
 and disjointed from the regular train of his 
 observations. But Paul, the generally re- 
 ceived author of the epistle to the Hebrews, 
 " brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, taught 
 according to the perfect manner of the law 
 of the Fathers," could not, independently of 
 the unerring wisdom of the inspiring Spirit, 
 be guilty of such a fallacy, or rather nullity 
 of reasoning. The accuracy of just compo- 
 sition, the necessary connexion in the context, 
 and the obvious tendency of the quotation in 
 the reasoning, evince that the declaration is, 
 in this passage, applicable to the Son, and to 
 the Son alone. 
 
 " They shall perish^ hut thou remainest ; 
 and they all shall wax old as doth a garment ; 
 and as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and 
 they shall be changed : but thou art the same, 
 and thy years shall not faiV The Son of 
 God, Vv'ho is for ever and ever, created the 
 
OF CHRIST. 119 
 
 heavens and the earth. When they disappear, 
 he shall still remain the Son of God. Within 
 the arcana of Godhead, in the aspect of cre- 
 ation, in the human nature assumed, he is 
 Son of God. He rules, as Son of God, over 
 the wrecks of nations, — the gradual decay 
 wrought by time, and the shock produced by 
 the sudden revolution. He rules over all, 
 God over all, through the archives of eter- 
 nity. 
 
 '' But^ (or moreover^) to which of the angels 
 said he at any time, Sit thou on my right hand, 
 until I make thine enemies- thy footstool?''^ 
 The Apostle, as he has before repeatedly 
 done, changes the nature, though not the 
 force, of his proof. From the sources of rea- 
 soning determining Christ's superiority ob- 
 tained from his absolute Godhead, he intro- 
 duces those determining his superiority from 
 the glory of his Messiahship. The text is 
 taken from Psalm ex. to which Christ refers, 
 when speaking to the Pharisees, and which 
 he adduces, as acknowledged by the Jewish 
 Doctors to have been written concerning the 
 Messiah, by the inspiration of the Spirit. 
 The Mediatorial character and human na- 
 ture of our Lord are exalted above all created 
 beings. He is to reign, in his human na- 
 
120 THE ETERNAL SON SHIP 
 
 ture, above the greatest Angel; in the nature 
 which suffered, he is to triumph ; in the na- 
 ture which was bruised, he is to bruise and 
 vanquish all his foes. Portrayed as a Con- 
 queror, according to the Eastern figure, his 
 enemies are to be trampled under his feet; 
 and Death and Sin led captive at his chariot 
 wheels. 
 
 Subservient to these victories, " Are they 
 not all, (the angels) ininistering spirits, sent 
 forth to minister for them ivho shall be heirs of 
 salvation P" Their duty, whilst they worship 
 the King, is to minister to his meanest sub- 
 ject. Christ, therefore, is superior to all 
 angels ; — in his Divine nature, because he is 
 Son, only-begotten Son, God the Son, Son 
 for ever and ever. Son still the same, Son 
 whose years shall not fail; — in his human 
 nature, because, in consequence of its union 
 with the Divine, angels worship him, because 
 it is raised to the highest glory, because it 
 will triumph over all its enemies, and be- 
 cause angels minister to the subjects of Mes- 
 siah's kingdom. The Son is, in one word, 
 superior to all creatures, because he possesses 
 the qualities of the Godhead,— because he 
 is Eternal. 
 
OF CHRIST. 121 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Continuation of the Examination of Passages 
 of Scripture, which prove the Sonship of 
 Christ to be Eternal. 
 
 We have, in the former chapter, shown 
 the reality of Christ's Sonship in the God- 
 head, and its eternal, immense, and immuta- 
 ble nature. We now pursue the investigation 
 of other passages of Scripture, equally confir- 
 matory of this doctrine. 
 
 It is written, Colossians i. 13 — 20. " Who 
 (the Father) hath delivered us from the power 
 of darkness, and hath translated us into the 
 kingdom of his dear Son: in whom ive have 
 redemption through his blood, even the for- 
 giveness of sins : Who is the image of the 
 invisible God, the first-born of every creature: 
 For by him were all things created that are 
 in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and 
 invisible, whether they be thrones, or domi- 
 nions, or principalities, or powers : all things 
 were created by him, and for him. And hejs 
 11 
 
122 THE ETERiNAL SONSHIP 
 
 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; that in all things he might have the pre- 
 eminence. For it pleased the Father, that in 
 him should cdl fulness dwell; And, (hamig 
 made peace through the blood of his cross,) 
 by him to reconcile all things unto himself, by 
 him, I say, ichether they be things in earth or 
 things in heaven J^"^ 
 
 The Apostle, in the verses above quoted, 
 exhibits the nature of that deliverance which 
 had been obtained by the believing Chris- 
 tians, — the condition from which they had 
 been rescued, and that into which they had 
 been translated. He reminds them of the 
 darkness into which they had been phmged, 
 — that darkness which affected both their in- 
 tellect and moral feelings, — which concealed 
 from them the glories of God's perfections 
 and government, and, above all, his nature, as 
 displayed in the plan of salvation. The ty- 
 ranny or sway of this darkness continued its 
 dominion until they were " translated into the 
 kingdom of the Father's dear Son," where 
 they were " made meet to be partakers of the 
 inheritance of the saints in light." This 
 change he terms a redemption procured by the 
 
OF CHRIST. 123 
 
 blood of Christ; for, in the 14th verse, the 
 words " through his bloocP are an explication 
 of the clause " in whom ,*" in the same man- 
 ner as ^'forgiveness of sins'^'^ is an explication 
 of "• redemption. '^^ There is a propitiation pro- 
 vided, more effectual than the Levitical sacri- 
 fices. By his blood — the price of redemption 
 — we have obtained a complete discharge from 
 ihe guilt of sin, and the curse of the law; — 
 we have obtained an inheritance of all spiritual 
 and eternal blessings which sin has forfeited. 
 The efficacy of Christ's blood, for such glo- 
 rious purposes, arises from the dignity of his 
 person, which gave virtue to his Mediatorial 
 office. He who is the head of that kingdom 
 into which we are introduced, is the Son, 
 " who is the image of the invisihle God.'^ 
 These words are peculiarly forcible, and con- 
 vey not only a direct proof of Christ's Divini- 
 ty, but also of his Eternal Sonship. This 
 image can be no material representation; it 
 cannot be any sensible likeness ; it is not an 
 object which men can physically examine; — 
 for it is expressly said to be the image of the 
 invisible God. This image or likeness of the 
 invisible God is not, therefore, one which can 
 experience the common casualties of human 
 nature. It cannot be born; for that which 
 
124 THE ETERNAL SO?fSHIP 
 
 is born is no representation of an invisible 
 being, much less of the invisible God. It 
 cannot hunger and thirst ; for these proper- 
 lies are peculiar to animated beings, who are 
 the images of visible animated creatures. It 
 cannot exhibit the external indications of joy 
 and sorrow ; for these are characteristic ex- 
 pressions of countenance or bodily gesture, 
 belonging to sensitive natures. It cannot die ; 
 for death, or the cessation of all animal func- 
 tions in the different component parts, is pe- 
 culiar to organized matter — a visible sub- 
 stance, which can never be the image of an 
 invisible substance. It cannot possess length 
 or breadth or thickness ; it cannot have form 
 or parts; it cannot have impenetrability, or 
 colour, or hardness, or softness ; it cannot, in 
 fine, be matter, or any composition of matter. 
 Possessing none of these qualities, this image 
 cannot be human nature : — for all the proper- 
 ties which we have named, inseparably and 
 essentially belong to human nature — which is 
 a "true body," united to a "reasonable squI." 
 Christ, in his appearance in the flesh, pos- 
 sessed such human nature; he had a "true 
 body" and a " reasonable soul," In his hu- 
 man nature he was born ; he hungered and 
 thirsted; he groaned in spirit and wept; ho 
 
OF CHRIST. 125 
 
 died ; he had length and breadth and thick- 
 ness; he had form, and hardness and softness. 
 He said to his terrified disciples, when, on ac- 
 count of his sudden appearance, they thought 
 they had seen a spirit, "Behold my hands 
 and my feet that it is I myself: handle me, 
 and see ; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones 
 as ye see me have. And when he had thus 
 spoken, he showed them his hands and his 
 feet. And while they yet believed not for joy 
 and wondered, he said unto them. Have ye 
 here any meat ? And they gave him a piece 
 of a broiled fish, and of an honey comb. 
 And he took it and did eat before them." 
 To remove the unbelief of Thomas, he said, 
 " Reach hither thy finger, and behold my 
 hands ; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust 
 it into my side : and be not faithless but be- 
 lieving." Possessing such qualities, the hu- 
 man nature of our Lord could not be the 
 image of the invisible Grod, but was the image 
 of visible man. Glorious and exalted as is 
 the humanity of Christ, it could not possess 
 qualities which are a contradiction of its 
 existence. Elevated in consequence of its 
 union to Divinity, it did not become Divinity, 
 nor did it cease to be humanity. Whilst it 
 is. and was, and must be, possessing the at- 
 11* 
 
126 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 tributes which are inherent in its own nature, 
 and whicli are inseparable from humanity, it 
 is impossible that it can be the image of any 
 being that is invisible, and, in whom, conse- 
 quently, the properties of matter do not in- 
 here. It cannot, therefore, be the image of 
 the invisible God. John, whilst he and the 
 thousands of the land of Judea beheld the 
 human nature of Christ, asserts that " No 
 man hath seen God at any time ; the only 
 begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the 
 Father, he hath declared him." If the ex- 
 ternal appearance of our Lord's human na- 
 ture be the image of God, then, the multi- 
 tudes that surrounded him in his youth, who 
 were present at his baptism, and who wit- 
 nessed his public ministry, must have also 
 seen God; his image or representation being 
 visible in that human nature.* 
 
 If there be an image or representation of 
 God who is perfect, — that image must be like 
 
 * We need scarcely remark, that our Lord's declaration, " He 
 that hath seen me hath seen the Father," is no contradiction to 
 this reasoning^. Our Lord, in these words, evidently means that 
 the existence of the Father was as obvious as his own, on account 
 of the external works which were performed by the Father and 
 himself, in the Divine nature ; and which works, when perceived 
 by men, were manifestations of the Father and the Son. Our 
 Lord subsequently cjjplains himself, and shows that he could not 
 
OF CHRIST. 127 
 
 hlin, — must be complete and perfect, — and 
 must represent him as he actually is. But 
 that which is as God is, must possess the sam.e 
 qualities; if, then, the human nature of Christ 
 was the image of God, — God, in opposition to 
 the words of John, was seen at different times 
 by those who beheld Christ's appearance in 
 the flesh. Christ says, " And the Father 
 liimself, which hath sent me, hath borne 
 witness of me. Ye have neither heard his 
 voice at any time, nor seen his shape." Now, 
 in his human nature, Christ had shape, and 
 all the properties connected with the posses- 
 sion of shape, and this shape was seen of 
 
 allude to perception of the Father by external organs, when he 
 saysj '' Believe me, that I am in the Father, and the Father in 
 me : or else believe nie for the very works' sake." 
 
 It is possible some may object to our illustration of, and rea- 
 soning from, the position that the Son is the image of the invisi- 
 ble God, because, say they, it is affirmed of man that he was 
 '■ created in the image of God ;" yet man, by being in that image, 
 could not possess Divine perfections, that he might, thereby, re- 
 present the Eternal Being. — We answer : that man, being cre- 
 ated, could only possess finite qualities, — that these finite qualities 
 of excellence did, to the utmost extent of human nature, and as 
 far as it was capable, represent, or gi«e an image of, God, — that 
 the Son, as an image of God, must, to the utmost extent of his 
 nature, represent the invisible God — and that the Son, being a 
 Divine person, his representation must possess all the qualities of 
 Divinity ;. consequently, being an image of God to the utmost 
 extent of his nature, he is an eternal representative. But, if the 
 Son be an eternal representative, he is eternal Son. 
 
128 THE ETERNAL SONSHIF 
 
 men. If, therefore, he be the image of the 
 Father, in his human nature, men have seen 
 the shape of the Father ; which is contrary to 
 his own express declaration. Our Lord far- 
 ther affirms, " Not that any man hath seen 
 the Father, save he which is of God, he hath 
 seen the Father." Christ is not, then, in his 
 human nature, the image of the invisible 
 God. An image is a delineation by which 
 the being represented can be recognized, — 
 But God cannot be recognized, unless in the 
 possession of his Eternity, Omniscience, and 
 Omnipotence; Immensity, Immutability, and 
 Self-existence. If he be divested of these 
 qualities, there can be no recognition of God- 
 head. But matter, in any shape or in any 
 modification, united to human spirit — to an- 
 gelic nature or to Divinity itself, cannot de- 
 lineate these qualities of Deity. The hu- 
 manity of Christ not only was not, but never 
 can become, the image of the invisible God. 
 In that nature which c^n alone delineate 
 the invisible God, he is Son ; for he can- 
 not delineate the Godhead in his humanity. 
 Yet such delineation must be inherent in 
 him, and inseparable from him, and can 
 be only found in his Divine nature. Now, 
 image, in Scripture, denotes likeness, and 
 
OF CHRIST. * 129 
 
 even sameness of nature and properties. 1 
 Corinthians xv. 49. " As we have borne the 
 image of the earthy, we shall also bear the 
 image of the heavenly." Hebrews x. 1. 
 '' The law having a shadow of good things 
 to come, and not the very image of the 
 things." The very image is here opposed to 
 the bare features without the substance and 
 properties. As the Son, therefore, is the 
 image of the invisible God, he must possess 
 the qualities of Godhead. Now, the God, 
 w^ho is King invisible, is also eternal, immor- 
 tal ; — the Son, who is his image, and who 
 delineates him, must be to us invisible, and 
 eternal, immortal. The Son is, therefore, 
 the eternal image of the invisible God. Glo- 
 rious as is the kingdom which he has pur- 
 chased in his humanity, more glorious is that 
 kingdom, which is his, without purchase. — 
 Exalted as is his human nature, more exalted 
 is that Sonship, — that eternally related state 
 in which he was from everlasting with the 
 Father. Could the intellect of man pene- 
 trate that veil which hides the splendours of 
 eternal duration, it would discover the Holy 
 Three, not only as God absolnte, but as God 
 related. Though the Holy Three are invisi- 
 ble to us, — though sense cannot perceive, or 
 
130 ' THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 intellect comprehend them, — though the ta- 
 lents of angel and of man cannot developc 
 the profundity of that being in whom all 
 things are, — yet we rejoice that we are ac- 
 counted worthy to understand, and intellec- 
 tually to discern, that there are, and must be, 
 eternally related states within the Godhead ; 
 and that he, who bore our image in his hu- 
 man nature, bears the image of the invisible 
 Godf in his Divine nature. But this concen- 
 tration of glories is too much for the human 
 intellect. We know that the Godhead exists ; 
 to gaze on its rays would overwhelm us. We 
 know that the Son is eternal ; how he is Son, 
 the manner in which he became Son, is an 
 extent of illumination which we are not per- 
 mitted to explore. 
 
 The Son is also said to be '' the first born 
 of every creature,^^ or the first born of the 
 tvhole creation^ as the expression Trccn^ ana-fcag 
 is translated in Romans viii. 22. In the Arian 
 acceptation of this passage, the first born of 
 the whole creation means the first made creature. 
 But such a construction is overturned by the 
 reasoning adopted to prove the position.^ — 
 When the Apostle affnms that the Son creat- 
 ed all things, this reasoning does not esta- 
 blish that he is the first made creature, unless 
 
OF CHRIST. 131 
 
 we suppose that his power to create arose 
 from his being the first made creature. Such 
 a supposition is manifestly absurd. Neither 
 can the creation of all things by the Son es- 
 tablish that he, first of all, created himself. 
 Such are the obvious contradictions which 
 arise from the assertion that the first born of 
 the whole creation signifies the first made 
 creature. The expression first horn of the 
 whole creation, requires a just comparison with 
 collateral passages. It corresponds with the 
 declaration in Hebrews, that the Son is heir 
 of all things, and evidently implies a related 
 notion, because it is connected, and associ- 
 ated with, the related term Son. It is em- 
 ployed to designate the absolute Lordship 
 or dominion of the Son over all things. Its 
 use is derived from the authority and power 
 always conferred on the first born, and uni- 
 formly associated, by the Jews, with the idea 
 of the person who was heir or lord of all 
 things possessed by his father. The sole cir- 
 cumstance of his being first born caused him 
 to inherit this extent of authority. The au- 
 thority, when considered as mutually vested 
 in the father and the son, was the authority 
 of the father and of the first born. Thus, 2 
 Chronicles xxi. 3. '^ But the kingdom gave 
 
132 THE ETERNAL SON SHIP 
 
 he to Jehoram, because he was the first 
 born." The first born was lord of the rest 
 of the family, who were his servants. This 
 is evident from what Isaac says to Esau, after 
 he had conferred the right of primogeniture 
 on Jacob, — Genesis xxvii. 37. " And Isaac 
 answered and said unto Esau, Behold I have 
 made him thy lord, and all his brethren have 
 I given to him for servants." Among the 
 Oriental nations, first born, heir, and lord, 
 were synonymous expressions. Galatians iv. 
 1. "Now, I say. That the heir, as long as 
 he is a child, differeth nothing from a ser- 
 vant, though he be lord of all." " Heres apud 
 antiquos pro Domino ponehatur. The heir, 
 amongst the ancients, was used for the lordJ^'^^ 
 *' Among the children, the eldest son wa."^ 
 " invested with peculiar privileges, particu- 
 ** larly, he had a right to a double portion of 
 " his father's estate, that is, of all that he was 
 " in possession of when he died, but not (as 
 *' Mr. Selden shows to be the opinion of the 
 " Jewish lawyers,) of that which was his in 
 " reversion after his death. And this claim 
 '-* was so unalterable, that the father had no 
 " power to disinherit him ; " " The Jews 
 
 * See Vinnius' note on Justinian's Instit. lib. 2. tit. 19. last 
 section. 
 
OF CHRIST. 133 
 
 " commonly take notice of three prerogatives 
 " belonging to the first born : a double part 
 '^ of the inheritance, the priestiiood, and the 
 ^! kingdom, (as they speak) that is, the prin- 
 
 " cipal authority among his brethren ;" 
 
 *' The first born among the old Hebrews 
 " were eminently distinguished, as it were, 
 *' by a natural right from the rest of the chil- 
 " dren, otherwise it could not have been so 
 ^^ criminal in Esau, to have sold the preroga- 
 " tive of his birth-right." — LeAvis' Hebrew 
 Antiquities, vol. iii. 
 
 The interpretation which renders the phrase 
 the first born of every creature to be Lord or 
 Governor of all things ^ will be found to be 
 the only one which will harmonize with the 
 Apostle's reasoning. It is in accordance with 
 the other qualities belonging to the Son, and 
 assimilates with his related state of Son. 
 While the simple expression Lord, denotes 
 his authority as absolute God, without refe- 
 rence to his related state in the Godhead ; — 
 the expression first born, denotes the same 
 authority, and conveys, in addition, the idea 
 that that authority is exercised reciprocally 
 by one person with another, both existing 
 in related states, viz. those of Father and 
 Son. Authority and dominion are in con- 
 12 
 
134 THE ETERNAL SONSHII> 
 
 gruity with our ideas of Godhead ; heirship 
 or right of primogeniture are in congruity 
 with our ideas of the related states of Father 
 and Son. When the Son is termed heir, we 
 associate with the designation, the objects 
 which he possesses and over which he reigns ; 
 — when he is termed first horn, we associate 
 with the designation, the rights or necessary 
 privileges which he enjoys, and, in virtue of 
 which, he exercises rule and pre-eminence 
 over the objects possessed ; and when the 
 person designated is termed Son, we associate 
 with the expression, a related state in which 
 this person exists with another, — who must 
 be the Father. When he is termed Lord, we 
 associate the same authority which he inherits 
 as Son, as heir, as first-born, — without refe- 
 rence to the related state with which the term 
 Lord is connected. The argument is, there- 
 fore, obvious and cogent. He is heir, first 
 born or Lord of all things, because he created 
 all things. The same power which brought 
 them into being, cannot be lost or diminished, 
 when they are in being. 
 
 If a different explication be given of the 
 expression Tr^wTSTOJco? Tracviq zna-iug, rendering 
 it the first begotten before all creatures, — the 
 pre-eminence of the Son and his absolute om- 
 
OF CHRIST. 135 
 
 nipotence are unaffected. We are thus led to 
 view the simple and underived related state 
 of Son, within the Godhead, independently 
 of, and before, creation. This latter explana- 
 tion describes the eternal generation of the 
 Son, within the Divine essence ; the former, 
 which we have adopted, describes the Son's 
 eternal omnipotence, which was, and is, dis- 
 played in creation, and in the preservation of 
 creation. The one displays the state of exis- 
 tence inherent in the Deity ; the other, the 
 power which is collateral with that state, and 
 predicated of the Son. ' ^ 
 
 " For by him ivere 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^ The casual 
 particle 'oTi For, (or rather Because) in the 
 beginning of this passage, refers to both parts 
 of the preceding verse. The Son is the image 
 of the invisible God, as well as the first born 
 of the whole creation ; " because by him were 
 all things created,^^ &c. The objects of crea- 
 tion are described as things in heaven and 
 things in earth, visible and invisible. The 
 things visible are those in earth, the material 
 fabric of which, and all that it contains, are 
 
156 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 said to be — Hebrews xi. 3. '' ra> ^KiTrofAivo:^^ 
 things ivhich are seenP The things invisible 
 are affirmed to be in the heavens, and are the 
 different ranks of angels — thrones^ dominions, 
 (or Lordships,) principalities, (or govern- 
 ments,) powers. In Ephesians i. 21. the 
 parallel terms mean the different classes of 
 angels ; whether good or bad. In Colossians 
 ii. 10. the expression principality and power, 
 designates good angels, over whom Christ is 
 supreme. Yet the words, in the 15th verse of 
 the same chapter, and in Ephesians vi. 12., 
 denote the evil angels, who war against God 
 and God's people. In Luke xii. 11., they 
 signify earthly governors: — *' And when they 
 bring you unto the synagogues, and unto ixg 
 cc^X^^ xflt* Tflt? g|«<r*fl^r, magistrates and powers, 
 take ye no thought," &c. These appellations 
 are, generally, referable to every object pos- 
 sessing authority, and are here peculiarly il- 
 lustrative of the orders of those invisible be- 
 ings who are in heaven, 
 
 " All things were created by him, and for 
 him,^^ Some opponents of Christ's Divinity 
 and Sonship understand the all things created 
 by the Son, to mean the Gospel dispensation 
 and Church. According to this view of cre- 
 ating all things, the first born of the whole 
 
OF CHRIST. 137 
 
 creation, in verse 15th, signifies the first made 
 of the Christian Church. The Apostle is 
 made to reason that the Son is the first made 
 member of the Christian Church, because by 
 him the Church was created. But there is 
 no justice in such reasoning ; neither is there 
 any necessary connexion between the creation 
 of the Church by the Son, and himself being 
 its first member. Pierce says, of this inter- 
 pretation, " It is so forced and violent, that 
 " it can hardly be thought men would have 
 '' espoused it, but for the sake of an hypothe- 
 " sis." Others contend that the creation of 
 all things which are in heaven, by the Son, 
 means the new-modelling of the heavenly 
 hosts. If this statement mean that the Son, 
 after his exaltation, divested those angels, 
 who " ministered to the heirs of salvation," 
 of the situations which they held, and placed 
 others in their stead, — it implies that those 
 angels, who were thus divested, had per- 
 formed their functions improperly ;- — but this 
 is expressly contrary to what is said in the 
 epistle of Jude, that the angels who fell 
 " kept not their first estate," and that those 
 who stood, by implication, kept that estate. 
 If these objectors mean that the Son changed 
 the order which had formerly been established 
 12* 
 
138 THE ETERNAL S0N3HIP 
 
 amongst the angels, and elevated some, by 
 giving them superiority over those to whom 
 they were once inferior, this seems impossi- 
 ble, unless he also changed the nature and 
 qualities of those who were thus exalted. 
 From the enumeration in this and other pas- 
 sages, the subordination amongst the angels 
 seems to have arisen from the qualities which 
 they possessed. To have changed, then, this 
 subordination, by raising the inferior above 
 the superior nature, which had done nothing 
 to cause such degradation, would be incon- 
 gruous, if not unjust. But, if the Son, in 
 effecting the alleged change, had power to 
 give the nature and qualities of an inferior 
 to a superior being, — why may he not have 
 had the power to create them ? It will not 
 obviate the difficulty to say, that the power of 
 changing a nature is inferior to that of cre- 
 ating it; unless it can be shown, that the 
 power of changing an angelic nature may be- 
 long to a inere man, as those, who deny the 
 Divinity of Christ, affirm the Son to be. — 
 There can be no meaning affixed to the new- 
 modelling of the heavenly beings, which will 
 not show the superiority of him, in whom 
 such power is, over all angelic natures. — 
 Does not this overthrow the Socinian doc- 
 
OF CHRIST. 1^39 
 
 trine? No legitimate explanation can evade 
 the Apostle's obvious assertion that the Son 
 created all things. 
 
 We by no means maintain that the view 
 which we have combated is adopted by all 
 those who deny the Eternal Sonship of Christ. 
 But, as it is espoused by those who endea- 
 vour to overthrow his Divinity, as well as his 
 Sonship, we felt it necessary to examine their 
 objections. 
 
 The mind cannot exhaust the range of ob- 
 jects enhancing the greatness of the Son. 
 Earth is full of this greatness. The heavenly 
 bodies roll in this greatness. Angels enjoy 
 their nature in consequence of its exertion. 
 The objects of sense and the objects of intelli- 
 gence are alike monuments of its energy. It 
 is on earth ; because the Son is there. It is 
 in heaven ; because the Son is there. It is in 
 the Godhead, where the Son necessarily and 
 eternally exists. 
 
 " And he is before all things, and by him 
 all things consist^ As the omnipotence of 
 the Son was displayed in creating all things, 
 he must necessarily have been existing before 
 them, even as Son, eternally, within the God- 
 head ; and his power is now conspicuous in 
 maintaining and preserving the objects of ere- 
 
140 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 ation when brought into being. " By him all 
 things consist." Paul, when preaching on 
 Mars' hill, declares that God created all 
 things, and that, in him, they now subsist. 
 The Son, of whom the same circumstances 
 are exactly predicated, is, therefore, absolute 
 God. Acts xvii. 24—28. " God that made 
 the world, and all things therein, seeing that 
 he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not 
 in temples made with hands ; neither is wor- 
 shipped with men's hands, as though he need- 
 ed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and 
 breath, and all things; and hath made of 
 one blood all nations of men, for to dwell on 
 all the face of the earth, and hath determined 
 the times before appointed, and the bounds 
 of their habitation ; that they should seek 
 the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, 
 and find him, though he be not far from 
 every one of us : for in him we live, and 
 move, and have our being ; as certain also of 
 your own poets have said, For w^e are also 
 his offspring." 
 
 If the Son be before all things, it is im- 
 possible to conceive language which more 
 specifically denotes him to be eternal. Being 
 Son, before creation — creation did not cause 
 or produce his Sonship. For though the 
 
OF CHRIST. 141 
 
 aspect of creation might have induced him 
 to assume certain functions, and though he 
 prospectively saw, from all eternity, the func- 
 tions which he would in consequence assume, 
 yet, the knowledge of w^hat he would be to 
 creation, after it came into being, could not 
 have caused him actually to exist in that 
 certain state before creation. His actual ex- 
 istence in any character connected with cre- 
 ation, must be simultaneous with creation, 
 and not before it. But his actual existence 
 as Son is declared to be before all creation. 
 It is, therefore, independent of creation. If 
 it be asserted that he was Son only prospec- 
 tively from everlasting, and not de facto ^ then, 
 the Apostle has erred when he says, "And 
 he (the Son) is before all things." On the 
 supposition that the Son is not ete.iial Son, 
 the Apostle has described an actual state of 
 existence before creation, which was not in 
 being until creation had being; he has de- 
 scribed that as independent of creation, which 
 could not be until creation was ; he has given 
 to the Son an indefinitely eternal existence, 
 whereas his existence as Son was definite 
 and dependent. If the Son were not in be- 
 ing as Son, before creation, then, if creation 
 had never been, the Son would have never 
 
142 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 been. Creation, the effect, must, on such a 
 supposition, have caused its creator, (who 
 was Son before the act of creation,) to be- 
 come Son in consequence of that act. Angels 
 and men w^ere created by the Son, and, on 
 the supposition of a contingent Sonship, they 
 were the occasion of Sonship to that Son 
 who did create them. The consequent must 
 have produced the antecedent; — but this is 
 too preposterous to be maintained. Yet such 
 conclusions must be deduced, if the Son be 
 not Son eternally, — independently of crea- 
 tion. As the Son was Son, independently of, 
 and before, all creation^ when there was no 
 Being but one Being, he w^as Son in that Be- 
 ing. As that Being is self-existent, eternal, 
 immense, and immutable, omnipotent, and 
 omniscieiit, the Son, in himself as Son, pos- 
 sesses these qualities of self-existence, eter- 
 nity, immensity, immutability, omnipotence, 
 and omniscience. 
 
 The language of nature — the language of 
 reason — can give no other construction to the 
 passage, than the eternal existence of the 
 Sonship of the person described. Every ad- 
 vance in this research exhibits the Sonship of 
 our Eternal Lord. Inanimate matter is his 
 creation. Before he formed the sterile moua- 
 
OF CHRIST. 143 
 
 tain, or the luxuriant valley ; before he deck- 
 ed the sky with stars, or the earth with 
 flowers; before he gave the landscape its 
 hues, or the gale its odours — the heavens 
 their grandeur, or the earth its beauty ; be- 
 fore this world heard the thousand notes of 
 song, or the other world its ten thousand 
 times ten thousand notes of the " new song;" 
 before land and sea and air ; before suns and 
 systems, — he was Son. Before animated na- 
 ture; before " the cattle of a thousand hills," 
 the " fowls of the heaven," and the " innu- 
 merable creeping things of the great and 
 wide sea;" before the generations of men 
 who have appeared, and acted, and disap- 
 peared, — he was Son. Before the existence 
 of the spirit that actuates man; before his 
 emotions of joy and sorrow ; before his ener- 
 gies that have unfolded science and develop- 
 ed art ; before his might which has displayed 
 itself in the loneliness of its own inherent 
 strength, and in the tumult of falling na- 
 tions, and of rising states ; before he enjoyed 
 communion with his creator ; before he sin- 
 ned and maddened in crime ; before life and 
 immortality were brought to light, — in life 
 and immortality the Son was. Before angels' 
 intellect desired to look into the " things of 
 
IM THE ETERNAL SON SHIP 
 
 God ;" before their armies fell, or their ar- 
 mies remained faithful ; before they obeyed 
 commands, or ranged through space; before 
 thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or 
 powers — the Son was. In the Godhead he 
 was, and is, and shall be, evermore. 
 
 «' And he is the head of the body, the 
 church : ivho is the beginning, the first born 
 from the dead; that in all things he might 
 have the pre-eminencey 
 
 The Apostle has enumerated the qualities, 
 and specified the excellence, of the Son, in 
 that nature which is essentially hisj even in 
 " eternal power and Godhead ;" he now de- 
 tails the grandeur of his Messiahship, and 
 the glories of his. Mediatorial reign. The 
 transition which the Apostle commences in 
 the 13th, and continues to the end of the 
 19th verse, is employed in descriptions of 
 the uncreated glories of the Son, and his 
 achieved glories as the Messiah. As Mes- 
 siah, " he is head of the body, the Church." 
 In the union of the Son with humanity, he 
 rules pre-eminently over that church which 
 he has founded, constituted, and preserved. 
 The Son, as God, is supreme over creation, 
 and, as Mediator, he is, especially and pe- 
 culiarly, supreme over the church. As the 
 
OF CHRIST. 145 
 
 head is elevated above all the other members 
 of the body, so he is elevated over all the 
 members of the church, his mystical body. 
 
 '' Who is the beginning 'o? «5^*v oc^x^,^^ I" 
 this, and in what follows, the majesty of the 
 vSon, as the efficient cause and presiding head 
 of the Church, is exhibited in consequence 
 of that fulness Avhich it pleased the Father 
 should dwell in him. The term <x^;^tj, ren- 
 dered beginning, was the one employed by 
 the Greek Theist Philosophers, to designate 
 the unmade, self-existent Deity, the Uncaused 
 Cause of all. Thus Proclus, speaking of Pla- 
 to's opinion concerning the efficient principle or 
 cause, says, 'oti 'o IIKoctuv iiti fxiccv a^x^^ ocv^yn 
 rrocvToi^ — that Plato reduces all things to one 
 principle, i. e. one self-subsistent Being, whose 
 self-subsistence Plato describes as before all 
 other beings. This was the notion associated 
 with the word a^^x^i by the Greek Theists, 
 in opposition to the reasonings of the Atheis- 
 tical Philosophers.^ In accordance with that 
 which was the grand object of examination in 
 the Greek Schools of Philosophy, Christ calls 
 himself, (Revelation iii. 14.) '*i oe.^x*i '^^^ ^-vKritag 
 ra Qia — the beginning, i. e. the self existent, 
 
 " See Cuthvorth's Intellectual System, p. 243, axidi passim. 
 
 13 
 
146 THE ETERNAL SON SHIP 
 
 efficiefit cause of the creation of God, In his 
 human nature, this is impossible. It is true in 
 that nature which is Almighty and liveth for 
 ever. It is true of the Son, who in the ever- 
 lasting nature, created all things. The re- 
 search of ancient sages, of Pythagoras, Plato, 
 and Aristotle, was employed in quest of that 
 principle which brought all things into being; 
 this principle they justly considered underived 
 and self-existent. The Apostle declares that 
 this efficient, self-existent principle is the Son. 
 For he says that the Son created all things, 
 visible and invisible. The Son is, therefore, 
 the o^^x*i — ^he heginning, or efficient principle 
 by which all things were created. The Son 
 himself, adopting (if we dare use the expres- 
 sion,) not only the notion employed by the 
 Greek Philosophers, but the very word em- 
 ployed to express that notion, says, — I am 
 ''vi (x^x*J "^^^ JCTifl-go)? T« ©£^, the heginning, the 
 ffficient cause of the creation of God Though 
 the Son be thus the a^x^, or beginning or ef- 
 ficient cause of all things, he is, in the pas- 
 sage which we are examining, considered as 
 the o^^x*^, the beginning or efficient cause, with 
 respect to restricted objects in creation. The 
 Apostle has introduced the Son in his Mes- 
 siahship, as head of the Church, and the qua- 
 
OF CHRIST. 147 
 
 lities subsequently enumerated must be con- 
 fined to him in that capacity. The excellence 
 of his supreme authority in the Church, is the 
 object of the Apostle's examination. He is, 
 then, the efficient cause, the creator, the be- 
 ginning of the Church ; but not as creatures 
 can be termed, in one sense, the beginning of 
 parts of the Church. For they themselves 
 have a beginning within it, but are not the 
 beginning of it. They are employed as in- 
 struments by the efficient cause of the Church, 
 but are not themselves efficient causes in pro- 
 moting its extension. They are caused to he 
 by him, who is the cause of being in the 
 Church. They are media, having all their 
 power derived. The Son is the underived 
 original of the Church, and all in that Church 
 originate with, and are derived from, him. 
 But if the declaration that the Son is the 
 ^^X^-) ^^^6 beginnijig or efficient cause, which 
 he must be, seeing he created all things, — 
 prove his eternal Godhead as Son, the decla- 
 ration that he is the a^x^, the beginning or 
 efficient cause of the Church, likewise proves 
 his eternal Godhead as Son. For what is 
 true in consequence of his being the cause of 
 creation as a whole, is also true in conse- 
 quence of his being the cause of the different 
 
148 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 and respective portions of existence which 
 compose creation. One of the portions of 
 creation is the Church ; the cause which pro- 
 duced it must be as really God, as the cause 
 which produced the orders of spirit or the 
 orbs of matter. An efficient cause must be 
 as much employed to give being to this por- 
 tion as to any other portion, or all the por- 
 tions of creation. The pow er of the Son, in 
 causing this Church, is as much the power of 
 his eternal Godhead, as his powder in causing 
 the other parts of creation. The omnipo- 
 tence, wdiich first called all things into being, 
 must be underived, when exhibited in the 
 minutest particle — in the existence of the 
 church, or in the existence of all things ; — 
 otherwise the objects, whether great or small 
 portions of creation, would be derived from 
 some other omnipotence which is not in the 
 Son. But there cannot be two omnipotent 
 Beings. This omnipotence of the underived 
 cause of the Church is not only exerted in 
 producing all its members, but in producing 
 the most resplendent and glorious display 
 within it. It has created that object in which 
 are concentrated all the perfections of God 
 — that object even more illustrious than the 
 brightest seraph who never suffered wo or 
 
OF CHRIST. 149 
 
 degradation in consequence of sin — that ob- 
 ject, the medium before which " the things 
 in heaven and the things in earth" bow — that 
 object, before which the angels, the living 
 creatures, and elders, " cast their crowns" 
 — that object which not only " lives and 
 moves and has its being" by the supporting 
 Godhead, but is united with it, being elevated 
 to personal existence with that person who 
 is the eternal, efficient cause of all things. 
 This object, which is the human nature of 
 the first cause, is, in like manner with all 
 beings in the Church, caused by the Son, 
 and the other two Divine persons. Its cau- 
 sation and assumption could not produce, or 
 give Sonship to, its own efficient principle, 
 which is the Son. The formation of the 
 Church is expressly called a creation, and its 
 members are said to be " created in Christ 
 Jesus unto good works." The Son declares 
 that all the members of the Church must be 
 born again ; a new creation must take place 
 in their natures, directed by a power as potent 
 as the first creating energy. Though, in 
 God, there can, strictly, be no degrees of 
 omnipotence ; yet, in our views of compre- 
 hension, this is a more powerful exhibition, 
 because it is an energy to controul and renew 
 13* 
 
160 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 active, vigorous powers, which are opposed 
 to the will of the Creator ; whereas, in the 
 first process of creation, they were simply 
 called into existence, not created anew and 
 re-modelled. The Son is the efficient cause of 
 the Church ; — none could be such an efficient 
 cause, except the Eternal Being ; — the Son 
 is, therefore. Eternal, — the cause of creation 
 — the cause of that portion of creation which 
 is the Church. 
 
 The Son is " tt^wtotoxo? g)t twv vsx^wv, the 
 first borfi from the dead ; — that in all things 
 he might have the pre-eminence.'^^ 
 
 This passage has been much disputed, and 
 no little ingenuity has been employed in 
 endeavouring to ascertain the exact mean- 
 ing of the Apostle.^ Some understand his 
 meaning to be that the Son, in human na- 
 ture, w^as the first that arose from the dead, 
 to immortal life, and that, being the " first 
 fruits of them that slept," he arose by his 
 own inherent power. In proof of this opinion, 
 it is asserted that those, who were raised 
 from the dead by Elijah, Elisha, and by 
 Christ, died again, and that, consequently, 
 their resurrection was not to immortal life,— 
 that those saints who arose and went into the 
 holy city, consequent on Christ's death, did 
 
OF CHRIST. 151 
 
 not do so until after his resurrection. (See 
 Matthew xxvii. 53,) From the circumstance 
 of Christ being the first of the church who 
 arose to immortal life, they say he is styled 
 the Jirst born of, or from, the dead, that, in 
 the resurrection, and " in all things" in the 
 church, " he might have the pre-eminence" 
 or priority of all creatures, — a pre-eminence 
 more especial m as much as he arose by his 
 own power, through which all other creatures 
 are to arise. But if there be any pre-emi- 
 nence connected with the circumstance of 
 being the first raised from the dead, surely 
 there must also be pre-eminence connected 
 with the circumstance of being altogether 
 prevented from experiencing the power of 
 death ; yet we are not aware of any peculiar 
 honours derived by Enoch and Elijah, in 
 consequence of their immediate translation 
 from earth to heaven. Neither do we read 
 of any especial privileges or pre-eminence en- 
 joyed by those saints, who were the first 
 members of the church, delivered from death, 
 after Christ's resurrection. Nor can we see, 
 in what manner, the mere circumstance of 
 the Son's resurrection in human nature, as 
 the first who triumphed over death in his 
 own might, could, of itself, exhibit pre-emi- 
 
132 THE ETERNAL SON SHIP 
 
 nence over the Church. In itself, it is merely 
 a fact, which, unless associated with other 
 considerations deduced from, and associated 
 with, the event, does not evince superiority. 
 Had the additional fact been stated, that he 
 arose by his own inherent strength, this would, 
 doubtless, have been an argument showing 
 his pre-eminence or greatness; but as this 
 fact is not adduced in the passage, the Apos- 
 tle's reasoning can only be collected from 
 what he has expressly mentioned. 
 
 To obviate these difficulties, another ex- 
 planation has been given to the exjiression, 
 viz. that the Son is Lord of the dead; and 
 this, we apprehend, is the true meaning. The 
 particle ex is very often used as the sign of 
 the Genitive case, and may be translated of 
 as well ^sfrom. 
 
 We have already shown, from the Jewish 
 customs, and the expressions of Scripture, 
 that the word tt ^ otT or oaog, literally ^r5^ horn, is, 
 also, from uniform association, employed to 
 signify lord or ruler, because the first born 
 was lord of the rest of the family. In an- 
 nouncing the Son to be the Lord of the dead, 
 the Apostle preserves his reasoning entire. 
 He continues the description of the Son's 
 pre-eminent qualities in the Church, having 
 
OF CHRIST. 153 
 
 already described him as the efficient cause, 
 the beginning from which the Church came, 
 — and he farther asserts his supremacy by 
 his Lordship over the dead, instead of men- 
 tioning the insulated fact that the Son first 
 arose from the dead. In confirmation of the 
 reading which we have adopted, see Romans 
 xiv. 9. " For to this end Christ both died, 
 and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord 
 both of the dead and living." As the first 
 born bears the same signification as lord, we 
 discover, in this explication of the passage, 
 the pre-eminence that the Son especially pos- 
 sesses in his universal reign, which compre* 
 hends both " the quick and the dead." — The 
 apostle John exhibits the splendours of Christ's 
 exaltation, and expressly attaches this ex- 
 pression to the sway which he exercises over 
 all human greatness : — he says that the Son 
 is prince of the kings of the earth, and makes 
 the expression Tr^caroroKog 6>c twv vg;c^«v, the first 
 born, (or first begotten^ as it is translated in 
 the Revelation,) to precede the declaration of 
 his earthly rule. The Son is, therefore, the 
 Lord who rules over the dead and over death 
 itself. 
 
 The human race experience the sway of 
 this principle, which has been boldly termed 
 
154 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 a tyrant — " the king of terrors," until the 
 " stronger" king shall ** bind him" and divest 
 him of his reign. The Son is Lord of the 
 dead, for he has appointed the season in 
 which death shall prevail over man, and the 
 season when it shall cease. He has ordained 
 the time when he shall destroy death itself. 
 The Son reigns over those of his Church who 
 are alive, and over those who are dead. He 
 reigns over life and over death, that in all re- 
 spects, in his mediatory functions, he may be 
 pre-eminent. 
 
 The pre-eminence of the Son in the Church, 
 arises from what he is in himself, being its 
 source, — and from the objects within it which 
 he rules. 
 
 " For it pleased the Father that in him 
 should all fulness dwell; tt^v to TrAtj^eaiJboc Ka- 
 zotKi^cxi — all fulness should divelV Before 
 examining what this TrAyj^oofjLx, pleroma, ful- 
 7iess, which dwells in the Son, is, we shall 
 endeavour to ascertain its connexion and 
 meaning in other passages of Scripture. 
 
 riAjj^oj^ot, fulness, signifies that which is 
 complete in itself, and which also renders 
 another object complete. — It is especially 
 used, in this sense, to signify the conversion 
 of the Jews, which \\ ill render them complete 
 
OF CHRIST. 155 
 
 in the privileges of which they have been 
 almost entirely deprived. It signifies, like- 
 wise, the conversion of the Gentiles, which 
 will render them complete in those privileges 
 which they so partially enjoy by the light of 
 nature; — each of which conversions, com- 
 plete in itself, will render the other complete ; 
 and both united, will constitute the com- 
 pletion of the universal Church. This idea 
 oi fulness or comjjletion is taken from a patch, 
 Avhich, when put into a torn garment, mends 
 it, or makes it complete. See Matthew ix. 
 16. where, in this sense, it is called 7rA>j^ftjjuot, 
 that which is put in to Jill up— fulness, — 
 The conversion of the Jews to the Chris- 
 tian Church is, in Romans xi. 12. called to 
 7rA»j^a)^oj tftuTOJv, their fulness. " Now if the 
 fall of them be the riches of the world, and 
 the diminishing of them the riches of the 
 Gentiles : how much more their fulness ?" 
 Their own conversion is that, which commu- 
 nicated or infused into them, renders them 
 complete or full ; and their conversion is, to 
 the rest of the world and to the Gentiles, the 
 completion or fulness of riches in the church. 
 The conversion of the Gentiles is, in like 
 manner, called to 7rA»j^wu<», the fulness. Ro- 
 mans xi. 25. " For I would not, brethren, that 
 
156 THE ETERNAL SON SHIP 
 
 ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye 
 should be wise in your own conceits ; that 
 blindness in part is happened to Israel, until 
 the fulness of the Gentiles be come in." The 
 Christian Church is represented as a great 
 temple, in which all nations are to worship ; 
 the Gentiles are represented as successively 
 entering it, and, when they shall have gone 
 in, their general entrance is termed TrAj^^w^ct, 
 fulness or completion to themselves. On this 
 event, the Jews, who have been blinded, and 
 unable to see the beauty of the Christian tem- 
 ple, or the way of approach within the Chris- 
 tian Church, will likewise enter, being ena- 
 bled to see clearly the advantageous nature of 
 its worship. 
 
 The Church universal is termed the ful- 
 ness or completion of Christ, in his Mediato- 
 rial functions ; as that, without which, his 
 Messiahship would be incomplete ; — without 
 which, we could form no notion of him as 
 Messiah. This Church is to him a fulness, 
 a completion; he sees it as "the travail of 
 his soul, and is satisfied," " with great desire 
 he has desired" to accomplish its union to 
 himself by his sufferings and victories. — 
 Ephesians i. 22, 23. " And hath put all things 
 under his feet, and gave him to be the head 
 
OF CHRIST. 157 
 
 over all things to the Church, which is his 
 body, the fulness, to 7rA»j^«^ot, of him that 
 filleth all in all." Christ, in his mediatorial 
 character as Messiah, has universal rule : "all 
 things" are '' put in subjection under his 
 feet ;" his enemies are to be made his foot- 
 stool ; angels and men are under his sway ; 
 evil spirits are under his controul ; and the 
 material worlds, with all which they contain, 
 are under his direction :— but this universal 
 reign would be incomplete, unless his especial 
 subjects, the universal Church among men, 
 were also united and subjected to him. This 
 is his mystical body, and is as necessary to 
 him, as the rest of the members, in the corpo- 
 real frame, are to the head. His powers, as 
 Messiah, would be incomplete, unless this spi- 
 ritual power were also his; — his kingdom 
 would be incomplete, if this portion, which is 
 his spiritual kingdom, were not given to him ; 
 — there would be a deficiency of subjects, 
 unless he procured his spiritual subjects. 
 
 This fulness is also considered as the graces 
 and mercies which are treasured up in Christ, 
 to be communicated by him to each mem- 
 ber of his Church; and without which in- 
 dwelling presence of Christ, by the fulness 
 of grace and mercy, the individual mem- 
 14 
 
158 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 bers of the Church would not be complete. 
 The fulness of these graces and mercies 
 dwells in Christ as their source; they dwell 
 in the members of his church, who are their 
 recipients from Christ. Every member of 
 Christ's mystical body obtains this effusion 
 of fulness. The Valentinians, one of the 
 sects of the Gnostics, affirmed that they, 
 being the only chosen and spiritual seed of 
 heaven, would, after this life, approach the 
 Divine pleroma or fulness, which they termed 
 the habitation of the Deity ; whilst all others, 
 having only partial favour, would be unable 
 to reach that elevation. In opposition to 
 such opinions, the apostle John says that 
 the real pleroma of the Church is Christ's 
 grace, which is not given to any one more 
 than another, but is communicated to all 
 the' members. John i. 16. "And of his ful- 
 ness (TrKvi^uiAtx) have all we received, and grace 
 for grace." This fulness is said to dwell in 
 the Church, and in each member thereof, be- 
 ing Christ's temple; — as the Sheckinah or 
 visible glory of Jehovah dwelt in the Ark 
 and Temple of the Jewish Church. It di- 
 rects the worship, enlightens the understand- 
 ing, warms the affections, elevates the soul ; — 
 and Christ, by this fulness, is, indeed, God 
 
OF CHRIST. 
 
 159 
 
 u'ith us. Some shining grace, particularly 
 the superior one of love comprehending all 
 the rest, is denoted by this fulness. Ephe- 
 sians iii. 17 — 19. "That Christ may dwell 
 in your hearts by faith ; that ye, being rooted 
 and grounded in love, may be able to com- 
 prehend with all saints, what is the breadth, 
 and length, and depth, and height; and to 
 know the love of Christ, which passeth know- 
 ledge, that ye might be filled with all the 
 fulness (TThyj^ufAx) of God." The people of 
 the Messiah are formed into a holy temple, 
 for an habitation of God, by the Spirit, 
 through the love of Christ; and, in this 
 temple, Christ displays the fulness of grace 
 and mercy which he possesses. This fulness 
 is said to be laid up in Christ, w^ho dispenses 
 it to his people; for it is written, Ephesians 
 i. 23. " That he filleth all in all ;" t^ ttccvtx iv 
 TToio-i TTKyj^afXivs — and Ephesians iv. 8 — 10. 
 " Wherefore he saith, AVhen he ascended up 
 on high, he led captivity captive, and gave 
 gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, 
 what is it but that he also descended first 
 into the lower parts of the earth ? He that 
 descended is the same also that ascended up 
 far above all heavens, that he might fill (ivoc 
 ^Ar,^co<ryi) all things.") Without this fulness 
 
J 60 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 in the Messiah, his character would not be 
 complete. The graces and mercies, which 
 are the blessings that he confers, are said to 
 be in the members of his Church, being their 
 fulness derived from the inexhaustible source 
 which is in Christ. Without these blessings 
 bestowed on them, they would be incomplete 
 in the Church of the Messiah. Romans xv. 
 29. " And I am sure that, when I come unto 
 you, I shall come in the fulness (7rA>j^&)ju<jt) of 
 the blessing of the gospel of Christ." ' 
 
 These observations are necessary as a pre- 
 liminary discussion, in ascertaining the mean- 
 ing of 7rAy}^M[A(x>, fulness, in the verse immedi- 
 ately under consideration. — We have shown 
 that the foundation of the Church by Christ, its 
 efficient cause, is a peculiar and incommuni- 
 cable attribute of Deity, who is the a^x*^, the 
 heginning or efficient cause of all things. As 
 a proof that the attributes mentioned in the 
 preceding verse, i. e. being the efficient cause 
 of the Church, and having rule over the dead, 
 are in Christ, the Apostle connects these at- 
 tributes with what he at present predicates, 
 by the particle *ot<, for or because it pleased 
 the Father, that in him all fulness (-rKi^^eafxa) 
 should dwell. What fulness or pleroma is 
 this which does dwell in the Son ? Is it his 
 
OF CHRIST. 161 
 
 Church? or is it the revenue of graces and 
 mercies which he bestows on the Church? 
 We apprehend that neither of these is the 
 object alluded to, and, in order to obtain the 
 Apostle's exact meaning, we shall examine 
 the parallel passage in Colossians ii. 9. where 
 it is said of Christ, " For in him dwelleth all 
 the fulness of the Godhead bodily- — Trciv to 
 ttKvj^o^ol TJJ5- 9'goT;^To? <rw^5tT/)tw?." The expres- 
 sion is here entirely different from any other 
 meaning of TrAfi^cafjLoc, fulness, and conveys an 
 idea far beyond any to which we have alluded. 
 The following observations will lead to the 
 opinion which, we apprehend, the Apostle in- 
 tended to convey. The word TrKyj^co^oL is de- 
 rived from 7rA>;^>j#^ signifying not only full, but 
 finished, perfect, complete; that ivhich ivants 
 nothing ivhich it ought to have. Hence, 1 
 Corinthians X. 26. 7rhYi^u)iJi,ot,Tv\g yv^g, the fulness 
 of the earth, means all that the earth contains 
 — all that belongs to it. The Gnostics, whose 
 doctrines were circulated among professing 
 Christians as early as the apostolic age, main- 
 tained, amongst other opinions, that the world 
 was created by an evil principle, and that all 
 matter was essentially evil ; — that there was a 
 pleroma or fulness in the Deity, consisting of 
 different iEons or emanations which he gene- 
 14* 
 
162 THE ETERNAL SON SHIP 
 
 rated, in which he dwelt, and which were 
 subordinate to him ; — that Christ, the Son of 
 God, was one of these J^ons who descended 
 into the body of Jesus, and who, when that 
 body suffered, left it and returned to his own 
 plero7na ; — and that his object, in this descent, 
 was to effect the overthrow of evil and of mat- 
 ter, which he will finally accomplish. These 
 notions were deduced from the Oriental phi- 
 losophy maintaining the existence of two inde- 
 pendent principles — the one good and the other 
 evil. These doctrines were principally preva- 
 lent amongst the Churches of Asia, which, 
 therefore, the Apostle was particularly anxious 
 to guard against such dangerous heresies. He 
 declares that in Christ dwelt all the fulness of 
 the Godhead bodily. Now the Godhead ex- 
 pressly means that nature which is God's, — 
 that in which God is what he is. It is thus 
 used by the Apostle, Romans i. 20. " For 
 the invisible things of him from the creation 
 of the world are clearly seen, being under- 
 stood by the things that are made, even his 
 eternal power and Godhead." Now, that 
 which is inseparable from the Godhead, — 
 that which it cannot Avant to be what it is,— 
 that which it must possess to be Godhead, — 
 is its essential perfections, and the govern- 
 
OF CHRIST. 1G3 
 
 ment of what it has created. These are 
 united, not only with our notions of God- 
 head, but witli the existence of Godhead 
 itself. Without these there would be no 
 Godhead. They are, therefore, its ttAvj^w^u^, 
 fulness; they cannot be disunited from it; 
 they must be in it to render it what it is. — 
 These perfections, in opposition to the Gnos- 
 tic opinion of the Divine pleroma, and of the 
 person of Christ, the Apostle declares to be 
 the real pleroma of Godhead, which dwells in 
 Christ. But these cannot dwell in the hu- 
 man nature of Christ, nor in any other cre- 
 ated nature. Eternity, immensity, and im- 
 mutability, cannot, in any sense, be said to 
 dwell in that which is created — in that which 
 has dimensions, and in that which experiences 
 change. To affirm so would be a contradiction 
 — the assertion of an absolute impossibility. 
 Yet these perfections, even the Divine perfec- 
 tions, the pleroma of the Godhead, are affirm- 
 ed to be in Christ. They must, therefore, be 
 in that nature which is capable of possessing 
 them. They must inhere in his Divine na- 
 ture, which is the Godhead, and which took 
 the human nature into union with itself. What 
 the Apostle predicates of Christ is true, there- 
 fore, of his Divinity. The Apostle says that 
 
164 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 this fulness dwells in Christ, (r«^fltT<jtw?, bodily. 
 The word (r«^*, commonly translated hody^ 
 like its corresponding Hebrew word n^u, sig- 
 nifies substance. In this acceptation, the ple- 
 roma of Godhead is said to dwell in Christ 
 substantially ; i. e. in that substance which is 
 his Godhead are all the perfections correspon- 
 dent therewith. In the Divine nature of the 
 Messiah, the Apostle announces that the God- 
 head is ; that the pleroma of Godhead is there 
 substantially and really. 
 
 When it is said, Colossians i. 19. that 
 " it pleased the Father that in him, (in the 
 Son,) should all fulness dwell," or contiiiually 
 dwell, as it might be rendered, — this expres- 
 sion does not mean that by the pleasure of 
 the Father in appointing this fulness, as our 
 Lord's human nature was appointed, all ful- 
 ness dwelt in him ; but it means that the 
 Father was pleased, and could not but be 
 pleased with his own nature, or Godhead, in 
 which, in the person of the Son, all fulness 
 dwelt. From heaven, this pleasure of the 
 Father was proclaimed, on the banks of the 
 Jordan, to the inhabitants of earth ; — this 
 pleasure was the glory which the Son bad 
 with the Father before the world was; — this 
 pleasure was declared when men beheld the 
 
OF CHRIST. 165 
 
 human nature of the Son ; — but neither this 
 declaration, nor the human nature of the Son, 
 was the cause of its commencement. For 
 the Son sajs to the Father, " Thou lovedst 
 me before the foundation of the world." And 
 the Father says to the Son, *' Thou art my 
 beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." 
 The Son rejoiced in this uncreated pleasure 
 with the Father. " And I was daily his de- 
 light," says he, " rejoicing always before 
 him." The Father says to him, " Thou art 
 my Son, this day have I begotten thee." 
 With the joy, then, which is in the Eternal 
 nature, the Father was pleased that in his 
 Son all fulness should dwell. Without the 
 Divine perfections thus dwelling in the Son, 
 he could not be a Divine person. 
 
 Having exhibited the Godhead, and per» 
 fections of Godhead which dwell in the Son, 
 and in which the Father was well pleased, 
 the Apostle proceeds to describe what has 
 been achieved by the Son in his human na- 
 ture. " And" the Father was also pleased, 
 (" 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." The results 
 of the Messiah^s reign are to be the reconcili- 
 
166 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 ation of his subjects unto himself, and their 
 union with those spirits who never fell ; so 
 that one mighty kingdom shall be established 
 whose principles shall be purity and happi- 
 ness, whose duration shall be eternity, whose 
 citizens shall be the ransomed of the earth, 
 and the faithful of Heaven, — whose bond of 
 union shall be love. 
 
 We have thus an exposition of the Son's 
 greatness, as Messiah, on account of the in- 
 herent energy which, as God, he pbssesses, 
 in being the efficient cause of his Church — 
 the ruler over that Church, and over death. 
 We have the reasons of this greatness as- 
 signed — because he has the all-pleroma, or 
 pleroma of Godhead, even the perfections of 
 Godhead dwelling in his Deity, and because 
 he has, in human nature, through his blood, 
 procured a uniting principle by which his 
 subjects and angels shall coalesce in love to 
 God, in perpetual happiness, and in harmoni- 
 ous perfection. 
 
 From the whole passage, we learn that 
 the Son is essentially the image of the invi- 
 sible Godhead — that he is Lord, by right, of 
 the whole creation — that he is the creator of 
 heaven and earth, and all that they contain — 
 that lie exists uncaused, and is the cause of 
 
OF CHRIST. 167 
 
 all — that he preserves all things ; — we learn 
 that, having human nature united to himself, 
 and being Messiah, the Son is the head of 
 the Church — that he is the first cause of the 
 Church, which he could not be if he were not 
 God — that he is Lord of the dead — that, in 
 the nature which assumed human nature, and 
 thereby caused his Messiahship, he has the 
 all-jyleroma, — that, through the efficacy in- 
 fused into his humanity, he is uniting and 
 will unite angels and men, who, in conse- 
 quence, in everlasting harmony, will love 
 each other, will love the Messiah who effect- 
 ed this union, and the God who gave energy 
 to Messiah's humanity. 
 
 After this recapitulation of the Son's un- 
 caused greatness, who can doubt that he is 
 self-existent and eternal ? 
 
 ,^.i\- 
 
168 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Declaration of our Lord, concerning his 
 Eternal Sonship. 
 
 When our Lord had, on the Sabbath, gra- 
 ciously cured the impotent man lying at the 
 pool of Siloam, he was accused by the Jews 
 of violating the Divine commands concern- 
 ing the observance of that holy day. (John 
 V. 1 — 16. To show the utter fallacy of such 
 an accusation, founded on the action per- 
 formed, and the impossibility of a violation 
 of the Sabbath by him, he defends himself by 
 an exposition of his dignity and authority, 
 V. 17. " But Jesus answered them. My Fa- 
 ther worketh hitherto, and I worh'^'' As Son, 
 he claims an equality with the Father in 
 working, declaring that, when the Father 
 works, whether in creation or providence, — 
 he also works. The Father maintains and 
 preserves his workmanship, as much on the 
 Sabbath as on other days ; and it was, there- 
 
OF CHRIST. 169 
 
 fore, competent for the Son, in human nature, 
 to perform, m creation, whatever works seem- 
 ed good to him. Had the Son been inferior 
 to the Father, his reasoning would have been 
 inconclusive ; for no created nature could 
 have a right to work on the day of rest, or 
 on any other occasion, merely because the 
 Father does at all times whatsoever he 
 pleases. If the Son and the Father are equal 
 in w^orking, and the actions of the Son are 
 proper in themselves, as the Father's also 
 are, — the Son, who does thus work, must 
 have been in the state of Son from everlast- 
 ing. If the Son had ever been in a diiferent 
 state, the work of creation could not have 
 been performed by him, as is asserted in the 
 epistles to the Hebrews and Colossians, and 
 by Christ himself, — but must have been done 
 in the state in which he existed, prior to 
 creation. If actions are erroneously ascribed 
 to him as Son, he not being in that related 
 state prior to, and during the work of, crea- 
 tion, we have no security that actions are 
 not, in like manner, erroneously ascribed to 
 him, subsequently to creation, and during 
 his manifestation in the flesh. But this can- 
 not be ; — otherwise, the authenticity of Scrip- 
 ture is destroyed. Our Lord, to prevent the 
 15 
 
170 THE ETERNAL SON SHIP 
 
 possibility of such conclusions, expressly de- 
 clares that all the works which are, are those 
 of the Father and the Son; that they are 
 performed by them in these related states; 
 and that, in these states, they continue, in the 
 Godhead, to rule the universe. The Jews felt 
 the full force and exact import of our Lord's 
 declaration, and their indignation was excited 
 that he, in whom they could see neither '' form 
 nor comeliness," should not only maintain his 
 authority over the Sabbath, but assert that 
 God was his Father, " making himself equal 
 with God." V. 18. " Therefore the Jews 
 sought the more to kill him, because he not 
 only had broken the Sabbath, but said also 
 that God was his Father, making himself equal 
 with God.^^ The Jews, as a nation, had, in 
 one sense, claimed God as their Father ; their 
 prophets and kings had claimed him in that 
 capacity. They must, therefore, have under- 
 stood our Lord, on this occasion, as claiming 
 him to be his Father in the Godhead. " By 
 " calling God peculiarly his Father, (he) had 
 '' equalled himself ivith God, ttat^co i^iov iMyi 
 
 " Tov ©gov, iffov \x\jrQV noicav rca Gica. (English 
 
 " Translation) Said also that God was his Fa- 
 " ther, making hiinself equal ivith God, On a 
 " little reflection, it must be evident that the 
 
OF CHRIST. ni 
 
 '' sense is here imperfectly expressed. For 
 
 " how could those men say that Jesus, by 
 
 " calling God his Father, made himself equal 
 
 " with God^ when they made no scruple 
 
 '' themselves to call God their father (ch. 
 
 '' viii. 41.) and yet would have thought it 
 
 *' very injurious in any man to infer that they 
 
 '^ made themselves equal whh God ? There 
 
 *' must, therefore, be here something pecu- 
 
 *' liar and energetic in the word t^io^* The 
 
 '^ expression in most familiar use would have 
 
 " been Tro^n^x 'iccvr^. And, though I am far 
 
 •' from saying that there are not many cases 
 
 " in which either expression may be used 
 
 " indifferently, there are some in which ^S^Qg 
 
 " is more emphatical, and others in which 
 
 «' it would not be strictly proper. Beza's 
 
 «* explanation of the word is very just ; suum, 
 
 " i«f<ov, id est sibi proprium ac pecuUarevu^ 
 
 ** In this view, the import of the words is, 
 
 *' that God is Father to him, in a sense where - 
 
 " in he is Father to no other. Let it be 
 
 ** observed, however, that if the scope of the 
 
 " context did not necessarily lead to this con- 
 
 " elusion, I should not infer so much from 
 
 * The translation is, proper and peculiar to one's self. In tl>e 
 present passage, consequently, the expression means, but said 
 also that God was his proper and peculiar Father, 
 
172 THE ETERNAL SONSHlt' 
 
 "the mere application of the word i^iog: for 
 •^ though this is strictly the import of the 
 ^' term, it is often, like many other words, em- 
 " ployed with greater latitude." — See Camp- 
 bell on the Gospels. 
 
 Our Lord, instead of declaring that the 
 Jews had misinterpreted his words, proceeds 
 to enlarge on the very meaning which they 
 assigned, as that which he intended to con- 
 vey. V. 19. " Then ansivered Jesus, and 
 said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, 
 The Son can do nothing of himself, hut what 
 he seeth the Father do: for what things so- 
 ever he doth, these also doth the Son likeivise.^^ 
 Now, as it is admitted that the Father does 
 those works which are peculiar to omnipo- 
 tence, — for it will not be disputed that the 
 creation of heaven and earth is a work which 
 none but an omnipotent Being could per- 
 form, — the Son asserts that he does the same 
 work of omnipotence. " Of himself" he can 
 do nothing ; by or of himself, separate from 
 the Father, seeing they are both in the Di- 
 vine essence, it is impossible that he can 
 perform any thing. The Divine nature is 
 undivided ; what is done in it by one person 
 must be done by all the persons. One per- 
 son, the Son, cannot work separately from 
 
OF CHRIST. 173 
 
 the Father; his very nature, from its con- 
 stitution, must act in union with itself. But 
 the Father is in that nature, as is also the 
 Son; — the act of one must, therefore, be the 
 act of both, for no one of the persons can act 
 separately from the other. When it is said 
 that the Son sees the Father doing the works, 
 no other meaning can be affixed to the ex- 
 pression, except that of simultaneous know- 
 ledge; for the Godhead cannot be supposed 
 to see by the medium of organic matter, as 
 mankind do. Now, let it be remarked, the 
 Son speaks of what is true in the Divine na- 
 ture alone. For the created being of the 
 loftiest powers cannot accomplish per se, the 
 actions which are essential to Godhead. The 
 greatest external work of Godhead is the 
 causing all things to appear; and the great- 
 est manifestation of Deity, which we can 
 contemplate, is his existence as our uncaused 
 cause. In this greatest external work, the 
 causing of all things, and in this highest 
 glory which we are able to appreciate, the 
 Son declares himself to be in union with the 
 Father. Whatsoever things he doeth, the 
 Son doeth likewise. To assert, therefore, 
 that the person speaking was Son, in conse- 
 quence of the aspect which he bore to ere- 
 15* 
 
174 THE ETERNAL 30NSHIP 
 
 ation — -in consequence of his assumption of 
 Mediatorial functions, or of any other event, 
 — is to assert that he was not Son in the 
 greatest external work of Godhead, which is 
 contrary to his own express affirmation, for 
 he groups all the works of Godhead, or of the 
 Father, as being likewise his. If the Son, 
 then, in the Godhead, be the uncaused cause 
 of all, and if this glory be peculiar to him in 
 his state of Son, no modification of matter or 
 mind — no event in heaven or in earth, can 
 cause hwi to be in the state of Son, within 
 the Godhead, who, as Son, called all things 
 into being. Omnipotence cannot be affected 
 or caused to assume a new state, because the 
 objects which it has called into being are 
 changed. But the Son, as Son, is omnipo- 
 tent. The principles of purity, or of sin, 
 of happiness, or of misery, cannot affect or 
 change him who is omnipotent. It may be 
 said, did he not become Messiah and Media- 
 tor for his people, and did he not, in these 
 characters, and does he not in these charac- 
 ters, perform offices and works which are not 
 essential to him in the Godhead? This is 
 readily granted. But it is necessary to at- 
 tend to the mode in which these offices and 
 works are performed. They are not the 
 
OF CHRIST. 175 
 
 works of the Godhead, or of the Divine na- 
 ture, absolutely considered, but of the Di- 
 vine nature united with that human nature 
 which this person of the Godhead assumed, 
 — and, in virtue of this union, they are effi- 
 cacious in accomplishing what the expres- 
 sions import will be achieved. The state, in 
 which the Divine person exists, cannot be 
 changed in consequence of this union, other- 
 wise, humanity would be equal, nay superior, 
 to the Deity, seeing it was able to alter it. 
 Now, he had the state of Son, in his uncaused 
 nature, when he caused all things. But 
 his humanity has apparently changed, and 
 does apparently change in itself, and in its 
 relation to men ; or rather, strictly speaking, 
 it appears to them to change in consequence 
 of the changes which they undergo in them- 
 selves, — while, in reality, it still continues 
 the same in the principles which are infused 
 into it, in virtue of its union with the Divine 
 nature. In its external indications it was 
 born ; it grew in stature ; it ceased to possess 
 vital energy ; it has had vital energy restored ; 
 it has been exalted, and has had a name given 
 to it above every name ; — but the principles 
 of its reasonable soul were the same, in in- 
 creasing vigour, until his exaltation. Its ac- 
 
176 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 tuating principle has been love, infused from 
 the eternal love which caused his soul ; and 
 this love, during his continuance on earth, ex- 
 panded with the developement of its powers. 
 The, acts of grace and mercy which our Lord 
 accomplished, the miracles which he per- 
 formed, and the sermons which he preached, 
 were only different exhibitions of love ; and 
 his Mediatorial work in heaven is only the 
 continuation of that love which was displayed 
 on earth. When Christ is said to fulfil 
 the offices of a Prophet, of a Priest, and of 
 a King, he cannot be understood, at one 
 time, and to one person, to be actually a 
 Prophet, and, at another time, and to ano- 
 ther person, to be a Priest or King, in the 
 manner that different men, at different times, 
 and to different individuals, have borne these 
 offices. But these expressions mean that his 
 energetic love infused by the Divine nature, 
 in which he subsists, is applicable to the state 
 of men whether in ignorance, in guilt, or un- 
 der the reign of sin. Their different aspects, 
 in these states, are approached and remedied 
 by his all-prevailing love, which does not as- 
 sume a different nature in consequence of 
 their different conditions, but is the princi- 
 ple which suits all the conditions of men.— 
 
OF CHRIST. 177 
 
 The difference of names applicable to the 
 procedure of Christ, arises from our appre- 
 hension of the different situations of men ; 
 but does not originate from any actual change 
 in his situation, that he may become suited 
 to them. When Christ sorrowed on earth, 
 this was only the display of his love, arising 
 from mens' hardened and depraved obsti- 
 nacy ; but the love w^as not, thereby, changed 
 into the unmixed emotion of sorrow . When 
 he rode in triumph amidst the Hosannahs 
 of the multitude, his love was not changed 
 into a Monarchical assumption of grandeur, 
 but was only thus exhibited to the multi- 
 tude. 
 
 In the constitution of the created natures 
 on earth, we discern certain fixed principles 
 which inhere in this constitution, and with- 
 out which they could not exist as men. They 
 cannot perceive any change, without believ- 
 ing that, in future, the same antecedent cir- 
 cumstances will be followed by the same 
 consequents, and that, therefore, the future 
 train of physical events will resemble the 
 past. They cannot view certain actions with- 
 out either approbation or disapprobation. But, 
 in addition to these constitutional principles 
 which are inseparable from the existence 
 
178 THE ETERNAL 30NSHIP 
 
 of man, there was in the constitution of 
 Christ's nature which had no sin, — a prin- 
 ciple which men cannot possess, because they 
 have sin. This is the actuating love com- 
 municated from the Divinity, which was 
 inseparable from the being of his reasonable 
 soul, and without which he could not have 
 been Messiah. This principle is both m 
 the constitution of his soul, and is the source 
 of his Messiahship. This love is present- 
 ed to man in every situation, and becomes 
 to him prophetical or instructive, — priestly 
 or purifying, — kingly or predominant over 
 sin, in those different respects, in which man 
 views it, and feels it applied to himself. It 
 is not only inherent in the constitution of 
 Christ, but it is the pervading energy which 
 excites and directs the every exertion of his 
 soul. Without this principle constitutionally 
 existing and actively exerted within his na- 
 ture, he could not have been the Saviour of 
 those who had sinned and excluded them- 
 selves from the love of God. As there can 
 be no fixed purpose without a fixed princi- 
 ple — as there can be no end attained, with- 
 out a fixed purpose directed by a fixed prin- 
 ciple, we discern, in Christ, the purpose di- 
 rected by the inherent principle of his na- 
 
OF CHRIST. 179 
 
 til re, which enabled him to attain the end 
 for which he lived, and died, and rose again 
 — viz. the salvation of his people through his 
 love. By such a review, we perceive the fal- 
 lacy which supposes the possibility of our Lord 
 becoming Son, as God, in consequence of his 
 procedure in the salvation of man. For there 
 not only can be no change of his state, in his 
 aspect towards man, as God, but, in human 
 nature, there can be no change of the state of 
 his soul — which was essentially formed in, 
 and which acted by, love. The notion which 
 supposes the commencement of our Lord's 
 state of Sonship, must originate, primarily, 
 from an erroneous view of the complexity of 
 his person, and must be originally deduced from 
 an erroneous apprehension of the external 
 changes which his body underwent on earth. 
 When we consider the complex aspect of our 
 Lord, we discover the Divine nature, and his 
 Divine person inseparable therefrom, which 
 were uncaused, and could, therefore, never 
 be caused to become Son, or to take the de- 
 signation of Son, — and we discover the hu- 
 man nature composed of a true body and a 
 reasonable soul ; which reasonable soul never 
 changed in its principle of inherent and ac- 
 tuating energy of love, but only increased 
 
180 THE ETERNAL SON SHIP 
 
 progressively therein, as was consentaneous 
 to the nature of a human soul ; and which 
 true body did change, and hunger and thirst, 
 and undergo all the vicissitudes to which a 
 human body is liable in the present state of 
 the world ; — for, without these vicissitudes, 
 it would not have been a true body. The 
 opponents of the Eternal Sonship of our Lord 
 are, then, either reduced to the necessity of 
 affirming that there is no person in the God- 
 head who bears the name of Son and exists 
 in that related state, and, consequently, that 
 there are no persons in the Godhead ; (for 
 we have shown, that if there be persons, the 
 Son must be essentially a person)— or else 
 they must assert the preposterous contradic- 
 tion, that the state of manhood caused to the 
 Son his state of Sonship. — We have shown 
 that his Godhead cannot change its state — 
 that even his human soul never changed, and 
 never can change its functions — that it pos- 
 sesses one and only one influential principle, 
 which must be one, in consequence of the 
 source from which it is derived. This prin- 
 ciple increased, because it was in his human 
 soul, but it does not in reality assume differ- 
 ent functions ; it only appears to do so in 
 consequence of our situation. He has the 
 
OF CHRIST. 181 
 
 all-prevalent energy of this principle in his 
 nature ; and to us, and for us, it is that of a 
 Prophet, a Priest, and a King. It is our 
 state which causes us to experience the bene- 
 fits flowing therefroQi. This principle comes 
 to us in our wants and in our crimes, by the 
 fitness and adaptation of saving love. The 
 love which enlightens our understanding is 
 to us the love of a Prophet ; the love which 
 washes away the guilt of sin is that of a 
 Priest ; and the love which rules in us, and 
 *' restrains and conquers all his and our ene- 
 mies," is that of a King. But, because such 
 is the fact, we cannot deduce from it the 
 monstrous inference, that a person inhering 
 in the Divine nature assumes another state 
 with reference to the other persons in the 
 Godhead. This would be to affirm that, — 
 because in consequence of our condition the 
 energy of God in Christ must be applied to 
 us so that we feel it in different capacities, — 
 the same energy of the Godhead nmst, in 
 consequence, be also applied within itself, 
 so that the persons of the Godhead must ex- 
 perience it, rendering one of them Son, and 
 another Father. Christ, in his Mediatorial 
 office, is experimentally apprehended by us 
 in his influential energy, in different capaci- 
 16 
 
182 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 ties, — but does it, therefore, follow, or can it 
 follow that the application of this energy to 
 the different situations of man will cause the 
 Godhead to experience it, and in this expe- 
 rience of its different persons, cause an al- 
 teration of their related states, and give de- 
 signations illustrative of such states ? We 
 have so often shown the impossibility of such 
 a result, that it is needless again to exhibit 
 it. Such a supposition reduces the name of 
 Son, and every other name, and the rest of 
 the Divine persons, to a mere nullity. Ac- 
 cording to this supposition, we have neither 
 designation nor statement of persons in the 
 Godhead ; all the names employed — the 
 names of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, are 
 mere sounds, without reality in the Divine 
 nature ; they are merely perceptions and de- 
 finitions of human feelings receiving certain 
 impressions of Godhead, to which we choose 
 to affix these certain names, and which are 
 communicated to us in Scripture, in accord- 
 ance with such previous feelings. 
 
 The argument deducing the Sonship of 
 Christ from his aspect towards man, when 
 fairly analyzed, reduces not only the Son 
 himself, but the other persons of the God- 
 head, to mere abstract conceptions of our 
 
OF CHRIST. 183 
 
 minds, when they receive impressions of Di- 
 vine energy. The reasoning of our adversa- 
 ries, when divested of foreign associations 
 and sifted to the bottom, stands thus: — the 
 Divine person who immediately accomplished 
 our salvation, and who, therefore, assumed 
 humanity, bears a new relation towards men ; 
 he is then' Messiah ; the designation Eternal 
 Son is a contradiction ; and Christ is only 
 termed Son on account of the relation which 
 he assumed, and which he bears to man, in 
 his procedure with the other Divine persons 
 to effect man's salvation. 
 
 These premises are founded on a fallacy ; 
 for the Son, as a Divine person, could assume 
 no new relation or relations toward man ; 
 his relation towards man must have always 
 been the same, as it originates with his im- 
 mutable nature and perfections. The rela- 
 tion of man towards God, and the princi- 
 ples which produced his relationship, were 
 changed ; but the principles of the Divine 
 nature, towards an object, can never be 
 changed. Whatever newness of state existed 
 between God and man, was the effect of sin, 
 and, therefore, originated with man, and was 
 a newness of state peculiar and belonging to 
 man, but not to God. When the Son took 
 
184 THE ETERNAL SON SHIP 
 
 humanity, he did not become a new person : 
 consequently, he could obtain no new rela- 
 tion between himself and man. But the ef- 
 fect of this assumption was, through the me- 
 dium of his humanity, to restore man to that 
 relation with the Deity which man had lost, 
 and to produce a change in him, so that he 
 might experience that relation from which he 
 had withdrawn himself. The human nature 
 was the mean employed by the Deity to pro- 
 duce this alteration in the state of riian, but 
 not in his own state. The utter impossibility 
 of the assumption of. a new, different, or 
 changed state towards man, is founded on the 
 inherent immutability of Deity, which cannot 
 be affected by the mutability of creatures. 
 The newness, difference, or change, is in the 
 feelings of the creatures who contemplate 
 and experience the energies of Deity, not in 
 the Deity who is contemplated. This new- 
 ness is occasioned by the medium, viz. our 
 Lord's human nature, which they either 
 sensibly beheld, or by testimony now credit, 
 and which was employed to produce this 
 change in the feelings of men. But even 
 were it granted that the Deity had assumed 
 a new relation towards man, this would not 
 prove, nor could it by any inference imply, 
 
OF CHRIST. 185 
 
 that the persons in the Godhead had assumed 
 a new relation amongst themselves. — When 
 our opponents affirm that the Sonship of 
 Christ cannot be eternal, because it is a con- 
 tradiction, this is only taking for granted the 
 thing to be proved, and then reasoning in a 
 circle on their own assertion. They take 
 for granted the newness of a relation on the 
 part of God, towards man ; they take for 
 granted the impossibility of the Eternal Son- 
 ship of Christ ; they adjnit related states 
 within the Godhead, and assert that one of 
 these is a state not eternal, viz. that of Son, 
 arising from the aspect of God in the plan of 
 salvation. The state of Son must either be 
 a mere name without meaning, or a reality. 
 If it be a reality, it is real within the God- 
 head ; for the most determined opponents 
 of Christ's Sonship do not say that it is a re- 
 lation between the person so called and man. 
 It must, consequently, be within the God- 
 head, and between Divine persons. What is 
 within the Godhead must have been always 
 there; otherwise the Godhead is changed. 
 A relation between Divine persons can no 
 more have a beginning than the Divine per- 
 sons themselves ; otherwise, the Divine per- 
 sons are not eternal, but fortuitous, in their 
 16* 
 
186 THE ETERNAL SON SHIP 
 
 State of existence. If the term Son be a 
 mere name indicative of no state, but chosen 
 by accident, and given because it is as good 
 as any other name, — the related states of tlie 
 Godhead and the persons of the Godhead are 
 nullities — language is no more the significa- 
 tion of human thought — universal scepticism 
 respecting ourselves, all things, God himself, 
 is introduced. The plan pursued, — the part 
 (we have no adequate expression for these 
 ideas,) performed by each Divine person in 
 the recovery of man — could not introduce re- 
 lated states within the Godhead ; — this could 
 only give certain feelings to man as he expe- 
 rienced the impression of these parts ; other- 
 wise his feelings of the procedure of each 
 Divine person, must have created related 
 states in the Godhead — and what he feels, 
 must be felt by the Divine persons, so as to 
 cause their existence as Father, Son, and 
 Holy Ghost. On the supposition of our ad- 
 versaries^ viz. because man has sinned, the 
 Divine procedure, must be exhibited in states 
 which are not eternal, ^ — the Divinity must 
 introduce a change within itself, consequent 
 on the failure of man, and be a Father, a Son, 
 and a Holy Spirit, in its persons. But an 
 eternal and immense person acting accord- 
 
OF CHRIvST. 187 
 
 ing to his own iinture, cannot, by his own 
 act, become a new person, or exist in a new 
 relation to another. When we divest their 
 reasoning of all ambiguity, it resolves itself 
 into this: — that the eternal persons of the 
 Godhead, in restoring man, became what 
 they were not from eternity; one of them, 
 consequently, did become Son m relation to 
 another, or he became Son to man, or his de- 
 signation of Son is an empty name. We 
 reply: he could not, thereby, become Son 
 to the other Divine persons, because he is 
 an eternal person ; he could not become Son 
 to the creatures, because their nature is not 
 his nature, because they cannot change that 
 which is eternal ; he could not be Son by 
 mere empty name, because such an assertion 
 overthrows all principles of belief in the ex- 
 istence of God, of created mind, or of cre- 
 ated matter. Can the procedure of Divine 
 persons in creation, in providence, or in re- 
 demption, cause them to exist in states in 
 which they were not, prior to such exter- 
 nal exhibition ? Can the mode in which 
 man apprehends Divine persons, constitute 
 in them new states ? Can the feelings of 
 man, experiencing, in salvation, these persons 
 to be Father, Son, and Holy Ghost — be also 
 
188 THE ETERxXAL SO^'SHIP 
 
 their feelings, and produce in them such 
 states ? Legitimate reasoning answers, No. 
 Our opponents are driven to the alternative 
 of presuming that God not only changed the 
 relation of man to himself, when he recovered 
 him from sin, but that he also changed his 
 own relation tof persons, in order that man 
 might be recovered. They must be brought 
 to this absurd conclusion, when their reason- 
 ing is fairly analyzed. When the fallacy is 
 detected, we discover that it originates in 
 the confusion of our mode of apprehending 
 a being, with the being who is apprehended. 
 It rests on the supposition — that because 
 God has revealed himself, in the salvation of 
 man, to be Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and 
 because we are enabled to apprehend these 
 persons in salvation, and because their pro- 
 cedure in salvation is actually a work of time, 
 — one of these persons is only in time ac- 
 tually existing as Son. But our apprehen- 
 sion of a being, and the being who is appre- 
 hended, are, in reality, different; our know- 
 ledge of the existence of the being acting 
 in any manner, does not give to that being 
 the commencement of existence, in that man- 
 ner in which the mind contemplates it. The 
 knowledge of the mind respecting a being, 
 
OF CHRIST. 189 
 
 and the being itself, are different. So our 
 knowledge obtained by revelation of the man- 
 ner in which the Son acts — which know- 
 ledge is in our mind — does not make the 
 Son commensurate with our knowledge, or 
 with that salvation in which he acts. Nei- 
 ther, therefore, the existence of man, nor 
 his mode of contemplating the person who is 
 Son, could make him Son. This Divine per- 
 son exists independently of man or of man's 
 knowledge ; and this person, who exists as 
 Son, cannot derive his state from any situa- 
 tion of man, or from any external procedure 
 of his own. What he is at any one period, 
 he must be from eternity. When he is Son, 
 as a Divine person, at one moment, he is 
 Son eternally. If it be said that he became 
 Son by his own mere good pleasure, in order 
 to rescue man, this assertion is only remov- 
 ing the difficulty a step farther, for it sup- 
 poses the previous state of man to have pro- 
 duced the consequent resolution to become 
 Son, and likewise supposes the Divine Be- 
 ing to be mutable and defective, seeing he 
 could, by his own will, become that which 
 he was not before. The result of the whole 
 examination is the discovery of the mistake 
 which supposes, that our feelings of the ope- 
 
190 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 ration of a Divine person, make him to be- 
 come a Divine person, in consequence of that 
 process in which we feel him to operate ; and 
 this mistake farther supposes that there can 
 be contingent states in that Godhead which 
 is eternal. 
 
 But some maintain that the person of our 
 Lord is not changed by becoming Son, as 
 this is a mere appellation conferred on his 
 person, when employed in his redeeming as- 
 pect; as a title, for example, is conferred on 
 any one who is elevated to the Peerage, yet 
 is not changed in his person, by being called 
 a Lord ; or as an. individual is not rendered 
 different from what he was before, by being 
 made an Ambassador, and styled your Excel- 
 lency, This explanation is only a resort to 
 words employed in human transactions, and 
 a transference of them, as mere sounds with- 
 out meaning, to remove the difficulty. It 
 takes for granted what must be proved, that 
 the designation Son expresses only a name 
 conferred in consequence of the Mediatorial 
 work, after the assumption of human nature. 
 It is inadmissible, because there can be no 
 possible analogy between the things com- 
 pared ; for the titles of men are indicative of 
 degrees ofrrmk, which are their own arbitrary 
 
OF CHRIST. 191 
 
 contrivances ; whereas, the name of Son ex- 
 presses no degree of rank or honour, but a 
 positive participation of nature in a related 
 state. To assert, then, that the designation 
 Son was bestowed on him, in consequence of 
 an earthly event, is to assert that a new re- 
 lated state of nature was also given to him, 
 subsisting between him and the other per- 
 sons of the Godhead ; w hich supposition we 
 have already sufficiently refuted. The new 
 title of rank conferred on ah individual does 
 not produce a new relation between his na- 
 ture and any other nature; — but the being 
 made Son cannot be disunited either in our 
 notion or in the reality of the fact, from re- 
 lation in nature to him to whom he is Son. 
 If it be asserted that the name of Son is only 
 figurative — descriptive cf a figurative rela- 
 tion in the Godhead, as we say son of liberty, 
 son of genius^ fcc. — then, all the other names, 
 the name of Father, and of Holy Spirit, or 
 whatever other appellations are given to the 
 persons of the Godhead, must be also figura- 
 tive, as they are used exactly in the same 
 manner, and associated with the appellation 
 Son. If these designations of Divine persons 
 be only figurative, there are no actual and 
 bona fide designations of persons in the God- 
 
192 THE ETERNAT. S0NSH11> 
 
 head; consequently, there is no declaration 
 of Divine persons, nor do the Scriptures con- 
 tain any account of a Trinity of persons. 
 
 Our Lord proceeds to assert his equality 
 with the Father, not only from his participa- 
 tion with him in acts of omnipotence, but 
 also of omniscience : v. 20. " For the Father 
 loveth the Son, and shoiveth him all things 
 that himself doeth : and he will shoio him 
 greater works than these, that ye may mar- 
 veV^ We have already alluded to that ever- 
 lasting complacency which is described as 
 existing among the Divine persons, and which 
 is here noticed by our Lord as enjoyed be- 
 tween him and the Father. He asserts that 
 he enjoys the love of the Father. If the per- 
 son, the Father, be eternal, and the person of 
 him who is Son be eternal, this love must 
 have also been eternal. As no change could 
 have rendered the latter person Son, — because 
 this would have been the introduction of a 
 new related state in the nature of the Godhead 
 — the Son must be eternal, in the enjoyment 
 of this love. And the Father showeth him all 
 things that himself doeth. We need scarcely 
 notice, that the acts done by the Father in 
 the Godhead, could not have been shown in 
 the mode in which the acts of mortals are 
 
OF CHRIST. 193 
 
 shown to one another, by sensation and per- 
 ■ception. The showing, therefore, by the Fa- 
 ther, must signify the inherent knowledge 
 which Divine persons must reciprocally pos- 
 sess of the procedure of each other. One 
 cannot perform an act which is not shown to 
 the other, or which is not perfectly the ob- 
 ject of knowledge of the one as much as of 
 the other. The acts of the Godhead, its " all 
 things," can be only shown to, or perfectly 
 comprehended by, him, who is Divine. The 
 Son claims this omniscience — this perfect 
 equality of knowledge, which is mutually 
 possessed between him and the Father. — 
 None but a person in the Divine nature could 
 be shown " all things" which it doeth ; the 
 person speaking, is, therefore, in the Divine 
 nature, in that state in which he spoke : for 
 in his then state of Sonship he asserted this 
 knowledge to be his. As the Son possesses 
 omniscience, he must possess it in the Divine 
 nature ; if the Son be in the Divine nature as 
 Son, he is so eternally, for there can be no 
 change within that nature. 
 
 Our Lord says, that these Divine persons 
 
 would perform still greater works than they 
 
 had hitherto achieved. Under the continued 
 
 figure of '' being shown" by the Father the 
 
 17 
 
194 THE ETERNAL S0N3HIP 
 
 greater works which were to be accomplished 
 by him, in Divine purpose and fulfilment, the 
 Son describes his knowledge, which extend- 
 ed to futurity, and embraced the external 
 '' works" of the. Godhead, " greater" than 
 those which had been as yet accomplished. 
 The works can only be understood as " great- 
 er" in the estimation of men ; for with om- 
 nipotence there can be neither greater nor 
 less. By these " greater works" which were 
 yet to occur, our Lord, doubtless, meant the 
 glorious exploits of his human nature, in 
 which he was to overthrow the reign of sin 
 and death, destroy his enemies, procure the 
 triumph of virtue, remove the present mate- 
 rial system, and in its place, form " new hea- 
 vens and a new earth." The commencement 
 of these splendid works, our Lord says, would 
 be seen by those Jews who heard him, so 
 that they " w^ould marvel," when that ap- 
 pearance which was " despised and rejected 
 of men," exhibited, in its actions, a power 
 derived from heaven. 
 
 V. 2L " For as the Father raiseth up the 
 dead, and quickeneth them : even so the Son 
 quickeneth ivhom he loilV — The one-ness of 
 the Father and Son, in omnipotent energy, 
 is here described. " My power," says the 
 
OF CHRIST. 195 
 
 Son, in the designation which he gives him- 
 self, " extends to the mansions of death, as 
 well as the Father's power." 
 
 V. 22. " For the Father judgeth no man, 
 but hath committed all judgment unto the 
 Son.^^ — Our Lord here evidently speaks of 
 himself in the Divinity of his Messiahship, in 
 which Divine nature he asserts his equality 
 with the Father ; for the judgment or equita- 
 ble determination respecting all thoughts and 
 actions, can only belong to a Divine person, 
 in whom omniscience resides. By the me- 
 dium of his human nature, our Lord will 
 judge " the deeds done in the body," on that 
 day when he will " give to every man accord- 
 ing as his work shall be." 
 
 V. 23 — 25. " That all men should honour 
 the So7i, even as they honour the Father, He 
 that honoureth not the So7i, honoureth not the 
 Father which hath sent him. Verili/, verily, I 
 say unto you, He that heareth my icord, and 
 helieveth on him that sent me, hath everlasting 
 life, and shall not come into condemnation; 
 hut is passed from death unto life. Verily, 
 verily, I say unto you. The hour is coming, 
 and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice 
 of the Son of God : and they that hear shall 
 live*^^ In these, and the preceding verses, the 
 
196 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 Son speaks either of his Divinity in itself, or 
 of the Divinity of his Messiahship, having 
 humanity united to it. As Son, in the Divine 
 nature, he claims for himself all the preroga- 
 tives of Divinity ; and that which is true in 
 the Divine nature, at any one time, is true 
 for ever. The Son is, therefore, essentially 
 God in the Divine nature, and ever must 
 have been Son. 
 
 Our Lord, under the designation of the 
 Son of Man ^ speaks, from the 26th and 27th 
 verses, of the immediate acts of his humani- 
 ty : — But on this topic we shall not now en- 
 large, as the examination of the expression 
 Son of Man will form a subsequent part of 
 our remarks. 
 
 The evidence of the Eternal Sonship of 
 Christ is manifest from the language of his 
 own declaration, in his address to his Father, 
 recorded in the xviith chapter of John, com- 
 monly called his intercessory or mediatory 
 prayer. His human nature had performed 
 the benelicent works of his ministerial charac- 
 ter, and the period approached, when he was 
 ** exceeding sorrowful, even unto death," in 
 the prospect of his sufferings. When entering 
 on this depth of humiliation, his " reasonable 
 !>oul" poured forth its feelings and wishes 
 
OF CHUIST. 197 
 
 to the Godhead, in the person of the Father. 
 But whilst it thus spoke and felt, there are 
 expressions employed which cannot be pre- 
 dicated of any created being, and which he 
 could not have used when declaring the emo- 
 tions of his soul; for they cannot refer to 
 any nature which is the workmanship of the 
 Deity, but must be true of the Deity itself. 
 We have frequently had occasion to mention 
 the complex kind of our Lord's person, 
 formed of his Divinity and the human nature 
 which he had assumed. This human nature 
 was the medium by which his Divinit}^ dis- 
 played itself, and was in union with the Di- 
 vinity. Through it, the Divine perfections 
 were manifested to men ; but they did not 
 exist in it separately from the Divinity. It 
 did not possess these perfections as its own 
 perfections ; yet they belonged to that person 
 in whom it existed. Its existence in Divinity 
 was not an existence of simple support and 
 preservation, but a real union or junction 
 (which is the term most adequate to convey 
 the notion,) to that- person in whom all things 
 exist. — While the Divine perfections were 
 exliibited through it, as a medium, it had 
 one-ness with him who possessed these per- 
 fections. It was not eternal, immense, and im- 
 17* 
 
198 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 mutable, onmipotent and omniscient ; but he 
 who is eternal, immense, and immutable, om- 
 nipotent and omniscient, acted by it as an 
 instrument, and the instrument which was 
 thus employed was subsisting in his Divine 
 nature. No change was effected, or could be 
 effected, in the Godhead, by this instru- 
 ment, yet its inherence in the Godhead was 
 perfect and complete ; not like the inherence 
 of any other being, whose existence is cre- 
 ated and preserved by the sustaining power of 
 the Godhead, — but an inherence of such a 
 kind, that the acts performed in it were the 
 acts of the Godhead done through this me- 
 dium. 
 
 The acts of other intelligent beings are 
 their own acts, because they exist each as a 
 separate person ; the acts of this nature were 
 not separate and distinct acts, because it was 
 not separate from the person and nature of 
 the Godhead. When the Godhead exhibits 
 itself through a being animate or inanimate, 
 it does so in two senses. It is the exhibition 
 of the Godhead according to the nature of 
 the being, and it is the exhibition of the 
 being itself; for what it has, is given to it, 
 and becomes in it qualities of itself, and 
 without these qualities it would not be the 
 
OF CHRIST. 199 
 
 being which it is ; nor would it be constituted 
 a being. The qualities which it possesses 
 are not transferred from the Divine qualities, 
 nor are they an infusion of them so that the 
 being may participate in them ; but they are 
 created in, and with, the being, to render it 
 that which omnipotence wills. The qualities 
 of being are greater or less, more or less glo- 
 rious in the judgment of intelligent creatures 
 who apprehend them; but not in the nature 
 of the qualities themselves. For each qua- 
 lity is, per se, complete and perfect, in rela- 
 tion to the object which possesses it; and 
 the estimate of the excellence of the beings 
 depends on the law of our constitution, 
 w^hich enables us to form the estimate, not 
 on the beings themselves, abstracted or de- 
 tached from us, who do form the estimate. 
 When we estimate the objects of the uni- 
 verse, we recognize certain beings of more 
 or less resplendent qualities, and we, accord- 
 ingly, consider these qualities as more or less 
 resplendent exhibitions of Deity. The pre- 
 dication of exhibitions of the Deity, in the 
 qualities of creatures, is popular language ; 
 but when our feelings are analyzed, we mere- 
 ly discern objects which the law of our con- 
 stitution presents to our judgment, as pos- 
 
200 THE ETERNAL SON SHIP 
 
 sessing qualities of greater or less value, 
 which are given to them as beings complete 
 in themselves, not apportioned from the qua- 
 lities of the Divinity, but conferred as qua- 
 lities by the Divinity, when exercising its 
 own qualities. When we say such an object 
 displays the Divine perfections, the language 
 is popular, but not strictly true. It displays, 
 in reality, its own perfections, which are con- 
 ferred by the Deity in the exercise of his 
 perfections ; — and the possession of such per- 
 fections by the object evinces the posses- 
 sion of perfections by the Deity. The object 
 possesses its perfections according to its own 
 nature, and the Deity possesses his perfec- 
 tions according to his nature. Such are the 
 objects which the mind of man may contem- 
 plate in the universe. They are created by 
 the Deity to be beings per se, when created, 
 i. e. complete in themselves, separately from 
 all other beings : this is their constitution. 
 They have qualities in accordance with this 
 mode of being, which are their own qualities, 
 and evince that they are the work of the 
 Deity in his qualities. They exist as beings 
 per se, by the preservation or continuity which 
 the Deity affords them in their original con- 
 
OF CHRIST. 201 
 
 formation, from which mode of confoniia- 
 tion, they are never detached. 
 
 But there is one object in the universe, 
 and only one, of which, the mode of being 
 that all the rest have, cannot be predicated. 
 — This is the human nature of Christ. All 
 the Divine procedure respecting it w^as di- 
 rected that it might have a mode of being, 
 different from all other beings who, in Di- 
 vine preservation, continue beings per se. He 
 who possessed this human nature, said, when 
 coming into the world, " a body hast thou 
 prepared me." It was created and born, not 
 to be as other beings, but for a peculiar and 
 distinct purpose ; therefore, existence, as a 
 being per se, was not given to it. Definite 
 and actual existence in itself, complete from 
 every other being, cannot be predicated of 
 this " true body and reasonable soul." For 
 it existed, that it might have existence af- 
 filiated with, and real in, another being. It 
 was created ; it had existence ; it acted in 
 another manner from that in which all other 
 creatures are created, and have existence, 
 and do act. It had an appearance to the 
 senses and hitellect of man, such as all the 
 beings of separate existence have. It seemed 
 to them to be such as all others were, — 
 
202 THE ETERNAL SON SHIP 
 
 But its real de facto ^ and intrinsic existence 
 was totally different. It had all the qualities 
 which other beings have ; but it was different 
 in its mode of existence. It had being, and 
 the qualities of being, in the state in which 
 it was ; but it did not possess the constitu- 
 tion of other beings to be, in itself, existing 
 separately from all others. An intrinsic con- 
 stitution was given to it, which was given to 
 no other object, viz. the faculty of being, 
 but not of being an existence of itself. Its 
 existence was in the Divine nature; yet not 
 in the Divine nature, generally, but in that 
 person, who, having the Divine nature, com- 
 pletely, as the other persons, took this being 
 into union or junction with himself, so that 
 it might exist and act in him. The exis- 
 tence, which other objects have distinct in 
 themselves, was in this object, perfect and 
 real, in that Divine person for whom it was 
 formed — for whom it possessed this peculi- 
 arity of intrinsic constitution. When it act- 
 ed, its acts were those of human nature, 
 which it was ; but its acts were not those of 
 a person or being existing in itself separately 
 from all others : they were the acts of that 
 being whose constitution was framed so that 
 it might exist in another. This object not 
 
OF CHRIST. 203 
 
 only had its existence in the Divine person 
 for whom it was formed, but it had de facto 
 union with that person ; so that its qualities 
 were his qualities; its actions were his ac- 
 tions. This object, which had its existence 
 in him, acted by him. This union was not 
 any intermixture of nature, neither was it a 
 portion of the one nature superadded to the 
 other ; but it was the possession of both na- 
 tures, the Divine and human, by him who 
 w^as a person eternally in the Divine nature. 
 
 Actions ma}^ be predicated of the human 
 nature which have reference to itself, exist- 
 ing in Divinity ; actions may be predicated 
 of it, with reference to that person who pos- 
 sesses it. When actions are predicated of 
 the human nature with reference to itself, 
 they are those which are peculiar to human 
 nature, and to this nature, in its constitu- 
 tionallv ditferent mode of existence: when 
 actions are predicated of it with respect to 
 the person who possesses it, they are those 
 of that person. When our Lord says, in the 
 4th verse of the xviith chap, of John, " / 
 have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished 
 the ivork ivhich thou gavest me to do,^^ lie 
 speaks of the actions of his human nature in 
 itself. When he says, (v. 5th and 24th of 
 
204 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 the same chapter,) " And noiv, O Father, 
 glorify thou me with thine ownself, with the 
 glory ivhich I had with thee before the xoorld 
 ivas''^ — and, "/or thou lovedst 7ne before the 
 foundation of the ivorld,^'' — he speaks of him- 
 self, as the person in whom this human na- 
 ture was. The expressions " glory which I 
 had with thee before the world was," and, 
 " lovedst me before the foundation of the 
 world," must refer to a glory and love distinct 
 from his possession of humanity; for they 
 must have been actually existing at the pe- 
 riod to which our Lord refers. It cannot 
 be said that this love of the Father and of 
 the Son existed in decree, and respected his 
 humanity when assumed ; because love is an 
 active, energetic principle, subsisting between 
 two objects. Love in decree is a resolve 
 that love shall subsequently exist, at the pe- 
 riod resolved in the decree ; but this is not 
 love de facto in existence ; it is love to be, 
 but not in being. Our Lord says, that be- 
 fore the foundation of the world, there were 
 two persons, reciprocally loving and loved ; 
 " thou lovedst me before the foundation of 
 the world." — The act of loving which is 
 here described, is not a decree to love, in 
 which latter case, the love is dormant, or 
 
OF CHRIST. 205 
 
 not in being, until the event decreed is de- 
 veloped, — but a real and substantial quality 
 possessed and exercised by a person, and 
 existing in that person before this world. 
 The Son, therefore, independently of his as- 
 sumed humanity, declares that there was a 
 love subsisting between the Father and him. 
 Now, that love, which was before this world, 
 subsisted between the Father and the person 
 who then addressed the Father. He ad- 
 dressed him as a person being in the related 
 state of Son to the Father, and, in this state, 
 the love was reciprocal, and enjoyed by these 
 persons. He was in the state of Son, when 
 he declared the existence of this love; and 
 on him Avho spake and was Son, this love 
 was fixed before creation. It is impossible 
 for legitimate ingenuity to affix, by any con- 
 struction, a different meaning to this decla- 
 ration. If the Son, in his related state of 
 Son, enjoyed love with the Father, before 
 creation, and if there existed this mutual com- 
 placency between these two persons, — the 
 Son must be like his quality, independent of 
 creatures, and, therefore. Eternal. 
 
 He also possessed " glory with the Father 
 before the world was." The notion of glory 
 is originally derived from that concentration 
 18 
 
206 THE ETERNAL SONSHIF 
 
 of the rajs of light which produces a vivid 
 appearance to the senses, and is obtained by 
 a comparison of this, with other appearances 
 less vivid. Glory is transferred from sensible 
 objects, and is figuratively applied to the 
 mind, when its energies produce a vivid emo- 
 tion in those minds which contemplate its 
 powers, and when this notion is derived from 
 a comparison with less splendid energies. — 
 Hence, glory, stript of the false associa- 
 tions which men have connected with the 
 term, is the exercise of qualities in well re- 
 gulated minds, which excite veneration and 
 admiration in other well regulated minds. 
 The glory of the Godhead, in creation, is the 
 qualities which it has conferred by the exer- 
 cise of its own qualities. The glory of the 
 Godhead, in itself, or existing between the 
 Divine persons, must be the mutual posses- 
 sion of Divine perfections, as they inhere in 
 the Godhead. None could have glory with 
 a Divine person before the world was, except 
 a Divine person ; as the nature of Divine per- 
 sons can be rendered neither more nor less 
 excellent by their self existence, — that which 
 they mutually possess as glory is the perfec- 
 tions essential to the Deity. In the state in 
 which he then was, that of Son, he declares 
 
OF CHRIST. 207 
 
 ihat he had glory or the possession of Divine 
 perfections with the Father. This glory is, 
 therefore, essential to the person speaking, 
 who is the Son ; for that which is essential to 
 a Divine person, must always belong to him 
 in that state in which he is Divine. The 
 Son, before creation, possessed all Divine per- 
 iections ; he is, therefore, essential and eter- 
 nal Son. 
 
 The observations which we have made on 
 the person of Christ possessing the Divine 
 and human natures, will enable the reader 
 10 apply them to those passages in the mter- 
 cessory prayer, that respect the actions of 
 the human nature existing in the Divine, and 
 to those that respect the person possessing 
 both Divine and human natures. There is 
 only one passage which it may be requisite 
 for us to examine in consequence of the per- 
 verted explanations that have been given of 
 its meaning. John xvii. 3. *• And this is life 
 eternal, that they might knoiv thee, the only 
 true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast 
 sent,^^ 
 
 Christ commences his address by the de- 
 claration of himself in the person of Son, and, 
 in this capacity, he continues the address to 
 its conclusion. The knowledge of the Fa- 
 
208 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 ther the only true God, and Jesus Christ who 
 is sent by the Father, is declared to be eter- 
 nal life, i. e. this knowledge and the con- 
 duct consequent on it. — When we analyze 
 the expression, we discover a knowledge 
 which is to be possessed by a rational being ; 
 w^e discover the objects of this knowledge, 
 the Father and Jesus Christ. The former 
 is spoken of in his absolute state ; the lat- 
 ter not only in existence, but as he exists 
 when sent. There is, therefore, ^ marked 
 difference in the medium of our knowledge 
 of these objects ; for the one is spoken of 
 only as existing, and the other as existing 
 when sent to us. The object who is sent 
 is declared to be Jesus Christ. These two 
 designations are the names given to the hu- 
 man nature of our Lord ; one of them was 
 announced by the angel, in his message to 
 the Virgin, and the other was foretold in an- 
 cient prophecy. Our Lord digresses from 
 the state of his person as Son, — in which he 
 commences and subsequently continues his 
 
 address, by the mention of that nature 
 
 which had existence in his person. This 
 digression cannot be the effect of accident; 
 it must be for some specific purpose, and 
 evidently alludes to his human nature, which 
 
OF CHRIST. 209 
 
 had not Sonship in itself, and which did not 
 eternally exist in the state of Son. He de- 
 clares the knowledge of this human nature, 
 — Jesus Christ as he was sent, — to be eter- 
 nal life. Now, the human nature of our 
 Lord was both an object of knowledge and a 
 medium of knowledge by which the Father 
 might be apprehended. His human nature 
 could be known, because it was an object of 
 sensation and intellectual feeling, when it was 
 sent among men. By its very constitution, 
 it could not have separate existence from the 
 Son, in union with whom it was. Correct 
 knowledge of it, led to the knowledge of that 
 person with whom it was in union ; and such 
 knowledge necessarily led to that of the other 
 Divine persons. It was, therefore, an object 
 on ^vhich the knowledge of man might be ex- 
 ercised, and it was a medium by which the 
 knowledge of the Godhead might be attained. 
 The knowledge of this nature which was sent, 
 comprehends, within it, our duty to God and 
 our duty to man. It comprehends our duty 
 to God ; for we are thereby led to ascertain 
 that Divine person in whom this nature 
 subsisted, and who enabled it to perform 
 all duty to God. It was really a being,— 
 though its original constitution was different 
 18* 
 
210 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 from all others, having no separate exis- 
 tence of its own, — and though it performed, 
 through its Divine person ^ all duty to man. 
 Benevolence shone through all its acts ; mer- 
 cy breathed in its voice ; kindness beamed 
 through its looks. This nature exhibited, in 
 perfection, the duty of the individual, of the 
 son, of the neighbour, of the master, of the 
 friend, of the citizen. Its perseverance was 
 undeviating, as its purposes were just. Er- 
 ror did not sully its wisdom ; weakness did 
 not form a contrast to its power ; guilt did 
 not spot its purity. The human nature of 
 our Lord did not possess the constitution of 
 existing separately, for this express reason, 
 viz. that it might exist far more gloriously 
 than it could have done separately. Hence, 
 when exalted, it exists in a constellation of 
 glories, more illustrious than any being in the 
 universe can possess. It has the utmost ex- 
 tent of perfections resident within it ; for all 
 the perfections of Godhead are exerted upon 
 it, that it may pour forth a flood of perfec- 
 tions more eifulgently than any other created 
 being. It is a central existence, where the 
 Godhead, the angels, glorified spirits, and 
 good men, meet. It is the vehicle of union, 
 by w^hich men who have departed from God, 
 
OF CHRIST. 211 
 
 may return to him. It is an adaptation which 
 meets the wants, and removes the crimes, of 
 countless myriads. It is that bright and be- 
 nevolent object, before which the darkness of 
 crime, and the sorrows of earth, shall disap- 
 pear. It is the Sheckinah of heaven ; for in 
 it the Godhead manifests its presence. It 
 possesses the principle which obliterates the 
 principles of evil, and expands the principles 
 of good. It has undergone the vicissitudes of 
 earth, and enjoys the raptures of heaven. 
 From it flows an " exceeding and eternal 
 weight of glory," w hich is laid up for the just 
 in other scenes. It has expelled the princi- 
 ples of sin, that men might dwell with God — 
 that God might be their God, and they his 
 people. It is the " all in all" to celestial and 
 terrestrial beings. It kindles within men's 
 souls the warmth of devotion which was ex- 
 tinguished by sin — restores them to that com- 
 munity from which they have estranged 
 themselves — brings them within the circle 
 of that family from which they have strayed 
 — and procures them pardon for that rebel- 
 lious conduct by which they have broken 
 their fealty to their Governor. Through the 
 abundance of its merits, and from the influ- 
 ences which it imparts, the sorows of life are 
 
212 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 alleviated and sweetened — its joys are en- 
 hanced; the gloom which shrouded eternity 
 from time is removed, and the intellectual 
 vision extends to those scenes where the vir- 
 tuous of this world enjoy " rest from their 
 labours, and their works do follow them." 
 It has, in one word, " finished the transgres- 
 sion, made an end of sins, made reconciliation 
 for iniquity, and brought in everlasting righ- 
 teousness." 
 
 Transcendent as these qualities and ac- 
 tions of our Lord's humanity are, they are 
 only those of a creature deriving efficacy 
 from its union with a Divine person, and 
 must be distinguished from the essential qua- 
 lities and acts of the person of the Son, to 
 whom this nature belongs. Now, eternal 
 life, or a life of continued happiness without 
 any cessation of existence, is declared to be 
 the property of those who have knowledge 
 of " the Father the only true God, and 
 Jesus Christ whom he has sent." But the 
 same advantage cannot flow from the God- 
 head and from any creature, at one and the 
 same time, or at any time. For this would 
 be to affirm that the creature is equal to the 
 Godhead in power, and that it also posses- 
 ses self-existent, or inherent and uiiderived 
 
OF CHRIST. 213 
 
 being, seeing it can do that which is pe- 
 culiar to underived power. If it confer ad- 
 vantage only as an instrument, then, the 
 advantage is not primarily derived from 
 it, but is referable, in reality, to him from 
 whom the creature derived the power of 
 conferring the advantage. Hence, when the 
 Son says, in the 2d verse, " As thou hast 
 given him power over all fleshy that he should 
 give eternal life to as many as thou hast given 
 him^'''^ — he evidently alludes to the delegated 
 power which was given him in his human na- 
 ture ; which nature, being a creature, could 
 possess no power but what was delegated or 
 given to it. The power of the Son to confer 
 advantage is, therefore, of tw o sorts ; the one 
 is inherent and peculiar to his Divinity, the 
 other is derived, and delegated to that na- 
 ture which could alone possess power in this 
 manner. His human nature is not the source 
 of the power which gives eternal life, but it 
 is the appointed channel through which the 
 essential power of the Son flows. The hu- 
 man nature has this derived power, that it 
 might disseminate its influences to those 
 who are of like nature with itself. This de- 
 legated power in our Lord's human nature 
 scatters its resources, as a mighty ocean, to 
 
214 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 fructify, invigorate, and enliven those whom 
 it surrounds. In the effects of this dele- 
 gated power, we recognize collateral propriety 
 and benefits, which we can discern in no other 
 conceivable arrangement. The human na- 
 ture of Christ is congenial with that of those 
 who are the immediate objects of his power. 
 It possesses feelings essentially the same in 
 kind, though infinitely more exalted in de- 
 gree. It has a fellow feeling in their suffer- 
 ings and wants ; it has a sympathetic union of 
 desires with them. It wishes that they shall 
 be as it is, as far as their natures will permit. 
 It infuses a confidence, " a holy boldness" 
 into those who require its aid, that could not 
 otherwise have been obtained. — The princi- 
 ple which this delegated power of giving eter- 
 nal life is to produce, is the know ledge of the 
 Father, the only true God, and Jesus Christ 
 whom he has sent. Now, the knowledge of 
 the Father, who is the only true God, is de- 
 clared to be collateral with the knowledge of 
 Jesus Christ. The knowledge of the only 
 true God and of a creature, cannot, equally, 
 be the means of eternal life. For then, our 
 knowledge of the one would be productive of 
 equal advantage with our knowledge of the 
 other, and effect the same results. This 
 
OF CHRIST. 215 
 
 would prove the objects of knowledge and 
 their qualities to be the same. But this is 
 absurd ; for we have designated the one ob- 
 ject God, and the other creature. Jesus Christ, 
 w^ho is sent, cannot, therefore, be only a 
 creature, he must be more than a creature; 
 yet, the nature which he had in the flesh, 
 was necessarily a creature. Real knowledge 
 of him must include his Godhead, in which 
 the human nature dwelt, and w hich cannot be 
 separated from that nature after its assump- 
 tion. When the Father is termed the only 
 true God, his Divine nature is meant, which 
 is the only true God. But the Son is in that 
 Divine nature, as well as the Father, and 
 both persons, with the Holy Spirit, are the 
 only true God. The medium by which we 
 obtain this knowledge is the human nature of 
 our Lord, and this human nature cannot be 
 known, unless we also know the person who 
 possesses it. There, therefore, can be no 
 knowledge of the only true God, unless 
 through this human nature. There is a 
 beautiful descending and ascending series of 
 circumstances in this exhibition of the God- 
 head. All power, even the power of eternal 
 life which inheres essentially in the persons of 
 the Godhead, is communicated and delegated 
 
216 THE ETERNAL SON SHIP 
 
 to the humanity which has existence in the 
 Son ; from this humanity, eternal life is giv en 
 to all flesh belonging to the Son ; the eternal 
 life which he gives is obtained through the 
 knowledge infused into those who are the 
 Son's redeemed. This knowledge is fixed on 
 the humanity of the Son, where delegated 
 eternal life resides ; and from the humanity it 
 ascends to the person of the Son. — to the Fa- 
 ther — to the Godhead. Stupendous heights 
 have been reached by the intellect of man, 
 but this is a surpassing knowledge, which will 
 afford employment to immortal intellect ! 
 
 This knowledge is not the raving of en- 
 thusiasm, nor the dogmatism of bigotry, — 
 but that which rises 
 
 " Fi'om Nature, up to Nature's God." 
 
 On earth it infuses the best feelings, the most 
 virtuous emotions. It kindles a glow of gra- 
 titude which shall expand through eternity ; 
 it divests the mind of dark and gloomy ap- 
 prehensions, and enables us to survey crea- 
 tion's grandeur with that sublimity of soul, 
 which the knowledge of the union of the Son, 
 in our nature, excites. It elevates the con- 
 ception to the real greatness of our nature, 
 which consists in just apprehensions of the 
 nature allied to God, and which is with God. 
 
OF CHRIST. 217 
 
 This knowledge is the object of the Apostle's 
 prayer, when he says, Ephesians iii. 17. 
 " That Christ may dwell in your hearts by 
 faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded 
 in love, may be able to comprehend with all 
 saints, what is the breadth, and length, and 
 depth, and height ; and to know^ the love of 
 Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye 
 might be filled with all the fulness of God." 
 
 19 
 
218 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 General Observations on Passages of Scrip- 
 ture^ declaring the Eternal Sonship of our 
 Lord, 
 
 We have now scrutinized those passages of 
 Scripture, in which the Sonship of Christ is 
 the subject of express examination and expli- 
 cit announcement, — in which, it is not merely 
 mentioned, but commented upon as a fact 
 to be illustrated. In many other portions of 
 the Sacred Volume, the same truth is deci- 
 sively stated ; — sometimes as the subject of 
 especial declaration ; sometimes as an inci- 
 dental remark illustrative of other positions, 
 but, in all cases, confirmatory of the expla- 
 nation which we have given of the texts dis- 
 cussed in the preceding chapters. These, we 
 have found, after just explication, uniformly 
 declare the everlasting state of the person in 
 the Godhead termed Son, to be his related 
 state in the Divine nature to the person who 
 
OF CHRIST. 219 
 
 is termed Father. Accordingly, as the writer 
 of the passages which we are about to consi- 
 der, meant more immediately to proclaim the 
 Sonship, or wished simply to adduce the fact 
 as explanatory of the context, his language is 
 more or less forcible. 
 
 The declaration of our Lord's Sonship, in 
 his related state to the Father, is stated w^ith 
 peculiar precision, in John i. 14. " And the 
 Word tvas made flesh, and dwelt among us, 
 (and ive beheld his glory, the glory as of the 
 only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and 
 truth. 18. No man hath seen God at any 
 time; the only-begotten Son, which is in the 
 bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.^^ 
 John iii. 16 — 18. *' For God so loved the 
 ivorld, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that 
 ivhosoever believeth in him should not perish, 
 but have everlasting life. For God sent not 
 his Son into the world to condemn the ivorld; 
 but that the ivorld through him might be saved. 
 He that believeth on him is not condemjied : 
 but he that believeth not is condemned al- 
 ready, because he hath 7iot believed in the 
 name of the only-begotten Son of God.^^ 1 
 John iv. 9. " In this was manifested the love 
 of God towards us, because that God sent his 
 
220 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 only-begotten Son into the ivorld, thai ivt: 
 7night live through him.''^ 
 
 These passages declare our Lord to be 
 the only-begotten of the Father — the only-be- 
 gotten Son of the Father — the only-begotten 
 Son of God. "The Word'' which "was 
 with God,'' "^the Word" which " was God" 
 possessed glory, that it became the only-be- 
 gotten of the Father to exhibit, in his manifes- 
 tation in the flesh, which was beheld by men. 
 None will affirm that the apostles or others 
 beheld the essential glory of the Word ; nei- 
 ther could they behold the essential glory of 
 the only-begotten, which is declared to be 
 the same as the glory of tlte Word, — they 
 could only behold its exhibitions through its 
 assumed nature. The only-begotten Son of 
 the Father is announced to be in the bosom 
 of the Father, This is descriptive of the 
 union of nature and of consequent counsel 
 and design, and especially of complacency 
 subsisting between these persons. Campbell, 
 on the words " in the bosom of the Father," 
 says, " By the expression 'o uv ug rov koKttom 
 " T» TTfltT^of, is meant, not only, ' who is the 
 " ' special object of the Father's love,' but 
 " * who is admitted to his most secret coun- 
 " ' sels.' " Macknight observes on this ex- 
 
OF CHRIST. 221 
 
 pression, " To be in one^s bosom denotes the 
 " greatest familiarity and intimacy ; a com- 
 " munication of counsels and designs ; an en- 
 " tire and tender affection." Language can- 
 not convey in stronger words the existence of 
 the only-begotten Son of the Father in the 
 Godhead. If the expression Son, be a mere 
 title conveying no relation to the person who 
 is Father, — terms must cease to include mean- 
 ing, and be stript of the property of including 
 rational ideas. Could such expressions be 
 used, in any other case, where an unbiassed 
 mind would not instantly affix the notion of a 
 related state between persons thus described ? 
 — Could an unprejudiced mind adopt any 
 other conclusion ? The love of the person of 
 the Father, and complete participation in his 
 counsels and designs, are attributed to the 
 only-begotten Son. If there were not the 
 Son eternally enjoying this love, and parti- 
 cipating in these counsels and designs, there 
 never was the Eternal Father loving, coun- 
 selling, and designing. This is the utmost 
 verge of knowledge which the human intel- 
 lect is permitted to apprehend. When it 
 has explored creation and creation's laws — 
 when it has risen to higher contemplations 
 than the investigation of matter can elicit — 
 19* 
 
 / 
 
222 THE ETERISAL SO>bHIP 
 
 when it has surveyed farther than planets 
 roll or spheres glitter — when it has exhaust- 
 ed the wonders of the telescope and micro- 
 scope — when it has studied the soul, whose 
 powers have directed these pursuits — when 
 it has left the observation of kindred minds, 
 and learned what is announced of the ranks 
 of the pure spirits — when it has, in thought, 
 ascended to the illimitable vastness of God- 
 head, — it is permitted to know that harmony 
 active, energetic, eternal, subsists therein, en- 
 joyed between the adorable persons, the Fa- 
 ther and the Son ! 
 
 In our nature complacency is the sweet, 
 refreshing influence which hallows enjoy- 
 ment, which is the unison of the mental 
 powers, which introduces repose from all 
 that is harassing, and a soul-felt intensity 
 of delight. The mind is alive to enjoyment, 
 and misery is hushed. It feels the floAv of 
 what is good, and the retrocession of what 
 is evil. Existence is experienced more alertly, 
 more gladly, more exquisitely. The periods 
 when we were without this feeling were, 
 in our estimation, either those of tempes- 
 tuous confusion, or the dull, dead level where 
 emotions are absorbed in vacancy.— In com- 
 placency w^e feel joy ; we wish joys to be 
 
OF CHRIST, 223 
 
 felt by all. The very ardour of our happi- 
 ness longs for a congeniality of feeling and 
 sentiment. The aspect of creation is more 
 pleasing. For us, the sun shines brighter, 
 and the earth gives its thousand sweets more 
 lovely. We act better ; we think better ; w^e 
 are better. We long to enjoy this for ever! 
 We hold communion with those suited for 
 happier, purer scenes. We wish for the time 
 w hen this complacency shall be warmer — 
 when communion of soul shall be dearer — 
 when we shall increase in the expanse of this 
 feeling. Such is the complacency of men. — 
 But, in the Godhead, complacency is unde- 
 finable, because it is immense, — vast as the 
 Being in whom it dwells,- — vast in the nature 
 of him who " iilleth all in all," — vast in that 
 boundless expanse of delight, from whose 
 stores angels' joys have flowed, man's delights 
 have been given. There — is the only-begot- 
 ten Son, in the bosom of the Father. He 
 sees him ; he is with him : he is God. 
 
 Unbelief in the name of the only-begot- 
 ten Son of God is the cause of condemna- 
 tion. Among the different meanings of name, 
 in Scripture, when applied to God, is that of 
 his nature and attributes, which are peculi- 
 arly employed when he is propounded to 
 
224 THE ETERNAL SON SHIP 
 
 those who are ignorant of him. As the Jews 
 refused to acknowledge Christ to be the Son 
 of God, when he was propounded to them 
 in a miraculous manner, their condemnation 
 was just. 
 
 But it may be urged, are not men said to 
 be begotten of God ? are they not peculiarly 
 called his children and his sons? nay, are 
 they not said to be begotten of those apostles 
 and ministers who are sent by God ? and if 
 these expressions be figurative, why may not 
 the expression be also figurative when applied 
 to the persons in the Godhead ? We shall an- 
 swer this objection. 
 
 I. There is an actual description given 
 of the nature of the birth of those who are 
 styled begotten of God. John iii. 6 — 7. 
 " Jesus answered. Verily, verily, I say unto 
 thee, Except a man be born of water and of 
 the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom 
 of God. That which is born of the flesh is 
 flesh ; and that which is born of the- Spirit is 
 spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee. Ye 
 must be born again." This passage gives 
 a delineation of the commencement of the 
 sonship of men ; there is, however, no descrip- 
 tion of the commencement of the mode hy 
 which the person termed Son did become Son. 
 
OF CHRIST. 225 
 
 II. The mode by which men become 
 figuratively begotten of God is by a change 
 of their moral principle — by the introduc- 
 tion of virtuous principles guiding their 
 minds, and by the overthrow of evil princi- 
 ples ^^hich formerly swayed them. But such 
 change was impossible in him who is " holy, 
 harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners," 
 in his human nature, and who, in his Divine 
 nature, cannot change. Men become the sons 
 of God in consequence of a change effected 
 in their nature ; the change is real ; their 
 state of sonship is figurative. *' In this the 
 children of God are manifest, and the children 
 of the devil ; whosoever doth not righteous- 
 ness, is not of God, neither he that loveth 
 not his brother." But the same state, in this 
 instance that of Son, cannot be predicated 
 either figuratively or really of objects that are 
 essentially different; one of which — man — 
 must change in his nature, by obtaining dif- 
 ferent principles, that he may be in the state 
 predicated; and the other — our Lord — cannot 
 change, and, therefore, cannot, at any sub- 
 sequent period, be in a state different from 
 what he was at a former period. These ob- 
 jects, therefore, can never be in any state in 
 the same sense, or in the same mode. Men 
 
226 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 are rendered figuratively the sons of God, 
 through, or by the medium of, change : our 
 Lord can never be rendered Son through any 
 change. In the sense in which men are be- 
 gotten of God, our Lord cannot be begotten. 
 
 in. Men become the sons of God, at de-. 
 finite periods of their lives, when they re- 
 nounce the " works of the flesh," and " live 
 after the Spirit;" — we can fix the time when 
 they were not the sons of God. But there 
 can be no time specified in which our Lord 
 was not the Son of God. This term is coeval 
 with his existence ; even if we regard only 
 the human nature. The state of men and 
 of our Lord in being begotten sons cannot 
 be compared — cannot originate from the same 
 circumstances — cannot be in the same man- 
 ner, because the figurative sonship of the for- 
 mer is an event which occurs during their lives ; 
 the Sonship of the latter is collateral with his 
 being, even when we refer only to his huma- 
 nity. 
 
 IV. A person can only be termed son 
 figuratively or really. If he be son really, 
 such filiation only exists by participation of 
 nature with him to whom he is Son. It is 
 admitted that men are only sons of God 
 figuratively. Now, Christ is not Son as they 
 
OF CHRIST. 227 
 
 are sons, for he is styled the onhj-hegotten Son 
 of God; which expression necessarily ex- 
 cludes the sonship of all others in the mode 
 in which he is Son. No one can alone pos- 
 sess that which thousands of others have. No 
 one can alone be that which thousands of 
 others are. Many are the begotten sons of 
 God; but they are sons figuratively. He, 
 who is the only begotten Son, cannot be Son 
 figuratively, seeing many else are sons figu- 
 ratively ; he must, therefore, ' be Son really, 
 i. e. he must participate in the nature of him 
 to whom he is Son. The observations of 
 Macknight are so excellent on this subject, 
 that we shall transcribe his note on 1 John 
 iv. 9. — " because that God sent his only be- 
 gotten Son into the world," &c. v- 9. " By 
 " this the love of God was manifested^ that 
 *' God sent, &:c. This is an allusion to our 
 " Lord's words, John iii. 16. God so loved 
 " the world, that he gave his only-begotten 
 " Son, that lohosoever helievcth in him should 
 '' not perish, hut have everlasting life, Christ 
 " is called God's only-begotten Son, to dis- 
 " tinguish him from all others who in Scrip- 
 " ture are called the sons of God; and to 
 " heighten our idea of God's love to us in 
 " giving a person of such dignity, and so be- 
 
228 THE ETERNAL SON SHIP 
 
 " loved of God, to die for us. It is supposed 
 " that by giving Christ the title of God^s only- 
 '' begotten Son in this passage, the Apostle 
 " intended to overturn the error of Ebion 
 " and Cerinthus, who affirmed that Christ 
 "Avas not God's Son hy nature^ but that, 
 '* like otlK3r good men, he was honoured with 
 " the title of God's Son, on account of his 
 ^* virtues : in which opinion these heresiarchs 
 " have been followed by some in modern 
 " times. They, however, who hold this opi- 
 " nion, ought to show a reason why the epi- 
 " thet of the only-hegotten is appropriated to 
 " Christ." 
 
 We have thus evinced the impossibility 
 of our Lord's being begotten of the Father, 
 in the same manner in which men are the 
 begotten, and sons of God. The filiation of 
 nature which our Lord possesses with the 
 Father, was the subject of explicit declara- 
 tion, in order that the Church might, in all 
 ages, have an express and unerring appre- 
 hension of those persons in the Godhead, 
 whose existence is that of the Godhead it- 
 self. The subject is peculiarly liable to mis- 
 construction, on account of the weakness of 
 our intellect, and the defective state of our 
 sources of knowledge. There is a pre-dispo- 
 
OF CHRIST. 229 
 
 sitioii to wrong apprehensions, not in the 
 constitution of the soul itself, but in the in- 
 formation which we obtain through the me- 
 dium of our senses, when engaged in the 
 consideration of objects purely intellectual. 
 That the liability of our knowledge to per- 
 version might not mislead us, in this most 
 interesting of all examinations, our Lord is 
 expressly termed the only-begotten Son, to 
 exclude all sonship from comparison with his 
 Sonship — to reveal to his Church the real 
 state of the Divine nature — to show them the 
 everlasting stability of their hopes and ex- 
 pectations — to exhibit not only what he has 
 done, in that nature which was the means of 
 salvation, but what he is, in that nature, in 
 which he enjoys immense love with the Fa- 
 ther — and to proclaim that " God" — in him- 
 self, as well as in his external procedure — 
 " is Love." 
 
 It may be objected to our remarks on the 
 epithet only -begotten, that, though Abraham 
 had other sons than Isaac, yet Isaac is called 
 in Scripture his " only-begotten son." To 
 this we answer : — that he is termed '' only 
 son," in the Old Testament, and " only- 
 begotten son," in the New, because Abra- 
 ham's other sons were the children of bond 
 20 
 
230 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 women^ and not the legal heirs to his posses- 
 sions ; — because Isaac was sup ematur ally be- 
 gotten, and was his " only son" by his ivife 
 Sarah; — because he was the " only son" 
 through whom the visible Church was line- 
 ally to descend from Abraham ; — because he 
 was the Lord and Priest of Abraham's family, 
 in whose line the Messiah was to be born ; — 
 and because he was the " only-begotten son" 
 by Abraham, from whom the Jewish nation, 
 the figurative sons of God, were to proceed. 
 In illustration of the sonship of Isaac, and 
 of the Israelites, we subjoin Macknight's re- 
 marks on 1 John ii. 29. '' If ye know that 
 he is righteous, ye knoiv that every one that 
 
 doth righteousness is born ofhim,^^ " Eve- 
 
 *' ry one who worketh righteousness, hath been 
 '' begotten. This is the literal signification 
 " of yiyivvYiTAi from yivvccw genero, gigno, I 
 '^ beget. Accordingly, our translators have 
 '' so rendered the word, chap. v. 18. — Besides 
 '' born of God, is an idea no where else found 
 " in Scripture. 
 
 ^' To understand the true import of the 
 *' high titles, which, in the New Testament, 
 '' are given to the disciples of Christ, namely, 
 ^' the begotten of God, as here; the sons of 
 *' God, and childrefi of God, as in the next 
 
OF CHRIST. 231 
 
 '^ chapter ; ihe heirs of God, Romans viii. 17. 
 *' The elect of God; the adopted of God; 
 •* saints; a royal priesthood ; an holy nation; 
 ** a peculiar people, 1 Peter ii. 9. the follow- 
 " ing observations may be of use: — 1. That 
 " these high titles were anciently given to the 
 '• Israelites as a nation, because they were 
 '* separated from the rest of mankind, to be 
 " God's visible church, for the piirpose of 
 " preserving the knowledge and worship of 
 " him in the world, as the only true God. 
 '' This appears from God's own words : Exo- 
 " dusxix. 3. Tell the children of Israel; 4. Yc 
 ** have seen ivhat I did unto the Egyptians, 
 " and how I bare you on eagles^ ivings, and 
 *' brought you unto myself 5. Now, therefore, 
 " if y^ '^^^^^ obey 7ny voice indeed, and keep 
 *' my covenant, then ye shcdl be a peculiar 
 " treasure unto me above cdl people, 6. And 
 " ye shcdl be unto me a kingdom of priests, 
 ** and an holy nation, Deut. xiv. 1. Ye are 
 " the children of the Lord your God, 2. For 
 " thou art an holy people to the Lord thy God, 
 " — 2. In particular, the title of Godh son. 
 " even his first-born, was given to the whole 
 *' Israelitish nation by God himself, (Exodus 
 " iv. 22.) chiefly because they were the de- 
 " scendants of Isaac, who was supernaturally 
 
232 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 *' begotten by Abraham, through the power 
 '' which accompanied the promise, Genesis 
 " xviii. 10. Lo Sarah shall have a son. So St. 
 '' Paul informs us, Romans ix. 7. Neither he- 
 '' cause they are the seed of Abraham^ are they 
 '' all children, namely of God : But in Isaac 
 " shall a seed be to thee. 8. That is, the chiU 
 '' dren ofthejlesh, these are not the children of 
 " God: But the children of the promise are 
 " accounted for seed. The Apostle's meaning 
 " is, That Ishmael and his posterity, whom 
 '' Abraham procreated by his own natural 
 *' strength, being children of the flesh, were 
 '' not the children of God ; that is, they were 
 '' not made the visible church and people of 
 " God. But Isaac and his descendants, whom 
 '' Abraham procreated through the strength 
 " which accompanied the promise, Lo Sarah 
 " shall have a Son, being more properly pro- 
 " created by God than by Abraham, were the 
 " children of God ; that is, were made the 
 '' visible church and people of God, because 
 '• by their supernatural generation, and their 
 " title to inherit Canaan, they were a fit 
 " image of the Catholic invisible church of 
 " God, consisting of believers of all ages and 
 •' nations, who being regenerated by the Spi- 
 ^' rit of God, are the true children of God. 
 
OF CHRIST. 233 
 
 ^* and heirs of the heavenly country, of which ^ 
 " Canaan was the type. — 3. As the promise, 
 " Lo Sarah shall have a son, which was given 
 " to Abraham, when he was an hundred 
 " years old, and Sarah was ninety, implied 
 " that that Son was to be supernaturally pro ■ 
 " created, so the promise given to Abraham, 
 " Genesis xvii. 5. A Father of many nations 
 " I have constituted thee, implied that the ma- 
 " ny nations of believers, who, by this pro- 
 " mise, were given to Abraham for seed, were 
 "to be generated by the operation of the 
 " Spirit of God producing in them faith and 
 " obedience, similar to the faith and obedi- 
 " ence for which Abraham was constituted 
 " the father of all believers. — This higher ge- 
 " neration, by which believers have the moral 
 " nature of God communicated to them, is 
 " excellently described, John i. 12. As many 
 " as received him, to them gave he power to 
 " become the sons of God, even to them ivho 
 " believe on his name, 13. '0/ iyiwyj^i^trotv 
 " which were begotten not of blood, nor of the 
 " will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but 
 " of God: that is, men become the true sons 
 '' of God, not by their being naturally de- 
 '' scended from this or that father, nor by 
 " their being called the sons of God by men 
 20* 
 
234< THE ETERNAL SONSHIF 
 
 " like themselves, but by God's bestowing on 
 " them that high appellation on account of 
 '^ their faith and holiness. — 4. If the Israelites, 
 " of whom the ancient visible church and 
 " people of God was composed, were all 
 ^' called the sons of God, because Isaac, from 
 " whom they descended, was supernaturally 
 *' begotten by the power of God ; certainly 
 " believers of all ages and nations, of whom 
 ** the invisible Catholic church and people of 
 " God is composed, may, with much greater 
 " propriety, be called the so7is of God, since 
 " they are begotten of God, and possess the 
 " moral nature of God. This Catholic in- 
 " visible church of God is not limited to any 
 " one race of men, nor to any one age or 
 " country of the w^orld. It hath subsisted 
 " from the beginning, and is scattered over 
 '' the whole earth. But after the general 
 " judgment, the members of this widely ex- 
 " tended church will be gathered together, 
 " and carried by Christ in a body, into the 
 " heavenly country, their promised inheri- 
 " tance, of which Canaan, the inheritance of 
 " Abraham's natural seed by Isaac, was the 
 " emblem and pledge." 
 
 The speciality of our Lord's Sonship, and 
 the propriety which he pos^^esses in the Fa- 
 
OF CHRIST. 235 
 
 ther's nature, are particularly noticed in Ro- 
 mans viii. 3. " For what the law could not 
 do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God 
 sending his own Son, in the likeness of sinful 
 flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh. 
 — 32. He that spared not his own Son, but de- 
 livered him up for us all, how shall he not ivith 
 him also freely give us all things?'''^ As our 
 Lord terms God the Father in John v. 18, — 
 TTitTg^ot i<^<ov, his peculiar and proper Father, in 
 the manner in which he could be Father to 
 none else, so the Apostle, in this last quoted 
 verse, terms the Son, i^io? 'vio^, his own Son, 
 — the peculiar and proper Son of the Father, 
 in that sense in which none else could be Son. 
 All others are sons of God in consequence of 
 their creation, or of a change of their moral 
 principles ; but the Son could not be so, in 
 consequence of either of these events, for he 
 is i^iog 'viog, Son, in the manner in which none 
 else is Son. Neither the creation of his hu- 
 man nature, nor any event occurring therein, 
 could constitute him Son. 
 
 It is evident, from the subsequent passages, 
 that the Jews universally believed the Son 
 of God to be God, and that they accounted 
 it blasphemy in one, whom they esteemed a 
 mortal, to assume this character. John v. 17, 
 
236 THE ETERNAL SONSHrP 
 
 18. " Jesus answered them, My Father work- 
 eth hitherto, and I ivork. Therefore the Jews 
 sought the more to kill him, because he not only 
 had broken the Sabbath, but said also, that 
 God was his Father, making himself equal 
 with God.^^ John x. S3. " The Jews answered 
 him saying. For a good work we stone thee 
 not ; but for blasphemy, and because that thou, 
 being a man, makest thyself God. SQ. Say 
 ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, 
 and sent into the ivorld. Thou blasphemest ; 
 because I said, I am the Son of God?^^ Mat- 
 thew xxvi. 63 — 66. " And the High Priest 
 answered and said unto him, I adjure thee 
 by the living God, that thou tell us, whether 
 thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus 
 saith unto him. Thou hast said; nevertheless, 
 I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son 
 of man sitting on the right hand of power, and 
 coming in the clouds of heaven. Then the 
 High Priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath 
 spoken blasphemy ; what further need have ive 
 of witnesses ? behold, now ye have heard his 
 blasphemy. What think ye f They answered 
 and said. He is guilty of death.''^ John xix. 
 7. " The Jews answered him. We have a law, 
 and by our law he ought to die, because he 
 made himself the Son of God.^^ 
 
OF CHRIST. 237 
 
 That the Son of God was not only God, 
 in the universal opinion of the Jews, but 
 was God in fact, as well as in opinion, is ob- 
 vious, from 1 John v. 4. The characteristic 
 distinction of those who overcome the world 
 is, that they are spiritually born of God. 
 '* For tvhatsoever is horn of God, overcometh 
 the world: and this is the victory that over- 
 cometh the world, even our faith, "^"^ They who 
 overcome the world are those who are born 
 of God, and who believe that Jesus is the Son 
 of God. V. 5. " Who is he that overcometh 
 the world, hut he that helieveth that Jesus is 
 the Son of God r?" 
 
 The testimony of Scripture is decisive ; 
 its contents evince that the Son of God is 
 Eternal. Hear its declaration: 1 John v. 
 11 — 13. " And this is the record, that God 
 hath given to us eternal life : and this life is 
 in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life ; 
 and he that hath not the Son of God hath not 
 life. These things have I written unto you 
 that believe on the name of the Son of God ; 
 that ye may know that ye have eternal life, 
 and that ye may believe on the name of the 
 Son of God." 
 
238 THE ETERNAL SOxNSHIP 
 
 We shall conclude this series of observa- 
 tions by such reflections as naturally arise 
 from the subject. 
 
 The three persons of the Godhead are re- 
 presented as employed in the ])lan of redemp- 
 tion. One of these specifically accomplished 
 that salvation by himself. The name person 
 is a philosophical term, which is attributable 
 to all who are comprehended under it, and 
 which becomes specific only, when applied to 
 an object, whose state is either previously un- 
 derstood by the intellect, or is made known 
 by description. This state, amongst rnen, is 
 only definitely known by related notions, 
 which enable us, when a particular object is 
 mentioned, to apprehend its relation to other 
 objects. As men are temporary, all such re- 
 lations are necessarily originated in time ; and 
 have periods whence they are dated. The 
 persons with whom we are thus acquainted, 
 whether of our own or any other created race, 
 are, therefore, restricted to those specific pe- 
 riods, both in our apprehension of them and 
 in themselves, at which their related state 
 commenced. The persons — the notion of 
 whoso individuality is obtained by their con- 
 
OF CHRIST. 239 
 
 nexion with others, either expressly known, 
 or understood to have existed, — may possess 
 other adventitious adjuncts, whose existence 
 does not increase or diminish the reality of 
 their personality. These adjuncts arise from 
 the exertion of their powers as individuals, 
 and are adventitious ; for they may disappear 
 without affecting the identity of the person. 
 Such adjuncts depend on the circumstances 
 in which the person is placed, and on his ca- 
 pability to evolve his energies in these cir- 
 cumstances. They are, generally, those of 
 rank, fame, and imputed talents. With the 
 cessation of the circumstances and energies 
 which gave birth to these adjuncts, they cease 
 to be applicable to the person, who still re- 
 mains the same. 
 
 Provided there were only one individual 
 of the same class in existence, excepting 
 one's self, the very circumstance of the one 
 individual being thus alone, and distinct from 
 all other objects, would enable the other to 
 apprehend the identity of that individual, 
 seeing he could not be confounded with any 
 other. But at the moment in which two ob- 
 jects are presented to the mind, the very fact 
 of the presentation induces a comparison, 
 the effect of which is to distinguish the one 
 
240 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 object from the other; wliilst, at the same 
 time, we distinguish them both from all other 
 objects. This law of our constitution pre- 
 serves our knowledge of the identity of all 
 beings, w^ithin the reach of our sensible organs, 
 and enables us to transfer to those, who are 
 not the objects of our senses, the principles 
 of identity w hich we have thus mentally ob- 
 tained. Through the medium of testimony, 
 we rely on the comparisons made by others, 
 who have sensibly beheld the objects referred 
 to, and we receive the declaration of what 
 they have witnessed, as if we ourselves had 
 witnessed the same circumstances. The pro- 
 cess, in this latter case, is threefold. We 
 first, on beholding the being, determine that 
 he must be a separate existence and have 
 identity ; we then, at the same time, deter- 
 mine, by comparison, the principles which 
 shall, in our minds, establish that identity, 
 so that we may think and act upon it ; and 
 lastly, we credit those who inform us that 
 they have beheld and compared, as we would 
 have done in their case. 
 
 The principles by which we originally 
 institute a comparison between objects, so 
 that we may distinguish the one from the 
 other, are founded on the law of our race, 
 
OF CHRIST. 241 
 
 by which the different individuals succeed 
 each other, by the peculiar propinquity of 
 nature of Father to Son. That which, in 
 this case, is true of all men, is true of each 
 individual. Though this fact does not al- 
 ways enter, indeed, but seldom enters, into 
 our tlioughts, when comparing and distin- 
 guishing individuals, yet, it is inconceivable, 
 how there could be any comparisons without 
 it. It is the first essay of comparison which 
 displays itself; for the infant uniformly first 
 distinguishes its parents, or those who act 
 as the parents would have done. It is the 
 first association in our minds, when contem- 
 plating the object; for we imiformly first 
 institute a comparison between the infant 
 and its parents, known or unknown. When 
 the parents are unknown, our notions imme- 
 diately institute a filiation between the child 
 and the parents who, ^ve certainly know, 
 must have existed. The parents must have 
 existed before any comparison could be in- 
 stituted between the children of the same 
 family ; which latter comparison is a conse- 
 quence of our being enabled to institute the 
 former one. 
 
 When, from particular families, we ex- 
 tend our comparisons to mankind, any know- 
 21 
 
242 THE ETERNAL SON SHIP 
 
 ledge of distinction which we obtain among 
 them, must necessarily be preceded by the 
 same facts. Mankind participate of the same 
 general nature, and of the mode by which 
 that nature is obtained. When we compare 
 the present with the past generation, or any 
 generation of the past with another, it is 
 only a comparison of groups of individuals 
 related to groups that preceded, as parents 
 and children. Yet the fact of such relation 
 does not introduce any comparison into our 
 means of ascertaining the separate existence 
 and identity of individuals ; it is the mode by 
 which we are enabled to effect such know- 
 ledge, though it does not constitute to the in- 
 dividual his own separate existence and iden- 
 tity. Existence, in a related state, among 
 persons, is, therefore, the only existence which, 
 in our present state, can enable us to obtain 
 the information of the distinction of one indi- 
 vidual from another; yet this information 
 does not 7nake the respective individuals per- 
 sons, but is essentially necessary to, and in- 
 separable from, our apprehension of them, as 
 persons. 
 
 The persons, whose knowledge of sepa- 
 rate existence we have thus obtained, depend 
 on circumstances for the length of their con- 
 
OF CHRIST. 243 
 
 linuance, as objects of our apprehension. — 
 When they disappear from our senses, by the 
 process of death in the disorganization of 
 their parts, the possibility of such compari- 
 sons concerning the actual state of the indi- 
 viduals ceases, but the truth remains unal- 
 terable, that such comparisons were made 
 and were true. Hence arises our historical 
 knowledge, a chain of testimonies, the last 
 link of which descends to us, assuring us, on 
 creditable grounds, that comparisons were in- 
 stituted, when the objects were cognizable by 
 the senses of those who beheld them. 
 
 Existence, in a related state, is, therefore, 
 the foundation of all knowledge of the past 
 and of the present, unless that which is in- 
 tuitive. That which is intuitive is the simple 
 feeling of existence, enabling us to perceive 
 that we exist, and that others exist. But 
 this intuitive knowledge never could confer 
 on us the mode, by which we discriminate 
 the existence of one being from another, — 
 unless it were accompanied with the process 
 of comparison, which arises from related 
 states. Our intuition is the very first move- 
 ment of thought, in this investigation, or 
 rather, it is the inception of investigation 
 resident within us, Related states are pre- 
 
244 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 rented to that mind which is endowed witli 
 this inception of investigation, and which 
 evolves the train of thought by the appre- 
 hension of these related states. This appre- 
 jiension is consecutive with our principles of 
 comparison, and is more or less just, accord- 
 ing to the scope and range of objects before 
 the mind. Such is the mode by which our 
 knowledge is obtained. 
 
 In the revelation which God has given to 
 us, he announces that there are persons, in 
 his simple and undivided nature, and that 
 one of these persons specially effected the 
 .plan of salvation. . Being participant of a na- 
 ture which is undivided, these persons can- 
 not be separate and distinct Gods, as men 
 are separate and distinct individuals, who 
 possess a nature that is divisible. The states, 
 in which they are persons, yet one God, are 
 described : 1 st. As a generation of that per- 
 son who effected our salvation, from another 
 person who addresses the person begotten 
 thus, " Thou art my Son, this day have I be- 
 gotten thee,^^ 2d. As a procession of the per- 
 son w ho applies salvation, from the other two 
 persons. — Of the person who applies salva- 
 tion, the person who effected salvation says, 
 ^' Biit when the Comforter is come, whom IiviU 
 
OF CHRIST. 245 
 
 send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit 
 of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, 
 he shall testify of meJ^'' With reference to the 
 other two, the person promised by our Lord 
 is termed " the Spirit of the Father"^^ and " the 
 Spirit of the Son.'^^ In accordance with *' the 
 begetting" and ^' being begotten" of the two 
 persons first mentioned, they are termed the 
 Father and the Son ; and, in accordance 
 with the " procession" of the last person 
 mentioned, from these two, who are Father 
 and Son, he is termed the Holy Spirit. — 
 These names are, therefore, significant of 
 their respective states of existence in the 
 undivided nature, and are given on account 
 of that state of existence which is termed 
 " being begotten" and " proceeding from." 
 The names do not precede their state, but 
 are the peculiar and appropriate expressions 
 describing that which is announced as pre- 
 viously existing ; the states are true, not on 
 account of the designations given, but of the 
 facts expressly recorded. The person Avho 
 effected our salvation, and who is Son, thus 
 arranged the order of these persons, — " The 
 Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost." That 
 which is inherent in the Divine nature, must 
 inhere for ever, because it is immutable. The 
 21* 
 
246 THE ETERNAL SOCNSHIP 
 
 knowledge which is thus communicated to 
 us does not constitute these persons to be 
 persons, any more than the knowledge which 
 we obtain of men, constitutes them to be the 
 individuals which they are. These persons 
 of the Godhead must, respectively, be in 
 some definite states of existence, peculiar to 
 each of them ; otherwise, they are not per- 
 sons, but one person, — which is absurd. — 
 That which has no state of existence pecu- 
 liar to itself, in relation to others of its own 
 nature, may be in being, as inanimate mat- 
 ter, but cannot possess the properties of pe- 
 culiar exertion or activity, which are neces- 
 sary to the being of a person. This is a grade 
 of existence infinitely beyond that of simple 
 being, — for being can be predicated of all 
 objects rational and irrational, animate and 
 inanimate. The states of existence, in which 
 the persons of the Divine nature are, — are 
 those of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. If 
 there be no specific enunciation of the state 
 of existence of that Divine person who ef- 
 fected our salvation, — we do not know what 
 person effected our salvation, but only that 
 a Divine person did so. Neither do we know 
 what Divine person he is, who is represented 
 as more peculiarly devising salvation; — ^nor 
 
OF CHRIST. ' 247 
 
 do we know what Divine person he is, who 
 applies salvation. All that we know is, that 
 there are persons, but, with respect to each, 
 nothing is predicated or actually revealed. 
 For if there be no state revealed, then, the 
 terms Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are mere 
 adjuncts or titles, referable to any state of 
 Divine existence ; the terms Saviour, Mes- 
 siah, King, Priest, Prophet, Comforter, Sanc- 
 tifier, &c. have no especial person to whom 
 they belong, but are referable indefinitely to 
 persons, whose states we cannot tell, because 
 they are presented to our minds only by titles, 
 and not by expressions determining their pe- 
 culiar modes of existence. But such a reve- 
 lation is surely preposterous ; for it fails in the 
 essential point of a revelation, viz. the de- 
 scription of those persons from whom it comes, 
 and whom it apparently declares, — ^yet virtu- 
 ally does not declare. 
 
 If the peculiar designations of generation 
 and procession, which the Divine persons ap- 
 propriate to each other, be only titular ad- 
 juncts, — we cannot tell how many persons are 
 in the Divine nature ; nor can we tell whether 
 any person be therein, — seeing the same per- 
 sons may bear the titles of Father, Son, Holy 
 Ghost, Messiah, Comforter, High Priest, Ste. 
 
248 THE ETERiNAL SONSHIP 
 
 — if these be terms indicative, merely, of ac> 
 tions, which obtain such titles, in the Divine 
 procedure affecting our race. Unless the sta- 
 tus, the locus standi, the state of being which 
 the others have not, and which is essential to 
 the predicated person be revealed, — we have , 
 no stability of conception, — we have no con- 
 ception of one person as distinct from another ; 
 — the mind has no rest on this subject, — it 
 has no object on which to concentrate its 
 thoughts ; — neither individuality nor compari- 
 son of related existence are presented to it. 
 
 The foundation of our knowledge of per- 
 son is not, in this case, obtained : man cannot 
 elicit his powers on those objects which are 
 inaccessible to his intellect, in any mode in 
 which he can attempt to examine them. The 
 revelation, then, which supposes the absence 
 of the state of existence of Divine persons, we 
 humbly submit, must be a nugatory revela- 
 tion, and irrespective of what ought to be its 
 principal object. All other designations, in 
 that revelation, are, confessedly, titular, and, 
 — unless the designations Father, Son, and 
 Holy Ghost, contain the state of existence of 
 the Divine persons,— their state is not revealed. 
 
 If it be said that the Divine person was in 
 the state of Son of God, that he might, on 
 
OF CHRIST. 249 
 
 earth, accomplish the salvation of his people, 
 — then, on the accomplishment of that work, 
 he may cease to be Son, and in fact, accord- 
 ing to such a supposition, he will cease to be 
 Son, seeing this state was assumed for an es- 
 pecial purpose. But we have, in that case, 
 no guarantee that the advantages obtained for 
 us will not likewise cease, — seeing no advan- 
 tages can be permanent, unless the state in 
 which they were procured be also permanent. 
 But permanency in the Godhead can have no 
 beginning ; the state in which the Son, as 
 God, obtained advantages for men, must be 
 his state, independently of all advantages pro- 
 cured for created objects. 
 
 The inherent states of the persons of the 
 Godhead are not caused by our knowledge oL 
 them ; — the revelation of these states is neces- 
 sary to give us knowledge of the persons of 
 the Godhead. 
 
250 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Observations on the expression Son of Man. 
 
 We have shown the nature of our Lord's 
 Sonship in the Godhead, — that he is Son, es- 
 sentially in the Divine nature, — that he is 
 Son in self-existence, — that he never could 
 have begun to be Son, and will never cease 
 to be Son, — that he is peculiarly and properly 
 the Eternal Son of God. We have endea- 
 voured to refute the opinions of those who 
 imagine that he is styled Son of God, in con- 
 sequence of his Messiahship or any other 
 event, and who maintain that his designation, 
 Son of God, is only a title. We have endea- 
 voured to prove, from the tenor of Scripture, 
 that this designation determines his state of 
 existence in the Godhead. 
 
 In the course of our remarks we have, in 
 some measure, anticipated observations on 
 the human nature of our Lord, ^vhich is now 
 more peculiarly our subject of illustration. 
 
OF CHRIST. 251 
 
 it is almost unnecessary to say that the expres- 
 sion Son of Mem, is used in Scripture, some- 
 times to denominate the whole human race, 
 and sometimes an individual of that race. 
 The term is particularly vigorous, seeing it 
 not only exhibits the existence of men, but 
 particularly illustrates the mode by which 
 men come into being, and are continued in 
 being. It expresses the existence of mankind, 
 and their existence in a related state. It dis- 
 tinguishes from all other appearances, which 
 are recorded as having occurred in this world 
 — whether those of God himself or of an- 
 gels. 
 
 Our readers will remember our observa- 
 tions on the nature of existence, especially in 
 Chapter VIII. We have there shown that, 
 among men, the peculiar constitution of their 
 being causes them to exist in related states ; 
 and that all beings, more especially persons, 
 are, by the very conformation of their being, 
 framed to exist as separate and distinct beings, 
 independent of all other beings. The only 
 exception, with which we are acquainted, in 
 the universe of God, to this law of the consti- 
 tution of existence is that of our Lord's hu- 
 man nature, denominated Son of Man. This 
 human nature, we remarked, was expressly 
 
252 THE ETERNAL SON SHIP 
 
 formed that it might subsist in another being. 
 It cannot have separate existence of its own ; 
 it cannot be in itself a being independent of 
 every other. It only is, that it may be in 
 another. It is not a person of itself, but ob- 
 tains personality w^ith that nature to w^hich it 
 is united — in which the person who assumed 
 it essentially is. 
 
 The human nature of our Lord — that 
 which is denominated Son of Man — was pe- 
 culiarly formed, and produced in a manner 
 different from all other men, in order that 
 it might exist in a manner different from 
 their existence, and that it might possess a 
 constitution, whose principles would cause it 
 to be a being subsisting in another being. 
 Of the original formation of this nature it is 
 said, Matthew i. 20. " But while he thought 
 on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord 
 appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Jo- 
 seph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto 
 thee Mary, thy wife ; for that which is con- 
 (^eived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she 
 shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call 
 his name JESUS : for he shall save his peo- 
 ple from their sins." In Luke i. 31. the 
 angel says to Mary, " Behold, thou shalt con- 
 ceive in thy womb, and bring forth a Son, 
 
OF CHRIST. 253 
 
 and shalt call his name JESUS." 35. " And 
 the angel answered and said unto her, The 
 Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the 
 power of the Highest shall overshadow 
 thee," &c 
 
 Our Lord's human nature — the Son of 
 Man — being thus formed, was born. Mattb, 
 i. 24, 25. " Then Joseph, being raised from 
 sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had 
 bidden him, and took unto him his wife : 
 And knew her not till she had broudit forth 
 her first-born son : and he called his name 
 JESUS." Luke ii. 6, 7. " And so it was, 
 that, while they were there, the days were 
 accomplished that she should be delivered. 
 And she brought forth her first-born son, and 
 wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid 
 him in a manger ; ]:>ecause there was no room 
 for them in the inn." Galatians iv. 4. " But 
 when the fulness of the time was come, God 
 sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made 
 under the law — ." 
 
 Our Lord, as Son of Man, underwent all 
 the vicissitudes which are incident to huma- 
 nity, excepting those which partake of sin. 
 He was exposed to those privations which 
 are peculiar to human nature, in our present 
 state of existence. Matthew viii. 20. *' And 
 22 
 
254 THE ETERNAL SONSHIF 
 
 Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, 
 and the birds of the air have nests ; but the 
 Son of Man hath not where to lay his head." 
 
 In his humanity, our Lord experienced 
 sufferings and sorrows. Luke ix. 21, 22. 
 " And he straitly charged them, and com- 
 manded them to tell no man that thing, say- 
 ing, The Son of Man must suffer many things, 
 and be rejected of the elders, and Chief 
 Priests, and Scribes, and be slain, and be 
 raised the third day." 
 
 The Son of Man was betrayed. Matthew 
 xvii. 22, 23. " And while they abode in Ga- 
 lilee, Jesus said unto them. The Son of Man 
 shall be betrayed into the hands of men : 
 And they shall kill him, and the third day 
 he shall be raised again." Luke xxii. 48. 
 " But Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest 
 thou the Son of Man with a kiss ?" 
 
 The Son of Man lay in the grave, and 
 arose from the state of the dead. Matthew 
 xii. 40. " For as Jonas was three days and 
 three nights in the whale's belly ; so shall 
 the Son of Man be three days and three 
 nights in the heart of the earth." 
 
 The Son of Man ascended from earth to 
 heaven. John vi. 61,62. " When Jesus knew* 
 in himself that his disciples murmured at it, 
 
OF CHRIST. 255 
 
 he said unto them, Doth this offend you? 
 What and if ye shall see the Son of Man as- 
 cend up where he was before ?" 
 
 The Son of Man is now in heaven, in the 
 most glorious exaltation. Acts vii. 55, 56, 
 *' But he being full of the Holy Ghost, looked 
 up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory 
 of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand 
 of God. And said, Behold, I see the heavens 
 opened, and the Son of Man standing on the 
 right hand of God." 
 
 The Son of Man shall again descend in 
 glory, and judge the w^orld. Matthew^ xxiv. 
 30. " And then shall appear the sign of the 
 Son of Man in heaven : and then shall all the 
 tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see 
 the Son of Man coming in the clouds of hea- 
 ven, with power and great glory." xxv. 31, 
 32. " When the Son of Man shall come in 
 his glory, and all the holy angels with him, 
 then shall he sit upon the throne of his glo- 
 ry : And before him shall be gathered all na- 
 tions : " 
 
 The Son of Man is the object of belief and 
 reliance. Mark viii. 38. '' Whosoever there- 
 fore shall be ashamed of me and of my words 
 in this adulterous and sinful generation, of 
 him also shall the Son of Man be ashamed. 
 
256 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 when he cometh in the glory of his Father, 
 with the holy angels." John vi. 53, 54 "Then 
 Jesus said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto 
 you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of 
 Man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in 
 you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh 
 my blood, hath eternal life, and I will raise 
 him up at the last day." 
 
 Through the Son of Man, sins are for- 
 given. Matthew ix. 2. " And, behold, they 
 brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying 
 on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith, said 
 unto the sick of the palsy, Son, be of good 
 cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee." v. 6. 
 *' But that ye may know that the Son of Man 
 hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then 
 saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take 
 up thy bed, and go unto thine house." 
 
 Through the Son of Man holy principles 
 are infused into the soul. Matthew xiii. 37, 
 38. " He answered and said unto them. He 
 that soweth the good seed is the Son of Man : 
 The field is the word : the good seed are the 
 children of the kingdom : but the tares are 
 the children of the wicked one :-— 43. Then 
 shall the righteous shine forth as the sun, in 
 the kingdom of the Father." 
 
OF CHRIST. 257 
 
 We have shoA\ n, from the foregoing pas- 
 sages, that the expression Son of Man ^ obvi- 
 ously denotes the nature which the Son of 
 God assumed. Indeed, its usage appears nu- 
 gatory, unless it be expressly opposed to the 
 phrase *Soyi of God; — these terms being in- 
 dicative of the different aspects of his natures. 
 But the expression Son of Man affords a clue 
 which tends to miravel the entanglements of 
 this controversy. Seeing the two epithets 
 are bestowed on our Lord, they are admitted, 
 by every one, to be indicative of something. 
 All who examine the subject, either in a cur- 
 sory or strict manner, allow that the phrase 
 Son of Man, denotes participation of the na- 
 ture of man, — possession of those qualities 
 which are peculiar to man, — and actions ap- 
 propriate to the character of man. The reali- 
 ty of the human nature cannot be doubted and 
 never was doubted, unless by those disturbers 
 of the Church, in its primitive ages, who de- 
 nied the actual appearance of Jesus, and the 
 validity of his sufferings, — who contended 
 that a sort of pantomime was played off on 
 the senses of men, without any character 
 having sustained a real . part. Actions, feel- 
 ings, emotions, sayings of a particular kind, 
 are attributed to his human nature, so that, 
 
258 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 independently of any express declaration of 
 his being the Son of Man, the vestige of doubt 
 cannot remain in the mind of any one of com- 
 petent understanding, that these circumstances 
 must belong to human nature. The expres- 
 sion must not only mark the reality of human 
 nature, but also the related state of human 
 nature, which, as we have already remarked, 
 the phrase Son of Man must convey. The 
 reality of his human nature could not be 
 doubted, in consequence of its qualities ; the 
 reality of his relation to mankind could not 
 be doubted, seeing he was formed of the sub- 
 stance of the Virgin Mary — " that which is 
 conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost ;" — 
 seeing he was " bone of our bone, and flesh 
 of our flesh ;" " for we are members of his 
 body, of his flesh and of his bones." Now, 
 whilst we readily grant that the term Son of 
 God, of itself, unconnected with other cir- 
 cumstances, and applied to mankind, may, 
 and does, signify only a figurative Sonship 
 arising from congeniality of principles in our 
 nature, with the perfections of God, — we ask, 
 can a figurative meaning be given to it, when 
 it is put in direct opposition, and in the most 
 elegant, lively antithesis, to the phrase Son 
 of Man ? Can a mere figurative designation 
 
OF CHRIST. 259 
 
 — a title — be put in antithesis to that whicli, 
 bona Jicle, represents what the words import ? 
 Can a mere sound be placed in opposition to 
 that wiiich signifies a positive substance ? — 
 Impossible. — No usage of language, — no con- 
 formation of thought can permit such abuse, 
 or rather negation of words. We do, indeed, 
 occasionally, in common language, put a title 
 in opposition to a person, who is named. 
 But, in such a case, it is uniformly the person 
 who bears the title, that is opposed. The 
 prince may be put in opposition to the poor 
 man. But is it the mere letters, the literal 
 characters, the empty title, which we oppose 
 to the poor man ? Surely not : — it is the 
 person who bears the title, — who is in the 
 state which the title designates. The com- 
 mon sense of mankind, and the universal 
 usage of language denote, thereby, a person 
 who actually exists in the state of priyicedom, 
 as opposed to a person who actually is in the 
 state of poverty. Terms, indicative of per- 
 sons in a state opposed to each other, uni- 
 formly contain the states which are thus con- 
 tradistinguished. According to this rule, the 
 terms Son of Man, and Son of God, are op- 
 posed. Matthew xvi. 13 — 17. " When Jesus 
 came into the coasts of Ccesarea Philippi, he 
 
260 THE ETERNAL 30JSSH1P 
 
 asked, his disciples, saying, Whom do men say 
 that /, the Son of Man, am? And they said, 
 Some say that thou art John the Baptist; 
 some, Elias ; and others, Jeremias, or one of 
 the prophets. He saith unto them. But whom 
 say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answer- 
 ed and said. Thou art Christ, the Son of the 
 living God. And Jesus ansivered and said 
 unto him-, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona : 
 for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto 
 thee, but my Father ivhich is in heavenP 
 Unless the humanity, and the related state in 
 which it exists, be here opposed to the Di- 
 vinity, and its related state, antitheses must 
 be stript of their meaning, and common sense 
 abandoned in language. All determinate no- 
 tions must be absorbed in a chaos of words, 
 if a being in a certain state of existence, and 
 an abstract title be thus placed in opposition to 
 each other. But what convinces us, beyond 
 the shadow of a doubt, that Christ's humanity 
 is real — that he is the Son of Man — and that 
 he was born of the Virgin Mary ? It is his 
 actions — his general and particular procedure. 
 — And what convinces us that, in the nature 
 of God, he is the Son of God ? It is his ac- 
 tions — his general and particular procedure. 
 We are convinced, because the Son of God 
 
OF CHRIST. 261 
 
 created all things in heaven and in earth, — 
 because all things are created for him, — be- 
 cause the Son is before all things, — and be- 
 cause all things consist in the Son. If the 
 actions of the vSon of Man be sufficient to 
 indicate, without any hesitation on our part, 
 that he is formed of the substance of human 
 nature, and, in that human nature, is a Son, 
 — surely the actions peculiar to Godhead are 
 sufficient to indicate that the Son of God is 
 God, and, in the Divine nature, is Son. 
 
 There is one expression concerning the 
 Son of Man, which requires our particular 
 consideration ; seeing that at first sight, and 
 in its literal acceptation, it would seem to 
 controvert the tenor of every other passage, 
 in which the Son of Man is named. John 
 iii. 13. " A7id no man hath ascended up to 
 heaven, but he that came down from heaven, 
 even the Son of Man, ivhich is in heaven^ 
 The difficulty, however, is only apparent ; for 
 none acquainted with the properties of matter 
 can suppose that our Lord meant to affirm, 
 that his body in which he spake, and which 
 was on earth, was, at the same moment, in 
 heaven. To ascend up to heaven is the phra- 
 seology of Scripture for searching into, and 
 having knowledge of, divine truths. In this 
 
262 THE ETERNAL SON SHIP 
 
 sense it is used, Deut. xxx. 11, 12. where it 
 is said of the commandment of God, " Who 
 shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it 
 unto us ?" i. e. Who shall enter into God's 
 secret counsel, and learn it by immediate 
 knowledge ? Rom. x. 6. "But the righteous- 
 ness which is of faith speaketh on this w^ise, 
 Saj not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into 
 heaven ? (that is, to bring Christ down from 
 above,") The expression, no man hath as- 
 cended up to heaven, evidently means, from 
 the tenor of the passage, 7io man hath ex- 
 plored and revealed the truths of heaven, but 
 he that came down from heaven, even the Son 
 of Man, ivhich is in heaven. But how, it 
 will be asked, could the Son of Man come 
 down from heaven, and, at the same time, be 
 in heaven ? The term Son of Man, is some- 
 times used to denote the Messiah, on account 
 of the appearance which he would present, 
 when he came among men. That which 
 mankind beheld is, by the figure synecdoche, 
 placed for the ivhole perso7i. From the ap- 
 pearance of the human nature, which alone 
 was cognizable by the senses, the appellation 
 Son of Man is given to the Messiah, in an- 
 cient prophecy. Psalm Ixxx. 17. " Let thy 
 hand be upon the man of thy right hand. 
 
OF CHRIST. 263 
 
 upon the Son of Man, whom thou madest 
 strong for thyself." Daniel vii. 13, 14. " I 
 saw in the night visions, and behold one like 
 the Son of Man came with the clouds of hea- 
 ven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and 
 they brought him near before him. And 
 there was given him dominion, and glory, 
 and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and 
 languages, should serve him ; his dominion is 
 an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass 
 away, and his kingdom that which shall not 
 be destroyed." The Son of Man, therefore, 
 in this passage, means the complex person 
 of the Messiali— his Divine and human na- 
 tures. According to this explication, Christ 
 says. No man hath revealed the Divine truths, 
 unless the Messiahy who, from his external ap- 
 pearance, is styled the Son of Man — who, in 
 his Divinity, which is in heaven, assumed hu- 
 manity on earth — and ivho, even now, is in 
 heaven, in the bosom of the Father, We sub- 
 join the note of the valuable commentator 
 Guyse, on ihis verse : " As the Divine and 
 " human natures were united in the person of 
 " Christ, attributions are made of the proper- 
 " ties of one nature to him, whilst he is spoken 
 " of under a title which relates to his other 
 " nature. Thus, when it is said, (1 Cor. ii. 
 
264 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 " 8.) The Lord of glory ivas crucified, and 
 " (Acts XX. 28.) he is called God, who pur- 
 " chased the Church ivith his own blood. The 
 " meanhig is not that he, as the Lord of 
 '* glory, was crucified, or, as God, shed his 
 " blood, as if the Divine nature could be cru- 
 " cified and bleed ; but that the person, who 
 '' was the Lord of glory in one nature, was 
 •' crucified in the other ; and the person who 
 '' was God in one nature, redeemed the 
 •' Church with his own blood, .which be- 
 " longed to his other nature. So when it is 
 "said, The Son of Man is in heaven, the 
 " meaning is not that he, as the Son of Man, 
 '' was there whilst he was on earth ; but that 
 " he who was here in his human nature, was 
 " there in his Divine." 
 
 It is said in John v. 26, 27. " For as the 
 Father hath life in himself; so hath he given 
 to the Son to have life in himself: and hath 
 given him authority to execute judgment also, 
 because he is the Son of Man,^^ The mean- 
 ing of this passage (v. 27th,) evidently is, that 
 the judgment is lodged in the Son, because he 
 is the Son of Man. When duly weighed, per- 
 haps no passage in Scripture more decisively 
 illustrates the nature of our Lord's inherent 
 state of Sonship, and his assumed nature of 
 
OF CHRiSi. 265 
 
 Son of Man. Our Lord, in the preceding 
 verses, declares himself to be the Son of God, 
 the Father ; he describes his equality with 
 him, in omnipotence, omniscience, and other 
 Divine attributes, and in his complete partici- 
 pation of counsel and design ; he then men- 
 tions a peculiar office which belongs to him, 
 in a most appropriate manner, — adding, as 
 the reason, that he is the Son of Man. This 
 is the office of judgment — the final rewarding 
 and punishing " all his and- our enemies." 
 The particular propriety of this judgment be- 
 ing conferred on the Son seems to consist in 
 this, — that a created being will be the medium, 
 through which, determination on all actions 
 shall be made, and rewards and punishments 
 distribut€d to created beings assembled before 
 the judgment-seat. — By his voice — by the 
 proclamation of the Son of Man, — all men 
 shall be called from their tombs to meet him 
 in judgment. V. 28, 29. " Marvel not at this : 
 for the hour is coming, in the which all that 
 are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall 
 come forth ; they that have done good, unto 
 the resurrection of life ; and they that have 
 done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." 
 This is the grand transaction which the Son 
 shall achieve, in the nature which is So?i of 
 23 
 
266 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 Man, This is the last victory ; when all his 
 enemies shall be scattered before him. An- 
 cient prophecy glows with the des^cription of 
 this epoch, when the greatness of the human 
 nature shall be pre-eminent amongst those 
 who " shine as the brightness of the firma- 
 ment," " as the stars for ever and ever." Of 
 the authority which is given to the Son to 
 execute judgment, because he is the Son of 
 Man, Jeremiah thus writes, xxiii. 5, 6. " Be- 
 hold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I 
 will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and 
 a King shall reign and prosper, and shall exe- 
 cute judgment and justice in the earth. In 
 his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall 
 dwell safely: and this is his name where- 
 by he shall be called, THE LORD OUR 
 RIGHTEOUSNESS." 
 
OF CHRIST. 261 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Objections to the Eternal Sonship of our Lord 
 founded on assumed meanings of Scripture, 
 refuted. 
 
 There is one expression which apparently 
 militates against the direct equality, which 
 the Son claims with the Father, particularly 
 in his attribute of omniscience. Mark xiii. 32. 
 *' But of that day and that hour knoweth no 
 man, no, not the angels ivhich are in heaven, 
 neither the Son, but the Father,'^'' Matthew 
 xxiv. 36. " But of that day and hour knoweth 
 no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my 
 Father only.^"^ Scripture cannot contradict 
 scripture; and, in order to evolve its just and 
 rational meaning, scripture must be compared 
 with collateral scripture. Our Lord, in other 
 passages, when he speaks as the Son, seems to 
 indicate that the knowledge of all transactions 
 resides in him. He says that the Father 
 hath given him authority to execute judg- 
 ment ; — and surely if he be to execute judg- 
 
268 THE ETERNAL S0N3HIP 
 
 ment, he must know ivhen he is to execute it ? 
 He says that the Father hath committed all 
 judgment unto the Son;— surely, then, the 
 Son, to whom judgment is committed, knows 
 the time in which he is to superintend it ? 
 The Apostle says that the Son " created all 
 things," and " by him all things consist." 
 — If all things he consisting in, or preserved 
 by, the Son, — surely the Son must have know- 
 ledge of the movements which he himself di- 
 rects? " All things were created by him and 
 for him ;" — surely, then, he must know the 
 things which exist for himself, and the time 
 of those events, which occur for himself? 
 The tenor of scripture, especially in several 
 passages which we have examined, evidently 
 indicates that omniscience must belong to the 
 Son ; — consequently, that his declaration of 
 not knowing the specific period when certain 
 events would take place, must be understood 
 differently from that meaning w hich the words 
 literally convey. 
 
 Macknight, of whose very able criticisms 
 we have, in this Dissertation, frequently 
 availed ourselves, gives the following solution 
 of the Son's declaration : — " Mark xiii. 32. 
 " For of that day, &:c. — It may seem strange 
 •^ that the Son, who declared, that he would 
 
OF CHRIST. 269 
 
 " come before the generation then in being 
 " went off the stage, and who, in the prophe- 
 " cy, had been pointing out the various signs 
 *' by which the disciples might foresee his ap- 
 " proach, should not have known the day and 
 " the hour, or the particular time of his own 
 *^ coming. This difficulty some endeavour 
 " to obviate by supposing that our Lord spake 
 «• here of himself only as a man. But the 
 '' name Father, following that of Son, shows 
 " that he spake of himself as the Son of God, 
 " and not as the Son of man. Besides, the 
 *' gradation in the sentence seems to forbid 
 '' this solution. For the Son being mentioned 
 " after the angels, and immediately before the 
 " Father, is thereby declared to be more ex- 
 •• cellent than they, which is not in respect of 
 " his human nature ; and therefore he cannot 
 " be supposed to speak of himself in that na- 
 *• ture. The proper translation of the pas- 
 " sage, I think, affords abetter solution. The 
 *• word oihiv here seems to have the force of 
 " the Hebrew conjugation Hiphil, which, in 
 '* verbs denoting action, makes that action, 
 ^' whatever it is, pass to another. Wherefore 
 t* gi<^£w, which properly signifies I knoio, used 
 " in the sense of the conjugation Hiphil, sig- 
 " nifies I make another to knoiv, I declare. 
 23* 
 
270 IHE ETIiRNAL SONSHIP 
 
 " The word has this meaning without dis- 
 " pute, 1 Corinthians ii. I determined (nhvcci) 
 " to know nothing among you hut Jesus 
 " Christy and him crucified, i. e. I deter- 
 '' mined to make known, to preach nothing 
 " among you but Jesus Christ. So likewise 
 " in the text : But of that day and that hour, 
 " none maketh you to know : none hath 
 " power to make you know it; just as the 
 *' phrase, Matthew xx. 23. ' is not mine to 
 '' give,' signifies, ' is not in my power to 
 " give :' no, not the angels, neither the Son, 
 " but the Father ; neither man nor angel, nor 
 " even the Son himself, can reveal the day 
 *' and hour of the destruction of Jerusalem to 
 '* you ; because the Father hath determined 
 " that it should not be revealed. The Divine 
 " Wisdom saw fit to conceal from the Apos- 
 " ties the precise period of the destruction of 
 ^* Jerusalem, in order that they might be laid 
 " under a necessity of watching continually. 
 " And this vigilance was especially proper at 
 •* that time, because the success of the Gospel 
 •' depended, in a great measure, upon the ac- 
 '' tivity and exemplary lives of those who first 
 ^' published it." Accordingly, in the verse of 
 1 Cor. ii. where nhy»i is used transitively, 
 Locke paraphrases the word, " I resolved to 
 
OF CHRIST. 271 
 
 own or show no other knowledge among 
 you," and Whitby, in like manner, " I deter- 
 mined not to discover any thing." Mac- 
 knight, in accordance with the foregoing ob- 
 servations, paraphrases the verse in question, 
 (Mark xiii. 32.) as follows : " But of that day, 
 " and that hour, knoweth no man. I have 
 " told you, that all the things I have been pre- 
 " dieting shall happen before this generation 
 " dies. Nevertheless, to point out the time to 
 " you more particularly, by showing you the 
 " precise year, and month, and day, of the se- 
 ** veral events, is not in the power of any 
 " man : no man hath it in his power to make 
 " you know this ; no, not the angels which 
 <* are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Fa- 
 " ther only. (Matth.) In particular concerning 
 " himself, Jesus declared that he could not 
 " make them know the day and hour of his 
 *' coming to destroy Jerusalem, not because 
 '* he was ignorant of that event, but because 
 " the Father, as Governor of the world, had 
 " put times and seasons in his own power, 
 '* (Acts i. 7.) in order that, from the uncer- 
 " tainty of the thing, the disciples might be al- 
 " ways kept upon their guard ; for which rea- 
 *' son he had given his Son no commission to 
 " reveal it more particularly than he has done 
 
272 THE ETERNAL SON SHIP 
 
 " in this celebrated prediction. Thus Jesus 
 " described the destruction of the Jewish na- 
 " tion, marked a variety of particulars which 
 " were to accompany or precede it, and as- 
 " sured his disciples that the day and hour 
 " thereof was not to be discovered by them." 
 As the most celebrated critics admit that 
 tJivxi must be rendered in 1 Cor ii. 2, to de- 
 clare or make known, it is impossible to refuse 
 the same meaning to the original word trans- 
 lated knoweth in Matth. xxiv. 36. • Mark xiii. 
 32. — seeing the text absolutely requires this 
 translation, to avoid the contradiction of pa- 
 rallel passages. It is in vain to say that such 
 a translation is a blinking of the question, un- 
 less it can be shown that all our commentators 
 are in error when they understand nhvoct — 
 rendered in the authorized version to know — 
 as meaning to make known. Common sense 
 requires us to adopt this latter interpretation 
 in 1 Cor. ii. 2. ; the harmony of Scripture re- 
 quires us to adopt the same meaning in the 
 passages quoted from the Gospels. From the 
 mode in which the Son speaks of the Father 
 and addresses him, particularly in the xviith 
 of John, and from the whole tenor of Scrip- 
 ture it appears, that during the subjection of 
 our Lord's, human nature, which was evinced 
 
OF CHRIST. 273 
 
 by humiliation, the Father was supreme in 
 the administration of the kingdom of grace 
 and of the kingdom of the universe, until our 
 Lord's ascension, when the supremacy of all 
 things devolved on him, as the mediatorial 
 King. In the interval between the formation 
 of the Son's humanity, and his investiture 
 with universal rule, by the transference of su- 
 premacy, — the direction of all events was as- 
 sumed and administered by the Father, in 
 whom were centered all the external displays 
 of Godhead. Our Lord, in his Messiahship 
 on earth, was under the guidance of this su- 
 premacy of rule by the Father. Hence, with 
 regard to the mission on which he was sent, 
 and the commission which was given him to 
 execute, he says, " My Father is greater than 
 I :" while, at the same time, speaking of the 
 inherent dignity of his person, he exclaims 
 " I and my Father are one." Our Lord says 
 that he was " sent," — there was "work given 
 him to finish," — he " came forth" on purpose 
 that he might " fulfil" all that w^as necessary 
 during the subjection of his humanity to the 
 peculiar superintendence of the Father. Our 
 Lord says to his followers, " It is your Fa- 
 ther's good pleasure to give you the kingdom ;" 
 and, in the passage which we have been con- 
 
274 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 sidering, he declares, — in accordance with his 
 other enunciations of the Father's paramount 
 government, during his humiliation, — that the 
 time pf the destruction of Jerusalem was not 
 given to him to reveal in his mission as Mes- 
 siah, but was reserved for important reasons, 
 by the Father who, during our Lord's subjec- 
 tion to him in human nature, had " the times 
 and the seasons" in his own power. 
 
 We come now to examine that passage in 
 which the termination of Christ's mediatorial 
 kingdom is mentioned, and to investigate the 
 meaning of the subjection of the Son, which 
 has given rise to so many contradictory opi- 
 nions. 1 Cor. XV. 24 — 28, '^ Then cometh 
 the end, when he shall have delivered up the 
 kingdom to God, even the 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 ene- 
 my that shall he destroyed is death. For he 
 hath put all things under his feet. But when 
 he saith, all things are put under him, it is ma- 
 nifest that he is excepted, ivhich did put all 
 things under him. And when all things shall 
 he subdued unto him, then shall the Son also 
 himself be subject unto him that put all things 
 under him, that God may be all in alV 
 
OF CHRIST. 275 
 
 It is necessary for us to attend to the pur- 
 poses for which our Lord assumed human na- 
 ture, and to the achievements which have been, 
 and are to be, accomplished in that nature. 
 We must attend to its different situations at 
 different periods, — which situations corres- 
 pond with the work that it had to effect, and 
 the dignity with which it was invested. The 
 states in which our Lord's human nature has 
 hitherto been, are those of humiliation and 
 exaltation. 
 
 In his state of humiliation he was "despised 
 and rejected of men," — " a man of sorrows, 
 and acquainted with grief;" when men saw 
 him he had '' no form nor comeliness," there 
 was no " beauty" in him " that we should 
 desire him." The hardships and distresses of 
 this world pressed heavily upon him ; his soul 
 was " exceeding sorrowful, even unto death ;" 
 one dark cloud continually hung over him, 
 whose gloom was, indeed, at intervals, pierced 
 by those rays of Godhead which shone through 
 him. His actions were the principal distinc- 
 tion between him and those men with whom 
 he associated : For, in his appearance, " his 
 visage was so marred more than any man, and 
 his form more than the sons of men." He 
 " made himself of no reputation, and took up- 
 
276 THE ETERNAL SONSHIJP 
 
 on 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 be- 
 came obedient unto death, even the death of 
 the cross." In this state, the humanity of our 
 Lord was subject to the Father and the other 
 persons of the Godhead, and it was subject, in 
 a manner visible to mankind. They beheld 
 the external marks of its subjection ; they per- 
 ceived his appearance in the flesh, — suffering, 
 and exposed to, the calamities of life. Its as- 
 pect towards men was that of one who under- 
 went difficulties for some specific purpose, — 
 who endured woes to obtain an important re- 
 sult, — whose griefs were the portion of a mag- 
 nificent design. The mode in which the sub- 
 jection of our Lord's humanity was displayed, 
 was in sufferings. It might have exhibited 
 grandeur of the most elevated description, and 
 still have been subject to the Godhead ; it 
 might have been surrounded by legions of an- 
 gels, and still have fulfilled the plans of omni- 
 potence. But this was not the way in which 
 the Divine measures were to be effected. 
 " Wherefore in all things it behoved him to 
 be made like unto his brethren, that he might 
 be a merciful and faithful High Priest in 
 things pertaining to God, to make reconcilia- 
 
OP CHRIST. 277 
 
 tion for the sins of the people. For in that he 
 himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able 
 to succour them that are tempted." " For it 
 became him, for whom are all things, and by 
 whom are all things, in bringing many sons 
 unto glory, to make the captain of their sal- 
 vation perfect through sufferings." Being 
 subject, in the purpose of God, his subjection 
 was manifested by sufferings, that through 
 these sufferings a revenue of glory might be 
 subsequently derived. In our present state of 
 humanity, humiliation and accompanying suf- 
 ferings are, in the well regulated mind, wisely 
 connected with the ultimate progress of piety, 
 and the establishment of real greatness in the 
 soul. It were needless to expatiate on the 
 firmness which they are calculated to promote 
 in disastrous vicissitudes, — the benevolence 
 which they infuse by producing sympathy for 
 others, — the reliance which they excite on the 
 Supreme Being who orders all things for the 
 best, — and the expectations which they induce 
 us to form of another and a better scene of 
 existence. We have, in mankind, abundant 
 proofs of the utility of sufferings. Though 
 we cannot tell the primary reasons why Christ 
 was, in this respect, made " like unto his 
 brethren," we evidently feel the advantages 
 24 
 
278 THE ETERNAL SOjNSHIP 
 
 which result to us from this conformity. As 
 the humanity of our Lord was formed for the 
 express purpose of existing in his Divinity, — 
 it was formed, in an especial manner, to as- 
 sume the appearances and subjection conso- 
 nant to the designs of Divinity. It had no 
 will of its own to assume any state ; it had no 
 inherent constitution to exist in any condition 
 which was its own ; it could only exist, ac- 
 cording to the volition of Divinity founded on 
 the Divine constitution. The subjection in 
 its humiliation was, therefore, of two kinds, 
 — a necessary subjection to the Godhead, in 
 whatever condition it existed ; and a pecu- 
 liar subjection, indicated by its sufferings in 
 that particular state of humiliation. In rela- 
 tion to God, this subjection was a devotion to 
 the Divine will, and a particular devotion to 
 that person in whom it subsisted. This devo- 
 tion was essential to its very nature, and com- 
 municated in its original conformation. Whilst 
 its actions on earth were really those of huma- 
 nity, — they were those of humanity Avhose 
 procedure was in union with a Divine person. 
 They flowed from that person, and were really 
 his ; yet they w-ere not the actions of his Divi- 
 nity, but of his humanity subsisting in his Di- 
 vine nature. The Son of God could not suffer 
 
OF CHRIST. 279 
 
 in his essential nature ; yet his assumed human 
 nature was humbled, was " made under the 
 law;" was "made a curse for us: for it is 
 written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on 
 a tree." But whilst the Messiah experienced 
 this temporary humiliation, the inherent glory 
 of his person was not, and could not be, lost. 
 This humiliation was not natural to him, but 
 was submitted to, that the glory which was 
 natural to a being received into personal union 
 by one of the persons of the Godhead, might 
 afterwards be exhibited. When, therefore, 
 the eclipse of the Messiah's human nature 
 was past, it appeared in that splendour which 
 it naturally possessed, and which was peculiar 
 to its exalted state of existence. When he 
 " ascended up on high," after his w^oes on 
 earth, " he sat down at the right hand of 
 God, till all his enemies should be made his 
 footstool." Then the full effulgence of Deity 
 beamed through it, when, in the evolution of 
 his purpose, the Father of glory " raised him 
 from the dead, and set him at his own right 
 hand, in the heavenly places, far above all prin- 
 cipality, and power, and might, and dominion, 
 and every name that is named, not only m this 
 world, but also in that which is to come : and 
 hath put all things under his feet, and gave 
 
^80 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 him to be the head over all things to the 
 Church, which is his body, the fuhiess of him 
 that fiUeth all in all." The Son represents 
 himself as possessing inherent power to lay 
 down his life, and power to take it up again. 
 John X. 17, 18. " Therefore doth my Father 
 love me, because I lay down my life, that I 
 might 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 it again. This commandment have I re- 
 ceived of my Father." In the first of these 
 passages, quoted from the epistle to the Ephe- 
 sians, it is expressly said that the Father 
 jaised the humanity of our Lord from the 
 dead ; in the latter, the Son asserts that that 
 power is inherent in himself. The Son can- 
 not speak of his human nature, as having the 
 power of raising itself from the dead, inhe- 
 ring m itself. For no such power of com- 
 municating life to itself when the vital energy 
 has ceased, can be inherent in any creature; 
 seeing it is the peculiar power of the Deity to 
 communicate life to his creatures. It must, 
 therefore, be resident in the nature in which 
 our Lord is essentially Son, and be true in his 
 Divinity, in which his human nature exists. 
 The humiliation of this human nature is, 
 
OF CHRIST. 281 
 
 therefore, in conformity with the volition of 
 the Father and the Son. As it respects the 
 Father, it is a subjection of humiliation under 
 him, as supreme, because this nature does not 
 belong to his person ; — it is the subjection of 
 the Son, because this is the Son's human na- 
 ture, in which he wills that there shall be sub- 
 jection. 
 
 The exaltation of this human nature, in the 
 mediatorial kingdom, is an exaltation from 
 which subjection is excluded. Subjection is 
 excluded, because the Son reigns supreme 
 over this kingdom ; it is given solely to him 
 by the Father; it is administered by the Son, 
 in such a manner, that, though the supremacy 
 of the Godhead is unaffected, that supremacy 
 is devolved on the Son. Universal power is 
 lodged in him, and this universal power is ex- 
 erted through the medium, and by the instru- 
 mentality, of his humanity. In this humanity, 
 when on the eve of assuming his mediatorial 
 sway, he says, " All power is given unto me 
 in heaven and in earth." Respecting this hu- 
 manity he declared, that its resurrection, the 
 inception of his greatness, was effected by his 
 own energy. The Father is declared to have 
 exerted his energy in this inception; for he 
 raised him from the dead, and delivered up to 
 24* 
 
282 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 the Son an undivided and complete supremacj > 
 in the mediatorial administration. In this ex- 
 altation, the Father is expressly said to have 
 invested the Son with this micontrolled rule. 
 *' Wherefore God 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." The 
 subjection of all things to Jesus is, therefore, 
 a subjection to the Son, in his human nature; 
 which is more especially called Jesus, because 
 it was the means appointed to procure salva- 
 tion. The surrender of all rule was made by 
 the Father to the Son, who accepted of that 
 surrender, and exercises his sway through the 
 human nature, which is the medium of his 
 Kingship. The Kingly authority which be- 
 longed to the humanity, in consequence of its 
 union with Deity, was in abeyance during its 
 continuance on earth; — when the surround- 
 ing veil of humiliation was withdrawn, its na- 
 tive dignity burst forth ; — but the climax of its 
 grandeur was attained, when the Son received 
 the universal government, and, through the 
 nature which was employed to effect salvation. 
 
OF CHRIST. 283 
 
 dispensed the universal government. In this 
 mediatorial kingdom, the humanity of the Son 
 is, in one sense, subject to the Father, because 
 it is a creature ; yet, in another sense, it is 
 not subject. For the kingdom is peculiarly 
 the Son's, who is subject to none ; and his 
 humanity is the creature, through which he 
 organizes the procedure of his kingdom. The 
 sole reign of the Son may, therefore, be 
 viewed in two lights : It is strictly and prima- 
 rily, the reign of the Divine nature ; and it is, 
 secondarily, the reign of the Son in human 
 nature, because his humanity is the medium 
 by which he displays his reign. The proceed- 
 ings of this kingdom will "put down all rule, 
 and all authority, and power. For he must 
 reign, till he hath put all enemies under his 
 feet:' 
 
 Prophecy will be fulfilled ; for according 
 to the prediction (in Psalm viii. 6.) '' He hath 
 put all things under his feet. But when he 
 saith, All things are put under him, it is mani- 
 fest that he is excepted, ivhich did put all things 
 under him:' The Father gave to the Son all 
 rule, but could not give himself to be ruled. 
 He only ceased actively to exert his own ex- 
 ternal power in the supreme administration of 
 the mediatorial kingdom, and gave to the Son, 
 
284 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 solely^ the externa/ manifestations of Godhead. 
 The inherent power and perfections of the Fa- 
 ther could not cease, but the display of these 
 is entirely dependent on the nature and will 
 of God. He therefore, for infinitely wise 
 purposes, has revealed that all the external 
 displays of Godhead, in the mediatorial king-r 
 dom, are from the person of the Son, who 
 chooses that his human nature shall be the 
 medium of these displays. 
 
 When the objects of the mediatorial king- 
 dom are accomplished by the Son — when 
 " all thmgs shall be subdued unto him, then 
 shall the Son himself be subject unto him that 
 put all things under him, that God may be all 
 in alV To understand in what the subjection 
 of the Son consists, it is necessary again to 
 revert to the different states of the Son's hu- 
 manity. — He was subject to the Father in his 
 humiliation, because it was in the designs of 
 the Godhead that he should be thus subject; 
 he was not subject to the Father in his human 
 nature in the mediatorial kingdom and exalta- 
 tion, because the humanity subsisted in the Son, 
 who was not subject to the Father, but had 
 the means of subjecting all things lodged in 
 himself: these means he employs through the 
 human nature, which is his subjecting instru- 
 
OF CHRIST. 285 
 
 ment. But when the end of the mediatorial 
 kingdom shall come, the instrument which he 
 employed, viz. his human nature, will cease 
 to be his medium of power, and return to the 
 state of subjection to the Father in which it 
 was in his humiliation ; — not, however, to be 
 again exposed to degradation ; for the cessa- 
 tion of all displays of authority hy it and 
 through it will ensue. The kingdom of the 
 universe will no more be exclusively in the 
 Son, but in the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, 
 — in God, " that God may he all in alV^ The 
 human nature of our Lord has two aspects ; — 
 by the Son, it is iemployed as the means by 
 W'hich he reigns, — by his subjects, it is em- 
 ployed as the means through which they ex- 
 press their devotion to him. Neither the go- 
 vernor nor the governed will, after the com- 
 pletion of that kingdom, employ any medium. 
 The humanity of the Son, we may justly pre- 
 sume, will be placed in the situation in which 
 it would have been, had there been no media- 
 torial kingdom, and no exclusive authority- 
 vested in the person in whom it subsists. 
 Like all other creatures, it will be subjected 
 to the Godhead, retaining the glory which it 
 can never lose, — miion to that person in 
 whom it suffered, in whom it was employed 
 
286 THE ETERNAL SON SHIP 
 
 to dispense the mediatorial sway, and in whom 
 it will, through eternity, be the object which 
 will possess the renown of having been em- 
 ployed to establish and complete the media- 
 torial kingdom. The glorious beings brought 
 to everlasting felicity in the exercise of Mes- 
 siah's kingdom will, then, immediately ad- 
 dress the Godhead, and from it receive com- 
 munications of increasing happiness. — The 
 humanity of our Lord, in those ages whose 
 arcana are not revealed, will still exist, and 
 exist in union with that person who assumed 
 it. The particular manner of its actions, and 
 the connexion between it and other beings, 
 are alluded to, yet not specifically declared. 
 In the Revelation of John, when all the tran- 
 sactions of the mediatorial kingdom were re- 
 presented as finished, and the new heavens 
 and the new earth established, he saw no 
 temple in the great and holy city, " for the 
 Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the 
 temple of it. And the city had no need of the 
 sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it : for 
 the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb 
 is the light thereof. And the nations of them 
 wdiich are saved shall walk in the light of it." 
 He declares that its " light" or splendour 
 flows from " the glory of God which does 
 
OF CHRIST. 287 
 
 lighten it," and says that " the Lamb is the 
 light thereof," not that lie does lighten it. 
 There " the pure river of the water of life" 
 flows from " the throne of God and of the 
 Lamb." " And there shall be no more curse; 
 but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall 
 be in it ; and his servants shall serve him," — 
 i. e. the servants of God shall serve him. 
 •' And they shall see his face ; and his name 
 shall be in their foreheads. And there shall 
 be no night there ; and they need no candle, 
 neither light of the sun; for the Lord God 
 giveth them light : and they shall reign for 
 ever and ever." 
 
 The particular mode in which the huma- 
 nity of the Son shall exhibit the glory of its 
 Divine union, when it is subjected in the 
 kingdom of the Godhead's glory, is not de- 
 scribed. But, from these passages, it seems 
 evident, that it will be a transcendent mani- 
 festation of Divine glory, flowing, more im- 
 mediately, from the Son, and subordinate to 
 the Deity, in his eternal powder and God- 
 head. 
 
288 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 CHAPTER XIL 
 
 The Word and The Son are both designa- 
 tions to which eternity is attributable. 
 
 Many who contend that the Eternal Son- 
 ship of our Lord is unscriptural, affirm that 
 the true designation of the person of the 
 Godhead who came in the flesh, is Aoyo?, Lo- 
 gos, The Word, It is neither our intention 
 nor our province to review the learned obser- 
 vations which have been made respecting the 
 exact meaning of the term Logos, and the 
 manner in which it has been used by the Pla- 
 tonic and Jewish Philosophers. It is suffi- 
 cient for our purpose to remark that it signi- 
 fies The Word, as it is rendered by all trans- 
 lators in John i,, — and Discourse and Reason, 
 in classical authors, and some few passages 
 of scripture. The latter meaning answers 
 more especially to the import of (ro(pioc, Wis- 
 dom, in Proverbs viii. But in whatever shade 
 of acceptation the expression is understood, 
 
OF CHRIST. 289 
 
 the sense of the context and the mode of de- 
 scription, undoubtedly require us to under- 
 stand a person who is mentioned under this 
 designation. The term, when signifying The 
 Word, whether understood in its original de- 
 rivation or in its general use, expresses a de- 
 claration or communication of thought, by 
 such a medium as the person employing 
 it shall enable another to comprehend his 
 thoughts. When applied to a person, it re- 
 presents him who, as an agent, declares or 
 communicates the thoughts of one person to 
 another. Applied to a Divine person, there 
 is no conceivable combination of our notions, 
 which will permit us, when we analyze the 
 term, to understand any other than a person 
 thus described, on account of the quality of 
 declaring or communicating which he pos- 
 sesses. Campbell, when examining the in- 
 terpretation Reason, which has been assigned 
 to Logos, says of the common translation. 
 The Word, — " But as the common rendering, 
 " which is also not without its plausibility, 
 " has had the concurrent testimony of trans- 
 " lators, ancient as well as modern, and seems 
 " well adapted to the office of Messiah, as the 
 " oracle and interpreter of God, I thought it, 
 " upon the whole, better to retain it." The 
 25 
 
290 THE ETERNAL SONSHIF 
 
 meaning of the expression The Word, must 
 convey the combined notion of a Divine per- 
 son, and the inherent quality of communica- 
 ting v\^hich he possesses, from which quality 
 the name is obtained. But The Word does 
 not express a state of existence, according to 
 the nature of the person whom it represents ; 
 it is not like the expressions Man, Father, 
 Son, descriptive of a certain state of being, in 
 a certain nature. We can readily compre- 
 hend the attribute of the person who is The 
 Word, on account of which attribute he is so 
 named, but we obtain no idea of the state in 
 which the Divine nature exists, in that per- 
 son, who is The Word. Whereas, the ex- 
 pression Son, determinately marks the state 
 in which the person thus called exists, in re- 
 lation to the other persons of the Divine na- 
 ture. It appears strange, that the opponents 
 of the Eternal Sonship should fix on a term, 
 expressive of no state in the Divine nature, 
 as the eternal, and appropriate name of this 
 person in the Godtead, whilst they reject one 
 which is decisively and peculiarly applicable 
 to the state of being of this person in relation 
 to another. — But such is the effect of adhe- 
 rence to a favourite theory, when it is requi- 
 site to carry it over all obstacles. By these 
 
or CHRIST. 291 
 
 remarks, we cannot be understood to affirm 
 that The Word is not expressive of a Divine 
 person; — we only assert, that whilst it un- 
 doubtedly indicates a Divine person, it dis- 
 closes him in the possession of a certain at- 
 tribute, — not in his related state of existence 
 in the Divine nature. But our opponents 
 admit the eternal existence of the Logos m 
 the Godhead, and allow that he essentially 
 exists in the Divine nature; — our object, 
 therefore, is to prove that this Logos must, 
 in his state of existence in the Divine nature, 
 be also the Son of God. In this attempt, we 
 shall endeavour to show, that w^hatever attri- 
 butes and actions, peculiar to Divinity, are as- 
 signed to Logos or The Word, — these are al- 
 so assigned to the Son, 
 
 John i. 1. " The Word ivas ivith God,''' 
 Co-existence with God, in the person of the 
 Father, is predicated of the Son. John i. 
 18. " No man hath seen God at any time ; 
 the only-begotten Son, which is in the bosom 
 of the Father, he hath declared him." John 
 xvii. 5. " And now^, O Father, glorify thou 
 me with thine own self w ith the glory which 
 I had with thee before the world was. v. 24. 
 For thou lovedst me before the foundation of 
 the world." 
 
292 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 Johni. 1. "And The Word was God:' The 
 Son is, in like manner, termed God, and that 
 expressly by the Father. Hebrews i. 8. " But 
 unto the Son, he saith, Thy throne, O God, 
 is for ever and ever : a sceptre of righteous- 
 ness is the sceptre of thy kingdom." 
 
 V. 2, 3. " The same was in the heginning 
 with God, All things were made by him; 
 and without him ivas not any thing made that 
 was made^"^ The Son is thus addressed by 
 God the Father, in Hebrews i.lO. : "And 
 thou, Lord, in the beginning, hast laid the 
 foundation of the earth ; and the heavens are 
 the work of thine hands." Of the Son it is 
 said, in Colossians i. 16 — 18. "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 cre- 
 ated 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, " 
 
 V. 4. "In him was life; and the life was 
 the light ofmen^' Of the Son, it is said, 1 
 John V. 11, 12. " And this is the record, that 
 God hath given to us eternal life ; and this 
 life is in his Son. He that hath the Son, hath 
 
OF CHRIST. 293 
 
 life; and he that hath not the Son of God, 
 hath not life." John v 26. " For as the Fa- 
 ther hath life in himself; so hath he given 
 to the Son to have life in himself." John x. 
 17, 18. " Therefore doth my Father love me, 
 because I lay down my life, that I might 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 it again." 
 John xii. 46. " I am come a light into the 
 world, that whosoever believeth on me should 
 not abide in darkness." 
 
 V. 11, 12. " jHfe came unto his own, and his 
 own received him not. But as many as re- 
 ceived him, to them gave he power to hecoyne 
 the sons of God, even to them that believe on 
 his name,'^'' In like manner it is said, John vi. 
 40. " And this is the will of him that sent me, 
 that every one which seeth the Son, and be- 
 lieveth on him, may have everlasting life: and 
 I will raise him up at the last day." 1 John 
 V. 1. " AVhosoever believeth that Jesus is the 
 Christ, is born of God." 
 
 V. 14. ''And the Word was made flesh, and 
 dwelt among iis/^ Analagous to this are the 
 words of 1 John i. 1. *' That which was from 
 the beginning, which we have heard, which 
 we have seen with our eyes, which we have 
 
294 THE ETERNAL SONSHIF 
 
 looked upon and our hands have handled, of 
 the Word of life : 2. (For the life was mani- 
 fested, ") In like manner, the Son was 
 
 made flesh, and was manifested. Galatians 
 iv. 4. " But when the fulness of the time 
 was come, God sent forth his Son, made of 
 a woman." Romans viii. 3. " For what the 
 law could not do, in that it was weak through 
 the flesh, God sending his own Son, in the 
 likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, con- 
 demned sin in the flesh." 1 John. iii. 8. " For 
 this purpose the Son of God was manifested, 
 that he might destroy the works of the 
 devil." 
 
 After the declaration of these actions and 
 attributes of the Logos, all of which, we have 
 shown, are also predicated of the Son, the 
 writer sums up his detail with the glory of 
 the Logos, which he affirms is the same glory 
 as that which the Son possesses. 
 
 V. 14. " And we beheld his glory, the glory 
 as of the only begotten of the Father, ^^ The 
 particle '«? as, expresses, in the original, more 
 than likeness or similarity. It denotes that 
 which is indeed or really an identical pos- 
 session of what has been mentioned. Mac- 
 knight, in his Fourth Essay, prefixed to the 
 Translation of the Epistles, says, under the 
 
OF CHRIST. 295 
 
 particle wr, — *• n? is sometimes used affirm a- 
 " tivelv, and must be translated indeed^ truly ^ 
 " certainly^ actually; for Hesjchius and Pha- 
 " vorinus tell us, that 'w? is put for ovtw?, 
 
 " oe.Kv\^ugJ^ Nehemiall vii. 2. f Auto? 'w? a,)!^ 
 
 '' o6A>jO>j$-, He was indeed a true man. — Matth. 
 " xiv. 5. He feared the multitude, because they 
 " counted him (John, 'a>«- 7r^&)(pvjT»jf) really a 
 " prophet. — John i. 14. We beheld his glory, 
 ^^ the glory, ('&>? povop/svjj?) indeed of the only 
 " begotten of the Father.^^ According to this 
 import of the particle 'cog, Doddridge thus 
 paraphrases the passage : — " And we who are 
 ** now recording these things, contemplated 
 " his glory with so strict an attention, that, 
 " from our own personal knowledge, we can 
 " bear our testimony to it, that it was in 
 " every respect such a glory as became the only 
 *' begotten of the Father, "^"^ Guyse states, in 
 a note, the true signification of the particle 
 '«? ; and paraphrases the passage in the fol- 
 lowing manner : '' We saw the glory of his 
 " Divine wisdom, power, holiness, and grace, 
 " which, on various occasions, displayed 
 " themselves in him ; we saw the glory of his 
 *' God-like miracles, and of his sovereign way 
 
 ■ Really^ truly. t Septuagint. 
 
296 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 " of performing them ; we saw the glory that 
 " shone in his transfiguration, resurrection, 
 " and ascension to heaven ; (ikx(rcc>fAi^oc) we 
 " steadfastly considered and observed it with 
 " the closest attention, and highest wonder, 
 " as the glory that was really becoming the 
 " Son of God, and was proper and peculiat 
 " to him, who is originally the same in nature 
 " with the Father, and eternally begotten of 
 " him, in such an inconceivable manner, as 
 ** none ever besides him." As, the precise 
 meaning of the Evangelist is of particular im- 
 portance, we refer to Acts xvii. 22. Rom. ix. 
 32. 2 Cor. ii. 17. Eph. v. 8., in addition to 
 the passages we have before mentioned, where 
 the particle *w? has the same meaning as in 
 the text which we are examining. The 14th 
 V. of the 1st chap, of John, obviously esta- 
 blishes the collateral actions and attributes, 
 especially the glorj' of The Word, ^nd the 
 only begotten of the Father. 
 
 We have shown, from parallel texts of 
 scripture, that every declaration, which main- 
 tains the eternity, and other natural and mo- 
 ral qualities of the Word, maintains also the 
 eternity and natural and moral qualities of the 
 Son of God. Co-existence with God the 
 
OF CHRIST. 297 
 
 Father, — tlie being God, — the creation of all 
 things, — inherence of life,— power of intro- 
 duction to God's family, — manifestation in 
 the flesh, are all ascribed to The Word and 
 to the Son of God ; and lastly, the Evangelist 
 declares their identity, or that The Word and 
 the Son are the same person, as the glory 
 which is predicated of the person under each 
 designation, is the same glory. That which 
 is true of The Word is, therefore, true of the 
 Son. He is, consequently, Eternal, 
 
298 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Examination of the term Father, in connexion 
 ivith the term Son, ivhen used to designate 
 Persons in the Divine nature,' 
 
 God is frequently termed, in Scripture, a 
 Father^ on account of the relation in which 
 he stands to men in their creation and pre- 
 servation. The creative power, — the care 
 and protection which he continually exer- 
 cises, — the inception of life which inheres in 
 him, — and the watchful superintendence by 
 which he continues in the individual, and in 
 succession, the life which he has communi- 
 cated, — are the causes of this appellation. 
 He is, likewise, termed Father, on account 
 of the principles of holiness and virtue which 
 are peculiarly derived from himself, and which 
 he implants in the minds of intelligent beings. 
 This residence and exercise of virtuous prin- 
 ciples are the sources of well-regulated life. 
 
OF CHRIST. 299 
 
 and of perpetual enjoyment; they are the 
 well-being and happiness of the soul. The 
 infusion of such principles into those who 
 have lost them, is termed a " new life," a 
 "new birth" obtained from God, "the author 
 of every good and perfect gift." This title 
 is given to God, on account of the govern- 
 ment or rule which he exercises, and the di- 
 rection which he possesses of " all his crea- 
 tures, and all their actions." It denotes the 
 ineffable honour and dignity which he enjoys 
 — which essentially belong to him — and which 
 are manifested in his government of all events. 
 God is termed Father, because he instructs 
 and enlightens his creatures. He is the source 
 of knowledge as well as of being ; from him 
 we obtain the powers that enable us to ex- 
 plore useful knowledge; and, from himself 
 immediately comes the most important of all 
 knowledge which is received and treasured 
 up by the appropriate mental faculties that 
 he has originally conferred. He is termed Fa- 
 ther, on account of the peculiar and distin- 
 guished regard and rule which he exercises 
 over those to whom he reveals himself, in 
 another manner than he does to the world. 
 These are more particularly denominated his 
 children, because he favours them with his 
 
300 THE ETERNAL SON SHIP 
 
 regard, guides them by his counsel, supports 
 them by his power, guards them from evil, 
 conducts them through life, and after death 
 receives them into glory. 
 
 In all the cases which we have mentioned, 
 we readily discover the reasons why God is 
 termed a Father. We recognize the trans- 
 ference of figurative notions in the transac- 
 tions of men, to the procedure of God; for 
 we cannot suppose that God is related to the 
 objects we have mentioned, as earthly fathers 
 are to their children. They do not partici- 
 pate of his essence ; they are not possessors 
 of his Divine nature ; nor do they, in that 
 nature, enjoy propinquity or relationship in 
 the same mode of being. We are able to 
 determine the relative situations of the par- 
 ties, and to perceive the exact place which 
 objects occupy, when God is termed their 
 Father. We determine that the beings pre- 
 dicated cannot be his sons, and that he can- 
 not be their Father in consequence of mutual 
 possession of the same essence, because all 
 those objects to whom God is Father, are ex- 
 traneous to the Divine essence. They are 
 extraneous to his nature, because it is eter- 
 nal ; they have a beginning, and that which 
 has a beginning can neither be the Divine 
 
OF CHRIST. oOl 
 
 essence, nor, even if we could suppose the 
 possibility of division in the Divine essence, 
 can they be a portion of that essence. It is 
 the possession of this beghming of being, and 
 of nintability in being, which shows the utter 
 impossibility of an eternal, infinite, immutable 
 essence being portioned through space, and 
 modified into different creatures, as some phi- 
 losophic speculators have asserted. While 
 the Father of the universe is omnipresent and 
 omniscient, he is not, and from his essential 
 nature, cannot be the to t:av of the universe, 
 in the acceptation of some of the Grecian and 
 later cosmogonists. We ascertain, therefore, 
 that God is Father of the universe, in a man- 
 ner which does not admit of relation in his 
 essence. The objects of the universe, to 
 whom he is Father, are without his essence ; 
 they are not sxd generis; they exist by him, 
 but they are not God ; they are in being, but 
 they are so during the will of the Creator. 
 It is the dissimilarity of all things from the 
 Divine nature that is the occasion of the su- 
 preme government and direction of creatures 
 by God, because they are not his esi§ence, 
 which is infinite and unchangeable. To sup- 
 pose the Deity supreme over himself, is a use 
 of terms without meaning, or rather a nega- 
 26 
 
302 THE ETERNAL SONSHIF 
 
 lion of terms. In whatever sense the appella- 
 tion Father of the creatures is applied, we dis- 
 cover that the phrase arises from the adapta- 
 tion of God, in the exercise of his perfections, 
 to confer benefits on the creatures to whom he 
 is Father, and from the adaptation of the 
 creature, in his conformation, to receive and 
 retain the benefits which are conferred. It 
 uniformly conveys the notion of supreme go- J 
 vernment and donation of benefits ; and the 
 Being, who is supreme, and does.confer bene- 
 fits, is always spoken of as in the act of con- 
 ferring, or as the source of, benefits, — or as 
 the director of these benefits to their appoint- 
 ed destination. There must be an inferiority 
 in those creatures to whom God is Father, 
 because this is essential to, and inseparable 
 from, their nature. They exist in inferiority, 
 and cannot be divested of this inferiority, in . 
 any case, or by any combination of circum- 
 stances. We need not enumerate the various 
 passages of scripture, in which God is termed 
 a Father, according to the different accepta- 
 tions which we have mentioned. They are 
 so obvious that there is no scope for dispu- 
 tation, or the introduction of various mean- 
 
 mgs. 
 
 But there is a mode, in which God is Fa- 
 
OF CHRIST. 303 
 
 ther, different from any which we have men- 
 tioned ; in which his relation, as Father, 
 must be as essentially different, as the differ- 
 ence of the essence in which he is predicated. 
 It is affirmed that a person existing in the 
 Divine nature is Father to another who is 
 Son. Both are affirmed to be Divine, and to 
 possess the nature and perfections of God- 
 head. The constitution of the nature of 
 each person causes the relation of Father and 
 Son to be infinitely different from the rela- 
 tion of Father to the creatures. We can no 
 longer contemplate objects which are extra- 
 neous to the Divinity, but must examine per- 
 sons in related states, within the Divinity. 
 That which was true of those extraneous to 
 the Divinity, cannot be true of those persons 
 who are in the Divinity, — who have no be- 
 ginning, between whom there can neither 
 be superiority nor inferiority, — one of whom 
 cannot be supreme, or confer benefits on ano- 
 ther. We need not transcribe the passages 
 already referred to, especially John v. and 
 xvii. In all these, the relation between the 
 Divine person is spoken of as that of Father 
 and Son, in which the persons reciprocally 
 address each other ; — the one acknowledging 
 and affirming the other to be Father, and the 
 
304 THE ETERNAL SON SHIP 
 
 person, thus acknowledged, affirming thu 
 other to be his Son. In addition to the 
 places of scripture which we have examined, 
 we adduce John xiv. 10, 11. *' Believest thou 
 not that I am in the Father^ and the Father in 
 me? the words that I speak unto you, I speak 
 not of myself : but the Father, that dwelleth iii 
 me, he doth the ivorks. Believe me that I am 
 in the Father, and the Father in me : or else 
 believe me for the very works'^ sake. 13. And 
 whatsoever ye, shall ask in my name, that will 
 I do, that the Father may be glorified in the 
 Son, 20. At that day ye shall knoiv that I am 
 in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.^^ 
 John xvi. 15. " All things that the Father 
 hath are mine : therefore said I, that he shall 
 take of mine, and show it unto you.^^ From 
 these texts, we discover the relation of the 
 persons — the equality of the persons in attri- 
 butes — and the inherence of each, in the other, 
 in the same nature ; so that the Father is in 
 the Son, and the Son in the Father. The de- 
 claration of the Son, respecting the reality of 
 their relation and mutual inherence in the 
 same nature, is perfectly decisive, — " Believe 
 me that I am ii\ the Father, and the Father 
 in me." x4s they are different persons, the 
 being in each other cannot mean that they are 
 
OF CHRIST. 305 
 
 the same person, for this would be a contra- 
 diction ; it must, therefore, signify that they 
 are both persons in that nature — even in the 
 Godliead which is one and indivisible. Now, 
 if they possess the same nature, and be Fa- 
 ther and Son in each other, they must pos- 
 sess the properties of that nature. As this 
 examination is so important, we shall repeat, 
 here, the first step of our reasoning. The Fa- 
 ther is in the Son, — the Son is in the Father ; 
 — they cannot, thereby, be one and the same 
 person, because distinct property of being is 
 attributed to each person. There is no other 
 sense left in which they can be in each other, 
 unless by a mutual possession of the Divine 
 nature. This is not a research in which it is 
 presumption for mortals to introduce their 
 examination ; for the proposition affirmed by 
 the Son is expressly propounded by him to 
 mortals, as a subject of belief. Seeing the 
 Father is possessor of the Divine nature, all 
 notions of relationship, such as that existing 
 between creatures and the Godhead, must be 
 excluded. Whatever the relation is, it must, 
 like the properties of the Divine nature, be 
 eternal, — and both persons, being in the Di- 
 vine nature, the relation must be homogene- 
 ous. We have discovered t\\ o persons a^ ho — 
 26* 
 
306 THE ETERNAL SON SHIP 
 
 on the express declaration of one of theniy 
 propounded as an article of knowledge and of 
 consequent belief — possess homogeny. It is 
 in this very homogeny that they are Father 
 and Son, seeing the person of the Father ex- 
 ists, indisputably, without assumption of any 
 creature into union with himself. The Son 
 has assumed humanity ; but that humanity 
 could not, by itself, be Son to a Divine per- 
 son who did not assume it. Of the Son, it is 
 said, that " all things w^hich the Father hath 
 are his," — but it is impossible that all things 
 which a Divine person hath, can belong to 
 any humanity or any creature whatsoever. 
 Neither can humanity and a Divine person 
 be mutually possessors of the same nature of 
 which the Father and Son are possessors. 
 
 Though the revelation of the relation of 
 the persons of the Godhead be confessedly 
 less explicit in the Old Testament than in the 
 New, — yet, there ave, undoubtedly, express- 
 sions which anticipate to the Jewish Church 
 the revelation subsequently promulgated to 
 the Christian. These expressions refer to the 
 period when the Son was made manifest in 
 the flesh ; when the revelation of the persons, 
 subsisting in the Godhead, was announced in 
 the most decisive and perspicuous manner. 
 
OF CHRIST. 307 
 
 Til the coming of the Messiah, this grand dis- 
 closure of Divine existence was to be an- 
 nounced with the corresponding and impor- 
 tant truths of our religion. 2 Samuel vii. 14. 
 ^^ I will he his Father, and he shall be my *Sbn." 
 It is said of tlie Messiah, Psahii Ixxxix. 26, 
 27. " He shall cry unto me, Thou art my Fa- 
 ther, my God, and the rock of my salvation. 
 Also Livill make him my Jirst born, higher than 
 the kings of the earth. ^^ 
 
 It has been objected to the account we 
 have given of the designations and subsisting 
 states of the Divine persons, that the person 
 termed the Son is also termed the Father in 
 the prophetic announcement of Isaiah, ix. 6, 
 — consequently, that the terms employed to 
 denote these persons are only contingent ex- 
 pressions, enabling mankind to understand 
 the parts wliich these persons occupy in their 
 procedure wdth men. In order to understand 
 the scope of the epithet in question, we shall 
 examine the other epithets and the design of 
 the context. The verse alhided to declares, 
 " For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son 
 is given ; and the government shall be upon 
 his shoulder: and his name shall be called, 
 Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The 
 everlasting Father, The Prince of Feace,^^ 
 
308 THE ETERNAL SON SHIP 
 
 The first declaration is that unto us a child 
 shall be honi, which evidently denotes that a 
 child shall come into the world in the ordi- 
 nary manner. The second declaration is that 
 a son is given, — not that a son is born. The 
 distinction is worthy of particular attention. 
 The prophet has already sufficiently described 
 the appearance of humanity in the person 
 whom he foretels. To repeat the same iden- 
 tical circumstance is an unmeaning redundan- 
 cy, and an apparent inaccuracy, for yvhich we 
 cannot account, on the supposition that the 
 child born and the son given denote the same 
 thing. There must, therefore, be something 
 more in the import of the words unto us a 
 Son is given. The gift of the Son is placed 
 obviously in contradistinction to the birth of 
 the child. The passage, when fairly ana- 
 lyzed, appears to convey the actual announce- 
 ment of the two natures which Messiah was 
 to possess, — the human and the Divine. In 
 exact fulfilment of this prediction, it is said 
 by the Messiah himself, John iii. 16, 17. 
 " For God so loved the w^orld, that he gave 
 his only-begotten Son, that wdiosoever be- 
 lieveth in him should not perish, but have 
 everlasting life. For God sent not his Son 
 into the world to condemn the world; but 
 
OF CHRIST. 309 
 
 that the world through him might be saved." 
 The office which w^as to be possessed by the 
 child horn and the Son given, is next men- 
 tioned, — " And the government shall be upon 
 his shoulder." The mediatorial sway and 
 universal kingdom which the Son w^as to re- 
 ceive and exercise in human nature, are fore- 
 told in this declaration. His titles, describing 
 his qualities, are then enumerated, — " And 
 his name shall be called Wonderful." In all 
 his actions — in the righteousness w^hich he 
 has procured, he is truly wonderful, and, 
 above all, he is wonderful in the glories of 
 his person, for it is said, '* no man knoweth 
 the Son but the Father." He is the " Coun- 
 sellor." He participates in all the designs 
 and counsels of the Godhead ; he is the 
 Counsellor of all his people ; he guides them 
 in every dilemma and danger. He is the 
 " mighty God," even that God w^ho is om- 
 nipotent. He is " The everlasting Father." 
 In the original, there is no adjective which 
 signifies everlasting. The expression is nr ':3n* 
 Father or Governor, director, appointer of the 
 future dispensation of events. The following 
 observations will evince that this is a correct 
 translation of the passage: — The word on 
 means not only superintendence in general 
 
310 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 government, but particularly in religious in- 
 struction and care. Judges xvii. 10. "And 
 Micah said unto him, Dwell with me, and be 
 unto me (:i^b) a Father and a Priest," &c. 
 xviii. 19. " And they said unto him, Hold thy 
 peace, lay thine hand upon thy mouth, and go 
 with us, and be to us (i^S) a Father and a 
 Priest." 2 Kings xiii. 14. " Now Elisha was 
 fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. 
 And Joash the king of Israel came down unto 
 him, and wept over his face, and said, (^3x ^dj?) 
 O my Father, my Father, the chariot of Israel 
 and the horsemen thereof." The term is used 
 in the same sense in many other parts of the 
 Old Testament. 
 
 The word •\}\ denoting sometimes past eter- 
 nity, sometimes past and future eternity, for 
 the most part signifies future eternity, — Thus 
 Job xix. 24. " That they were graven with 
 an iron pen and lead, in the rock (n^^) for 
 ever," or to future eternity. Psalm Ixxxix. 
 29. " His seed also will I make to endure 
 {2)}S) for ever," or through all future time. 
 We adduce these from a number of texts, for 
 the sake of example. 
 
 The real meaning of the Prophet, there- 
 fore, is, that the child horn and the Son given 
 would institute, establish, and direct, the fii- 
 
OF CHRIST. 311 
 
 lure movements of the Church and world ; so 
 that the New Testament dispensation, mider 
 his auspices, would be the medium by which 
 his mediatorial reign would be extended 
 through the universe. 
 
 We have remarked, that the person intro- 
 duced is expressly brought to our notice as 
 a Son. The employment of the person is 
 stated as consisting of government ; his titles 
 are mentioned. One of these is the Father 
 of future Eternity* This appellation does 
 not describe his mode of existence as a Divine 
 person^ for all the corresponding epithets only 
 describe his dignity and attributes, — the pos- 
 session of matchless and glorious power. He 
 is called the Father of futurity, but not in 
 relation to any person. He himself is solely 
 named and described. Had another person 
 of the Godhead been introduced, in relation 
 to whom, the Messiah was termed Father, 
 the fact would, undoubtedly, be decisive, that 
 the designations Father and Son, were not 
 indicative of eternal states, within the Di- 
 vine essence. But no such circumstance is 
 stated by the Prophet. He does not say that 
 it is in the Divine nature that the Messiah, 
 the Wonderful, the Counsellor, the Mighty 
 God, is Father, but simply that he is the 
 
312 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 Father of future Eternity, the Director of 
 events in the future dispensation. He speaks 
 of Messiah as God ; but none that peruses 
 the passage with attention will say that he 
 speaks of this Divine person in reference to 
 other Divine persons. It is solely the Divine 
 person who was to be Messiah that the Pro- 
 phet portrays; it is that person in his own 
 peculiar character. There is, therefore, no 
 possible room for affirming that the relations 
 of the persons in the Godhead are confound- 
 ed, and their terms employed, the one for the 
 other, indiscriminately. 
 
 We have already mentioned that the su- 
 preme Governor, with respect to his crea- 
 tures, is termed Father, on account of the 
 universal rule which he exercises, and the 
 protection which he affords. This appella- 
 tion, descriptive of the connexion between 
 God and his creatures, is true of every one 
 of the Divine persons, and of the three Di- 
 vine persons — one God. The relation to the 
 creatures is as true of the Son and Holy 
 Ghost, as of the Father, in the Divine na- 
 ture ; for all these persons are — respectively, 
 and in union — the Father of the universe, 
 the Father in creation, in government, in 
 protection. But the Son, as Messiah, is fore- 
 
tJP CHRIST. olo 
 
 told ill his protecting kindness and mercy, 
 as " a Father to the fatherless." Psalm 
 Ixviii. 5, 6. *^ A Father of the fatherless, and 
 a judge of the widows, is God in his holy ha- 
 bitation. God setteth the solitary in fami- 
 lies : he bringeth out those which are bound 
 with chains." But neither in this last pas- 
 sage, nor in Isaiah ix. 6., is the Messiah in- 
 troduced in relation to another Divine per- 
 son. He himself is solely introduced, — and 
 he is proclaimed to be a Father to the fa- 
 therless, and the Father of futurity. This 
 last express,^ .1 is a statement of his authority 
 or government of the world, and all the tran- 
 sactions occurring therein, especially with re- 
 gard to the mediatory dispensation which 
 peculiarly belonged to the Messiah. 
 
 By an adherence to the marked distinc- 
 tion between designations applied to the 
 Deity, in his relation to his creatures, and in 
 his relation to himself existing in persons, 
 we shall be readily able to discover when 
 epithets are appbed to the Godhead generally, 
 and when they are applied to the persons of 
 the Godhead. In the present instance, the 
 Prophet describes the Messiah as ruling all 
 events which are considered as occurring in 
 futurity. Hence, the Messiah is, by a figure, 
 27 
 
514 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 declared to be the Father or Director of fu- 
 turity, especially of the Mediatorial king- 
 dom. 
 
 It is in vain to presume that the epithets 
 Father and Son are communicated to us, ia 
 acquiescence with our present state of be- 
 lief, and in accommodation to our pre-con- 
 ceived notions. We have evinced, from the 
 sense of the particular passages which we 
 have examined, and from the contradictions 
 and impossibilities which would ensue, on 
 such a supposition, that no such accommoda- 
 ting revelation can be understooa o have been 
 given. But, independently of the specific 
 and irrefragable proofs that such principles 
 of accommodation have not been adopted, it 
 is impossible, on general grounds, to con- 
 ceive that a perfect Being could communi- 
 cate a revelation of himself, founded on de- 
 fective and erroneous information. Language 
 is the communication of thought from one 
 being to another. According to the nature 
 and extent of thought, in the person to 
 whom the communication is made, his capa- 
 city will apprehend and retain the communi- 
 cations which are made to him. But if the 
 person communicating information be pos- 
 sessed of far greater knowledge than the 
 
OF CHRIST. 315 
 
 person who is instructed ; if, in consequence 
 of his superiority of intellect, he accommo- 
 date himself to the limited intellectual stores 
 of the other, and employ such terms, and give 
 such representations of the very object which 
 he wishes to impress on the mind, as shall 
 induce the other to acquiesce in, and believe, 
 a fallacy and an impossibility, — his informa- 
 tion, instead of an advantage, would, in such 
 a case, be an evident disadvantage to the less 
 informed person. If the object ^vhich is to 
 be revealed, be explained in a perverted and 
 incongruous manner, — not as it is in itself, 
 but as the person communicating imagines 
 the less-informed person will be most readily 
 able to apprehend with his limited stock of 
 notions, — if, in addition, the object be one 
 affecting the manners, morals, and life of the 
 person who is instructed, — we are at a loss 
 whether to deplore the insufficiency of the 
 communication or the erroneous belief which 
 the other has adopted, and which w^ill prove 
 so fatal in practice. Should a philosopher 
 land on an island w^hose inhabitants were hi- 
 therto ignorant of the rest of the world,— 
 should he endeavour to impress on their be- 
 lief that the ship in which he arrived was an 
 animal obedient to his will, — should he in- 
 
316 THE ETERNAL SOxNSHlP 
 
 form them that there were people of a dif- 
 ferent nature, form, and intellect, in the re- 
 gions which he had left, and that these people 
 were his worshippers, — should he, by his sii- 
 ]}erior knowledge in arts and sciences, so in- 
 fluence these inhabitants, as to induce them 
 to worship him as their God, — what conclu- 
 sion should we form of the integrity of this 
 philosopher ? Instead of conveying such fal- 
 lacious sentiments, would it not rather be his 
 bounden duty to inform and enlarge the minds 
 of those amongst whom he had arrived, — to 
 cultivate their understandings, as far as in him 
 lay, until they should be able to apprehend 
 the nature and uses of the ship, the situation 
 of other countries, the improvements and 
 civilization of their inhabitants, and the sta- 
 tion that he himself occupied amongst them ? 
 If such would be the procedure of a mortal, 
 when enlightening his fellow creatures, how 
 much more correct, just, and precise, must 
 the revelation of the Supreme Creator be, 
 when enlightening his creatures in regard to 
 himself? Would he disclose himself as Fa- 
 ther, Son, and Holy Ghost, if there were 
 not the person, the Son, eternally subsisting 
 in his nature ? Would he have proclaimed 
 that the Son of God is to be believed in, ho- 
 
OF CHRIST. 317 
 
 noured as the Father is worshipped, — unless 
 this Son were eternal, and, as Son, possessor 
 of all the attributes of Godhead ? Would 
 this Son have received, and commanded to 
 be paid to himself, worship, which is only 
 the due of an eternal Being, if the Son had 
 not himself been eternal ? These are diffi- 
 culties, which, we apprehend, the opponents 
 of our Lord's eternal Son ship cannot recon- 
 cile. 
 
 The Holy Spirit has used the terms Fa- 
 ther and Son, as signs representing persons. 
 These, we have shown, cannot mean titles 
 of honour or office, conferred in acquiescence 
 with the notions of mankind, but must, de 
 facto^ contain within them the related state 
 in w^hich these persons exist. These persons 
 are subsisting in the Divine nature. The 
 Divine nature is, without dispute, eternal and 
 immutable. If the signs representing the 
 persons described by the Holy Spirit be 
 really true, and indicative of the meanings 
 which they convey, — the persons within the 
 Divine essence are eternal and immutable; 
 — the Divine nature is simple, indivisible, 
 and necessary; — what one person, in that 
 nature, possesses, the other persons must also 
 possess. Now, that nature which is indivi- 
 27* 
 
318 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 sible, must be wholly possessed by each of 
 the persons inhering therein, — by the one 
 termed Son, as well as by the one termed Fa- 
 ther. If the one termed Son be possessor of 
 the whole of the Divine nature, he must be 
 possessor thereof necessarily, eternally, and 
 immutably ; otherwise the Divine nature is 
 not necessary, eternal, and immutable. The 
 necessity, eternity, and immutability, of the 
 Son are, therefore, collateral with these per- 
 fections inhering in the Father. The very 
 existence of the Father exhibits to us the ne- 
 cessity of an existence, which has a relation 
 to him who is Father. There is a Divine 
 person existing in the Divine nature, pro- 
 claimed by the Holy Spirit to be in the re- 
 lation of Son to the Father. The undisputed 
 state of eternity, in which we believe the Fa- 
 ther and Spirit to exist, depends on the same 
 evidence as the eternity of the Son. 
 
OF CHRIST. 319 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Opinions of some of the Fathers, Reformers 
 of the Church, ^c. respecting the Eternal 
 Sonship of Christ. 
 
 We do not adduce an epitome of the opi- 
 nions of some of those eminent men who 
 flourished in the primitive periods of the 
 Church, as arguments to prove the Eternal 
 Sonship of Christ ; — we only annex these opi- 
 nions, because they demonstrate the senti- 
 ments of many, whose opportunities of know- 
 ledge, from the earliest preachers of Christi- 
 anity, were most extensive, and whose rank, 
 piety, and research, are universally acknow- 
 ledged by the Catholic church. The number 
 of quotations might have been easily aug- 
 mented ; but as tliis Dissertation has already 
 exceeded its intended limits, the author con- 
 fines himself to the following selection. 
 
 HERMAS, who flourished about the year 
 70, writes thus: " The Son of God is more 
 
320 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 ancient than any creature, (Col. i. 15.) inso- 
 much that he was in council with the Father, 
 upon the subject of creation. 
 
 " The name of the Son of God is great, 
 and without bound ; and the whole world is 
 upheld by him."* 
 
 St. JUSTIN, who flourished from 133 to 
 167, writes — " The Son proceeded from the 
 Father before all creatures, by his power and 
 
 will."t 
 
 In regard to worship, he says, ," We wor- 
 ship and adore Him, and the Son, (who came 
 from him, and taught us these things,) — and 
 the Prophetic Spirit, honouring them with 
 reason and truth." t 
 
 That St. Justin understood The Word 
 to be eternally begotten by the Father is evi- 
 dent, when he says, " The Word of Wisdom, 
 which word is itself God, being begotten by 
 the Father of all things, will bear me wit- 
 ness."^ 
 
 ATHENAGORAS, who wrote about the 
 year 177, says, " By him and through him 
 
 * Burgh's Inquiry into the opinions of Christians of the three 
 first Centuries, p. 17. 
 
 t Dial, cum Trypho p. 227. B. C. 
 
 X In Apol. ad Imp. p. 56. C.—See also p. 60. C. he. 
 
 § Dial, cum Trypho p. 284. C. D. Colon. 1686. 
 
OF CHRIST. 321 
 
 were all things made, the Father and Son 
 being one, the Son being in the Father, and 
 the Father in the Son, in the unity and power 
 of the Spirit. 
 
 " We profess God, and the Son his Word, 
 and the Holy Ghost, and that the Father, the 
 Son, and the Holy Ghost, are truly one, as 
 concerning power." ^ 
 
 Athena GORAS farther says, " As we assert 
 a God, and his Son, who is his Word, and 
 the Holy Spirit, united in power, viz. the Fa- 
 ther, the Son, and the Spirit : for the Son is 
 the Mind, the Word, the Wisdom of the Fa- 
 ther ; and the Spirit is an efflux, as light 
 from fire : so we believe also good and bad 
 
 angels." t 
 
 TERTULLIAN, A. D. 194—212, says, 
 *' The names of the Father, God Almighty, 
 the Most High, the Lord of Hosts, the King 
 of Israel, He who is, as the Scriptures teach 
 us : these, we say, belong to the Son likewise, 
 and that the Son came in these, and always 
 acted in them, and so manifested them in 
 himself to men. ' All that the Father hath,' 
 saith he, * is mine:' why then not his names? 
 
 ^ Burgh, p. 63, 66. 
 
 t Athenagoras in Legatione pro Christianis, p. 27. .'3. Ed. 
 Colon. 1686. 
 
322 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 Wherefore, when thou readest Almighty GoS^ 
 and the Most High, and the Lord of Hosts, 
 and the King of Israel, and He who is, consi- 
 der whether the Son be not demonstrated 
 hereby; who is, in his own right, God Al- 
 mighty, as he is the Word of the Almighty 
 God."^ 
 
 " Some think," says this author, " that 
 Omnipotent is a title which does not agree to 
 the Son : as if he, who is to come, were not 
 Omnipotent. Whereas, the Son of the Al- 
 mighty, is as well Almighty, as the Son of 
 God is God." t 
 
 St. clement, A. D. 200, says, " So 
 that the God of all things is only one good 
 and just Creator, the Son in the Father."! 
 
 The SYNOD of ANTIOCH, in their let- 
 ter to Paul of Samosata, about 270, say, 
 ** The Messenger of the Father is the Son, 
 who himself is Lord and God."§ 
 
 We are indebted to Hugh Stuart Boyd, 
 Esq. well known as the author of Transla- 
 tions from the Fathers, &c. for the translation 
 of several passages in the primitive Writers, 
 respecting our Lord's Eternal Sonship. These 
 
 " TcrtuUimi con. Prnx. C. 17. t Ibid. 
 
 I L. \. P(cdag. C. 8. p. 119. D. Paris, 1629. 
 
 ^ F.pi'!l. Si/nori. Jhitioch. ad Paul. Samos. 
 
OF CHRIST. 323 
 
 were made for the express purpose of illustra- 
 ting the doctrine which it has been the object 
 of this Dissertation to maintain, and appeared 
 first in the Methodist Magazine for 1818. 
 One translation is from the Homily of St. 
 BASIL " On The Faiths St. Basil was 
 one of the most illustrious ornaments of the 
 Christian Church, and flourished about the 
 end of the fourth Centiu'v. The following: is 
 an extract, as translated by Mr. Boyd — one of 
 the most classically correct Greek scholars of 
 the present day. 
 
 " I purpose to inquire, not how great God 
 is, but how far he may be apprehended. — 
 What though our eyes be unable to pierce 
 through the regions of unbounded space, shall 
 w^e refuse to contemplate that portion of the 
 universe which is accessible to our view ? 
 Let us, then, by the tribute of our words, dis- 
 charge some portion of the debt of piety; let 
 not the greatness and the magnificence of the 
 argument confound us in eternal silence. Not 
 even the tongues of angels, whatever they 
 may be, — not even the lips of the archangels, 
 — not all the united voices of all the supra- 
 mundane powers, could worthily celebrate the 
 smallest part, much less the whole, of this 
 stupendous subject. If thou desirest to speak 
 
324 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 of God, or to hear him spoken of, burst asun- 
 der the fetters of the body, and break from 
 the thraldom of the senses ; leave the earth 
 behind thee, leave the ocean beneath thee, 
 rise above this lowly atmosphere ; escape the 
 influence of the seasons ; outstrip the march 
 of time; regard not the beauteous fabric of 
 the earth, but ascend above the firmament. 
 Consider those resplendent orbs, those starry 
 wonders, which blaze around thee, which as- 
 tonish thee with their harmonious order, their 
 stupendous bulk, the benefits they afford to 
 man, their wondrous movements, their efful- 
 gence, their arrangement, their oppositions 
 and conjunctions. Behold the milder lustre 
 of the moon, and the more gorgeous glories 
 of the sun. Having beheld them all, and 
 having soared above them all, with thy pure 
 unclouded intellect, contemplate the intel- 
 lectual beauties, the celestial armies, the cho- 
 rus, of the angels, the preefecture of the arch- 
 angels, the glory of the potentates, the pre- 
 cedency of the thrones, the principalities, the 
 powers, and the dominions. Having surveyed 
 them all, having penetrated creation with a 
 glance, upborne on the wings of intellect, 
 continue thine aspiring flight, and contemplate 
 the nature of Divinity. A nature, permanent, 
 
©F CHRIST. 325 
 
 unchangeable, undeviating, uncompounded, 
 and indivisible. A Being who dwells in 
 splendour unapproachable ; a potentate inef- 
 fable ; a greatness uncircumscribable ; a glo- 
 ry all irradiating ; a goodness all desirable ; 
 a beauty indefinable ; a beauty which is ap- 
 prehended by the ravished soul, but which 
 bids defiance to the powers of expression I 
 
 " There, in unclouded majesty, are en- 
 throned the Father, the Son, and the Holy 
 Spirit ; an independent nature ; a regal domi- 
 nation ; an unoriginated excellence. Behold 
 the Father, the cause of all things, the source 
 of being to the things which be, the origin 
 of existence. From him proceeded the foun- 
 tain of life, the wisdom, the power, the unva- 
 rying image of God, who is invisible. — The 
 Son, who was begotten by the Father, the 
 living Word, he who is with God, and is 
 God ; essentially existing, not ascititious ; 
 subsisting before the ages, not afterwards en- 
 gendered; the Son, and not the servant ; the 
 Maker, and not the work ; the Creator, and 
 not the creature ; he is every thing which the 
 Father is. You will observe that I say, " the 
 Father and the Son." Be careful to mark 
 their peculiar distinctions. He, therefore, con- 
 tinuing to be the Son, is every thing which 
 28 
 
326 THE ETERNAL SON SHIP 
 
 the Father is ; according to that saying of 
 our Lord, " Whatsoever the Father hath is 
 mine ;" for surely those things which are in- 
 herent, in the prototype, must also belong un- 
 to the image. — We have beheld his glory, 
 saith the Evangelist, the glory as of the only 
 begotten of the Father ; that is, the glory, not 
 of those wondrous powers, which were be- 
 stowed upon him by the munificence of God ; 
 but the glory of the Son, who, from the same- 
 ness of his nature, possessed the dignity of the 
 paternal Godhead. To receive is common to 
 all created natures, but to have the natural 
 right of possession is the property of him who 
 is the begotten Son. Since, then, the Son, 
 by natural right, possesses whatever belongs 
 unto the Father ; and since the only begotten 
 hath in himself the whole, not possessing any 
 thing which is participated by another, we 
 learn, from the very appellation of the Son, 
 that he is participant of the Father's nature; 
 not having been made by a decree, but ha- 
 ving beamed forth from the paternal essence, 
 indivisibly and eternally conjoined unto the 
 Father ; his equal in excellency, his equal in 
 power, the participator of his glory. Tell 
 me, what is the Son but a seal and an image, 
 representing the entire Father ? 
 
OF CHRIST. 327 
 
 " When we descend from his Divinity to 
 his humanity, when we discourse of his ma- 
 nifestation in the flesh, to effect the redemp- 
 tion of the world ; when we describe him say- 
 ing, that he was sent forth, that he was un- 
 able to do any thing of himself, and had re- 
 ceived a mandate, let not these things incline 
 thee to detract from the Divinity of the only 
 begotten Son. Let not that condescension 
 which was occasioned by thy necessity, be 
 brought forward to lessen the dignity of the 
 Omnipotent. Understand, that his nature 
 was such as became a God, and when you 
 meet with any thing that is lowly and igno- 
 ble, refer it to the economy of redemption. — 
 The economy of redemption ! Oh ! if on this 
 exhaustless subject we were now to attempt 
 discoursing, we should be adding to our pre- 
 sent argument an infinitude of ideas, and an 
 infinity of words."* 
 
 Mr. Boyd has also translated the senti- 
 ments of St. GREGORY NAZIANZEN, 
 the co-temporary of Basil, Archbishop of 
 Constantinople, and one of the most illustri- 
 ous fathers of the fourth Century. The fol- 
 lowing passage is taken from his oration " On 
 
 the Birth of Christ :"— 
 
 ^ — — ■ 
 
 * Benedictine Ed. vol. ii. h Paris Ed. 1618. vol. i 
 
328 THE ETERNAL SONSHIF 
 
 " Since these things need a greater remed) . 
 they obtained a greater. This was He, the 
 Word of God ; He, the everlasting, the In- 
 visible, the Incomprehensible, the Incorporeal, 
 the Light of Light, the beginning proceeding 
 from the beginning, the fountain of life and 
 immortality, the impression of the Archetype, 
 the indelible character, the unvarying image, 
 the Word of the Father, commensurate with 
 his illimitable nature. He approaches unto 
 his own image ; to redeem our bodies he is 
 invested with a body; and to redeem our 
 souls he unites himself to a rational soul, that 
 by human nature, human nature might be 
 purified. — In every respect, save only in re- 
 spect of sin, he becomes a man, and is born 
 of a virgin. As God assumes this nature in 
 the moment of its creation, and thereby pre- 
 vents its individual subsistence ; from two 
 contrarious natures one Christ is formed ; of 
 these the one was stamped with dignity, and 
 the other impressed that dignity upon it. O 
 wondrous union! O ineffable conjunction! 
 The Ever-living begins to be ; the Uncreated 
 is formed; the Infinite is circumscribed; he 
 is circumscribed by a rational soul; the inter- 
 mediate link which connects the incorporeal 
 nature of God with the grosser nature of ma- 
 
OF CHRIST. 329 
 
 terial beings. He who possesses the riches 
 of the universe is rendered poor, he is clothed 
 with the garment of my poverty, that I might 
 be enriched with the treasures of his God- 
 head. He who is full of blessedness is emp- 
 tied; yea for a little season, he is emptied of 
 his glory, that I may participate for ever in 
 his fulness. O w hat an exuberance of the 
 riches of his goodness ! And what is this 
 mystery by which I am affected ? I partook 
 of the celestial image, and I did not preserve 
 it. He participates of my lowly flesh, that he 
 may not only restore the image, but make this 
 flesh immortal. He is associated with us in a 
 second participation, w^hich is more august 
 and more astonishing than the first. For then 
 he imparted that which was superior to our 
 nature ; now he partakes of that which is in- 
 ferior to his dignity. This is more Godlike 
 than the other. In the eyes of all who can 
 understand, this will shine with a more tran- 
 scending lustre." 
 
 In his oration " On the decency to he oh- 
 served in disputations ;^'' St. Gregory thus 
 lays down the doctrine of the Church, with 
 respect to the three persons in the Godhead : 
 " It behoves us to acknowledge one God the 
 Father, unoriginated and unbegotten ; one 
 28* 
 
330 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 Son, begotten by the Father ; and one Spirit, 
 deriving his subsistence from God ; conceding 
 to the Father, the distinction of being the Un- 
 begotten ; and to the Son, the distinction of 
 being the Begotten : but in other respects he 
 is their equal, the same in nature, exalted on 
 one common throne, encircled with one com- 
 mon glory, and invested with one common 
 dignity." 
 
 In his oration " On the Constitution of 
 Bishops,^^ after explaining and enforcing the 
 doctrine of the Eternal Sonship, our saint 
 answers an objection. " I recommend his 
 answer" says Mr. Boyd, " to the notice of 
 those who, at the present day, object to this 
 sublime truth." It is as follows : — 
 
 " But if, because mortal bodies are gene- 
 rated, and born in time, you maintain that 
 the Son also must have begun to exist in 
 time, you are investing an incorporeal nature 
 with a corporeal form. And if, because the 
 sons begotten by men were at one time not 
 in existence, but afterwards began to be, you 
 maintain that the Son also was brought from 
 non-existence into being, you are comparing 
 things which are not analogous. You con- 
 found God and man, a corporeal substance 
 and the incorporeal divinity." 
 
OF CHRIST. 331 
 
 In later times, when the Reformers were 
 enabled to dissipate the cloud of error which 
 had so long darkened the church, their senti- 
 ments on the Eternal Sonship were decisively 
 perspicuous. 
 
 In the Creed of the Church of England, 
 the opinions of the Reformers are thus ex- 
 pressed : 
 
 " I believe in one God, the Father Al- 
 mighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of 
 all things visible and invisible : 
 
 " And in one Lord Jesus Christ, The only 
 begotten Son of God ; Begotten of his Father 
 before all worlds ; God of God ; Light of 
 Light ; Very God of very God ; Begotten, 
 not made ; Being of one substance with the 
 Father ; By whom all things were made : 
 Who for us men, and for our salvation, came 
 down from heaven ; And was incarnate by 
 the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary; And 
 was made man ; And was crucified also for 
 us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered, and 
 was buried ; And the third day he rose again, 
 according to the Scriptures; And ascended 
 into heaven. And sitteth on the right hand of 
 the Father. And he shall come again with 
 
332 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 glorj, to judge both the quick and the dead: 
 Whose kingdom shall have no end." 
 
 The II. Article of the Church of England 
 is as follows ; — 
 
 " Of the JVord, or Son of GOD, ivhich was 
 made very man, 
 
 " The Son, which is the Word of the Fa- 
 ther, begotten from everlasting of the Father, 
 the very and eternal God, of one substance 
 with the Father, took man's nature in the 
 womb of the blessed Virgin, of her substance : 
 so that two whole and perfect natures, that 
 is to say, the Godhead and Manhood, were 
 joined together in one Person, never to be 
 divided, whereof is one Christ, very God and 
 very Man ; who truly suffered, was crucijfied, 
 dead and buried, to reconcile his Father to 
 us, and to be a sacrifice, not only for original 
 guilt, but also for actual sins of men." 
 
 In the " Confession of Faith" of the Divines 
 assembled at Westminster, and adopted by 
 the Church of Scotland in 1647, — it is said, 
 
 " In the unity of the Godhead there be 
 three persons, of one substance, power, and 
 eternity ; God the Father, God the Son, and 
 God the Holy Ghost. The Father is of none, 
 neither begotten nor proceeding ; the Son is 
 eternally begotten of the Father ; the Holy 
 
OF CHRIST. 333 
 
 Ghost eternally proceeding from the Father 
 and the Son." 
 
 ^' It pleased God, m his eternal purpose, 
 to choose and ordain the Lord Jesus, his only 
 begotten Son, to be the Mediator between 
 God and man ; the Prophet, Priest, and 
 King ; the Head and Saviour of his Church ; 
 the Heir of all things, and Judge of the 
 world : unto whom he did from all eternity 
 give a people to be his seed, and to be by 
 him in time redeemed, called, justified, sanc- 
 tified, and glorified. 
 
 " The Son of God, the second person 
 in the Trinity, being very and eternal God, 
 of one substance, and equal with the Father, 
 did, when the fulness of time was come, take 
 upon him man's nature, with all the essential 
 properties and common infirmities thereof, 
 yet without sin ; being conceived by the 
 power of the Holy Ghost, in the womb of 
 the Virgin Mary, of her substance. So that 
 two w^hole, perfect and distinct natures, the 
 Godhead and the manhood, w^re inseparably 
 joined together in one person, without con- 
 version, composition, or confusion. Which 
 person is very God, and very man, yet one 
 Christ, the only Mediator between God and 
 man." 
 
334 THE ETERNAL SONSHI? 
 
 '^ In the Larger Catechism, adopted bj 
 the Church of Scotland in 1648, — the opi- 
 nions of the Reformers respecting the Son- 
 ship of our Lord are thus expressed: 
 
 Q. " How many persons are there in the 
 Godhead ? 
 
 A. " There be three persons in the God- 
 head, the Father, the Son, and the Holy 
 Ghost ; and these three are one true, eternal 
 God, the same in substance, equal in power 
 and glory ; although distinguished by their 
 personal properties. 
 
 Q. " What are the personal properties of 
 the three persons in the Godhead ? 
 
 A. "It is proper to the Father to beget 
 the Son, and to the Son to be begotten of the 
 Father, and to the Holy Ghost to proceed from 
 the Father and the Son from all eternity. 
 
 Q. " How doth it appear that the Son 
 and the Holy Ghost are God equal with the 
 Father ? 
 
 A. " The Scriptures manifest that the 
 Son and the Holy Ghost are God equal with 
 the Father, ascribing unto them such names, 
 attributes, works, and worship, as are proper 
 to God only. 
 
 Q, " Who is the Mediator of the cove- 
 nant of grace ? 
 
OF CHRIST. 335 
 
 A. " The only Mediator of the covenant 
 of grace is the Lord Jesus Christ, who, be- 
 ing the eternal Son of God, of one substance 
 and equal with the Father, in the fulness of 
 time became man, and so was and continues 
 to be God and man, in tv/o entire distinct 
 natures, and one person for ever. 
 
 Q. " How did Christ being the Son of 
 God, become man ? 
 
 A, *' Christ the Son of God became man, 
 by taking to himself a true body, and a rea- 
 sonable soul, being conceived by the power 
 of the Holy Ghost, in the womb of the Vir- 
 gin Mary, of her substance, and born of her, 
 yet without sin." 
 
 The same doctrine is more briefly en- 
 forced in the Shorter Catechism adopted by 
 the same Church. 
 
 Q. " Who is the Redeemer of God's elect ? 
 
 A. '' The only Redeemer of God's elect 
 is the Lord Jesus Christ, who, being the 
 eternal Son of God, became man, and so was, 
 and continueth to be, God and man, in two 
 distinct natures, and one person, for ever." 
 
 The celebrated Archbishop Leighton 
 thus expresses himself iii his exposition of 
 the Creed, commonly called the Apostle's 
 Creed : 
 
336 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 " We have discoursed of the attributes of 
 God elsewhere, as also of the Trinity which 
 is here expressed in these words : / believe 
 in God the Father, the Son, and the Holy 
 Ghost, That sublime mystery is to be cau- 
 tiously treated of, and rather humbly to be 
 admired, than curiously dived into. The day 
 will come (truly a day, for here we are beset 
 with the gloomy nightly shades of ignorance,) 
 wherein we shall see him as he is. In the 
 mean time, let us devoutly worship him as he 
 has revealed himself to us ; for this is the true 
 way to that heavenly country, where we 
 shall see him face to face. And it is our in- 
 terest here to believe the trinity of persons in 
 the unity of the Godhead, and to trust in 
 tliem as such, for this is the spring of all our 
 hope, that the middle of the three became our 
 Mediator, and the Holy Spirit our guide and 
 teacher, and the Father reconciles us to him- 
 self by the Son, and renews us by the Spi- 
 rit. 
 
 " Father.] First the Father, of his only 
 begotten Son Christ, and through him our 
 Father, by the grace of adoption. And so 
 Christ does clearly insinuate the order of our 
 filiation — / ascend to my Father and your Fa- 
 ther ; my God and your God, He says, not to 
 
OF CHRIST. 337 
 
 our Father, but to my Father, and your Fa- 
 ther; first mine, and then yours through me." 
 
 " His only Son.'] Other sons he hath, an- 
 gels and men by creation and adoption ; but 
 this his only begotten Son as God, by eter- 
 nal and inetfable generation, and as man pecu- 
 liarly the Son of God, both in regard of his 
 singular unexampled conception by the Holy 
 Ghost, and by that personal union with the 
 Deity, which accompanied that conception, 
 and by that fulness of all grace which flowed 
 from that union. The unfolding of these 
 would require a long time, and, after all, 
 more would remain unsaid and unconceived 
 by us ; for his generation icJw can declare ? 
 
 '^ Let us remember this, that our sonship 
 is the product of his. He is the only begotten 
 Son of God, and yet. To as many as received 
 him he gave this privilege, to be the sons of 
 God:' 
 
 " The Son was fit to be incarnate for his 
 w^ork, the middle person in the Godhead to 
 be man's Mediator with God. That we had 
 lost was the dignity of the sons of God, and 
 therefore his only So7i, only fit to restore us 
 to it. The beauty defaced in us was the 
 image of God : therefore the repairing and 
 29 
 
338 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 re-imparting it, a fit work for his purest and 
 most perfect image, his Son, the character of 
 his person." 
 
 " He^ the Lord Jesus, shall be judge in that 
 great day, the Father, and Spirit, and his au- 
 thority are all one, for they are all one God 
 and one judge ; but it shall be particularly ex- 
 ercised and pronounced by our Saviour God- 
 man, Jesus Christ That eternal Word by 
 whom all things were made, by him all shall 
 be judged, and so he shall be the .Word in that 
 last act of time, as in the first ; he shall judi- 
 cially pronounce that great and final sentence, 
 that shall stand unalterable in eternity : and 
 not only as the eternal Son of God, but withal 
 the Son of man, and so sit as king, and in- 
 vested with all power in heaven and earth. 
 By that man ivhom he hath appointed to judge 
 the quick and the dead. This same Jesus shall 
 so come, in like manner as ye have seen him go 
 into heaven. The powers of the world and of 
 hell are combined against his throne, therefore 
 they shall be his footstool sitting on that throne ; 
 and the crown which he hath purchased for be- 
 lievers, he shall set it on their heads with his own 
 hand. This shall be exceeding joy and com- 
 fort to all that have believed on him, that their 
 
OF CHRIST. 339 
 
 Redeemer shall be their judge, he that was 
 judged for them, shall judge them, and pass 
 sentence, according to that covenant of grace 
 that holds in hirn, pronouncing them free from 
 the wrath which he himself endured for them, 
 and heirs of that life that he bought with his 
 dearest blood." 
 
 " / believe in the Holy Ghost.'] God is both 
 a Spirit and holy ; but this name, personally 
 taken, is peculiarly that of the third person, 
 proceeding from the Father and the Son, by a 
 way that can neither be expressed nor con- 
 ceived ; holy in himself, and the author and 
 cause of all holiness in us. 
 
 "It is neither useful nor safe for us to en- 
 tangle our thoughts in disputes concerning this 
 mystery, but it is necessary that we knowj 
 and acknowledge, and believe, in this Holij 
 Spirit; it is he in whom and by whom we 
 believe : we cannot know God, nor the things 
 of God, but by the Spirit of God, nor say 
 that Jesus is God, but by the same Spi- 
 rit. We know that this Holy Trinity co- 
 operates in the work of our salvation; the 
 Father hath given us his Son, and the Son 
 hath sent us his Spirit, and the Spirit gives us 
 faith, which unites us to the Son, and through 
 him to the Father : the Father ordained our 
 
340 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 redemption, the Son wrought it, the Holv 
 Spirit reveals and applies it."* 
 
 In a recent publication by the present Lord 
 Bishop of St. David's, there are some excel- 
 lent observations on the Sonship of Jesus 
 Christ, particularly those of Lord Monboddo. 
 We, how^ever, beg not to be understood as 
 advocating Lord Monboddo's general senti- 
 ments^ which exhibit a strange compound of 
 learning, penetration, and genius, with the 
 most absurd whims and conceits. The fol- 
 lowing are his Lordship's opinions on the 
 Eternal Sonship: 
 
 '' There is another mystery in the Chris- 
 tian Religion w^hich is as incomprehensible, 
 by those who are not philosophers, as the doc- 
 trine of the Trinity is. The mystery I mean 
 is the eternal generation of the Son of God. 
 The Son, or Second Person of the Trinity, 
 is, according to the doctrine of the Christian 
 Church, eternal as well as the Father, from 
 whom he is produced: And this is what is 
 meant by the eternal generation of the Son. 
 Now to a man, who is not a philosopher, it 
 must appear inconceivable that one being 
 
 * Jerment's Ed. of Archbishop Leig^hton's Works, 1806. 
 
OF CHRIST. 341 
 
 should be produced by another, and yet he 
 co-existent with him from all eternity. It 
 is not, therefore, I think, to be wondered that 
 there should be such a heresy in the Church 
 as Arianism, or that it should have been once 
 so prevalent. Now the doctrine of Arius was, 
 that, as the Son, or Second Person of the 
 Trinity was produced, (or begotten, as it is 
 expressed in Scripture,) by the Father, he 
 must have been in existence posterior to him ; 
 and then he must have existed in time, and 
 not from all eternity, as the Father exist- 
 ed ; and, accordingly, Arius maintained that 
 there was a time when he was not. His ex- 
 pression was, »}v 'org ov»x yjv. But ancient learn- 
 ing will explain this mystery, as well as the 
 mystery of the Trinity, and show^ that one 
 thing may proceed from another as its cause, 
 and yet be coeval w^ith it. This may be ex- 
 plained by an example which every man, 
 who has learned the elements of geometry, 
 will readily understand : It is this ; that 
 every corollary of a proposition is a truth 
 eternal as weW as the proposition itself; and 
 yet it is derived from the proposition as its 
 cause, and could not have existed if the pro- 
 position had not been an eternal truth. 
 29^ 
 
342 THE ETERNAL SON SHIP 
 
 " What has led Alius and his followers 
 into the error of supposing that the Son, be- 
 ing produced by the Father, could not be co- 
 eternal with him, but must have existed in 
 time, is what we observe of the production of 
 things on this earth, where the production is 
 always posterior in its existence to the cause 
 producing it. But this is only true of things 
 material, which have no permanent existence, 
 but are constantly changing, being never the 
 same thing for two moments together; so 
 that they cannot be said properly to exist, but 
 are always in the state of becoming something 
 different from what they are ; ovk i(r\i aKKof. 
 yiviroci, as it is expressed in Greek : Whereas 
 beings Divine have a real existence, and are 
 the T^ ovTWf ovroc ; and the same is true of all 
 immaterial Beings. 
 
 " But setting aside things immaterial, there 
 is one material thing which will illustrate 
 this matter very much, and make it intel- 
 ligible, even to those who are not philoso- 
 phers. The thing I mean is the Sun, which 
 produces rays that are coeval with the cause 
 producing them : as w^e cannot suppose the 
 Sun to exist without rays. And this exam- 
 ple, with the other I have given from the 
 theorems of science, proves this general pro- 
 
OF CHRIST. 343 
 
 position, that wherever any thing, by the ne- 
 cessity of its nature, produces another thing, 
 both the thing produced and the cause, or 
 that which produces it, must be co-existent : 
 So that if the cause be eternal, the produc- 
 tion also must be eternal. Now, this is the 
 case of the generation of the Son of God ; 
 for as production is essential to the Supreme 
 Being, and as the first production, according 
 to the order of nature, must have been the 
 principle of intelligence, or the Second Per- 
 son of the Trinity, it was necessary that this 
 production should be coeval with the First 
 Person of the Trinity, from which it is de- 
 rived, and consequently co-eternal with him. 
 And in this way, I think, the eternal genera- 
 tion is clearly explained, as it is shown that 
 the First Person of the Trinity could not 
 exist without producing the Second. Who- 
 ever does not believe this, must believe as 
 Arius did, that the time was when our Savi- 
 our did not exist ; and that he was produced 
 in the way of common generation here on 
 earth. Now this is a heresy that strikes at 
 the very foundation of the Christian religion, 
 but which, as I have shown, was an error 
 that men, who were not philosophers, would 
 naturally fall into, and was therefore a more 
 
344 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 general heresy, and more predominant than 
 any other that ever was in the Christian 
 Church. 
 
 " And thus, I think, the two fundamental 
 principles of the Christian religion, the doc- 
 trine of the Trinity, and of the eternal gene- 
 ration of the Son of God, are clearly ex- 
 plained. And as they are thus made com- 
 prehensible by us, they may be believed, and 
 ought to be believed ; as I think I have shown 
 that they are truths of philosophy as well as 
 of religion. And for the same reason that the 
 Second Person of the Trinity must have been 
 begotten from all eternity of the First, so 
 the Third must have proceeded from the Se- 
 cond."* 
 
 The following observations are explanatory 
 of the sentiments of the Rev. John Wesley, 
 A. M. the venerable founder of the Society of 
 Wesleyan Methodists, 
 
 In his notes on the first chapter of the 
 epistle to the Hebrews, he says, '' Thou art 
 my Son, God of God, Light of Light. This 
 
 * Tracts on the Doctrine of the Trinity, collected and edited 
 by the Right Reverend Thomas Burgess, D. D, F. R. S. h F.A. S. 
 Bishop of St. David's, 1814, p. 78, &c. 
 
OF CHRIST. 345 
 
 day have I begotten thee. I have begotten 
 thee from eternity, which, by its unakerable 
 permanency of duration, is one continued, 
 unsuccessive day. I will be to him a Father, 
 and he shall be to me a Son. I will own my- 
 self to be his Father, and him to be my Son, 
 by eminent tokens of my peculiar love. — 
 The former clause relates to his natural Son- 
 ship, by an eternal inconceivable generation ; 
 the other to his Father's acknowledgment, 
 and treatment of him, as his incarnate Son." 
 Again, " By ivhom also he made the ivorlds ; 
 therefore the Son was before all worlds. His 
 glory reaches from everlasting to everlasting, 
 though God spake by Him to us only in these 
 last days." 
 
 The subjoined popular illustration of Christ's 
 Sonship first appeared in the Biblical Maga- 
 zine for 1801, under the signature of Gaius, 
 and is unquestionably the production of the 
 late Rev. Andrew Fuller. 
 
 " The meaning of the terms Son of God, 
 only begotten Son of God, is doubtless of im- 
 portance, seeing the belief of the idea signi- 
 fied by them was made a leading article in 
 the primitive professions of faith, John iii. 18. 
 vi. 40. XX. 31. Acts viii. 37. 1 John iv. 15. 
 Whatever disputes have risen of late among 
 
346 THE ETERNAL SON SHIP 
 
 Christians, there appears to have been none 
 upon the subject in the times of the apos- 
 tles. Both Jews and Christians appear to 
 have agreed in this : the only question that 
 divided them was, whether Christ was the 
 Son of God or not ? If there had been any 
 ambiguity in the term, it would have been 
 very unfit to express the first article of the 
 Christian Faith. 
 
 "It is true that our Lord was miracu- 
 lously conceived of the Holy Ghost, and that 
 such a conception was peculiar to him ; but 
 on this account it does not follow that he 
 became the Son, or only begotten Son of God. 
 Whether this appellation be not expressive 
 of his Divine personality, antecedent to all 
 considerations of his being conceived by the 
 Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin, let the 
 follow ing things determine : — 
 
 " First. The glory of the only begotten of 
 the Father, and the glory of the Word, are 
 used as convertible terms, as being the same : 
 but the latter is used to denote the Divine 
 person of Christ, antecedent to his being 
 made [flesh ; the same, therefore, must be 
 true of the former. ' The Word w^as made 
 flesh, and we beheld his glory,' i. e. the glqry 
 of the Word, ' The glory as of the only be- 
 
OF CHRIST. 347 
 
 gotten of the Father, full of grace and truth,' 
 John i. 14. It is true, it was by the Word 
 being made flesh and dwelling among us, that 
 his glory became apparent; but the glory it- 
 self was that of the Eternal Word, and this 
 is the same as ' the glory of the only begotten 
 of the Father.' 
 
 " Secondly. The Son of God ' dwelleth in 
 the bosom of the Father,' is intimately ac- 
 quainted with his character and designs, and 
 therefore fit to be employed in making them 
 known to men. ' The only begotten Son, 
 who is in the bosom of the .Father, he hath 
 declared him,' John i. 18. If this be applied 
 to his Divine person, or that ' eternal life 
 which was in the Father, and was manifested 
 to us,' 1 John i. 2., it is natural and proper; 
 it assigns his omniscience as qualifying him 
 for making known the mind of God : but if 
 he became the ' only begotten of the Father' 
 by his miraculous conception, the beauty of 
 the passage vanishes. 
 
 " Thirdly. God is frequently said to have 
 ' sent his Son into the world,' John vii. 16. 
 X. 36. 1 John iv. 9. ; but this implies that he 
 was his Son antecedent to his being sent. 
 To suppose otherwise is no less absurd than 
 supposing that when Christ sent forth his 
 
348 THE ETERNAL SONSHIF 
 
 twelve disciples, they were not disciples but 
 in consequence of his sending them, or of 
 some preparation pertaining to their mis- 
 sion. 
 
 " Fourthly. Christ is called the Son of 
 God antecedently to his miraculous concep- 
 tion, and consequently he did not become 
 such by it. ' In the fulness of time God sent 
 forth his Son,' &:c. Galatians iv. 4. The terms 
 ' made of a ivoman, ynade under the law,^ are 
 a parenthesis. The position affirmed is, that 
 God sent forth his Son to redeem the trans- 
 gressors of the law. This being ' made of a 
 woman, made under the law,' or covenant of 
 works which man had broken, expresses the 
 necessary means for the accomplishment of 
 this great end, which means, though preceding 
 our redemption, yet follow the Sonship of the 
 Redeemer. There is equal proof that Christ 
 was the Son of God before he was made of a 
 woman, as that he was the Word before he 
 was made flesh. If it be alleged that Christ 
 is called the Son of God on account of his 
 being made of a woman ; I answer, if so, it is 
 also on account of his being ' made under the 
 law,' which is too absurd to admit of a ques- 
 tion. ' God sent his own Son, in the likeness 
 of sinful flesh,' Romans viii. 3. This is equal 
 
 1 
 
OF CHRIST. 349 
 
 to saying, that the Son of God assumed hu- 
 man nature : he must, therefore, have been 
 the Son of God antecedent to his assumption 
 of it. 
 
 " Fifthly. Christ is called the Son of God 
 antecedently to his being manifested to destroy 
 the works of the devil, but he was manifested 
 by taking upon him human nature, conse- 
 quently he was the Son of God antecedently 
 to the human nature being assumed. There 
 is equal proof from the phraseology of 1 John 
 iii. 8., that he was the Son of God antecedent 
 to his being ' manifested to destroy the works 
 of the devil,' as there is from that of 1 Tim. 
 iii. 15. that he was God antecedent to his be- 
 ing ' manifested in the flesh;' or from 1 John 
 i. 2. that ' that Eternal Life which was with 
 the Father,' was such antecedent to his being 
 manifested to us. 
 
 " Sixthly. The ordinance of baptism is com- 
 manded to be administered ' in the name of 
 the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
 Ghost,' Matth. xxviii. 19. The Father and 
 the Holy Ghost will be allowed to be Divine 
 persons ; and what good reason can be given 
 for another idea being affixed to the term 
 
 S07l? 
 
 30 
 
o50 THE ETERNAL SON SHIP 
 
 ^' Seventhly. The proper Deity of Christ 
 precedes his office of Mediator or High Priest 
 of our profession, and renders it an exercise of 
 condescension; but the same is true of his 
 Sonship. * He maketh the Son a High Priest;' 
 ' Though he was a Son, yet learned,' &c. Heb. 
 vii. 28. V. 8. His being the Son of God, 
 therefore, amounts to the same thing as his 
 being a Divine Person. 
 
 " Eighthly. It is the proper Deity of Christ 
 which gives dignity to his ofhce of Mediator : 
 but this dio^nitv is ascribed to his beino; the 
 Son of God : ' We have a great High Priest, 
 Jesus the Son of God,' Heb. iv. 14. His be- 
 ing the Son of God, therefore, amounts to the 
 same thing as his being a Divine Person. 
 
 " Lastly. It is the proper Deity of Christ 
 which gives efficacy to his sufferings. ' By 
 himself he purges our sins,' Heb. i. 3. : but this 
 efficacy is ascribed to his being the Son of God. 
 * The blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth 
 us from all sin,' 1 John i. 7. His being the 
 Son of God, therefore, amounts to the same 
 thino; as his beins; a Divine Person. 
 
 " Those who attribute Christ's Sonship to 
 his miraculous conception, are nevertheless 
 constrained to allow that the term implies pro- 
 
OF CHRIST. 351 
 
 per divinity. Indeed this is evident from John 
 V. 18. where his saying that God was his own 
 Father, is supposed to be making himself equal 
 with God. But if the miraculous conception 
 be the proper foundation of the Sonship, why 
 should it contain such an implication ? A holy- 
 creature might be produced by the oversha- 
 dowing of the Holy Spirit, which yet might be 
 merely a creature, i. e. he might, on this hy- 
 pothesis, profess to be the Son of God, and 
 yet be so far from making himself equal with 
 God, as to pretend to be nothing more than 
 man. 
 
 " It will be alleged that the Holy Spirit ex- 
 pressly attributes the Sonship of Christ to his 
 miraculous conception, Luke i. 35. It has 
 been thought that the Son of God in this pas- 
 sage is used in a peculiar sense ; or that it re- 
 s|}ects the origin of Christ's human nature, as 
 not being by ordinary generation of man, but 
 by the extraordinary influence of God, and that 
 he is here called the Son of God in the same 
 sense as Adam is so called, (Luke iii. 38.) If 
 this be the meaning of the term in the passage 
 in question, I should think it will be allowed 
 to be peculiar, and that therefore no general 
 conclusion can be drawn from it as to the 
 meaning of the term in other passages. But 
 
352 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 granting that the Sonship of Christ is to be 
 here taken in the same sense as it is generally 
 to be taken throughout the New Testament, 
 still it does not follow that the miraculous con- 
 ception is the origin of it. 
 
 " It may be a reason given why Christ is 
 called the Son of God, but not why he is so. 
 Christ is called the Son of God as raised from 
 the dead, and as exalted at the right hand of 
 God, Acts xiii. SS, Hebrews i. 4, 5. Did he 
 then become the Son of God by these events ? 
 If it arose from his miraculous conception, it 
 could not for that reason arise from his resur- 
 rection or exaltation. But if each be under- 
 stood of his being hereby * proved, acknow- 
 ledged,' or, as the Scriptures express it, ' de- 
 clared to be the Son of God with power,' all is 
 easy and expressive. 
 
 " It is also alleged, that Christ, when called 
 the Son of God, is commonly spoken of as 
 engaged in the work of mediation, and not 
 simply as a Divine Person antecedent to it. 
 Answer : In a History of the Rebellion in 
 1745, the name of his Royal Highness, the 
 Commander-in-Chief, would often be men- 
 tioned in connexion with his equipage and ex- 
 ploits, but none would infer from thence that 
 he thereby became the King's Son. 
 
OF CHRIST. 353 
 
 ''It is further objected, that Sonship im- 
 plies inferiority^ and therefore cannot be at- 
 tributed to the Divine Person of Christ. — But 
 whatever inferiority may be attached to the 
 idea of Sonship, it is not an inferiority of na- 
 ture which is the point in question. And if 
 any regard be paid to the Scriptures, the very 
 contrary is true. Christ's claiming to be the 
 Son of God was making himself not inferior 
 to, but equal with God. 
 
 "Once more. Sonship, it- is said, implies 
 posteriority^ so that Christ, as a Son, could 
 not have existed till after the Father, and 
 therefore to attribute no other Divinity to 
 him than what is attributed by Sonship, is 
 attributing none to him, as nothing can be 
 Divine which is not eternal. But if this 
 reasoning be just, it will prove that the Di- 
 vine purposes are not eternal, or that there 
 was once a point in duration in which God 
 was without thought, purpose or design. For 
 it is as true, and may as well be said, that 
 God must exist before he could purpose, that 
 is, that he was not God ! The truth is, the 
 whole of this apparent difficulty arises from 
 the want of distinguishing between the order 
 of nature and the order of time. In the or- 
 der of nature, the sun must have existed 
 
364 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP 
 
 before it could shine ; but in the order of time 
 the sun and its rays are coeval ; it never ex- 
 isted a single instant without them. In the 
 order of nature, God must have existed be- 
 fore he could purpose ; but in the order of 
 time, or duration, he never existed without 
 purpose ; for a God without thought or pur- 
 pose, were no God ; and thus, though in the 
 order of nature the Father must have existed 
 before the Son, the Father and the Son are 
 properly Eternal." 
 
OF CHRIST. 355 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 We have now finished our examination 
 of this important subject. The reader will 
 determine with what force we have adduced 
 the proofs from Scripture, either illustrative 
 or confirmatory of the doctrhie of our Lord's 
 Eternal Sonship. This doctrine is not re- 
 stricted to abstract speculation or ingenious 
 discusion. — The Question is important to the 
 Christian ; because, by its issue, he receives 
 or rejects tenets which contain the mode of 
 existence of the Supreme Being, in a certain 
 manner. It is important ; because our appre- 
 hension of the state of the person who accom- 
 plished our salvation is involved in the result. 
 It is important ; because our knowledge of 
 the three persons of the Godhead is thereby 
 affected. The first principles of revelation, 
 which unfold the being and character of God, 
 are interested in the conclusion which is at- 
 tained. The Christian Philosopher who en- 
 deavours to ascertain the consistency of the 
 Scripture doctrines and practice, must bo 
 
356 THE ETERNAL SONSHIP, &:c. 
 
 desirous of obtaining the scriptural informa- 
 tion which teaches not only that God exists, 
 — but the mode in which he does exist. The 
 humble and practical Christian must be so- 
 licitous to know the eternal state of that Lord 
 and Redeemer who, " as the Son of Man, 
 came to give his life a ransom for many." 
 
 May the investigation of this subject in- 
 crease our knowledge and love of him " who 
 is the blessed and only Potentate, the King 
 of kings, and Lord of lords ; Who only hath 
 immortality, dwelling in the light which no 
 man can approach unto ; whom no man hath 
 seen, nor can see : to whom be honour and 
 power everlasting. Amen." 
 
DATE DUE 
 
 
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