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of God alone, as the Jews faid, Mark ii. 7. Who can forgive fins but God? Yet we find that he attributeth this power to his manhood, ver. 11. But that ye might know that the Son of MAN hath power on earth to forgive fins; that is, the mannature, by virtue of its union with the divine, hath power to put forth all the acts of the Godhead; for it is manifeft that forgiveness of fins is a greater act of Deity than creation; and if he had power, by virtue of the hypoftatic union, as man, to forgive fins, how much more, as GoD-Man, to create a world?

Moreover it is evident, that our Lord does greater works than creation daily, viz. quickens whomsoever he will; regenerates and forms anew, and makes his people willing in the day of his power. Now in the formation, or the creation of the world, there was nothing to oppofe, but in the new creation there is the stubbornness of the will, the darkness of theun derftanding, and the alienation of the affections to conquer and overcome; and is he not likewife, as man, faid to change our vile bodies, and fashion them like to his moft glorious body? For it is faid, Our converfation is in heaven, from avhence we Look for a Saviour, the Lord Jefus. And remarkable is the elucidation of Dr. Goodwin, upon John i. 1, 2, 3. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The fame was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. Which, he fays, compare with Prov. viii. 23, 24, where CHRIST fays, under the character of wisdom, The Lord poffeffed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old; I was fet up from everlafting, or ever the earth was. He obferves, that the titles are in effect and fignificancy, the fame in the original languages, the Word and Wifdom; you will find that Solomon and John both fpeak the fame thing of CHRIST, as they call him by the fame name, that is, the fame in fenfe and meaning; for Wisdom and the Word are all one; for that which is faid in John of the Word, that he was in the beginning, is faid, Prov. viii. 22. The Lord poffeffed me in the beginning of his way; and fo it may explain what is meant by the beginning here, namely, of the creation alluded to there; for the ways of GOD are his goings forth towards the creatures, which are called opera ad extra, and therefore is not meant of his eternal generation. I fuppofe the Dr. means of his divine perfon, for fo CHRIST is not the beginning of GOD's ways. That speech is all one, Col. i. 15. where he is called the first-born of every creature; being in God's degree

of creation, the first, the corner-ftone, and beginning of the reft; fo it must be meant of CHRIST, as GOD-Man, and not fimply as to his divine perfon. Again, that which is here faid, was with God, is there faid, the Lord poffeffed me; they dweit together, he was with God, as poffeffed of him; as in ver. 30, Then was I by him; after which he rehearseth the particulars of the creation, which is here fummed up at once, All things were made by him. And John fays, In him was the life of men; whereas Wifdom faith, ver. 31. With bleffings making joyful the fons of men. So Junius out of the Hebrew reads it, and Cartwright alfo, with others, fo as one place may interpret the other. Nor doth this interpretation weaken this text of John i. 1, 2, 3. of proving the actual exiftence of CHRIST, as to his divine nature, co-eternal with the Father; for, according to the original, the words may be read, God was the Word; for if the natural greatnefs of his perfon was not firft fuppofed, and laid down, all these affertions we have been infifting on, would fall at once to the ground, as having no foundation or bafis to ftand upon, if CHRIST was not a perfon of original worth for fuch an employment; for without him GOD would do nothing, no not fo much as create the world, Eph. iii. 9. it is faid, He created all things by Jefus Chrift; but not as man fingly confidered; for as fuch, no creature can have any hand in creation; but as man, united to GOD, he had an hand in the Creation, for John faith, All things were made by him, and without him was not any thing made that was made; which feems to be spoke of him as GOD-Man, by comparing it with Rev. xix. 13. And he was clothed with a vestment dipt in blood, and his name is called the WORD of GOD; which is manifeftly spoken of him as GOD-Man; and yet the title exactly correfponds with the character that John gives, The Word was with God, and the Word was God; all things were made by him, &c. which fhews, as Dr. Goodwin obferves, "the inftrumental dependence "that GOD had of him in this work; he was his all in all, as "we fay of one that is as a right-hand to another; he does nothing without him. Such was CHRIST to GOD, not but "that GOD had an effential power to have created without "him, for it was by that power that CHRIST did it; whereas Mofes in the creation, had made mention not only of GOD'S "creating by a WORD, God faid let there be light.-He had "been mentioning GoD, the Father, as the Creator, first in "those words, In the beginning God created; and the jpirit, as "moving upon the waters; but the fecond perfon is couched,

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"perfonated, and fignified in thofe words, God faid, i. e. the "Word faid, &c.

"His fubferviency to God in the creation, is fet forth, Col. "i. 16. by three particles, in him, by him, and for him. In "him, as the exemplary caufe; by him, as the effential caufe; "and for him as the ultimate end; that is, GoD fet up CHRIST "as the pattern of all perfections; for fo that human nature, "united and quickened by the Godhead, muft needs be even "above the angels themfelves; and he drew in fcattered pieces, "in the rest of the creation, the feveral perfections met in the "human as a pattern. And in man-creation this feems to "have been confidered by GoD in that fpeech, Let us make "man according to our image; that is, after that man, who "was to be united to Gon, whom we in our decrces have "fet up as the pattern and exprefs image of the invifible "Godhead."

Friendly. As you have given me the two Doctors Ideas upon the Coloffian text, wherein CHRIST is faid to be the image of the invifible God; and whofe thoughts (I acknow ledge) are evident, fublime, and great, pray what might be their ideas upon that correfpondent text, in Heb. i. 3. Who being the brightness of his glory, and the exprefs image of his perfen, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our fins, fat down on the right-hand of the Majesty on high?

Truth. The ingenious Dr. Watts obferves, page 192, that in this firft chapter of the Hebrews, there are fufficent evidences of CHRIST's divine nature, and that there are likewise fome expreffions as feem to imply a nature alfo, a nature inferior and dependent: He is reprefented as laying the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of his hands. That he upholds all things by the word of his power: which expreffions carry in them an idea too fublime for any mere created nature; and the citation of the firft of them proves yet further that CHRIST is JEHOVAH, the Creator.

But when he is called a fon, a begotten fon, this feems to imply derivation and dependency; and perhaps the fonfhip of CHRIST, and his being the only begotten of the Father, may be better explained, by attributing it to his human foul, exifting by fome particular and immediate manner of creation, formation, or derivation from the Father, before other creatures were formed, efpecially if we include in the fame idea of fonfhip, (as Dr. Goodwin does) his union to his divine nature; and if we add alfo his exaltation to the office of the MESSIAH, and king and

lord of all, which fome zealous Trinitarians fuppofe to be the chief thing meant by his fonship.

Now this matter being fet in a fair and full light, and cftablished by juft arguments from fcripture, would take off the force of many Arian pretences against the Trinity, viz. Such pretences as arife from the fuppofed derivation of one perfon from another in pure Godhead, and a fuppofed act of eternal generation producing a co-effential fon, which things are not plainly expreffed in any part of the Bible, which are acknowledged, on all fides, to be great and incomprehenfible diffi

culties.

Heb. i. 3. Perhaps these words, the brightness of the Father's glory, and the exprefs image of his perfon, may be better explained, if we fuppofe the divine nature of CHRIST to be united to his pre-existent foul, when it was first created. This human foul of CHRIST was then like a glafs, through which the Godhead fhone with inimitable fplendor in all the perfections of it, wisdom, power, boliness, and goodness. Thus CHRIST was the Father's most perfect image, or copy, both in his own native excellencies, bearing the neareft refemblance to Gon, as an only begotten Son; and he was aifo the brightnefs of his glory, because the perfections of the father fhone through him with more illuftrious rays than it was poffible for any mere creature to reprefent, or tranfmit them, who was not thus united to a divine nature.

I cannot forbear to illuftrate this by a fimilitude, which, I think, hath been somewhere used by Dr. Goodwin: Suppose it poffible for an hollow globe of cryftal, fo vaft as to inclose the the fun, this globe of cryftal would have many properties in it, perhaps resembling the fun in a more perfect manner than any other being; but if it were alfo inhabited by the fun itself, and thus tranfmitted the glories of the fun to men, how exprefs an image would it be of that bright luminary! and would it not be the most happy medium, by which the fun could exert its power of light and heat? Such is JESUS, the MAN, who the Son of GOD, inhabited by the divine nature, and so the faireft image of GOD.

Befides, let it be further confidered, that when CHRIST is called (Col. i. 16.) the image of the invisible God, and (in Heb. 3.) the exprefs image of his Father's perfon, it must be undertood either of his divine nature, or his human. If it be understood of his divine nature, it must mean, that he is the mage of his Father's effence, or of his perfonality; for the

perfonality, together with the effence, makes up the compleat character of God the Father.

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But the divine nature of CHRIST cannot properly be the image of his Father's nature or effence; for the effence of the Godhead, or the divine nature, both in the Father and the Son, is one and the fame individual nature or effence, which cannot properly be the image of itself; nor can the fame individual effence be both the original and the image at the fame time. When we conceive of the felf-fame body, or the felffame man, or the felf-fame angel, in different pofitions of fituations, circumftances, relations, or appearances, we never fay that the self-fame thing is the image of itfelf. Thus CHRIST, in his divine effence, cannot be the image of his Father's effence, when it is the fame individual effence with that of the Fathǝr. The effence of GOD, in the perfon of his Son, cannot properly be the image of that effence in the perfon of the Father, fince it is the fame individual effence. Nor is CHRIST, in his divine nature, an express image of the perfona lity of the Father. Sonfhip is no image of paternity; a derived property or fubfiftence is no image of an underived property or fubfiftence, but directly the reverse to it. Since CHRIST in his divine nature, is neither the image of the Father's effence, nor of his Father's perfonality, thefe words must be fpoken with regard to CHRIST's human nature; and, in this refpect, he is the image of the Father, or the image of the in vifible GOD, and that these three ways: First, As the huma foul of CHRIST is a creature, which has the neareft likenels & its Creator. This Son of GOD is the most glorious Spirit the brightest and nearest image to the Father, far nearer tha the angels, who are alfo the fons of GOD; for his propertie and perfections are much greater than theirs, and bear a mud nearer resemblance to the properties and perfections of Gor the Father.

Secondly. The human nature of CHRIST is the image the invifible God the Father, as he often affumed a vifib form under the Old Teftament, and appeared, spoke, as acted as God in a vifible glory, and fo he is the proper imag of the invifible God.

Thirdly, As he took upon him, in the fulness of time, vifible body of flesh and blood, and therein appeared as one whom dwelt the fulness of Godhead bodily, i. e. the vifible imag of his invifible Father.

But to proceed, the holy writer, in Heb. i. adds furthe that he was appointed heir of all things, which feems not to

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