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God, (but of this, more particularly hereafter,) He dwelt incarnate in the man Christ Jesus; or the belief he had just instilled into him was, in fact, no belief at all; and the declaration it produced would have been merely equivocal, had not Jesus Christ been the Son of God, in a way completely overpowering, and bearing down the sense in which this appellation was ever otherwise applied. Upon the miraculous conversion of St. Paul, he straightway preached Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God: (Acts ix. 20:) and the above remarks are equally applicable to this Scripture as to that just stated: "I live by the faith of the Son of God." (Gal. ii. 20.) But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son." (iv. 4.) "Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God." (Eph. iv. 13.) Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son." (Col. i. 13.) "God hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when 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 which 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

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Father, and he shall be to me a Son? And again, when he bringeth in the first-begotten into the world, He saith, And let all the angels of God worship him. And of the angels He saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. But unto the Son He saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever; a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. But to which of the angels said He at any time, Sit on my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool? Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?" (Heb. i.) In this chapter, the point into which we are now inquiring is fully argued, and completely established. Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant: but Christ, as a son over his own house." (iii. 5, 6.) "Seeing, then, that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession." (iv. 14.) 'For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore." (vii. 28.) "He that despised Moses' law died without mercy, under two or three witnesses; of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God." (x. 28.) For He received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven,

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we heard when we were with him in the holy mount." (2 Peter i. 17, 18.) "Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ." (1Johni.3.) "Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: but he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father:" (ii. 23, 24 :) " and this is the commandment of God, that we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ. "In this was manifested the love of God towards us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. We have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ, is born of God. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. 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 hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God.

And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding that we know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. Amen." (1John iv. v.) "Grace be with you, mercy, and peace from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ the Son of the Father, in truth and love. Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed." Except we believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, it is impossible to rightly appreciate the love of God towards But on the most consoling and important considerations deducible from the establishment of this essential point of Christian belief, we propose to separately and distinctly treat: we shall only here remark, that to impress the necessity of assent to this doctrine appears to have been the motive which stimulated this venerable, peculiarly amiable, and highly distinguished, beloved apostle, to the so frequent repetition and energetic enforcement of the belief in this most important article of the Christian creed. And he by his own declaration clearly proves, that he considered the acknowledgment of this truth as the most secure preservation against the attacks of scepticism with which revealed religion, from its earliest promulgation in our world, was destined to cope. These things have I written to

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you concerning them that seduce you, (namely, many antichrists,) fearing that his much-loved disciples might be alienated from the right faith. through them.

The foregoing recapitulation, selected from so many different parts of the sacred volume, written by so many different inspired authors previous to and subsequent to the introduction of Christianity on earth, does, we think, fully and incontrovertibly answer the inquiry which occasioned this research, by clearly asserting that Jesus Christ, according to the whole tenor and declarations of the Scriptures, is the Son of God, in a manner entirely paramount and superior to any other intelligent throughout the boundless uni

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We shall next examine the holy records, as to the equality of the Son with the Father: and first, respecting his nature. God himself is, we know, a Spirit: (John iv. 24;) Christ is also a Spirit; (1 Cor. xv. 45;) man is a living soul, but Christ a quickening Spirit, of the same nature with the paternal Deity as an earthly son is with an earthly parent: a full participator of the divine nature for as the Father hath life in himself, so hath He given to the Son to have life in himself, (John v. 26:) the same vital principle and power of imparting life, as dwells inherent in the great I Am. Christ was that spiritual Rock which of old sustained the Israelites. (1 Cor. x. 4.) The salvation into which the prophets inquired and diligently searched, "when prophesying of the grace that should come, searching what, or what

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