vice, as to the Lord, and not to men: knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free," Eph. vi. 5, 6, 7, 8. If words could be found more explicitly declaring that the fervant of Chrift and of God is one, whilft no man can ferve two mafters ;" and also that the fervice done as to the Lord, is diftin& from that which is done to please men, I fhould endeavour to paraphrafe this paffage. I fhall only now remark, that, in a parallel paffage to the Coloffian fervants, he says, instead of "with fear and trembling, in fingleness of heart, as unto Chrift;"" not with eye-fervice, as menpleafers, but in finglenefs of heart, fearing God," Coloff. iii. 22; and proceeds to let them know that of the Lord they fhall receive the reward, for they ferve the Lord Chrift; whom he immediately after pronounces the Master in heaven of thofe to whom he recommends humanity towards their fervants, Coloff. iv. I. See No. LXXVII. p. 126, above.

LXXXIII.

"For I know that this fhall turn to my falvation thro' your prayers, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ," Philip. i. 19. Nothing can more fully demonftrate that the Spirit of Truth, fent to bear the testimony of our Saviour Jefus Chrift, proceeds equally from the Son as from the Father, John xv. 26, than thefe words of St. Paul, who goes on to fay, that upon receiving the fupply of the Spirit of Jefus Chrift I fhall not be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, fo now also, Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death," Philip. i. 20. See alfo the context. It was in order to bear this teftimony that "the Spirit of Chrift, which had teftified before-hand, &c." I Pet. i. 11, was to proceed from the Father; and that this teftimony may be competently borne, and that Chrift may be magnified, he is now, as promifed, John xvi. 7,

to

to proceed from the Son; and accordingly we find St, Paul acknowledge "we have received not the Spirit of the world, but, the Spirit which is of God." "The things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God;" ❝ but God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit ;" "for who hath known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him, but we have the mind of Christ," 1 Cor. 10, 11, 12, 16. In Rom. viii. 9, and Gal. iv. 6, we are told, that God fent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts to bear teftimony; and that if any man have not the Spirit of Chrift, he is none of his, but that we are in the Spirit, if fo be the Spirit of God dwell in us; and if Chrift be in us, the Spirit is life because of righteousness, Are not the terms GOD and CHRIST convertible here? are they not repeatedly the fubject of the fame propofition? Shall we then impiously dare to bring a charge of inaccuracy against the Spirit of Truth? Shall we fuppofe that he who spoke by all the prophets, did not himself foresee that indifferent terms would in later times be understood to mean one and the fame thing; or that foreseeing this he intended to lead us into a deftructive errour, and to this end adequately affumed the use of equivocal language? If even the Unitarian, refuse to admit of this fuppofition, as terminating in a blafphemy, he muft neceffarily infer with me that it is the intention of the Holy Ghost, by fuch expreffions, to inculcate the doctrine of the almighty Godhead of our Lord Jefus, one with that of the Father.

LXXXIV.

"Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a fervant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross," Philip. ii. 6, 7, 8. If Mr. Lindsey, who denies not that Jefus

Christ was a man, will not deny that he is here declared to be fuch, I think he cannot deny that he is here declared to be God: for if the words the form of a fervant, the likeness of men, and the fashion of man, be exactly of the fame import as an affertion that he was actually a man, it neceffarily follows, that the fimilar expreffion, "being in the form of God," muft have a fimilar interpretation, and fignify that he is actually God. And from the whole paffage our Saviour's pre-exiftence (in a state of glory) to the time of his being "made man" is fo neceffarily deducible, that it cannot be avoided; the condefcenfion of Chrift, equal with God, in looking, not upon his own things, but the things of others, and accordingly taking upon himself a nature fo inferior as that of man, being the propofed example of love and humility, by which we are exhorted to be benevolent and humble. If this text flood without another to fupport it, it is conclufive for the Godhead of Jefus Chrift. Being in the form of God, having the fame meaning as the being actually God, we are thereby enabled to interpret St. Paul's affertion that our Saviour "is the image of the invifible God," Coloff. i. 15; and many other paffages declaring him to be "in the form of God."-For an abfolute demonftration that this text was understood by the primitive church as it is now received by the church of England, see an Inquiry into the belief of the Chriftians of the first three centuries, &c. p. 9, 144, &c. as referred to in the index.

LXXXV.

"For our converfation is in heaven, from whence alfo we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jefus Christ," Phil. iii. 20. St. Paul having declared that his expectation of the Saviour is from heaven, pronounces the Saviour to be Jefus Chrift: But to Timothy he says, that he is an apostle of Jefus Chrift by the commandment of God our Saviour," 1 Tim. i. 1; that prayers and fup

plications,

plications, and giving of thanks for all men, "is good and acceptable in the fight of God our Saviour," 1 Tim. ii. 3; "We truft in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, especially of thofe that believe," 1 Tim. iv. 10. And to Titus he fays, that God hath in due times manifefted his word through preaching, which is committed unto me, according to the commandment of God our Saviour," Titus i. 3: So that God our Saviour, is the Saviour whofe coming from heaven Paul looked for, even Jefus Chrift, one with the Father, that God who committed the preaching of his word, and the manifeftation of himfelf to be made in due time, faying, "I am Jefus whom thou perfecuteft," Acts ix. 5.

LXXXVI.

"Who is the firft-born of every creature," Col. i. 15. Instead of conceiving that these words in the leaft degree derogate from the dignity of Chrift as God, or in the least point him out to be even the first and purest Creature of God, I believe them to have the very reverse tendency; for from the context we may find St. Paul urging the benefit of our redemption through the blood of Chrift, which he declares to be forgiveness of fins, deliverance from the power of darkness, and tranflation into the kingdom of the Son, by whom, he fays, "were all things created that are in heaven, and that are in earth, vifible and invifible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him, and he is before all things, and by him all things confift," Col.i. 16, 17.* And this redemption, which is afforded to us, the apoftle teftifies to be by the blood of the Son, who is the "first-born of every creature." By the facrifice of Christ, and by the fufficiency of his body once offered, we find the daily facrifice for the

*See Inquiry into the belief of the Christians of the first three centuries, P. 300 and 378.

the people taken away, and a full atonement made at once by his daily prophecies, we find the deftruction of the Jewish temple, and consequently of the Jewish ritual at hand; and the event foon juftified the prophe cy; we find their altars and offerings abolished, and their nation cease to be a people peculiar to God: But we find alfo the adoption of all mankind to be, as it were, the children of the promise through faith. Now, as the entire hiftory of the Jewish nation is a typical prophecy of our bleffed Saviour's incarnation, fufferings, and the adoption of all mankind through him, and that their peculiar fanctity was maintained by blood, and by facrifices; fo we find, that this blood, and thefe facrifices, were a type of the facrifice to be made for all mankind in order to their adoption: For, as the facrifice was for an atonement for the fins and errours of the people, so is the facrifice of Chrift, once offered, an atonement for the fins of those who were thereby adopted. But we find alfo, that the Jews were to be fanctified by the offering up of the firft-born to God; and among other parts of their ritual, this fanctification, now no longer serviceable, was to be fet aside; that event, of which it was a type, having taken place, and our fanctification to God; by the offering up of Jesus Christ to be "the first-born of every creature" being accomplished. But it may be faid, that the offering of the firft-born child was long before fet afide, and a compenfation taken by God, who accepted of the whole tribe of Levi to be fervitors in the fervice of the ark, and afterwards of the temple, instead of the firft-born child through Ifrael. But this very compenfation being now to be fet afide, the newlyadopted world required a first-born after the type of Ifrael, and found it accordingly in Chrift Jefus, who not only gave himself for the whole of mankind, to be "the first-born of every creature," but also has, instead of the Levitical priesthood, ftood forth himself to be an