Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not, that I am in the Father, and the Father in me?' In this passage, Christ represents the Father as being seen, when his own humanity was seen; merely because the Father dwelt in him. Here, then, without doubt, the humanity of Christ, which only could be seen, was represented, by Christ, as properly himself, and also his Father. This was by virtue of the union of his humanity with the indwelling Divinity, as one person.

In chap. xvii, 5, Jesus Christ, addressing his Father, says, 'And now, O Father, glorify thou me, with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee, before the world was.' Here the speaker was the complex person, Christ, whose Divine nature had been 'glorified with the Father, before the world was,' but whose humanity stood in need of prayer. Nothing can be more clear than that some things are said of Christ which alternately exclude' each of his natures: the human, for instance, had not been 'glorified' as here Christ was said to have been, and the Divine nature did not need prayer, as the human did.

Again, 'No man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven,' John iii, 13. Here, also, the Divine Redeemer was doubtless the speaker, and himself the person spoken of, as the 'Son of man' who came down from heaven, and who was then 'in heaven.' But who will say his humanity was 'in heaven,' or had 'come down from heaven?' Are not these things affirmable of his Divinity alone, though they are applied to the 'whole undivided Christ,' the 'Son of man?? Here is another positive proof that the 'proposition' of the Essay is erroneous in assuming that we 'destroy Christ's personal identity when we limit any action or state of his to one of his natures.' Again, I and my Father are one,' said Jesus Christ. Did our Saviour mean that he and his Father were one in purpose, will, &c., as the Arians say? Surely not. He intended a oneness of 'substance, power, and eternity,' as the Articles of our Church declare. Neither did our Saviour intend to say that he and his Father were one complex person. His humanity was doubtless 'excluded' from this 'state' of oneness with the Father, though the complex person was the speaker, and the subject spoken of.

Again, Before Abraham was, I AM.' Was not Christ's humanity excluded' here also? Most certainly. Christ said to his disciples, 'Where two or three are met together in my name, there am I in the midst.' And again, 'Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.' Christ's humanity, however ' ennobled,' even by the ascension, could not be in all places at the same time: 'it was human nature still,' and was 'excluded' from what Christ predicates of himself in the above passages.

St. Paul bears testimony to the same effect when he says, 'For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins; wherefore, when he cometh into the world he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldst not, but a body hast thou prepared me. Then said I, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first that he may establish the second. By the VOL. VII.-April, 1836.

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which will we are sanctified, through the offering of the body of Christ, once for all,' Heb. x, 4-10.

6

It may be observed here, first, that when St. Paul speaks of the Divine Saviour, verses 5-7, he alludes exclusively to his Divine nature, the eternal Son, anterior to his incarnation, who said to his Father, a body hast thou prepared me;' and yet the apostle subsequently denominated him 'Jesus Christ' in reference to his complex person. Secondly, the 'body prepared' for the eternal Logos is that which was offered up for all,' and shed blood-by which we are sanctified, verse 10. That the sacrificial offering was limited to the humanity is farther manifest from verses 19, 20, Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest, by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say, his FLESH-let us draw near with a pure heart,' &c. Here the blood of the flesh' is called the 'blood of Jesus.' Third, this whole chapter represents the eternal Son as offering up his 'body,' his 'flesh,' &c., as Jewish priests offered up sacrifices, offerings, &c. And yet the body thus offered up is the same in person with the eternal Son who offered it: and the actions, sufferings, and death of this body are spoken of in several places as the actions, &c., of the Divine person, Jesus Christ.

This subject is stated by St. Paul with equal clearness in the first, second, and ninth chapters of the same epistle. It is there set forth that the Son made the world, chap. i, 2, that he was 'the brightness of his Father's glory, and the express image of his person,'-that he 'upholds all things by the word of his power,' having 'by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than the angels,' verses 3, 4. 'For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever,' and 'Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of thy hands,' verses 8, 10. The above passages refer exclusively to the eternal Divinity of Christ; and yet it is said of him, that, 'when he had, by himself, purged our sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,' verse 3. But how was this done? The apostle tells us that he did it, by 'being made a little lower than the angels,' (that is, by being made flesh,) 'for the suffering of death,' verse 9. 'For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both he that sanctifieth, and they. who are sanctified, are all of one for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren.Forasmuch, then, as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also, himself, likewise took part of the same, that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death. For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. 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 reconciliation for the sins of the people,' chap. ii, verses 10-17. 'But Christ being come a high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, he entered once into the holy place, having obtained eternal

redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh; how much more shall the blood of Christ, who, through the eternal Spirit, offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works, to serve the living God? For this cause he is the Mediator of the new testament, that, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions,-they which are called might receive the promise of an eternal inheritance. For where a testament is there must also, of necessity, be the death of the testator.'- " Whereupon, neither the first testament was dedicated without blood.'-'And almost all things are by the law, purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission,' &c., chap. ix, verses 11-22.

for men, must, death,' the tesWe learn, also,

From the whole of the above we learn, that Jesus Christ, in order to obtain redemption and remission of sins, as a 'testator,' or 'mediator,' die; without his tament, or new covenant, would be of no force. that there could be no remission or forgiveness of sin, without 'shedding of blood.' But, as the Divine nature could not shed blood and die, He took upon him a nature that could, 'the seed of Abraham.' The children being flesh and blood, he also took part of the same,' that he might shed blood and die for their salvation. It is evident that, as the Divine nature was eternal, exclusive of the humanity, so the humanity shed blood and died, exclusively of the Divine nature. It is worthy of remark here, that the apostle clearly contradistinguishes the Divine from the human nature, in agency or function, the 'eternal Spirit' offering, and the human nature being offered up to God, as a sacrifice. In other words, the agency of the Divine Spirit, (the Divinity of Christ,) in offering up the body, was the agency of Christ; and the body and blood thus offered and shed were the body and blood of Christ himself; showing most clearly, that although the actions and sufferings of the one nature were not the actions and sufferings of the other, they were nevertheless all the actions and sufferings of that one Divine person who was composed of both natures.

We find another passage of Scripture fully in point, Col. i, 14, 16, 17. Speaking of Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul says, 'For by him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth,' &c. And yet of this same Divine person he says, 'In whom we have redemption, through his blood.' Here, again, are two distinct agencies, or characters pointed out, as appertaining to Christ; first, the Divinity, as the CREATOR of all things; and secondly, the humanity, shedding that blood by which we have 'redemption.' And yet, both the creation of all things, and the shedding of blood, are ascribed to the complex person, Christ Jesus; showing clearly that whatever is done or suffered by either nature, is said to be done or suffered by Jesus Christ himself.

Again, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.'-' And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father; full of grace and truth,' John i, 14. Again, That which was from the beginning; which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes; which we have looked upon,

and our hands have handled, of the Word of life, (for the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us,' 1 John i, 2. Of this WORD, called God, by whom 'all things were created,' it is said, 'We beheld his glory,' and that he was seen with our eyes,' and still farther that our hands have handled him, for he was manifested unto us.' As it is impossible that we should see with our eyes,' or 'handle with our hands,' the Divine nature, the humanity must be exclusively referred to in such passages. And yet these are predicated of GOD-the 'WORD made flesh-showing satisfactorily that whatever was predicable of the human nature was of the Divine person also, being in fact hypostatically the same.

That some things are spoken of Christ hypostatically, which must be restricted to each nature antithetically, as the case may be, appears as evident to my mind as any truth which was ever revealed of the Divine Saviour. I shall quote a few more texts and pass on. In 1 Peter iii, 18, Christ is said to have suffered for sins, being put to death in the FLESH,' but 'quickened by the SPIRIT.' Here flesh and spirit are placed antithetically. The 'death' of Christ appertained to the flesh; but the Spirit, that is, the Divine nature, quickened' that flesh; thus explaining our Lord's words, 'I have power to lay down my life; and I have power to take it up again.' Here, it must be noticed, Christ was raised from the dead, that is, 'quickened by the Spirit: but the body only was thus 'quickened therefore, whatever is said of Christ's humanity is said of Christ himself, being spoken of interchangeably.

Again, it is said of Christ, that he 'bare our sins in his own body on the tree.' And again, that he suffered for us in the flesh,' 1 Pet. iv, 1.

(

St. Paul uses similar language: 'Ye are dead to the law, through the body of Christ,' Rom. vii, 4. Again, Ye who were far off are made nigh, by the blood of Christ,' 'who abolished in his FLESH the enmity,' &c. Eph. ii, 13, 16. Once more, 'You who are alienated hath he reconciled, in the body of his flesh, through death,' Col. i, 21.

The next incongruity, in my estimation, contained in the Essay, is the implied assumption, that, by becoming incarnate, some mysterious change took place in the Divine nature, so that it was capable of sufferings and death, which it could never realize in its unincarnate state. That the Divine Essence could have acquired such capabilities without impairing his immutability, appears to me clearly impossible. Suppose it be granted, (which I cannot do, however,) that the Divine nature could, by a voluntary act, suffer, still the question would remain, in full force, How could it have suffered, properly, in and of itself, in connection with the humanity, and yet have been incapable of such suffering in an unincarnate state, without undergoing some radical change? That the possibility of such change is implied in the Essay, I infer from the fol lowing passages :—

'We cannot say that the Deity as Deity can suffer; but we can say that that which is impossible to the Deity as Deity is possible to him as incarnated. It was impossible that the Deity as Deity

should be born of a woman; but it was not impossible for him as incarnated.' (p. 265.)

It is quite easy to conceive that God can change relatively, that is, in relation to men and things; for this implies no change of Es· sence: but the impossibility that the Deity should change radically, or properly, lies in his very nature; as 'JEHOVAH, who changeth The incarnation of the Divine nature, therefore, can afford no reason why he could become liable to hunger, thirst, suffer, bleed, and die. Such capabilities, it is true, the Divine Redeemer possessed in his humanity, but not in his Divinity.

not.'

Another incongruity in the Essay is the fact that it lays too much stress on the sufferings of Christ, to the virtual exclusion of his blood. Was this done because the idea of the Divine nature's shedding blood was so palpably absurd, as at once to refute the author's whole scheme? He is incapable of disingenuousness. It was, therefore, overlooked, in the entire fixedness of his mind on one favorite point. That the shedding of blood' was essential to atonement by vicarious sacrifices is so clearly and fully revealed in both Testaments, that I need spend but little time on the subject. God forbade the use of blood, after the flood, on the ground that in it was the life of man, Gen. ix, 4, 5. The blood of the passover' in Egypt, together with its shedding purposes, is matter of general notoriety. It pointed, typically, to the blood of Christ,' which has been sacramentally commemorated from the earliest ages of Christianity; and the 'body and blood of Christ' will be received 'by faith' in the 'Eucharistic feast' so long as God shall have a people on earth to receive them. Our Saviour informed the Jews, that, except they ate his flesh and drank his blood, they could have no life in them, John vi, 53. From this it appears that the blood of Christ is the great means of spiritual life, to all who believe in its saving efficacy. It may be proper, however, to be more diffuse on this important subject.

In Leviticus xvii, 11, it is said, 'The life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it you upon the altar, to make an atonement for your soul. In accordance with this grant, Moses, when he had spoken every precept, to all the people, according to the law, took the blood of calves, and of goats, and sprinkled the book and the people; saying, This is the blood of the testament.'-' Moreover, he sprinkled likewise with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry: and almost all things are by the law purged with blood, and without shedding of blood is no remission.'-' But Christ being come a high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood,-he obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who, through the eternal Spirit, offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works, to serve the living God?" Heb. ix, &c.

From the above it would seem, that, in the great work of man's salvation, by Christ, his blood is almost every thing. The abstract sufferings of Christ, though an integral means in the work of re