arise from, and prove the pre-existence of spiritual causes, which causes are, in their essential nature, invisible. No spiritual effect can take place, or exist, without a spiritual cause; and spiritual causes are capable of producing visible and material effects: but material causes, simply as such, are not capable of producing spiritual effects.

Remarks.-The Scriptures of the Old Testament predicted, and those of the New verified the fulfilment of these predictions; the first, that there should be, the latter, that there actually was, a Christ, who is called the Son of the Most High; that he is acknowledged of God as his only begotten Son; that he was the active Creator, and is, and will be, the Saviour of the world.

The questions which naturally arise, in this stage of our inquiry, are, how is he the Son of God? Was he a Son prior to his incarnation and birth? Had he an existence in a previous form? and in what relation did he exist in and with the Deity, previous to his original manifestation, as the operative, or creative and manifesting principle of the spiritual and invisible Deity or Godhead? These are, certainly, to us at least, very weighty considerations, as it regards our devotional exercises; particularly as we, according to our Faith, know of no God but the one only true God in Christ, existing in one, as "Lord and Christ."* As Christians, we know of no God out of Christ; and it is therefore, from this view of the eternal existence of Christ, as the operative or creative,† and manifesting property or principle in the Godhead, that we recognize God in Christ, as the "only Wise God our Saviour;" that "he is God over all, blessed forever."§

With regard to the first inquiry, "How is he the Son of God?" it is proper to conceive of his co-existence in and with the Deity, as one of the essential properties of the Godhead, from everlasting. We are fully persuaded, in our own minds, of the eternal, essential Divinity of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; and it is a matter of serious import, to understand, as far as Divine authority

*Acts ii. 36. † Eph, iii. 9. ‡ Coloss. i. 16. || Jude, 26 § Rom. ix. 5,

permits, the true nature and character of the Son of God, that we might not think less honourably of his Divine nature, as too many have been led to think and believe, and thereby dishonour our Christian profession, by making him to rank upon a level with frail mortals like ourselves. A little serious reflection cannot fail of convincing us, that the name, Son of God, as applied to Christ, is not to be understood in the same sense, "that Isaac is understood to be the Son of Abraham," by ordinary generation. The birth of the Son of God we conceive to have been effected by one of those miraculous displays of the illimitable Wisdom, Power and Holiness of God, for the especial purpose of manifesting himself to the world, in the person of Christ, as both Lord and Christ, God and Saviour;* and in whose person the illimitable fulness of the Godhead dwelt, for reconciling the world unto himself, as the Scriptures abundantly testify. We therefore consider the name, Son of God, to be no more than a representative of the relation which the Power of God has to the Wisdom and Holiness of God, considered in their spiritual and primary relation to each other, as the essential properties of the Deity or Godhead: and we further conceive, that if Christ, who is "the Power of God and the Wisdom Ry the" was, or could be, withdrawn and wholly separated from Deity, according to Axiom II. the Deity would be imperfect. Whereas, according to our views of the Holy Undivided Trinity, the fulness of the Godhead, in the person of Christ, was a manifestation of all the perfections and essential properties of Deity-invisible in their spiritual and essential nature, but dwelling in the sanctified body of the Saviour; He became thus, in his secondary relation to the Godhead, the visible medium of the dispensations of both the Wisdom, Power and Holiness of the Invisible Deity.

It will be hence clearly seen, that according to our system, the Son of God is, in his primary relation and spiritual essence, one of the essential properties of God; that in * Isaiah, xlv. 21.

this nature, he is wholly and entirely uncreate, co-existent, co-equal, co-essential, and co-eternal, in and with the remaining integrant and essential essences of Deity; that, in this relation, he is the active, operative, or creative power and manifesting property of God: and, with this view of the subject, we dare not call in question the essentially Divine nature of the Holy One of God, who, in this nature, we have shown, is one with the Father; while in his secondary relation to the Godhead, he becomes truly the Son of God, by the concurrence of his Power with those of the illimitable Wisdom and Holiness of the Supreme. (See Luke i. 35.)*

And as "spiritual causes are capable of producing material effects," we conceive that the illimitable Wisdom willed the existence of a Holy material body, as a sanctified receptacle or temple, a "Holy of Holies," for the indwelling of the entire fulness of the Deity, as the Temple of his Rest: and the illimitable Power of the Highest brought forth in a miraculous manner this Holy Body, who is acknowledged as the Son of God and the Son of Man. And thus, in some degree, we enter into the views of the Prophets, when by the Spirit they were instructed to predict his approaching advent, they announced, among other important truths, that "his name shai inalled Wonderful Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace;" "and as names are nothing more than the representatives of relations and things," they were doubtless permitted to behold in advance the fulness, of time, in which the essential, invisible fulness of Deity would, in the person of Christ, be made manifest and visible to man, in the foregoing name and characters, and as the Lord our Righteousness, &c.

Again, referring to his existence in "the form of man, having voluntarily laid aside "the form of God," he became subject and obedient to the Wisdom and Will of God, And, doubtless, such is intended by the Saviour, when he uses these and similar expressions of dependence

*See, also, the Writings of Athenagorus, Justin Martyr, Tertullian, &c.

in his human character-"I can do nothing of myself," "I came not to do my own will, but the will of Him, that sent me." For, by the eternal, immutable agreement of the essential properties of the Godhead, they forever and invariably act in concert and harmony. The Power of God may not act independently of the Wisdom and Holiness of God; and hence, the Son of God, who is identified with the Power of God, invariably acted in union with, and in conformity to, the Wisdom or Will of the Father. The Power of God, acting according to the Will or Wisdom, acts not of itself, &c.

It is urged against the essential Divinity of the Son of God, that he invariably acknowledged God to be his Father, his superior; himself a dependent Being, &c. As we shall shortly enter more fully into our investiga tions and illustrations in support of this important subject, we shall waive them, for the purpose of introducing the remarks of the Rev. Dr. Worcester, who now classes among the moderate Unitarians. He says"The Son's being in the form of God, most probably refers to the glory which he had with the Father before the world was, the glory that he had, in God's creating all things by him; and the glory that he had as the Angel of God's presence.* By the form of God, we may understand the same as the similitude, or image of God;† that he was constituted the Angel of God's Presence, or the medium by which God appeared, or manifested himself to the ancient Patriarchs." In a note, however, the author says, "he feels less confident that Christ was the Angel of God, than he did when he wrote these letters: but he had not seen satisfactory reasons for relinquishing his sentiment." - Again : "In my view, the Saviour and Lord of all, is the Son of the Living God, and by nature 'the brightness of the Father's glory,' and the express image of his person-so united to the one Infinite God, that in him dwells, not merely one of three persons, but all the fulness of the Godhead bodily."§

*Bible News, p. 115. Ib. id. 117. Ib. id. 86. § Ib. id. 163.

When we take into view the purposes of God in Christ, as they have, many of them, been clearly manifested to the world, we are astonished to find men who are forward to question the essentially Divine character of the Son of God! The Sacred Records, which are the Rule of the Christian's Faith, and the standard by which his religion is to be tested, really, distinctly and positively declare, that "all things were created by and for Jesus Christ," who is the Power of God and the Wisdom of God; that "God is in Christ, reconciling the world to himself; "destroying the works of the devil; "bringing all things into willing subjection to himself;" "the accomplishment of his will concerning all flesh;"" and by the final salvation of all men,"¶-with numerous other expressions and acknowledgments of Divine Wisdom, Power and Holiness, as applied to Christ: We are disposed to take a wider field than our opponents take, for the exercise of our Faith. We are content only in proportion to our knowledge of Christ, both before and after his incarnation; we reject that doctrine, with painful abhorrence, that aims at levelling the Son of God to the mere humanity of men; we accept Jesus Christ as the manifest or visible God—the Stone which the builders rejected, we acknowledge to be "the Head of the Corner." And as we do truly believe him to be the Power of God, according to our views, it must be, hence, very obvious, that the following Axiom, or proposition, will af ford us a more intimate view of the properties and relations of Deity, and their operations in all the Works of Nature.

AXIOM V. Power is the primum mobile, the active soul of the Universe; the Creative Spirit or essence of Deity; in whose substance Wisdom is the supreme governing, and Holiness the perfecting principle of God.

Remarks. As the Holy Being now distinguished as Jesus Christ, but previously, as the Divine property or

1 Corin. i. 24. 28. Isaiah, xl. 3,5;

2

Corin. v. 19.
Luke, iii. 4, 6.

1 John, iii. 8. § 1 Corin. xv. T1 Tim, ii. 3, 4; 2 Peter, iii. 9.