resistance will be fatal. Since, | receive and grace for grace. therefore, we can make no successful resistance against our Maker, and since all opposition will increase our guilt and ruin, it is madness to resist. 2. But submission to God in all things, will be for our everlasting welfare. By this spirit, we at once become at peace with all his administrations. All things will then be in conformity to our most earnest desires, or in other words, our most earnest desires will coincide with all the purposes and administrations of God. "He shall give thee the desires of thine heart." We shall be at peace with him, and have confidence in him, in all things, and at all times. How comfortable is such confidence in one, on whom we must depend forever! 3. Submission to God is a duty which we owe him. His laws, providence and grace, are excellent in themselves, and important benefits to his creatures; there is nothing in them but what is lovely and desirable; without them, creation would inevitably go to ruin. To which of his laws ought we not to submit? Ought we, his creatures, to wish to be exempted from his authority? Is not creation infinitely indebted to him for his providence? And should not this world sing the praises of his wonderful grace. It is our unquestionable duty to submit, and we have cause to rejoice, that his yoke is easy, and his burden light. 4. Another motive to submission, is the assurance, that God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. He will give them free access to him, and from his fulness they shall VOL. V. No. 4. He will take the entire charge of them upon himself. How impious it must be to cavil at the holy and benevolent dispensations of God. It proves want of conformity to his will and admonishes men of the fatal end which awaits them. Let those, who resist the grace of God, consider, that they are opposing the only hope of the world, opposing him, who gave his life a ransom for men-closing the door of mercy, and scaling themselves over to the award of law and justice. I et such reflect, how important it is, that they agree with their adversary quickly, while they are in the way with him, lest at any time their adversary deliver them to the judge, the judge to the officer, and they be cast into that prison, from whence they shall never escape, till they have paid the last mite. On the Sonship of Jesus Christ, extracted from The Religious Monitor or Scots Presbyterian Magazine," published in Edinburgh, June, 1803. I1 T is doubtless of some importance to ascertain what is the true scriptural meaning of the titles, Son of God, only begotten Son, God's own Son, and the Son, which are in scripture so frequently given to Jesus of Nazareth. It is naturally to be expected, that such as are opposed to the doctrine of the supreme deity of our glorious Redeemer, should be disposed to explain not only these, but all other titles which are given him, in such a sense as to exclude proper divinity. R These names, however, are supposed by some who are friends to the real divinity of the Saviour, to be expressive rather of his humanity, or of his mediatorial of fice, than of his divine nature, as proceeding from the Father, by an eternal, ineffable generation; and to be pretty much of the same import with the names Son of Man, Righteous Servant, Branch of Righteousness, &c. stricted to the human nature, or to the office of the Messiah, and must imply pretty much the same with the Son of Man, Righteous Servant, &c. or the real divinity of Christ must be given up. But although it be readily admitted, that the name and title Son of God, is many times given to Christ where the inferior nature is included, and, perhaps, sometimes where his humanity is principally intended; for this plain reason, that many things are, in scripture, asserted concerning his person, which are true only of one of his natures, as, "That the Lord of glory was crucified," and, "That the church was redeemed by the blood of God"-it nevertheless appears evident from revelation, that Christ's Sonship existed, previous to either his assumption of human nature, or his appointment to the office of Messiah. To admit the contrary supposition appears, in no small degree, to weaken the evidences of the supreme deity of Christ. As this is a subject of pure revelation, we must expect to derive all our information from the law and the testimony. The following considerations are submitted to the reader. In support of this idea of the Sonship of Christ, it is alledged, that the name and relation of Son, according to the idiom of all languages with which we are acquainted, necessarily implies derivation, and a certain degree of inferiority. That the title Son, or Sons of God, is one which is, in scripture, given both to angels and men. That Christ frequently speaks of himself as being, in the relation and capacity of a Son, inferior to the Father, and acting by a derived, delegated power, saying, "I can do nothing of myself" My Father is greater than I." That the term Son, implies either the derivation of one being from another, as men are called sons, or children of men ; or the likeness of one being or thing to another, as angels and holy men are called sons or children of God; young men that were instructed and prepar-judicious interpreters of Scriped for the gift of prophecy, are called sons, or children of the prophets. Wicked men are called children of Belial, or wickedness, and proud men are called the children of Pride.This being, therefore, a title improper to be applied to supreme Deity, and necessarily implying derivation and inferi-being of the same common na ority, it is urged, that either the term Son of God must be re It is allowed by nearly all ture, to be most natural to admit the literal sense of a term or phrase, as the true sense, unless where various circumstances concur to show it to be used figuratively. But the term Son, in the most strict, literal, and generally received sense, in all languages, supposes a father a ture with him. Though it be admitted that the term is many was God's own Son, only begotten Son, &c. ? With respect to the objection, that Sonship implies derivation and inferiority, it appears to originate from our connecting those ideas with the supreme Being, which belong to creatures. But, because among men a father necessarily begets a son younger than himself, it will not follow that the title son, as applied to Christ, implies inferiority. All the inferiority of a son to father, among men, arises from this circumstance of human generation, and the nature of created beings. Separ the same nature is the father's equal. Perhaps, a more just idea of the manner in which the Son of God is begotten of the Father, cannot be formed by mortal man, than what is derived from Psalm ii. 7. “Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee." The divine existence is not in succession, ad times used in a lower sense, as in the case of angels and men, who are called sons or children of God; yet, it is much questioned whether those strongly definite terms The Son, by way of eminence, God's own Son, and Only begotten Son, are ever used to express a lower idea of Sonship than what is implied in a sameness of nature with the Father. Certain it is, neither angels nor men are the sons of God, according to the sense of these terms. "For unto which of the angels, said he, at any time, thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee." Heb. i. 5. Supposing one person was cal-ate from this, the son being of led the Son, the only Son, the only begotten Son of another, if we should understand the terms in any other sense than as expressing a sameness of nature, and a descent by natural generation, it would introduce such a confusion of ideas and terms, as would go far towards reducing all language to the utmost uncertainty. What more, there-mitting past, present and future; fore, could the inspired penman say, to assert Christ to be a Son of the same nature with the Father, and proceeding from him by an eternal, though inexplicable generation, than to call him God's own Son, only begotten Son, &c.? Supposing the doctrine of Christ's eternal Sonship to be true, I see not how the truth of it could be conveyed in sufficiently strong terms, or how we could have a revelation sufficiently clear, to fix our faith in the belief of it, if such a revelation is not given in the terms made use of by the sacred penman; for what more could be said to prove him to be a Son by nature, than to say he but is one eternal day, or now. So the Son's being begotten of the Father, is the immanent act of one eternal day.-Therefore, this text is equally true of a whole eternity, as of any given point of time. Consequently, the term begotten, as applied. to Christ, implies no inferiority, either of dignity, or in point of succession of existence. Other circumstances, besides the obvious sense of the term, also concur to show us that this title is originally divine, or expressive of the supreme deity of Christ particularly. As Son, and in the relation of a Son to the Father, he is declared to be an object of worship, both by men and angels; and, in many was worship. He hath said, I am God." places, the reason why he was worshipped was, that he was the Son of God. John v. 23. "That all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father." Heb. i. 6. "When he bringeth his first begotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him." Ps. xlv. 11. "He is thy Lord worship thou him." Agreeably hereto, we find various instances, in which divine worship was given to him while on earth, as soon as he was known to be the Son of God. As By the wise men of the east. Matt. ii. 2.-By the cleansed leper. Matt. viii. 2.By the ruler of the synagogue, when he intreated him in behalf of his daughter. Matt. ix. 18. By the people who had been with him in the ship, and had seen his power in calming the tempest. Matt. xiv. 3.By the woman of Canaan.— Matt. xv. 25.-By the man who had been possessed of the legion. Mark v. 6.-By the blind man who had been restar-represented him as a supered to sight. John ix. 38.—By the woman who first repaired to the sepulchre after his resurrection. Matt. xxviii. 9.-And by his disciples when they first saw him after he was risen from the dead. Luke xxiv. 52.The ground upon which divine worship was, in these instances, given him, was, that the parties knew and believed him to be the Son of God. But we cannot admit the supposition, that, in so many instances, divine worship would be given to, and received by him, upon a ground which implied no proper divinity. God is ever jealous of his glory, particularly of the glory of being the sole and exclusive object of all divine and religious of Jesus. Worship Rev. ix. 10. and xxii. 9. But if worship was to be given him, upon a ground which did not imply Deity, would it not be to countenance idolatrous worship? Admitting him to be truly God, yet if the worshipper had no knowledge or belief of his divinity, nor any knowledge of his person and office, but through the medium of a title which implied no proper divinity, and was only appropriate to the inferior nature, or at best, angelic created being, it would be no more than creature worship. And if worship was commanded to him on such a ground, as it is expressly, Heb. i. 6. would it not contradict the command, "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." Farther, as Son, and in the relation of a Son to the Father, divine works are ascribed to him. But neither the mere human nature of Christ, nor any created being, however exalted, ever did such works as are properly the works of God. Among such works note the creation of the world, John i. 3. All things were made by him, and without him was there not any thing 4 made that was made. By com- grace, mercy and peace, 2 John 3. "Grace be with you, and mercy and peace from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love." And the Apostle's elaborate proof that Jesus is the Son of God, consequently an object of faith, issues in an assertion that he is the true God, and eternal life, i. e. The Son of God, in whom we have life, upon whom we are to believe for eternal life, and who giveth spiritual understanding, is the true God and eternal life. 1 John v. 11,12,13,20. UnbelievHe raisething Thomas, reclaimed from his and judgeth incredulity, exclaims, My Lord and my God! John xx. 28.— This exclamation related to the same person whom he had seen, and with whom he had frequently conversed in the days of his flesh. Our Lord, so far from correcting his error, if it was one, pronounceth him blessed as a believer; and the inspired penman adds, "These are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,” i. e. Thomas's confession of Christ as his Lord and his God, was written among other things, that we might believe him to be the Son of God. To the same purpose see John xiv. 9, 10, 11. "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father: I am in the Father, and the Father in me." But unless, as the Son of the Father, he is truly God, instead of seeing the Father in him, we see no more than the Father's servant. The same idea of Christ's Sonship appears, also, to be plainly expressed in such Scriptures as the following, which ascribe divinity to him in the fullest sense as Son, and in the relation of a Son to the Father: Heb. i. 8. quoted from Psal. xlv. 6. "And unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever; and the sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom." To the same purpose, ver. 10. quoted from Psalm cii. 25, 26. "And thou, Lord, in the beginning, hast laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of thine hands." These words are evidently spoken of the Je-ration and Sonship seems, also, hovah of Israel, but here applied by the Father to the Son. As the Son of the Father, he is addressed as the joint giver of The eternity of Christ's gene to be fairly implied in many Scriptures of the Old Testament, particularly in such, as follow: Proverbs viii. 22, 23. |
