I begotten thee?"—this day, that is to say, from all eternity, or "before the day-star;" as it is said, Psalm cix. -Psalm v. 3. And, "from the days of eternity" (Micheas, v. 2); because, as the Eternity of God exists always entire, and is an indivisible and immoveable Now, on which, St. Augustine observes, Psalm ii. No. 2, "Nothing is past, as if it had ceased to be, nor future, as it were not as yet." It is most properly expressed by the word Hodie, this day; and hence God himself expressed his eternal and permanent Being by a word, in the present tense (Exod. iii. 14): "I am who am. Thus shalt thou say to the Children of Israel: He who is, has sent me to you." Many other passages I might bring forward in support of the dogma under consideration, but this one text, taken from the 2nd Psalm, being so very peremptory and decisive, puts the question at rest for ever.

The Christian Fathers of the Church are all on the side of the Christian Dogma. St. Ignatius Martyr, in his Epistle to the Magnesians, speaks thus: "There is one God, who has made himself known by Jesus Christ his Son; who is his Eternal Word, that went out from him not after a silence; that is to say, not as if there had been time in which the Word did not exist." Unus est Deus, qui seipsum reddidit per Jesum Christum filium Suum; qui est ipsius verbum sempiternum non post silentium progressum." But I refer you to Dialog-cum Tryph. Athenegoras in his Apology for the Christians. St. Theophilus of Antioch, in his 2nd Book to Autoloyeus. St. Irenæus, 3rd Book against Heresies, c. xviii. Tertullian against Praxeas, c. viii. St. Clement of Alexandria, who explicitly teaches, that the Eternal Word made this Universe.-"Unus est Christus, qui est in patre co-eternum verbum." St. Dionysius of Alexandria, in his Epistle to Paul of Somosata.

Therefore from the testimonies of the Ante-Nicene Fathers,

it is incontrovertibly demonstrated, that it was the steady and uniform belief of the first ages of the Church, that Jesus Christ, as the Word, is begotten by the Father, by an ineffable and eternal Generation, and that, of course, he is True God; although some would endeavour, in the face of all truth, to persuade the Public, that the Ante-Nicene Fathers were all Unitarians.-(See Letter XVI.)

LETTER IV.

TO THE REV. CHARLES LE BLANC.

THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST ARGUED FROM SOME PASSAGES

IN THE EPISTLE OF 1ST ST. JOHN.

Humanity and Deity of Christ-The Docetæ, Cerinthians, and Ebionites censured-The Apostle maintains that Jesus Christ is the only Propitiation for Sin-Why Socinians deny the atonement—View of the doctrine given by Dr. Samuel Johnson-Displays the infinity of the love of God-Jesus one with the Father and the Holy Ghost-Objections answered-Authorities cited— Reference to other authorities-Jesus Christ the True God and Eternal Life -Opinion of Doddridge-Clarke and Whiston.

REV. SIR,

This same Apostle begins his first Epistle with a description of the divinity and humanity of Jesus, and ends it with the strongest declaration of his supreme Deity. And all this he does in opposition to the several heresies of the age in which he lived. For, it is well known by the learned, there were some then who denied the divinity of our Saviour, and others who ran into the contrary extreme

and denied his humanity. In opposition to which errors, John, by his apostolical authority, asserts both the one and the other at the very opening of this divine discourse. He had been peculiarly loved by his Master, and he retained a peculiar concern for the honour of his Master. And as he introduced his Gospel with an account of his divine nature, and then proceeded to his incarnation, so here he introduces this Epistle with an account of his divinity and humanity jointly: "That which was from the beginning, 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 shew unto you that eternal life which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us; that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you." 1 John i. 3. This is a description both of the Saviour's humanity and divinity. (The Holy Apostle plainly censures the same heretics, the Docetæ, Cerinthians, and Ebionites, in the first Epistle also, and calls them all by that one name of the Antichrists, as Irenæus, Tertullian, and others of the ancients have observed. See Bishop Bull's Judgment of the Catholic Church of the three first centuries concerning the necessity of believing that our Lord Jesus Christ is true God, chap. 2, sect. 5, where there is an admirable illustration of the several phrases in this Epistle which allude to the heresies then prevailing in the Church.) "That which was from the beginning-the Word of life-that Eternal life which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us,”—are all expressions of similar import with several of those in the introduction to his gospel, and are intended to oppose the heresy of those persons who said Jesus Christ was nothing more than a mere man, and had no existence before he was born. So the expressions, "Which we have heard—which we have seen with our eyes-which we have looked up-and our hands have handled of the word of life,"

-are all expressions intended to oppose the heresy of those who denied his real humanity, and said he had no body, but only in appearance.

The next place in this epistle, which asserts the divinity of the Son of God, is that in the beginning of the second chapter, where it is said:" If any man sin we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 John ii. 1, 2). Now, though this passage does not say in direct terms, that Jesus is more than man, yet it declares such things of him as cannot be predicted of any mere man. For the atonement for the sins of the world, which Jesus made by the shedding of his blood, and which is so strongly expressed in these words, implies absolutely the superhumanity of Jesus. Common sense will tell any person, that man cannot atone for man. Hence we find, that all the Socinians, who deny the divinity of Christ, deny the atonement of Christ. For the atonement for sin implies the divinity. If therefore these words assert the doctrine of the atonement, they assert at the same time the doctrine of the divinity. They stand or fall together.

I transcribe here the short view of the doctrine of Atonement which Dr. Samuel Johnson gave to his friend Mr. Boswell:-"Whatever difficulty there may be in the conception of vicarious punishments, it is an opinion which had possession of mankind in all ages. There is no nation that has not used the practice of Sacrifices. Whoever, therefore, denies the propriety of vicarious punishments, holds an opinion which the sentiments and practice of mankind have contradicted from the beginning of the world. The great Sacrifice for the sins of mankind was offered at the death of the Messiah, who is called in Scripture, The Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins of the world. To

judge of the reasonableness of the scheme of redemption, it must be considered as necessary to the government of the Universe, that God should make known his perpetual and irreconcileable detestation of moral evil. He might indeed punish, and punish only the offenders: but as the end of punishment is not revenge of crimes, but propagation of virtue, it was more becoming the divine clemency to find another manner of proceeding, less destructive to man, and at least equally powerful to promote goodness. The end of punishment is to reclaim and warn. That punishment will both reclaim and warn, which shews evidently such abhorrence of sin in God, as may deter us from it, or strike us with dread of vengeance when we have committed it. This is effected by vicarious punishments. Nothing could more fully testify the opposition between the nature of God and moral evil, or more amply display his justice to men and angels, to all orders and successions of beings, than that it was necessary for the highest and purest nature, even for Divinity itself, to pacify the demands of vengeance by a painful death; of which the natural effect will be, that when justice is appeased, there is a proper place for the exercise of mercy; and that such propitiation shall supply in some degree the imperfections of our obedience, and the inefficacy of our repentance: for obedience and repentance, such as we can perform, are still necessary. Our Saviour has told us, that he did not come to destroy the law, but to fulfil;-to fulfil the typical law, by the performance of what those types had foreshewn; and the moral law, by precepts of greater purity and higher exaltation. The peculiar doctrine of Christianity is, that of an universal sacrifice and perpetual propitiation. Other prophets only proclaimed the will and the threatenings of God: Christ satisfied his justice"-(Life of Johnson by Boswell, vol. 2, p. 404).

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