"By these titles it clearly appeareth, firft, that they made a confiderable difference between the Perfon of the Father, of whom are all things, and the Perfon of the Son, By whom are all things. Secondly, that the difference confifteth properly in this,That as the branch is from the root, and river from the fountain, and by their origination from them receive that being which they have, whereas the root receiveth nothing from the branch, or fountain from the river; fo the Son is from the Father, receiving his fubfiftence by generation from him, and the Father is not from the Son, as being what he is from none." 11. "It is most reasonable to affert, that there is but one perfon, who is from none; and the very generation of the Son and proceffion of the Holy Ghost, undeniably prove that neither of these two can be that perfon. For whofoever is generated is from him who is the Genitor, and whofoever proceedeth is from him from whom he proceedeth, whatsoever the nature of generation and proceffion be. It followeth, therefore, that this perfon is the Father, which name fpeaketh nothing of dependance, nor fuppofeth any kind of priority in another. 12. "From hence it is obferved, that the name God, taken abfolutely, is often in the Scriptures fpoken of the Father; as when we read of God's fending his own Son; of the grace of our Lord Jefus Chrift, and the love of God; and generally wherefoever Chrift is called the Son of God, or the Word of God, the name of God is to be taken particularly for the Father, because he is no Son but of the Father. From hence he is ftiled one God, the true God, the only true God, the God and Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift: Which, as it is moft true, and fo fit to be believed, is alfo a most neceffary truth, and therefore to be acknowledged, for the avoiding multiplicity and plurality of Gods. For if there were more than one which were from none, it could not be denied, but there were more Gods than one. Where fore fore this origination in the Divine Paternity hath anciently been looked upon as the affertion of the Unity and therefore the Son and the Holy Ghoft have been believed to be but one God with the Father, because both from the Father, who is one, and so the union of them.' 13. As the moft weighty objection that ever has been, or can be made to the Divinity of Chrift, and the doctrine of the Trinity, is, "that it feems to make three Supreme Gods, three infinite and independant Beings, three omnifcient, omnipotent, and felf-exiftent Spirits; and as Bishop Pearfon, after the ancient Fathers, feems very fatisfactorily to obviate that objection, I fhall tranfcribe, here, another paffage out of the fame Book, in which he explains himself still more fully. 14" This is not to be denied, that there can be but one Effence properly divine, and fo but one God of infinite wisdom, power and majefty; that there can be but one perfon originally of him felf fubfifting in that infinite being, because a plurality of more, perfons, fo fubfifting, would neceffarily infer a multiplicity of Gods;that the Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift is originally God, as not receiving his Eternal Being from any other. Wherefore, it neceffarily followeth, that Jefus Chrift, who is certainly not the Father, cannot be a perfon fubfifting in the Divine Nature originally of himself; and, confequently, being, we have already proved, that he is truly and properly the Eternal God, he must be underftood to have the Godhead communicated to him * I had made, and thought to have added here, a large Extrac from Bishop Bull's Defence of the Nicene Faith to the fame purpofe; but as it would be little better than a repetition of what has now been laid before the Reader, I forbear. Bishop Beveridge, and Mr. William Stephens, have confidered the matter in the fame light. And, of late, Dr. Horfley, in his Letters to Dr. Priestley, has obferved, that "Three co-ordinate Perfons Would be manifeftly three Gods." by by the Father, who is not only eternally, but originally God.All things that the Father hath are mine, faith Chrift; becaufe, in him, is the fame fulness of the Godhead, and more than that the Father cannot have: but yet in that perfect and abfolute equality there is, notwithstanding this disparity, that the Father hath the Godhead not from the Son, nor any other, whereas the Son hath it from the Father. Chrift is the True God and Eternal Life; but that he is fo, is from the Father: for as the Father hath life in himself, fo hath he given to the Son to have life in himfelf,-not by participation, but by communication.It is true our Saviour was fo in the Form of God, that he thought it no robbery to be equal with God: but when the Jews fought to kill him because he made himfelf equal with God, he anfwered, Verily, verily, I fay unto you, the Son can do nothing of himfelf, but what he feeth the Father do; by that connexion of his operations, fhewing the reception of his Effence, and by the acknowledgment of his Power, profeffing his fubftance from the Father. 15. "From whence, he who was equal, even in that equality, confeffeth a priority, faying,-The Father is greater than I. The Son equal in respect of his nature, the Father greater in reference to the communication of the Godhead. I know him, faith Chrift, for I am from him. And because he is from the Father, therefore he is called by those of the Nicene Council, in their Creed, God of God, Light of Light, Very God of very God. The Father is God, but not of God-Light, but not of Light;-Chrift is God, but of God-Light, but of Light. There is no difference or inequality in the Nature or Effence, because the fame in both; but the Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift hath that Effence of himfelf from none; Christ hath the fame, not of himfelf, but from him. 16 "And being the Divine Nature, as it is abfolutely immaterial and incorporeal, as alfo indivifible, Chrift cannot have any part of it only communicated communicated to him, but the whole; by which he must be acknowledged co-effential, of the fame substance with the Father, as the Council of Nice determined, and the Ancient Fathers before them taught. Hence appeareth the truth of these words of our Saviour, which raised a second motion in the Jews to ftone him:-I and the Father are one; where the plurality of the verb, and the neutrality of the noun, with the distinction of their perfons, fpeak a perfect identity of their Effence. And though Chrift fay the Father is in me, and I in him, yet withal he faith, I came out from the Father: by the former, fhewing the Divinity of his Effence-by the latter, the origination of himself.-We must not look upon the Divine Nature as fteril, but rather acknowledge and admire the fecundity and communicability of itself, upon which the creation of the world dependeth; God making all things by his Word, to whom he firft communicated that omnipotency which is the cause of all things." < One 17. The Godhead, therefore, is but one: Creator, (as Mr. Fletcher has expreffed it, P. 35-) over numberlefs creatures, one Infinite Being over myriads of finite beings, one Eternal Intelligence over millions of tempory intelligences." This Godhead exifts in the Father as in its fource and original, and is communicated by him to his Word, or Son, in whom it hath pleafed him all fulness fhould dwell. In and by him the Divine Omnipotence is put forth, (if I may fo exprefs it,) and exerted to create, preferve, and govern the univerfe, the Deity is manifefted, and the Father's will made known, to Patriarchs and Prophets, at fundry times, and in divers manners, thro' a long run of ages. And in the fulness of time, the fame Godhead, in and by the fame Word (made flesh) redeems and faves loft Mankind, and will judge both Men and Angels at the Laft Day. - 18. The Father, therefore, is the fountain of Deity, and of Divine Power: and hence it is, that as the gifts and operations of the Holy Ghoft are afcribed afcribed to him in Scripture, (because they really are his gifts and operations, in and by the Holy Ghoft, his own Spirit)fo, in like manner, refpecting the Word, the Son. His manifeftations and works are afcribed to the Father, because they really are the Father's works and manifestations, in and by the Logos, his own Word. If it be asked, How far are the Word and Spirit diftin&t, and how do they differ from the Father, and from each other? Tanfwer,-How far they are diftinct, and how they differ, is impoffible for us fully to fay, becaufe it is not told us. We only know that they are manifeftly distinguished, and have perfonal actions attributed to them in the Holy Scriptures; and that, the Father is fpoken of as the fource and principle, both of the Word and Spirit, and is reprefented as calling creatures into exiftence, and revealing himself and his will to the intelligent part of thofe creatures, by that Word, and communicating himself and his nature, by that Spirit. So that, as he is diftinguished from them both, as the Sun is diftinguished from his rays, and a fountain from its ftreams,fo they are diftinguished from each other, the Word chiefly appearing, and, as the exprefs image of the Father's perlon, externally revealing the Deity; and the Holy Ghoft, remaining invisible, and internally communicating him. And, no doubt, there is in the nature of the Godhead a reafon for this, though we cannot comprehend it. We have, therefore, only one Jehovah, one living and true God, manifefting himself and his will by his Word, and communicating himfelf and his nature by his Spirit. 19. Hence we may put the queflion which the Prophet puts, with as much propriety as any Unitarian in the world,To whom, then, will ye liken God, or what likeness will ye compare unto him ? Or, in the language of the Lord himfelf,To whom will ye liken me? or fhall I be equal, faith the Holy One? - -And yet, with St. Paul and St. John, we may anfwer,- The Word R that |