God's is not another's: Jefus Chrift is therefore one with the Father, God.

LXII.

"The churches of Chrift falute you," Rom. xvi. 16. "Paul called to be an apoftle of Jefus Chrift, through the will of God, and Softhenes our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth," I Cor. i. 1, 2. It is remarkable that St. Paul wrote from Corinth to Rome, and in his epiftle thence calls the churches there the churches of Chrift; and that when he is at another time writing to the very fame churches which he had fo denominated, he addreffes himself to the church of God which is at Corinth," and defcribes the members of this church to be "fanctified in Chrift Jefus, called to be faints, and calling upon the name of the Lord Jefus, both theirs and ours. There is but one church of God, and that is of Chrift who is called upon in it: Jefus Chrift is therefore one with the Father, God. "Grace be unto you," fays St. Paul, immediately after addreffing the church which called upon the Lord Jefus, whom he profeffes to be his Lord and theirs, "and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jefus Chrift;" and then he proceeds, "I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you, by Jefus Chrift," I Cor. i. 3, 4. This is a very extraordinary gift for our Saviour to make if it was not his to give ; but he has given it. The grace of God is therefore the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, with the Father, one God.

LXIII.

"So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jefus Chrift: who fhall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blamelefs in the day of our Lord Jefus Chrift," 1 Cor. i. 7, 8. "He that judgeth me is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will

bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifeft the counfels of the hearts: and then fhall every man have praife of God," 1 Cor. iv. 4, 5. That God, for whofe praife Paul is contented to wait, rather than seek the praise of men, is certainly the Lord who will come to judge, and to make manifeft the counsels of the hearts. But that the Lord who "judgeth Paul' is the Lord Jefus, whofe coming he defires the Corinthians to wait for, that in his day they may be found blamelefs, is alfo certain: the conclufion is, that the Lord Jefus is the Lord, and that the Lord he is God;" and if this needed farther proof, it will appear from the following texts to be the Lord Jefus Chrift, whofe praise he defireth: “we are come as far as to you also, in preaching the gofpel of Chrift: having hope, when your faith is encreased, that we fhall be enlarged by you according to our rule abundantly, to preach the gospel in the regions beyond you, and not to boaft in another man's line of things made ready to our hand. But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. For not he that commendeth himfelf is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth" 2 Cor. x. 14 to 18.

LXIV.

"For it hath been declared unto me, that there are contentions among you. Now this I fay, that every one of you faith, I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ. Is Chrift divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?" 1 Cor. i. 11, 12, 13. From Chrift's not being divided, he diffuades them from divifions, ver. 10. "Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but minifters by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered: but God gave the encrease," I Cor. iii. 5, 6. So that God who gave to every man the encrease, that is, affifted them ceiving the gospel, which was planted and watered by

re

P

Paul

Paul and Apollos, is the Lord, according to whofe gift they believed. Of Jefus Chrift it is faid, that "he fhall confirm them unto the end," 1 Cor. i. 8. That which was given to every man, confirmation in faith, is then the gift of Jefus Chrift the Lord; but God gave, the encrease: therefore Jefus Chrift, the Lord who gave it, is one with the Father, God.

LXV.

"I thank God, that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius: left any should say, that I had baptized in my own name," I Cor. i. 14, 15. As Jefus Christ had given command to his difciples to baptize "in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghoft," one God; and as they, in obedience to this command, went forth into all nations, baptizing in the name of Jefus Chrift, one with the Father and the Holy Ghost, God, (for I dare not suppose them disobedient to the voice of their afcending Lord) Paul, having reprehended the Corinthians for looking upon him, Apollos, and Cephas, as equally objects of their adherence as Chrift, who alone was crucified for them, proceeds to return thanks to God that he had not led fuch unstable fouls into farther errour, and by the exercise of that duty which was to be performed in the name of God, brought them to transfer that divinity to himself which belonged to Chrift only: for if their preaching Chrift crucified could bring his hearers to conceive the preachers as Chrift, he eafily faw that baptifm in his name would have induced them to look upon them as bapti

zing

* The people of Lystra actually had fallen into this errour: Barnabas they confidered as the chief of their deities, and because of his eloquence would have done facrifice to Paul the aged as to the youthful fon of Maia. The utmost exertion of their authority was requifite to fupprefs this intended addratio and the impaffioned anxiety with which the apoftles accordingly exerted themselves, fhews the great uneafinefs with which they refented fuch an erroneous acceptation of their doctrine. Acts xiv.7.

zing in their own name, and affuming to themfelves that Godhead, to the belief in which baptifm was administered in the name of Chrift; an errour of so great magnitude, that the apostle is very happy in not having afforded occafion for it to men, whom he faw fo ready to mifinterpret the miniftry and apoftleship of the gofpel, which he had preached among them. Mr. Lindsey draws a very extraordinary conclufion from the passage before us, and fays, it affords a proof that "baptizing in the name of any one does not of itself imply any divinity in the person in whose name baptifm is made.” I request that this chapter may be turned to, and refer it to the meaneft reader, who fhall honour me with a perusal, whether Mr. Lindsey has not fallen into the very errour which St. Paul is here cenfuring in the Corinthi ans; for at the leaft it must be admitted that Paul's thanksgiving is made, either that they did not account him as Chrift, or Chrift as him.

LXVI.

As I have already proved that it was Jefus Chrift who fent forth the apoftles to preach him, and who had chofen thofe veffels which fhould bear his name before the Gentiles, I fhall not now repeat the arguments already made ufe of, but defire my reader may compare the paffages brought together to that purpose, with the following declaration of St, Paul," that not many wife men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. But God hath chofen the foolish things of the world, to confound the wife; and God hath chofen the weak things of the world, to confound the things which are mighty; that no flesh should glory in his prefence," I Cor. i. 26, 27, 28, 29. This he speaks of the preachers of the gospel who had been sent by Jefus Chrift; for he fays, " it pleafed God by the foolishness of preaching to fave them that believe," 1 Cor. i. 21. Jefus Christ therefore, who chose them, and "whose

ftrength is perfected in weakness," is one with the Fa ther, God; who hath chofen the weak things to confound the mighty. "He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord," I Cor. i. 31, and 2 Cor. x. 17; in which latter place it is evidently spoken of Jefus Chrift. It is reasonably to be concluded then that he is the Lord, in whom Paul defires us to glory; "as it is written," by Jeremiah, to whom God fpeaks, "let him that glorieth, glory in this; that he underftandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord, which exercise loving-kindness, judgment and righteousness in the earth: för in these things I delight, faith the Lord," Jer. ix. 24.

་

LXVII.

"Had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory," 1 Cor. ii. 8. "Ye killed the Prince of Life," or, as it ftands in the margin of the Bible, "the Author of Life." "And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did alfo your rulers," Acts iii. 15, 17. My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jefus Chrift, the Lord of glory, with respect of perfons," Jam s ii. 1. In this laft text the tranflation hes fupplied the words the Lord," but the following words "of glory," which exprefs the whole meaning in the Greek, require them, or others to the fame purpose, to exprefs it in English; and St. Paul's having used the whole phrafe is a fufficient warrant to the tranflators for preferring that which they have used. And the Lord of glory is a title not very applicable to a creature; for God has faid, "I am the Lord, that is my name, and my glory will I not give to another." "Who is this King of glory? the Lord of Hofts, he is the King of glory," Pfal. xxiv. 10. Who is this Prince and Author of Life?" the Lord God who formed man of the duft of the ground, and breathed into his noftrils the breath of life,” Gen. ii. 7. See Inquiry into the belief of the Chriftians of the first three Centuries, p. 129, & 84.

LXVIII.