belongs to God, but is that whereby he is considered as opposed to all
created beings, which are dependent upon him, and therefore changed by
him, at his pleasure. Now that Christ is immutable, is evident, if we
compare the words of the Psalmist, Psal. cii. 25-27. _Of old hast thou
laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the work of thy
hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure; yea, all of them shall
wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they
shall be changed; but thou art the same, and thy years shall have no
end_, with Heb. i. 10. where the apostle uses the same words and
considers them as applied to Christ; so that it will be a very hard
matter for any to evade the force of this argument. I am persuaded, that
if the apostle had not applied these words to Christ, the
Anti-trinitarians would have allowed, that the Psalmist gives as plain
an account of the immutability of God, as can be found in scripture, or,
indeed, as words can express. Some of the writers on that side of the
question, have passed over this scripture, as thinking, I suppose, that
it is better not to attempt to account for it consistently with their
scheme, than to do it in such a way, as will not, in the least, support
it: others do not care to own that they are applied to Christ; but that
is to break the chain of the apostle’s reasoning, and thereby to fasten
an absurdity upon him. Now, that we may briefly consider the connexion
between this and the foregoing verses, whereby it will evidently appear
that our Saviour is the Person here described, as unchangeable, let us
consider, that the design of this chapter is to set forth the
Mediatorial glory of Christ, to establish his superiority to angels; and
after he had referred to that scripture, which speaks of the eternity of
his kingdom, to wit, the 45th Psalm, ver. 6. he then speaks of him as
unchangeable, and so applies the words of the Psalmist, but now
mentioned, to him. We may also observe, in the text, that he is not only
unchangeable, as to his existence, but his duration is unchangeable,
which farther confirms what was observed under the last head, that he is
eternal, as God is, _viz._ without succession, as well as from
everlasting: this seems to be contained in that expression, _Thou art
the same, thy years shall not fail_, as though he should say, thy
duration does not slide, or pass away by successive moments, as the
duration of time and created beings do.
To this we might add what the apostle says, Heb. xiii. 8. that he _is
the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever_, that is, throughout all the
changes of time, he remains unchangeably the same in his divine nature.
A late writer[143] supposes the meaning of this scripture to be nothing
but this, that the doctrine of Christ, once taught by the apostles,
ought to be preserved unchanged: it is true, he says elsewhere,[144]
that it is certainly true that the Person of Christ is the same
yesterday, to-day, and for ever; whether, by yesterday, he means any
thing more than a limited duration of time past, which he must do, or
else give up the doctrine that he every where contends for, I cannot
tell; but he does not think that this text respects the Person of
Christ, but his doctrine as above mentioned; the principal argument by
which he proves it is, its supposed connexion with the foregoing verse;
and so it is as though he should say; Have regard to what has been
delivered to you by those who have preached the word of God, who, though
they are no more among you, yet the doctrine they have delivered is the
same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. But it seems to be too great a
strain on the sense of the words, to suppose _Christ_ to import the same
with _his doctrine_; and, with submission, I cannot think that this is
to be inferred from what goes before, or follows after it; but the sense
seems to be this; Adhere to the doctrine you have formerly received from
those who have preached the word of God to you, and be not carried about
with divers and strange doctrines, so as to change your sentiments with
your teachers, for that would not be to act in conformity to Jesus
Christ, who is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever; so that he
designs to establish their faith from the consideration of Christ’s
immutability, whatever changes they are liable to from the death of
their teachers, or the innovations of those who succeed them, and
endeavour to carry them away by divers and strange doctrines; so the
text seems to be as plain a proof of our Saviour’s immutability as that
scripture, Rev. i. 4. is of the immutability of God, in which it is
said, _He is, was, and is to come_. If, by his being _yesterday_, we are
to understand, as some do, his managing the affairs of his church under
the legal dispensation; and _to-day_, his governing them under this
present dispensation; and _for ever_, the eternity of his kingdom, it
plainly proves, that whatever changes he has made in the affairs of the
government of the church and of the world, yet he is the same, and
consequently a divine Person.
3. Another divine attribute ascribed to our Saviour, is omnipresence, as
in Matt, xviii. 20. _Where two or three are gathered together in my
name, there am I in the midst of them_; which expression imports the
same thing, with that whereby the divine omnipresence (as is allowed by
all) is set forth in Exod. xx. 24. _In all places where I record my
name, I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee._ Now that Christ’s
presence in the midst of his people, in all places, argues his
omnipresence, is very evident, since he designs, by this promise, to
encourage them in all places, and at all times, to perform religious
duties, with an eye to this privilege; so that wherever there is a
worshipping assembly, they have hereby ground to expect that he will be
present with them. Now it is certain, that no creature can be in two
places at the same time, much less in all places, which is the same as
to _fill heaven and earth_, and is applicable to God alone, as the
prophet expresses it, in Jer. xxiii. 24. Moreover, when Christ says,
that he will be with his people in all places, it must be meant at the
same time, and not successively, otherwise he could not be where-ever
two or three are met in his name; this therefore is a plain proof of his
omnipresence, which is an incommunicable perfection of the divine
nature, and consequently argues him to be true and proper God.
_Object._ 1. It is objected to the sense we have given of this
scripture, (to weaken the force of the argument taken from it) that our
Saviour is here said to be present, only by his authority, where two or
three are met together in his name; and accordingly the words are to be
taken in a metaphorical sense, as when a king is said to be present in
all parts of his dominions, where persons, who are deputed to represent
him, act by his authority.
_Answ._ Though we allow, that whatever is done in Christ’s name, must be
said to be done by his authority; yet we cannot allow that his being in
the midst of them is to be taken only for his being so by his authority;
for we must not suppose that our Saviour, in these words, makes use of a
tautology; and, indeed, it would be a very jejune and empty way of
speaking to say, that where two or three are met together in my name,
that is, by my authority, there am I in the midst of them, by my
authority. Certainly, Christ’s being in the midst of them, must be taken
in the same sense with that parallel scripture before referred to, in
Exod. xx. 24. where God’s _coming to his people_, in those places where
he records his name, is explained, as having a very great privilege
attending it, namely, his _blessing them_, which he is said to do, when
he confers blessedness upon them, and gives them a full and rich supply
of all their wants; this therefore must be the sense of our Saviour’s
being in the midst of his people.
Moreover, as God is said to be present where he acts, so Christ’s
powerful influence, granted to his people in all places, which supposes
his omnipresence, contains a great deal more than his being present by
his authority; and if that were the only sense in which this scripture
is to be taken, it might as well be alleged, that all the scriptures,
which speak of the divine omnipresence might be taken in that sense,
which would be to set aside all the proofs we have from thence of this
perfection of the divine nature; therefore this objection seems to be
rather an evasion, than an argument, to overthrow Christ’s divinity,
taken from his omnipresence.
_Object._ 2. Others suppose that Christ being in the midst of his
people, when met together in his name, implies nothing more than his
knowing what they do when engaged in acts of religious worship.
_Answ._ We observe, that they who make use of this objection, that they
may militate against that argument, which is brought to prove his Deity
from his omnipresence, will, for argument’s sake, allow him to be
omniscient, not considering that that equally proves him to be a divine
Person, as will be considered under our next head. Now, to prove that
Christ’s being present with his people, is to be understood of his
knowing what they do, they refer to that scripture, 2 Kings v. 26. in
which Elisha says to Gehazi, as knowing what he had done, when he
followed Naaman, the Syrian, for a reward; _Went not mine heart with
thee, when the man turned again from his chariot with thee?_ But since
this scripture signifies nothing else but that this secret was revealed
to him, which is, in a figurative way of speaking, as though he had been
present with him, it will not follow from hence that the prophet
pretended to know what was done in all places, and that at all times,
which is more (as will be farther observed under the next head) than
what seems communicable to any creature: but this is intended by
Christ’s knowing all things, and more than this, doubtless, is meant by
his being in the midst of his people, whereby he encourages them to
expect those blessings, which they stand in need of, from him, in which
respect he promises to be with them in a way of grace; and certainly he
that is so present with his people, must be concluded to be, in the most
proper sense, a divine Person.
There is another scripture, which is generally brought to prove Christ’s
omnipresence, and consequently his proper Deity, to wit, John iii. 13.
_And no man hath ascended up to heaven but he that came down from
heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven._ For the understanding
of which words, we must consider their connexion with what goes
immediately before; thus by, _No man hath ascended up into heaven, but
he that came down from heaven_, It is plain our Saviour means, that no
man has a full and comprehensive knowledge of heavenly things, of which
he had been speaking in the foregoing verse, but he that came down from
heaven; in which he asserts his divine omniscience[145], as the person
in whom all treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hid, as it is
expressed elsewhere; or none knows the mysteries which are hid in God,
but he that is in the bosom of the Father, who came down from heaven;
or, as the apostle expresses it, 1 Cor. xv. 47. who is _the Lord from
heaven_; and then, as a farther proof of his Deity, he adds, that _he is
in heaven_; that is, while he was on earth, in one nature, as being
omnipresent, he was in heaven in the other nature; and, agreeably to
this sense of the scripture, he is said to _come down from heaven_, as
his divine nature manifested its glory here on earth, when the nature
was united to it, which is the only sense in which God is said to come
down into this lower world; as we have the same mode of speaking, in
Gen. xi. 7. Exod. iii. 8. and other places; so that if he is thus
omnipresent, we must conclude that he is a divine Person.
The Arians give a very different sense of this text, especially those
words, _The Son of man, who is in heaven_;[146] for, they suppose, the
words ought to be rendered, _was in heaven_; and that it does not argue
his omnipresence, but that nature, which they call divine, first resided
in heaven from the beginning, when it was produced by the Father; and
afterwards in his incarnation, by a removal from heaven to earth it was
said to come down from thence. But, before we allow of this sense of the
text, they must prove that Christ was the first creature, and that, in
this finite nature, he resided in heaven till his incarnation, and that
he afterwards, by a change of place, descended into this lower world;
and, if they could make this appear, there is yet a difficulty in the
expression, as they understand the words; for it is not usual to say, I
came from a place, and was in that place before I came from it;
therefore whether their exposition of the words, or ours, be most
proper, I leave any one to judge.
As for the Socinians, who deny that Christ had any existence before his
incarnation, these are very much at a loss to account for the sense of
this scripture; though Socinus himself, and many of his followers, have
concluded from thence, that Christ was taken up into heaven some time
after his incarnation, which they suppose to have been in some part of
those forty days in which the scripture says he was in the wilderness
tempted of the devil; but how he could ascend into heaven, and yet be in
the wilderness, where one of the evangelists says he was all the forty
days, as Mark i. 13. cannot be easily understood, or accounted for; and,
indeed, the scripture is altogether silent as to this matter: and it is
very strange, if it had been so, that when we have an account of other
circumstances in his life, which are of less importance, no mention
should be made of this, which, had it been discovered, would have been a
great inducement to his followers to have paid the highest regard to his
doctrine; for they suppose he was taken up into heaven, that he might be
instructed in those things which he was to impart to the world. And,
instead of a proof hereof, they only say that this is a parallel
instance with that of Moses, who was called up to the top of mount
Sinai, which was then the immediate seat of the divine presence, and
there received the law, which he was to impart to Israel; so, they
suppose, it was necessary, that our Saviour should ascend into heaven,
that he might there be instructed in that doctrine, which he was to
communicate to his church.
But we cannot but conclude, that being omniscient, as will be proved
under our next head, he had no need to receive instructions, and having,
in his human nature, had an unction from the Holy Ghost; or, as it is
expressed, John iii. 34. that _God gave not the Spirit by measure unto
him_, therefore it was necessary that he should ascend into heaven, to
receive the doctrines from thence, which he was to deliver. Moreover,
according to this conjecture, his coming from heaven, in the end of
time, to judge the world, should have been called his _third_ coming,
(as his first coming from thence was in his incarnation, and his second
coming is supposed to be his return to this world, after he ascended
into heaven, during this interval of time) which is contrary to that
text of scripture, in Heb. ix. 28. which calls it, _his coming the
second time, without sin, unto salvation_. And, indeed, it is so
ungrounded a supposition, that some of the Socinians themselves reckon
it, at most, but a probable conjecture, but do not pretend to say that
it is sufficiently founded in scripture; and therefore we cannot think
that this will have any tendency to enervate the force of our argument,
to prove Christ’s Deity, taken from the above-mentioned sense of that
text; _The Son of man, which is in heaven_.
4. Our Saviour’s Deity may farther be proved, from his being omniscient:
thus the apostle Peter says, in John xxi. 17. _Lord thou knowest all
things, thou knowest that I love thee._ This is too great a glory to be
ascribed to any creature; and had it been spoken of the Father, the
Anti-trinitarians themselves would have owned, that it is as great a
proof of his Deity, as any contained in scripture, as importing the same
thing with what the Psalmist says, Psal. cxlvii. 5. _His understanding
is infinite._ But, besides this there is another expression that
abundantly proves this matter, wherein he is denominated the Searcher of
hearts, which is a glory that God appropriates to himself, in Jer. xvii.
10. _I the Lord search the hearts, I try the reins, even to give every
man according to his ways_; and elsewhere, 1 Chron. xxviii. 9. _The Lord
searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the
thoughts_; and all creatures are excluded from having any branch of this
glory, when it is said, in 1 Kings viii. 39. _Thou only knowest the
hearts of all the children of men_: now such a knowledge as this is
ascribed to Christ; sometimes he is said to know the _inward thoughts
and secret reasonings of men within themselves_, Mark ii. 8. And, if it
be said, that this is only a particular instance of knowledge, such as
he might have had by immediate divine inspiration, and therefore that it
does not prove his Godhead; there is another scripture, that speaks of
his knowledge, as more extensive, _viz._ that he knows the thoughts of
all men, John ii. 25. _He needed not that any one should testify of man,
for he knew what was in man_; and this his knowledge does not only
respect men’s present, but their future thoughts, which are not known to
themselves: thus it is said, in John vi. 64. that _he knew from the
beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him_.
And if all this be not reckoned sufficient to prove him to be the
heart-searching God, nothing can be expressed in plainer terms than this
is, concerning him, in Rev. ii. 23. _All the churches shall know that I
am he which searcheth the reins and hearts; and I will give unto every
one of you, according to your works._
_Object._ 1. It is objected to this argument for Christ’s omniscience,
taken from Peter’s confession above-mentioned, _Lord, thou knowest all
things_, &c. that nothing else is intended hereby, but that he had a
very great degree of knowledge; not that he was strictly and properly
omniscient, as supposing that it is an hyperbolical expression, not
altogether unlike that of the woman of Tekoa to David, in 2 Sam. xiv.
20. when she says, _My lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel
of God, to know all things that are in the earth_.
_Answ._ It is true, this expression of her’s is either an unwarrantable
strain of compliment, or flattery, occasioned by David’s suspecting that
Joab had employed her to plead the cause of Absalom; or else it is a
sincere acknowledgment of his great wisdom, without supposing him to be
absolutely omniscient, as though she should say, thou knowest all things
that are done in the land: there is no plot or contrivance, how secret
soever it may be managed, but thou wilt, some way or other, find it out,
as thou hast done this that I am sent about. But what reference has this
to Peter’s confession? Does it follow, that because there are
hyperbolical expressions in scripture, as well as in other writings,
that this must be one? or because a wise governor may have a conjectural
knowledge of what is done by his subjects, when considering the various
circumstances that attend their actions, that therefore the apostle
intends nothing more than this? It is plain he appeals to Christ, as the
heart-searching God, concerning the inward sincerity of his love to him,
as well as of his repentance, after a public and shameful denial of him,
which might have given just occasion for its being called in question;
and it is as evident a proof of his omniscience, as that is of the
Father’s, in Psal. cxxxix. 23, 24. _Search me, O God, and know my heart;
try me and know my thoughts, and see if there be any wicked way in me_,
&c.
_Object._ 2. Others, especially some of the Arians, do not so much deny
Christ’s omniscience, as the consequence deduced from it, to wit, his
proper Deity; and these make use of a more abstruse and metaphysical way
of reasoning, and accordingly they suppose that a creature may know all
things, that is, all finite objects, and consequently all things that
are done in the world, namely, all creatures, and all their actions,
since the object of this knowledge is, at most, but finite; therefore it
is possible for a finite mind to be so enlarged, as to take in all
finite things, or to have the knowledge of all things communicated to
it, since the object and the recipient are commensurate with each other.
Therefore our Saviour may know all things; and yet it will not follow
from hence, that his understanding is infinite, or that his knowledge is
so properly divine as the Father’s is; and consequently this is no
sufficient argument to prove his Deity in the sense in which we
understand it.
_Answ._ This method of reasoning might as well be used to evade the
force of every argument, brought from scripture, to prove the Father’s
omniscience, or, indeed, to evince his infinite power, since all effects
produced, which are the objects thereof, are but finite; and therefore
it may as well be said, that it does not require infinite power to
produce them, nor prove his eternal power and Godhead.
Moreover, as this would tend to destroy the infinite disproportion
between God and the creature in acting, so it supposes that God can
communicate a branch of his own glory to a creature, by enlarging it to
such a degree, as to take in all finite objects. There are some things
not so properly too great for God to do, as for a creature to be the
subject of: we do not pretend to set limits to the divine power; yet we
may infer, from the nature of things, and the powers of finite beings,
that it is impossible for any one, below God, to know all things past,
present, and to come, at one view; which our Saviour must be supposed to
do, or else this attribute of omniscience is not justly applied to him;
nor would he be fit to govern the world, as will be observed under a
following head; therefore we must conclude, from hence, that he is truly
and properly a divine Person.
To what has been said, concerning Christ’s omniscience, we may subjoin
those scriptures that speak of him, as the _wisdom of God_, the Fountain
of all communicated wisdom, _the light which lighteth every man that
cometh into the world_, as he is called, in John i. 9. And it is
supposed, by many, that _wisdom_ spoken of in Prov. viii. is to be
understood of our Saviour, as the personal wisdom of God, inasmuch as
there are several personal characters ascribed to him: thus it is said,
ver. 23. _I was set up from everlasting_, &c. and ver. 30, 31. _Then_,
to wit, before the creation of all things, _I was by him, as one brought
up with him; and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him,
rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth, and my delights were with
the sons of men_. This cannot properly speaking, be applied to God’s
essential wisdom; it must therefore be a description of an eternal
divine Person, distinct from the Father.
But since many suppose, that whatever is spoken of wisdom, in this and
some other chapters of this book, is only metaphorical, or a beautiful
description of divine wisdom, as the instructor of mankind; though we
cannot see how this, if nothing else be intended by it, can agree with
some of the personal characters before mentioned, which seem applicable
to our Saviour; yet we find that he is elsewhere called the _wisdom of
God_, in a sense, that can by no means be supposed to be figurative:
thus when we read in Luke xi. 49. _Therefore also said the wisdom of
God, I will send them prophets and apostles_, &c. it is certainly
understood of our Saviour.[147] To which, if it be objected, that, by
the _wisdom of God_, is meant there the wise God, to wit, the Father; it
may be answered, that another evangelist, referring to the very same
thing, explains what is meant by the _wisdom of God_, and represents our
Saviour as speaking in his own Person, Matt. xxiii. 34. _Therefore,
behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes_, &c.
5. The next divine perfection that is ascribed to Christ, is almighty
power. This attribute is appropriated, by the Arians to the Father;[148]
and accordingly they suppose, that it implies not only his supremacy
over all creatures, but over the Son and Holy Ghost; and therefore they
peremptorily conclude it is never applied to them, and consequently that
the Deity of our Saviour cannot be proved by it; and that they may turn
our own weapons upon us, or improve some unwary concessions, made by
some very considerable writers, who have, in other respects, very well
defended the doctrine of the Trinity, they seem to insinuate, as though
this were a matter to be taken, as it were, for granted, though it might
easily be made appear, that they strain the sense of those expressions,
from whence they conclude them to have given up the cause to them,
beyond what they ever intended; and there are many others, who are far
from making such concessions.
As for the word παντοκρατωρ, _Almighty_, there is nothing in the
derivation thereof, from whence it may justly be inferred, that it is a
perfection, that contains a greater display of the divine glory, than
the other perfections, that are attributed to all the Persons in the
Godhead, though indeed it contains in it an idea of the universal extent
of divine power, with respect to the objects thereof; yet this is not to
be separated from the sense of the word, when power is ascribed to God
in those scriptures, where he is called _the Almighty_; therefore, if we
can prove that Christ has power ascribed to him, that is properly
divine, this will evince his Deity, as much as though we could produce
several scriptures, in which he is indisputably called _the Almighty_;
and this we shall first endeavour to do, and then enquire whether we
have not as much, or more reason to conclude, that he is called
Almighty, than they have to deny it.