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REMARKS-continued from p. 224.

The qualifications of omniscience, omnipotence, and independence, do not appear to me essential to the office of the delegated governor and judge of mankind. I do not see any reason why the power of such a personage should extend beyond the world over which he presides, or why his knowledge should comprehend the actions, characters, and deserts, not only of those who come before his tribunal, but of all intelligent beings, who have existed in other regions of space and in other periods of eternity. So far as I can judge, the power and knowledge of such an exalted person may rationally be supposed to be not only limited, but also derived and dependent. It is only requisite that he possess the knowledge and power essential to the execution of his office.-Yates.

One need only remark upon the very limited notion which it [the Trinitarian argument] implies of omniscience on the one hand, and of the power of God on the other. The knowledge of all thoughts and deeds which have taken place in this world from its creation would be, compared with OMNISCIENCE, less than the acquaintance that a child may have with its nursery, compared with the apprehensions of an archangel. Would it, then, be an act transcending the power of God to communicate that knowledge? Could he not give to one man a perfect acquaintance with one other? And if this be possible, is his power still so bounded, that he could not give to one who had been a man, a perfect knowledge of the thoughts and deeds of all other men who have lived?-Norton.

If to judge the world be an office which Jesus is to exercise in person, and if it re

quires powers and qualifications superior

to those which he possessed on earth, these may be attained either by the regular and progressive improvement of his powers, in the long interval between his ascension and the day of judgment; or they may be imparted to him for the occasion by God himself, whose organ and delegate he will be on that grand occasion. The sense in which a prophecy is fulfilled is often very different from that which the literal interpretation would lead us to expect. It is therefore highly probable, that the mode in which Christ will eventually execute the office of judging the world will bear little or no resemblance to that which the expressions naturally suggest; and in their true sense they may mean nothing more than what a human being, exalted and endowed as Jesus is, may be qualified to perform. See Jer. i. 10.—Belsham.

See Appendix, page 274, second column.

ILLUSTRATIVE TEXTS.

o 1 Tim. ii. 5: For [there is] one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.

p Job xi. 7—9: Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? [It is] do? deeper than hell; what canst thou as high as heaven; what canst thou know? The measure thereof [is] longer than the earth, and broader than the sea. Chap. xxxvi. 22, 23: Behold, God exalteth by his power: who teacheth like him? Who hath enjoined him his way ? or who can say, Thou bast wrought iniquity? Dan. iv. 35: And all the inhabitants of the earth [are] reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and [among] the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? Rom. xi. 33-35: Oh the depth both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable [are] his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the LORD? or who hath been his counsellor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? - See Isa. lx. 12-18.

q Matt. xix. 28: Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye who have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (G.) Luke xxii. 28-30: Ye are they who have continued with me in my temptations. And as my Father hath appointed unto me a kingdom, I appoint unto you, that ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom; and ye shall sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (G.) 1 Cor. vi. 2, 3: Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not, that we shall judge angels? how much more, things that pertain to this life? Rev. iii. 21: To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. -See Dan. vii. 22.

OBSERVATIONS.

2, 3. The supporters of our Lord's Deity lay the utmost stress on the frequent declarations of Scripture, that Christ will judge the world; and they attempt to prove, that a being capable of performing such a work must possess the attributes of the Deity, particularly omnipotence, omniscience, and independence. Christ is, they say, almighty-he can perform every thing which can possibly be done by an all-wise and gracious God. Now, what is the reason adduced for this opinion? Because he will have the power, at the last day, of assigning to every human being his respective reward or punishment. And is this sufficient evidence for believing that he is omnipotent? Because he will, at a stated time, and for a particular purpose, possess very great authority, does it necessarily follow, that he has, and ever had, and ever will have UNLIMITED power? Or shall we dare to circumscribe omnipotence itself, by boldly asserting that the Almighty cannot impart to one of his creatures a great, but still a finite portion of his own power? No: we dare not thus limit the energies of omnipotence.

Christ, it is affirmed, is omniscient; that is, he sees every secret thought of every intelligent mind, and every particle of matter contained not only in this world, but in the whole universe-in the millions and tens of millions of suns and systems which gem the boundless fields of space. And why is it supposed that Christ sees all this? Because he knows all the dispositions and actions of a vast, but still limited number of men. But have we not formerly proved, that God did actually bestow on prophets and apostles an acquaintance with the secret dispositions of particular persons? And because Jesus will possess a knowledge of the human heart to a more enlarged extent-because it will embrace an acquaintance with the thoughts and actions of every human being, must it follow, as a matter of course, that this species or degree of knowledge cannot be communicated? Must it follow, that he who will have this knowledge will know every thing that is known, and can be known, by the Deity? Surely not.-It is contended, too, that Christ is independent-that none but an independent being can be the Judge of the human The fallacy of such a statement we shall immediately show. To the Christian Scriptures we appeal in support of the opinion, that, in whatever manner the world will be judged, and whatever power and knowledge it will be requisite for the Judge to possess, this mighty work will not be beyond the ability of a finite being, employed by God, to perform. In the primary sense of the word, indeed, God alone will be our Judge; but the Scriptures expressly assert, that God will judge the world by Jesus Christ' the son of man, to whom he hath committed all judgment—a man whom he hath ordained to act, on that occasion, as his representative." These, and other similar declarations, are in direct repugnance to that scheme which supposes the act of judgment to

race.

REMARKS—Continued from p. 224.

The qualifications of omniscience, omnipotence, and independence, do not appear to me essential to the office of the delegated governor and judge of mankind. I do not see any reason why the power of such a personage should extend beyond the world over which he presides, or why his knowledge should comprehend the actions, characters, and deserts, not only of those who come before his tribunal, but of all intelligent beings, who have existed in other regions of space and in other periods of eternity. So far as I can judge, the power and knowledge of such an exalted person may rationally be supposed to be not only limited, but also derived and dependent. It is only requisite that he possess the knowledge and power essential to the execution of his office.-Yates.

One need only remark upon the very limited notion which it [the Trinitarian argument] implies of omniscience on the one hand, and of the power of God on the other. The knowledge of all thoughts and deeds which have taken place in this world from its creation would be, compared with OMNISCIENCE, less than the acquaintance that a child may have with its nursery, compared with the apprehensions of an archangel. Would it, then, be an act transcending the power of God to communicate that knowledge? Could he not give to one man a perfect acquaintance with one other? And if this be possible, is his power still so bounded, that he could not give to one who had been a man, a perfect knowledge of the thoughts and deeds of all other men who have lived?-Norton.

If to judge the world be an office which Jesus is to exercise in person, and if it re quires powers and qualifications superior to those which he possessed on earth, these may be attained either by the regular and progressive improvement of his powers, in the long interval between his ascension and the day of judgment; or they may be imparted to him for the occasion by God himself, whose organ and delegate he will be on that grand occasion. The sense in which a prophecy is fulfilled is often very different from that which the literal interpretation would lead us to expect. It is therefore highly probable, that the mode in which Christ will eventually execute the office of judging the world will bear little or no resemblance to that which the expressions naturally suggest; and in their true sense they may mean nothing more than what a human being, exalted and endowed as Jesus is, may be qualified to perform. See Jer. i. 10.-Belsham.

See Appendix, page 274, second column.

ILLUSTRATIVE TEXTS.

o 1 Tim. ii. 5: For [there is] one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.

p Job xi. 7-9: Canst thou by search. ing find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? [It is] as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know? The measure thereof [is] longer than the earth, and broader than the sea. Chap. xxxvi. 22, 23: Behold, God exalteth by his power: who teacheth like him? Who hath enjoined him his way? or who can say, Thou bast wrought iniquity? Dan. iv, 35: And all the inhabitants of the earth [are] reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and [among] the inlabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? Rom. xi. 33-35: Oh the depth both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable [are] his judg For who hath known the mind of the ments, and his ways past finding out!

LORD? or who hath been his counsellor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? - See Isa. lx. 12-18.

q Matt. xix. 28: Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye who have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (G.) Luke xxii. 28-30: Ye are they who have continued with me in my temptations. And as my Father hath appointed unto me a kingdom, I appoint unto you, that ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom; and ye shall sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (G.) 1 Cor. vi. 2, 3: Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not, that we shall judge angels? how much more, things that pertain to this life? Rev. iii. 21: To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. -See Dan. vii. 22.

OBSERVATIONS.

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[Continued from page 225.

be performed by an almighty, omniscient, and independent being. The man whom God hath ordained"-"the son of man," Jesus Christ, is the person by whom God will judge the world. Now, we ask, Can an independent being be employed by any one to perform a work? Can he who is an agent in the hands of Deity possess inherent and almighty power? Can such a person be really and truly omniscient? All this, however, some Trinitarians may allege, is possible, and even true; for, according to them, Jesus Christ was both God and man-he was a divine Mediator- he had two distinct natures in one person. But who told them so? Not the Bible. The Scriptures give no support whatever to such a doctrine. Far otherwise. And what is more particularly to the purpose, the Scriptures assert not, that Christ will, either in his divine or in his twofold nature, judge the world. No: its language, as we have seen above, is totally opposed to such an opinion.

In order to get rid of these difficulties, some writers point out the difference between delegation, and the ability for discharging the functions of the office delegated. "Delegation," Dr. WARDLAW alleges, "may bestow title and right; but it can communicate no capacity, no actual qualification." This remark may be perfectly correct, when applied to affairs between man and man. The king may raise one of his subjects to fill an office requiring great intellectual capacity; but he does not confer the capacity-he cannot confer it. The case, however, we have been considering is quite dissimilar. God delegates his Son and Messenger to judge the world. But this act of delegation necessarily implies the existence of two distinct beings-the delegator, and the person delegated: the former, the giver; the latter, the receiver-the one, the superior; the other, the inferior. Now, if Christ be distinct from, and inferior to God, he cannot be God himself: he cannot, therefore, possess the incommunicable perfections of the Deity. Further, if Christ be delegated by God to be the Judge of mankind,- a truth which we have observed is demonstrated by Scripture, he does not possess this right inherently: he cannot, therefore, be almighty. That being to whom belong independence, infinite wisdom, and underived universal power, cannot himself be the recipient of power or of knowledge.”

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We do not think that any kind of reasoning can possibly invalidate the plain, unequivocal declarations of the New Testament, to which we have referred. We have proved that the judging of mankind does not necessarily require, in the person delegated to act, infinity of knowledge or of power; and in confirmation of this, it may be observed, that, if the language is interpreted literally, like that concerning Christ, there will be evidence for the opinion, that the honour of judging the world will not be exclusively conferred on the Saviour, but that the apostles and primitive disciples will also be employed as agents in that important work."

SECT. XII.-EXAMINATION OF SCRIPTURE EVIDENCE ALLEGED FOR THE OPINION, THAT CHRIST IS EQUAL TO, OR IDENTIFIED WITH GOD.

1. — EQUALITY WITH GOD.

1. Zech. xiii. 7: Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man [that is] my fellow, saith Jehovah of hosts. my fellow.-Com. Ver. near unto me, or my favourite.-Lindsey. my neighbour.-Gesenius: who says that these words were spoken by Jehovah of the Jewish nation.

REMARKS.

♫y, a neighbour, a member of the same society, Lev. vi. 2; xviii. 20. is applied to the human nature associated with the divine in the person of Christ, Zech. xiii. 7.-Parkhurst.

The original word signifies only proximum meum, my neighbour, or my friend. The Septuagint render it πολίτην μου, my citizen; and the Syriac version has it, amicum meum, my friend.-Christie.

The original Hebrew does not signify a fellow or equal, but a neighbour; and it is thus rendered in several places where it occurs in Leviticus, viz. once, vi. 2; once, xviii. 20; twice, xix. 15, 17; three times, xxv. 14, 15; and in the 17th verse it is rendered one another.-Drummond.

See Appendix, No. I. page 275.

2. John v. 18: The Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God. but, by calling God peculiarly his Father, had equalled himself with God.-Campbell.

but spoken of God as particularly his Father, putting himself on an equality with God.-Norton. his own Father.-Hammond, Whitby (Com.), Burgess; Priestley, Wakefield, Belsham. making himself like God.-Priestley, Lindsey, Cappe, Wakefield, Kenrick, Carpenter, Imp. Ver.

REMARKS.

That this is a just translation of the original, cannot be questioned. - Our translators have fallen into a similar

mistake in Luke xx. 36; where aλ should be rendered, not equal, but like, unto the angels.-Lindsey.

The Jews, 'tis evident, did not.. mean to charge Jesus with affirming himself to be the supreme, self-existent, independent Deity;. but only with assuming to himself the power and authority of God.-S.Clarke.

For continuation of remarks, see page 230.

ILLUSTRATIVE TEXTS.

a Deut. vi. 4: Hear, O Israel! Jehovah our God [is] one Jehovah. Isa. xl. 18: To whom, then, will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him? Ver. 25: To whom, then, will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. Chap. xlvi. 5: To whom will ye liken me, and make [me] equal, and com[I am] God, and [there is] none like me. pare me, that we may be like? Ver. 9:

b 1 Cor. iii. 9: We are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry; [ye are] God's building.

Dei sumus administri.-Beza.

Nous travaillons avec Dieu.-Le Clerc.
We together are God's labourers.-Bible 1614.
We are workers together with God.-Imp. Ver.
We are fellow-labourers with God.—Wakefield.
We are fellow-labourers of God.-A. Clarke.

Eph. ii. 19: Ye are .. fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God. James ii. 23: Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness; and he was called the Friend of God. See 2 Chron. xx. 7. Isa. xli. 8.

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e Mark xii. 29-32: The first commandment of all [is], Hear, O Israel! the And the LORD our God is one LORD. hast said the truth; for there is one [God], scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou and there is none other but he. (G.)

d Wisd. of Sol. ii. 16-18: He pronounceth the end of the just to be blessed, and maketh his boast that God is his father. Let us see if his words be true; for, if the just man be the son of God, he will help him, &c.- See Isa. Ixiii. 16; lxiv. 8. Mal. ii. 10. Also page 148, ref. a. e See John ii. 19, 21; vi. 52. et al. f John x. 19, 20: There was a division, therefore, again among the Jews for these sayings. And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him?See chap. vii. 20; viii. 48.

g John ix. 16: This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the Sabbath-day. See Luke vi. 1-11; xiii. 14. John vii, 23; ix. 16; x. 33.

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