304

The Lord and God

[Ess. x. evidence of divine truth a passage which is certainly the subject of reasonable dispute. I must, however, be allowed to remark that, on the highly probable supposition of the genuineness of its commonly-received reading, this passage does no more than promulgate, in a concentrated form, a doctrine which is with equal clearness revealed in these several ancient prophecies.

And now, in conclusion, we may turn to a passage in the Gospel of John, which narrates one of the most interesting circumstances in the history of Jesus, and which fixes the doctrine of his deity in connexion with his resurrection. That this last and most wonderful of the miracles of the Son of God afforded a sure indication of his divine power, I have already found occasion to remark; and we plainly learn from the Gospels, that the apostles were exceedingly slow to believe that their Lord and Master, whose death appeared for a time to have suspended their faith and hope, had really burst the bonds of death asunder, and had raised again "the temple of his body," according to his promise. When Jesus, by submitting himself to the personal examination of his disciples, condescended to demonstrate to them the reality of this event, John xx, 20, the apostle Thomas, " called Didymus," was not of their company; and we find that he refused to be convinced on the subject, even by the united testimony of all his brethren. "Except," said he, "I shall

no versions. The reading Jeos is supported by two versions, (not of the most ancient date) by many fathers, and with scarcely any exception, by the whole mass of manuscripts of every date and class.

• The Coptic, Sahidic, and margin of the Philoxenian Syriac versions, are quoted by Griesbach, as authorities for 5; but Lawrence has proved it to be entirely doubtful whether their reading was os or o. He has also shewn, that the Erp. Arabic, the Ethiopic, and the two Syriac versions, are clear authorities, not for ös but for o: see his Remarks on the Systematic Classification of Griesbach's MSS.

of the Apostle Thomas.

305

Ess. x.] see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. And after eight days, again, his disciples were within, and Thomas with them. Then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then said he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless but believing :" 25-27. In the fresh proof which was thus afforded him of that knowledge of the secrets of men which ever distinguished his divine Master, as well as in the stupendous and now ascertained miracle of the resurrection, Thomas was furnished with an ample practical evidence of the real divinity of his Lord. No wonder, therefore, that, under the powerful influence of his renewed convictions, he "answered and said unto him, MY LORD AND MY GOD...." Then Jesus said unto him, "Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed:" 28, 29.

How plain and striking is this narration! How clearly sufficient, in itself, to prove that the doctrine of the deity of Jesus Christ is a doctrine of Scripture! Let it be observed in the first place, that the apostle's words were not merely an exclamation, but were addressed to Jesus: "Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God:" secondly, that these words contained the apostle's confession of faith, for they were prompted by the exhortation of Jesus: "Be not faithless, but believing;" and were evidently adverted to by our Lord, when he afterwards said, "Because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed:" and lastly, that on the faith which Thomas had thus confessed, the Saviour of mankind did not hesitate to pronounce his blessing: "Blessed are they that have not seen, and

306

Recapitulation.

[Ess. x. yet have believed." Truly it is the eternal Son of God, one in the divine nature with the Father, and therefore an Almighty and Omnipresent Saviour, in whom his followers, though now they "see him not, yet believing rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory!" 1 Pet. i, 8.

Such are the evidences which the Scriptures afford us of the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in connexion with his abode on earth.

We may now briefly review the several points of the whole argument.

The circumstances and qualities attributed to Jesus Christ by the prophets who foretold, and by the evangelists who related, the events of his life and death, are many of them such as plainly prove that, after his incarnation he was man—a person endued with a human soul and a human body.

When we compare this evidence with the declarations of Scripture, respecting his preexistence in the divine nature, we are compelled to allow that, when the Word was made flesh, he, who before had been God only, became God and man-a doctrine which more especially distinguishes those parts of the New Testament which describe the original deity and incarnation of Christ, in connexion with each other, and in the order of their succession.

Jesus Christ, uniting in himself the human with the divine nature, is one person, one Mediator, one Lord. Nevertheless, when we read of his actions and discourses, it is important that we should distinguish those particulars which were the consequences of his humanity from others which resulted from his deity.

The consequences of the humanity of Jesus Christ, detailed in the histories of his abode on earth, could not have contradicted or overturned the doctrine of his deity, as it is elsewhere declared in Scripture, even

Ess. x.]

Recapitulation.

307

had those consequences formed the only subject of the Gospel narrations. But, in point of fact, these narratives, together with other parts of the Bible which relate to our Lord's incarnation and human existence, abound also in the evidences of his deity.

When the Lord Jesus declared himself to be the Saviour of the world, and a final object of that faith which ensures, to those who possess it, the gift of eternal life-when he presented himself to the notice of his followers, as the moral and spiritual governor of mankind, the pardoner of sin, the authoritative repealer of parts of the divine law, the Lord of the Sabbath, greater than the temple, the giver and sender of the Holy Spirit-when he said to the Jews, "Before Abraham was, I AM"-when he spoke as one omnipresentabove all, when he described the reciprocity, the even fellowship, and the equal community of works and attributes, which subsisted in the divine unity between his father and himself-he indirectly, but indubitably, asserted his claim to the nature and character of God.

When he manifested an intuitive knowledge of the thoughts and secret murmurings of men, and thus, in conformity with his own declaration, evinced that he is the searcher of the reins and the hearts-when he effected his own miracles (as well as those of his apostles) and thus controled or altered, by his powerful fiat, the established order of nature-more especially when he burst asunder the bonds of death, and quickened again his own mortal body-he brought into exercise the attributes, and displayed the powers, of deity.

When that act of worship was addressed to him, which was indignantly rejected by an apostle, and by an angel, because they were creatures, and was so addressed to him as plainly to indicate religious faith and spiritual adoration, he was the object of those honours which are due to God only; and when, notwithstand

308

Recapitulation.

[Ess. x. ing his acknowledged humility, he freely admitted such honours, he again bore a virtual testimony to the truth of his own divinity.

When many glorious collateral circumstances accompanied the several parts of his human history— when the multitudinous chorus of angels hallowed his nativity; when the greatest of human prophets ushered in his ministry; when men and devils, and the very winds, were subdued by his presence; when darkened and agitated nature owned his death: these things were all in harmony with the stupendous fact, that God was manifest in the flesh.

Lastly, when the prophets, with reference successively to the birth, the life, and the crucifixion, of the Messiah, describe him as God with us, as the mighty God, as the Lord coming to his own temple, as Jehovah, whose ways were prepared by Elijah, or by "the voice crying in the wilderness," as Jehovah sent by Jehovah to dwell among his people, as Jehovah whom the Israelites persecuted and pierced-when the writers of the New Testament, without reserve or hesitation, apply some of these prophecies to our Saviour -and when the apostle Thomas, after witnessing the truth of his resurrection, calls him his Lord and his God-these inspired servants of the Almighty confirm and fasten the whole preceding series of evidence, and place on the doctrine of the eternal divinity of Jesus Christ, as it is connected with his abode on earth, an intelligible and irrefragable seal.

PART III.

ON CHRIST IN HIS REIGN.

Among the numerous prophecies of Scripture, which declare the coming, and depict the character and of