Jonathan Edwards · 265 of 409

PART II. Observations concerning the Mysteries of Scripture · Part 2

§ 25. Mysteries constitute the criterion of divine revelation: so absurdly do they act, who allow a revelation, and deny mysteries; or deny revelation for this reason, that it contains mysteries. What the sum and essence of revealed religion are, is plain from the end of it, which is to point out to sinful man the means of obtaining salvation, and of recovering the divine favour. But this is, that Jesus Christ is the only and most perfect cause of salvation, to be received by a true faith. This doctrine, however, is a mystery of godliness manifestly great; 1 Tim. iii. 16. And thus that great mystery constitutes the sum and essence of revelation. The essence of revealed religion consists in this, that men by a true faith receive this doctrine, which the apostle calls a mystery manifestly great. Therefore, the knowledge of the greatest mystery belongs to the very essence of the religion of a sinner. How absurd do many of the doctrine of mathematicians and astronomers appear to ignorant men, when they cannot see the reason of those doctrine, although they are most true and evident, so that not the least doubt concerning them can remain in the mind of a thorough mathematician! (Ibid. tom. iii. p. 560.)

§ 26. Since, in religion, there are some primary truths, and others more remote, which are deduced from the former by reasoning, and so are secondary and these last may not be known, though the primary are known, but when once they are known they cannot be denied it follows, that those articles which constitute religion, and so are fundamental, are to be distinguished into primary and secondary. The primary are those of which a man cannot be ignorant, consistently with true religion and his own salvation; and they are necessary with a necessity of means. The secondary are those of which a man may be ignorant, consistently with his resting upon the foundation of true religion, and with his own salvation; and those are necessary with a necessity of command. Therefore, to the same man, certain doctrine may be now fundamental, which were not fundamental to him before he knew them. (Ibid. tom. i. p. 524, 525.)

Joh. Chr. Kirchmejerus, in his Dissert. concerning fundamental articles, says, “They may be either reduced to fewer, or extended to more; as often one article may include the rest, and so all may be reduced to that one; and, on the other hand, that one, according to the various truths contained in it, may be divided into several. Therefore, authors do not contradict themselves, who reduce all fundamental articles to one; for they cannot well be determined by their number; because as many fundamental truths are contained in one fundamental truth, as there are essential properties belonging to the truths thus contained. Therefore the Holy Scripture often sums up all fundamental articles in one, as in John xvii. 3. ‘This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.’ Sometimes it distinguishes them into several; as in 1 Tim. i. 5. ‘Now the end of the commandment is charity, out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned.’ ” (Ibid. tom. i. p. 528.)

§ 27. On account of the various degrees of men’s capacities, and the various circumstances of the times in which they live, one man may know truths which another cannot know. Whence it follows, that the very same articles are not fundamental to all men; but accordingly as revelation hath been more or less complete, according to the several dispensations under which men have lived, their various natural abilities, and their various modes and circumstances of living, different articles are, and have been, fundamental to different men. This is very plain from the different degrees of knowledge before and since the coming of Christ; for before his coming, many truths lay hid, which are now set in the most clear light: and the instance of the apostles, abundantly shows the truth of what I have now advanced; who, although they were already in a state of grace, and their salvation was secured, yet for some time were ignorant of the necessity of the sufferings and death of Christ, and of the true nature of his kingdom. Whereas, he who now does not acknowledge the necessity of Christ’s death, is by all means to be considered as in fundamental error. Therefore, as a man hath received of God greater or less natural abilities, so let the number of articles to which he shall give his assent be greater or smaller; and as revelation hath been made, or information hath been given, to a man, more clearly or obscurely, in the same proportion is more or less required of him. Therefore, in our own case, we ought to be cautious of even the smallest errors, and to aim at the highest degree of knowledge in divine truths. In the case of others, we ought to judge concerning them with the greatest prudence, mildness, and benevolence. Hence we see, that a certain precise number of articles, which shall be necessary and fundamental to every man, cannot be determined. (Ibid. p. 531.)

PART III.

OBSERVATIONS CONCERNING THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST AND THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY.

§ 1. If the temptation to the children of Israel was so great, to idolize the brazen serpent, a lifeless piece of brass, for the temporal salvation which some of their forefathers had by looking on it; how great would be their temptation to idolatry by worshipping Christ, if he were a mere creature, from whom mankind receive so great benefits! If that brazen serpent must be broken in pieces, to remove the temptation to idolatry, 2 Kings xviii. 4. shall so great a temptation be laid before the world to idolize a mere creature, by setting him forth in the manner that he is set forth in Scripture?

§ 2. Must Moses’s body be concealed, lest the children of Israel should worship the remains of him whom God made the instrument of such great things? And shall another mere creature whom men, on account of the works he has done, are under infinitely greater temptation to worship be most openly and publicly exhibited, as exalted to heaven, seated at God’s own right hand, made Head over all things, Ruler of the universe, &c. in the manner that Christ is? Was not this the temptation to all nations to idolatry, viz. That men had been distinguished as great conquerors, deliverers, and the instruments of great benefit? And shall God make a mere creature the instrument of so many greater benefits, and in such a manner as Christ is represented to be in the Scripture, without an infinitely greater temptation to idolatry?

§ 3. When the rich young man called Christ Good Master, not supposing him to be God, did Christ reject it, and reprove him for calling him so? He said, “There is none good but one, that is God; ” meaning, that none other was possessed of goodness that was to be trusted. And yet, shall this same Jesus, if indeed not that God who only is to be called good, or trusted in as such, be called in Scripture, He that is holy; He that is true? the Amen, the faithful and true Witness? the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace? the blessed and the only Potentate; the King of kings, and Lord of lords? the Lord of life, that has life in himself, that all men might honour the Son, as they honour the Father? the Wisdom of God, and the Power of God? the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end? God, Jehovah; Elohim, the King of glory? Compare Isa. xlii. 8. Ps. lxxvii. 18. Isa. xlv. 20, 21,. &c. “They pray unto a God that cannot save Tell ye and bring them near; let them take counsel together There is no God else beside me, a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.” Yet it is said of Christ, that “He is able to save unto the uttermost. ” Yea, the Messiah, in this very book, is spoken of as mighty to save; saving by his own arm, and by the greatness of his strength, Isa. lxiii. 1-6. compared with Rev. xiv. 15. And it is evident, that it is his character, in the most eminent manner, to be the Saviour of God’s people; and that with respect to what is infinitely the highest and greatest work of salvation; the greatest deliverance from the most dreadful evil, from the greatest, worst, and strongest enemies, and bringing them to the greatest happiness. It follows, Isa. xlv. 22.“Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else.” Here it is spoken of as the great glory of God, and peculiar to him, that he is a universal Saviour, not only of the Jews, but of all nations. And this is the peculiar character of Jesus. He is the Saviour of all nations. The glory of calling and saving the Gentiles, is represented as peculiarly belonging to him; so that he has this divine prerogative, which is spoken of here as belonging to the one only God, and to none else. And, which is more than, all this, these very things are applied to Christ in the New Testament, Philip. ii. 10, 11. “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, of things in earth, and things under the earth.” And the thing spoken of in the following verses, as the peculiar prerogative of God, in distinction from all other beings, as the only Saviour, viz. having righteousness, and being justified in him, are every where in the New Testament most eminently ascribed to Christ, as in a most special manner belonging to him.

§ 4. Being the Saviour of God’s people, is every where in the Old Testament mentioned as the peculiar work of the Deity. The heathens are reproached for worshipping gods that could not save; and God says to the idolatrous Israelites, “Go to the gods whom ye have served, let them deliver you.” See Isa. xliii. 3, 10 15. in which verses we have another clear demonstration of the divinity of Christ. Trusting is abundantly represented as a principal thing in that peculiar respect due to God alone, as of the essence of divine adoration due to no other than God. And yet, how is Christ represented as the peculiar object of the faith and trust of all God’s people, of all nations, as having all-sufficiency for them? Trusting in any other is greatly condemned; is a thing, than which nothing is represented as more dangerous, provoking to God, and bringing his curse on man.

§ 5. And how often is being the Redeemer of God’s people spoken of as the peculiar character of the mighty God of Jacob, the First and Last, the Lord of hosts, the only God, the Holy One of Israel! (So Isa. xli. 14. xliii. 14. xliv. 6, 24. xlvii. 4. xlviii. 17. xlix. 7, 26. liv. 5. and lx. 16.) And it may be observed, that when God has this title of the Redeemer of Israel ascribed to him in those places, it is joined with some other of the peculiar and most exalted names and titles of the most high God: such as, the Holy One of Israel; (so Isa. xli. 14. xliii. 14. xlvii. 4. xlviii. 17. and xlix. 7.) The Mighty One of Jacob, (chap. xlix. 26. and lx. 16.) The Lord of hosts, (Isa. xlvii. 4. and xliv. 6.) The God of the whole earth, (chap. liv. 5.) The First and the Last, besides whom there is no God, (xliv. 6.) The Jehovah that maketh all things, that stretcheth forth the heavens alone, and spreadeth abroad the earth by himself, (ver. 34.) Yet the Messiah, in this very book, is spoken of as the Redeemer of God’s people in the most eminent manner, (chap. lxiii. 1-6.)

§ 6. God is careful that his people should understand, that their honour and love and praise for the redemption out of Egypt, belongs only to him, and therefore is careful to inform them, that he alone redeemed them out of Egypt, and that there was no other God with him; and to make use of that as a principal argument why they should have no other gods before him. (See Deut. xxxii. 12. Exod. xx. 3. Psal. lxxxi. 8, 9, 10. Hos. xiii. 4.) The words in that place are remarkable: “Yet I am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt; and thou shalt know no God but me; for there is no Saviour besides me. ” If God insisted on that as a good reason why his people should know no God besides him, that he alone was their Saviour to save them out of Egypt; would he afterwards appoint another to be their Saviour in an infinitely greater salvation?

§ 7. The works of creation being ascribed to Christ, most evidently prove his proper divinity. For God declares, that he is Jehovah that stretcheth forth the heavens alone, and spreadeth abroad the earth by himself, Isa. xliv. 24. (See also the next chapter, xlv. 5-7, 12.) And not only is the creation of the world ascribed to Christ often in Scripture, but that which in Isa. is called the new creation, which is here represented as an immensely greater and more glorious work than the old creation, viz. the work of redemption, as this prophet himself explains it, (Isa. lxv. 17, 18, 19.) is every where, in a most peculiar and distinguishing manner, ascribed to Christ. 2 Peter i. 1. “Through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:” GREEK. Tit. ii. 13. “Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” GREEK. It is agreeable to the manner of the apostle’s expressing himself in both places, to intend one and the same person, viz. Christ, under two titles: as when speaking of God the Father, in Eph. i. 3. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” GREEK. See Dr. Goodwin’s Works, vol. i. p. 93,94.

§ 8. That passage in Isa. xl. 13, 14. “Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord?” proves Christ’s divinity; for Christ directs the Spirit of the Lord. See John xvi. 13-15. and many other places. Compare the following texts, set in opposite columns: those in the first column are represented as belonging to God only, which yet, in the second column, are given to Christ.

The name GOD.

Isa. xlv. 5.

John i. 1.

scripRef passage=” Isa. xliv. 8.”> xliv. 8.

Heb. i. 8.

xlvi. 9.

Rom. ix. 5.

The name JEHOVAH.

Psalm cii. 25,. &c.

Heb. i. 10.

Zech. xi. 12.

Matt. xxvii. 9, 10.

Zech. xii. 10.

John xix. 37..

Isa. xl. 3.

Mark i. 3.

Hos. i. 7.

Luke ii. 11.

Divine Perfections.

1 Kings viii. 39.

John ii. 24. xvi. 30. Ac. i. 24.

Jer. xvii. 10.

Rev. ii. 3.

Isa. xliv. 6.

Rev. i. 17.

Rev. i. 8.

Rev. xxii. 13.

1 Tim. vi. 15.

Rev. xvii. 14. and xix. 16.

Isa. x. 21.

Isa. ix. 6.

Rom. x. 12.

Acts x. 36. Rom. ix. 5.

Psalm xc. 2.

Prov. viii. 22,. &c.

Divine Works.

Neh. ix. 6.

John i. 3. Col. i. 16, 17.

Gen. i. 1.

Heb. i. 10.

Divine Worship.

Exod. xx. 3.

Heb. i. 6.

Mat.iv.10. and Gal. iv. 8.

John v. 23.

§ 9. If Christ in the beginning created the heavens and the earth, he must be from eternity; for then he is before the beginning, by which must be meant, the beginning of time; the beginning of that kind of duration which has beginning and following, before and after, belonging to it. The beginning of created existence, or, the beginning of the creation which God created, as the phrase is, Mark iii. 19. In Proverbs viii. 22. it is said, “The Lord possessed me before his works of old;’’ and therefore before those works which in Genesis i. 1. are said to be made in the beginning. God’s eternity is expressed thus, Psalm xc. 2. “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst created the earth and the world, even from everlasting.” So it is said, Prov. viii. 22,. &c. “The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was,” &c.

§ 10. That the kingdom of the Messiah is so commonly called the kingdom of heaven, is an evidence that the Messiah is God. By the kingdom of heaven is plainly meant a kingdom wherein God doth reign, or is King. The phrase, the kingdom of heaven, seems to be principally taken from Dan. ii. 14. “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom;” where the meaning plainly is, after the heads of those four great monarchies have each one had their turn, and erected kingdoms for themselves in their turn, and the last monarchy shall be divided among ten kings; finally, the God of heaven shall take the dominion from them all, and shall set up a kingdom for himself. He shall take the kingdom, and shall rule for ever. In this book, chap. iv. 26. it is said, “After that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule.” The words in the foregoing verse express what is meant: “Until thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men.” Therefore, by the kingdom of heaven which shall be set up, is meant the kingdom wherein God himself shall be the king; not as reigning and administering by other kings or judges, as he was king in the time of the judges, and in the time of David and Solomon, Hezekiah and Josiah, &c. and as he always doth in the time of good kings: but he shall set up his kingdom, in distinction from all kingdoms or states, wherein the heavens shall rule, or God himself shall be king. And therefore the kingdom of heaven is often called the kingdom of God, in the New Testament. And it is abundantly prophesied in the Old Testament, that in the days of the Messiah, God shall take to himself the kingdom, and shall reign as king, in contradistinction to other reigning subordinate beings. And that God himself shall reign on earth, as king among his people, is abundantly manifested from many prophecies. And in this very prophecy of Daniel, chap. vii. where this kingdom, which the Lord of heaven should at last set up, (plainly this same kingdom,) is more fully spoken of, it is manifest, that the Messiah is to be the king in that kingdom, who shall reign as vested with full power, and complete kingly authority.

§11. God is several times called in Scripture, the Glory of Israel, or of God’s people; and it is a title peculiar to him, wherein he appears as especially distinguished from false gods, Jer. ii. 11. “Hath a nation changed their gods, which yet are no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit.” Psal. cvi. 20. “Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass.” But we find that Christ in the New Testament is spoken of as “the glory of God’s people Israel. Luke ii. 23.

§ 12. What is said in Job xix. 25-27. “For I know that my Redeemer liveth,” &c. is a proof of the divinity of Christ. For here, he whom Job calls his Redeemer, his God, is God; ” Yet in my flesh shall I see God.” But it is very manifest, that Christ is he who is most properly and eminently our Redeemer or God: And here Job says, that God shall stand at the latter day, at the general resurrection, on the earth; when he shall see him in his flesh. But the person that shall then stand on the earth, we know, is no other than Jesus Christ. And how often, in other places, both in the Old Testament and the New, is Christ’s coming to.judgment spoken of as God’s coming to judgment! Christ’s appearing, as God’s appearing! and our standing before the judgment-seat of Christ, as our standing before God’s judgment-seat!

§ 13. Luke i. 16, 17. “And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God; and he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of fathers to the children, and of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Here John the Baptist is spoken of as going before the Lord, the God of the children of Israel, to prepare his way; agreeably to the prophecies; particularly Mal. iii. 1. and iv. 5, 6. But who is this person who is called the Lord, the God of Israel, whose forerunner, John the Baptist, is to prepare his way? Nothing is more manifest, than that it is Jesus Christ. See Mark i. 1-3. “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God: as it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,” (alluding to two prophecies, viz. Mal. iii. 1. and Isa. xl. 3.) Here is a distinction of two persons; the one speaking in the first person singular, ” Behold, I send my messenger;” the other spoken to in the second person, “before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee;” which makes it evident that the person spoken of, and whose forerunner he was to prepare his way, was Jesus Christ. So Matt. xi. 10. Luke vii. 27. See also how manifest this is by John i. 19. “And this is the record of John.” Verse 23. ” I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias;” with the following verses, especially ver. 31. “And I know him not, but that he should be made manifest to Israel: therefore am I come baptizing with water.” So that it is evident, that Christ is he that in the 1st of Luke is called the Lord, or, Jehovah the God of Israel, as the phrase is in the original of the Old Testament, in places from whence this phrase is taken. Therefore it is evident, that Christ is one God with the Father; for the Scripture is very express, that Jehovah, the God of Israel, is but one Jehovah; as, Deut. vi. 4. “Hear, O Israel, Jehovah our God is one Jehovah.”

§ 14. And if we look into those prophecies of the Old Testament referred to in these places of the evangelists, it is manifest, that what they foretell concerns a forerunner to prepare the way for the only true and supreme God; as, Isa. xl. 3. “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of Jehovah; make straight in the desert a high way for our God.” This is evidently the same that is spoken of in the following parts of the chapter; as in verse 9,. and following verses.: “Say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God; behold, Jehovah God will come. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd. Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with a span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or, being his counsellor, hath taught him? With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment? Behold, the nations are as a drop of the bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance. Behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt-offering. All nations before him are as nothing, and they are counted to him less than nothing and vanity. To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?” Ver. 22. “It is he that sitteth on the circle of the earth, and all the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in; that bringeth the princes to nothing, and maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.” If the supreme God is not spoken of here, where shall we find the place where he is spoken of? If it be an infinitely inferior being, where is God’s distinguishing greatness, and infinitely superior magnificence? It here follows, ver. 25. “To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.” A created being would not use such language, or make such a challenge. He that is created himself, would not say, as it follows in the next verse, Lift up your eyes on high; behold, who hath created those things?” So it is evident, that it is the one only God that is spoken of, whose forerunner John was to be. Mal. iii. 1. “Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before ME. And Jehovah, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come into his temple.” Luke i. 76. “And thou, child, shall be called the prophet of the Highest, Greek; for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord, to prepare his way.”

§ 15. It is a great evidence that Christ is one being with the supreme God, that the Spirit of the supreme God is spoken of as his Spirit, proceeding from and sent and directed by him. The Spirit by whom the prophets of old were inspired, is spoken of as the Spirit of Christ: 1 Pet. i. 11. “Searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ, which was in them, did signify; when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.” But it is very manifest, that this was the Spirit of the one only living and true God; so that we must needs understand, that the word written by the prophets, is the word of the supreme God. See 2 Pet. i. 21. 2 Tim. iii. 16. And that they spoke by inspiration of the Spirit of the supreme God, is manifest from Luke i. 69, 70. “And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us, in the house of his servant David; as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began.” The word Spirit, in the original languages, signifies wind, and sometimes is used to signify breath. Therefore, Christ breathed on his disciples, when he would signify to them that he would give them the Holy Ghost: John xx. 22. “And when he had said this, he breathed on them, saying, Receive ye the Holy Ghost.” This plainly teaches us that the Holy Ghost was his Spirit, as much as man’s breath is his breath.

Again, it is evident, that the Spirit of God is the Spirit of Christ, as much as a person’s eyes are his own eyes. Rev. v. 6. “And I beheld, and lo in the midst of the throne stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.” Alluding to Zech. iii. 9. “Upon one stone shall be seven eyes.” But these seven eyes, in the next chapter, are spoken of as representing the Spirit of God, and the eyes of Jehovah: chap. iv. 6. “Not by might nor power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord.” Ver. 10. “And shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel, with those seven. They are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro though the whole earth.”

Christ is spoken of as sending the Holy Ghost, and directing him: John xvi. 7. “I will send him unto you.” Ver. 13, 14, 15. “Howbeit, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth, for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak; and he shall show you things to come. He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine; therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you.” But it is spoken of as the peculiar prerogative of God to direct his Spirit. Isa. xl. 13. “Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord?”

§ 16. It is true, that creatures are sometimes called god. The kings and judges of God’s Israel, the ancient church, are called gods; but no otherwise than as types of Christ. And the angels are called gods. Yet it is very remarkable, that in that only place where they are so called by God, they are commanded to worship Christ; and in the same verse, a curse is denounced on all such as are guilty of idolatry. Psalm xcvii. 7. compared with Heb. i. 6.