heaven or on earth, (as there be Gods many and Lords many;) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him."-I Cor. viii. 5, 6. Here we are taught the five following important truths—

1. That there are, in heaven and on earth, many, besides JEHOVAH, that are called Gods. These are not idols, for no such are in heaven; but images of the invisible God. Christ may be one. See John x. 35.

2. That God is “but one,” but one Person, the FATHER. 3. That this one God, the Father, is the Source of all things" of whom are all things."

4. That Jesus Christ, the one Lord, is, in his highest nature (I speak as a Trinitarian) as distinct from the being of God, as he is from the Person of the Father. If Jesus were a mere man in any nature, it could not be said, in regard to that nature, that we and all things are by him. Will the Trinitarian say that we and all things are by the human nature of Christ, which had no existence till the Augustan age? As many things existed before that period, we and all things are by the pre-existent Christ, who is the first born of every creature—the beginning of the creation of God.

5. That the one Lord, Jesus Christ, is the intermediate minister, or agent, by whom God displays his power in the production of events. "By whom are all things, and we by him."

Again The Scriptures teach that the Father is the only True God, by pointing him out as the only proper object of supreme worship. As the Father is the ONLY TRUE GOD, and as he has thus commanded, 'Thou shalt worship no other God,' it seems to be an unavoidable conclusion that He alone is the object of supreme worship. But we are not left to inference merely. He who is the Way, and the Truth, and the Life, who has set us an example that we

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should follow his steps, always prayed to the Father; and, while engaged in the solemn act of prayer, he declared that the knowledge of the Father, as the ONLY TRUE GOD, and of Jesus Christ whom he had sent, is eternal life. See John xvii. 3. He never prayed to his own divine nature, or to the Son, or to the Holy Ghost. He never prayed to the Triune God, or to a Trinity in any form. I recollect of but one instance in which he invoked the Supreme Being by the appellation God. This was when upon the cross he repeated the words of David, "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?"-Ps. xxii. 1. Just before his crucifix

ion, Jesus prayed thus: O MY FATHER, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done." At the grave of Lazarus he prayed thus: "FATHER, I thank thee that thou hast heard me: And I knew that thou hearest me always." So certain is it that Jesus always prayed to the FATHER.

The precepts of Jesus inculcate the same important doctrine. He said to the Tempter in the wilderness, "It is written, Thou shalt worship the LORD [Jehovah] thy God, and HIM ONLY shalt thou serve." The word here rendered serve, always denotes religious service. It is used, I think, in the New Testament 21 times, but not once in reference to Jesus Christ. Is not this as decisive as it is remarkable?.

Jesus said to the woman of Samaria, "The hour cometh and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the FATHER in spirit and in truth: for the FATHER seeketh such to worship him." If Jesus had said the true worshipers shall worship God in spirit and in truth, the Trinitarian might infer that he meant the Triune God-Father, Son, and Spirit. I cannot conceive how it is possible for Trini tarians, who professedly worship two other objects besides the Father, to claim the character of "the true worshipers:" since they have no written authority, but "the tradition of the elders," to urge against this plain decision of Jesus Christ.

In compliance with the request of his disciples to teach them to pray, Jesus said unto them, "When ye pray, say, OUR FATHER which art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name."-Luke xi. 2. So in Mat. vi. 9. "After this manner, therefore, pray ye: OUR FATHER which art in heaven." If Jesus had intended to teach his disciples to pray to the Triune God of human creeds, is it not morally certain, to say the least, that he would have directed them to use the general appellation GOD? Had he done so, the idea of a Trinity would not have been so certainly precluded. But by teaching them to pray to one person only, the FATHER, to whom he himself prayed, to whom their fathers prayed, and whom he declares to be the ONLY TRUE GOD, he has entirely precluded even the possibility of such an inference. And is it not more than probable that it was one design of our Saviour in being thus explicit in regard to the object of prayer, to leave no room for such an inference?

Had our Saviour, in prophetic vision, surveyed the age in which we live, and had it been his intention to give instructions relative to the object of prayer in such a manner as to leave no pretext to infer the doctrine of a Trinity of persons in God, I cannot conceive how he could have employed better phraseology, or chosen more appropriate words.

If the Apostles had taught us any thing contrary to the instructions of the Great Teacher, we should be at no loss to determine by whose authority we ought to be governed. But they have not done so. They have taught, both by example and precept, that the FATHER of our Lord Jesus Christ is the only object of supreme worship. See the following passages. Rom. xv. 5, 6. Eph. ii. 18, Col. i. 3, 12, and iii. 17.

v. 20.

Phil. iii. 3.

I Pet. i. 17.

iii. 14, and

James iii. 9.

SECTION VII.

CHRIST TESTIFIES THAT HE IS NOT GOD.

Christ, speaking of his sheep, said, "My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and none is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I showed you from my Father; for which of these works do ye stone me? The Jews answered him saying, For a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy, and because thou, being a man, makest thyself God."-John x. 29—33. As this is the only instance recorded in the Bible in which Jesus was accused of making himself God, his answer must be important and decisive. "Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, ye are Gods? If he called them Gods unto whom the word of God came, and the Scripture cannot be broken; say ye of him whom the Father hath sanctified and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?"-Verse 34-36.

In this refutation Jesus denies being God; denies calling himself God; and repels the accusation of blasphemy even on the supposition that he had called himself God. He denies being God, by asserting that he was sanctified and sent into the world by his Father. God could not be sanctified, nor sent; neither has he any Father. He denies calling himself God, by asserting that he had only called himself the Son of God. A father and son are two distinct

came.

beings; nor is there any term that more strongly marks derived existence, than the term son. Besides, Jesus founds the propriety of calling himself the Son of God, not on any thing peculiar in his nature, or any supposed resemblance or likeness to his Father, but simply on the ground of his being sanctified and sent by the Father. He repels the charge of blasphemy, by appealing to the well known scripture usage, by which they are called Gods unto whom the word of God came. So that if he had called himself God (which he had not done) it would have implied, according to his own explanation, nothing more than that he was a divine messenger one to whom the word of God That this is the sense in which the Jews understood the answer of Jesus is evident from the fact that they never after accused him of making himself God, though urged to do so by considerations as powerful as can well be conceived. When he was arraigned before their Council, and the accusation was blasphemy, they made great efforts to support the charge. They could not obtain the necessary evidence. After they had suborned witnesses, all they could prove by them was, that he had said he could raise up the Temple in three days. Now if Jesus had ever made himself God, or intimated any desire to be considered as God, it is incredible that they should not have urged it against him at a time like this. This would have been the very evidence they felt themselves so much in need of When they were ready to seize on every circumstance, however trifling; and were driven to extremities, to obtain witnesses to support the charge of blasphemy, it is incredible, I say, that they should not have availed themselves of such an advantage. It is as certain, then, that Jesus never made himself God, as it is that the Jews did not urge it against him at his trial.

Let us suppose the same Jews who accused Jesus of D*