Letters to the Rev. Mr. Wesley.

LETTERS TO THE REV. MR. WESLEY.F91

LETTER 1.

REV. SIR,—The Rev. Mr. Fletcher, whose unfinished letters, at your desire, are laid before the public in the preceding pages, has just observed to Dr. Priestley, that if he will not allow St. Paul wrote by inspiration, he ought at least to allow he wrote with common sense. And most professors of Christianity will suppose, that if Mr. Fletcher had extended the observation so as to include the other sacred writers, his demand would not have been unreasonable. They will be of opinion, that the doctor ought to allow they all wrote with common sense. And yet to desire him to allow this, is to desire him to give up his. favourite doctrine of Christ’s mere humanity. For only let this doctrine, to say nothing of other points, be supposed to have been held by these holy writers, especially by the penmen of the New Testament, and let their writings be read under that supposition, and I will be bold to affirm that any person, who has himself common sense, will pronounce that, in a multitude of instances, the apostles and evangelists wrote without it. And to this test one may venture to submit the matter in dispute between Dr. Priestley and his antagonists. The sacred writers, he affirms, considered our Lord in no other character than that of a mere man. Well, sir, let us for the present take this for granted, and let us make experiment how those passages of their writing, which relate to Christ, read according to this hypothesis. If they appear to contain common sense, we will allow he has the truth on his side; but if not, methinks it would be no unreasonable demand to require him to own himself in an error. I begin with St. Paul, whose epistles are now under consideration, but shall pass slightly over the epistle to the Romans, and the first to the Corinthians, because Mr. Fletcher has already reviewed these epistles. I shall, however, refer to a few passages. From the others I shall quote more largely.

In the beginning of the Epistle to the Romans, according to Dr. Priestley’s doctrine, we must understand the apostle as follows:—

Romans 1:1:—”Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ,” that is, a servant of a mere man, “called to be an apostle, [not of men, as he informs the Galatians 1:1, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ,” a mere man! “and God the Father, who raised him from the dead] separated unto the Gospel of God,—concerning his Son Jesus Christ, our Lord,” a mere man, “made of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead, by whom,” though a mere man, “we have received grace and apostleship: among whom ye are also the called of Jesus Christ,”—that is, the called of a mere man, once indeed on earth, but now confined to heaven, and whom, therefore, ye Romans never saw, nor heard, nor could have any access to, or intercourse with, or be called by,—”to all that be at Rome,—grace be unto you, and peace from God our Father,” the self-existent, independent, supreme, and everlasting Jehovah, “and from the Lord Jesus Christ,” a mere man, who had no existence till about forty and fifty years ago, but who, nevertheless, is the source and fountain, the author and giver of grace and peace, conjointly with the supreme God! Now, sir, would any man, who believed the mere humanity of Christ, have expressed himself in this absurd manner? Would he have spoken of being called to be an apostle, not of man, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, if he had believed Jesus Christ to be no more than a man? Would he, in mentioning his being of the seed of David, have added the words, according to the flesh, thereby manifestly intimating that Christ had a nature which was not from David? Would he have spoken of receiving grace and apostleship, through this mere man, and have looked up to him, in conjunction with the eternal God, for grace and peace to be conferred upon the Churches to which he ministered? I think, dear sir, the doctor himself would hardly affirm it: but if he would affirm it, then I ask why his own practice and that of his brethren is so very different from this apostolic pattern? Why do they never express themselves in any such manner as this, either in their prayers or sermons, nor apply to Christ, in union with his Father, for grace, or peace, or any other blessing?

I shall give another instance out of the fifth chapter: “When we were yet without strength, in due time Christ,” a mere man, says the doctor, “died for the ungodly. God commended his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ,” a mere man!” died for us,” viz. one mere man for the whole human race! “Much more, then, being now justified by his blood,”—the blood of one mere man! “we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled unto God,” many millions as we are! “by the death of his Son,” viz. the death of one mere man! “much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved [from everlasting damnation] by his life,” the life of the same mere man! “If by one [mere] man’s offence, death reigned by one, much more they who receive abundance of grace, and of the gift of righteousness, shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ,” although also but a mere man! Pass we on to the eighth chapter. “There is, therefore, now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus,” that is, that are in a mere man! “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus,”—that is, the law of the spirit of life in a mere man! “hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh—God hath done, sending his own [idion, proper] Son in the likeness of sinful flesh,” that is, if Dr. Priestley be right, causing a mere man to be born!—”and by a sacrifice for sin, [the doctor says, by dying a martyr, merely to confirm the truth,] condemned sin in the flesh.” Verse 8, “Ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be the Spirit of God dwell in you: now, if any man have not the Spirit of Christ,” that is, the spirit of a mere man! “he is none of his: but if Christ be in you,”—viz, if a mere man, crucified in Judea, 1700 years ago, and now in heaven, be in you,—”the body indeed is dead, [is mortal,] because of sin; but the Spirit is life, [is immortal,] because of righteousness. And he that spared not his own Son,” that spared not one mere man! “but delivered him up for us all; how shall he not with him, also, freely give us all things?” that is, on the doctor’s principles, if he delivered one mere man to die a martyr to confirm the truth of the Gospel, how shall he not, with him, deliver millions of men from everlasting damnation, and put them in possession of eternal salvation! The apostle proceeds: “Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth, who is he that condemneth? It is Christ,” a mere man! “that died: yea, rather, that is risen again: who is even at the right hand of God; who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” the love of a mere man! “Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake,” mere man though thou art! “we are killed all the day; we are appointed as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him,” that is, through a mere man! “that hath loved us.” Strange language this from the mouth of a scholar, a Christian; and an apostle! Nay, who can reconcile it with common sense? But to proceed: still more irreconcilable therewith is the language of the same apostle, in the two next chapters. “I say the truth in Christ,” that is, in a mere man, by whom I thus swear, and to whom I thus appeal; though as a mere man, now in heaven, he certainly cannot know my heart, nor be a witness in any such matter; however, “I lie not; my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart—for my brethren, —my kinsmen according to the flesh—of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came.” Here again one might inquire what ideas the apostle, if speaking of a mere man, could annex to the words, “as concerning the flesh:” surely if Christ be a mere man, his whole person was from the Jews, as much as the person of St. Paul himself. And would it not be absurd, if, speaking of that apostle’s progenitors and his descent from them, one were to express one’s self in a similar manner, and say, Of whom, as concerning the flesh, St. Paul came? Those, indeed, who believe the soul to be inspired immediately from God, and not received by traduction from our parents, may suppose that the phraseology, though unusual, and unprecedented when applied to a mere man, is, however, not quite improper: but the doctor cannot avail himself of any such distinction between the soul and body; for he teaches that man has no soul, distinct from his body; and that even Jesus Christ had none. On his principles, therefore, the expression is doubly absurd. But what shall we say of the following clause: “Who is over all, God blessed for ever?” How many absurdities, on the doctor’s hypothesis, are wrapped up in this half sentence? To say that a mere man is over all, to term him God, to affirm that he is blessed, and that for ever! Surely reason and common sense could no more have a hand in dictating this than the Spirit of inspiration.

And what, on the doctor’s principles, has common sense to do with the following passage, which we find in the next chapter? “Say not in thy heart, Who shall ascend into heaven, that is, to bring Christ from above? or, Who shall descend into the deep, that is, to bring him back from the dead?” For if he be a mere man, who had no existence till begotten by Joseph, and conceived in the womb of Mary, why does the apostle speak of “bringing him down from above?” Surely if the latter clause: “Who shall descend into the deep [that is, into the grave, or into the state of the dead] to bring him back from the dead?” would imply an absurd inquiry, if he never had been in the grave, or in the state of the dead: so the former clause proposes a question equally ridiculous, if Jesus Christ, before his appearing among us, never had been above.

The apostle goes on, according to the Socinian principles, in the same strain of absurdity, (verse 11:) “The Scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him,” a mere man though he be, “shall not be ashamed: for the same Lord over all,” though but a man! “is rich unto all that call upon him: for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him,” the mere man! “of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher, and how shall they preach except they be sent?”f92

There are sundry other passages in the remaining chapters of this epistle, which, I am persuaded, no person that believed the doctrine of Christ’s mere humanity, and was possessed of common sense, could have dictated or written. The following are among the most remarkable. Chap. 11:26, “The Deliverer [a mere man] shall come out of Zion, and shall turn away iniquity from Jacob.” Romans 14:6, “He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord, [viz. unto a mere man!] and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord [the same mere man] he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, [a mere man,] and he that eateth not to the Lord [the same mere man] he eateth not. For none of us [real Christians] liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself; for whether we live, we live unto the Lord, [that is, unto a mere man!] or whether we die, we die unto the Lord, [the same mere man;] whether living or dying, therefore, we are the Lord’s [that is, we are the property of a mere man!] For, to this end Christ both died, and rose, and liveth; that [though a mere man!] he might be Lord both of the dead and living! For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, [the judgment seat of a mere man!] for it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue confess to God. So then every one of us shall give an account of himself to God. I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus [a mere man!] there is nothing unclean of itself. For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. He that in these things serveth Christ, [that is, serveth a mere man!] is acceptable to God.”

Romans 15:7, “Receive ye one another, as Christ also [a mere man!] hath received us to the glory of God. Verse 12, Esaias saith there shall be a root of Jesse, [viz. a mere man, not born till many hundred years after Jesse, and yet the root from which Jesse sprung!] and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, in him [though a mere man, and though it be written, Cursed is the man that trusteth in man; yet in him I say] shall the Gentiles trust! I will not dare, (verse 18,) to speak of those things which Christ, [a mere man,] hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient by word and deed,—through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the Gospel of Christ. Now, I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, [that is, for the sake of a mere man!] and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me:”—

Romans 16:3, “Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my helpers in Christ Jesus, [that is, in a mere man!] Salute my well beloved Epenetus, who is the first fruits of Achaia unto Christ, [a mere man!] Salute Andronicus and Junius, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners, who were in Christ [the mere man] before me. Salute Urbane, our helper in Christ, [who you know is a mere man!] The Churches of Christ, [that is, the Churches of a mere man!] salute you. Mark them that cause divisions, for they that are such, serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, [that is, serve not a mere man!] but their own belly. The grace of [this mere man!] our Lord Jesus Christ, be with you! Amen! [I say again, verse 24,] The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, [the same mere man!] be with you all!”

These, reverend sir, are a few of the many passages in the Epistle to the Romans, relating to Christ, which, when opened with Dr. Priestley’s key, and interpreted according to his doctrine, appear to be so absurd, that I think no person pretending to common sense would have written them. And as a proof that the doctor and his brethren consider them as absurd, or at least incompatible with their scheme, they are rarely observed to use such either from the pulpit or the press: “Serving Christ, preaching Christ, being in Christ, the Spirit of Christ, the grace of Christ; Christ made of the seed of David according to the flesh; sent in the likeness of sinful flesh; Christ dying for us, reconciling us to God by his death,—giving us redemption in his blood,—being the end of the law for righteousness,” &c, &c, are expressions seldom, if ever, heard from their pulpit, or read in their books. And no wonder: for they are expressions which but ill agree with their doctrine of Christ’s mere humanity. They are like the head of gold, and breast of silver, in Nebuchadnezzar’s image, joined with feet and toes of iron and clay.

I am, reverend, sir, your obedient son, in the Gospel of God our Saviour, JOSEPH BENSON.

LETTER 2.

REV. SIR,—In the last letter we reviewed sundry passages quoted from the Epistle to the Romans, and found, I think, that on the supposition of the author’s holding the doctrine of Christ’s mere humanity, he paid little regard, I will not say to Divine inspiration, or to conclusive reasoning, but even to common sense, in writing that epistle. I now proceed to the first Epistle to the Corinthians, the very inscription of which, and benediction pronounced immediately after, demonstrate, either that the Socinian doctrine is false, or that St. Paul wrote, to say the least, very absurdly. “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, [that is, an apostle of a mere man!] unto the Church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, [viz. sanctified in a mere man!] called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours, [that is, call upon the name of a mere man!] Grace to you, and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ,” who, though no more than a man, is able conjointly with the self-existent Jehovah, to confer grace and peace upon all the Churches.

“I thank my God, [proceeds he, verse 4,] always on your behalf for the grace of God which is given you by Christ Jesus, [that is, by a mere man!] that in every thing ye are enriched by him [a mere man though he be!] in all utterance, and in all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ [this mere man] was confirmed among you, so that ye came behind in no gift, waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, [though he be a mere man] shall confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of [the same mere man] our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom ye were called into the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord,” I mean, the fellowship of a mere man!

Now what a group of absurdities have we in these few verses! An apostle of a mere man! Sanctified in a mere man! Calling upon the name of a mere man! Deriving grace and peace from a mere man! Enriched by a mere man in all utterance and in all knowledge! Confirmed unto the end by a mere man! Waiting continually for the coming of a mere man! Surely this kind of language savours more of lunacy than of a sound mind, and betrays as great a want of reason or common sense, as of learning or inspiration. And yet one can hardly open any where in this or in the other epistles of this apostle, but, on the supposition of his being a Unitarian in the sense of Dr. Priestley and Socinus, one meets with absurdities equally numerous and glaring. Thus in the verses which immediately follow:—

“Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, [viz. the name of a mere man,] that ye all speak the same thing. Was Paul [a mere man] crucified for you? or were ye baptized into the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you but Crispus and Gaius, lest any should say that I [a mere man!] baptized in my own name, [the name of a mere man.] For Christ [another mere man!] did not send me to baptize, but to preach the Gospel, not with wisdom of speech, lest the cross of Christ [that is, the cross of a mere man!] should be made of none effect. For the doctrine of the cross is indeed, to them that perish, foolishness; but to us who are saved, it is the power of God, verse 23. We preach Christ [a mere man!] crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness, but unto them who are called, Christ [the same mere man] the wisdom of God, and the power of God! Of him are ye in Christ Jesus [viz. in a mere man] who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness, sanctification and redemption.” A mere man, the wisdom of God and the power of God: yea, wisdom and righteousness, that is, the source and author of wisdom and righteousness, sanctification and redemption, to all that believe! Strange doctrine this indeed, and very incredible! Thus again in the next chapter: “I determined not to know any thing among you but Jesus Christ, [that is, I determined not to know any thing but a mere man!] and him crucified. We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, which none of the princes of this world knew; for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory,” that is, a mere man! Again, 1 Corinthians 3:11: “Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ,” a mere man: that is, a mere man is the one foundation of the whole Church, with all its doctrines, privileges, and duties! All believers, in all nations and ages, are built upon a mere man! And, chapter v, this doctrine supposes the apostle to speak as follows: “In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, [that is, in the name of a mere man,] when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, [viz. the power of a mere man,] to deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” Will Dr. Priestley, or any of the Socinians, tell us how the power of a mere man, confined in the third heaven, could be exerted and felt on earth, and that in thousands and myriads of congregations at the same time? And will they inform us how sinners of every description could be washed, (as the apostle expresses it in the sixth chapter,) sanctified, and justified in the name of this mere man? Pass we on to the seventh chapter: “Unto the married I command, yet not I [a mere man, as you know I am] but the Lord, [another and a greater mere man!] Let not the wife depart from her husband. But to the rest speak I, [a mere man,] and not the Lord, [particularly the other and greater mere man,] verse 22, He that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord’s [that mere man’s] freeman. Likewise, also, he that is called, being free, is Christ’s [the same mere man’s] servant. Ye are bought with a price, be not ye the servants of men.” Howbeit, ye may be the servants of Christ, who himself is but a man!

Now how ridiculous is this language! How unworthy of the lips, I will not say of an inspired apostle, enlightened with Divine wisdom, but of any rational creature, however illiterate and uninformed! And yet this and such like language every advocate for the mere humanity of Christ, who acknowledges the authenticity of these epistles, and supposes their author to have been a Unitarian, puts into the mouth of the apostle; nay, and makes him utter it almost with every breath, even as often as he has occasion to speak of his Master, which, it is well known, is very frequently. The Socinians glory much in the sixth verse of the next chapter, because the apostle there asserts, with great plainness, the unity of God; but even that passage affords a striking instance of the absurd and ridiculous doctrine I mention. For if he affirm that “to us there is but one God the Father, of whom are all things,” a truth we should be sorry to disbelieve or deny, persuaded as we are, that he is what his name imports, the Father of all, even of his beloved Son, his incarnate Word; if, I say, he affirms this, he affirms with equal plainness, that there is “one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things:” and how all things could be by a mere man, who had no existence till they had been made and preserved at least four thousand years, it may perhaps puzzle even Dr. Priestley to show. Nor have we far to read before we find another proof of the absurdity of supposing St. Paul to hold the doctrine of Christ’s mere humanity. Verse 12, he says, “When ye sin so against the brethren and wound their weak consciences, ye sin against Christ:” that is, according to this hypothesis, “When ye sin against mere men, ye also sin against a mere man!” To this mere man, as the Socinians think him, the apostle declares himself, in the next chapter, to be “under the law,” and, chapter 10, affirms that the Israelites tempted him in the wilderness, that is, if the Socinians be right, tempted him two thousand years before he existed. And while the ungodly among them thus rebelled and vexed the Holy Spirit of their Lawgiver, and their Judge, the faithful applied to him as their Saviour, and received salvation from him, for “they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ,” the Rock of Ages, and the fountain of living waters to his Church, and yet, according to Dr. Priestley, a mere man!

If it seem strange to us that persons of sense and learning should patronize a doctrine which fathers such nonsense upon an inspired apostle, our wonder will in some measure cease, if we pass on to the twelfth chapter of this epistle. There the apostle both gives us the true reason why men embrace the Socinian hypothesis, and furnishes us with a striking example of the absurdity of attempting to reconcile it with his doctrine. “I give you to understand (says he) that no man, speaking by the Spirit of God, calleth Jesus accursed, and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.” They have not received the Holy Ghost; they are not enlightened by that Divine Spirit; he has not taken of the things of Jesus, and shown unto them; has not revealed Christ to them, and therefore they do not, in the true and Scriptural sense, call Jesus Lord, but degrade him into a mere man. The apostle goes on: “Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit,” from whom they proceed, “and there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord,” the same mere man, says Socinus, that appoints them all, “and there are diversities of operations, but the same God, who worketh all in all.” In other words, according to the Socinian doctrine, all the gifts, offices, and effects, produced in the Church of Christ, are from the Holy Ghost, from a mere man, and from the self-existent Jehovah.

Permit me, Rev. sir, to refer you to a few more passages of this epistle, as instances of the absurdity of supposing the apostle to have held Dr. Priestley’s sentiments concerning the mere humanity of Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:45, we read: “The first Adam was made a living soul, the last Adam is a quickening Spirit;” that is, according to the doctor, a mere man is a quickening Spirit! “The first man was from the earth, earthy, the second man is the Lord from heaven:” that is, a mere man, descended from Joseph and Mary, is the Lord from heaven! “I protest by your rejoicing, which I also have in Christ Jesus, [a mere man,] I die daily. Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ, [that is, through a mere man!] Therefore be ye steadfast and immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, [viz. the work of a mere man!] forasmuch as ye know that your labour shall not be in vain in the Lord,” [the same mere man!] Chap. 16:21: “The salutation of me Paul with my own hand. If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, [that is, love not a mere man!] let him be anathema [let him be accursed] maranatha; [that is, the Lord, the same mere man, cometh.] The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, [viz. the grace of a mere man!] be with you. My love be with you all in Christ Jesus,” [the same mere man!]

You see, dear sir, the first Epistle to the Corinthians, when interpreted according to the Socinian doctrine, no more appears to have been written with common sense, than the Epistle to the Romans. Nay, if Jesus Christ be a mere man, some parts of it are impious, as well as absurd. It is inscribed to those that “call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;” that is, if Jesus be no more than a man, it is inscribed to idolaters. And both that and many other passages of it manifestly countenance and encourage idolatry. To represent grace and peace as being derived from the Lord Jesus, as well as from God the Father, and to ask “grace of him” for the Churches: to speak of being “enriched by him in all utterance, and in all knowledge, of being confirmed by him to the end,” and called into “his fellowship,” of “preaching him, the wisdom and power of God;” “the wisdom and righteousness, sanctification and redemption” of his followers; of being determined to “know nothing but him:” to call him the “Lord of glory,” even that Lord “by whom are all things,” and represent him as the only “foundation” of “his Church,” that is or can be laid; as the “Lord that shall come” and bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and make manifest the counsels of the heart: to speak of the power of this person being with them that are gathered together delivering an offender to Satan: to hold him forth as our Passover crucified for us, and “dying for our sins,” according to the Scriptures: to teach that believers are “washed, justified, and sanctified in his name;” are his members joined to him, in one spirit, and not their own but his, bought with a price: to term him the Lord almost in every breath, and that eminently and absolutely without any, the least, restriction or limitation; and represent himself and all the apostles, nay, and all Christians and ministers through all the world, as his servants: to speak of his ordaining laws for his Church; and of his followers being “under the law” to him: to talk of “sinning against him, tempting him, and provoking him to jealousy,” and to pronounce those accursed that do not love him: surely this is not only absurd, but even pernicious doctrine, if he be no more than a man.

Equally pernicious, as well as absurd, are sundry passages of his second epistle to the same people. He begins it, as he had done the former, by styling himself an “apostle of Jesus Christ,” and asking grace and peace of him, as well as of his supreme and everlasting Father! Verse fifth he mentions his consolations as “abounding through him,” and 1 Corinthians 2:14, speaks of their “triumphing in him,” and being “unto God a sweet savour in him,” in them that are saved, and in them that perish. 1 Corinthians 1:19, he calls him that “Son of God,” whom he, Sylvanus, and Timotheus had preached, and declares that he was not yea and nay, but that all the promises of God in him are “Yea,” and in him “Amen.” And 1 Corinthians 4:5, he assures us they “preached not themselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord:” that is, according to this doctrine, they preached not mere men, but a mere man! “and themselves the servants of the Churches for Jesus’ sake,” viz. for the sake of a mere man! And verse 11: “Always delivered unto death for his sake, [viz. for the sake of a mere man!] that the life also of Jesus,” adds he, “might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.” The reason of this their entire devotedness to Christ, we learn, 1 Corinthians 5:14, 15, “The love of Christ constrained them:” that is, according to Dr. Priestley, the love of a mere man! “while they thus judged,” thus believed and reflected, “that if one [mere man] died for all, then are all dead: and that he died for all, that they who live should not live henceforth unto themselves, but unto him [the mere man!] that died for them, and rose again.” All mankind, therefore, being redeemed by his death, are, according to this doctrine, under an indispensable obligation of living in obedience to the will, and of being devoted to the glory of one mere man! Nay, and the apostles themselves were but ambassadors for Christ, (that is, ambassadors for a mere man,) as though God, adds he, did “beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ’s stead, [the stead of a mere man!] be ye reconciled to God: for he hath made him [though but one mere man] a sin offering for us, [many millions of mere men,] that we might be the righteousness of God [might be justified and made righteous by God] in him.” How all true believers should be justified and made righteous through one mere man, is surely, to say the least, not easy to conceive. Proceed we to the eighth chapter. “Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, how that, though he was rich, for our sakes he became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich.” Will Doctor Priestley, or any Socinian, inform us when and how Christ was rich, on their hypothesis, and when and in what sense he became poor? And will he tell us how, on the supposition of his being a mere man, he can act the part of a spiritual husband, to all the faithful in every nation and age, guiding, protecting, and comforting them, nay, and supplying all their wants? “I have espoused you [many millions as ye are] to one husband, (says the apostle, 1 Corinthians 11:2,) that I may present you a chaste virgin to Christ.” The apostle goes on: “But I fear lest your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preach another Jesus [another mere man] whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another Spirit [from that mere man] which ye have not received, ye might well bear with him.”

Above all, I would recommend the paragraph that follows, to the consideration of those who view Christ as a more man, and therefore judge that it would be idolatry to worship him. 1 Corinthians 12:7, speaking of his thorn in the flesh, he says: “For this thing I besought the Lord [that is, I besought a mere man! see verse ninth] thrice, that it might depart from me, and he said unto me, My grace [though I am but a mere man!] is sufficient for thee, for my strength [mere man as I am!] is made perfect [is perfectly displayed] in weakness! Most gladly therefore will I glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ [the power of a mere man!] may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, &c, for Christ’s sake, [that is, for the sake of a mere man!] for when I am weak, then [through the help of this mere man] I am strong!” This surely is ridiculous in the extreme. And the 3d, 5th, and 13th verses of chap. 13, are little better. 3. “Ye seek a proof of Christ [a mere man!] speaking in me. 5. Examine yourselves whether ye be in the faith. Know ye not that Christ [a mere man!] is in you, except you be reprobates! Verse 13: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, [that is, the grace of a mere man!] and the love of God, [the Supreme Being,] and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, [that is, the fellowship of a power or property of God!] be with you all! Amen.” Leaving you to wonder, Rev. sir, how any man of sense can patronize and attempt to reconcile with the Scriptures, a doctrine, which, when brought to that touchstone, appears to be so absurd and ridiculous, I subscribe myself yours, &c.

LETTER 3.

REV. SIR,—In the two former letters we reviewed a variety of passages occurring in the Epistle to the Romans, and the two Epistles to the Corinthians, which, on the supposition that the author of those epistles held the doctrine of Christ’s mere humanity, manifestly appear to have been written without regard to common sense. I proceed now to lay before you a few texts, of a similar nature, from the lesser epistles of the same apostle: and several, not a little remarkable in this view, occur in the very beginning of the first of these epistles. According to Dr. Priestley’s hypothesis, they must be read as follows:—Galatians 1:1, “Paul an apostle, not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, [a mere man!] and God the Father, who raised him from the dead. Grace to you, and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, [from the eternal God and a mere man!] who [though no more than a man] gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us [many myriads as we are!] from this present evil world. I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ, [the grace of a mere man!] unto another gospel, which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the Gospel of Christ, [the gospel of a mere man!] Do I now persuade [or solicit the favour of] man? or do I seek to please men? For if I yet pleased men, I should not [please or] be the servant of Christ, [a mere man!] But I certify you, brethren, that the Gospel which was preached of me is not after man: for I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ,” a mere man!

Now, sir, is not all this very extraordinary? An apostle, not of men, neither by man, but by a mere man! If I pleased, or were the servant of men, I should not be the servant of a mere man! The Gospel which I preached is not after man, but after a mere man! Is not this excellent sense? worthy of the learning of the disciple of Gamaliel, and of the inspiration of the apostle of God? The apostle proceeds, verse 15: “When it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace,—to reveal his Son [that is, to reveal a mere man!] in me, that I might preach him [the same mere man!] among the heathen,” as the grand foundation of their confidence and hope, 1 Corinthians 3:11; Ephesians 1:12, 13; the object of their love, 1 Corinthians 16; and spring of their obedience, 2 Corinthians 5:14;—”immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood!”

I shall take no notice of what the apostle has delivered with great dearness in the next chapter, respecting justification by faith in this mere man, as the Socinians think him, though absolutely irreconcilable with their doctrine; but what he has occasionally remarked, respecting the union which he had with Christ, and which indeed all that are justified have with him, must not be passed over, as being perfectly unintelligible on their hypothesis. Verse 20, we read, “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ [a mere man, says Dr. Priestley] liveth in me; and the life I live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, [that is, by faith in a mere man,] who hath loved me and given himself for me.” Will Dr. Priestley inform us how Christ, if a mere man, could live in the apostle? And will he tell us how he could “redeem all [that believe in him, whether Jews or Gentiles] from the curse of the law, see chap. 3:13, that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through him; and mankind might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith?” John 7:37, 38. There are many other passages in this epistle equally absurd on the Socinian principles. As chap. 4:14, “Ye received me as an angel of God, even as [a mere man!] Jesus Christ.” Verse 19, “My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ [a mere man] be formed in you!” Chap. 5:1, “Stand fast in the liberty wherewith [a mere man] Christ hath made us free!” Chap. 6:2, “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ,” that is, the law of a mere man. Verse 14, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, [the cross of the same mere man,] by whom [a mere man though he be] the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. For in [the same mere man] Christ Jesus, neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. From henceforth let no man trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus, [viz. the marks of the sufferings I have endured for the sake of a mere man!] Brethren, the grace of [this mere man] the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.”

You see, Rev. sir, that this Epistle to the Galatians, beside the many passages which are similar to those found in the preceding epistles, has several of a peculiar nature, in which the Lord Jesus is set in opposition to men: and to be made an apostle by him, to receive the Gospel from him, and seeking to please him, are opposed to the being made an apostle by man, receiving the Gospel from man, and seeking to please man. Now, in these instances, Dr. Priestley will find it hard work, indeed, to vindicate, on his hypothesis, the common sense of the apostle. Examine we now the Epistle to the Ephesians. This also furnishes us with many instances of the apostle’s writing without common sense, on the supposition of his being a Unitarian. Passing over the inscription and benediction, which are similar to those in the other epistles, verse the 3d, &c, he speaks of the Father as blessing us, viz. all the faithful, “with all spiritual blessings in him, choosing us in him to be holy,—predestinating us to the adoption of children,— making us accepted, and giving us redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins:” and then, verse 10, he proceeds as follows:—”That in the dispensation of the fulness of time, he might gather together in one, all things in Christ, [that is, in a mere man,] both which are in heaven, and which are on earth, even in him, [mere man though he be!] in whom also we have obtained an inheritance,—according to the counsel of his own will, that we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ,] that is, who trusted in a mere man!] in whom ye also trusted, [and were so far from being condemned or blamed by God for so doing, that] after ye believed in him, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance.” This mere man, verse 20, “the Father hath set at his own right hand, in heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come; and hath put all things under his feet, and given him to be the head over all things to the Church, which is his body, the fulness of him [viz. of the mere man!] that filleth all in all.” Is there any reason or sense in any part of this paragraph? How can a mere man be the head of the Church universal, not only guiding and governing, but virtually influencing all true believers, in all nations and ages? And how could a mere man bring Jews and Gentiles nigh to each other by his blood, as the apostle observes in the next chapter, or be their “peace, making in himself one new man?” And having formed them into one body, how could he reconcile both unto God, by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby? or come from heaven, even while he remained there, and preach peace to the Gentiles, who were far off, and to the Jews that were nigh, granting unto both “access through himself, [a mere man,] by one Spirit unto the Father?”

Another remarkable passage we meet with, chap. 3:1: “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, [that is, the unsearchable riches of a mere man!] and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ; viz. by a mere man, who had no existence till all things had been created at least four thousand years! Such are the absurdities which the Socinian doctrine fathers upon the disciple of Gamaliel, and of the Lord Jesus! Nay, and what is worse, makes him utter these absurdities to God upon his knees, in the most solemn acts of devotion. For instance, verse 14: “I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom [though a mere man!] the whole family of heaven and earth is named, that Christ [mere man as he is!] may dwell in your hearts by faith! that being rooted and grounded in love, ye may be able to comprehend with all saints, what is the breadth and length, and depth and height, and to know the love of Christ, which [though it be but the love of a mere man,] passeth knowledge!—that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.” How a mere man should dwell in our hearts, how his love should pass knowledge, and how the knowledge of it, in that degree which is attainable, should be a mean of filling us with all the fulness of God, is surely, to say the least, not to be conceived! Another remarkable instance of the absurdity of supposing the apostle to have held the doctrine of Christ’s mere humanity occurs in the next chapter, verses 7-17: “Unto every one of us is grace given, according to the measure of the gift of Christ, [that is, the gift of a mere man!] Wherefore he saith, when he [this mere man] ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. Now that he ascended, what is it [what does it imply ] but that he descended first into the lower parts of the earth?” Will the Socinians inform us how a mere man, who had no existence till born in Bethlehem, and who of consequence had never been in heaven, could descend from thence? “He that descended (I say) is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he [a mere man!] might fill all things. And he [a mere man] gave apostles and prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints, for the edifying of the body of Christ, [the body of a mere man!] till we all come, in the unity of the faith, and knowledge of the Son of God, [the faith and knowledge of a mere man!] unto a perfect man. unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. That we may grow up unto him in all things, who [though a mere man] is the head, from whom the whole body, fitly joined together and compacted, by that which every joint supplieth, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love!” Pass we on to the fifth chapter, where we meet with more instances, and equally striking: “Walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and [though a mere man!] hath given himself for us, [one mere man to ransom millions!] an offering and a sacrifice to God of a sweet-smelling savour. Wherefore he saith, verse 14, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ [a mere man] shall give thee light!” For, though a mere man, he can hear and answer prayer, and give the light of life to as many as apply to him! Verse 22: “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord, [a mere man,] for the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the Church, and he [a mere man!] is the Saviour of the body! Therefore as the Church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the Church, and [though a mere man!] hath given himself for it that he might sanctify and cleanse it, and present it to himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, that it should be holy and without blemish! So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies; for no man ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord [viz. a mere man!] the Church; for we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.” The next chapter abounds with instances of a similar kind. “Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh,—in singleness of heart, as unto Christ; [a mere man!] not with eye service as men pleasers, but as the servants of Christ, [a mere man!] doing the will of God from the heart, with good will doing service as to the Lord, [a mere man!] and not to men! Knowing, that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, [this same mere man,] whether he be bond or free. And ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening, knowing that your Master also [a mere man!] is in heaven, neither is there respect of persons with him. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, [a mere man!] and in the power of his might! Peace be to the brethren, and love, with faith, from God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, [the supreme God and a mere man!] Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ [the mere man I so often name] in sincerity!” Wishing, reverend sir, that should Dr. Priestley think it worth his while to show us how the sundry passages quoted in this letter from the Epistles to the Galatians and Ephesians might, consistently with common sense, be written by one who held the doctrine of Christ’s mere humanity, he may not forget to tell us how his unwearied endeavours to degrade the Lord Jesus are consistent with loving him in sincerity, I subscribe myself, &c.

LETTER 4.

REV. SIR,—Though I made no particular remark upon it, yet I hope, in looking over the last letter, it would not escape your notice, that in the Epistle to the Ephesians also, as well as in that to the Galatians, the apostle repeatedly opposes the Lord Jesus Christ to men. “Not with eye service, as men pleasers, but as the servants of Christ. With good will, doing service as to the Lord, [viz. Christ,] and not to men.” Now on the Socinian principles this is saying, not as men pleasers, but as man pleasers; doing service as to a man and not to men!

The Epistle to the Philippians comes next in course, and contains a similar doctrine as to the point in question, with the epistles already considered. Indeed, the apostle is consistent with himself in all his epistles, and according to the doctor’s hypothesis, consistent in inconsistency. Here, as before, he styles himself (not indeed an apostle but) a servant of Jesus Christ, and represents Timothy as being joined with himself in this state of servitude to a mere man, and from this mere man, as well as from the almighty God, he begs grace and peace for the saints at Philippi, as he had done for the Churches to which the preceding epistles are addressed. And then, verse 12, he writes: “I would that you should observe, brethren, that my bonds in Christ [my bonds endured for a mere man!] are manifest in all the palace: and some preach Christ [preach a mere man!] even of envy and strife, and some also of good will. The one preach Christ [the same mere man] of contention; but the other of love. What then? Notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ [the mere man] is preached, and I therein do rejoice, yea, and I will rejoice: for I know that this Shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, [that is, the supply of the spirit of a mere man!] according to my earnest expectation, and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also, Christ [a mere man!] shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life or death. For me to live is Christ, [that is, a mere man ‘is the supreme end of my life, and I value my life only as it is capable of being referred to the purposes of his honour!’] and to die is gain, and what I shall choose I wot not, for I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, [the mere man I speak of,] which is far better; nevertheless, to abide in the flesh is more needful for you: that your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ [the same mere man] by my coming to you again. Only let your conversation be as it becometh the Gospel of Christ, [viz. the gospel of a mere man:] in nothing terrified by your adversaries; for to you it is given in behalf of Christ, [in behalf of a mere man!] not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake,” [for the sake of the same mere man!] A strange doctrine this indeed!

But to proceed. Philippians 2:1, we read: “If there be any consolation in Christ, [that is, on the principles I oppose, in a mere man!] if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, fulfil ye my joy: and let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who [though but a mere man, that had no existence till born at Bethlehem, in the days of Augustus Cesar, yet] being, uparcwn, subsisting in the form of God, [that is, say the Socinians, being endowed, like Moses and others, with the power of working miracles!] thought it not robbery to be equal with God;” a mere man thought it not robbery to be equal with God! or as the doctor’s party, contrary to the natural and proper import of the words, wish to translate it, did not assume an equality with God,—that is, a mere man manifested great humility in not assuming an equality with God! The apostle goes on, but “emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, made in the likeness of men, [that is, a mere man, who was ‘made in the likeness of men, and emptied himself’ that he might be made in that likeness!] and being found in fashion as a man, [for in what other fashion was it reasonable to suppose a mere man could be found?] he humbled himself, [still more,] and became obedient unto death. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name above every name, that at the name of Jesus [viz. the name of a mere man!] every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and those in earth, and those under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ [a mere man!] is Lord, to the glory of God the Father!”

I appeal here to any reasonable man, whether it were possible for any one possessed of common sense, to believe Jesus Christ to be a mere man, and yet to write in this manner: and I appeal to any person possessed of a grain of piety, a single spark of the fear of God, whether he could consider the Son of God as a mere man, and yet speak as follows: “I trust in the Lord Jesus [ver, 19, that is, on the Socinian hypothesis, I trust in a mere man] to send Timotheus shortly unto you, for I have no man like minded; for all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s, [that is, which are a mere man’s;] him I hope to send, and I trust in the Lord [the same mere man,] that also myself shall come shortly.” Surely the putting our trust in a mere man for things which are wholly in God’s power, and absolutely at his disposal, is flagrant idolatry, and the open declaration of that trust is a public avowal of that idolatry.

Indeed, if Christ be a mere man, St. Paul idolized him almost as often as he mentioned him. Many instances occur in the next chapter. “Finally, my brethren, (says he, ver. 1,) rejoice in the Lord, [viz. in a mere man,] for (ver. 3) we are the circumcision who worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus. Ver. 7: What things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ, [that is, for a mere man!] Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of [this same mere man] Jesus Christ my Lord, for whom [though but a man] I have suffered the loss of all things, and I do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, [that is, that I may win a mere man,] and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, [faith in a mere man!] the righteousness which is of God by faith: that I may know him, [may know a mere man!] and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable to his death: that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus,” that is, of a mere man! As this is certainly magnifying a mere man too much; so in the passage following, (ver. 50,) the apostle speaks of expecting from him what no mere man can possibly perform: “We look,” says he, “for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able to subdue all things unto himself.” The apostle, however, was not only persuaded of Christ’s ability to do all this, but believed that he could even impart strength to others, assuring us, in the thirteenth verse of the next chapter, that he himself could “do all things, [viz. all things which it was his duty to do,] through Christ strengthening him,” whose grace, therefore, before he puts a period to his epistle, he desires for the Philippians, as in his other epistles he does for the other Churches, saying, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ [that is, as Dr. Priestley will have it, the grace of a mere man!] be with you all! Amen!” Such, Rev. sir, according to Dr. Priestley’s hypothesis, is the doctrine of St. Paul concerning Christ, in his Epistle to the Philippians; a doctrine which I think every intelligent reader must pronounce most absurd and ridiculous. To rejoice so excessively that a mere man was preached, though at the expense of many and extreme sufferings endured by those who preached him: to represent serving and glorifying him as the one great end of living, and to intimate that life itself was only desirable so far as it answered that end: to censure those who sought their own things, and not the things of this mere man: to speak of trusting in him, expecting the supply of his Spirit, and being able to do all things through his help: to lay it down as a principal branch of the character of a Christian to rejoice in him, and repeatedly to exhort all Christians to do this: to mention it as a great favour to be permitted to suffer for him, and to represent all things as vile and worthless, when compared to the “excellency of his knowledge:” to speak with satisfaction of having won him, though with the loss of every thing beside, even liberty and life, just about to be sacrificed for his sake; and to rejoice that he was magnified whatever his servant might endure: to proclaim him as “able to change even our vile bodies, and make them conformable to his own glorious body,” nay, and to “subdue all things to himself;” and to begin and end his epistle with solemn prayer, addressed to him for grace to be conferred upon the people to whom he wrote: surely these things (to say nothing of the celebrated passage in which this mere man, as the doctor thinks him, shines forth in the form of God, and is declared to be equal with God) are very extraordinary, and not to be reconciled with sound reason or common sense, any more than with inspiration or piety.

I proceed now to the Epistle to the Colossians, which will also furnish us with a variety of examples of a similar kind. Having informed us, ver. 14, that “we have redemption through his blood, [that is, if we may believe Dr. Priestley, through the blood of a mere man!] even the forgiveness of sins,” he adds, “who is the image of the invisible God, the first born of every creature, for by him [though a mere man, born in the days of Augustus Cesar] were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions, principalities or powers: all things were Created by him [this mere man] and for him, [the same mere man!] and he [though he had no existence till about sixty years agof93] is before all things, and by him [a mere man!] all things consist. And he is the head of his body the Church: the beginning, the first born from the dead: that in all things he [a mere man!] might have the pre-eminence. For it pleased the Father that in him [a mere man!] should all fulness dwell, and having made peace through the blood of his cross; by him to reconcile all things to himself: by him, [a mere man!] I say, whether they be things on earth, or in heaven.” Surely this is unparalleled! No nonsense that ever was uttered, can equal it! The apostle proceeds: “And you who were sometime alienated and enemies in your minds by wicked works, yet now hath he [a mere man!] reconciled in the body of his flesh, through death, to present you holy and unblamable, and unreprovable in his sight [the sight of the same mere man!] The mystery, ver. 26, hid from ages, and from generations, is now made manifest to his saints, to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery, among the Gentiles, which is Christ [a mere man!] in you the hope of glory; whom [a mere man though he be!] we preach, warning every, man, and teaching every man, in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus [the same mere man.] Whereunto I also labour according to his working, [that is, the working of a mere man!] which worketh in me mightily.” Now is not this strange doctrine? A mere man hath reconciled to God those that were alienated and enemies in their minds by wicked works! A mere man is in them, many thousands and myriads as they are, the hope of glory, that is, the foundation and source of their hope! A mere man works mightily in and by his apostle. The Gospel, chap. 2:2, is the mystery of the eternal God and of a mere man! And in a mere man, verse 3, are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge! He goes on: “And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, [the mere man I speak of,] so walk ye in him, rooted and built up in him, [the same mere man!] and established in the faith. Beware then lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ, [a mere man!] For in him, [mere man as he is!] dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily; and ye are complete in him, who [though but a man] is the head of all principality and power.” Observe, sir, “All the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (or substantially) dwells in a mere man! and a mere man is the head of “all principality and power!”

The apostle mentions afterward the “worshipping of angels,” and opposes it to holding the head, “from which (adds he) all the body, [the Church universal, with every member thereof,] with joints and bands, having nourishment ministered and knit together, increaseth with all the increase of God.” So that it seems, this mere man ministers spiritual nourishment to every true member of his mystical body, that is, to every true believer in every part of the world, and causeth them all to increase with all the increase of God! I hope, if Dr. Priestley cannot show how this is done, he can at least prove that it is possible; and that this same mere man is capable also of being our life, as the apostle observes in the next chapter, verse 4, and our all, verse 11, and even in all that believe!

Many are the passages in the remaining part of this epistle, in which the apostle affirms of Christ, or ascribes to him what common sense will pronounce cannot belong to a mere man. For example: “Forgiving one another, if any man have a complaint against any; even as Christ [a mere man] forgave you, so also do ye—and whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, [that is, in the name of a mere man!] giving thanks to God, even the Father, by him. Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord [a mere man.] Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, and whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, [a mere man!] and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance, for ye serve [a mere man!] the Lord Christ! Chapter iv, Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal, knowing that ye also have a Master, [viz. a mere man!] in heaven. (12) Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, [that is, of a mere man!] saluteth you. (17) Say to Archippus, take heed of the ministry which thou hast received of the Lord [a mere man!] to fulfil it. Grace be with you! Amen!”

Methinks, reverend sir, it must be impossible for any one to pay the slightest attention to the above texts, quoted from the Epistle to the Colossians, and here interpreted according to Dr. Priestley’s hypothesis, without being convinced that his doctrine, and that of St. Paul, concerning the person and offices of Christ, are absolutely irreconcilable, on the principles of common sense. Would any man, who was not absolutely an idiot or lunatic, if he believed Jesus Christ to be no more than a man, have held him up to view as the person, “by whom all things were created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible;” nay, as the person for whom, as well as by whom, they were created, and who, of consequence, existed “before all things, and by whom all things consist” and are upheld? Would he have represented him as a person “in whom all fulness dwells,” yea, “all the fulness of the Godhead bodily,” and as “the head of his body, the Church,” and not a head of guidance or government only, but of vital influence also? Would he have taught it as a great and important mystery, hid from ages and generations of old, but now made manifest to the saints, that this mere man was in real Christians “their hope of glory,” working mightily in and by his apostles and servants? Farther, would he, in speaking of the mystery of the Gospel, (which, by the by, on the doctor’s principles, can hardly be termed a mystery at all,) have denominated it the “mystery of God the Father and of Christ,” thus joining a mere man with the eternal God, and making him, together with the self-existent Jehovah, the author of the Gospel? Would he have represented him as a person “in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,” and the “head of all principality and power?” Would he have spoken of “receiving him, walking in him,” and being “rooted and built up, and complete in him,” or as en autw weplhrwenoi rather signifies, filled with or by him? Would he, in guarding them against the vain deceits of philosophy, (those deceits which are after the rudiments of the world, and the tradition of men, and not after Christ,) have cautioned them against the worship of angels, and opposed it to “holding the head,” Christ; an expression which, in this connection, manifestly implies the worshipping him, which we have had already sufficient, and shall yet have much more abundant proof, that the apostles and first Christians did? Would he have termed this mere man, as the doctor thinks him, the life of true believers, and their all in all, exhorting them to “forgive one another, as he had forgiven them?” Would he have opposed him to men, and urged servants, whatsoever they did, to do it heartily as to him, [a mere man!] and not to men, “knowing that of him they should receive the reward of the inheritance, for that they served the Lord Christ?” These inquiries, reverend sir, are of deep importance, and such as, on the Socinian principles, I am well convinced Dr. Priestley will never be able to answer to the satisfaction of those who pay any deference to the authority of St. Paul. I am, reverend sir, yours, &c.

LETTER 5.

REV. SIR,—Dr. Priestley would fain persuade us that St. Paul’s idea of the person of Christ was the same with that which he entertains. But, were there no other, there is at least one insurmountable objection to this, and that is, the different conduct of the apostle from that of the doctor, with regard to Divine worship. The doctor confines this entirely to the Father. He never, in any instance, addresses it to the Son. He judges it would be idolatry so to do. But we have already seen, in many undeniable instances, that St. Paul worshipped Jesus Christ. To say nothing of the many other passages which have occurred in the epistles already reviewed, the benedictions wherewith he has begun and ended these epistles, are incontrovertible proofs of it. For in these he asks grace, or grace and peace, of Jesus Christ, as well as of the supreme and eternal Father. We have already met with so many instances of this kind, that I am ashamed to trouble you with any more. I shall therefore pass over those occurring in the two next epistles, viz. the Epistles to the Thessalonians; and I shall also omit mentioning divers texts in those epistles concerning Christ, which, if understood as spoken of a mere man, appear equally absurd with those quoted in the four preceding letters.

But two passages I must refer to, as affording a plain and evident demonstration, that the apostle viewed the Lord Jesus Christ in a different light from that in which Dr. Priestley beholds him. The one passage is in the first epistle, 1 Thessalonians 3:11; and, according to the doctor’s hypothesis, must be interpreted as follows:—”Now God himself, even our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, [a mere man!] direct our way unto you. And the Lord [the same mere man!] make you to increase in love one toward another and toward all men; to the end he may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints:” a manifest and undeniable instance this, of a formal and Solemn prayer, addressed to the Lord Jesus, that is, as Dr. Priestley will have it, to a mere man! and by one who, he says, believed him to be a mere man! Surely it behooves him to consider how, on his principles, he can acquit the apostle of the gross crime of idolatry! The other passage, second epistle, 2 Thessalonians 2:16, must, on the same hypothesis, be understood in the same manner. “Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, [a mere man!] and God, even our Father, who hath loved us, and given us everlasting consolation, and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts, and establish you in every good Word and work.” Here again we have a plain instance of the apostle’s praying to Christ, and that at the very time and in the very manner in which he prays to the Father.

The doctor may pass these things over slightly. But you will agree with me, dear sir, that reason requires him either to allow that the apostle held a different sentiment concerning the Lord Jesus, from that which he entertains, or to give us proof that he can imitate the apostle, and worship Christ as he did. While, then, he informs his people, in the language of St. Paul in these epistles, that Jesus Christ “delivers them from the wrath to come,” first epistle, 1 Thessalonians 1:10, and that they “obtain salvation through him,” 1 Thessalonians 5:9: that he is “that Lord that shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God; who, 2 Thessalonians 1:7, shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ,”— the person from whose presence and from the “glory of whose power” such shall be “punished with everlasting destruction,” when he [a mere man] shall come to be “glorified in his saints, and admired in all them that believe:” and while he prays to the Father for his flock, “that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in them, according to the grace of our God, and Jesus our Lord:” let him approach also the Lord Jesus Christ in prayer, after the example of St. Paul. Though this might a little astonish some of his hearers, as being a procedure that they had not been accustomed to, yet it would have more weight than any thing he has yet said or done to convince the public that he does not differ so widely from St. Paul, as the generality of mankind in this kingdom suppose him to do. But if he cannot conscientiously do this, as believing it would be gross idolatry to worship a mere man in this manner, or speak of him in this exalted strain, then let him acknowledge that St. Paul and he differ widely in their views of the Lord Jesus.

Methinks, Rev. sir, on the Socinian principles, the remarkable passage contained in the second chapter of the latter epistle to this people, which has generally been applied by Protestants to the pope of Rome, might with much greater propriety be applied to Jesus Christ. He, you know, has been worshipped as God for 1700 years at least, by the generality of Christians; and he, as God, hath sat and still sits in the temple, or Church of God, “showing himself that he is God;” proclaiming himself the root as well as offspring of David; the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last; and declaring that all men ought to “honour him, the Son, even as they honour the Father; and that he that honoureth not the Son, honoureth not the Father.” Now if he be no such being, but only a mere man, and therefore no proper object of Divine worship, it seems it would be no difficult matter, for so great a master of the art of reasoning as Dr. Priestley, to prove that he is the great impostor and usurper, primarily meant by St. Paul in this passage, the grand idol (as indeed he must think him) of professing Christians; an impostor and usurper, by so much greater than the pope, or any other that hath arisen in the Church of God, claiming Divine honours, and exercising dominion over men’s consciences; by how much he hath been obeyed more unreservedly and implicitly, and hath been worshipped more devoutly and universally than they.

You know, sir, it is generally supposed that all the most remarkable apostasies from faith in and piety toward God, which have occurred or shall occur in his Church, have been distinctly foretold in the Holy Scriptures. Now, if Jesus Christ be a mere man, the worship of him so generally practised, all over Christendom, for so long a run of ages, must be the greatest corruption of true religion, and the most remarkable defection from the service of the one living and true God, that ever took place in the visible Church. And it would be strange, indeed, and what many would consider as an insuperable objection to the doctor’s whole scheme, if this greatest of all apostasies should no where be foretold in the oracles of God, when apostasies, far less criminal and general, are constantly found to have been predicted there. But if it must be supposed to be prophesied of somewhere, it may be worth the doctor’s while to consider, whether this passage is not as likely to foretel it as any other. It describes a great and general falling away from the worship and service of the true God, a grand and universally spreading idolatry, supported by miracles, real or pretended. This, according to his hypothesis, must be very applicable to that apostasy from the worship of one God only, which the doctor and his friends deplore; which they are using all possible means to remedy, and which he somewhere calls the idolizing of Jesus Christ. And however it might shock the prejudices of some half-thinking zealots to find, that, according to this interpretation, epithets are given to Jesus Christ, such as they have not been accustomed to hear him characterized by, and such as they may deem blasphemous; yet this can no way stagger the doctor. For how can he think any appellation too severe which is given to one, who, though a mere man, weak, fallible, and peccable like others, for so many centuries has been worshipped as God, and has been the grand idol of so great a part of the known world, and has so manifestly, by word and deed, countenanced and encouraged, nay and commanded that idolatry!

Now, sir, when the doctor has once proved this point, he will have done his business effectually indeed. He will have brought Jesus Christ as low as he could wish him. He then, instead of being the Lord of glory, and Son of God, is discovered to be the man of sin, and son of ——. But I must check myself: the whole truth must not be spoken at once, for indeed it would not be borne. And at present there is among us an almost universally prevailing opinion that Jesus Christ, so far from being the person described by St. Paul in this passage, “whose coming is after the working of Satan; with all power and signs, and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish,” is in reality that Lord who “shall consume that wicked one with the spirit of his mouth, and destroy him with the brightness of his coming.” If this opinion should have any foundation in truth, I fear Dr. Priestley will be found to have entertained and taught a great error, and may be in danger of meeting with a severe rebuke, if nothing more dreadful, in that day, from him he has thus degraded. Praying that we, reverend sir, and all professing Christians, may be so endowed with that Spirit of truth, whose office it is to reveal the Lord Jesus, that we may both form proper conceptions of his wonderful person, and pay him the honour due unto his name, I break off here, and subscribe myself your obedient servant in him, even in Christ Jesus, &c.

LETTER 6.

REV. SIR,—Timothy, Titus, and Philemon, you know, were particular and intimate friends of St. Paul. In the epistles inscribed to them, therefore, at least we may expect to find his sentiments concerning Jesus Christ, the grand subject of all his letters, naked and without disguise. Let us then narrowly examine these epistles, and see whether they comport with Dr. Priestley’s doctrine. In order hitherto, let us adopt the method pursued above, and see whether those passages which speak of Christ appear to contain good sense and sound divinity, when understood according to the doctor’s hypothesis. Chap. 1:1: “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Saviour, [the infinite, eternal, and supreme Jehovah,] and the Lord Jesus Christ, [a mere man, weak, fallible, and peccable, who, mere man though he be, is nevertheless] our hope: unto Timothy, my son in the faith; grace, mercy, and peace [from both these persons] from God our Father, [the Supreme Being,] and Jesus Christ our Lord,” a mere man!

Verse 12: “I thank [this mere man!] Jesus Christ our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, who was before a blasphemer, and persecutor, and injurious. But I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of [this mere man!] our Lord was exceeding abundant, with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus, [the same mere man!] This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ [a mere man, who was not till he was born in Bethlehem!] came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. Howbeit, for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first [this same mere man!] Jesus Christ might show forth all long suffering, for a pattern to them who should hereafter believe on him [that is, believe on a mere man!] to everlasting life,” for everlasting life is obtained by believing on him, though a mere man!

What a multitude of proofs, undeniable proofs, have we in these few verses, either that St. Paul was devoid of common sense, or that he viewed Jesus Christ in a very different light from that in which Dr. Priestley considers him. To term the Lord Jesus our hope, and represent himself as made an apostle by his commandment, as well as by the commandment of God the Father; to look up to him as well as to the Father for grace, mercy, and peace, to be conferred upon Timothy; to thank him for putting him into the ministry, and enabling him to be faithful; to speak of him as exercising toward him all long suffering, and conferring upon him “exceeding abundant grace;” to glory in it as a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that he came into the world (an expression which plainly implies his having existed before he so came) to save sinners; and to represent everlasting life as being obtained by believing in him;—surely any, and much more all of these particulars, demonstrate, that if St. Paul possessed, not to say the inspiration of an apostle, but the reason of a man, he must have considered Jesus Christ as being more than a man. And that he did, is yet farther certain from what he says of him toward the conclusion of the third chapter, where he terms him “God manifest in the flesh,” which is giving him a character as far above that of a mere man, as the Creator is above one of his creatures. The apostle goes on’ “Justified in the Spirit,” “whose extraordinary communication (says all eminent divine) in the midst of all the meanness of human nature in its suffering state, vindicated his high claim, and marked him out, in the most illustrious manner, for the Divine person he professed himself to be:” “seen of angels,” who attentively beheld, adored, and worshipped him, Hebrews 1:6; “preached among the Gentiles,” as the great foundation of their faith and hope, and object of their love; “believed on in the world,” as their Redeemer and Saviour; “received up into glory, far above all principalities and powers, and every name that is named.” “If thou put the brethren (Hebrews 4:6) in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of [the mere man!] Jesus Christ; nourished up in the words of faith, and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained. And (Hebrews 5:21) I charge thee, before God [the omnipresent and omniscient Jehovah] and the Lord Jesus Christ, [a mere man!] that thou observe these things!” Again, Hebrews 6:13: “I give thee charge in the sight of God, [that infinite, omnipresent, and omnipotent Being,] who quickeneth all things, and before Jesus Christ, [a mere man, local in his presence, and limited in his power,] that thou keep the commandment without spot, unrebukable, until the appearing of [this mere man] our Lord Jesus Christ.

The second Epistle to Timothy is similar to the first. The same strain of absurdity runs through it also, on the supposition that its author held the doctrine of Christ’s mere humanity. A few passages I shall quote and read according to that hypothesis.

2 Timothy 1:1: “Paul, an apostle of [the mere man] Jesus Christ, by the will of God, according to the promise of life, which is in [this mere man] Christ Jesus: to Timothy, my beloved son, grace, mercy, and peace, from God the [infinite and eternal] Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, [a mere man of yesterday, weak and dependent!] Ver. 8: Be not thou ashamed of the testimony of [this mere man] our Lord, nor of me his prisoner; but be thou a partaker of the afflictions of the Gospel, according to the power of God; who hath saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, [though this Christ Jesus be a mere man, who had no existence till the world was at least four thousand years old!] but is now made manifest by the appearing of this [mere man] our Saviour Jesus Christ, who [mere man as he is!] hath abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel.” Observe, reverend sir, a mere man hath abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light! “For which cause,” adds he, “I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that [though a mere man!] he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” I think, sir, they that believe him to be a mere man, must have many doubts respecting his ability to keep what they may commit unto him.

The apostle proceeds, chap. 2:1: “Thou, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in [this mere man!] Christ Jesus! Endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ, [the same mere man.] No man that warreth, entangleth himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him that hath chosen him to be a soldier.” See that thou then (he might have added, as indeed is implied) make it thy care to please the mere man Jesus Christ, who hath chosen thee! For thy encouragement let me remind thee that (verse 10) “I endure all things for the elect’s sake, that they may obtain the salvation which is in [this mere man] Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. It is a faithful saying, If we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: if we suffer with him, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he will also deny us: if we believe not, he abideth faithful, he [though a mere man!] cannot deny himself. Of these things put them in remembrance;” that is, put them in remembrance that a mere man cannot deny himself! Some will think that it is an assertion that requires proof, rather than repetition. As in the words last quoted, the apostle ascribes immutability to this mere man, so, verse 19, he ascribes omniscience to him. “The foundation of God,” says he, “standeth sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his [according to what Jesus himself had testified, John 10, I know my sheep, and am known of mine,] and let him that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” The same attribute is also, in effect, ascribed to him, 2 Timothy 4:1. But on the Socinian hypothesis it must be interpreted as follows: “I charge thee before God, [that infinite and eternal Being, who filleth heaven and earth, and therefore has his eye upon us both,] and the Lord Jesus Christ, [that mere man, who, being now in heaven, and immensely removed from our world, is an utter stranger to us, and perfectly unacquainted with our behaviour, but] who will, however, judge the quick and the dead, at his appearing and his kingdom; preach the word.

(5) Watch in all things; for, verse 6, I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand: I have fought the good fight; and there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge [I mean the mere man!] will give me at that day, and not to me only, but to all them also that love his appearing, [viz. the appearing of the same mere man.] (18) At my first answer no man stood with me, but the Lord [how strange soever it may appear, since he is a mere man!] stood with me and strengthened me; and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord, [the same mere man!] shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom [mere man though he be] be glory for ever and ever! [This mere man!] the Lord Jesus Christ, be with thy spirit!”

The Epistle to Titus being very similar to the two Epistles to Timothy, I shall pass it over, referring only to one passage, which, according to Dr. Priestley’s plan of doctrine, must be understood thus: “Looking for the blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of [a mere man! who, however, is] our great God and Saviour, tou megalou Qeou kai swthrov hmwn, Jesus Christ, who [mere man as he is!] gave himself for us, that he, [a mere man, by his laying down a temporal life!] might redeem us, [many myriads as we are,] from all iniquity, and purify to HIMSELF [that is, says Dr. Priestley, to a mere man!] a peculiar people, zealous of good works! These things [are of deep importance, therefore,] speak and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee” for terming a mere man the great God our Saviour!

The Epistle to Philemon affords several instances of the same kind with those quoted above. “Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, [that is, a prisoner for his attachment to a mere man!] grace to you, and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ; [that is, from the eternal God and a mere man!] I thank my God, hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward [that mere man] the Lord Jesus: that the communication of thy faith may become effectual,” or that thy faith may be effectually communicated to others, “by the acknowledging [that is, by their acknowledging] of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus, [that same mere man!] Wherefore, though I might be bold in [this mere man] Christ to enjoin thee that which is convenient, yet for love’s sake I rather beseech thee, being such a man as Paul the aged, and now also a prisoner of [a mere man, the man] Jesus Christ. I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, a brother beloved, especially to me, and how much more to thee, both in the flesh and in the Lord. Yea, brother, let me have joy in thee, in [this mere man, which I term] the Lord: refresh my bowels in him. Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in [this same mere man] Christ Jesus, saluteth thee. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, [that is, the grace of a mere man!] be with your spirit! Amen.” May these blessed words, so often repeated, be at length so considered by Dr. Priestley and other Socinians, that they too may see their need of Divine grace, and begin to apply to Christ for it, though at present they may judge it would be idolatry so to do! Surely, reverend sir, if the sundry passages, produced in this letter, were attended to, they must convince all candid and unprejudiced persons that, whether St. Paul was right or wrong in his views of the Messiah, he certainly had a much higher idea of him, than that of a mere man.

To appeal to the Lord Jesus as omnipresent, and give Timothy repeated charges as in his sight, as well as in the sight of God the Father, to represent him as “abolishing death, and bringing life and immortality to light by the Gospel,” and as being able to “keep what we commit unto him safe unto that day;” to exhort Timothy to be strong “in his grace, to endure hardness as a good soldier of his,” and make it his chief care to please him in all things, as the captain of his salvation who had called him; to represent salvation in all its branches, and eternal glory, as being in him, and to be attained only by those who “die with him,” that they “may live with him,” and “suffer with him,” that they may “reign with him;” to view him as unchangeable and omniscient, as one that abideth faithful and “cannot deny himself,” as the Lord who “knoweth them that are his,” and as the “righteous Judge” who, at the day of his final and glorious coming, will give the crown of righteousness to all that love his appearing; to speak of this Jesus as “standing by him, strengthening and delivering him” when all men forsook him, and to express an entire confidence in him for deliverance from every evil work, and preservation to his heavenly kingdom; and lastly, to pray that he would “be with Timothy” also, and to ascribe “glory to him for ever and ever;”—surely these particulars demonstrate that St. Paul was as far from believing the doctrine of Christ’s mere humanity, as he was from being guilty of gross idolatry himself, or from persuading others to the commission of that dreadful crime. I am, reverend sir, yours, &c.

LETTER 7.

REV. SIR,—Though it be not certain that St. Paul wrote the Epistle to the Hebrews, yet, you know, it was the most prevailing opinion of the ancients, as it is still of the moderns, that he was the author of that invaluable work. I shall therefore take this for granted. But on the supposition that he was a Unitarian, in Dr. Priestley’s sense of the word, he seems to have paid still less regard to common sense, to say nothing of piety or sound reasoning, in this, than in any of his other epistles. We need not read far to find instances of the truth of this observation. We meet with them in the very beginning of the epistle. According to the Socinian doctrine, he must be interpreted to mean as follows:—

“God, who, at sundry times, and in divers manners, spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, [that is, by mere men,] hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, [another mere man,] whom [however] he hath appointed heir of all things, [viz. of all his works, of all creatures visible and invisible!] by whom also he made the worlds, [though this his Son had no existence till the worlds had been made at least four thousand years!] who [mere man as he was, yet] being the effulgence of his [the Father’s] glory, and the express image [or exact delineation] of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, [even the things that had been created and upheld some thousands of years before he, a mere man, existed!] when he had, by himself, [viz. by laying down his mere temporal life,] purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. Being [though a mere man, ignorant in many things, weak and peccable] so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels said he [the Father] at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. And again: I will be to him a Father, and he shall be unto me a Son. And again: when he bringeth his first begotten into the world, [not that he had any prior existence,] he saith, Let all the angels of God [be guilty of idolatry, and] worship him [a mere man!] Of the angels he saith: Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. But unto the Son [a mere man!] he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated wickedness, therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. And thou, Lord, [a mere man! born in the days of Augustus,] in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and [though weak and helpless] the heavens are the work of thine hands: they shall perish, but thou remainest; yea, they shall all wax old as a garment, and as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed; but thou [though no more than a man!] art the same, and thy years fail not. And to which of the angels said he at any time, [as he hath said to this mere man,] Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool?”

Such, if we believe Dr. Priestley, is the doctrine of the apostle in the very beginning of this epistle—an epistle written manifestly with a design either to bring over the Jews, those great advocates for the unity of God, and the purity of Divine worship, to the Christian religion, or to preserve those that were brought over. Even here, and to this people, averse above all others from the very appearance of idolatry, does he hold forth, according to the doctor, a mere creature, yea, a mere man, as the object of religious worship even to angels; nay, and what is, if not more impious, yet more absurd and ridiculous, proclaims this mere creature, this mere man, to be the Maker, Upholder, and Lord of the universe. Surely a man must do greater violence to his understanding to entertain error, than to admit the truth. But to proceed. The apostle goes on in exactly the same strain of irrational argument, as distant from common sense as from piety: “Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip: for if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation, which at first began to be spoken by [a mere man! whom I term] the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by those [other mere men] that heard him!” Again, ver. 5: “For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak, [as he hath to that mere man whom we call the Son!] We see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, [not that he ever was higher, being only a mere man!] for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour, that he, [though a mere man,] by the grace of God, should taste death for every man;” his single and temporal life, though he was of no higher nature or origin than others, being an adequate price for the redemption of the innumerable and eternal lives of all men! And, ver. 14: “Forasmuch, then, as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself [a mere man!] likewise took part of the same:” not that it was possible he should have had it in his choice, whether he would take part thereof or not, having had no existence till he was formed in the womb, and grew up in flesh! “That through death he [a mere man!] might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver those who, through fear of death, were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For verily he [a mere man!] took not on him the nature of angels, [or did not take hold on and assume their nature into union with himself,] but he [the same mere man] took on him [that is, assumed into union with himself] the seed of Abraham, [viz. that particular seed born of Mary, and descended from the Patriarch Abraham: in other words, he, a mere man, became a mere man!] wherefore in all things it behooved him [a mere man, begotten by Joseph, and conceived and born of Mary] to be made like to his brethren, that he [the same mere man] might be a merciful and faithful High Priest, in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself suffered, being tempted, he is able [though a mere man, and of consequence immensely removed from his followers, and entirely unacquainted with them] to succour them that are tempted!”

Now, what strange unintelligible jargon is this! How unworthy, I will not say of the tongue, or of the pen of an apostle Divinely inspired, but of a human creature endowed with common sense! How absurd, as well as false, was it to represent it as a much greater crime, and therefore as a behaviour that would meet with much more exemplary punishment to neglect the salvation revealed by a mere man, than to disobey the word spoken by glorious angels!—to speak of this mere man as made a little lower than the angels, (an expression which plainly implies that he was once higher,) in order that, by the grace of God, he might taste death to redeem every man!—as partaking of flesh and blood, because we were partakers thereof, a manner of speaking from which it is natural to infer that he had it in his choice whether he would partake of them or not, and that he acted voluntarily in so doing, and therefore that he pre-existed: to magnify it as an astonishing instance of his love, that he passed by the nature of angels, and laid hold on sinking men, assuming the human nature into union with himself, and condescending to be made in all things like unto his brethren; and to hold him forth to our view as being therefore able, not only to destroy the power of Satan, and to deliver mankind from his works, especially death and the fear of it, but also to sustain the office of a merciful and faithful High Priest, in things pertaining to God, making reconciliation for the sins of the people, and succouring them that are tempted; an expression this which certainly implies his being perfectly acquainted with them, and ever at hand to help them, wherever they may be dispersed abroad over the face of the earth; which it is certainly inconceivable that any mere man should be! Methinks (I say) that, as these things, if understood of a mere man, must be false, so to suppose them is very ridiculous, and sufficient to discredit any pretences, not only to a supernatural afflatus, but even to ordinary reason and understanding. Chapter 3:3, we meet with a passage still more extraordinary, if considered in a similar point of view. “This person (says the apostle) was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he that buildeth the house hath more honour than the house: for every house is builded by some one; but he [this mere man!] that built all things, is God: and Moses verily [one mere man] was faithful as a servant,—but Christ [another mere man!] as a Son over his own house, whose house [or family] we are, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of hope firm unto the end. For we are made partakers of [this mere man] Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end.”

Respecting this remarkable passage, I shall only say, that as certainly as the author of it compares Christ to Moses, and asserts his great superiority to the Jewish lawgiver, so certainly does he signify that that superiority consisted in two things: Moses was but a servant in the family of God, Christ a Son: Moses was the house itself, or rather only a part of it, but Christ was the builder of the house, yea, is the builder of all things—is God! Now, is it possible, on the principles of common sense, to reconcile this doctrine of the apostle with the supposition of his viewing Christ, whom he thus magnifies, as a mere man? Surely, if Christ be a mere man, he was and is God’s servant, and a part of God’s house as much as Moses. Pass we on to the fourteenth verse of the fourth chapter, where we meet with another paragraph, which, on the principles of common sense, is almost equally irreconcilable with the same doctrine of Christ’s mere humanity. The Socinian hypothesis requires us to understand it thus: “Having therefore a great High Priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, [that is, a mere man!] let us hold fast our profession, for we have not a High Priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, [although it must be granted, that, being a mere man, he cannot be acquainted with them!] Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need!” Still more ridiculous, according to the same doctrine, is the apostle’s language in the seventh chapter, where he discourses largely on one of the capital doctrines of Christianity, and holds forth the Lord Jesus as a “High Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.” Comparing them together, he observes, verse first, “This Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God; first, being, by interpretation, king of righteousness, and after that also king of Salem, which is king of peace; without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God,” who, as Dr. Priestley teaches, is a mere man, and had both a father and a mother, and, at least, beginning of days, if not also end of life. “For he testifieth, Thou [a mere man!] art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. Therefore, this [mere man] because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood: wherefore. [though a mere man!] he is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. For such a High Priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners, and [though a mere man!] higher than the heavens, who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once when he offered up himself: for the law maketh men high priests, who have infirmity: but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son,” viz. a mere man; who, according to Dr. Priestley, had infirmity also, and was weak and peccable like others; but nevertheless, it seems, “who is consecrated for evermore!”

Now here I would ask, on the supposition that the author of this epistle believed Jesus Christ, the great High Priest of our profession, to be a mere man, the proper son of Joseph and Mary, begotten, conceived, and born like other men; how came he to avail himself of the silence of the Old Testament, respecting the genealogy of Melchisedec, in the comparison which he draws between him and Christ? How came he to take notice of his being without any father; recorded in the Scripture, “without mother, without descent, and his having neither beginning of days, nor end of life,” mentioned in the Divine oracles, as circumstances which rendered him a more complete type of the Son of God? Certainly, if the Son of God be a mere man, and the apostle had considered him as such, he must have seen that Melchisedec would have resembled him much more, had all these particulars been otherwise; I mean, if he had had a father and a mother spoken of in the Jewish Scriptures; and if the beginning of his days had also been recorded there. For it must be allowed, that a man that has human parents, and whose days have had a beginning, is, in these respects, a fitter type of a mere man conceived and born as all others are, than one who never had any progenitors, and whose days never began to be. And as it is probable that Melchisedec was a real man, and therefore that he had both a father and a mother, though that circumstance be not mentioned in the short account Moses has given us of him, certainly the apostle would have taken no notice of these particulars, much less would he have enlarged upon them, as he has done, had he viewed Jesus Christ in the light in which Dr. Priestley views him: as it is not to be conceived that any end could be answered by it, unless to mislead people, and make them believe that the Son of God, of whom this Melchisedec was an illustrious type, was not of this world, nor of any human origin.

I need make no remark upon divers other expressions in the passages quoted above: they speak for themselves, and make it evident that if the apostle believed Jesus Christ to be a mere man, he strangely forgot his creed, when he wrote these verses, and uttered things, to say the very least, very inconsistent with it. For let common sense judge. How can a mere man, whose presence is, and must be merely local, and who is immensely removed from our world, and confined in the third heaven; how can he, I say, be acquainted even with the persons, and much more with the infirmities of all his followers, nay, and of all mankind in every part of the habitable globe? And how can he be present with, and assisting every one that shall apply to him at whatever time or place; giving grace to help in time of need; directing, protecting, strengthening, and comforting all in general, and each individual in particular, as their wants and necessities require? I pass by many particulars, also, in the eighth chapter, in which the apostle’s reasoning is very weak on the Socinian hypothesis. Indeed, there is hardly any solid argument in the whole epistle, (though generally considered as the most clear, argumentative, and convincing of all St. Paul’s Epistles,) on the supposition that Jesus Christ, the grand subject of it, is no more than a man, weak, and peccable like others. On this principle, what shall we make of his doctrine respecting the priesthood of Christ, as displayed at large in the ninth and tenth chapters? Here, methinks, he especially answers the character Dr. Priestley gives him, and stands forth as all inconclusive reasoner. If the doctor be right, he reasons as follows:— Hebrews 9:11: “Christ being come a High Priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, [viz. the blood of a mere man!] he entered in once into the holy place, having [by that mean] obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and goats, and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, [the blood of one mere man!] who, through the eternal Spirit, offered himself without spot to God, purge your consciences from dead works to serve the living God!”

Hebrews 10:4: “It is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sin. Wherefore when he [a mere man! who had no prior existence] cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldst not; but a body hast thou prepared me. Then said I, [before I existed!] Lo! I come to [enter that body and] do thy will, O God! By the which will we are sanctified, by the offering of the body of Jesus Christ, [the body of one mere man,] once for all:” body, I say, but I do not mean by this that he hath any soul, any more than a superior or Divine nature. No, like other mere men, he was all body, wholly made of matter without spirit! “But he, [or autov, this person,] after he had offered one sacrifice for sin, for ever sat down on the right hand of God, from henceforth expecting till his enemies [whether evil men, or evil angels,] be made his footstool, [viz, the footstool of a mere man!] For by one offering he [a mere man] hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified!” Verse 19: “Having, therefore, brethren, boldness [or liberty] to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, [the blood of a mere man!] by a new and living way which he [a mere man] hath consecrated for us: and having [the same mere man] a High Priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our heart sprinkled from an evil conscience. For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin [but that which we reject.] He that despised Moses’ law, died without mercy under two or three witnesses: of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot [one mere man, whom I term] the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace!”

I think no one will wonder that they who reject the whole doctrine of the divinity and atonement of Christ, together with the influence of the Holy Spirit of God, should consider the author of this epistle as writing without inspiration, and as reasoning very inconclusively. But what will they say to that passage in the eleventh chapter, where the apostle informs us that Moses esteemed the reproach of Christ (that is, the reproach of a mere man, who had no existence till about two thousand years after that time, that he esteemed this reproach, I say)greater riches than the treasures of Egypt?

Chap. 12: The apostle exhorts us to “look to this [mere man] Jesus,” and terms him [though a mere man] “the author and finisher of our faith;” and tells us, “he is set down on the right hand of the throne of God:” and, verse 25, bids us see that we refuse him not, for, adds he, “if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, [the mere man, Moses,] much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him, who [though he] speaketh from heaven, [is however but another mere man!] whose voice then [viz. two thousand years before he had any being!] shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but heaven also!” This mere man, Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ, is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever;” for, though a mere man, he is immutable! and, verse 12, “that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, he suffered without the gate: let us go forth, therefore, unto him, without the camp, bearing his reproach, and by him [mere man as he is!] let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually: that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name. Now the God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, [who, though but a mere man, is however] the great Shepherd of the sheep, [omniscient to know, and omnipresent to oversee and protect them all!] through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will; working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, [the same mere man,] to whom [mere man as he is] be glory for ever and ever! Amen!” I hope, reverend sir, if Dr. Priestley deem this to be good sense, and sound doctrine, he will have no objection to join with the apostle in this doxology, and add his hearty amen to St. Paul’s, ascribing glory to this mere man for ever and ever! I am, reverend sir, yours, &c.

LETTER 8.

REV. SIR,—However difficult a task Dr. Priestley may find it to reconcile the epistles of St. Paul with common sense, on the supposition of that apostle’s holding the doctrine of Christ’s mere humanity, I am persuaded he will find it equally difficult to reconcile therewith the epistles of the other apostles, supposing them also to have been of the same opinion. In proof of this, I shall lay before you a few passages, extracted from their writings also, referring you to the original epistles for farther satisfaction. St. James, it is true, speaks but little of Christ; but nevertheless, what he does speak shows, either that he was not a Unitarian in the doctor’s sense of the word, or that he had little regard to common sense in writing his epistle. He not only styles himself a servant of God, but also of the Lord Jesus Christ, that is, as the doctor will have it, of a mere man! And the next time he mentions his name, which is in the beginning of the second chapter, he assures us he is the “Lord of glory;” that is, on the doctor’s hypothesis, a mere man is the Lord of glory! “Be patient, brethren, (says he, James 5:7,) unto the coming of the Lord; [that is, the coming of a mere man!] stablish your hearts: the coming of the Lord [the same mere man] draweth nigh. And grudge not one against another, lest ye be condemned: behold, the Judge [a mere man] standeth at the door.”

St. Peter furnishes us with many more examples than St. James, either of the erroneousness of the Socinian doctrine, or of his own absurdity. “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, [that is, says Dr. Priestley, an apostle of a mere man!] to the strangers,—elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus,” that is, the blood of a mere man! Here St. Peter speaks like a Trinitarian. He both names the three that bear record in heaven, and attributes unto each his proper office and work in the economy of our redemption. He ascribes our election to God the Father, who, in his Divine foreknowledge, marks from the beginning who will accept of salvation in the only way in which it can be accepted, the way of repentance and faith, and elects or chooses such for his children. He imputes our redemption to the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whose body, offered up upon the cross as a sacrifice for sin, makes atonement, and the sprinkling of whose blood gives at once peace with God, and peace of conscience to the truly penitent and believing soul. And he attributes our sanctification to the Holy Spirit, whose heavenly influence upon the mind both breaks the power, and purges away the defilement of sin, at the same time that he inspires us with love, joy, and peace, with holiness and happiness, and gives us to know that his genuine fruit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth.

The second of these persons, against whom Dr. Priestley seems to have a peculiar enmity, and who, he thinks, is far too much exalted, when “advanced to the high rank of the first and principal emanation of the Deity, the nouv or logov of the Platonists, and the dhmiourgov, under God, in making the world,”—as being, he believes, a mere man: this person, I say, even Jesus, the Son of God, is represented by St. Peter, a few verses after, as the great object of the faith and love of the saints, and the source of unspeakable joy to them. “Whom having not seen, ye love, (ver. 8,) in whom, though now you see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” And is HE a mere man whom they thus love, though they have not seen him, and in whom they “rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory?” Is HE a mere man whose Spirit, as the apostle observes in the following verses, “was in the ancient prophets,” and spoke by them, and who hath “redeemed us, not with corruptible things, such as silver and gold, but with his own precious blood, as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot, who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for us?” Surely, if he be, St. Peter must have mistaken his character, and have viewed him in a very different light.

This appears still more manifest from the next chapter: “As newborn babes,” says he, “desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby; if so be that ye have tasted that the Lord [a mere man, shall I say?] is gracious.” That he means Christ, is plain from the following words:— ”To whom coming as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious; ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God, by Jesus Christ,” that is, says Dr. Priestley, by a mere man! “Wherefore, also, it is contained in the Scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner stone, elect, precious, and he that believeth on him [that believeth on a mere man!] shall not be confounded. Unto you, therefore, that believe, he [this mere man] is precious; but unto them that be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same [mere man] is made the head of the corner, and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, to them who, disobeying the word, stumble.” I ask again, Can it be supposed that St. Peter considered the person of whom he spake in these words, as being a mere man? The person whom he thus represents as the one foundation of the Church, and of every member thereof? To whom he applies the words of Isaiah, in the eighth chapter of his prophecy, manifestly meant of Jehovah? The Lord, whom true believers “taste to be gracious,” to whom they come, as to a living stone, upon whom they are built up, and trusting in whom they shall never be confounded? I ask, farther: Is HE a mere man who, as we learn ver. 24, &c, “his own self bore our sins in his own body, on the tree, heals us by his stripes,” and undertakes to be the “Shepherd and Bishop of all our souls,” many thousands and myriads as we are, dispersed over the whole world? Methinks he who will affirm this, may as well affirm St. Peter to be an idiot, or beside himself.

But there is no end of the absurdity of supposing the New Testament writers to hold the doctrine of Christ’s mere humanity. We have only to read a few verses farther, and we are informed of this mere man preaching in the days of Noah, by his Spirit, to those who, indeed, are now in prison, but were formerly disobedient, when once the long suffering of God waited for the repentance of the old world. And, a verse or two after, are assured that he “is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God, angels, and authorities, and powers, being made subject unto him,” that is, subject to a mere man! and, James 5:11, find the apostle ascribing to him “praise and dominion for ever and ever,” confirming his doxology by a solemn and hearty Amen!

The second Epistle of St. Peter is exactly of a piece with the first. It also contains divers passages utterly irreconcilable with common sense, on the supposition that the author of it believed the Lord Jesus Christ to be a mere man. The following, which I shall barely quote and interpret, according to the Socinian hypothesis, leaving it to the reader to make his observations upon them, seem very remarkable:— “Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ,” that is, of a mere man; “to them that have obtained like precious faith with us, through the righteousness of God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” that is, of the infinite Jehovah, and a mere man! or rather, according to the Greek, through the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ who, however, is a mere man! “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you, through the knowledge of God, [self existent, independent, supreme, and eternal,] and of Jesus our Lord,” a weak, peccable, and mortal man!

For, ver. 16, “We have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of [this mere man] our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eye witnesses of his majesty,” (megaleiothtov,) the majesty of a mere man! For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice from the excellent glory, “This [mere man!] is my beloved Son, in whom [though he be weak and peccable] I am well pleased. And this voice, which came from heaven, we heard when we were with him in the holy mount.”

Let the reader observe the following prediction. How applicable to the doctrine we oppose! Chap. 2: “But there were false prophets among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways, by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.” Would not one suppose that the apostle was describing the present times here? For, ver. 20: “If after they have escaped the pollutions of the world, through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, [that is, the knowledge of a mere man!] they are again entangled therein and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.” Chapter 3: “This second epistle, beloved, I write unto you, that ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandments of us, the apostles of the Lord and Saviour, [that is, the apostles of a mere man!] knowing that there shall come, in the last days, scoffers walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming?” that is, the coming of a mere man. “But the Lord [viz. the same mere man!] is not slack concerning his promise, [to fulfil it,] but is long suffering to us ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord [that is, the day of a mere man!] will come, as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise. Nevertheless we, according to promise, [the promise of the same mere man!] look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent, that ye may be found of him [that is, found of a mere man!] in peace, without spot, and blameless. And account that the long suffering of our Lord [viz. the long suffering of a mere man!] is salvation. And grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, [that is, in the knowledge of a mere man!] To him, [that is, to a mere man!] be glory, both now and for ever!” Methinks, reverend sir, were there no other arguments to prove that the Lord Jesus Christ is more than a mere man, these doxologies are sufficient to evince it. For if it be not idolatry to ascribe glory to a mere man or mere creature, I confess I know not what is. Leaving you to adore with me the wisdom and goodness of God, in furnishing us with so many and such incontestable proofs of the falsity of a doctrine, which, of all others, is the most inimical to our peace and our best interests, in time and in eternity, I remain, reverend sir, yours, &c.

LETTER 9.

REV. SIR,—We come now to the Epistles of St. John. I think Dr. Priestley has not pronounced him to be an “inconclusive reasoner.” But if, as he supposes, that apostle considered our Lord as a mere man, he is certainly as much entitled to that character as St. Paul himself.

He begins his first epistle, by terming the Lord Jesus the “word of life,” the “life,” and the “eternal life,” appellations which certainly but ill agree with the character of a mere man. He informs us that he was “with the Father from the beginning,” though it was only in these latter ages that he was “manifested” in the flesh to us, and assures us, notwithstanding he was now returned to the Father from whom he came, and was no longer visible among his disciples as formerly, yet that they had still fellowship With him as well as with the infinite and eternal Father. “That which was from the beginning,” says he, “which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the word of life: for the life was manifested, and we have seen it and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life; which was with the Father, and was manifested to us: that which we have seen and heard, declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.” Now, is it of a mere man that all this is spoken? Is a mere man the word of life, the life, the eternal life? Was a mere man with the Father before his manifestation in the flesh? Yea, from the beginning? Can a mere man, while with God, in the third heaven, be nevertheless present with men on earth, so that his true followers may have union and communion with him? And can the blood of a mere man, as he affirms, verse 7, “cleanse from all sin?” Or can a mere man be a “propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world?” Chap. 2:2. Surely, to suppose these things is most ridiculous. In the following verses he repeatedly calls the commandments of God his [Christ’s] commandments, and the word of God his word; and, verse 12, assures the children of God, that their sins are forgiven for “his name’s sake;” that is, as Dr. Priestley will have it, for the name’s sake of a mere man! And, verse 22, associating him with the eternal Father, he testifies that “he is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son: [that is, according to the doctor’s hypothesis, that denieth the eternal God and a mere man!] Whosoever,” proceeds he, “denieth the Son, [denieth a mere man!] the same hath not the Father. If that which ye have heard from the beginning remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son and the Father, [that is, in a mere man, and in the eternal God!] These things have I written unto you, concerning them that seduce you. And now, little children, abide in him, [the same mere man!] that when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him [a mere man!] at his coming. If you know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him;” viz. of a mere man!

It appears from the last words, that, according to St. John, on the Socinian principles, a mere man is the author of our regeneration! We are born of the spirit of a mere man! An extraordinary doctrine indeed! And yet not more extraordinary than the doctrine taught us by the same apostle, in the following chapter, concerning Christ’s being “manifested to take away our sins,” and to “destroy the works of the devil;” a doctrine which never can be reconciled with the notion of Christ’s mere humanity, on the principles of common sense. For as the expression, “He was manifested,” plainly implies that he existed before such manifestation, so the declaration of the end for which he was manifested bespeaks him more, I will not say, than a mere man, but more than a mere creature. For how can a mere man, or mere creature, take away our sins, or destroy the devil’s works? But let us pass on to the famous passage, in which this apostle professedly characterizes the “spirit of truth,” and the spirit of error, and let us see how it reads, if understood according to the Socinian doctrine. Chapter 4:1: “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they be of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world: hereby know we the Spirit of God. Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ [the same mere man!] is come in the flesh, is of God. And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ [that is, that a mere man!] is come in the flesh, is not of God. And this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come, and even now already it is in the world.” Now, what a strange and uncouth phraseology is this, which, on the doctor’s principles, the apostle uses! Whoever, speaking of the birth of a mere man, said he came in the flesh? Certainly, such a form of expression is unexampled in any author, ancient or modern, sacred or profane. The reason is plain: a mere man must come in the flesh, if he come at all: he cannot come, or be born into the world otherwise. It is therefore unnecessary, and indeed ridiculous to mention that circumstance. It is just as if one were to say, “A man came clothed with skin, or with a head upon his body.”

But to use such a phraseology concerning a being that might come otherwise, concerning an angel, for instance, or a departed spirit, would be at least good sense. To say that Gabriel came in the flesh, or that Elijah, or Moses rose again, and came in the flesh, however the assertion might offend our faith by its falsehood, it would not shock our common sense by its absurdity: it would be only like saying, A man came clothed in scarlet, which was a circumstance that might properly be mentioned, as he might have come clothed in raiment of another colour. Just so the apostle’s relating and solemnly testifying that Christ came in the flesh, as it was a fact true in itself, so it was very necessary it should be mentioned, it being very possible, nay, and likely, that he should come otherwise, even without flesh, in the Spirit, in his spiritual and Divine nature, as indeed he had come from the beginning; whether to the patriarchs, in the early ages of the world, or to his Church in the wilderness, and to his prophets in after times.

But, says the doctor, (History of Corruptions, p. 142,) “This doctrine has staggered many, when they reflect coolly upon the subject, to think that so exalted a Being as this, an unique in the creation, [an only one,] a Being, next in dignity and intelligence to God himself, [he should rather say, one with God,] possessed of powers absolutely incomprehensible by us, should inhabit this particular spot of the universe, in preference to any other in the whole extent of, perhaps, boundless creation.” It is worthy of observation, here, that the very doctrine which staggers the doctor and his friends, and seems so perfectly incredible to them, is the grand subject of all St. John’s writings, and furnishes him (as it does the other apostles) with matter for the highest admiration and praise! “In this, says he, chap. 4:9, was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten [‘an unique in the creation,’ an only one, as Dr. Priestley terms him] into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins! Beloved, it God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. We have seen, and do testify, that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world!”

Though, as the doctor expresses it, (ibid.) “he existed before all creatures, yea, from eternity, by an eternal derivation from his eternal Father,” though “he was the immediate Maker of the world, and of all things visible and invisible, and appeared in a Divine character to the patriarchs and prophets;” yet, that he was born of the Virgin Mary, and made man, is a doctrine which is now and has been in every age, since Christianity was first established in the world, the grand foundation, as well as object of the faith of the people of God, the source of their love, and matter of their wonder and praise. That the Logos, the Wisdom, and Word, “which was in the beginning with God and was God; that Wisdom and Word, by which all things were made, hath been made flesh, and hath dwelt among us,” while men beheld his glory, the glory of the “only begotten of the Father,” full of grace and truth: that when he was rich, for our sakes he became poor, that we, through his poverty, might be made rich: that when in the form of God, and,” as the apostle declares, “equal with God,” as being his very Word and Wisdom, he emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men: that, when he was “found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself still farther, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross:” this great mystery of godliness, while it hath filled them with wonder and amazement, at the condescension and love of this Divine and adorable Saviour, hath convinced them that, mean and worthless as they are, when compared with creatures of a more exalted rank, they are, however, not overlooked by their Maker, amidst the immensity of his nobler works: on the contrary, they see that they stand high in his esteem, and are the objects of his peculiar love and tender compassions. What God may, or may not have done, for other creatures, in other worlds, they know not, and therefore pretend not to say; but they do not think their ignorance in this point can justify their disbelieving a fact sufficiently authenticated, and in consequence thereof, their ungratefully rejecting what, they have good proof, God, in infinite goodness, hath done for themselves, though they may not be able to assign a reason for his preferring of them to others, should there be a preference in the case. They consider that other beings, existing in other worlds, either may not have fallen as they had done, and, therefore, may not have needed to be visited in a similar manner by a Divine Redeemer; or, if they have, that some circumstances in their case might render their defection more inexcusable, and that therefore the Divine wisdom might not see fit to afford them the help he hath afforded man, formed out of the dust of the earth, weak and frail, even in his best estate, and seduced by the subtlety and fraud of his more powerful and crafty adversary.

Be this as it will, their firm belief of a mystery they cannot fathom, that “God has been manifest in the flesh;” that “to them a child has been born, to them a son has been given, whose name is Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, Emmanuel, God with us;” their conviction of this, I say, while it lays a foundation for the most absolute confidence in, and entire dependence upon their God and Saviour for whatever they want for time and eternity, binds their hearts to him, as by a thousand ties, and becomes a most powerful and perpetual obligation to love and obedience. This “love of Christ constraineth them, while they thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead; and that he died for all, that they who live, [viz. who live through his death,] should not henceforth live unto themselves, but to him that died for them and rose again.” In the meantime, that the “Father sent the Son, his living Word and Wisdom, to be the Saviour of the world;” that “he so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life,” is matter of equal praise, and equally excites their admiration, and provokes their gratitude. And while with St. Paul they render thanks unto God for his unspeakable gift, they see every reason to conclude, with the same inspired apostle, that “he who hath not withheld his own Son, but hath freely delivered him up unto death for us all, will, with him also, freely give us all things!” Thus the doctrine of the incarnation of the Divine Word, though a subject of cavil to the reasoning pride of vain and all-assuming philosophy, is a firm ground of confidence, and perpetual source of consolation to the humble and devout follower of Jesus, the little child, to whom it hath pleased our heavenly Father, the Lord of heaven and earth, to reveal those things, which he hath hid from the wise and prudent!

But, says the doctor, (ibid.) “It cannot but be thought a little extraordinary, that there should be no trace of the apostles having ever regarded their Master in this high light. For, being Jews, they would certainly consider him, at first, as a man, like themselves, since no Jew ever expected any other for their Messiah. Indeed, it can never be thought that Peter and others would have made so free with our Lord, as they sometimes did, if they had considered him as their Maker.” In answer to this, I would observe, what sort of a Messiah the Jews expected may be gathered, not only from the Scriptures of the prophets, which gave birth to that expectation, but from the ancient Chaldee, or Jewish paraphrase on those Scriptures, which expresses their faith, at the very time when the Messiah was expected. Not to refer, to any other passage, their comment on Isaiah 9:6, is sufficient to put this matter beyond dispute, and is as follows:—”The prophet saith to the house of David, that a child is born to us, a son is given to us, and he hath taken the law upon himself, that he might keep it; and his name shall be called God, before the face (or from the face) of the admirable counsel; the man that abideth for ever; the Messiah, whose peace shall be multiplied upon us in his days.” As to the apostles, whether there be “any trace of their having ever regarded their Master in this high light,” the present quotations from their writings show. And as to St. Peter, in particular, once a Jew, and no doubt well acquainted with the notions of his countrymen, respecting the person and office of the Messiah, he hath spoken for himself already. In what light he might view his Master, when he first became his disciple, I will not say; but that he considered him as more than a man, when he wrote his epistles, is evident from the many passages we have quoted from them, which, if understood of a mere man, appear to be absolute nonsense. The same must be said of the epistles of the other apostles. Many passages in them all, as these letters demonstrate, are truly nonsensical, if interpreted of a mere man; and these, not a few detached and unconnected sentences, but whole paragraphs and sections, yea, entire chapters, the principal doctrine of which is most irrational, as well as the argumentation perfectly inconclusive, on the Socinian hypothesis. For instance, what makes a greater figure in the writings of St. John, or is more frequently mentioned or expatiated upon, than the doctrine of the great love of God, manifested in his sending “his Son into the world that we might live through him?” But, if what he advances upon this subject be understood of a mere man, how unworthy is it, I will not say of the inspiration of an apostle, but of the reason and common sense of a man! We need not go far to seek examples of this. I appeal to the passage last quoted. Only suppose it to be spoken of a mere man, and how insipid and unmeaning! nay, how absurd and ridiculous does it appear! “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent [a mere man whom I term] his only begotten Son into the world, [not that we are to suppose he had any existence prior to his being sent,] that we might live through him: [that is, through his teaching and example!] Herein is love! not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent [a mere man called] his Son, to be the propitiation for our sins,” that is, (says the doctor,) to die a martyr to confirm his doctrine! Beloved, if God so loved us, [and sent a mere man among us to teach us his will!] we ought also to love one another. We have seen, and do testify, that the Father sent the Son, [I mean that the eternal God sent a mere man!] to be the Saviour of the world.” One mere man to save the whole human race!

The doctrine of the next chapter is yet more inrrational, if more can be. Thus, verse 5: “Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus [a mere man!] is [by adoption] the Son of God? This is he [the mere man] that came by water and blood, even Jesus; not by water only [in which he was baptized, an emblem of his own purity, and our regeneration,] but by water and blood: [atoning blood, the blood of one mere man, shed for the sins of millions!] and it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the spirit is truth. For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost; [that is, on the Socinian principles, the Self-existant Jehovah, a mere man, and the power of God!] and these three are one! [the eternal God, his power, and a mere man are one!] This is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son, [is in a mere man!] He that hath the Son, [that hath this mere man dwelling in him! see 2 Corinthians 13:5,] hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God, [that hath not this mere man, dwelling in him!] hath not life.” Ver. 20: “We know that the Son of God is come, [that is, that a mere man hath been raised up to instruct us,] and [though a mere man!] hath given us an understanding to know him that is true; and we are in him that is true, in or by his Son Jesus Christ, [a mere man.] He [the mere man I speak of] is the true God and eternal life. [But though I give these high titles to a mere man, yet, let me add,] little children, keep yourselves from idols!” A necessary caution indeed! but very absurd in this connection. The second epistle he inscribes to the elect lady, (or, as some rather think it should be rendered, to the elect Kuria, making Kuria a proper name,) and, like St. Paul, he prays for grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ; that is, on the Unitarian hypothesis, from the supreme God, and a mere man! “Many deceivers, (says he, ver. 7,) are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh:” I speak of that mere man, born in Bethlehem, who, having had no pre-existence, must come in the flesh, or not at all. “This is a deceiver and antichrist. Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, [the doctrine of a mere man!] hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ hath both the Father and the Son, [both the eternal God, and a mere man!] If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed. For he that biddeth him God speed is a partaker of his evil deeds!” How far this caution concerns the abettors of the doctrine of Christ’s mere humanity, the reader must judge.

The short Epistle of Jude is of a piece with the epistles of the other apostles. It is also written without common sense, as certainly without inspiration, on the supposition that he believed Jesus Christ to be a mere man. “Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, [that is, the servant of a mere man,] to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in [the same mere man] Jesus Christ, and called. Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ: [that is, denying the infinite Jehovah, and a mere man!] Verse 14: Enoch, also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold the Lord [that is, a mere man!] cometh with ten thousand of his saints to execute judgment upon all. But beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, [viz. the apostles of a mere man!] ye beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, [the mercy of a mere man!] unto eternal life.” Praying, reverend sir, that this mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, which St. Jude mentions, may be extended to Dr. Priestley also, although he takes such pains to persuade himself and others that it is but the mercy of a mere man; and that whatever strange and unscriptural speculations he may amuse himself and others withal, he may not live and die without the experimental and practical acquaintance with the trinity, spoken of in these words: I remain, reverend sir, yours, &c.

LETTER 10.

REV. SIR,—In the foregoing letters I have reviewed all the epistles of the New Testament, and have selected most of the texts in which the Lord Jesus is spoken of; and, methinks, every reasonable man must allow they are all absurd, and the greatest part of them even profane, on supposition that he is a mere man. The same observation may be extended to the other books of the New Testament. They also contain sundry passages which, to say the least, are very ridiculous; and manifest, either that the authors of them were not Unitarians, in the Socinian sense of the word, or that they were wanting in common sense. In many of these passages, our Lord Jesus Christ himself speaks, either while on earth, or after his ascension into heaven. So that, if Dr. Priestley’s doctrine be true, it appears that the Lord Jesus Christ himself (I speak it with reverence) was as much wanting in common sense, as any of his apostles; and his doctrine, like theirs, is absurd and impious. Permit me, reverend sir, before I conclude, to give you, in one or two letters more, a few instances of the truth and propriety of this remark. But as I have already enlarged so much, they shall be very few in comparison with what might be produced; and shall be chiefly taken from the Gospel of St. John, and the Revelation of Jesus Christ, communicated to him. In the latter book, we meet with the following passages among others:—

“John, to the seven Churches which are in Asia. Grace be unto you, and peace, from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, [viz. from the eternal God,] and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne, [viz. the Holy Ghost, whose operations are manifold] and from Jesus Christ, [a mere man!] who is the faithful Witness, the first begotten from the dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth! Unto him [the mere man!] that hath loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and made us kings and priests unto God, and his Father, to him [mere man as he is!] be glory and dominion for ever and ever! Amen! Behold, he [a mere man!] cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they also that pierced him, and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him! even so! Amen! Verse 9: I, John, who also am your brother and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus, [the kingdom and patience of a mere man!] was in the isle of Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ, [the testimony of a mere man!] I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, [the day of the same mere man!] and heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet, saying, I [a mere man!] am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last! And I turned to see the voice that spake with me, and being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks, and in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks one like the Son of man; his head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were as a flame of fire: and his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters: and he had in his right hand seven stars, and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and his countenance was as the sun shining in his strength. And when I saw him, [though he be a mere man!] I fell at his feet as dead: and he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not, I [a mere man!] am the First and the Last! I am he that liveth and was dead, and behold I am alive for evermore, Amen! and have the keys of death and of hell!” I do not wonder that Dr. Priestley doubts the authenticity of the Apocalypse. Proceed we to Revelation 5:5: “One of the elders said unto me, Weep not, behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, [who, however, is but a mere man, and did not exist till many hundred years after David’s death!] hath prevailed to open the book and loose the seven seals thereof. And I beheld, and lo, in the midst of the throne, and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven eyes and seven horns, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth: [for though a mere man, to him belong the Seven Spirits of God!] and he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. And when he had taken the book, the four living creatures, and the four-and-twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book and open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us unto God by thy blood, [the blood of a mere man!] out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests. And I heard the voice of many angels, round about the throne, and the living creatures, and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; saying, with a loud voice, Worthy is [the mere man!] the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing: and every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I, saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, [viz. to the eternal God,] and to the Lamb, [a mere man!] for ever and ever! And the four living creatures said, Amen! And the four-and-twenty elders fell down, and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever!” What will the disciples of Socinus say to this? Surely, if Christ be a mere man, idolatry is committed, even in heaven!

And as the Father and the Son are associated in claiming and receiving Divine worship from the saints, whether men or angels, so also in taking vengeance on sinners. Thus, Revelation 6:16: “They said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; [that is, the wrath of a mere man!] for the great day of his wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand?” who shall be able to bear the wrath of a mere man? Equally remarkable is the following passage:— “After this, I beheld, (Revelation 7:9,) and lo a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, [viz. of Jehovah,] and before the Lamb, [that is, before a mere man,] clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands, and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God, who sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb,” a mere man! Here again, according to Dr. Priestley, a mere man is worshipped, and salvation is ascribed to him, as well as to the infinite Jehovah! And, verse 13, the saints that have come out of great tribulation are said to have washed their robes, and made them white in his blood! “Therefore, (it is added,) are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple. And he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat: for the Lamb, [a mere man, says the doctor!] who is in the midst of the throne, shall feed them, and shall lead them to fountains of living water; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” So that, if the doctor be right, a mere man, in conjunction with the supreme God, is the author of their everlasting felicity. And, Revelation 11:15, the kingdoms of this world are represented as “become his kingdoms,” and he is said to reign for ever and ever, being, Revelation 17:14, “Lord of lords, and King of kings!” Revelation 19:11, we meet with a description of this reigning King; a description which but ill agrees with the character of a mere man. “His name (we are assured) is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes are as a flame of fire, and on his head are many crowns; and he hath a name written, that no man knoweth but himself. And he is clothed with a vesture dipped in blood; and his name is called the Word of God! And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the wine press of the fierceness and wrath of almighty God. And he hath on his vesture, and on his thigh, a name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords.”

In the twentieth chapter is displayed “a great white throne, and he [a mere man, shall we say?] that sits on it; from whose face the earth and the heaven flee away, and there is found no place for them: and the dead, small and great, stand before God, [Dr. Priestley says, before a mere man!] and the books are opened, and the dead are judged out of those things which are written in the books, according to their works.” Here the mere man appears to be the universal Judge, and they that stand before him are said to stand before God! And in the next chapter, the same person is represented as the bridegroom of the Church, which has its Maker, that is, on the Socinian hypothesis, a mere man, for its husband! “And he carried me away in the Spirit, to a great high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. And I saw no temple therein; for the Lord God Almighty, and [a mere man!] the Lamb, are the temple of it; and the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine in it: for the glory of God [the infinite Jehovah] did lighten it; and the Lamb [a mere man!] is the light thereof.” As if one were to say, The sun and a candle are the light of the world! “And the nations of them that are saved shall walk in the light of it,” viz. in the light issuing from Jehovah, and a mere man! “And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, but they who are written in the Lamb’s book of life,” that is, the book of life of a mere man! And as Jehovah and a mere man are the joint sources of light, so of life and consolation also. For, Revelation 22:1: “He showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God, and of the Lamb, [that is, the throne of Jehovah, and a mere man!] And, ver. 3: There shall be no more curse: but the throne of God [the Supreme Being] and of the Lamb [a mere man!] shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him, and they shall see his face, and his name shall be on their foreheads. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ [that is, the grace of a mere man] be with you all! Amen.”

Such is the doctrine of St. John in the Apocalypse; a doctrine which, on the Socinian principles, can never be reconciled with common sense. As little will any one be able to reconcile therewith the doctrine concerning Christ, taught in his Gospel. This book, according to Jerome, (lib. de Scriptoribus Ecclesiastes,) was written after the epistles, and the Apocalypse, at the request of the bishops of Asia, “against Cerinthus, and other heretics, and chiefly against the then spreading doctrine of the Ebionites, who asserted that Christ had no existence before Mary: for which reason (he tells us) he was constrained to speak plainly of his Divine generation.” That this account is true, we have every reason to believe, not only from the known veracity of Jerome, but also from the nature of the testimony, borne throughout this Gospel concerning Christ; a testimony which, if supposed to be meant of a mere man, is certainly, to say the least, not intelligible. The following quotations make this manifest:—”In the beginning was the Word, [viz. a mere man!] and the Word [this mere man!] was with God, and the Word [the same mere man] was God. All things were made by him, [even the whole creation, though it had been made at least four thousand years before he existed!] and without him [the same mere man] was not any thing made that was made. In him [viz. in this mere man!] was life, and the life was the light of men; and the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. John [a mere man] was not that light, but came to bear witness of that light: that [mere man, Christ] was the true light, that lighteth every man that cometh into the world!” A strange assertion truly! “He [this mere man] was in the world, and the world was made by him, [was made by a mere man!] and the world knew him not. He came to his own, and his own received him not: but as many as received him, to them gave he [mere man as he was!] power to become the sons of God; even to them that believe in his name. And the Word [a mere man!] was made flesh, [I wish Dr. Priestley would tell us what he was before he was made flesh,] and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, [that is, the glory of a mere man!] full of grace and truth: [a mere man full of grace and truth!] and of his fulness [the fulness of a mere man!] have all we received grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, [a mere man,] but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ,” a mere man also!

I need proceed no farther with the testimony of St. John. This remarkable passage, placed in the front of his Gospel, like the preamble to an act of parliament, manifestly shows the design of the whole book, and is a key to all those discourses of our Lord, and of John the Baptist, recorded by this apostle, in which Jesus is represented as the Son, “and the only begotten Son of God,” and is declared to have pre-existed, and to have come down from heaven. It proves, to a demonstration, that St. John considered Christ as being the Son of God, in a sense in which no other being, man or angel, is his son; and that he looked upon him as pre-existing, not as a creature, but as the creating Logos or Word of the Father, who, in union with the Father, is the Creator and Lord of all creatures, visible and invisible. And as he produces the testimony of John the Baptist, and of Christ, in confirmation of his own testimony, it cannot be doubted but he understood them in the same light; and methinks in the same light every one must understand them who believes them to have been possessed of common sense, and impartially considers their testimony. Only let the following passages be attended to without prejudice, and while the absurdity of applying them to a mere man is noticed, let it be observed also how clearly they describe, and how exactly they characterize that proper and only begotten Son of the Father, who is his Wisdom and Word incarnate, and the Creator and Lord of men and angels.

John bare witness of him, and cried: “This [mere man, shall we say?] was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me; for he [though a mere man, and born after me] was before me!” This is the record of John: “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, [that is, the way of a mere man!] as said the Prophet Esaias: I baptize you with water; but there standeth one [mere man] among you, whom ye know not: he it is who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose shoes’ latchet I am not worthy to unloose. The next day John seeth Jesus coming, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, [that is, behold a mere man!] who taketh away the sins of the world. [For, though a mere man, he taketh away, or makes atonement for the sins of all men!] This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man who is preferred before me, for [though a mere man!] he was before me. And I knew him not; but that he [a mere man] should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. And I knew him not; but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on him, the same is he [viz. the mere man!] that baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bare record, that this is the Son of God,” that is, says Dr. Priestley, a mere man!

Again, Revelation 3:28: “I am not the Christ, but I am sent before him. He [the mere man] that hath the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom that standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly, because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy, therefore, is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. He [the mere man!] that cometh from above, [though a mere man,] is above all. He that is of the earth, is earthly, and speaketh of the earth. He [the same mere man] that cometh from heaven is above all.” Will Dr. Priestley tell us how it could be said Christ came from heaven, any more than John the Baptist, on his principles? “The Father (addeth he) loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hands. He that believeth on the Son [that is, on a mere man!] hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son [viz. this mere man] shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.

The other evangelists agree with St. John, respecting the testimony of the Baptist. Thus, Matthew 3:11: “I indeed baptize you with water, unto repentance; but he [a mere man, as say the disciples of Socinus] that cometh after me, is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear; he [though a mere man!] shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire: whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

Such is the testimony, which, according to the evangelists, John the Baptist bore of Christ: a testimony which they must have judged to be of deep importance, and therefore have recorded it with great care, as being a full and perfect confirmation of the views they entertained themselves, and laboured to give others, of Jesus of Nazareth. But, methinks, every reasonable and unprejudiced man must allow, that it is a testimony which, if supposed to be borne of a mere man, is most ridiculous; nay, and absolutely false. For if Jesus Christ be a mere man, of no higher origin than John, inasmuch as he was born some months after him, it is not true that he was before him; much less is it true, that whereas John was from beneath, he was from above; and that whereas John was of the earth, he was from heaven. According to Dr. Priestley’s hypothesis, they were equally from beneath, equally from the earth; and however Christ might be preferred before John, yet the reason of that preference could not be that which John assigns, viz. that Christ was before him, for in reality he was before Christ. As to the rest of his testimony, I make no remark upon it. It is obvious to the most inattentive observer, that it is impossible it should agree with a mere man, who, how much soever he might be honoured or exalted, could never, with any propriety, be said to be ABOVE ALL, to have ALL THINGS DELIVERED INTO HIS HANDS, or to be the bridegroom of the Church, the owner and possessor of the bride; by believing in whom she obtained everlasting life; and much less could he be able to “baptize with the Holy Ghost, and with fire,” to separate, with infinite discernment, between the precious and the vile, and “burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” I should now proceed to the testimony borne by Christ himself; but having already drawn this letter out to a sufficient length, I break off here, and subscribe myself, Rev. sir, yours, &c.

LETTER 11.

REV. SIR,—According to the testimony of the evangelists, when Jesus was transfigured on the holy mount, there came a voice from the excellent glory, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, hear ye him.” In obedience to the Divine command, let us now attend, while this beloved Son of the Father bears record of himself, that we may learn from his own lips to form a right judgment of his person, made the subject of so much dispute and altercation. Dr. Priestley is fully persuaded that he is a mere man. In order that we may be able to determine whether the doctor’s opinion be according to truth, let us bring it to the surest of all tests, the test of the doctrine taught by Christ himself. The doctor (I think) will not deny that he is the AMEN, THE FAITHFUL AND TRUE WITNESS. Of consequence an opinion which cannot bear the test of his doctrine is not of God. Let us see, therefore, whether the testimony which he bears of himself be consistent with common sense, on the Socinian principles. “Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. Nathanael answered and said unto him, Rabbi, thou art [a mere man? no! Thou art] the Son of God! Thou art the King of Israel! Jesus answered, and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? Thou shalt see greater things than these. Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up: he spake of the temple of his body.” And is he who spake this a mere man? Can a mere man raise his own body from death? especially if, according to Dr. Priestley, he have no soul, but the whole of him be dead and insensible? Again, chapter 3: “No man hath ascended up into heaven, but he [the mere man! says Dr. Priestley] that came down from heaven, even the Son of man, who [though a mere man and now upon earth] is in heaven! For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, [that is, if we believe the Socinians, a mere man, of no higher origin than others,] that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son [a mere man] into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him [that is, through one mere man] might be saved. He that believeth on him [a mere man] is not condemned; but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” I make no reflections on these solemn declarations of our Lord. Every reader must consider them as being both false and absurd, on the supposition of his being a mere man. Again, chapter iv: “If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldst have asked of him, [that is, according to Dr. Priestley, thou wouldst have prayed to a mere man!] and he [a mere man though he be] would have given thee living water.” And who that reads these words, can doubt whether Jesus Christ encouraged prayer to be addressed to him? Again: “Whosoever drinketh of the water that I [a mere man!] shall give him, shall never thirst: but the water that I shall give him, shall be in him a well of water, springing up unto life eternal.” Here again, if Jesus Christ be a mere man, he manifestly encourages idolatry. This he does also, John 7:37: “If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink: he that believeth on me, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. This spake he of the Spirit, which they that believed on him should receive.”

But what shall we say to the following words? In what light do they appear, if they be considered as proceeding out of the mouth of a mere man? John 5:17: “My Father [the eternal God] worketh hitherto, and I [a mere man!] work.” Verse 19: “Verily I say unto you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for whatsoever things he [the infinite Jehovah] doth, these also doeth the Son [a mere man!] likewise. For the Father [the eternal God] loveth the Son, [a mere man!] and showeth him [though but a man] all things that himself doeth; and will show him greater works than these, that ye may marvel. For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them, even so the Son [a mere man!] quickeneth whom he will. For the Father [the great God] judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son, [a mere man!] that all men should honour the Son, [that is, should honour a mere man!] even as they honour [the infinite Jehovah, viz.] the Father! He that honoureth not the Son, [this mere man!] honoureth not the Father who sent him! Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour cometh, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, [viz. the voice of a mere man!] and they that hear shall live. For as the Father [the everlasting Jehovah] hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son [that is, to a mere man!] to have life in himself, and hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man;” that is, because he, a mere man, is a mere man! A strange reason truly. Our Lord goes on: “Marvel not at this, the hour is coming, in which all that are in their graves shall hear his voice, [the voice, says Dr. Priestley, of a mere man!] and shall come forth.” Methinks every reasonable man that considers this extraordinary passage, must allow, that if the Lord Jesus be a mere man, (I speak it with reverence,) he never can be acquitted of the crime which the Jews laid to his charge, (John 10:33,) I mean the henious crime of blasphemy. Are these expressions fit to be used by a mere man? or by any mere creature, however exalted? Put them into the mouth of Gabriel, and try how they sound. “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. Whatsoever things God doth, these doth Gabriel likewise. As God raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them, even so Gabriel quickeneth whom he will. God hath committed all judgment unto Gabriel, that all men should honour Gabriel, even as they honour God. He that honoureth not Gabriel, honoureth not God. The dead shall hear the voice of Gabriel, and live. All that are in their graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth.” Is not this language blasphemous, even from the mouth of the holy Angel Gabriel, who stands before God, and it seems is one of the highest order? If even he, or the Archangel Michael used it, would they not deserve, and would they not meet with the condemnation of the devil? And let it not be said, that the angels have no right to use this language, because they have not been exalted to the authority and power to which the Son of man is exalted. For if God will not give his glory to another, as he hath sworn he will not, it is certain no mere creature can be so exalted as to have a right to use such language, which would manifestly be to equal himself (as the Jews said) with God.

And then it is not here only that our Lord expresses himself in this manner. He is frequently speaking to the same purpose. Thus, ver. 39: “Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and it is they that testify of me; and ye will not come to me [that is, according to Dr. Priestley, ye will not come to a mere man!] that ye might have life.” Again, John 6:32: “My Father giveth you the true bread from heaven, for the bread of God is he [the mere man, if we believe the doctor and Socinus, born of Joseph and Mary] who cometh down from heaven, [that is, that cometh from a place where he had never been!] and giveth life unto the world. I [a mere man!] am the bread of life; he that cometh to me [mere man as I am!] shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. All that the Father giveth me shall come unto me, [a mere man!] and him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out: for I [a mere man] came down from heaven not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one that seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life, and I [a mere man!] will raise him up at the last day.

“The Jews then murmured at him, [as methinks Dr. Priestley and the Socinians must necessarily do,] because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven; and they said, [in language similar to that of Dr. Priestley,] Is not this Jesus, the Son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it that he [a mere man] saith, I came down from heaven? Jesus, therefore, answered, [it would be well if the abettors of the Socinian doctrine would weigh the answer,] Murmur not among yourselves. No man can come unto me except the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him up at the last day. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life: I am the bread of life. Ver. 50: This is the bread that came down from heaven; that a man may eat thereof and not die. I [a mere man, born of Joseph and Mary] am the living bread which came down from heaven: if a man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” The whole of this discourse is absurd and impious, on the Socinian principles. Again, ver. 53: “Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whose eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life, and I [a mere man] will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh [mere man though I be] is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, [a mere man!] and I [a mere man!] dwell in him. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead. He that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.” Certainly if our Lord be no more than a man, he must have intended to mislead his hearers. He adds: “Doth this offend you? What, and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?” Now, if he be a mere man, who had no existence till born in Bethlehem, he asserts a falsehood here. He had never been in heaven before. As also, John 8:19, 23: “If ye had known me [a mere man] ye would have known my Father also! Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world!” Are these the words of the faithful and true Witness? Are they the words of soberness and truth? Are these that follow? “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I proceeded forth and came from God. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and was glad. Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am.” How distant from common sense, as well as piety, is language like this, proceeding from the mouth of a mere man!

Chapter tenth furnishes us with many examples of a similar kind. “I [a mere man!] am the door of the sheep: by me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and shall find pasture. I [the same mere man] am come, that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good Shepherd; the good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. [I say again, though a mere man,] ver. 14, I am the good Shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, [a mere man,] so I [a mere man] know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep have I, which are not of this fold, them also I [a mere man] must bring in, and they shall hear my voice, [the voice of a mere man,] and there shall be one fold and one Shepherd. Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I [a mere man] may take it again; no man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself; I [a mere man!] have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.” Ver. 27: “My sheep hear my voice, and I [a mere man!] know them, and they follow me, and [though a mere man] I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand. My Father that gave them me is greater than all, and none is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand; I and my Father [that is, if we believe Dr. Priestley, a mere man and the eternal God] are one!” Well might the Jews accuse him of blasphemy. Surely, if he be a mere man, he cannot be acquitted of that dreadful crime. For he speaks as though the almighty power of the Father were his own, to be used by him at his pleasure, for the protection of his sheep. Again, ver. 37: “If I [a mere man!] do not the works of the Father, believe me not: but if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works, that ye may know and believe that the Father is in me, and I in him.” And, methinks, his words to Martha appear very inconsistent with truth, if considered as proceeding from the lips of a mere man: “I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me, though he die, yet shall he live.” Divers passages, also, in the two next chapters, if understood as spoken by a mere man, seem equally ridiculous, as John 12:26: “If a man serve me, [a mere man!] let him follow me. Yet a little while (ver. 35) is the light [viz. a mere man!] with you: while you have the light, believe in the light. Ver. 45: He that seeth me, seeth him that sent me:” that is, on the doctor’s principles, he that seeth a mere man, seeth the eternal God! “I [a mere man!] am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. John 13:3: Jesus, [that is, a mere man,] knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he [though a mere man, who had no existence till born in Bethlehem!] was come from God, and went to God,” &c.

But more especially the discourses recorded in the three following chapters are worthy of our attention in this view. According to the Socinian doctrine, the Lord Jesus addresses his disciples in the following and such like language, just before his departure from them: “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, [the Supreme Being,] believe also in me, [a mere man!] Verse 6: I [a mere man] am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had know me, ye would have known my Father also; [that is, if ye had known a mere man, ye would have known the supreme and everlasting God!] and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, [a mere man] Philip? He that hath seen me, [that hath seen a mere man!] hath seen the Father! Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? Verse 15: If ye love me, keep my commandments; [the commandments of a mere man!] I will not leave you comfortless, I [a mere man!] will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more, but you see me; because I [a mere man] live, ye shall live also! He that loveth me, shall be loved of my Father: and I [a mere man] will love him, and will manifest myself to him. If a man love me, he will keep my words, [the words of a mere man!] and my Father will love him, and we [that is, both the omnipresent God, and I, a mere man, N.B.] will come unto him, and make our abode with him!” Will Dr. Priestley inform us how a mere man can come to, and make his abode with thousands and myriads at the same time? Verse 28: “If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I;” that is, on the Socinian hypothesis, the eternal God is greater than a mere man! A wonderful discovery truly.

He proceeds, chapter 15: “I [a mere man] am the true vine, [into which all believers, in all parts of the world, of every nation and age, are ingrafted,] my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away. Abide in me [that is, abide in a mere man] and I [the same mere man!] in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, [from which it derives its very being, and to which it is wholly indebted for all its life, growth, and fruitfulness,] no more can ye, except ye abide in me, a mere man, whose offspring ye are, and on whom ye are dependent, not only for grace, but for life, and breath, and all things!” Colossians 1:16, 17. “He that abideth in me [a mere man!] and I [the same mere man] in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me [that is, without a mere man!] ye can do nothing.” Strange doctrine, indeed! What! can we do nothing with the help of God, without the help of this mere man? “If any man,” proceeds he, “abide not in me, [the same mere man, even though he may suppose that he abides in the Father,] he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered. If ye abide in me, [a mere man!] and my words [the words of a mere man!] abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done for you.” Verse 23: “He that hateth me, [a mere man,] hateth my Father also,” the supreme and eternal God. Pass we on to John 16:7: “If I [a mere man] go not away, the Comforter will not come: but if I depart, [though I am a mere man!] I will send him unto you. He shall glorify me, [shall glorify a mere man!] for he shall receive of mine, [that is, of the things of a mere man!] and shall show unto you. All things that the Father [the infinite and supreme God] hath are mine; [they all belong to me, though I am a mere man!] therefore said I, He shall take of mine, and show it unto you. Verse 27: The Father himself loveth you because ye have loved me, [a mere man,] and have believed that I came forth from God.” N.B. “I [a mere man, shall we say? Surely, if we say so, we must give the lie to the faithful and true Witness;] came forth from the Father, and am come into the world; again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.” That the Lord Jesus spoke, and meant to be understood literally, is certain, from what follows: his disciples said unto him, “Lo now speakest thou plainly: now are we sure that thou knowest all things: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God!” That is, according to Dr. Priestley’s system, we believe a lie!

How extraordinary is this whole discourse of our Lord, according to the Socinian doctrine! How remote from every principle of reason and religion, that we are acquainted with! But, what is worst of all, this doctrine makes the Son of God utter this nonsense, nay, I may say, this impiety and blasphemy to his Father, in the most solemn exercise of devotion. Thus, John 17:1: “Father, glorify thy Son, [that is, glorify a mere man!] that thy Son may glorify thee. O Father, glorify me with thine own self, with the glory I [a mere man, born but about thirty years ago] had with thee before the world was! They [my disciples] have known assuredly that I came out from thee, [though I had no existence till I was born in Bethlehem,] and have believed that thou didst send me. Verse 10: All mine are thine, and [though I am a mere man!] thine are mine, and I [the same mere man!] am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Father, I will that they whom thou hast given me be with me where I am: that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world;” me, who, being a mere man! had no existence till a few years ago! Such is the testimony, which, according to St. John, the Son of God bore of himself, while upon earth, in his most solemn discourses to the Jews, whom he laboured to bring to repentance, over whom he wept, and whom he died to redeem; and to his own disciples, whom he was thus preparing to go forth and instruct all nations, and whom, in this way, he was arming for persecution, imprisonment, and martyrdom; and in his most devout and fervent prayers addressed to his Father, just before his crucifixion: a testimony which, I will venture to say, neither Dr. Priestley, nor any of the Socinians upon earth, will ever be able to reconcile, with the doctrine of our Lord’s mere humanity, on the principles of common sense. As little will they be able to reconcile therewith the testimony which the other evangelists record him to have borne. Two or three passages only I shall produce, as a specimen of the rest. Thus, Matthew 11:27-30: “All things are delivered unto me [that is, if we believe the Socinians, unto a mere man] of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son [that is, knoweth a mere man!] but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, [the same mere man!] and he, to whomsoever the Son shall reveal him. Come unto me [that is, come unto a mere man!] all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I [a mere man!] will give you rest! Take my yoke upon you, [the yoke of a mere man!] and learn of me: for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Upon this rock will I [a mere man!] build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. For where two or three are met together in my name, I [a mere man!] am there in the midst of them. [For, though a mere man, I am omnipresent!] All power is given unto me [that is, given unto a mere man!] in heaven and on earth: go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, [the true, living, and eternal God,] and of the Son, [a mere man!] and of the Holy Ghost; [the power of God!] teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I [a mere man!] have commanded you: and, lo! I [a mere man!] am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” For, I say again, though a mere man, I am omnipresent, and can and will be with you, be you ever so many thousands and myriads, at all times and in all places! An extraordinary promise, indeed, to proceed from the lips of a mere man! Once more, and I have done. We have reviewed the testimony borne by Christ, while upon earth, in the days of his humiliation, and have found it inconsistent with common sense, on the principles of Unitarianism. Let us now attend to the testimony borne by him, since his ascension into heaven. This, I am persuaded, we shall find equally, if not more irreconcilable therewith, on the same principles.

Revelation 2:1: “These things saith he [the mere man!] that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, and walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks: [being always present with, and among his people, though a mere man!] I [a mere man!] know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear those that are evil: nevertheless, I [a mere man!] have against thee, that thou hast left thy first love. Remember, therefore, from whence thou art fallen, and repent: or else I [a mere man! confined in heaven, till the restitution of all things!] will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of its place. To him that overcometh will I [though a mere man!] give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God! Ver. 8: Unto the angel of the Church of Smyrna, write:—These things saith the First and the Last, [that is, says Dr. Priestley, a mere man!] who was dead and is alive; I know thy works, and thy tribulation, and thy poverty. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: but be thou faithful unto death, and I [a mere man!] will give thee a crown of life. Verse 12: To the angel of the Church of Pergamos: These things saith he [the mere man!] who hath the sharp sword with two edges; I know thy works—but I have a few things against thee. Repent, or else I [the same mere man!] will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. To him that overcometh will I [a mere man!] give to eat of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth, saving he that receiveth it. Verse 18: Unto the angel of the Church of Thyatira write:—These things saith the Son of God, [whom the Socinians think a mere man, but] who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet like fine brass; I [a mere man!] know thy works, and the last to be more than the first: notwithstanding, I have a few things against thee, that thou permittest that woman Jezebel to teach and seduce my servants: and I [a mere man!] gave her space to repent, and she repented not. Behold, I [the same mere man!] will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her, into tribulation. And I will kill her children with death: and all the Churches shall know that I [a mere man!] am he that searcheth the reins and the heart! And I will give unto every one of you according to your works. But unto you, I say, and the rest at Thyatira, I [a mere man!] will put upon you no other burden, but that which you have already hold fast till I come. And he that overcometh and keepeth my word to the end, will I [a mere man!] give power over the nations, and. he shall rule them with a rod of iron, and I will give him the morning star. Chapter 3:1: Unto the angel of the Church of Sardis write:—These things saith he [the mere man!] that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I [the same mere man!] know thy works. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, for I have not found thy works perfect before God. If thou wilt not watch, I [a mere man!] will come unto thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come unto thee. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment, and I [a mere man!] will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. Verse 7: To the angel of the Church in Philadelphia:—These things saith [a mere man? No! but] he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the keys of David! he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth: I know thy works: behold, I [a mere man!] have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name: [the word and name of a mere man!] Behold; I [a mere man as I am!] will make them of the synagogue of Satan to come and worship at thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also [though but a man!] will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly! Hold that fast which thou hast that no man take thy crown. Verse 14: To the angel of the Church of the Laodiceans:—These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the beginning [arch, the principle, origin, head, and governor] of the creation of God, I [a mere man!] know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: so then, because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. I counsel thee to buy of me [that is, of a mere man!] gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed. As many as I love, I [a mere man!] rebuke and chasten. Be zealous, therefore, and repent. Behold, I [a mere man!] stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice, and open the door, [for I am present at the door of all hearts!] I will come in to him, and sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I [though but a man!] grant to sit down with me on my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with the Father on his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith [that is, what Christ saith by his Spirit] unto the Churches,” and let him consider whether they are the words of a mere man! And that he may not pass a matter of such moment over slightly, let him turn to the last chapter of this book, and reflect upon the solemn and awful testimony borne by the same person, verse 7: “Behold, I come quickly: Blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.” Verse 12: “Behold, I come quickly, and my reward [shall we say the reward of a mere man?] is with me, to give every one according as his work shall be. I [though viewed by some as a mere man!] am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.” And let me assure you, “I, Jesus, have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the Churches.” And if you still be ignorant who I am, and therefore be in danger of not paying a due regard to my testimony, let me inform you farther, that I am both God and man, both the Son of God, and son of man: let me affirm, that “I am the root and offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.” And that you may not only give credit to what I say, but lay it to your heart with the seriousness which its importance demands, I, the same person that testify these things, add, “Surely, I come quickly.” Amen, even so, come Lord Jesus, and give the opposers of thy divinity to know that thou art more than a mere man! Not doubting, reverend sir, but you will join with me, and the Church universal, in this important petition, and hoping that the time approaches when the Son of God will appear for himself, and show the universe who and what he is, I here put a period to this little work, and subscribe myself your obedient servant in the same Christ Jesus,

JOSEPH BENSON.