Sermon Concerning the Divinity and Incarnation of our Blessed Savior, Sermon 1
SERMONS Concerning the DIVINITY and INCARNATION OF OUR Bleſſed Saviour:
Preached in the Church of St. Lawrence Jewry.
By JOHN late Lord Archbiſhop of CANTERBURY.
The Second Edition.
LONDON: Printed for Br. Aylmer at the Three Pigeons againſt the Royal Exchange in Cornhil, and W. Rogers at the Sun againſt St. Dunſtan's Church in Fleetſtreet. MDCXCV.
AN Advertiſement TO THE READER.
THE following Sermons were preached ſeveral years ago, in the Church of St. Lawrence Jewry in London; and being now reviſed and enlarged by the Author are here made publick: The true Reaſon whereof, was not that which is commonly alledged for Printing Books, the importunity of Friends; but the importunate clamours and malicious calumnies of Others, whom the Author heartily prays God to forgive, and to give them better minds: And to grant that the enſuing Diſcourſes, the publication whereof was in ſo great a degree neceſſary, may by his Bleſſing prove in ſome meaſure uſeful.
SERMON I. Concerning the Divinity of our B. Saviour.
Preached in the Church of St. Lawrence Jewry, Decemb. 30th. 1679.
JOHN I. 14.
The Word was made fleſh, and dwelt amongſt us; and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
THESE words contain in them three great Points concerning our B. Saviour, the Author and Founder of our Faith and Religion.
Firſt, His Incarnation, the Word was made, or became, fleſh.
Secondly, His Life and converſation here among us, and dwelt amongſt us, foreign, he pitched his Tabernacle amongſt us; he lived here below in this World and for a time made his reſidence and abode with us.
Thirdly, That in this ſtate of his humiliation he gave great and clear evidence of his Divinity; whilſt he appeared as a man and liv'd amongſt us, there were great and glorious Teſtimonies given of him that he was the Son of God: and that in ſo peculiar a manner as no Creature can be ſaid to be: And we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, &c.
I ſhall begin with the Firſt of theſe, his Incarnation; as moſt proper for this Solemn Time, which hath for many Ages been ſet apart for the commemoration of the Nativity and Incarnation of our B. Saviour: The Word was made fleſh, that is, he who is perſonally called the Word, and whom the Evangeliſt St. John had ſo fully deſcribed in the beginning of this Goſpel, he became fleſh, that is, aſſumed our Nature and became Man; for ſo the word fleſh is frequently uſed in Scripture for Man or human nature: O thou that heareſt prayer, Pſal. 65. 2.unto thee ſhall all fleſh come, that is, to thee ſhall all men addreſs their Supplications:Iſa. 40. 5, 6. again, The glory of the Lord ſhall be revealed, and all fleſh ſhall ſee it together, that is, all men ſhall behold and acknowledge it; and then it follows, all fleſh is graſs, ſpeaking of the frailty and mortality of man: And ſo likewiſe in the new Teſtament, our B. Saviour foretelling the miſery that was coming upon the Jewiſh Nation,Matt. 24. 22. ſays, Except thoſe days ſhould be ſhortned no fleſh ſhould be ſaved, that is, no man ſhould eſcape and ſurvive that great calamity and deſtruction which was coming upon them:Gal. 2. 16. By the works of the Law, ſays the Apoſtle, ſhall no fleſh, that is, no man be juſtified.
So that by the Word's being made or becoming fleſh the Evangeliſt did not intend that he aſſumed only a human Body without a Soul, and was united only to a human Body, which was the Hereſie of Apollinaris and his Followers, but that he became Man, that is, aſſumed the whole human Nature, Body and Soul. And it is likewiſe very probable that the Evangeliſt did purpoſely chuſe the word fleſh, which ſignifies the frail and mortal part of Man, to denote to us that the Son of God did aſſume our Nature with all its infirmities, and became ſubject to the common frailty and mortality of human Nature.
The words thus explain'd contain that great Myſtery of Godlineſs, as the Apoſtle calls it, or of the Chriſtian Religion, viz. the Incarnation of the Son of God, which St. Paul expreſſeth by the appearance or manifeſtation of God in the fleſh,1 Tim. 3. 16. And without controverſie great is the myſtery of godlineſs, God was manifeſted in the fleſh, that is, he appeared in human Nature, he became man; or, as St. John expreſſeth it in the Text, The Word was made fleſh.
But for the more clear and full explication of theſe words, we will conſider theſe two things.
Firſt, the Perſon that is here ſpoken of, and who is ſaid to be incarnate, or to be made fleſh, namely the Word.
Secondly, the Myſtery it ſelf, or the nature of this Incarnation, ſo far as the Scripture hath revealed and declared it to us.
I.I. We will conſider the Perſon that is here ſpoken of, and who is ſaid to be incarnate or to be made fleſh, and who is ſo frequently in this Chapter called by the Name or Title of the Word; namely the eternal and only begotten Son of God; for ſo we find him deſcribed in the Text, The Word was made fleſh, and dwelt amongſt us; and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, &c. that is, ſuch as became ſo great and glorious a Perſon as deſerves the Title of the only begotten Son of God.
For the explaining of this Name or Title of the Word given by St. John to our B. Saviour, we will conſider theſe two things.
Firſt, The reaſon of this Name or Title of the Word, and what probably might be the Occaſion why this Evangeliſt inſiſts ſo much upon it, and makes ſo frequent mention of it.
Secondly, The Deſcription it ſelf, which is given of him under this Name or Title of the Word by this Evangeliſt, in his entrance into his Hiſtory of the Goſpel.
I. We will enquire into the reaſon of this Name or Title of the Word, which is here given to our B. Saviour by this Evangeliſt: And what might probably be the Occaſion why he inſiſts ſo much upon it and makes ſo frequent mention of it. I ſhall conſider theſe two things diſtinctly and ſeverally.
Firſt, The reaſon of this Name or Title of the Word, here given by the Evangeliſt to our B. Saviour. And he ſeems to have done it in compliance with the common way of ſpeaking among the Jews, who frequently call the Meſſias by the Name of the Word of the Lord; of which I might give many inſtances: But there is one very remarkable, in the Targum of Jonathan, which renders thoſe words of the Pſalmiſt, which the Jews acknowledge to be ſpoken of the Meſſias, viz. The Lord ſaid unto my Lord, ſit thou on my right hand, &c. I ſay it renders them thus, The Lord ſaid unto his Word, ſit thou on my right hand, &c. And ſo likewiſe Philo the Jew calls him by whom God made the World, the Word of God, and the Son of God. And Plato probably had the ſame Notion from the Jews, which made Amelius the Platoniſt, when he read the beginning of St. John's Goſpel, to ſay, this Barbarian agrees with Plato, ranking the Word in the order of Principles; meaning that he made the Word the Principle or efficient Cauſe of the World, as Plato alſo hath done.
And this Title of the Word was ſo famouſly known to be given to the Meſſias, that even the Enemies of Chriſtianity took notice of it. Julian the Apoſtate calls Chriſt by this Name: And Mahomet in his Alchoran gives this Name of the Word to Jeſus the Son of Mary. But St. John had probably no reference to Plato any otherwiſe than as the Gnoſticks, againſt whom he wrote, made uſe of ſeveral of Plato's words and notions. So that in all probability St. John gives our B. Saviour this Title with regard to the Jews more eſpecially, who anciently call'd the Meſſias by this Name.
Secondly, We will in the next place conſider, What might probably be the Occaſion why this Evangeliſt makes ſo frequent mention of this Title of the Word, and inſiſts ſo much upon it. And it ſeems to be this: Nay, I think that hardly any doubt can be made of it, ſince the moſt ancient of the Fathers, who lived neareſt the time of St. John, do confirm it to us.
St. John, who ſurvived all the Apoſtles, liv'd to ſee thoſe Hereſies which ſprang up in the beginnings of Chriſtianity, during the lives of the Apoſtles grown up to a great height, to the great prejudice and diſturbance of the Chriſtian Religion: I mean the Hereſies of Ebion and Cerinthus, and the ſeveral Sects of the Gnoſticks which began from Simon Magus, and were continued and carried on by Valentinus and Baſilides, Carpocrates and Menander: Some of which expreſly denied the Divinity of our Saviour, aſſerting him to have been a mere man, and to have had no manner of exiſtence before he was born of the B. Virgin, as Euſebius and Epiphanius tells us particularly concerning Ebion: Which thoſe who hold the ſame Opinion now in our days may do well to conſider from whence it had its Original.
Others of them, I ſtill mean the Gnoſticks, had corrupted the ſimplicity of the Chriſtian Doctrine by mingling with it the fancies and conceits of the Jewiſh Cabbaliſts, and of the Schools of Pythagoras and Plato, and of the Chaldaean Philoſophy more ancient than either; as may be ſeen in Euſebius de Preparat. Evan.; and by jumbling all theſe together they had framed a confuſed Genealogy of Deities, which they called by ſeveral glorious Names, and all of them by the general Name of Eons or Ages: Among which they reckon'd foreign & foreign & foreign & foreign, that is, the Life, and the Word, and the only begotten, and the Fulneſs, and many other Divine Powers and Emanations which they fancied to be ſucceſſively derived from one another.
And they alſo diſtinguiſhed between the Maker of the World whom they called the God of the Old Teſtament, and the God of the New: And between Jeſus and Chriſt: Jeſus according to the Doctrine of Cerinthus, as Irenaeus tells us, being the man that was born of the Virgin, and Chriſt or the Meſſias being that Divine Power or Spirit which afterwards deſcended into Jeſus and dwelt in him.
If it were poſſible, yet it would be to no purpoſe, to go about to reconcile theſe wild conceits with one another; and to find out for what reaſon they were invented, unleſs it were to amuſe the People with theſe high ſwelling words of vanity and a pretence of knowledg falſly ſo called, as the Apoſtle ſpeaks in alluſion to the Name of Gnoſticks, that is to ſay, the Men of knowledge, which they proudly aſſum'd to themſelves, as if the knowledge of Myſteries of a more ſublime nature did peculiarly belong to them.
In oppoſition to all theſe vain and groundleſs conceits, St. John in the beginning of his Goſpel chuſes to ſpeak of our B. Saviour, the Hiſtory of whoſe life and death he was going to write, by the Name or Title of the Word, a term very famous among thoſe Sects: And ſhews that this Word of God, which was alſo the Title the Jews anciently gave to the Meſſias, did exiſt before he aſſumed a human Nature, and even form all Eternity: And that to this eternal Word did truly belong all thoſe Titles which they kept ſuch a canting ſtir about, and which they did with ſo much ſenſeleſs nicety and ſubtilty diſtinguiſh from one another, as if they had been ſo many ſeveral Emanations from the Deity: And he ſhews that this Word of God, was really and truly the Life, and the Light, and the Fulneſs, and the only begotten of the Father; v. 5. In him was the Life, and the Life was the Light of men; and v. 6. And the Light ſhineth in darkneſs, and the darkneſs comprehended it not: and v. 7, 8, 9. where the Evangeliſt ſpeaking of John the Baptiſt ſays of him, that he came for a witneſs, to bear witneſs of the Light; and that he was not that Light, but was ſent to bear witneſs of that Light: And that Light was the true Light which coming into the World enlightens every man: And v. 14. And we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth: And v. 16. And of his fulneſs we all receive, &c. You ſee here is a perpetual Alluſion to the glorious Titles which they gave to their Aeons as if they had been ſo many ſeveral Deities.
In ſhort, the Evangeliſt ſhews that all this fanciful Genealogy of Divine Emanations, with which the Gnoſticks made ſo great a noiſe, was mere conceit and imagination; and that all theſe glorious Titles did really meet in the Meſſias who is the Word, and who before his Incarnation was from all eternity with God, partaker of his Divine Nature and Glory.
I have declared this the more fully and particularly, becauſe the knowledge of it ſeems to me to be the only true Key to the interpretation of this Diſcourſe of St. John concerning our Saviour under the Name and Title of the Word. And ſurely it is a quite wrong way for any man to go about by the mere ſtrength and ſubtilty of his Reaſon and Wit, though never ſo great, to interpret an ancient Book, without underſtanding and conſidering the Hiſtorical occaſion of it, which is the only thing that can give true light to it.
And this was the great and fatal miſtake of Socinus, to go to interpret Scripture merely by Criticiſing upon words, and ſearching into all the ſenſes that they are poſſibly capable of, till he can find one, though never ſo forc'd and foreign, that will ſave harmleſs the Opinion, which he was before-hand reſolved to maintain even againſt the moſt natural and obvious ſenſe of the Text which he undertakes to interpret: Juſt as if a man ſhould interpret ancient Statutes and Records by mere Critical skill in words without regard to the true Occaſion upon which they were made, and without any manner of knowledge and inſight into the Hiſtory of the Age in which they were written.
I ſhould now proceed to the Second thing which I propoſed to conſider, namely,
II. The Deſcription here given of the Word by this Evangeliſt in his entrance into his Hiſtory of the Goſpel. In the beginning, ſays he, was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God: The ſame was in the beginning with God: All things were made by him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
In which Paſſage of the Evangeliſt four things are ſaid of the Word which will require a more particular Explication.
Firſt, That he was in the beginning.
Secondly, That he was in the beginning with God.
Thirdly, That he was God.
Fourthly, That all were made by him.
1ſt, That he he was in the beginning, foreign,1 John 1. 1. which is the ſame with foreign from the beginning, where ſpeaking of Chriſt by the name of eternal life, and of the Word of life, That, ſays he, which was from the beginning. Nonnus, the ancient Paraphraſt of St. John's Goſpel, by way of explication of what is meant by his being in the beginning, adds that he was foreign without time, that is, before all time; and if ſo, then he was from all eternity: In the beginning was the Word, that is, when things began to be made he was; not then began to be, but then already was, and did exiſt before any thing was made; and conſequently is without beginning, for that which was never made could have no beginning of its Being: And ſo the Jews uſed to deſcribe Eternity, before the World was, and before the foundation of the World, as alſo in ſeveral places of the New Teſtament. And ſo likewiſe Solomon deſcribes the Eternity of Wiſdom, Prov. 8. 22, 23, &c.The Lord, ſays he, poſſeſſed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old: I was ſet up from everlaſting, from the beginning or ever the Earth was: When he prepared the Heavens I was there; then I was with him as one brought up with him, rejoicing always before him: And ſo Juſtin Martyr explains this very expreſſion of St. John, that he was, or had a Being before all Ages: So likewiſe Athenagoras, a moſt ancient Chriſtian Writer, God, ſays he, who is an inviſible Mind, had from the beginning the Word in himself.
2ly. That in the beginning the Word was with God: And ſo Solomon, when he would expreſs the Eternity of Wiſdom, ſays it was with God: And ſo likewiſe the Son of Sirach ſpeaking of Wiſdom ſays it was foreign with God: And ſo the ancient Jews often called the Word of God, the Word which is before the Lord, that is, with him, or in his preſence: In like manner the Evangeliſt ſays here that the Word was with God, that is, it was always together with him, partaking of his Happineſs and Glory: To which our Saviour refers in his Prayer,John 17. 5. Glorify me with thine own ſelf with the glory which I had with thee before the World was. And this being with God the Evangeliſt oppoſeth to his appearing and being manifeſted to the World, v. 10. He was in the World, and the World was made by him, and the World knew him not, that is, he who from all eternity was with God, appeared in the World, and when he did ſo, though he had made the World yet the World would not own him. And this oppoſition between his being with God and his being manifeſted in the World, the ſame St. John mentions elſewhere,1 John 1, 2. I ſhew unto you that eternal Life which was with the Father, and was manifeſted unto us.
3ly. That he was God: And ſo Juſtin Martyr ſays of him, That he was God before the World, that is, from all Eternity: But then the Evangeliſt adds by way of Explication, the ſame was in the beginning with God, that is, though the Word was truly and really God, yet he was not God the Father, who is the Fountain of the Deity, but an Emanation from him, the only begotten Son of God, from all eternity with him; to denote to us that which is commonly called by Divines, and for any thing I could ever ſee properly enough, the diſtinction of Perſons in the Deity; at leaſt we know not a fitter word whereby to expreſs that great Myſtery.
4thly, That all things were made by him. This ſeems to refer to the deſcription which Moſes makes of the Creation,Gen. 1. where God is repreſented creating things by his Word, God ſaid, Let there be light, and there was light: And ſo likewiſe the Pſalmiſt, Pſal. 33. 6.By the Word of the Lord were the Heavens made, and all the Hoſt of them by the breath of his mouth: And ſo St. Peter alſo expreſſeth the Creation of the World, By the Word of the Lord the Heavens were of old, 2 Pet. 3. 5.and the Earth made out of Water: And in the ancient Books of the Chaldeans and the verſes aſcribed to Orpheus, the Maker of the World is called the Word, and the Divine Word: And ſo Tertullian tells the Pagans, that by their Philoſophers the Maker of the World was called foreign the Word, or Reaſon: And Philo the Jew following Plato, who himſelf moſt probably had it from the Jews, ſays, that the World was created by the Word; whom he calls the Name of God, and the Image of God, and the Son of God; two of which glorious Titles are aſcribed to him together with that of Maker of the World, by the Author of the Epiſtle to the Hebrews; In theſe laſt days, ſays he, God hath ſpoken to us by his Son, by whom alſo he made the Worlds: Who is the brightneſs of his glory, and the expreſs Image of his perſon: And to the ſame purpoſe St. Paul, Coloſ. 1. 15, 16, 17.ſpeaking of Chriſt, calls him the Image of the inviſible God, the firſt-born of every Creature, that is, born before any thing was created, as does evidently follow from the reaſon given in the next words why he call'd him the firſt-born of every Creature, for by him were all things created that are in Heaven and in Earth, viſible and inviſible; all things were created by him and for him, and he is before all things, and by him all things ſubſiſt: From whence it is plain that by his being the firſt-born of every Creature thus much at leaſt is to be underſtood, that he was before all Creatures, and therefore he himſelf cannot be a Creature, unleſs he could be before himſelf: Nay the Apoſtle ſays it expreſly in this very Text in which he is called the firſt-born of every Creature, or of the whole Creation, that he is before all things, that is, he had a Being before there was any created Being, he was before all Creatures both in Duration and in Dignity; for ſo muſt he of neceſſity be, if all things were made by him; for as the Maker is always before the thing which is made, ſo is he alſo better and of greater Dignity.
And yet I muſt acknowledge that there ſeems to be no ſmall difficulty in the Interpretation I have given of this expreſſion in which Chriſt is ſaid by the Apoſtle to be the firſt-born of every Creature, or of the whole Creation; becauſe in ſtrictneſs of ſpeech the firſt-born is of the ſame Nature with thoſe in reſpect of whom he is ſaid to be the firſt-born: And if ſo, then he muſt be a Creature as well as thoſe in reſpect of whom he is ſaid to be the firſt-born: This is the Objection in its full ſtrength, and I do own it to have a very plauſible appearance: And yet I hope before I have done to ſatisfy any one that will conſider things impartially and without prejudice, and will duly attend to the ſcope of the Apoſtle's reaſoning in this Text and compare it with other parallel places of the New Teſtament, that it neither is, nor can be the Apoſtle's meaning in affirming Chriſt to be the firſt-born of every Creature to inſinuate that the Son of God is a Creature.
For how can this poſſibly agree with that which follows and is given as the reaſon why Chriſt is ſaid to be the firſt-born of every Creature? namely, becauſe all things were made by him: The Apoſtle's words are theſe, the firſt-born of every Creature, or of the whole Creation, for by him all things were created: But now, according to the Socinian interpretation, this would be a reaſon juſt the contrary way: For if all things were created by him, then he himſelf is not a Creature.
So that the Apoſtle's meaning in this expreſſion muſt either be that the Son of God our B. Saviour was before all Creatures, as it is ſaid preſently after that he is before all things; and then the reaſon which is added will be very proper and pertinent, he is before all things becauſe all things were created by him: In which ſenſe it is very probable that the Son of God elſewhere calls himself the beginning of the Creation of God, Rev. 3. 14.meaning by it, as the Philoſophers moſt frequently uſe the word foreign, the Principle or Efficient Cauſe of the Creation: And ſo we find the ſame word, which our Tranſlation renders the beginning, uſed together with the word firſt-born, as if they were of the ſame importance; the beginning and firſt-born from the dead, Col. 1. 18.that is, the Principle and Efficient Cauſe of the Reſurrection of the dead.
Or elſe, which ſeems to me to be the moſt probable, and indeed the true meaning of the Expreſſion, by this Title of the firſt-born of every creature the Apoſtle means that he was Lord and Heir of the Creation: For the firſt-born is natural Heir, and Juſtinian tells us that Heir did anciently ſignify Lord: And therefore the Scripture uſes theſe terms promiſcuouſly, and as if they were equivalent;Acts 10. 36. for whereas St. Peter faith of Jeſus Chriſt that he is Lord of all, St. Paul calls him Heir of all things: Rom. 4. 14.And then the reaſon given by the Apoſtle why he calls him the firſt-born of every Creature will be very fit and proper, becauſe all things were created by him: For well may he be ſaid to be Lord and Heir of the Creation who made all things that were made, and without whom was not any thing made that was made.
And this will yet appear much more evident, if we conſider that the Apoſtle to the Hebrews, who by ſeveral of the Ancients was thought to be St. Paul, where he gives to Chriſt ſome of the very ſame Titles which St. Paul in his Epiſtle to the Coloſſians had done, calling him the Image of God, and the Maker of the World, does inſtead of the Title of the firſt-born of every Creature call him the Heir of all things; and then adds as the reaſon of this Title, that by him God made the Worlds, God, ſays he, hath in theſe laſt days ſpoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath conſtituted Heir of all things: Who being the brightneſs of his glory, and the expreſs Image of his perſon, and upholding all things by the Word of his power, &c. Which is exactly parallel with that paſſage of St. Paul to the Coloſſians, where Chriſt is call'd the Image of the inviſible God, and where it is likewiſe ſaid of him that he made all things, and that by him all things do ſubſiſt, which the Apoſtle to the Hebrews in different words, but to the very ſame ſenſe, expreſſeth by his upholding all things by the Word of his power, that is, by the ſame powerful Word by which all things at firſt were made: But then inſtead of calling him the firſt-born of every Creature, becauſe all things were made by him, he calls him the Heir of all things, by whom God alſo made the worlds.
And indeed that expreſſion of the firſt-born of every Creature cannot admit of any other ſenſe which will agree ſo well with the reaſon that follows as the ſenſe which I have mentioned, namely, that he is therefore Heir and Lord of the whole Creation, becauſe all Creatures were made by him; which exactly anſwers thoſe words of the Apoſtle to the Hebrews, whom he hath conſtituted Heir of all things, by whom alſo he made the Worlds.
And now I apppeal to any ſober and conſiderate man, whether the interpretation which I have given of that expreſſion of the firſt-born of every Creature be not much more agreeable both to the tenour of the Scripture, and to the plain ſcope and deſign of the Apoſtle's Argument and reaſoning in that Text.
I have inſiſted the longer upon this, becauſe it is the great Text upon which the Arians lay the main ſtrength and ſtreſs of their Opinion that the Son of God is a Creature, becauſe he is ſaid by the Apoſtle to be the firſt-born of every Creature; by which expreſſion if no more be meant than that he is Heir and Lord of the whole Creation, which I have ſhew'd to be very agreeable both to the uſe of the word firſt born among the Hebrews, and likewiſe to the deſcription given of Chriſt in that parallel Text which I cited out of the Epiſtle to the Hebrews, then this expreſſion of the firſt born of every Creature is nothing at all to the purpoſe either of the Arians or the Socinians, to prove the Son of God to be a Creature: Beſides, that the interpretation which I have given of it makes the Apoſtle's ſenſe much more current and eaſy; for then the Text will run thus, who is the image of the inviſible God, Heir and Lord of the whole Creation, for by him all things were made.
So that in theſe four expreſſions of the Evangeliſt which I have explain'd there are theſe four things diſtinctly affirmed of the Word.
Firſt, That he was in the beginning, that is, that he already was and did exiſt when things began to be created: He was before any thing was made, and conſequently is without any beginning of Time; for that which was never made could have no beginning of its Being.
Secondly, That in that ſtate of his exiſtence before the Creation of the World he was partaker of the Divine Glory and Happineſs: And this I have ſhew'd to be the meaning of that expreſſion, and the Word was with God: For thus our B. Saviour does explain his being with God before the World was, And now, O Father, glorify me with thy own ſelf, with the glory which I had with thee before the World was.
Thirdly, That he was God; And the Word was God. Not God the Father, who is the Principle and fountain of the Deity: To prevent that miſtake, after he had ſaid that the Word was God, he immediately adds in the next verſe, the ſame was in the beginning with God: He was God by participation of the Divine Nature and Happineſs together with the Father, and by way of derivation from him as the light is from the Sun: Which is the common illuſtration which the ancient Fathers of the Chriſtian Church give us of this Myſtery, and is perhaps the beſt and fitteſt that can be given of it. For among finite Beings it is not to be expected, becauſe not poſſible, to find any exact reſemblance of that which is infinite, and conſequently is incomprehenſible, becauſe whatever is infinite is for that reaſon incomprehenſible by a finite underſtanding, which is too ſhort and ſhallow to meaſure that which is infinite; and whoever attempts it will ſoon find himſelf out of his depth.
Fourthly, That all things were made by him: Which could not have been more emphatically expreſs'd than it is here by the Evangeliſt, after the manner of the Hebrews, who when they would ſay a thing with the greateſt force and certainty are wont to expreſs it both affirmatively and negatively, as, He ſhall live and not die, that is, he ſhall moſt aſſuredly live; ſo here, All things were made by him, and without him was not any thing made that was made, that is, he made all Creatures without exception, and conſequently he himſelf is not a Creature, becauſe it is evidently impoſſible that any thing ſhould ever make it ſelf: But then if he be, and yet was never made, it is certainly true that he always was, even from all Eternity.
All theſe Aſſertions are plainly and expreſly contain'd in this deſcription which the Evangeliſt St. John here makes of the Word; and this according to the interpretation of theſe expreſſions by the unaminous conſent of the moſt ancient Writers of the Chriſtian Church: Who, ſome of them, had the advantage of receiving it from the immediate Diſciples of St. John: Which ſurely is no ſmall prejudice againſt any newly invented and contrary interpretation; as I ſhall hereafter more fully ſhew, when I come to conſider the ſtrange and extravagant interpretation which the Socinians make of this Paſſage of St. John; which is plain enough of it ſelf, if they under a pretence of explaining and making it more clear had not diſturb'd and darken'd it.
Now from this deſcription which the Evangeliſt here gives of the Word, and which I have ſo largely explain'd in the foregoing Diſcourſe, theſe three Corallaries or Concluſions do neceſſarily follow.
Firſt, That the Word here deſcribed by St. John is not a Creature. This Concluſion is directly Againſt the Arians, who affirm'd that the Son of God was a Creature. They grant indeed that he is the firſt of all the Creatures both in Dignity and Duration; for ſo they underſtand that expreſſion of the Apoſtle wherein he is called the firſt-born of every Creature: But this I have endeavoured already to ſhew not to be the meaning of that expreſſion.
They grant him indeed to have been God's Agent or Inſtrument in the Creation of the World, and that all other Creatures beſides himſelf were made by him: But ſtill they contend that he is a Creature and was made: Now this cannot poſſibly conſiſt with what St. John ſays of him, that he was in the beginning, that is, as hath been already ſhewn, before anything was made: And likewiſe, becauſe he is ſaid to have made all things, and that without him was not anything made that was made; and therefore he himſelf who made all things is neceſſarily excepted out of the condition and rank of a Creature; as the Apoſtle reaſons in another Caſe, He hath put all things under his feet: But when he ſaith all things are put under him, it is manifeſt that he is excepted who did put all things under him: In like manner, if by him all things were made, and without him was not any thing made that was made, then either he was not made, or he muſt make himſelf; which involves in it a plain contradiction.
Secondly, That this Word was from all Eternity: For if he was in the beginning, that is, before any thing was made, he muſt of neceſſity always have been; becauſe whatever is, muſt either have been ſometime made, or muſt always have been; for that which was not, and afterwards is, muſt be made. And this will likewiſe follow from his being ſaid to be God, and that in the moſt ſtrict and proper ſenſe, which doth neceſſarily imply his Eternity, becauſe God cannot begin to be, but muſt of neceſſity always have been.
Thirdly, From both theſe it will undeniably follow that he had an exiſtence before his Incarnation and his being born of the B. Virgin. For if he was in the beginning, that is, from all Eternity, which I have ſhewn to be the meaning of that expreſſion, then certainly he was before his being born of the B. Virgin. And this likewiſe is implied in the Propoſition in the Text, And the Word was made fleſh, viz. that Word which the Evangeliſt had before ſo gloriouſly deſcribed, that Word which was in the beginning, and was with God, and was God, and by whom all things were made; I ſay, that Word was incarnate and aſſumed a human Nature, and therefore muſt neceſſarily exiſt and have a Being before he could aſſume humanity into an union with his Divinity.
And this Propoſition is directly levelled againſt the Socinians, who affirm our B. Saviour to be a mere man, and that he had no exiſtence before he was born of the Virgin Mary his Mother: Which Aſſertion of theirs doth perfectly contradict all the former Concluſions which have been drawn from the deſcription here given by St. John of the Word: And their interpretation of this paſſage of St. John applying it to the beginning of the publication of the Goſpel, and to the new Creation or Reformation of the World by Jeſus Chriſt, doth likewiſe contradict the interpretation of this paſſage conſtantly received, not only by the ancient Fathers, but even by the general conſent of all Chriſtians for fifteen hundred years together, as I ſhall hereafter plainly ſhew: For to eſtabliſh this their Opinion, that our B. Saviour was a mere man, and had no exiſtence before his Birth, they are forc'd to interpret this whole paſſage in the beginning of St. John's Goſpel quite to another ſenſe, never mention'd, nor I believe thought of by any Chriſtian Writer whatſoever before Socinus: And it is not eaſie to imagin how any Opinion can be loaded with a greater and heavier prejudice than this is.
And this I ſhould now take into conſideration, and ſhew, beſides the novelty of this interpretation and the great violence and unreaſonableneſs of it, the utter inconſiſtency of it with other plain Texts of New Teſtament.
But this is wholly matter of Controverſy and will require a large Diſcourſe by it ſelf; I ſhall therefore wave the further proſecution of it at preſent, and apply my ſelf to that which is more practical and proper for the Occaſion of this Seaſon: So that at preſent I have done with the firſt thing contain'd in the Firſt part of the Text, viz. The Perſon here ſpoken of who is ſaid to be incarnate, namely the Word, it was He that was made fleſh.
I ſhould then have proceeded to the Second thing which I propoſed to conſider, viz. The Myſtery it ſelf, or the nature of this Incarnation ſo far as the Scripture hath revealed and declared it to us, namely, by aſſuming our Nature in ſuch a manner as that the Divinity became united to a human Soul and Body. But this I have already endeavoured in ſome measure to explain, and ſhall do it more fully in ſome of the following Diſcourſes upon this Text. I ſhall now only make a ſhort and uſeful reflection upon it with relation to the Solemnity of this Time.
And it ſhall be to ſtir us up to a thankful acknowledgment of the great love of God to Mankind in the Myſtery of our Redemption by the Incarnation of the Word, the only begotten Son of God: That he ſhould deign to have ſuch a regard to us in our low condition, and to take our Caſe ſo much to heart as to think of redeeming and ſaving Mankind from that depth of miſery into which we had plunged our ſelves; and to do this in ſo wonderful and aſtoniſhing a manner: That God ſhould employ his eternal and only begotten Son, who had been with him from all Eternity, partaker of his Happineſs and Glory, and was God of God, to ſave the Sons of men by ſo infinite and amazing a condeſcention: That God ſhould vouchſafe to become man, to reconcile man to God: That he ſhould come down from Heaven to Earth, to raiſe us from Earth to Heaven: That he ſhould aſſume our vile and frail and mortal nature, that he might cloath us with glory and honour and immortality: That he ſhould ſuffer Death to ſave us from Hell, and ſhed his blood to purchaſe eternal Redemption for us.
For certainly the greater the Perſon is that was employed in this merciful Deſign, ſo much the greater is the condeſcention, and the love and goodneſs expreſſed in it ſo much the more admirable: That the Son of God ſhould ſtoop from the height of Glory and Happineſs to the loweſt degree of abaſement and to the very depth of miſery for our ſakes, who were ſo mean and inconſiderable, ſo guilty and obnoxious to the ſeverity of his Juſtice, ſo altogether unworthy of his grace and favour, and ſo very unwilling to receive it when it was ſo freely offer'd to us; for, as the Evangeliſt here tells us, He came to his own, and his own received him not: To his own Creatures, and they did not own and acknowledg their Maker; to his own Nation and Kindred, and they deſpiſed him and eſteemed him not. Lord! what is man, that God ſhould be ſo mindful of him; or the Son of man, that the Son of God ſhould come down from Heaven to viſit him, in ſo much humility and condeſcention, and with ſo much kindneſs and compaſſion?
Bleſſed God and Saviour of Mankind! What ſhall we render to thee for ſuch mighty love, for ſuch ineſtimable benefits as thou haſt purchas'd for us and art ready to confer upon us? What ſhall we ſay to thee, O thou preſerver and lover of Souls, ſo often as we approach thy H. Table, there to commemorate this mighty love of thine to us, and to partake of thoſe invaluable bleſſings which by thy precious bloodſhedding thou haſt obtained for us? So often as we there remember, that thou waſt pleaſed to aſſume our mortal Nature, on purpoſe to live amongſt us for our inſtruction, and for our example, and to lay down thy life for the redemption of our Souls and for the expiation of our Sins; and to take part of fleſh and blood that thou mightſt ſhed it for our ſakes: What affections ſhould theſe thoughts raiſe in us? What Vows and reſolutions ſhould they engage us in, of perpetual love and gratitude, and obedience to thee the moſt gracious and moſt glorious Redeemer of Mankind?
And with what Religious Solemnity ſhould we, more eſpecially at this Time, celebrate the Incarnation and Birth of the Son of God by giving praiſe and glory to God in the higheſt, and by all poſſible demonſtration of charity and good-will to men? And as he was pleaſed to aſſume our Nature ſo ſhould we, eſpecially at this Seaſon, put on the Lord Jeſus Chriſt, that is, ſincerely embrace and practice his Religion, making no proviſion for the fleſh to fulfill the lUſts thereof: And now that the Sun of Righteouſneſs is riſen upon the World, we ſhould walk as Children of the light, and demean our ſelves decently as in the day, not in rioting and drunkenneſs, not in chambering and wantonneſs, not in ſtrife and envy: And ſhould be very careful not to abuſe our ſelves by Sin and Senſuality, upon this very conſideration that the Son hath put ſuch an honour and dignity upon us: We ſhould reverence that Nature which God did not diſdain to aſſume and to inhabit here on Earth, and in which he now gloriouſly reigns in Heaven, at the right hand of his Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.