Of the .l(.no"a~ledg of (jod the Father, ~ BooK Ill. Col. I. verf. 15, r6, 17, r8, 19. Whoisthelmageofthe lnvijbleGod,the Firjl– ~ born of everyCteature. For by him werea!lthing1 created, that are in Heaven, and that are in Earth, vijble and invijble; whether the; be Thrones, or Dominions, or Principalities, or Powers ; all things were created b; him, and for him. .And heir before allthi11gr, and by him all things "'Yifl· .And he is the Head of the Bod;, the Church; who ir the beginning, the f:irjl·bom from the dead: ·that in all Things he might have the preheminence. For it pleajid the F<1ther that in hint jho11ld a/J Ful– nefdwe/1. The Apo!He from the I 5th verfe to the 23d, fets forth Jefus Chrifl:, in all thole rich and glorious Excellencies revealed in the Gofpel ; and hrs Scope, and In– tention,deiigned therein (as likewife in the wholeEpi!He) is, (as appears by the fecond Chapter) to divert, and take offthe·Colojjians Minds, from going after 'jewifb R.ites; which he calls Rudiments ofth• World,&c. Col.2.8.and which Come would have introduced into their Worfhip: and likewife, from vain and fruit· lefs Speculations, brought into their Faith and Dollrine, but grounded on Philo– JophJ', Can1<1l Reajo11, Traditions of Men, &c. verf 8. which having a jhew of Wifdom in them, did fo carry away their Minds, as, (ro ufe his own words in the 18th Ver(e) The; were well nigh JPoiled or robbed, (as were our fore-Fathers, by the like Subtilties ofthe School-men, and the ofl:entation of pompous R.ites and Ceremonies) of thefe rich and never to be exhaufl:ed T reafirres, of all Wifdom and Knowledg, which lay hid in Chrifl: (verf 3·) but unregarded by them, by reafon ofthe other. The. Apofl:le therefore, knowing that the fuper-eminent Excellencies of Chrifl: (if once difcovered) would withdraw their 'Y.oughts from gazing after fuch vain (though gawdy) Speculations ofScience, faJOy fo called, and how in him they were compleat, (as himfelffpeaks, Col. 2. 10.) and therefore needed not to go out ofhim, nor to be beholden to any other Knowledg for Direllion in matters of Faith, and Order : teeing that in him were hid all TreafuresofKnow– ledg and Wifdom. He therefore brings in this King of Glory among them, clothed in all his Royalties; That look, as when the King comes in State into the Pretence Chamber, though the Eyes of the By-fl:anders were before never fo in– teht in beholding the curious Pillures, and rich Hangings about the Room; yet when the King comes in, they all turn their Eyes on him, diverting them from other Objells: So likewife would it be with thefe Colojjians, when -they lhould once fee Chrifl: appear in his Glory, in which the Apofl:le purpofely fets him forth in thefe Verfes, (the like whereof he no where cloth in all his Epifl:les.) So then, you fee already this Scripture in the Scope ofit, to be pertinent to what we are about to demonfl:rate : It agrees with my Dellgn in this, That it fets forth Chrifl:'s Excellencies in all their Fulnefs. Let us next fee how it will corre– fpond with the Particulars. The Words (adding the 19thand 2oth Verfes to them) do methodically fet out thofe eminent particular Heads, which I have propofed. Firfl:, The perfonal Excellencies,(which as was (aid in that Draught) are oftwo forts. I. Native and Inherent in hisPerfon, coniidered as God-Man in thefeWords; [Tlat he h the Image ofthe invijble God.] Which, as he mentions firfl:, (o it is the Chief. The meaning is, That whereas the Attributes and Excellencies that are in the God-head, are incomprehenfible, or {to ufe the Apofile's Word) invi– Jib!e, by any Creature. That of all thofe i'erfections in the God-head, Chrifl: is thecompleat Image, in a tranfcendent way above what Angels and Men are; and (o, as they are in him, they are incommunicable unto any meer Creature ; He h the fm,zge of the inviji_ble God, to thar end to make them vifible tb us. So verf I 5· Who is the Image of the invijble God, the Firjl-bom of ever; Gre<Z– ture. 2. There
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=