An Expojititm of the Epiflle' ~ fcent ol thofe' very fame relations which God beareth to Chrifl; and of the fanie Serm. 11. their coming down upon and unto us, namely of hts bewg our God and our ~ Fathn· ( which are the ground-work of the corivey2nce to us of all thofe particular Bldfings he doth after enumerate;) by and through Jejus (hnfl his T~~ p.C~Q'I efov.~A· O"mi·mv T~V KJe,ov· being ottr Lordor Husband. . And it is obfervable how the Apoflle carries on his difc'04rfe along. In the fecond verfe he had called God our Father, nnd Jtjtu Chriff barely the Lord; but then in this verfe he fl:yleth this God the Father of Chrifl, and then fubjoyns therewith, varying his fl:yle, this Jefus our Lord. Thereby to ll1ew the Genea– logy or defcent of our being Sons to God, and of Gods beingour Father, to lie in this, that Chrifl is our Lord, ana fo God becomes out Faiher by being his Father. And then in the next verfe he anfwerably proceeds io,lliew, how nil ei– ther ble.ffings do flow from this relation, firfr of God to Chrifl, then this of Chrifl to us; which in the fifth verfe he cloth more determinately difcover to be his meaning, in faying, He bath predeflitJated tu ty Jejiu Chrijl to the adoption if Chitdrm: fo that this mention of his being ottr Lordhere, is not meerly, as elfewhere, an Appellative, or as the ordinary fl:yle that is given to the Perfon of Chrifi, as that whereby he is defcribed, when he is fpoken of or mentioned, when there is any occafion to name him; (thus freguently his Difciples, We have[em the Lord, fay they all, ]oh.20.25. It u the Lord, fays he, when he · fpied him lirfl, Job, 21. 7· yea, and this appellation of [o11r Lord] is often ufed by the Apoflles, but barely to decipher his Perfon, as in that fpeech He6.7.t 4• It is evidmt our Lord]prang out of .Jutlah. Thefe in part are no more than as when men fpeak of the Perfon of their Prince, they fay, The Ki11g, and our Lord tht K111g, fo deiigning his Perfon,) But here in f•ying in this coherence and in faying, 1hr Father of our Lord .Jej>U Chriff, his intent is to draw th~ pedigr.ee.of our. relation to God, as our Father alfo, e.ven b~defcent from Chrifr; and thrs rs the highefi Improvement, as to us, of this Attnbtlte here [Cbrifl our Lord.] This for the general fcope of thefe words, Tomal<e good which general fcope, two things are now particularly to be expli~ated, r. What jpecial or peculiar relation there is of the Saints unto Chrifi, as to Their Lord. 2 . That the reloztionof Chri!t to us as a Lord,is the foundation of Gods be. ing our God and Father, as well as he is Chrifi's God and Father. For the firfl:, That our Je[M is the Lord, and that 011e Lord, in difiindion fromGod the Father; which title fully declareth his office of Mediatour, and is attributed to him by way of eminency above and from all othtr Lords: this I have elfewhere ihewn·upon I Cor.8.6. That which is more proper here is,That he is ottr Lordmore peculiarly, and how we have thefe two apart attributed to Chrifl, both that he is The Lo,.d, and Our Lord, as in a fpecial relation and ap· propriation in the 4th verfc of the Epifile of .'l11de; where fpeaking of the He– reGes of thofe times, he fays, that Thry dntied that only Lord God, a 11 d our Lord 7•Jus Chrifl. The guefiion here hath been made by fome, as alfo about thelilieparallel places, t.Pet.r.r, Tit,2.q. whether he here lhould fpeak of two Perfons difiind, viz. Godand Chrijl, fiyling the firfi, Thr Lord Cod, but Chrifl, in difiindion from him, Our Lord; or whether that the Apoflle ihould intend Chrifi only and alone as one and the .fame fubjeC!: of two R.oyal titles or Relations; the one more general, namely his being the o11ty Lord God, and then the other of his more fpecial rt!atio11 unto us, o11r Lord. lndeed as the Englilh rranflation carries it,it leans more to that lirfi interpretation,that he lhould fpeak of the Father in the one, whom he ihould fignalize, The o11ty L ord God ; the other of Chrifi. But the Greek evidently inclines much rather to the latter, that Chrifi alone fl10uld be intended as the Subjed of both thefe llyles. Confidering firfl, that though here be three Attributes, r, the oub Lord, 2.Cod, l· nnd our Lord; that yet there is but one Article or note of detignation affixed, or rather prefixed to all thefe at firfl, n, ~;,,, as meaning evidently but one Perfon pointed at in them all, as the Subject of them; which the Complu– tenfi.r Copy of the Greek renders more plain, That o11ly Cod a11d Lord , the L ord Jejtts (/mjl. Which
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