V E R. d. Epifl'le to the 14 E B S Ew s. withhim ; for ifhehad,certainly the Lord Chrift could not be ,ueroytrns, his only be. gotten Son. 2. The only way ofFiliation, the only kind ofSonfbip, that Believers (hare in, is that of Adoption ; in any other kind offníbip they are not partakers. Now if Chriti be theSon ofGod in this kind, he mull of neceflity antecedently unto his Adoption be a Member of another Family, that is, of the Family of S,than and the World, aswe are byNature, and from thence be tranfplanted by Adoption into the Family ofGod ; which is Blafphemy to imagine. So that neither can Believers be the fous of God with that kind of fnjhip which is proper to Chrift, he being the only begotten of the Father; nor can theLord Chrift be the Sonof God with the fame kind of SonJhip as Believersare, which is only by Adoption, and their tranflation out done Family into another. So that either to exalt Believers into the Jame kind of Son/hip with Chrift, or todeprefs him into the fame rank with them, is wholly incon- liiftent with the Analogy ofFaith, and Principles òfthe Gofpel. ;. Ifthis were fo, that the Lord Chriftand Believers were the Sons ofGod by-the fame kind ofSonfhip, only differing in degrees, (which alfo are imaginary, for the formal Reafon of the fame kind of Sonfhip is not capable ofvariation by degrees) what great 'matter is in the condcfcenfionmentioned by the Apoltle, chap. 2. that -be is natafhamed to call them brethAn'; whichyet he compares with thecondefcenfion ofGod, in being called, their God, chap. n. a6. 2. This conceit, as it is 'Untrue, fo it is contrary to thedefignof the Apoftle. For to affert the Me)Tzlt to be the SonofGod in the fame way with men, doth not tend at all toprove himmore excellent than theAngels, but rather leaves, us jutl ground offu= fpecing their preference above him. 3. It is 'contrary unto other declared Principles of the Authors of this Affertion. They elfe.whereaffirm, that the Lorddrift was the Son ofGod on many accounts, as heft and principally, becaufe he was connived and -born ofa Virgin by the power of God; now furely all Believers are not partakers with him in thin kind ofSonihip. Again, they fay; he isthe Son ofGod becaufe God railed him from the dead, toconfirm the Doctrine thathe had taught; -which is not fo with Believers. 'Alfo they fayhe is the Son ofGod, and fo called, upon the account of his fitting at the Right Hand of God, which is no lefs his peculiar priviledge thanthe former. So that this is but an unhappy attempt to lay hold ofa word for an advantage, which yields nothing inthe ilfuebut trouble and perplexity. -Nor can the Lord Chrift ( which is affirmed in the lafl place) be called the Sonof God,' and the firil-born; becaufein him was that Holinefs whicb is required in the nereCovenant; for both allBelievers under the Old Tettament had that Holinefs and likenefs untoGod in their degrees, and that Holines confifìsprincipally in'Regenera- tion, or beingborn again by theWord and Spirit out ofa corrupted eftate of death and fin, which the Lord Chrift was not capable of. 'Yea, the truth is, theHolinefs and Image ofGod in Chrift was in the kind of it that which was required under the firJf Covenant ; an' Holinefs of perfect Innocency and perfetb Rightéoufnefs in Obedience. So that this1áft invention hath no better fuccefs than the former. It appeareththen, that the Lord Quilt is not called thefirJf-begotten, or thefirjf-born, with any fuch refpeEf unto others, as fhould include him and them inthe famekind ofF)iliation. To give therefore a dire&t account-of this Appellation ofChrift, we may obferve, that indeed the Lord Chrift is never 'abfolutely called the firJi-begotten; or firjf-born, with refpebt either tohis EternalGeneration, ór to the Conception and Nativity of his Humane Nature. In refpeft ofthe former he is called the Son, and the only begotten Son ofGod; but nowhere thefirJf-bosn, or firJf-begotten : and in refpeel of the latter, indeed he is called the firft-begotten Son ofdoe Virgin, becaufe fhe had none before him, but not abfolutely the firfl-born, or firft-begotten; which Title ishereAnd elfe-where afcribed unto him in the Scripture. It is not therefore- the thing it felf, of beingthe firlt-born, but theDignity and Priviledge that attended it, which.are defigned in this Appellation. So Col. T. t5. heis Paid to be:opmrtroxar orsíons'tríoetas, the firJt-born of the creation; which is nomore, but he that hath Power and Authority over all the crea- tures ofGod. Theword which the Apofileintends to exprefs is1121, which oft-times is ufed itt(F the fenfe now pleaded for, namely to.denote not the birth in the firft place, but the priviledge that belonged thereunto. So Pfal.89.27. God is faid to make David his 1177; Hisfirft4oru; which is expounded in the next words, higher than the Kings of H h h a the 9;
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