i SERMON XLIV. THEDOCTRINE OFTHE TRINITYANDTHEUSE OFIT EPII. ii, 18. Through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. THERE is hardly another text in the bible, of so short an extent, that contains in it so much of the substance and glory ofour holy religion. Here we have, I. The doctrine of the blessed Trinity plainly repre- sented. The Father and the. Holy Spirit are expressly named, and the little word, " him," most evidently re- fers to Christ the Son of God, who' is mentioned before, 'ver. 13. H. We read'also in this verse, the. important use of this great doctrine : We must have access to God the Father, through the mediation of his Son, by the aids of the Holy Spirit : And, III. There is the union of all nations, and the har- mony of all the true worshippers of God, held forth in the words, " We both have access." This is the com- mon and universal method of approach to God, for it is provided for the whole world, which is heredistinguished into Jews and gentiles. " We both have access to the Father by one Spirit, through one Lord Jesus." These three shall be the chief divisions of my dis- cOurse, and I shall consider each of them distinctly. First, The doctrine of the blessed Trinity is here re- presented to us, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spi- rit : And in order to set this article of our faith in the most plain and easy light, for the use of common chris- tians, I would draw it out, as far as scripture evidently leads the way, into several propositions. But bere let it be observed, , that I am not going to present you with any of those particular schemes of ex- plication,of this doctrine, which have divided the Trinita- rian writers, but nakedly to represent it according to its most obvious appearances in scripture, and yet in such a manner as almost all our divines have received; and
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