or 115 THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF TEE TRINITY. determined, the particular way and manner, how these three persons are one God, or how this one godhead is in three persons: XV.' Thence I infer, that it can never be necessary to sal- vation to know the precisé way and manner, how one godhead subsists in these three personal agents, or, hów these threepersons areone God. XVI. Yet we ought to believe the general Doctrine of the Trinity, viz. That these three personal agents, Father, Son and Spirit, have some real communion in one godhead, though we cannot :find out the precise way and manner of ex- plaining it. XVII. And wheresoever we meet with any thing in scrip- ture that is incommunicably divine, ascribed to either of these three persons, we may venture to take it in the plain and obvious sense of the words, since we believe the true and eternal godhead to belong to them all. XVIII. Where any thing inferior to the dignity of god- head is really and properly attributed in scripture to the person of the Son, or the holy Spirit, it may be easily imputed to some inferior nature united to the godhead in that person, or to some inferior character or office sustained by that person. XIX. Nor do these inferior nature or natures, characters or agencies, at all hinder our firm belief of the godhead of these three persons, which is so plainly expressed in scripture ; nor-should it abate or diminish our sacred -regards to them. XX. We are bound, therefore, to pay divine honours to each of the sacred three, viz. the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, according to their distinct characters and offices assigned them in scripture. XXI. In so doing, we shall effectually secure our own sal- vation : For the scripture has made our salvation to depend on those offices which these divine persons sustain, and the honours due to them according -to those offices, rather than upon any deep philosophical notions of their essence and personalities, any nice and exact acquaintance with their mysterious union and dis- tinction. XXII. The man, therefore, who professes each of the sa cred Three, to have sufficient divine power and capacity to sustain the characters, and fulfil the offices attributed to them in scripture, and pays due honour to them according to those offices, may justly be owned by me, and received as a chris- tian brother; though we may differ much in our notions and opinions about the explication cf the blessed Trinity, or though we may both be ignorant or doubtful of the true way of ex- plaining it. Now if these propositions are found agreeable to the mind and will of God in his word, then may his blessed Spirit furnish
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