178 Tilt CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY. "he shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear that shall he speak ;" John xvi. 13. " That he shall receive the thingsof the Son, and spew them unto men ;" verses 14, 15. That the "Holy Ghost was given to some men, by the laying on of the hands of other men ;" : Acts viii. 17, 18. " That the Spirit is poured out upon men ;" Acts ii. 17, 18. That men are "bap- tized with the Holy Ghost ;" Mat. Hi: 11. " That he maketh in- tercession for the saints, with groanings that cannot be uttered ;" Rom. viii. 28, 27. Now if there be to inferior nature, which belongs to the Spirit of God, to which these things mayproperly be ascribed, then they must be imputed to the Spirit of God, considered in the inferior character, or office of a deputy, or vicegerent, a messenger, or advocate*, both of the Father, and of the Son And in this sense, he who considered as true God, is one with the Fattier, andhash absolute sovereignty ; yet considered in the gospel, as a prime minister of the Father's and Son's kingdom, is pleased to represent himself asbeing sent by the Father and the-Son, as their chief agent, to fulfil' many kind offices for us, and us, in the economy of salvation. H I could make this proposition clearer, and give my reader an easier conception of it by any human illustrations, I would attempt it in this manner, and try to represent this divine, mystery of three persons, with three distinct characters, yet but one God. Suppose a king should send an ambassador extraordivary to a foreign country, and at his removal should appoint a resident to stay behind him in that country; and suppose the soul of the' king himself could be so united also to the body, or person; both of the ambassador and the resident, as to animate, actuate and move them, and become, as it were, one person with each of them : Then the soul of the king himself might be said to sus- tain both his own character as king, and the inferior character both ofthe ambassador and the resident, andfulfil all those offices under a distinct sort of personality. Thus we may apprehend, bow God the Father, the King of heaven, sent down his Son, a distinct person, in whom the same godhead dwells, as an ambassador extraordinary to earth; and the Holy Spirit a distinct person also, who bath the saine god- head, was left here as a resident. And thus this eternal God, being the same in the Father, Son and Spirit, sustains the su- * The word as nerd( , " paracletos ¡' which we translate the "Comforter," in the xiv. xv. and xvi. chapters of St. John, may be as properly rendered, the advocate;" for that Greek word signifies both. Now to be in advocate is the proper office of the Holy Spirit, that is, to speak for God the Father, and for Christ in the world, since Christ is gone to heaven and it is the very same word 'which we translate " advocate ;" I John ii. 2. When it is applied to Christ as speaking for us in heaven.
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