248 THE ARTAN -INVITED TO ORTHODOX FAITH. monial or typical ; nor can any such reason be given why that, should ever suffer a repeal. I add further, That the apostle not only gives a reason for it, but I think he declares in. very plain, language, that their laws of ceremonies are repealed in theepis- tles to the Galatians and Colossians, as well as the Hebrews ; at least so far as not to be necessary : And I am well assured, that if thefirst command were to have suffered such a repeal, and to have admitted another god, there would have been as much, or more need of plain and express declarations of it by inspired men, because there seems to be so much more of natural' reason for the continuance of this command, than there is, or can be, for any part of the ceremonial law. It will be further enquired, as Then how came any of the Jews ever to be persuaded to receive christianity, and to worship Christ whom they knew to be a man, if they had such an utter aversion to every shadow of idolatry, and the worship of any thing beside the GodofAbraham,their own true and onlyGod ?" The answer is obvious here, for the apostles did not in their very first preaching require of them the religious worshipof Christ, but bydegrees led them into it. Theyfirst preached up the peculiar and extraordinary presence of God with the man Jesus, whereby he wrought miracles, as is evident ; Acts ii. 22. and Acts x. 38. God was with him. Then they taught by de- grees, that the fulness of the godhead dwelt in him bodily ; as Col. ii. 9, That the union betwixt the .true God and the man Jesus was so great, as that the actions and sufferings of.Christ were attributed to God, that God redeemed the church with his own blood ; Acts xx. 28. Thàt Christ was so far one with the true God, as thatupon this account he is called God manifest in the flesh, God over all blessed. for ever ;. 1 Tim. iii. 16. and Rom. ix. 5. Thus the Jews themselves might be led to the worship of Jesus Christ by the discovery of the same godhead dwelling in him, and united to him, whom they and their fathers were taught to worship by the law of Moses. . Jesus Christ is the same God, or Jehovah, but now dwelling in flesh ; and this they might prove out of many of their on prophets. VI. As the doctrine of worshipping another, an inferior god, would have been a just stumbling-block to the Jews against receiving christianity, so it might havebeen fairly objected bythe 'gentiles against the.preaching of the apostles, when in their minis- try they demolished the heathen gods and heroes. The blessed apostles made it their business, every where to inculcate the doc- trine ,of the one trueClod, to call the heathens away fret the worship of all their inferior deities, the soulsof all their departed heroes; and all such as are not God by nature; Acts xiv. 15. and xvii. 24. Úaí. iv. 3. that they,, might no longer serve tkose why bl' nature are no gods. i pty, bow could they expect
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