360 THE ASIAN INVITED TO ORTHODOX FAITH. life of Christ. And the blood denotes the sealing his doctrine by his own death and martyrdom, and there is this reason why these witnesses belong to our Lordhimself, viz. because4t is said. verse 6. "He came not by water only, but by water and blood. And then it is the Spirit who beareth the third witness," that is, the glorious power of miraculous operations which attended our Saviour's preaching, Or, 2. They may be all considered as belonging to christianity, or exhibited among christians : And then the blood signifies the .blood or atonement of Christ: Exhibited, perhaps, in the Lord's - supper, which witnessed' to the truth of the gospel by its power to speak peace to the guilty conscience : The water represents the grace of regeneration, held forth, perhaps, in the baptismal water, which by changing sinners into saints witnesses to the truth of the gospel : And the Spirit most probably signifies the miraculous gifts of the Spirit and the apostles and primitive christians, which join to confirm the same gospel. I think it most proper to refer the term Spirit among the witnesses on earth to the miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghost, be- cause the term Spirit, considered as a distinct power in thedivine nature itself, is described as a witness in heaven. Thus I have endeavoured to explain the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, and to apply this explication to the most difficult texts of scripture. Upon the whole, I conclude, that since the scripture represents himunder the characters of true godhead, and under the character of a person distinct from the Father and the Son, sincealso it is exceeding hard to reconcile strict and proper deity with three strict and properpersonalities in the godheaditself, in a fair consistence with reason and scripture, it seems tobe most agreeable to the word of God, that we should explain the personality of the Spirit in a figurative sense, that we may better maintain his proper eternal deity, and his unity with the Father. This seems to be much more eligible than that we should_explain his personality in a strict literal sense, for this would lead us into one of these two dangers, viz. either to make three distinct con- sciousnesses, or intelligentminds, in theone trueand eternal God, or to sink the character of the holy Spirit into a creature, that we might save the proper personality. I ffrant, when we have been accustomed all our lives to a particular set of words and ideas, it is pretty hard to persuade ourselves to make any little change in our ideas Orwords, even though the greatest advantages might be attained by it toward the defence of the gospel, and though it might remove some of the chief embarrassments which attend any particular article of faith. I wish heartily for myself and my friends, greater free- dom of soul in the humble pursuit,sf truth. Yet I think I have
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