412 QUGSTIONS CONCEItNING Jeses. the Father contrives and appoints, the Son executes and per- forms as commissioned by the Father, or the Son performs them by the Father's influence. Then it proceeds, ver. 20. The Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doth, and he will skew hire greater works than these, that yemay marvel. Hence it follows that the Father had not then shewn to the Son these greater works, or given him commissionand power for the performance of them. But this can never be said concerning the divine na- ture of Christ, which can receive and learn nothing new. And though there are,some expressions in that paragraph ofscripture down to the 30th ver. which seem superior to the character of any mere creature, and which would have been hardly applied to Christ the man, if not united to godhead; yet Christ considered as the Son of God throughout that paragraph, is represented as dependent on the Father for all, and receiving all from the Fa- ther, which is hardly consistent with the idea of supreme god- head, if that were included in sonship. Wheresoever Christ calls Godhis Father, he himself stands under the special character of a'Son. Now John v. 30. when he says, I can of.myself do nothing, I seek not my own will, but the will of the Father whichhath sent me. And John vi. 38, I came down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me ; that is, the Father, as ver. 39. This does not sound like the language of godhead, which is supreme and independent, and can (lo all things of itself, and by its own will. John xiv, 28. My Father is greater than I. It is hardly to be supposed that Christ here intends to speak of his divine nature. The expresssion itself, as well as the context, would lead one to think that Christ considered as a Son is not here spoken of as the true and eternal God, who is the greatest of beings, and can acknowledge no greater than himself. John xiv. 31. As the Father gaveme commandment, even so I do. This does not seem to be the language of supreme godhead, which receives no commandments from another. John xvii. 5. Father, glorify me with thyself; with the glory which I had with Mee before the world was. Surely Christ as God does not offer up prayers to the Father, and much lesi could he pray for the resto- ration of a glory which his divine nature once had, of which he seems divested at present. All this is hardly consistent with supreme deity belonging to his sonship, that is, either to be di- vested of glory, or to pray for the restoration of it. Johnxx. 17. Christ says, I ascend to my Father andyour Father, to my Godand your God. So 2 Cor. xi. 31. and 1 Pet. i. 3. the Father is called the Godand Father nf our Lord Jesus Christ. Now the Father cannot properly be the God of the deity of Christ, that is, his Creator, his absolute governor, and
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