432 QUESTIONS CONCERNING JESUS. pressly declare that he was the true and eternal God ; for bis divine prudence did not think it proper toexpress his godhead in such direct and glorious language at that season ;44 yet by all these methods of speech, and by this divine conduct of hie, which I have described in the three last particulars, he seems to have given abundant intimations that his a human nature had a pecu- liar union to, and communion with godhead : But since the New Testament is 'complete, we can understand those hints better than his disciples could in that day. And though he did not use these words, that Jesus the Son of, man is personally united to the divine nature, yet he said so much as in our apprehension now amounts to this sense, when he said, f° I and. my Father 'ire one ;" John x. 30. " I am in the Father, a-id the Father in me. The Father who is in me doth the works. He that hath seen 'me, hathseen the Father, &c." John xiv. 9-11, that is, he hath 'seen the glory and power, and grace of the Father, 'whose divine natureor godhead is ateo in the Son, and dwells in me bodily. And though we can never tell exactly what makes the personal union between the divine and human natures in 'Christ; yet perhaps thismay be a just evidence of a personal 'Helical with the godhead, viz. when the actions and characters 'and t ufferings whichChrist performed and sustained, might be properly said tobe performed and sustained immediately by God himself. But I much question whether his disciples in that day did' certainly infer so much from these words. SECT. III.What Idea the Discipleshadof Christ. III I come now to consider " what apprehensions or no- tions the disciples did receive concerning our Lord Jesus Christ in his own life-time." It is not enough for me here to repeat the foregoing heads, and shew what Christ told them ; for we cannot say the disciples `understood and effectually learned all that our Lord Jesus Christ taught them. It is evident in many other placesof the history * If is no wonder that our Saviour did not freely and publicly declare his own godhead in plain and express language, when he did not chuse to declare himself the Messiah in such an evident manner of speech, but very seldom, and that privately too; though the doctrine of his Messiahship was then of no much more importance. But there are many special reasons alsowhich might be given, whyour Lord Jesus didnot proclaim his own godhead during the time of his ministry onearth: I shall mention but one that is evident and sufficient, via. that he meat havedone iteitber with plain;and convincing proofs of it, or without them. If he had only asserted it plainly, without convincing proof, he had hastened the malice of the Jews to put him to death for blasphemy, before he had fulfilled all his designed .ministry upon'earth. On the other band, if he had given most convincingproofs ,gf,st while he asserted it, the Jews and Gentiles bad been restrained from putting bim to death at all; for St. Paul tells us expressly, I.Cor. it. S. ' Had the princes of this world known it, they. would not have crucified the Lord of glory."
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=