Fools and flow of Heart to believe all that the Prophets have spoken, Luke 24. 25.

Anfw. 2. Some of the Speeches which Chrift made concerning himself do certainly reprefent him in too fublime a Character for any mere Creature; which I have mention'd before and by fome Circumstances of his Conduct, they might have found out his Godhead, efpecially if they had compared them with his Character as Meffiah. But they labour'd under the Power of many Prejudices, and as our Lord often, charges them, that they were dull of Apprehenfion, hard to be inftructed, and flow to believe.

Anfw. 3. Tho' there might be a bare external Sufficiency in the Notices that Chrift gave of his own Godhead for their Conviction, yet these were made more abundantly clear and evident to them, when according to the Promife of Chrift, his Spirit brought to Remembrance, and explained the things that he had before faid to them: then he took of the things of Chrift, and revealed them to his Apoftles as he promised, John 14. 26. and

16. 14.

I might add also, that all thefe Notices and Evidences of the Divinity of Chrift, stand in a much fairer Light before us who have the whole Hiftory of the Life, Death, and Refurreation of Chrift; and the Writings and Sermons of the Apoftles, to compare with the Writings of the Prophets; which it was not

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paffible

poffible the Disciples fhould do in fo compleat a manner, and to fo great Satisfaction during the Life of Chrift, had they been never fo fagacious, and never fo well prepared.

Queft. III. How could the Difciples truft in him as their Saviour, and commit their Souls to him for Salvation in his Life-time, if they had not a firm Faith in his Godhead?

Anfw. The way whereby the Fathers before Chrift were faved, was not fo much by a direct Act of Faith on the Perfon of the Meffiah, who was to come, as by the direct and immediate Exercife of Faith or Truft on the Mercy of God, as it was to be revealed in and thro' the Meffiah in due time. Now the Difpenfation of thofe three or four Years which paft during the Life of Chrift, was a sort of Medium between the Law and Gofpel: and the Acts and Exercises of the Apoftles Faith or Truft and Dependance, like that of the Patriarchs, might be more directly placed on the Mercy of God himself for Salvation, as it had begun to manifeft itself in and by Jefus the Meffiah, now come into the World. So St. Peter expreffes it, 1 Pet. 1. 21. You who by him do believe in God.

Tho' they were frequently called to believe in Chrift, yet you find they were fo unskilled in a direct Act of divine Faith on him, that our Lord was fain to repeat the Command with great Solemnity but juft before his Death. John 14. 1. Te believe in God, believe alfa

H 4

in me: as if he fhould have faid, "Ye have

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a long time trufted and profeft your Faith "in God, and his Mercy, make me now allo "the direct Object of your Faith or Truft, as ye have made God the Father."

Anf. 2. Under the great Darkness and Confufion of their Notions in that Season of Twilight, they fometimes paid too little Honour to Chrift, because they had too low an Eftcem of him; and fometimes the Honour they paid him thro' the Influence of Rapture and Surprize (tho' not too high in itself) yet it might be above and beyond the clear Difcernment of their Understandings and their own fettled Judgment concerning him. Thus they might now and then exert fome faint Acts of divine Faith on him, while in the main they were doubtful of his Godhead. But a gracious God makes great Allowances for fuch Weakneffes in Faith and Practice, where the divine Difcoveries which he makes to Men, have but imperfect Degrees of Light and Evidence.

Queft. IV. Does it not follow then, If the Difciples were in a State of Grace, and yet doubted of the Deity of Chrift; furely the Deity of Chrift was not a fundamental Article in that Day?

Anfw. 1. Fundamentals are different in different Seafons and Times, Nations and Ages; for as God makes more or lefs Difcoveries of divine Truth to Men, fo more or lefs is neceffary to be believed in order to Salvation. Surely

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Surely it was not a fundamental Article for Peter to know, and believe the Sufferings and Death of Chrift as a Sacrifice for Sin, and his Refurrection from the Dead, at that time when he rebuked our Saviour himself, because he spake of his dying, Matth. 16. 22. And when none of the Apoftles knew what rifing from the Dead fhould mean, as Mark 9. 10. yet the Belief of the Death and Refurrection of Chrift was certainly a fundamental Article, and neceffary to Salvation in a little time afterward; and is become neceffary to Chriftianity itself, I Cor. 15. 14, 17. If Chrift be not rifen, then is our Preaching vain, and your Faith is also vain, ye are yet in your Sins.'

The Doctrine of the Divinity of Chrift therefore may not be supposed to be a fundamental Article in the time of Christ's Life, because we have Reason to believe the Apoftles were in a State of Grace and Salvation, before there is any fufficient Evidence of their Faith therein: But it will not follow thence, that the fame Doctrine either is or is not a Fundamental, after it has been more fully and clearly revealed by the compleat Writings of the New Teftament: And indeed a Truth ought to be revealed very plainly and with convincing Evidence, before it can be ever called a Fundamental.

It has been the conftant Method of Divine Wisdom in all Ages, to communicate to Mart

the

the glorious Discoveries of the Grace of God by flow and gentle Degrees, and not to overwhelm our Faculties at once with a Flood of divine Light. He knows the Weakness of our Frame, he knows how dark are our Understandings, how feeble our Judgments, how many and great our natural Prejudices, and how hard it is to furmount them; and he demands our Belief in Measures anfwerable to his Difcoveries. It is according to the growing Evidence of any divine Revelation, and the gradual Advantages that any Man has to know and understand that Revelation, that God juftly expects the growing Exercifes of our Faith..

Thus that Faith which is neceffary to Salvation, confifts of more or fewer Articles, according to the different Ages of the Church, and different Degrees of Revelation and divine Light.

Thus tho' our Lord Jefus Chrift was true God when he came first to be manifeft in the Flesh, yet the compleat Glory of his Perfon and the Beams of his Godhead did not difcover themselves in a triumphant and convincing Light during the Days of his Humiliation : and tho' it was neceffary then, to all those who had clear Knowledge of his Doctrine and Miracles, to believe that he was the Meffiah (Except ye believe that I am he, ye shall die in your Sins, John 8. 24.) yet it doth not feem at that time to have been made necessary to believe his Deity, fince the Discoveries of it

were