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beyond the general Faith of the Apostles themselves, and carried above the Difpenfation of that Day..

4. The Difciples may feem to own his Omnifcience John 16.30. Now we are fure that thou knoweft all things, &c. but probably at that time they understood this all things in a limited Senfe (as 2 Sam. 14. 20. where the Woman faid the fame thing to David; fo 1 John 2. 20. Te bave an Unction and know all things, and . 27.) For the utmost Inference the Difciples make from it was, that Jefus came forth from God. . 30. not that he was God himfelf. It may be another Reafon alfo to think the Difciples understood this Word all things in a limited Senfe, because Chrift himself had told them but a very little before this Time, that he himfelf did not know the Day of Judgment: Matt. 24. 36. and Mark 13.32.

Tho I think it reasonable for us to go farther than they did, and to apply feveral of the things I have mentioned to his Godhead (viz.) his knowing Their thoughts, his forgiveness of Sins, &c. because we have a full Account of thefe and many other Tranfactions of Chrift, and we know fo much of his Divinity and Glory from other parts of the Bible; yet whether the Difciples in that Day did infer his Divinity from any of thefe foregoing Occurrenccs, and applied them to him as to the true God, may bear a juft Doubt and Enquiry.

5. They believed that he was the Meffiah; and the Meffiah is spoken of in several Places of the Old Teftament under the Character and Titles of the true God. But as we cannot find that the learned Doctors of that Age did generally understand those Prophecies, or believe the true Deity of the Meffiah, so neither do we find any Hint in the Hiftory of the Gospel that the Apostles themselves before the Death of Chrift understood thefe Prophecies, so far as to apply them to the Meffiah in that Sense; but only thought him to be the greatest of Prophets, and to be the appointed King of Ifrael and their Saviour.

6. They believed and confeffed him to be the Son of God: but this Title does not neceffarily amount to any more than a glorious Likeness to God, a nearer and more peculiar Relation to God, a fpecial Office of MeffiahShip, and a more eminent Derivation of his human Nature from God than any other Creatures, either Angels or Men, who are called the Sons of God, could ever pretend : This I think is made pretty evident in another Differtation.

Thus I have mentioned the fairest and ftrongest Evidences that I can find of any Degree of Faith or Belief that the Disciples had of the Deity of Chrift during his Life, and 'tis poflible they might fometimes have a Glimpse of that glorious Doctrine.

SECT.

SECT. V.

THE laft thing I propofed, was to fhew, What Indications the Difciples gave during the Life-time of Chrift of their Dif belief of his Godhead, or at least of the Uncertainty of their Faith in that Matter.

1. If they had a firm and fteady Belief that he was the true God, furely we should have found them upon fome occafion or another evidently expreffing their Faith in this matter, both for their own and their Mafter's Intereft and Honour; fince we never find that he forbid them to publish this to the World, tho' he did forbid them to publish fome of his Miracles, his Transfiguration, his own Prophecies of his Death, Refurrection and Afcenfion, &c.

And if they had not thought proper to publish to the World, that their Mafter was the true God, yet we have much Reason to suppose that, if they had believed it, they would upon fome Occafion or other before his Death, have addreft him as Thomas did after his Resurrection, My Lord and my God.

We cannot but fuppofe alfo, that amongst their many Doubts and Queries, they would have asked him this obvious and important one, How could he be God, and his Father be God alfo, and yet not two Gods? But we find nothing of this kind, tho' they put many

a

a Question to him both of less Difficulty and lefs Importance.

Nor do we find that they talked of him to the World under any Character of Godhead ; but on the contrary, we always find them speaking of him as a Man, and that not only in his Life-time, but juft after his Death too, as a great Prophet that was rifen up amongst them, Luke 24. 19. Jefus of Nazareth a Prophet mighty in Word and Deed before God` and all the People.

2. If they had believed him to be the true God that made the Heavens, and the Earth, the Winds and the Seas, they would never have expreft fo much Surprize and Wonder at his rebuking the Wind and bidding the Sea be calm. Luke 8. 24, 25. They being afraid, wondered, faying one to another, What manner of Man is this? for he commandeth even the Winds and Water, and they obey him. I confefs the word Man is not in the Original; but ftill their Wonder at the Obedience that was paid him by the Elements seems an Argument that they did not believe him to be the Almighty God that made them.

Now this is not the first time they were thus aftonish'd and furpriz'd; for when Simon Peter, a good while before this let down his Net, at the Command of Chrift, and inclofed a great Multitude of Fishes, he was aftonished and all that were with him, Luke 5. 9. And if any of them may seem to have a Glimpse of his Divinity

Divinity on this Occafion, yet they had forgot or loft it again, when in chap. 8. they were as much furprized at his rebuking the Winds and the Waves.

You have another Inftance of this kind, Matth. 21. 19, 20. And when the Difciples faw that the Fig-tree which our Lord curfed, prefently withered, they marvelled, faying, How foon is the Fig-tree withered away! And this was not long before his Death ncither, when we may fuppofe their Knowledge was most advanced; whereas the Disciples would never have marvelled that he could deftroy a Fig-tree by a Word, if they had believed him to be that God who made all things by his Word.

3. If they had believed Chrift to be the great and glorious God, they would not have treated him with fuch an indecent Roughnefs, as they did upon fome particular Occafions; as Matth. 15. 33. when Chrift faid, he would not fend away the People fafting, left they faint in the way, the Difciples made him a very rude Reply (to fay no worse of it) when they answered, Whence should we have fo much Bread in the Wilderness to fill fo great a Multitude?

Another Inftance of this kind appears in their free and unbecoming Addrefs to Jefus, Matth. 15. 12. Then came his Difciples and faid to him, Knoweft thou that the Pharifees were offended after they heard this

Saying?

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