First, because, as I have already proved, an individual essence cannot be communicated; and also because a particular essence, subsisting by itself, in intelligent beings, as the essence of the Father is, is the same as a person; and therefore cannot be communicated without the communication of the person. And yet, it is on all hands granted, that the person of the Father, as a selfexisting being, was not, and cannot be communicated to the Son.

Secondly, internal production, that is, production in the essence of the Father, is indeed no production at all. For, since this internal production is said to give to the Son no distinct existence of its own, it is manifest it is a production of nothing, that is, no production at all; for that which hath no existence of its own, is not produced. Nor,

Thirdly, can the Son's essence be produced by necessary emanation. Because such emanation, and the essence from which it emanateth, would both be as equally self-existent, as it is equally necessary for God to be an intelligent being, and to be at all. For whatever necessarily and essentially belongs to that which is self-existent, is itself self-existent, as being indeed only the very same thing apprehended under a partial consideration. And, again, it is the general doctrine of the Antenicene Fathers, that the Son was produced by the will of the Father. This is expressly taught by

Ignatius, Justin Martyr, Hippolytus, and Novatian. And, saith Eusebius, it is that doctrine, which σφώτατοι τῶν Πατέρων ἐν τοῖς οικείοις συντάγμασιν ἀπεφήναντο, the wisest of the Fathers declared in their genuine works.* And the same Father puts this difference between the emanation of light from the sun, and the generation of the Son of God; that the first results necessarily from the nature of the sun, it being of necessity that all luminous bodies should send forth rays of light; but that the Son was the image of the Father, κατὰ γνώμην καὶ προαίρεσιν αὐτοῦ, according to his counsel and choice.†

A necessary emanation from the Father by the will and power of the Father, is an express contradiction; because necessity, in its very notion, excludes all operation of will and power, though it may be consistent with approbation. See all this fully proved, in the Agreement of the Fathers, Sect. 4. and in my answer to Dr Waterland, part 2, p. 19-22.

It is observable that, in Irenæus's time, the way of expressing the proceeding of the Son from the Father, seems not to have been determined by any decision of the church, but only by the Valentinian heretics, as seemeth plain from the words of Irenæus. "The Valentinians," saith he, "are irration

Eccles. Theol. L. 1.
p. 20.

+ Demon. Evang. L. 4. c. 3. p. 147, 148.

abiliter inflati, unreasonably puffed up, by pretending to know the unspeakable mysteries of the generation of Christ; and if any man asks," saith he, Quo modo Filius a Patre prolatus est? Nemo novit, dicemus ei, nisi solus qui generavit Pater, et qui natus est Filius.* "How the Son proceeds from the Father; whether by prolation, or generation, or by declaration, or by whatsoever name it be called? We answer, No one knows but the Father who begat, and the Son who was begotten of him."

SECTION III.

In what Sense Christ may be called God.

HENCE it follows, that Christ must be truly God, because he hath dominion over all flesh, and all power in Heaven, and in earth, imparted to him. For this dominion is the ground of divine worship and authority; according to that aphorism, Deus est qui dominium habet, summus summum, verus verum, falsus falsum, "He is God who has dominion; he is the supreme God, who has the highest and underived dominion ; a true God, who has true dominion over all things; a false God, who falsely pretends to that dominion which he has no right to

*L. 2. c. 48. p. 176. Ed. Grab.

exercise." And to this we may refer those words, ὁ δὲ κατασκευάσας τὰ πάντα ὁ Θεὸς, He that governs all things is God. Heb. iii. 3, 4. See the note there.*

Our blessed Lord, therefore, having a true dominion over all things in heaven and earth, must be truly God. And that this dominion is given and committed to him by the Father, doth not render him less truly God; because the word, God, being a relative term, it is not the metaphysical nature, but the exercise of dominion, that constitutes him a God to us. And this dominion he ascribeth to himself in these words, "The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son;" and hence infers, that "all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father that sent him ;" and adds, "he that honoureth not the Son, honoureth not the Father that sent him." Accordingly, Origen saith, the heathens can shew no command for worshipping Antinous, or any of their other Gods; whereas the christians have an express command, from the most high God, to worship Christ, namely, those words, that "all men should honour the Son," &c. And, again, the maker of the world commended Jesus Christ to the breasts of all christians, to be honoured with divine honour, not for his unity

* Whitby's Paraphrase, Heb. iii. 4.

† Αποδείξομεν ὅτι ἀπὸ Θεοῦ δέδοται αυτῷ τὸ τιμᾶσθαι. Contra Cel sum, L. 8. p. 384.

of essence with him, but for the efficacy of his wonderful doctrine. Novatian saith, "That God the Father is justly styled the God over all, and the original, even of the Son himself, whom he begat, Lord of all; and also, that the Son is the God of all other things subject to him."* Accordingly St Paul teacheth us, "that God hath highly exalted him, and given him a name above every name; that, at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of things in Heaven, things in earth, and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Phil. ii. 9, 10, 11. And, accordingly, Irenæus saith in the forecited passages, that Christ is verè Deus et Dominus, "truly God and Lord," though he owned he received his dominion over all creatures from the Father.†

Hence it is evident, that Jesus Christ must have received, as the foundation of this dominion, all power necessary to the exercise thereof, since it is unreasonable to conceive, that an all-wise God should have given that power to him, which he had not enabled him to execute; and, therefore, that his providence must reach to the government and direction of all creatures, "all things being made subject unto him ;" and that he must have the largest power, "for he hath put all things under his feet."