T he Divine Attributes of Christ Show ing T h a t the Offices H e Fills A re Those of G od . A d o ra tio n D em an d ed
BY EDWARD BICKERSTETH ( 1871)
HAT the personality of the F a th e r and the Son is dis tinct, and th a t 'th ey are neither to he identified nor
I am He th a t liveth and was dead, and behold I am alive for evermore.” Is th e F a th e r Omnipresent? Jesus says, “Where two or th ree are gathered together in my name th e re am I in the m idst of them .” “There I am ,” not “ th ere I will be,” referring to H is Di vine presence at all times. “Two or th ree of His people” (says S c o tt) '“may bo thu s met together in ten thousand places a'll over th e earth a t the same time, this must therefore be allowed to be a direct assertion of His omnipresent Deity. Again, ‘Lo, I am w ith you alway, even unto the end of the w orld.’ Is not this a positive declaration th a t He is w ith tho apostles and succeeding m inisters .always unto the end of the world? But who can be so in all the separate and d istinct regions in which they preached and do preach, except th a t Divine Being who filleth all things, th a t Divine Essence which occupies all space, th a t God who is a S p irit?” Is th e F a th e r Imm utable? “ Jesus Christ is th e same yesterday, today, and forever,” and “Unto th e Son He saith, . . .Thou, Lord, . . . a rt the same, and thy years shall not fail.” Is th e F a th e r A lm ighty? Creation demands omnipotence— “All things were made by him .” The sustentation of all things dem ands omnipotence— “By him all things consist.” Universal government demands omnipotence— “All au tho rity in heaven and earth is given unto him .” Coextensive opera tion w ith God the F ath e r in a bound less empire demands omnipotence, and Jesus Christ, when explaining His words, “My F ath e r worketh h ith erto and I work,” declares, “W hat things
confounded, is so self-evident a tru th , and is so seldom denied, th a t two or th ree Scripture proofs will abundantly ‘suffice. At His baptism and transfig uration th e voice of the F ath e r was heard saying of Him, “This is my be loved Son in whom I am well pleased.” Jesus addresses His F ath e r in prayer. Jesus says, “ It is w ritten in your law. the testimony of two men is true. I am one th a t bears w itness of myself, and the F a th e r th a t sent me beareth w itness of m o :” and fu rth er, th a t which is incontrovertible evidence (for tho will is the essence of personality), “I came down from heaven not to do mine own will, but the will of him th a t sent me.” But the tenets of Noetus and Sabellius, who denied th is tru th , are so rarely affirmed by Unitarians, that- w ith th is brief notice I may at once proceed to bring scrip tu ral testimony of all Divine attrib u tes being predicated of th e Son. F o r is th e F a th e r E te rn a l? Bethle hem was th e predicted birthplace into our world of One “whose goings forth have been, from of old, from everlast ing.” The Word who was made flesh and dwelt among us “was in th e begin ning w ith God:” and H imself assumes th e incommunicable coeternal Name, I AM. And He who appeared in vision to John in Patmos like unto th e Son of man, declares, “X am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and th e ending, which is, and which was, and which is to come. I am the first and th e last
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