Directory_and_Chronicle_1850 — Page 465

1850.

Defense of an Essay, &c.

427

so plain to his mind, that the apostle Paul uses ɛog as a relative term. The first question to be asked, in determining whether St. Paul uses the word God as an absolute or relative term, here, is, what are “the invisible things of him,” which “from the creation of the world are clearly seen?" Bloomfield says, dópala aślou mean "his nature and attributes of Godhead, not discernible to mortal eyes." Stuart, 'Aópala means the attributes or qualities of the Divine Being;...... of course the expression refers to the attributes belonging to God considered as a spirit." Hodge, "These invisible things are seen, being under- stood, that is, it is a mental vision of which Paul speaks. The eye of sense sees nothing but the exterior, but the mind sees mind, and mind possessed not of human power and perfections, but of eternal power and divinity." But we are not left merely to his commen- tators; the apostle himself tells us what “that which may be known of God" is-" even his eternal power and Godhead." The power here spoken of is not, to use the words of Tertullian, merely ac- cedentis rei mentis,” but an absolute and eternal property of the Being mentioned.

If Dr. Legge's opinion of the way in which St. Paul always uses the word dog is correct, then the word here rendered by our trans- lators "Godhead," should have been rendered "Rulership,” or “the state or condition of being Ruler." How then should this word Bɛións be understood?

Stuart says,

"sións is distinguished by Tholuck and others from sóls, for they represent the latter as signifying the Divinity, or the Divine nature, while the former is rep- resented as meaning the complexity of the divine attributes, the sum or substance of the divine attributes. I can not however, find any good ground for such a distinction. sóng is the abstract from EOS; and from this latter is formed the concrete or adjective derivative desòs divine. To dɛwv of course means divinity, and from this comes another abstract noun with the same signification. So Passow, sións, di- vinity, divine nature. He then adds, "In particular, divine greatness, power, excellence, eminence, &c., &c.; i. e. dɛións designates the divinity with special reference to these qualities-the identical manner in which the word is employed in our text." Bloomfield, "his omnipo- tence and the other attributes of his Godhead."

The next question is, what is meant by the sentence, "When they knew God, they glorified him not as God?" Does the apostle mean that they did not regard and treat him as a being, standing in such a relationship to them, should have been treated; or that they served him in a manner derogatory to his divine nature?

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