Directory_and_Chronicle_1850 — Page 680

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Defense of an Essay, &c.

DEC.

Confession of Helvelia. “And John saith, ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word.' Therefore the Son is co-equal and consubstantial with the Father, as touching his divinity ; true God, not by name only, or by adoption, or by special favor, but in substance and nature." It would be tedious to quote the other Confessions drawn up by the Reformers in the 16th century. It will be sufficient to say they all agree in stating that Christ was possessed of two perfect natures, the Divine and the human, and that therefore he is very God and very man.

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The words of all the Confessions on this subject are remarkably similar, being all derived from the decision of the Council of Chalcedon. The expo- sition of faith put forth by this Council was designed to guard against both Eutychian and Nestorian errors. After recognizing the Nicene and Constan- tinopolitan creeds, they say, "Following, therefore, these holy Fathers, we unitedly declare, that one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, is to be ac- knowledged as being perfect in his Godhead (8677), and perfect in his humani- ty (άνθρωποίη/ι); truly God (Θεόν ἀληθῶς) and truly man (ανθρωπον ἀληθῶς). The Athanasian Creed uses the word God in like manner to express the divine nature of the Person Christ; "the Son of God is God and man, God of the substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds; and man of the substance of his mother, born in the world; perfect God and perfect man; equal to the Father as touching his Godhead; and inferior to the Father as touching his manhood. Who although he be God and man; yet he is not two, but one Christ." Whatever Dr. Legge may persuade himself as to the agreement of his views with those of Athanasius, it seems to me that if he will give this Creed, that bears his name, only a cursory glance, he can not contend that “the term God" is used therein "just as a relative term, and that its conclusion is that there are not three beings who sustain the relation of God, but only onc.' On the contrary, he must acknowledge that it teaches that the three Persons sus- tain not a common relationship to their creatures, but are of the same nature -of one substance.

It is a favorite idea of Dr. L. that they who contend that God is an absolute term, "confound the being of Jehovah with the name God." His own view is, "He whom we call God, existed from everlasting, but not as God. It was in consequence of the act of creation, that He began to sustain the relation which is signified by that term?" And he thinks that no scholars or critics can be found who disagree with this view. In the Athanasian Creed above cited, we read that "the Son of God is God and man; God of the substance of his Father, begotten before the worlds." According to this, Christ is de- clared to be God, not because of his having a common dominion or office with the Father, but to be “God of the substance of the Father;" not to have be- gun to sustain "the relationship called God" when he created all things, but to have been God before the worlds were made. Dr. Legge may declare that the word God is used incorrectly in this Creed, and in all the other Creeds and Confessions from which I have quoted, but if he will carefully examine these documents, I am persuaded he will not contend that the word God is used in them as a mere relative term; or that he can erpress the doctrine which they