Contradiction to the most self-evident Sentiments of humane Understanding But some may say If such Passages as these are so generally to be overlook'd in the Business of Religion why then did God cause them to be recorded in the sacred Scripture I answer that it may as well be asked why God made so many sorts of small and as we think useless Insects to live upon the Earth since we know not what Benefit they are of to the World Doubtless God who does nothing in vain made them for some great Ends though our short-sighted Understanding cannot perceive what those excellent Ends of his are Even so likewise will his Wisdom be manifested some way or other by what to us is yet hard to be understood in Scripture And though we are ignorant of the true meaning of many of the most obscure and doubtful Parts thereof yet the Ends and Purposes of God in causing them to be written either are or shall in due time be accomplished In the mean time we ought to magnify that manifest Goodness of God who hath communicated to Mankind such a number of plain and evident Precepts as will be fully sufficient for Salvation if we carefully observe them All are concern'd in the Business of Life Eternal therefore hath God given us Laws sutable to our common Capacities The Gospel of Christ was preach'd to the Poor which intimates that the Glad-tidings of Salvation did not consist of unintelligible Mysteries but of such plain and evident Notions as did fit the Understandings of the lowest People Of Faith and Reason There are a sort of People in the World of several false Perswasions who when they can no longer maintain their Errors against the Power of true Reason fly to Faith as their last Refuge and tell us that 't is by Faith only that we are made able to overcome the World 1 Joh. 5. 4. And that therefore 't is necessary for Men to believe what yet they cannot comprehend To this I answer That Faith indeed is the chief Duty of the Christian Religion because 't is the Belief of God's Promises and Threatnings that does ingage Mankind to the Obedience of his Precepts Few I doubt would be religious were there no Fear of Hell nor Hopes of Heaven 'T is said that all things are possible to him that believes Mark 9. 23. which in other Words imports that no Difficulty nor Hazard how great soever shall be able to stop them in their Christian Race And in this Sense it only is that Faith is said to be the Victory that overcometh the World But though 't is only a firm Perswasion of the Truth of God's Promises and Threatnings that inspires the Faithful with Courage to overcome and conquer the Temptations not only of the Devil but of the Lusts of this World too yet this is no Argument that therefore we must assent to that which we see no Reason to believe for then we might be every whit as liable to believe things false as things that are true Wherefore it behoves us to be very watchful and circumspect in avoiding false Principles for Error of any kind will rather make us Slaves to the Devil than enable us to overcome and conquer him As therefore thou oughtst to imbrace Truth wheresoever thou dost find it so be as ready to relinquish Errors when by carefully examining into Religion thou hast discovered them to be such for 't is in every respect as Heroick an Act of Faith to believe our selves in the wrong when we really are so as 't is to adhere stedfastly to a Truth undoubted Know then that no kind of Faith can be true that is certainly unreasonable for the Light of Nature is as much God's Law as Divine Revelation and none must ever think that God's Law can contradict it self Right self-evident Reason is the only Touchstone that Men have to distinguish Truth from Error and 't is the Agreement even of Scripture with this Reason that makes us know it to be the Word of God 't is not our Forefathers saying so but the exact Concurrence of the Witness of our Spirit and that Testimony And though some would perswade us not at all to trust to Reason in Matters of Religion yet 't is observable that those very Men that exclaim most against it are yet necessitated to give Reasons of their own to prove if 't were possible that your Reason is not to be relied on and certainly that Guide must needs be most safe whom the whole World in some kind or other do find it so necessary to follow Of the true Nature of Religion 'T is certain that the Laws of Religion are design'd by God for the only Good of Mankind he forbids some things and commands others only because the one is prejudicial to Man's Well-being and the other is absolutely necessary to his Peace and Happiness In order then to the true Happiness of this Life there is required a sutable way of living even such as respects the Universal Good of the whole Kind which in short is that which Men call a Life of Holiness or a Life perfectly free from every kind of Injustice or Mischief both to one's self and others And as for the Heavenly State that is a State of perfect Goodness and Purity and 't is impossible that any one can take delight in that Divine kind of Life hereafter which he hated here And for that Reason could the Wicked be admitted into Heaven yet then would they be unhappy by reason that there none of those base and ignoble Pleasures would be found which their corrupted Minds on Earth did love and admire 'T is then only a good Life on Earth that can fit us for the Heavenly Inheritance Now this Goodness of Life so necessary to Man's both present and future Bliss does not consist in Speculation but in Practice Belief is of no other Use than as it enacts Obedience and that 's the Reason that the Day of Judgment is represented as taking no notice of the Opinions but of the Practices of Men. Have you fed the Hungry Have you clothed the Naked Have you visited the Sick Mat. 25. 36. At that great Solemnity the Inquiry will not be What had you in the World or what did you profess but what good Deeds have you done therein how has your Care been to promote the Universal Good of rational Beings Have you renounced the Lust of the Flesh the Lust of the Eye and the Pride of Life 1 John 2. 26. and lived soberly and righteously and godlily in this present World Tit. 2. 12. and done justly and loved Mercy and walked humbly with God Mich. 6. 8. Now if 't is the Goodness of our Practice that is the one thing necessary to Salvation then the disbelieving either a few doubtful or else a few unreasonable Opinions can never be dangerous Let us then as to the Point now under Examination ask our selves but this one Question Will the Belief of the Doctrine
A DESIGNED END TO THE Socinian Controversy Or a Rational and Plain DISCOURSE To Prove That no other Person but the Father of Christ is God most High By JOHN SMITH Father This is Life Eternal to know thee the only true God John 17. 3. LONDON Printed in the Year MDCXCV AN ADVERTISEMENT THE Reader is desired to take notice that these Papers were written at different times as Matter did offer it self to the Author's Mind and for that Reason some Particulars are therein touch'd upon more than once for which 't is hoped however that there will need little Excuse since in relation to the whole Design it may be pertinent enough The Method also for that Reason is somewhat unusual but I have ventur'd however to let it pass as it is since not Method but Matter in such Cases is chiefly to be minded and I doubt not but that in one Part or other thereof every Part of the Controversy will be found to be both fully and fairly discuss'd And I wish none that read it may be of that evil Temper as to forbear the Acknowledgment of that Truth which yet in Conscience they dare not deny like those Jews of old who though they believed in Christ yet did not confess him lest they should be put out of the Synagogue Joh. 12. 42. A DESIGNED END TO THE Socinian Controversy That there is a God THAT there is such a Being as God by which is meant one Eternal Mind Essence or spiritual Power who is the Original and first Cause of all other Beings besides is manifest for 't is not possible that any other Being whatsoever could give a Being to it self Certainly nothing can be more absurd than to imagine that a thing can act any ways towards its own Production before it is Hence it follows that every one of these Beings is but the real Effect of this first Cause that had a Being before it and this first Cause of necessity must have been Eternal and without Beginning since had there been once no kind of Being at all there then could never have been such a Being as God no nor any other Being besides for doubtless of nothing nothing can be produc'd That this God is but one in Nature or Essence And as 't is thus plain that there is a God so 't is utterly impossible that there can be any more than one God for whoever is truly God must be absolutely Infinite or Immense that is His Divine Essence must be boundless and fill all that endless and inconceivable Space that is without or beyond the Limits of this World as well as this World For 't is impossible that any Being whatever can in any respect be greater than God is or contain him for then he himself could not be truly Infinite nor excel in all Perfections The Nature or Essence therefore of God is Infinite and in Extent is without Bounds and 't is self-evidently impossible for two or more infinitely extended Beings to subsist together which demonstrates by Consequence that God can be but one as to his Divine Essence or Nature And as right Reason does plainly teach this Truth so do the Scriptures as evidently declare the same to instance in a few The Lord he is God there is none else besides him Deut. 4. 35. See now that I even I am he and there is no God with me Deut. 32. 39. There is none like thee neither is there any God besides thee 1 Chron. 17. 20. I am the first and I am the last and besides methere is no God Isa 44. 6. We know that an Idol is nothing in the World and that there is none other God but one 1 Cor. 8. 4. To us there is but one God 1 Cor. 8. 6. I might add a great Number of other Texts that speak to the very same purpose but I think 't is needless in a Case so plain That this one true God is but one in Person Now as 't is thus plain that God is but one as to his Nature or Essence so 't is evident likewise that he can in no Sense be any more than one in Person for if as some affirm the Divine Nature did contain in it several Persons as does the humane Nature then each of those must be truly Immense truly Almighty and truly most Wise else they could not each of them be truly God as some have unwarily asserted and the Trinitarian Notion supposes for whoever is truly God must be every way thus qualified in all Respects For if that Person that is supposed to be God be not truly immense then some other Being of necessity must be greater than he for whoever is not Infinite must be bounded by some other Being which in that respect does truly surpass that bounded Being in Greatness But as I said before nothing can in any kind or respect whatsoever be greater than God is or contain him and by Consequence he alone is truly Immense The Person that is truly God must be also Almighty that is he must be able to do more than any or than all other Beings together can do for doubtless none is the most High but he that in Might and Strength does transcend all others Touching the Almighty says Job he excels in Power ch 37. 28. The Person also that is truly God must be most wise and knowing 'T is doubtless a Property essential to the true God to know more than any other Being besides can know Of that Day and Hour saith our Saviour knoweth no Man no not the Angels which are in Heaven neither the Son but the Father only Matth. 24. 36. Mar. 13. 32. Now if that Person who is truly God must be thus Immense in his Person Almighty in his Power and most Wise in his Knowledg then it follows by direct Consequence that 't is impossible for more than one Person to be truly God for nothing can be more absurd than to believe or affirm that two or three distinct Beings such as all personal Beings are can be each of them unlimited as to the extent of their personal Beings can be each of them able to do more than the rest can do or that each of them can know more than the others know Suppose for Instance two such Beings as A and B Now if the Person of A can do more than the Person of B then the Person of B cannot do more than the Person of A for if he could then would not A be able to do more than B and by Consequence he could not be Almighty Again if the Person of A be most wise and knows more than the Person of B then B cannot know more than A for if he did then would not A know more than B and so by Consequence would not be most wise which evidently demonstrates that no more than one Person can be truly God since no more than one can be truly Infinite in all these afore-mentioned Divine Perfections That this one Person who
is truly God is him only who is the Father of Jesus Christ 'T is undeniably evident from the Old Testament that the God of Israel or the Lord of Hosts is the only true God for thus it is written Thou art God and thou alone of all the Kingdoms of the Earth 2 Kings 19. 15. There is none like thee neither is there any God besides thee 2 Chron. 17. 20. Thou art God alone Psal 86. 10. Besides me there is no God Isa 44. 6. I am God and there is none else Isa 46. 9. Thou shalt know no other God but me Hos 13. 4. Now as this is plain beyond Contradiction so do all Christians generally acknowledg that the God here mentioned was him only who afterwards was called the Father of Jesus Christ And in the New Testament no Truth is more fully and plainly express'd than this is thus says our Lord himself Father This is Life Eternal to know thee the only true God Joh. 17. 1 3. The same do his Apostles affirm Blessed be God even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ 1 Cor. 1. 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Eph. 1. 3. With one Mind and one Mouth glorify God even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Rom. 15. 6. We give Thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Col. 1. 3. He shall deliver up the Kingdom to God even the Father 1 Cor. 15. 24. Therewith bless we God even the Father Jam. 3. 9. To us there is but one God the Father 1 Cor. 8. 6. Now it is impossible that any one Article of the Christian Faith can be more fully and plainly express'd in Scripture than this is the Words can be understood in no other Sense than what at the first sight they do plainly signify and they give the most satisfying Answer that can be given to any one that shall ask who God is namely that he is only that most Divine Person who is the Father of Jesus Christ And if in this case plain Scripture is not to be relied on I see not of what great Use our Bibles can be to us Yet this so plain and evident Truth is commonly denied For a very great Number of professed Christians do notwithstanding believe that in the Godhead there be indeed more Persons than only one and that Jesus Christ the Son of God is God also as well as his Father But of this Error the former Arguments are sufficient to convince them for if none be God but the Father of Christ then cannot the Son be truly God also since he in no Sense whatever can be said to be the Father of Christ that is of himself And certainly if Men would resolve faithfully to make use but of common Sense and common Honesty they could not but be convinced of the Absurdity of this Opinion by only reading so often as they do in the New Testament of Jesus Christ his being the Son of God for how can he be God himself who truly is no other than the Son of God If he be the Son only then 't is plain that he is not the Father also who alone is God for 't is impossible according to the Notion we have of Sons for any Being whatever to be the Son of himself No understanding Man when at any time he hears mention made of the Son of a King is so idle in his Imagination as to believe that thereby is meant the King who is his Father he certainly then must be very sensless who can think that by the Son of God is any ways meant God that is God most high Christ not the true God because he himself has a God above him 'T is also evident beyond Contradiction that our blessed Lord cannot be truly God since both he himself and his Apostles do very plainly acknowledg that he has a God above him for instance My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Mat. 27. 46. I ascend to my God and to your God Joh. 20. 17. Him that overcometh will I make a Pillar in the Temple of my God Rev. 3. 12. The Head of every Man is Christ and the Head of Christ is God 1 Cor. 11. 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Eph. 1. 3. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ knows I lie not 2 Cor. 11. 31. That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ may give you the Spirit Eph. 1. 17. Therefore God even thy God hath anointed thee with the Oil of Gladness above thy Fellows Heb. 1. 8 9. These Texts are very plain and need no Interpretation to make them be understood Now if our Lord Christ have thus a God above him then 't is evident if any thing in the World be so that he himself is not God most high Christ not God because what he does is by a Power received from God This Truth Christ himself does plainly declare I can saith he of my own self do nothing Joh. 5. 30. All Power is given unto me both in Heaven and in Earth Mat. 28. 18. When the Multitude saw his Miracles they marvelled and glorified God who had given such Power unto Men Mat. 9. 8. Now these things can in no tolerable Sense be said of him that is truly God for he that is God most High hath essentially in himself all kind of Divine Dignity and Excellency and cannot without the highest of Blasphemies be in any Sense said to receive them of another But of our Lord it is recorded that he neither said nor did any thing especially in the Work of our Redemption but what he was commanded to say and do by his Father I have not spoken of my self saith he but the Father which sent me he gave me a Commandment what I should say and what I should speak Joh. 12. 49. Is he able to save the World To this Power he was raised by God Him hath God exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour Acts 5. 31. Can he give Power to Believers to become the Sons of God This Power he also has received Thou hast given him Power over all Flesh that he should give Eternal Life to as many as thou hast given him Joh. 17. 2. Has he Power to raise from the dead Even this Power also he did receive As the Father hath Life in himself so hath he given to the Son to have Life in himself Joh. 5. 26. Has he Power to judg the World 'T is God that does enable him to do this This is he that was ordained of God to be Judg of Quick and Dead Acts 10. 42. I can do nothing of my self as I hear I judg Joh. 5. 30. Moreover 't is thus said The Glory which thou hast given me I have given them Joh. 17. 22. I appoint unto you a Kingdom as my Father hath appointed unto me Luke 22. 29. The God of our Lord Jesus Christ hath put all things under his Feet Eph. 1. 17.
of a Trinity make me a more merciful and righteous Man than I shall be if I did profess the contrary Will it make me love and honour God better Will it make the Service which I render to his Divine Majesty a more reasonable Service And if on serious Consideration you find it will not then 't is plain that the Unitarian Faith which denies a Trinity of Persons in the Godhead is much to be preferr'd since 't is not perplex'd with such Contradictions to humane Understanding but depends on more plain and noble Evidences and does also in all Respects whatsoever effectually secure a good Life which when all is done is the very Soul and Life of Religion and will stand by a Man when Hypostatical Vnions and Mutual Consciousness and Somewhats will prove but poor things to depend upon for Salvation There can be no Danger of Damnation for not assenting to such mysterious Notions as Men can at no tolerable rate understand such as is that of the Doctrine of a Trinity which makes the Divine Power of the Godhead to reside in three distinct Persons whose Constitution is like that of a free State rather than the more Divine Government of a single Monarchy if in the mean time they believe heartily the plain Doctrine revealed in God's Word and live up truly to the undoubted Precepts which the Christian Religion commands which I am certain does no where say that unless ye believe that three Persons are truly God ye shall certainly be damn'd Salvation and the Belief of the Trinity not inconsistent 'T is objected as dangerous to believe the Doctrine of God's being but one in Person because we should hereby as much as in us lies exclude from Salvation all those pious and just Men who in former Ages have liv'd and died in the Belief of a Trinity I answer The Wisdom of the Unitarian Doctrine never was so uncharitable as to suppose this yet doubtless the Belief of a Trinity must needs much lessen their future Happiness though not wholly debar them of Salvation And therefore to persist therein after due Admonition especially is very imprudent and dangerous 'T is plain that though those who believe a Trinity do believe more than either God or Christ do require as necessary to Salvation yet together or therewith many Persons do also believe all the chief Fundamentals in Religion that are requisite to save them and therefore their Hope and Trust in God's Mercy on one Hand may out-ballance their Error on the other If God winked at the Ignorance of the vertuous Gentiles how can we imagine that he should not be gracious to the heedless and unwitting Errors of the humble and contrite-hearted Christian If any Man saith the Apostle build on the Foundation Hay and Straw and Stubble that is Doctrine that will not stand the Test of Truth he shall suffer Loss yet he himself shall be saved but so as by Fire 1 Cor. 3. 15. that is with great Difficulty he shall escape Damnation If God should be extream to mark what is done amiss no Man could stand in Judgment before him as it is in Psal 143. 2. 130. 3. All Salvation is of the free Grace and Mercy of God who pardons Iniquity Transgression and Sin Exod. 34. 7. A good Life will make great Abatements upon the account of a bad Faith Mercy rejoiceth against Judgment Jam. 2. 13. and Charity shall cover a multitude of Sins 1 Pet. 4. 8. But though 't is possible for a Man to be saved in this Faith who otherwise has lived well yet 't will doubtless much lessen his future Happiness for Error of any kind is the fruitful Parent of many Mischiefs it betrays us into Absurdities and involves us in many unwarrantable Words and Actions As our Faith is so will our Practice be apt to be and consequently Error in one respect or other will be apt to make Mens Lives less innocent and the less innocent our Actions are the less doubtless will our Reward hereafter be For the eternal Glories compar'd to that of the Sun and Moon and Stars 1 Cor. 15. will be in proportion to the Degrees of our Christian Perfection They therefore whose Religion is such only as will but just preserve them from Damnation must not expect so large a share of the Divine Recompences as by God's Grace is due to the inlarged Capacity of the more exactly knowing and undefiled Soul But notwithstanding what has been said on the Behalf of those otherwise good Livers who have not been ignorant of the Truth merely out of Malice and Design I add that in case Men of false Principles are told plainly that they are in the wrong and yet they still do obstinately persist therein and refuse to consider seriously the Arguments both of Scripture and Reason that are offered to convince them I see not how in any case 't is possible for such to be saved for this is truly and plainly to reject the Counsel of God and to do Despite to the Spirit of Grace By what Nature the World was redeemed When Men have argued whatever they can about the Necessity of Christ his being truly God that so the Sacrifice he offered might be of Merit sufficient to answer the Demands of God's most Infinite Justice yet after all it must be acknowledged that our Peace was made with God only by the holy Life and Death of an humane Person for nothing that is truly God can die or shed Blood but 't is by Blood even the Blood of a dying Jesus that we are cleansed from all Sin 1 Joh. 1. 7. And this his Death for our Redemption is an undeniable Instance to prove that his Person was truly humane Christ Jesus our Lord was undoubtedly filled with the Divine Spirit for in him dwelt the Fulness of the Godhead but this did not make him God any more than a Believer shall be made God by receiving of his Fulness Joh. 1. 16. or by being Partaker of the Divine Nature promised to such 2 Pet. 1. 4. It only fitted him for the Work of Redemption he by that eminent Inhabitation of the Divine Spirit became able to surmount all Temptations to Sin and 't was only the underfiled Obedience of his Life even unto Death that made the Sacrifice which he offered unto God acceptable The Blood that was shed to manifest the intire Obedience of Jesus unto God was no other than the Blood of a most holy and excellent Man 't was not the Blood of God as some Men rashly do affirm On the Cross he that thus died cried out My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Now for him to be God that thus prayed to God is I think impossible Wherefore 't is evident that he who thus died was not a true Deity and yet 't was by him that died that the World was redeemed for which blessed be the Lord God of Israel who hath thus visited and redeemed his People and hath raised up a