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second person, the foregoing passages may be read as follows: "He, the second person, shall baptize you with the third person of the Godhead, and with fire." "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth, (the second person of the Godhead,) with the third person of the Godhead, and with power." "I (the second person of the Godhead) cast out devils by the third person of the Godhead." "All manner of sin and blasphemy, even against the first and second person of the Godhead, shall be forgiven unto men; but blasphemy against the third person of the Godhead shall not be forgiven unto men." "Jesus, (the second person of the Godhead,) being full of the third person of the Godhead, returned from Jordan." But little reflection is, I should suppose, necessary to enable any one to perceive the inconsistency of such paraphrases as the foregoing, and the reasonableness of adopting the usual mode of scriptural interpretation of the original texts, according to which the foregoing passages may be understood as follows: "He shall baptize you with the spirit of truth and purity." "God anointed Jesus of Nazereth with his holy influence and power." "I cast out devils by the influence of God." "All manner of sin and blasphemy, even against the Christ, the first-born of every creature, shall be forgiven to men; but blasphemy against the power of God shall not be forgiven unto men." "Jesus, being full of the influence of God, returned from Jordan." Still more dangerous to true religion would it be to interpret, according to the Trinitarian mode, the passages which describe the

descent of the Holy Ghost upon Jesus on the occasion of his baptism. Luke, ch. iii. ver. 22: "And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him." For, if we believe that the Spirit, in the form of a dove, or in any other bodily shape, was really the third person of the Godhead, how can we justly charge with absurdity the Hindoo 'legends of the Divinity having the form of a fish or of any other animal?

It ought to be remarked, with respect to the text above quoted, denouncing eternal wrath on those who blaspheme against the Holy Ghost, that the occasion on which the term was made use of by Christ, was the accusation of the Jews, that his miracles were the effects of an influence of a nature directly opposite to that of God, namely, the power of Beelzebub, the Prince of Devils. The Jews alleged that he was possessed of an unclean or diabolical spirit. ("Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit," Mark, ch. iii. ver. 30. "They said, "This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub, the prince of the devils." Matthew, ch. xii. ver. 24.) Jesus affirms that the Spirit which enabled him to do those wonderful works was a holy spirit; and that whatever language they might hold with respect to himself, blasphemy against that power by which he did those miracles would not be forgiven. "All manner of sins and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men; but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him:

but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in the world to come."

Were the words "all manner of blasphemy," in the passage in question, received as including blasphemy against the Father, the term must be thus understood: "All manner of blasphemy against man and the Father, and even blasphemy against the Son, shall be forgiven; but blasphemy against the Holy Ghost must not be forgiven :" and consequently the interpretation would amount to an admission of the superiority of the Son and the Holy Ghost to the Father, an opinion which no sect of Christians has hitherto formed. In the abovequoted passage, therefore, the exception of the Holy Ghost must exclude blasphemy against the Father, and the whole should be thus interpreted:-All manner of blasphemy against men and angels, even the first-born of every creature, shall be forgiven; but blasphemy against the power of God, by which Jesus declared himself to have cast out devils, shall not be forgiven. For further illustration I quote here the whole passage of Matthew, ch. xii. vers. 24-37; "But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub, the prince of the devils. And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand. And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his king

dom stand? And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me, scattereth abroad. Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men; but the basphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt for the tree is known by his fruit. O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." Mark, ch. iii. vers. 29, 30: "But he that shall blaspheme against the

Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation; because they said, He hath an unclean spirit."

Is it not evident from the above authority of Jesus himself, that the term "Holy Ghost" is synonymous to the prevailing influence of God? And had not the power by which Jesus performed his miracles the same origin, and was it not of the same nature as that by which the children of Israel performed theirs? "If I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges." It may not be without use to notice here, that frequent instances are related in the Scriptures of the influence of the Spirit of God, in leading righteous men to truth, before Jesus had commenced the performance of his divine commission, and even before he had appeared in this world; in the same manner as it afterwards operated in guiding his true followers to the way of God, subsequent to his ascent to heaven, in consequence of his repeated intercession with the Father. This will fully appear from the following passages, Luke, ch. i. ver. 15; " And he (John the Baptist) shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb." Ver. 41: "And it came to pass, that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost." Ver. 67: "And his (John's) father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied," &c. Ch. ii. vers. 25, 26: "And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon and the same

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