is another God, equal to the Father, when he says, (Philip. ii. 6,) that Christ Jesus thought it no robbery to be equal with God?

Artemon. English readers are much imposed* upon by such a translation of the apostle's words. The learned know that they mean no such thing: that instead of, he thought it no robbery to be equal with God, it should be translated, he did not eagerly covet to be like to God, to appear in the likeness of God; i. e. was not ambitious, or fond of exerting those divine powers which had been bestowed upon him, on account of which he is just before said to have been in the form (i. e. likeness) of God; i. e. to have such an outward resemblance of him as those divine powers gave him. So that our apostle does indeed assert that our

* The following hymn, which goes upon the idea of there being two equal Gods, and one of them a man, shews one of the unhappy consequences of authorizing such a wrong translation and perversion of the apostle's words :"Yet there is One of human frame,

Jesus, array'd in flesh and blood,

Thinks it no robbery to claim

A full equality with God.

Their glory shines with equal beams,

Their essence is for ever one,

Tho' they are known by different names,

The Father-God, and God the Son.

Then let the name of Christ our King,

With equal honours be ador'd."

Watts. Hymn li. Book 2.

Saviour was possessed of high divine powers in which he resembled the most high God: but at the same time he goes on to say, that Christ was so far from being himself God, or equal to him, that

It is a paraphrase by no means warranted by the apostle's language, which Bishop Hurd, in his Sermons, lately published, Vol. II. p. 164, has given of those words of our English translation, he thought it no robbery to be equal with God; i. e. "Jesus Christ, (says his Lordship) was in no haste to seize upon, and assert his right of equality with God." For it is a circumstance well known to the learned, that the word 1005, which his Lordship would have to convey the idea of equality here, does frequently signify a resemblance, a likeness only; and the propriety of giving that sense to it in this place, is confirmed by this, that it is a word that admits of degrees of comparison, ισοτερος, ισοτατος, which cannot be asserted of things equal, that they are more or less equal. See Whitby in loc. and Emyln, Vol. I. p. 92. note. St. Paul therefore gives no countenance whatever to such an interpretation of his words, Moreover, his Lordship surely did not sufficiently attend to the consequences of maintaining that Christ claimed the right of equality with God. For " the asserting him to be equal to God (to use the words of an able commentator) must of necessity have in it an assertion of a plurality of Gods. If there be a God, and another who is equal to him in nature, perfections and dominion, the latter must be as truly a God, in the highest and most absolute sense as the former; and when men have said all they can, a God and a God are as certainly two Gods, as a man and a man are two men. Nor can this be evaded, by pretending that they are not two Gods, because they are one and the same Being, and so one and the same God; for the inspired writers are utter strangers to such assertions, that a Being is

he was even dependent upon God for these divine powers, as well as for every thing else that he possessed, which were God's gracious gift to him. "Wherefore God hath highly exalted him, and GRACIOUSLY BESTOWED upon him [exagioaTO] a name which is above every name; that, in the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Phil. ii. 9-11.

:

Eusebes. But how shall I get over that other passage of St. Paul, without allowing that he looked upon Christ as God, where he maintains that all things were created by him; Coloss. i. 16: "For by him, (says he) were all things created that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things were created by him and for him."

Artemon. You may be assured, that whatever meaning is to be put upon these words, St. Paul

equal to itself." I would farther add, should not those persons who thus give to Almighty God an equal, and one who, in this very passage, is said to have suffered death, in obedience to God; should not they consider those awful demands made of old to the idolatrous Israelites-"To whom then will ye liken me; or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like?" Isaiah xl. 25, xlvi. 5.

had no design in them of asserting that Christ was God; because in the verse immediately before he styles him, the image of the invisible God: i, e. he declares him not to be the invisible God, but a resemblance of him, one of the most dignified of his creatures, who had the honour to

be made most like unto him. not God, must be a creature. between.

For whatever is There is nothing

Moreover, it is utterly impossible that our apostle should here ascribe the creation of the world to Christ, for the two following reasons; first, because no pious Jew could believe there were two creators, but that it was one single person, Jehovah, who was the sole creator of all things. For this is an idea that runs through the whole Bible, whilst the doctrine is thus most expressly laid down on particular occasions: "O Lord God of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest beneath the cherubims: Thou art God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth." Isa. xxxvii. 16. "Thus saith the LORD, the holy One of Israel, and his Maker; I have made the earth and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens." Isa. xlv. 11, 12, &c.

Secondly; St. Paul, in his sermon at Athens, tells them (Acts xvii.) that " God, who made the world, and all things therein: he, that single person, and no other, had appointed the man,

Christ Jesus, to be the judge of mankind under himself, at some future day." It is impossible that any thing should be more distinguished and different from God, the maker of the world, than Christ is here marked to be.

Eusebes. You have satisfied me, that St. Paul never believed, and therefore could never intend to say, *that Christ was the creator of the world. But as he here says, that by him all things were created, &c. I desire to know what it is that I am to understand by the words he here uses.

Artemon. You are to observe, that St. Paul is writing to a church or congregation of Christians, consisting of Jews in part, but principally of heathen idolaters, in whom a mighty change had been wrought by their having been brought to the knowledge of the gospel; which our apostle expresses after his manner in strong figurative language, viz. ver. 13, "that God had delivered

* It may be thought that there is a text omitted by Eusebes, that overturns all this reasoning, and shews that our apostle, whatever self-contradiction there might be in it, actually asserted Jesus Christ to be the creator of all things. It is in Ephesians iii. 9, where he treats of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God who created all things by Jesus Christ. But it is to be observed, that the words by Jesus Christ, are wanting in the best manuscripts and ancient versions of the New Testament; neither are they found in Tertullian, Jerome, Ambrose, &c. and are rejected by Mill, Bengelius and Wetstein; and therefore should not be put in our Bibles as part of St. Paul's writings.