God himself is invisible to the eye of sensea: even Moses was permitted to see only his back parts b. But Christ had a peculiar relation to the Father as " his only-begotten Son ; " and a most intimate acquaintance with him, as being from all eternity, and at that very hour, " in his bosom." He has made known the Father to us, and declared,
1. His nature —
[Mankind had gross conceptions of the Deity as a mate- rial Being: but Christ has assured us of his perfect Spirituality0. Nor was the Unity of God clearly ascertained among the Gen- tiles : but Christ has left no room for doubt upon this subject d. He has, moreover, revealed to us a Trinity of persons in the Godhead. He has affirmed in the plainest terms his own Oneness with the Fathere. He has spoken of the Holy Ghost as co-existing with himself and with the Fatherf, and has joined the Three together as equal in authority and honour R. Thus has he enabled us by faith to " see him who is invisible."]
2. His perfections —
[God had long since proclaimed his own name to Moses h; but Christ has afforded us more abundant discoveries of all his attributes. He has clearly shewn us that his goodness is unbounded', his sovereignty uncontrolled11, his power irre- sistible1, his justice inflexible"1, his mercy infinite", and his truth inviolable0. There is not any thing relating to his Father, the knowledge of which could be at all serviceable to us, that he has not revealed".]
He did not however merely utter these things like the prophets of old :
II. How he declared him —
Christ had formerly spoken of God in and by the prophets'1; but now he declared the Father in a dif- ferent manner :
1. By exhibiting a perfect pattern of him —
[He was himself an exact resemblance of the Father1', and in his conduct exhibited every perfection of the Deity s.
a 1 Tim. vi. 16. b Exod. xxxiii. 23. c John iv. 24.
<J Mark xii. 29. e John x. 30. ' John xv. 26.
e Matt, xxviii. 19. h Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7. ' Matt. v. 45.
k Matt. xi. 25,26. * Matt. xxvi. 53. m Matt. xxvi. 12.
11 John iii. 16, 17. ° Luke xvi. 17. p John xv. 15.
i 1 Pet. i. 11. r Heb. i. 3. ■ John viij 29.
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