Yet nothing could be more mild than, II. The reproof administered — '
Here let us mark,
1. How decisive was our Lord's assertion —
[" Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip ? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? Belie vest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me ? " What words could our Lord have used more clearly declarative of his identity with the Father, than these? The way to estimate the force of them aright will be to put them into the mouth of any of his Apostles, or of any creature whatever. Can we suppose that any created being would use such words, and use them too in a way of reproof, and in answer to such a desire as was here expressed ? No : if any creature in the universe dared to arrogate to himself such an identity with the Father, we should instantly unite with the Jews in denouncing him a blasphemer. Moreover, the very circumstance of its being a reply to such a request, and of its being uttered in so emphatical a manner ; not as a mere asser- tion, but a reproof; and not in a way of simple affirmation, but in an appeal to the person reproved ; this, I say, gives a weight and force to the words, which nothing can withstand. And, if they do not prove, beyond all reasonable doubt, the divinity of our Lord, we shall in vain look for words capable of expressing such an idea.]
2. How strong the testimony with which it was confirmed —
[" Believe me, that I am in the Father, and the Father in me : or else believe me for the very works' sake." The repetition of the point before asserted, and of the very words in which it had been asserted, shews the earnestness with which our Lord sought to establish and confirm it. And, if his own testimony to this mysterious truth was thought not sufficient, he was willing to abide by that which was given in his works. Here it is of importance to observe, that, in this appeal to his works, we must clearly understand him as refer- ring to the manner in which they had been wrought: for other- wise there would be no force in his appeal to them ; since, if the mere working of miracles were of itself a proof of his identity with the Father, it would prove the same in reference to his Apostles ; who, as he foretold, would soon work even greater miracles than any which he had wrought. But no Prophet or Apostle ever professed to work miracles by any power of his own : they utterly disclaimed any such vain