(5) The Apostles, and other Primitive Disciples of Christ, paid Religious Homage to the Father only.

37. Acts iv. 24-30: They [the apostles] lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou [art] God, who hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, grant that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.

38. Acts xxiv. 14: But this I [Paul] confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets.

.....

je sers le Dieu de mes pères-I serve the God of my fathers Le Clerc, Kenrick, Haynes. so pay I religious service to the God of my fathers.............. Wakefield. 39. Rom. i. 8-10: I thank my God, through Jesus Christ, for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers; making request ...... to come unto you.

Samuel Clarke.

God is my witness, whom I worship with my spirit..... God, to whom my mind payeth its religious service, is my witness Wakefield. 40. Rom. vii. 25: I thank God, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

41. Rom. xv. 5, 6: Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be like-minded one toward another, according to Christ Jesus; that ye may with one mind [and] one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

the God and Father of, &c.-Hammond, Whitby (Com.), S. Clarke, Wakefield, Belsham,

Carpenter, Scarlett, Eyre, and Imp. Ver.

42. Rom. xvi. 27: To God only wise, [be] glory, through Jesus Christ, for ever. See page 11, No. 18.

43. 1 Cor. i. 4: I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ.

44. 1 Cor. xv. 57: But thanks [be] to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

45. 2 Cor. i. 3: Blessed [be] God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort.

the God and Father of, &c.-Locke, Hammond, Macknight, Wakefield, Belsham, Carpenter, Carlile, and Eyre.

46. 2 Cor. ii. 14: Now thanks [be] unto God, who always causeth us to triumph in Christ, &c.

47. Gal. i. 4, 5: Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father, to whom [be] glory for ever and ever.

of God even our Father.................... Bible 1596-7, 1613; Doddridge, Dwight, Scarlett. Hammond, Whitby, Macknight, Eyre, Imp. Ver.

of our God and Father

de Dieu notre Père-of God our Father ..... Gen. 1802, Wakefield, Belsham.

48. Eph. i. 3: Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly [places] in Christ.

49. Eph. i. 15-17: I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him.

50. Eph. iii. 14-16: For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his spirit in the inner man. See p. 37, No. 19.

51. Eph. iii. 20, 21: Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abun

dantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him [be] glory in the church by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, world without end.

52. Eph. v. 18-20: Be filled with the spirit: speaking to yourselves in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

to God even the Father.-Bible 1596-7; Hammond, Doddridge, Macknight, Scarlett, Imp. Ver. to our God and Father.- Newcome's marginal reading, Belsham.

to God [the] Father.-Wakefield.

unto God who is the Father.-Whitby's Com.

53. Phil. ii. 11: And [that] every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ [is] Lord, to the glory of God, the Father.

54. Phil. iv. 6, 7: Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer

and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

55. Phil. iv. 19, 20: But my God shall supply all your need, according to his riches in glory, by Christ Jesus. Now unto God and our Father, [be] glory for ever.

God even our Father.-Bible 1607, 1613; Macknight, Scarlett, Harris.

our God and Father. - Hammond, Doddridge, Wakefield, Belsham, Imp. Ver.

unto Him who is our God and Father.-Carlile.

unto God and [i.e. who is] our Father.-Whitby's Commentary.

Deo et Patri nostro.-Beza. à Dieu, [qui est] notre Père.-Gen. 1802.

56. Col. i. 3. We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you.

to God even the Father of, &c.-Bible 1607, Scarlett, Harris, J. S. Porter.

to the God and Father of, &c.-Hammond, S. Clarke, Macknight, Wakefield, Mardon, Eyre, &c.

to God who is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, &c.—Whitby's Commentary.

au Dieu et au Père de, &c.-Le Clerc. à Dieu, [qui est] le Père de, &c.-Gen. 1802.

57. Col. i. 9-12: We do not cease to pray for you, and to desire, that ye

might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; .... giving thanks unto the Father, who hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance, &c.

...

58 Col. iii. 16, 17: Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

to God.-Griesbach and Belsham.

And whatsoever ye do, in word or deed, [do] all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

à Dieu [notre] Père.-Gen. 1802.
Dieu [son] Père. Le Clerc.

God who is our Father.-Whitby (Com.).
your God and Father.-Eyre.

God even the Father.-Bible 1597, Doddridge, Macknight, Scarlett, Belsham, Mardon, Imp. Ver.
God the Father.-Wakefield; who says that in this he follows the ancient versions.

59. 1 Thess. i. 2, 3: We give thanks to God always for you all, making

mention of you in our prayers; remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope, in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father.

God even our Father.-Bible 1596-7, 1613; Whitby (Com.), Doddridge, Dwight, Macknight. our God and Father.-Wakefield, Belsham, J. S. Porter, Imp. Ver.

60. 1 Tim. i. 17: Unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, [be] honour and glory for ever and ever. See p. 11, No. 18. 61. 1 Tim. vi. 15, 16: ... He shall show, [who is] the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom [be] honour and power everlasting.

62. 2 Tim. i. 2, 3: Grace, mercy, [and] peace, from God the Father, and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God, whom I serve from [my] forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day.

I am thankful to that God whom I religiously serve.-Wakefield.

63. Heb. xiii. 15: By him [Jesus], therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of [our] lips, giving thanks to his name.

64. James iii. 9: Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, who are made after the similitude of God.

[notre] Dieu et [notre] Père.-Le Clerc.
Dieu [notre] Père.-Gen. 1802.

God and the Father.-Hammond.
[our] God and Father.-Imp. Ver.

65. 1 Pet. i. 3, 4: Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to his abundant mercy, hath begotten us again unto a lively hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, &c.

66. 1 Pet. ii. 5: Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God, by Jesus Christ.

67. 1 Peter v. 10, 11: But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle [you]: to Him [be] glory and dominion for ever and ever.

68. 1 John iii. 21-23: Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, [then] have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments. And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, &c.

...

69. Jude 25: To the only wise God our Saviour, [be] glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever.

*

70. See Luke xxiv. 53. Acts i. 24; ii. 47; iii. 8, 9; iv. 21;

See page 11, No. 21.

xii. 5; xvi. 14, 25; xviii. 7; xxvii. 23, 35; xxviii. 15. Rom. i. 25; vi. 17; ix. 5; xi. 33, 36; xii. 1; xiv. 6; xv. 30. 1 Cor. i. 14; vi. 20; x. 30, 31; xiv. 18, 25. 2 Cor. i. 20; iv. 15; viii. 16; ix. 11-15; xi. 31. Eph. i. 6, 12, 14. Phil. i. 3-6, 11; iii. 3. Col. iv. 2, 3. 1 Thess. ii. 13; iii.

9, 10. 2 Thess. i. 3, 11; ii. 13.

1 Tim. ii. 1—3; iv. 3—5; v. 5. Philem. 4—6. Heb. xii. 28. 1 Pet. iv. 11, 16. 1 John v. 14, 15.

* Besides the texts cited above in support of the doctrine, that religious adoration is due only to God, the Father, we might have quoted Rev. iv. 8-11; v. 13, 14; vii. 10—12; xi. 16, 17; xiv. 3, 6, 7; xv. 3, 4; xix. 1-7: for though, in some of these and other passages Jesus Christ is represented as an object of glory and praise, yet he is so distinctly marked out from the "Lord God Almighty"-from "Him who sat on the throne," by his being called "the Lamb that was slain," that hardly any doubt can arise respecting the kind of homage intended to be paid. There seems, indeed, to be as much reason for conceiving the worship given by the Jews to Jehovah and king David (1 Chron. xxix. 20) to have been of the same nature. But on this subject we gladly quote an excellent passage from Dr. Carpenter on 2 Pet. iii. 18: "To him [be] glory, both now and for ever."

"In this ascription," he observes, "I presume every Unitarian Christian would cordially unite; though he might, in some situations, find it requisite to declare, that he understands by it the glory which Jesus obtained by his fulfilment of the purposes for which he came forth from God. To him be glory, the exalted glory of being the author of eternal salvation to all who believe in and obey him; and may his dominion extend, till every one of the rational offspring of God own his sovereignty, till all acknowledge and obey the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent. The blessings of the Gospel, by which millions, and millions of millions, will have been led on to holiness and happiness, originated in the free mercy of God; Jesus, by his obedience unto death, obtained the glory of being the Mediator by whom they were communicated to mankind; they claim the warmest tribute of gratitude; wherever they are cordially embraced, there will be willing obedient subjects of the kingdom of truth and righteousness: Blessing, therefore, and honour, and glory and power, [be] unto Him that sitteth on the throne, and to the Lamb. Rev. i. 6; v. 13."

The passages adduced in support of the religious worship of Christ will be fully considered in the Second Part of this work.

G

OBSERVATIONS.

Did the apostle Paul, and his coadjutors in the Christian ministry, pay religious service to any being, save the one God, the Father? Did they bless and adore other two co-equal and co-eternal persons? Did they express the warm and grateful emotions of their hearts to a Trinity in Unity?—No: they had not thus learned Christ. They had not thus regarded the uniform example and the express language of their Lord and Master. His holy example they did imitate; his authoritative commands they did obey. They worshipped, as he did, the same one Jehovah the same Almighty Creator and Ruler-the same universal Parent. The first Christians "lifted up their voice with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, who hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is; grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, by stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus." Paul fearlessly proclaimed, in the presence of the Roman Felix, "I worship the God of my fathers;"—that God whom he had represented to the Athenians as the Proprietor of heaven and earth, the Preserver of the human race, and their future Judge through the man Christ that He had appointed. And with this apostle did Peter, and James, and John, and Jude agree; for they also adored the one "only God, through Christ;" they also "bowed the knee to the Father of our Lord Jesus," and of "the whole family" of mankind; they also confessed Jesus as their "Lord, to the glory of God, the Father."

The apostles were not, indeed, unmindful of the obligations under which they lay to their beloved Master; and their gratitude they evinced equally by the warmth of their expressions towards him, and by the ardour of their zeal in the cause of his most holy religion. But the thanks and the glory which they gave to Jesus of Nazareth ought never to be confounded with the solemn gratitude which they offered up to the Almighty: for they frequently spoke of Christ as the Appointed, or Commissioned of the Father; and of God as the Source or Fountain of all the blessings of the Gospel-the Bestower of "eternal life, through" the agency or instrumentality of "Jesus Christ our Lord.”

In fine, to sum up the evidence presented in this Section. The angelic host, and the shepherds, who were attendants on the birth of Jesus -the devout Simeon-the witnesses and intelligent subjects of Christ's miracles-the pious Jews the apostles and the early disciples of the Saviour the Saviour himself, both by precept and example-all concurred in preferring their religious services to One Being or Person-all supported the great Unitarian doctrine, that THE God and Father of OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST IS ALONE ENTITLED TO THE SUPREME LOVE AND VENERATION OF HIS RATIONAL OFFSPRING.