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    own mghfc ; & »<* & ateo proves that he did not possess afl power from etermty ; fop as it was * gwea unto him , it neees- * - sar ily felfe > ws » , thatr them must 1 have been * a tkne whet * he did not possess 5 $ : and as fctot ? being * who possesses all power iifc Ms ovra-right , is superior to any other beings to whom he ravay dele *

    gate any part ef his power ; so in this sense also God is greatly superior to Jesus Christ . Again , God possessed all power from eternity , but Jesus did not , as is shewn above , neither will he to all eternity , for it is expressly declared , that when all things shall be subdued unto him , then shall the JSon

    also himself be subject unto Him that put all things under him , that God may be all in all / ' 1 Cor . xv . 28-. Hence we find , that as the power so given to Jesus had a beginning , so it will have an end , and consequently that he is inferior to the Father , of

    whom it was emphatically declared , " from everlasting to everlasting , tltou art God . " Illustration 11 th . John xiv ~ 6 : " I am the way , and the truth ,, and the life ; no man cometh unto tlie Father but by me . "

    True—he is- the way , the medium through whom , as his disci $ lesy , we have access to the Father by prayer . On that ; point , I suppose , we agree ; and also on , this , that if Jesus is the way to the Father , he is not himself the Father .

    Illustration 12 th . 1 Cor . xii . 7 " The manifestation of the Spir it is given to every man to profit withal . " On this we are also agreed , provided it is allowed , as the preceding verses

    declare , that although there are " diversities of giftSy and differences , of administrations , and diversities of operations , it is the same God which , workethaliin . all . "

    Illustration , 13 th , 2 Tim . i . 9 : " His grace was , given , us . in Christ J « sus before the w-orld began . " This passage is incorrectly quoted aad pointed , ami by thus bringing it to a . close in , the middle of a , sentence , its meaning h very materially altered ; for , &

    athus quoted ,, it appears tov favonu : the Wea , of the pre ^ exiaten ce of Christ , which , I apprehend , it was intended to prove ; but it no more proves his preexastewe thai * i % proves anrs ; for if £ ? . * grace was given us , in ( or by ) < -hnst Jesus before the wor k * began ,

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    and' Jfc necessarily ftdtewed that Jesus pre-exfeted to minister tfeat grace urrto us , then by the * same method of rea ^ - sonMig we mus-tr eenetetde that we pre ^ existed to receive it . But this wifl not be believed , neither fe such a beEef necessaiy for the explanation of the text , which appears to me only to

    mean that God purposed before the world began , to save us by his own graee or favour , through Jesus Christ and that this purpose was manifested by Christ ' s appearance amongst men , his teachings , sufferings , death and resurrection . This appears to be a rational interpretation of the text , which savs , " JBe thou partaker of the

    afflictions of the gospel according- to the power of God ; who hath saved us and called us with an holy calling , not according to our works , but according to his own purpose and grace ( or favour ) which was given us in Christ Jes-us before the world began , but is now made manifest b y the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ , who hath

    abolished death , and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel . " Illustration 14 th . Job xxxii . 8 " There is a spirit in man , and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth him urrders tanding . " '

    This is the last of my friend ' s scriptural illustrations , and as I do not question its truth , and this paper has extended beyond the limits at first proposed , I shall summarily observe , 1 st . That the texts selected by my correspondent contain generally the primary and fundamental doctrines * of Unitarianism , as the above plain

    remarks upon them , are designed to shew . 2 nd . That they are in strict unison with the greater part of the Scriptures , and more especially with the declarations of Jesus Christ himself , as recorded in the New Testament : and ,

    3 rd . That they are very much in accordance with the sentiments of that respectable Society of which my friend is a member , may fairly be inferred from his making"the selection .

    To conclude : I believe that many in die Society of Friends , as weH as in- other societies of Christians , are fccttraily ' believing the primary dbfctr&res of Unitarianism , without beutg aware of it , and that it onl y requires a little ntdre attention t <* their own primcrjples ,

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    Agreement ef Quaker * and Unitarians . 47

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Aug. 2, 1821, page 471, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2503/page/31/