A Beacon to the Society of Friends/Sermon IV
SERMON IV.
EXTRACT I.
"I conceive that the only medium whereby we can come to a knowledge of God, is by attending to the manifestations of his grace, or life, in our spirits, or souls."
Thus the revelation in the Holy Scripture, as a medium to a knowledge of God, is set at nought and rejected, in order to make way for this delusive notion of "the inward light." But the humble Christian, whilst he reverently acknowledges that it is by the Holy Spirit his understanding is opened, and the sacred truths of the Bible are savingly applied to his heart, will also acknowledge, that it is by the written revelation of the Spirit of God, he has the true knowledge of God.
Our Lord Jesus Christ said to the lawyers, "Ye have taken away the key of knowledge; ye enter not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered." This reproach must doubtless have been incurred, by their having perverted the Scriptures; "making the word of God of none effect, through their traditions,"—see Mark, vii. 13?.—or because they had deprived the people of the use of them. What saith the Scripture?
| "The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the Lord; and what wisdom is in them?" Jer.
viii. 9. "Hear, O earth; behold |
I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it." Jer. vi. 19. |
For the further refutation of this pernicious error, see under Ex. 4.; and under Ser. II., Ex. 2, 3.
EXTRACT II.
Repentance, Remission of Sins, &c.
"As we are brought into a state of repentance, and are sincerely sorry for what we have done; so he grants us the gift of repentance, and we come to experience remission of sins, and reconciliation with our heavenly Father." p. 85.
Here again are Christ and the Gospel set aside. Repentance, remission of sins, justification, reconciliation with God, and present and final salvation, are revealed by the Holy Spirit as being bestowed through Jesus Christ. Here indeed is grace! But let it never be forgotten that the Spirit also emphatically teaches, that it is by the same grace which worketh in us to believe, that these precious gifts are bestowed.—And whoever would uphold the notion, of our finding acceptance with God in any other way than by believing in his beloved Son, robs Christ of that honour which is due to him, and sets at nought the whole revelation of the Gospel, where it is declared, that all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father.
What saith the Scripture?
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"Jesus came preaching—and saying—repent ye, and believe the Gospel." Mark, i. 14, 15. "I have taught you publickly, and from house to house,—repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." Acts, xx. 20, 21. "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." Acts, ii. 38. "Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day; and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations." Luke, xxiv. 46, 47. "Him [Jesus] hath God exalted with his right haed to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins." Acts, v. 31. |
"To him giveth all the prophets witness, that, through his name, whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins." Acts, x. 43. again. "What must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." Acts. xvi. 30, 31. "What shall we do that we might work the works of God? Jesus, answered and said, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom hath sent." Jno. vi. 28, 39. "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world |
| to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned; but he that believeth not is condemned already; because he not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." Jno. iii. 14-18.
again. "These are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God: and that believing ye might have life through his name." Jno. xx. 31. "This is his commandment, that we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ." 1 Jno. iii. 23. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life." Jno. vi. 47. "He that believeth not, |
God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life; and this life is in his Son." 1 Jno. v. 10, 11.
"Be it known unto you, therefore, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: and by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. Beware, therefore, lest that come upon you which is spoken of in the prophets; Behold ye despisers, and wonder, and perish; for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you." Acts, xiii. 38-41. |
See Ser. I. Ex. 2;—Ser. III. Ex. 2.
EXTRACT III.
Mystery of Godliness.
"Now these are all plain things, for there is no mystery in true godliness,—none at all, to those who are willing to open their hearts to the revealing operating power of divine truth, or the Spirit of God within us." p. 88.
In the foregoing extract had the word mysticism been put in the place of "mystery," the assertion would have stood more correctly. With regard to what is described in the following gracious declarations and promises of the Lord Jesus, shall it be said there is no mystery?
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"I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." Jno. xiv. 16, 17. "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth |
me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Judas saith unto him, (not Iscariot) Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." Jno. xiv. 21-23. |
If the assertion, "There is no mystery in true godliness," was intended to apply to the doctrines of the Gospel, it would palpably contradict the declarations of the Holy Spirit, through the Apostle Paul.
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"Without controversy great is the mystery of godliness; God was |
manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of Angels, preached unto the |
| Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." 1 Tim. iii. 16.
"Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the |
trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality." 1 Cor. xv. 51-53. |
EXTRACT IV.
On human agency in the work of salvation.
"We are not to look to man to know the will of God, and if we are not to look to man, then certainly not to that which is less than man, the writings of man. We must turn in, to the witness for God in our own hearts. For it is a great truth, that what is to be known of God is manifested only in man. There is the place that he manifests himself. He dont speak to us carnal, animal, outward creatures. He does not speak to our outward senses.'—'He is only known and found in the still small voice, like that which said to Elijah, 'What doest thou here, Elijah.'" pp. 90, 91.
The inefficacy of all human means, without divine aid, is admitted by all true Christians; but that human means are employed and made effectual, through divine aid, in bringing men to the knowledge of God, and of eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord, is written as with a sunbeam in the inspired pages of the Gospel revelation. It is plainly the way, which he who is infinite in wisdom, has chosen, for the communication of this knowledge to mankind. Did God make known his will to all the children of Israel, as he made it known to Moses? No; he revealed it immediately to Moses, and they were to receive it through him. Did he in succeeding times reveal his will to the Jewish people, as he did to the prophets? No; they had the revelation immediately from God, and the people were to have it mediately through them. Did our Lord Jesus Christ make known his whole will to all the Jews, as he did to the Apostles? Did he say to the people, as he said to those "witnesses chosen before of God," "Whatsoever I have heard of my Father, I have made known unto you?" Did he say to all the people, as he said to the Apostles, "These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you; but the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you?" Did the Holy Spirit reveal (i.e. immediately) the way of life and salvation to all men, as he did to the Apostles? Nothing can be plainer than that he did not. How were the three thousand pricked to the heart, and converted on the day of Pentecost? By the instrumentality of the sword of the Spirit, which he used through the preaching of Peter. How were the Corinthians converted? By the same weapon, through the preaching of Paul.—"I have," says he, "begotten you through the Gospel."How were the Thessalonians converted? By the same weapon, used in the same way.—"When ye received the word of God, which ye heard of us; ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe. For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God, which in Judea are in Christ Jesus." How were the Ephesians converted? By the same means.—"In whom [Christ] ye also trusted, after that he heard the word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation; in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance." How were the churches in Galatia, at Samaria, Philippi, Colosse, Antioch, &c. gathered? Through the preaching of the word, by the Apostles and their fellow helpers.
And nothing can be more evident, than that the Prophets, Evangelists, and Apostles, were the appointed medium, through whom God was pleased to give a standing revelation of the way of eternal life to mankind. How derogatory, then, to the Holy Spirit, to call his attested revelation "the writings of man,"—"an outward law made by man," &c.!
The work of conversion is indeed an inward work, effected by the power of the Holy Spirit in the heart: but what is the amount of evidence, that this is ever done wholly without the instrumentality of the outward word, either immediately or indirectly applied? But through the instrumentality of man, both in preaching the Gospel and spreading his written revelation, the Holy Spirit is still pleased to work, for the conversion of kingdoms, and nations, and tongues, and people: so that, to this day we have, on a large scale, a practical comment on the words of our Lord, "Go ye and teach all nations;" and on the words of the Apostle, "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God?"
And if to this general rule, viz, that it is the divine appointment, that men shall be brought to the knowledge of life and salvation by the instrumentality of man, no well attested exceptions can be brought forward, from the day of Pentecost to the present day, (the case of the Apostle Paul can hardly be considered an exception) would it not be, presumptuously to fly in the face of Divine Wisdom, for us to say, that men are converted without the knowledge of the Gospel by outward means?
Let it be borne in mind, that the question is not what God could have done, nor what it was befitting, according to our apprehension, that he should have done; but it is simply, What is the way which God hath chosen for communicating the knowledge of life and salvation?
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"The priests' lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the Lord of Hosts." Mal. ii. 7. |
"I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were accounted as a strange thing." Hosea, viii. 12. |
It may be said, this was under the law. True, but under the Gospel is human agency superseded?
What saith the Scripture?
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"I send thee to open their eyes, and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God." Acts, xxvi. 18. "Preach the word." 2 Tim. iv. 2. "These are written, that |
ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name." Jno. xx. 31. "By revelation he made known unto me the mystery;—which in other |
| ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto the
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holy Apostles and Prophets by the Spirit." Eph. iii. 3, 5. |
We might bring forward many more passages in this place, each being distinct and separate proofs of our position, but we refer the reader to several of the quotations under Sermon II. Extract 2. And under Sermon III, Extract 3.
It may be said, What then must become of the Heathen? We answer, we know no more of the ultimate dealings of God with men, than what he has been pleased to reveal in the Scriptures; and as he has therein made known, what concerns those who have his testimonies, rather than what relates to those who have not; let us not presume to speculate—either to fix their inevitable doom, or to determine that they are safe without the knowledge of the Gospel. If we have been made partakers of the hope of salvation through Jesus Christ, let us, whilst acknowledging that God is righteous in all his ways, earnestly seek to diffuse that blessed Gospel, from which we receive such incalculable benefit in this life, and such bright hopes with regard to that which is to come. And let none of us shut our eyes against what God has made known to us, because there are other things which, in his wisdom, he hides from us.
The assertion in the foregoing extract, "that he is only known and found in the still small voice," is wholly unsupported by Scripture. And we know not by what authority it is said, "that what is to be known of God is manifested only in man." Rom. i. 19, will bear no such construction. EXTRACT V.
Law written on the heart.
"Here again we learn the great and deep wisdom of Almighty Goodness and Mercy, that he does not make one law for all men. But the divine life makes a rule in every mind, and gives a law that will counteract all the evil propensities of the mind. Our propensities, opinions, and actions, are different; therefore, if we had but one law, it might be written, as to Israel, on tables of stone. But what would that do for us? it would not do for the children of men universally; no not for any two, unless they were all exactly in the same state.' 'So here we learn, when thus enlightened,—that no creed, or profession of faith, can ever be made to suit the Christian dispensation; because it limits the Holy One, and fixes the ground and rule, and it never suits the purpose of one individual of the whole, because it dont reach to the matter, to the heart.—But when the Almighty enters into our souls by his light and life, he sees the evil and the good, and in his abundant mercy, and loving kindness, he make up a rule for us; we learn his commandments.—We have the law in us, that goes with us every day, and we are to teach it to our children, and to recommend them where the law is, and where it must be sought for, and not recommend them to an outward law, made by man, that cannot suit the inward state of any two in 'the world.'—'Here we learn the inefficacy of all human means, be they what they will, whether the reason of man, without being governed by the divine light; or whether it be the Bible, which some call a complete rule of faith and practice, and even some highly professing Christians.—But it is not a complete rule of faith and practice; it never made a Christian in the world, neither that, nor any man that ever lived, had power to do it. There is nothing but the immediate manifestation of the divine mind, through the revelation of his own spirit, that we can build any thing on, upon which we can depend." p. 94.
That the way in which the doctrine of "the law written in the heart," as stated in these extracts, corresponds with the doctrine of Deists, may be shown by the following passage, extracted from the writings of Lord Herbert, of Cherbury, who was the first systematic writer on Deism.—"We come at the knowledge of divine things by innate ideas, or by having the law and rule of life written and engraven on our hearts, in such plain visible characters, that whoever looks into himself, will clearly discern the great principles and duties of religion, and the several obligations he thereby lies under to obedience." There can be no difficulty, therefore, in perceiving the deistical nature of the doctrine, as above stated. But it is of the utmost importance, that the Scriptural doctrine on this great subject, should be faithfully and explicitly upheld; and the perversion of the prophecy of Jeremiah, xxxi. 3, on which this false doctrine is built, should be laid open.
In considering this prophecy, "I will make a new covenant, &c.," which refers to the Gospel dispensation, several points should be taken into view.—
1st,—Whether, the figurative expression, "written on the heart," was not one with which the Jews were familiar?
2nd,—Whether, this expression was not intended to denote the affections being set on some particular object?
3rd,—Whether, by "the law written in the heart," is not intended the same law which the Holy Spirit reveals by the Scripture?
The following passages, taken in connection with Jeremiah, xvii. 1, it is submitted, determine all these points in the affirmative.
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"Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: That thou mightest fear the Lord thy God, to keep all his statutes, and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life.——And these words which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates." Deut. vi. 1, 2. 6-9. "Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in |
your heart, and in your soul." Deut. xi. 18, 20. "Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law." Deut. xxxii. 46. "The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide." Ps. xxxvii. 31. "I delight to do thy will, O my God; yea, thy law is within my heart." Ps. xl. 8. "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee." Ps. cxix. 11. "O, how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day. Thou, through thy commandments, hast made me wiser than mine enemies; for they are ever with me." Ps. cxix. 97, 98. "My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments. Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table |
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of thine heart." Prov. iii. 1, 3. "Hearken unto me, ye |
that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law." Isa. li. 7. |
4thly,—Whether, taking into view the whole of the prophecy, from v. 27 to v. 40, it does not appear, as employed by the Prophet, to have direct reference to the Jews as a nation?
And lastly,—Whether, the Apostle, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, chapters viii. and x. does not argue upon it, as having special relation to those, whom he also denominates "the house of Israel and the house of Judah," as being brought into covenant with the Most High; and to whom therefore he regards the promise, "I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people" as applicable: which evidently could not be applicable to all mankind?
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"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will sow the house of Israel, and the house of Judah, with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast, and it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them to build, and to plant, saith the Lord.— Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will, make a new |
covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers, in the day that I took them by the hand, to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord: but this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel. After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their |
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inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord; for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon, and of the stars, for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The Lord of hosts is his name. If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever. Thus saith the |
Lord, If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel, for all that they have done, saith the Lord. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the city shall be built to the Lord, from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner. And the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it, upon the hill Gareb, and shall compass about to Goath. And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields, unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy unto the Lord; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down, any more for ever." Jer. xxxi. 27-40. |
Now if, upon examination, it should appear that the prophecy affords no ground for the hypothesis, which has been built on it, viz., that under the Gospel dispensation the law is written on the heart of every man, yet it is clear from numerous passages of Scripture, as well as that in the Hebrews, that the law is written in the heart of true believers, whether Jews or Gentiles. Thus in the x. ch. of Romans the Apostle plainly appropriates to every such believer Deut. xxx. 14, "The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that is the word of faith which we preach," &c.; and he goes on to say, "There is no difference between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord over all, is rich unto all that call upon him:" but then he expressly declares, v. 14, 15, and 17, the necessity of outward information, agreeably to the declaration of our Lord, Matt. xxiv. 14, "And this Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world, for a witness unto all nations." Is it not plain, therefore, that a declaration of the word of the Gospel is necessary; and that the way by which the law becomes written on the heart, is by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? which faith, is the gift of God; because it is by the operation of the Holy Spirit upon the heart, that we are induced to believe in Christ, and believing in him, the heart is moved to love God, who gave his beloved Son to offer himself a sacrifice for our sins—or transgressions of the law. And thus grateful to God for his unspeakable gift, the love of his law, and sorrow for the transgression of it, is the necessary consequence; in other words, the law is written in the heart—the affections are engaged to obey it.
It may be further observed, that a most important distinction exists, between the law written merely in the memory, and the law written in the heart; for a man may perfectly remember a law which he dislikes, and which harasses him, but which, nevertheless, he refuses to obey. Is it, therefore, proper, to recommend men indiscriminately, whether believers or unbelievers, to obey the law written in their hearts? This may perhaps appear more obvious if we consider the two following questions. 1st,—Did the Lord Jesus Christ, or his Apostles, ever give this indiscriminate recommendation?
2nd,—What law, is written in the heart of the wicked? Is it the law of God, or is it the law of "The prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience?" The Holy Spirit expressly declared by Jeremiah, "The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond: it is graven upon the table of their heart.." Jer. xvii. 1.
What is said more in this extract is gratuitous, and may be answered by the two following quotations. Only we would ask, What evil propensities can there be in the human heart, which are not condemned by God's Holy law in the Scriptures?
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"If any man consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth." 1 Tim. vi. 3-5. "But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned, and |
hast been assured of; knowing of whom thou hast learned them; and that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. I charge thee, therefore, before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing, |
| and his kingdom, preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; | but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." 2 Tim. iii. 13-17; iv. 1-?4. |
EXTRACT VI.
Only begotten son of God.
"No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him; and what is the only begotten? Nothing but that which is begotten in every soul can manifest God to the soul. You must know this for yourselves, as nothing which you read in the Scriptures can give you a sense of his saving and almighty power.—Now, the only begotten, is what the power of God begets in the soul, by the soul uniting with the visitations of divine love, it becomes like a union,—the soul submits and yields itself up to God, and the revelation of his power, and thus it becomes wedded to him as its heavenly husband. Here now is a birth of the Son of God; and this must be begotten in every soul, as God can be manifested by nothing else." p. 97.
This fearful mysticism is consistent, from a man who doubted the miraculous conception of our Lord; but
What saith the Holy Spirit by the Scripture?
| "I will declare the decree; Jehovah hath said unto me, Thou art my | son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the |
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Heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." Ps. ii. 7, 8. "The Angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee, shall be called the Son of God." Luke, i. 35. "And Jesus when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: and, lo, a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Matt. iii. 16-17. "We have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, |
but were eye witnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the mount." 2 Pet. i. 16-18. "When he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he saith, and let all the Angels of God worship him." Heb. i. 6. "The word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the father, full of grace and truth." Jno. i. 14. "In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him" 1 Jno. iv. 9. |