sons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, possessing numerically the same essence, and the same perfections. This mode of existence is neculiar to the great Jehovah. In the one self-existent Being, there is a something, which is the ground of His existing as a Trinity in Unity. (a)

Q. 2. Why is the term person used in reference to the Trinity in the Godhead?

A. Because distinct personal attributes or properties, and acts, are ascribed to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; and because the three personal pronouns I, Thou, and He are in Scripture applied to them. This lays the foundation for using the term, though its meaning, when applied to the Trinity, is not the same, in all respects, as when applied to men. But no better term can be found to convey our ideas of the threefold subsistence or distinction in the Godhead, and therefore it may and should be used.

Q. 3. Is the doctrine of the Trinity taught in the Sacred Scriptures only?

A. It is they only reveal it.

(a) Matt. xxviii. 19. Go ye, therefore, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.-2 Cor. xiii. 14. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.-1 John v. 7. For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one.-2 Thess. iii. 5. And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.-Gen. i. 26. And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.-Gen. iii. 22. And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us to know good and evil.-Gen. xi. 7. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.-Isaiah vi. 8. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?— Isaiah xlviii. 16. And now the Lord God and his Spirit hath sent_me.-Gal. i. 7. Grace be to you, and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.-1 Pet. i. 2. Eloct according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ

Q. 4. Are the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, each, truly and essentially Divine?

A. They are. In the Sriptures, to each Person Divine names and titles are given, Divine attributes, prerogatives and works are ascribed, Divine offices are assigned, and Divine_worship and honors are paid. Surely, then, the Father must be God, the Son must be God, and the Holy Ghost must be God. (b)

(b) Jude 1. Jude the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father.—John iv. 23. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father seeketh such to worship him.-Isaiah ix. 6. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.-John i. 1. In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.-John x. 13. I and my Father are one.-John xx. 28. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.-Heb. i. 8. But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever; a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.--1 John v. 20. And we know, that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true; and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.-Rom. ix. 5. Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen. Tit. ii. 13. Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ.-Rev. 1. 8. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.-Rev. xvii. 14. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them; for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings.-Jer. xxiii. 6. And this is his name whereby he shall be called, the Lord our Righteousness.-Heb. xiii. 8. Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever. Matt. xxviii. 18. And Jesus came, and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Matt. xviii. 20. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.-John xxi. 17. And he said unto him, Lord thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee.-Heb. iii. 4. For every house is builded by some man, but he that built all things is God.116, 17. For by him were all things created, that

Col

Q. 5. Is God one and three in the same sense? A. He is not. God is three in personality, but one in essence or substance-three in one respect,

are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things were created by him, and for him. And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.-Eph. i. 22. And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church.-Acts x. 42. And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.— John v. 23. That all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father.-Heb. i. 6. And again, when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.-Rev. v. 13. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever.-Acts vii. 59. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.-Acts v. 3, 4. But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost? Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.John iii. 5. Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.-John i. 13. Which were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man. but of God.-2 Tim. iii. 16. All scripture is given by inspiration of God.-2 Pet. i. 21. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.-1 Cor. iii. 16. Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?-1 Cor. vi. 19. What! know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?-John xvi. 13. How beit when he the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth, for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak; and he will show you things to come.Luke xii. 12. For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.-Luke iii. 22. And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him.-Heb. ix. 14. How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God-1 Cor. ii. 10. For the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.-Ps. cxxxix. 7. Whither shall I go from thy Spirit, or whither shall I flee from thy presence?—Job xxvi. 13. By

but one in another. The three Persons in the Godneaa ao not constitute one Person, neitner aoes the one God constitute three Gods: but the three Persons exist in one God, and the one God subsists in three Persons. God is really, as well as nominally, three in Person; but not in any such sense as to be inconsistent with His being one in essence. (c)

Q. 6. May not the Trinity in the Godhead be illustrated by man, considering him, as some have considered him, a tripartite being, composed of body the earthy part, the soul the animal or sensitive part, and the spirit the rational or immortal part?

A. Certainly not; for these three parts, supposed to be possessed by man, make but one person, and this one person can speak of himself only in the first person, unless by a figure of speech.

Q. 7. May this doctrine be explained by considering God as one Person, acting in three different characters, as Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier?

A. This theory cannot be admitted; for then the distinction in the Divine essence would be merely nominal, and not real. God could not then speak of Himself by the three personal pronouns. But we find the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, speaking of each other as distinct Persons, and considering

his Spirit he garnished the heavens.-Job xxxiii. 4. The Spirit of God hath made me.-Elsewhere the Holy Ghost is called the Spirit of wisdom and knowledge, the Spirit of promise, the Spirit of power, the Spirit of holiness, and the Holy Spirit.— 2 Cor. xiii. 14. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.-Rev. i. 4, 5. John to the seven churches. which are in Asia; Grace be unto you, and peace from hin which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven spirits which are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful Witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth.

(c) John v. 7. For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one.-2 Cor. 13, 14. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.

each other as distinct agents, having power to understand, to will, and to act. (d)

Q.8. Are the three Persons in the Godhead separate, as well as distinct?

A. They are not. Things which are distinct are not always separate. This is the case with the soul and body of man, while he is alive in this world. This is the case with the faculties of the mind. They are distinct, but not separate. So it is in regard to the Persons in the Godhead.

Q. 9. Are the three Persons in the Godhead equal by nature?

A. They are the same in essence, and equal in every Divine perfection. (e)

Q. 10. Is there a subordination among the Persons in the Trinity?

A. There is. The Scriptures represent the Holy Ghost as subordinate to the Father and the Son, and the Son as subordinate to the Father. But this is only a subordination of office, in reference to the different parts they take in the work of man's redemption. In their official capacity, the Son is obedient to the Father, and the Holy Ghost is obedient to the Father and the Son. This gives rise to all that is said in the Scriptures of the Holy Ghost, and much that is said of the Son, as unequal to the Father. (f)

(d) 1 Pet. i. 2. Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.

(e) 1 John v. 7. For there are three that hear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one.-Philip. ii. 6. Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God.

f) John xiv. 26. 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.-John xv. 16. But when the Comforter is come, wnom i win sena unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me.-1 John iv. 9. in inis was manifested the love of God towards us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him.