Emmanuel, or, God-man a treatise wherein the doctrine of the first Nicene and Chalcedon councels, concerning the two natures in Christ, is asserted against the lately vented Socinian doctrine / by John Tombes ...

SECT. 7. (Book 7)

Christs Generation before the world was, is proved from John. 8. 58.

CHrists being the Son of God afore his incarnation is proved from his words, John 8. 58. verily, verily I say unto you, Before Abraham was I am. The occasion of which words was from that which our Lord Christ in the Temple, spake to the Jews, ver. 51. verily, verily, I say unto you, if a man keep my saying he shall never see death: Which the Jews conceived so notori∣ous an untruth, that they inferred he must be possessed by the Devil, sith Abraham, was dead, and other holy men. To which our Lord Christ replied, that he honoured, not himself, but his Father honoured him, that Abraham rejoyced to see his day and saw it and was glad, which did intimate that he had seen Abraham, and Abraham him, else how could he say, he rejoyced to see his day and saw it, and was glad? This was accounted by the Jews for a greater untruth, so that they reply to him, thou art not yet

fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham, dead near two thousand years before? to whom Christ returns this constant asseveration no whit revoking or mincing his former speech, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Be∣fore Abraham was, I am; which both the occasion, the manner of expression, and the words plainly shew to have this sense, Be∣fore Abraham was a man in rerum naturâ, before * 1.1 Abraham was conceived in the womb, or born, I am, that is, have and had a being; which can be understood of no other than his divine Nature, far exceeding the time of Abra∣ham's being; which the Jews conceived, he meant as they did, when he said, John 5. 17. My Father worketh hitherto and I work; that he said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God, ver. 18. and when he said John 10. 30. I and my Fa∣ther are one, that being a man he made him∣self God, ver. 33. which they accounted Blasphemy, and would have stoned him for these sayings: Yet did not Christ revoke his speech, but hid himself, and after went out of the Temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by, verse 59. and there∣fore

his words have this assertion, that he had a Being before Abraham, which can be no other than his Divine Nature by Genera∣tion, of the substance of his Father before the world was.

The exceptions against this inference, are 1. That it should be read, being in the Aorist. before Abraham, is to be, or shall be, or is made Abraham, that is, the Father of many Nations by the calling and graffing in the Gentiles, into the true Olive: I am as it is ver. 12. the light of the world, or the Messiah; as when he said, verse 24. If ye believe not that I am, that is, the Messiah, ye shall dye in your sins; and verse 28. when ye have lift up the Son of man ye shall know that I am, that is, the Messiah. 2. That Jesus was before Abraham by Divine consti∣tution, which Grotius annot. on John 8. 58. makes the sense as John 17. 5. Apocal. 13. 8. 1. Pet. 1. 20. and Dr. Hammond in his Paraphrase of John 8. 58. thus expounds it: Jesus answered that objection of theirs; You are much mistaken in my age. For 1. I have a being from all Eternity, and so be∣fore Abraham was born, and therefore as young as you take me to be, in respect of my age here, I may well have seen and known

Abraham. But then 2. In respect of my present appearance here on Earth, though that be but a little above thirty years dura∣tion, yet long before Abraham's time, it was decreed by my Father, and in kindness to A∣braham revealed to him, while he lived; in which respect it is true that he knew me also.

To which I reply. 1. That the words ei∣ther way expounded had been impertinent, as not answering the objection, verse 57. of Christs age not exceeding fifty, and there∣fore he could not see Abraham; For his be∣ing a man before the Gentiles were called, Gods Constitution and Decree, and the Re∣velation of it to Abraham, that in his seed all the Nations of the Earth should be blessed, was altogether besides the thing Christ was to do, to wit, the verifying of this, that he had seen Abraham, Abraham being a per∣son, not signifying any where the calling of the Gentiles, and Christs seeing him, an A∣ction, which presupposeth an existent sub∣stance, in which it must be. And therefore if Christs words had imported no more than this, that before the Gentiles should be cal∣led, Christ was the Messiah, or God had decreed and revealed his being the Messiah to

Abraham, Christs speech might have been false, that he had seen Abraham: Yea, it had been nugatory, for Christ had said no more of himself than might be said by any of the Jews, that he was in Gods Decree before the calling of the Gentiles; and it had been also false, that before Abraham was Father of many Nations, Christ had a being, or was the light of the world, if he had no be∣ing afore his Incarnation, sith Abraham was Father of many Nations, Israelites, Ishma∣eli••es, Edomites, and in some sort a spiri∣tual Father of many Nations, by the adjoyn∣ing themselves to the people of the God of A∣braham, Psal. 47. 8, 9. afore Christ was born. And it had been delusory, and aenig∣matical to understand the words before A∣braham's being of the future time, when the objection was of his being long before; and to make the answer to be of Abraham under a spiritual consideration, when the objection was of him as the natural Progenitour of the Jews, and of Christ in respect of his Office or Imployment, when the objection was of his natural duration, which had been con∣trary to Christs manner of teaching, averring and vindicating his speeches: For though sometimes he answer obliquely, and teach

by consequences, leaving his auditors to con∣sider his words, yet still his replies are solid, pertinent and convincing. And though the Exposition of some of them have no small difficulty, yet his speeches are not in such an aenigmatical and dark manner as this, by al∣lusion to the Etymology or derivation of a Name, when other expressions were obvi∣ous: Besides, if Christ did at any time use such dark expressions or manner of answer∣ing, yet he cannot be conceived rightly to have done so in this answer, in which his preface, Verily, verily I say unto you, shews his answer to have been direct and plain, and was taken by the Jews in the sense import∣ing his priority of Being, which Christ gain∣said not, and all Interpreters till this last age, have so expounded them.

2. The words cannot by any instance of the like use of them be shewed to have the sense put on them. For however the Aorist may signifie the future time, yet as the oc∣casion, so also Christ's averring his own Be∣ing, antecedent to Abraham's, shews it must be understood here of the time past, and be read before Abraham was, not A∣braham shall be. And if he had alluded to Abrahams Name changed, he should have

said, Before Abraham, shall be Abraham: And the objection being about Christs age, and so the impossibility of his seeing Abra∣ham, the answer is an assertion of his exi∣stence, without any thing added: It is grant∣ed, that the words, verse 24, 28. need a supply, yet neither there, nor ver. 58. can the supplement be conceived to be taken from, vers. 12. so as that the meaning should be, unless ye believe that I am the light of the world, ye shall know that I am the light of the world; Before Abraham was, I am the light of the world. For the words, v. 20. do shew that the speech he made be∣fore was interrupted, and he began a new conference with them, verse 21. and there∣fore the supplement to be added, v. 24, 28. is more likely to be from verse 23. Unless ye believe that I am from above, ye shall know that I am from above, in which ver∣ses the particle 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 that shews it to be an ob∣ject of Faith, which requires something to be known and believed besides his Being, which was obvious to their senses; But ver. 58. the particle is not, nor any thing required of them; but there's a plain and direct asser∣tion of his Being without any other supple∣ment; Nor is there any difficulty in expound∣ing

I am, by I was, the present tense being like manner used for the time past, John 6. 24. and 14. 9. and 15. 27. and, as Grotius well observes, there is the like ex∣pression in the Greek, Psal. 90. 2. Before the Mountains were brought forth 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 thou art, that is, thou wast, noting time past continued, and therefore by the Syriack Interpreter, and No••••us his Paraphrase, rightly it is rendered John 8. 58. Before A∣braham was born I was; Nor is it unlikely that he used this expression in the sense in which it is said by God, Isa. 43. 10. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 I am he, to which John 13. 19. is consonant: The word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 is neither Joh. 17. 5. nor Revel. 13. 8. and that neither are un∣derstood of Gods Decre••, is shewed in the next Section, Vide Plac. disp. 11. §. 21. &c.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Isa. 46. 10. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉.