Pr 1 c.

, c;f t 1: :, : v r s 1 t y
LH;uary
-- -----:- - --- - -- -:II
LETTERS
ON
THE DIVINE TRINITY,
ADDRESSED TO
HENRY WARD BEECHER,
BY
B. F. BARRETT.
"Let oor Idea or the One Inftnfte Penooo be loet, or binned and dlulpllted,
and there is darlrneH or lurid on all the landscape of the mind. "-&ar1.
"Our properly ortbodo'I' teachPr1t and churches, whHe prof PHing three per-
aon11, al"'o retain the verbal profe1111ion of one person. They 1uppose tbemsehe1
really to hold that God I one perooo. And yet they most certainly do not; the1
confuAe their undPrstanding. and call their confuRion faftb."-Bwlndl.
"At thif day, with ref'pect to the Divine Trinity, human reuon la bound
like o. man bandrufTed and fettered in prison, a.nd may be compared to a vettiJ
\'lrgio buroO<! alive for letUog out the Bacred lire. "-Sttl.tt.borq.
SECOND EDITION.
NEW YORK:
MASON BROTHERS, NO. 6 & 7 MERCER STREET.
1860.
0. A.. ALVORD, PRINTER, NEW' YORK.
CONTENTS.
J>BUJ.Oa . 6
LErrER I.
Tri Personalism and its Logical Coll8eqnenoe. 0
LETl'ER II.
Where to look for an Image of the Divine Trinity............ 29
LEITER ill.
Explanation of the Trinity In Man which Images the Trinity In
God ............................................... 46
LEITER IV.
Further Evidence and Illustrations of thti Trinity. . . . . 66

LETl'ER V.
Practical Bearings of the New Doctrine........ . 82
LEITER VI.
Scripture Confirmation-Meaning of Father and Sou .. 100
LETl'ER VII.
Further Testimony from Scripture-Meaning of the Holy Spirit
-Conclusion ....................................... 116
332l80
PREFACE.
The following " were first publisted in a monthly
religious magazine, ("THE SwEDENBORGIAN,") under the editorial
charge of the author, and were C'.>ntinucd through seven succrasive
months. 'fhe immediate occasion of them, as will from the
first of the series, was a paragraph in Mr Bcecher's interesting,
able, and. for the most part, truly admirable sermon on "Under-
standing Gud." published in T!te Independent" of March 3lst,
1859. .An extended notice of this remarkable sermon appeared in
the last June issue of" THE SwEDENBORGIAN"; and some nine or
ten pages were therein copied from it with high praise-the Editor
commending, as worthy of special admiration, Mr. Beecher's "prac-
tical test" by which all our views of the Divine Being are to be
tried, and his eloquent advocacy of the distinct personality of God
and the divinity of Jesus Christ. The same notice commenced
with the following paragraph: "Among the encouraging religiollll
8b'peCts of the times, are the indications in several quarters that the
great Central Doctrine of our religion-the doctrine concerning
the Lord-is about to be discussed anew, and to. undergo a thorough
reexamination." And now, while I write-ecarce a month alter
vi PREFACE,
the publication of my last "Letter"-! learn, through the news-
papers, that an extraordinary degTee of interest is being awakenEd
upon this subject of the Trinity ; that it is enlisting the attention
of some of the most distinguished clergymen iu uur land, and
undergoing a discussion which promises to be more thorough and
exhaustive than any to which it has hitherto been subji:cted. .A.
single issue of a weekly religious paper, just received, tells me of
one distinguished D.D., whose recent avowal of his belief in the
doctrine of the Trinity " is producing a new discuRSion of that
question" ; of another, not less distinguished, who has just deliv-
ered a "most effective" discourse upon the subject, for
publication " a desire has been expressed in many quarters" ; of
still another, who " is about to publish a work with the title, 'The
Fathers of the Primitive Church opposed to the Trinity'" ; and of
"Lectures on the Trinity," now in the course of delivery by one of
the ablest and most popular ministers in our country, which" are
to be published by the request of a large uumbt.'.r of persons."
Seeing, then, how deep and widespread is the interest which
this question is awakening among Christians at the pret1ent
understanding, also, bow central the doctrine is, and how important
to any system of theology is a correct view of it-knowing full
well, too, how great and numerous are the difficulties with which
the old,and popular doctrine is embarrassed-and believing that
the view presented in these " Letters" will be found, on careful
examination, to be at once intelligible, rational, and scriptural, I
have no apology to offer for presenting them to the public in tht1ir
present form-conscious though I am of their many defects. l think
Uiey ape needed, and will be found useful in this emergency ; other-
wise I should not publish them. I sincerely hope that, under God,
Diyitized by Google
PREFACE. vii
they may be the means of bringing some bumble w1d struggling
souls to a state of rest in regard to this great doctrine, which, more
than all others, perhaps, has for centuries confused and perplexed
the min<ls of Christians.
Let me say, also-what I believe has been said elsewhere in this
little volume-that these' Letters" are written, not in the interests
of any particular sect or party, but in the interests of truth itself
and our common Christianity. While thankfully acknowledging
my indebtedness, in an especial manner, to oue distinguished aud
chosen servant of the Lord, I wish at the same time to be under-
stood as calling no man Master-for I believe in having but one
Master-Christ. And f1..-eling a sympathy and with all
His meek and humble followers of whatever name or creed-not
doubting but there are aome such in every Christian communiou-
1 hope that whatever of God's truth there is in these " Letters"
may win its way to the hearts of all earnest seekers, unimpeded by
the force of any prejudicll, and unobstructed by the fear of any
possible change in their outward church relations.
Aud sho.1ld the religious or secular press of the country, or any
humble portion of it, deem these "Letters" worthy of notice, it is
to be hoped that, for its own credit's sake as well as for the hont>r
of truth, we shall have something more and better than mere ridi-
cule, or ungenerous aspersions of the character of Swedenborg or
the system of theology unfolded in his writings. It is t.he author's
earnest desire that, if the doctrine of the Trinity as herein set forth
be deemed unsound and unscriptural, or the u.rgument by which it
is sustained, fallacious, the error of the one and '1ie faJlncy of the
otblT may be pointed out in a kind and Christian manner. The
fact that every year lritnesses a steady increase, among all dem:mi-
viii PREFACE.
nations, in the number or int.elligent Christians who cordially accept
this New doctrine for the truth, is a sufficient reason why, it it be
not true, the error should be exposed by fair and convincing argu-
ment, and with friendly and charitable feeling. In our efforts to
advance the Master'6 cause, it is important that we strive never to
forget the Master's spirit.
B.F. B.
01lANGE, N. J., January 21, 1860.

LETTERS
ON
THE DIVINE TRINITY,
ADDRESSED TO
HENRY WARD BEECHER.
LETTER I.
TRlPERSON.A.LISM:-.A.ND ITS LOGICAL CONSEQUENCE.
REV. HENRY w ARD BEECHER :
MY DEAR Srn-In addressing to you a few thoughts
upon a lofty and momentous theme, I trust you will
pardon me for adopting a form which might seem to
indicate a closer external intimacy between us than
really exists. I will, however, confess to a strong
internal drawing towards you-to a sense of a certain
spiritual proximity, which may not be particularly
flattering to you, but which is none the less real and
pleasant to me. I have seldom listened to a sC'rmon
by you, that did not awaken within me holier thoughts,
and enkindle better feelings, purer desires, and nobler
purposes. I have seldom read an article from your
pen, from which I did not derive some rational enter-
tainment, intellectual stimulus, or spiritual instruction
-frequently all these in happy combination. Your
l*
o;g, ,,,,d by Google
10 LETTERS TO BEECHER ON THE TRINITY.
thoughts seem oftentimes my own, but always dressed
in a garb richer far than my poor brain could furnish.
It is, therefore, in obedience to a strong internal
prompting, and because the epistolary style of address
seems to bring you nearer to me, that this style is
adopted on the present occasion.
If you have read the June number of the Sweden
borgian, which was duly mailed to your address, you
will have seen how cordially I accept, and how hearti
ly I commend nearly all your sermon on " Understand-
ing God," published in the March 3lst issue of the
Independent. With a single but important exception,
which I am now about to notice, that sermon contain-
ed what, to me, seemed a lucid and masterly presenta-
tion of the truth upon one of the loftiest and most
momentous themes which the human mind can con-
template. As to the vastness of the subject-as to the
impossibility of fully comprehending or completely
measuring the Infinite with our finite capacities-as
to the means, or subjective condition, necessary to a
right understanding of God-as to the practical test
to be applied to whatever view of Him is adopted-
as to what constitutes the essential and true greatness
of the Divine Being, His disinterested and all-em
bracing love-as to the importance of believing in
and worshiping a personal God, and that God in
human form, and the utter impossibility of conceiving
of any being whatsoever" which has not a personali-
ty "-ns to the supreme and absolute divinity of the
Lord Jesus Christ, and the importance of believing
in and worahiping Him as the manifested Jehovah,
TRlPERSONALISK ELUllNED. 11
" the Way, the Life, the Alpha, the Omega, the First,
the Last "-as to the views upon each and all of these
subjects as set forth in your sermon, I have not a word
of objection to offer. I accept them cordially as the
true Bible views. They are the views, too, which
Swedenborg taught with great clearness a hundred
years ago, and which are now held by all New Church-
men. So that upon these points, you are doctrinally
of the New Church, or I am orthodox-no matter
which way we phrase it.
But there is one point in your sermon-and it seems
to me an important one-to which I now desire to call
your particular attention ; as I think your views on
this point, if I rightly apprehend the meaning of your
language, are contrary to the truth, contrary to reason
and Scripture, and utterly inconsistent with other
parts of your otherwise admirable discourse. I refer
to your doctrine of the Divine Trinity as stated in the
following exceptionable paragraph :
"I have only a word to add, and that is with refer-
ence to occurrences which have recently taken place.
It befel me, not long ago, in writing a reply to a mis
apprehension of Christian brethren, to state that I had
no God but Christ; that there was an effluence rising
from Christ which I was taught to call the Father ;
and that there was a still more tenuous effluence which
I was taught to call the Holy Spirit. So far as those
men who only lie in wait for occ'.l.Sion to find fault, are
concerned, I care nothing ; they would find fault under
any circumstances. But let me remark to you, my
people, that I understand almost literally, what I said
to be the truth. It was no slip of pen, nor infelicity
of language. If there was error, it was in the sense
12 LE1TERS TO BEECHER ON THE TRINITY.
and not in the vehicle. I believe that there is God
the Father ; I believe that there is God the Son ; and
I beliPve that there is God the Holy Ghost. I believe
that these are three beings, with separate and distinct
understandings, with separate and distinct conscience,
with separate and distinct will. I believe that God
the lfathP.r, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost
have a personality so separate that, if the fact of unity
had not been announced, the whole world would have
been obliged to regard them as three Gods ; that is,
to believe in tritheism. I should believe in tritheism
did I not find the simple statement in Scripture that
these three personal Gods are one. I understand their
three-fold personality as much as I understand the ex-
istence of three different friends. It is the unity of
them that I do not undmstand. Aforetime, the mys-
tery of the Trinity was, how one could be three. The
emphasis was wrongly placed. The New Testament
teaches three persons. In my view, the unity of these
three is an unexplained but pm!itively stated fact. -
I believe that it is taught in the New Testament that
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are one God.
In reasoning upon this, I do not suppose that they are
one in the sense in which they are three, nor that they
are three in the sense in which they are one."
Now, although you may agree with me, that it is
possible for even polytheists to be good men, yet you
would not, I think, seriously maintain that polytheism
is true, or that it is a doctrine of the Christian Scrip-
tures. Nor do I believe you would contend that it is
a matter of small consequence, whether a Christian
believes in one God or in more than one. As God is
the centre of the moral universe, so the doctrine con-
cerning Him must be regarded as a cardinal doctrine
in every system of theology. All subordinate doctrin<'s
TRIPl\:RSONALISll EXAMINED. 13
must depend on this, and must be more or less shaped
and colored by it. Aud probably the state of every
Christian worshipcr, could this matter be thoroughly
inquired into or opened up,-his state, I mean, as to
clearness and strength of faith, and depth and tender
ness of love,-would be found to depend very much on
the doctrine which he holds respecting the Object of
his worship. If men believe in a proud, haughty,
tyrannical God-in one who acts arbitrarily, or from
caprice, and always with an eye to his own glory, as
unregenerate men act-their moral and spiritual con-
dition cannot fail to be disastrously affected by such
belief. Or if they believe in a selfish, partial and vin-
dictive God, the virus of this false belief will distill
in bitter drops upon their hearts. And so, too, if they
believe in more Gods than one, I should think they
would find themselves often painfully bewildered aud
strangely confused. I should think the tendency of
such belief would be to distract the mind of the wor-
shiper, to create doubt and sad perplexity at times,
and in the end to weaken if it did not overthrow his
faith. And this appears to be the opinion of men
more worthy to be heard on this subject t11111t myself,
and whose opportunities of observing the effects of the
popular doctrine of a tri-personal God have been more
ample than mine. One of your own denomination,-
one whom I have no doubt you respect and love,- the
talented and excellent Dr. Bushnell, writing of those
who hold "this view of metaphysical tri-personality,''
remarks that, " mournful evidence will be found that a.
confused and painfully bewildered state is often pro-
14 LE'ITERS TO BEECHER ON THE TRINITY.
duced by it. They are," he continues, "practically at
work in their thoughts, to choose between the three ;
some.times actually and decidedly preferring one to
another; doubting how to adjust their mind in wor-
ship ; uncertain, often, which of the three to obey;
turning away, possibly, from one in a feeling of dread
that might well be called aversion ; devoting them-
selves to another, as the Romanist to his patron saint.
This, in fact, is Polytheism, and not the clear, simple
love of God. There is true love in it, doubtless, but
the comfort of love is not here. The mind is involved
in a dismal confusion, which we cannot think of with-
out the sincerest pity."*
The frankness and sincerity of this-coming as it
does from a distinguished minister in a denomination
that prof csses to believe in a tri-personal God-no one
is better able to appreciate than yourself. In its candid,
courageous, and manly tone, it reminds one of yourself
-sounds very much like some of your own honest,
straight-forward utterances. Yet I know that even
Dr. Bushnell-much as you may respect and love him
-is no authority with you; nor should he be. I only
quote h1- to show how wiser men than I-men even
in your own denomination-have thought and spoken
on this great subject. But you bow with humility and
cheerfulness to the authority of the Bible. And upon
no one point is the teaching of the Bible more indis-
putable, I think, than upon the strict personal unity of
God. It affirms nothing with more clearness or em-
phasis-no, not even the existence of the Di vine Being-
o Bushnell's ' Go I in Christ." p. 134.
TRIPERSON A.LISK EXAJnNED. 15
than that " the Lord our God is one Lord." .And this
you admit as heartily as I do. Therefore it is unneces
sary to argue the point. But how to reconcile this
admission with the declarations in the paragraph of
your sermon above quoted, is the difficulty. It is what
I confess myself utterly u n a ~ e to do. It is what I do
not think even you yourself, or any other mortal or
immortal being, can do. For you say : " I believe that
there is God the Father ; I believe that there is God
the Son ; and I believe that there is God the Holy
Ghost. I believe that these are three beings, with
separate and distinct understandings, with separate
and distinct conscience, with separate and distinct
will." You also speak in the same paragraph of " these
three personal Gods," and add, with a frankness and
candor that I greatly admire, "I understand their
three-fold personality as much as I understand the ex-
istence of three different friends."
Now in other parts of your sermon you have de-
clared your belief in a pessmial, God, in contradis.
tinction to that pantheistic view, which you justly
characterize as " the theological annihilation of God
as a personal being ; " and you have combatted; with
even more than your usual force and eloquence, that
prevalent notion-falsely believed to be philosoph
ical-which conceives of God" as an effluence of etber,
diffused radiantly throughout the universe ; " while you
have rendered equally conspicuous the practical im-
portance of believing in God as a Divine Person.
Thus you say, truly," that no man can form any con-
ception of God except as a Person. We cannot know
16 LE'ITERS TO BEECHER ON THE TRINITY.
Him in such a way as that He shall manifest Himself
to us, and abide with us, except as a living Person;
not even as a personage, which means something more
than a person-nor in any way that sets before us an
impersonal God, such as fancy imagines ; a vast diffu-
sive power; the essence or the life of the universe;
a spiritual vitality-ant all that trashy nonsense.
I hold that such a view of God as this is waste mat-
ter-mere fantastic moonshine.'' And as showing the
practical value which you attach to the belief in God
as a Divine Person, you further remark : " I do not
say that a philosophical conception of the elements of
the Divine Nature is impossible ; but I do say that
such a conception is not one which the soul can use;
it is not oue which ever produceR love. In other
words, I do not believe that any man who thinks of
God as an abstract being, having no resemblance to
what we are, ever has a God whom he fondly loves.
. . . I stand up fearlessly and say that it is not in
the power of a human being to love that which does
not come to . him as a person. . . . You can never
have a God that you can take. hold of and say, 'My
Lord -and my God,' or one that you can love, so long
as you regard Him as a mystic something filling all
space, and having no personality." And you also tell
us who, according to your belief, that personal God is.
He is the risen Saviour-the glorified Christ. The
best you can do is, "to give God the form of the
glorified Jmms Christ." "We cannot," say you, "con-
ceive of a being without a form; but it is not best
that our imagination should have unbounded p1ay ;
TRI-PERSON ALI SM EXAHINED,
l'l
therefore there is given to us the person of Jesus
Christ, who is a fit form by which to conceive of
God." Nor do you believe with Unitarians that Jesus
Christ was merely a messenger sent from God. You
believe that he was the manifested Jehovah-" God
with us." You "believe that one of the greatest
elements of power is utterly cast away and lost, when
Christ is regarded as a messenger from God, and not
as God Himself, manifest in the flesh." You believe
that" it is the very God that beams out from Christ,
and not a secondary and transmitted impression of
God through a man." Therefore you worship Him as
" the Alpha., the Omega, the First, the Last," and deem
it right that we should give to Christ "all that the
human soul can give to any being."
Now I subscribe to these sentiments with all my
heart. And I think that what you say is not only
true, but truth of great practical moment, and which
needs to be particularly impressed upon the minds of
Christians at this time. But the force of this sound
and excellent teaching seems to be greatly impaired,
if not in a measure nullified, by the declarations in that
part of your sermon to which I object. For consider :
You first declare your belief in God as a Divine
Person. You maintain that He is not, a.nd cannot be,
truly conceived of, otherwise than as a Person. You
insist, too, on the importance of a belief in his person.
ality ; and maintain that the Lord Jesus Christ is that
Divine Person. Yet, in the exceptionable paragraph
upon which I am remarking, you state it as your
belief that there are" three beings [God the Father,
18 LE'lTEBS TO BEECHER ON THE TRINITY.
God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost] with separate
and distinct understandings, with separate and dis-
tinct conscience, with separate and distinct will"; and
even speak of" three personal Gods" whose " three fold
personality" is as clear and distinct to your mind "as
the existence of three different friends ; " and you de-
clare, " I should believe in tritheism did I not find the
simple statement in Scripture that these three personal
Gods are one." Pardon me, my brother, if I say, that,
according to every fair interpretation of language,
you do believe in tritheism. For, pray tell me what
else than a belief in tritheism it is, to believe in three
divine beings with separate and distinct understand
ings, conscience, and will, and whose " three-fold per-
sonality" stands out as clear and distinct to your men-
tal vision as the " existence of three different friends?"
If you really believe in God as a Divine Person-as
a being in human form, so revealed or manifested in
the person of Jesus Christ-and if at the same time
you think of three Divine Persons, as distinct one from
the other as any " three different friends," do you not
actually believe in three Gods, your lips
may utter or your pen inscribe? Certainly you do
not believe with your lips or your pen, but with your
mind; and your real belief on any and every subject,
is according to the thought of your understanding on
that subject. So that if you think of three Divine
Persons, it seems to me you must think of, and there-
fore believe in, three Gods ; and your mere oral or
written declaration of a belief in one God does not
matter, nor in any way alter the case. You cannot,
TRIPERSONAHSJ( EXilUNED. 19
I think, according to any honest and mtelligent use
of language, declare your belief in the proper unity
or God, or in one only Divine Person, and at the same
time affirm that you believe in three Divine Persons
with separate and distinct understandings, conscience
and will, without justly exposing yourself to the
charge of the most palpable self-contradiction. The
two beliefs are utterly and forever irreconcilable. If
we think of a personal, God, we must either think (no
matter what we say) of one Person, or of more Per-
sons than one ; and as we think, so we 1Jelieve. And

this latter thought or belief, I submit, is polytheism,
however we may seek, by an ingenious use of words
or phrases, to conceal the solemn fact from ourselves
or others.
Does this seem to you harsh or reproachful Ian
guage? 1 do not intend it as such. It is really the
mildest and kindest that I know how to use, while
seeking to make my thought on this subject, and what
seems to me your own inconsistency, plain. Nor have
I spoken more harshly here than some of your own
denomination when discussing the same theme. Your
estimable brother whom I have already quoted (Dr.
Bushnell) remarks with characteristic candor: "A very
large portion of the Christian teachers, together with
the general mass of disciples, undoubtedly hold three
real living persons, in the interior nature of God ;
that is, three consciousnesses, wills, hearts, under-
standings "-precisely what I understand you to hold,
according to a fair interpretation of that part of your
sermon which I am criticising. "But our properly
20 LETI'ERS TO BEECHER ON THE TRINITY.
orthodox teachers and churches "-to quote further
from the same excellent authority-"while professing
three persons, also retain the verbal profession of one
person. They suppose themselves really to hold that
God is one person. And yet they most certainly do
not ; they only confuse their understanding and call
their confusion faith. This, I affirm, not as speaking
reproachfully, but as I suppose on the ground of suf
ficient evidence-partly because it cannot be other
wise, and partly because it visibly is not. No man
can asse.14f three persons, meaning three conscious
nesses, wills, and understandings, and still have a.ny
intelligent meaning in his mind when he asserts that
they are yet one person."
I repeat, then-not reproachfully or unkindly by
any means, but with a view of leading you to serious
reflection on this you <lo most certainly
believe in tritheism, if, holding, as you profess, to the
strict and proper personality of God, you still allow
yourself to think of three Persons. You may say that
you disbelieve in tritheism, but I think you deceive
yourself in this. It is your thought on the subject
(is it not?) rather than the utterance of your lips or
the inscription (lf your pen, that determines your real
belief. You believe in the true and proper divinity
of Jesus Christ. You believe Him to be a Divine
Person in no qualified or poetic sense ;-not merely
" a messenger from God," but " God himself mani
fest in the flesh." So you declare. Permit me, then,
to ask, or to beg that you will ask yourself, Do
you believe in any othe1 Divine Person? If so, I
TRlPERSONALISM: ELUllNED.
21
leave you to draw the necessary inference. Do you
believe that in Christ dwelloth, as the Apostle assures
us," all the fulness of the Divinity"? or that out of and
distinct from Him, as you are out of and distinct from
any two of your friends, there exist two other Divine
Fersons? If" all the fullness," which I understand to
mean the wholeness or totality of the Godhead or Divin-
ity, dwells in Christ, then where is the need or even
the propriety of thinking of any Divinity out of
Him, or of any other Person except Him ? Yet you
seem to think of two other Persons, or at least to
think that there are two others, however ''feeble the
conception you are able to form of them. For, near
the close of your sermon, looking forward to a period
when you shall have passed from this stage of being,
and expressing the confident belief that you shall then
behold Christ "as He is, no whit less than God," you
add : "And if then likewise before my clarified vision
there shall arise in equal proportions of majesty the
then revealed Father and Holy Spirit, they shall not
overshadow my Christ, nor take anything from the
glory of His Divinity. What this fine.I revelation of
the ma:jesty of God shall be, I am content to leave till
that hour of birth which men call death." "The then
revealed Father I" You surprise me, my brother, by
this language, not less than by that quoted in the
earlier part of my letter. And I am prompted to ask,
Is God the Father as yet unrevealed to Christians?
Must we wait till "that hour of birth which men call
death" for the revelation of our Father in Heaven?
Has not the Father graciously revealed Himself to us
Digitzod YGoogle
22 LETI'ERS TO BEECHER ON THE TRINITY.
already? Was it not one great object of Christ's
advent to "bring the Father forth to view?" Did not
all that is signified by the Father-all the fulness of
the Divine L o v ~ w e l l in Christ, as the soul in the
body ? And seeing Him, do we not see the Father,
as truly as I see you when I look upon your body,
which is the natural out-birth and express image of
your soul-your real self-in this lower sphere? How
else are W{l to interpret the explicit declarations of the
Divine Satlour Himself? "Philip saith unto Him,
Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus
saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you,
and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that
bath seen me hath seen the Father ; and how sayest
thou, then, Show us the Father. Believe me that I
am in the Father, and the Father in me."
If, then, you have seen Christ-seen him, I mean, with
your mental eye-if you have seen and comprehended
His blessed spirit of humility, meekness, forbearance,
long-suffering, gentleness, patience, forgiveness-if
you have felt the power of His redeeming love in your
soul like the warmth of a summer's sun-if you have
seen Him working mysteriously in the deep places of
your heart, opening up and revealing to your conscious
perception the supreme selfishness and manifold evils
of your natural man, and teaching and strengthening
you to overcome them-if you have thus, spiritually
and truly, seen Christ, then, and in that degree, have
you seen the Father. The Divine has been manifested
to you in and through the Human ;-God has been
revealed to you in Christ-the Father in the Son.
TRI-PERSONALISll ELUUNED. 23
'He that hath seen me, hath seen the Father." And in
110 other way-sure as God's Word is true--will the
Father ever be revealed or shown to men. As we
advance in the regenerate life, and our vision becomes
clarified, we shall be able to comprehend more and
more of the Divine, and thus to see more and more
of the Father ; for he will continue to reveal Himself
to us in richer O.oods of glory, and greater depths of
tenderness and love, as we draw nearer to His moral
likeness. But ever will it be--in the land of the
Hereafter not less than of the Now and Here-as the
successive unfoldings and revealings of the same great
Central Luminary-the emanations from the face of
the same Spiritual Sun, grown brighter, sweeter, and
more entrancing, as the smoke and vapor that sur-
round our little earth-worlds fade away and disappear.
And thus will the Father arise in the Hereafter-
not a11 another Person "in equal proportions of ma-
jesty," but as the self-same Person-the same almighty
and blessed Saviour manifesting Himself more plainly
"before our clarified vision ; "-showing us more and
more clearly the face of our heavenly Father ;-reveal-
ing, with ever increasing fulness, according to our
growing receptivity, the amazing wealth of the Divine
Wisdom, and sweetness of the Divine Love. So that,
what you are looking forward to as the " final revela
tion of the majesty of God," and which you think is veil
ed in utter darkness now, will only be a fuller revela-
tion of His unspeakable wisdom and matchless love-a
more complete unfolding and revealing to human spir
its, of those essential human attributes (pre-eminent
24 LETl'ERS TO BF!ECHER ON THE TRINITY.
among which stands disinterested love), which con-.
stitute the glory, and greatness, and hence" the ma-
jesty " of God.
Can this final revelation of the Divine majesty b ~
aught else than this, according to every rational and
Scriptural view of the subject? Nay, can it be aught
else, according to your own idea of the Divine char-
acter, and of the particular attribute which constitutes
the distinguishing and chief element of God's great-
ness-unselfish love? This essential attribute of the
Divine Nature stands forth conspicuously in the per-
son and character of Christ, even to our now obscure
and beclouded vision. And when we shall have pass-
ed the portals of the tomb, and been lifted into realms
of loftier thought and sweeter affection-when the
dust of earth-born desires, which so obscures our
vision now, shall have passed away, and our souls
shall have emerged into the pure and serene air of
heaven, may we not reasonably expect that, to our
then clarified vision, the same Divine Saviour's face
will glow with a seven-fold radiance-His love and
wisdom beam with a seven-fold intensity? So was
it with the three favorcd disciples of old. When they
were carried "up into an high mountain, apart," He,
who appeared before to their ordinary percc?f;ion as
little more than common flesh and blood, was now
" transfigured before them ; and His face did shine as
the sun, and His raiment was white as the light."
Why may we not consider this Scripture as designed
to teach us the beautiful and important_ lesson, that
the Lord Jesus is always transfigured before his dis-
o;
9
;1;wd by Google
TRlPERSONALISK EXUlINED.
ciples in the degree that they are brought into higher
spiritual states-up into the mount of his own purity
and love? The farther we advance in the regenerate
life, or the higher we ascend spiritually, so much the
more resplendent shines the face of the Divine Saviour.
So that when we reach that heavenly city where there
is no night, and" where they need no candle neither
light of the sun," we may expect to see Him as He is
seen by the angels-" His face shining as the sun, and
his raiment white as the light." And if God is the
Son of the spidtual world, as the Scripture teaches,
and if Christ appears to the angels all radiant with
light,-" above the brightness of the Sun "-as he ap-
peared to the Apostle on his way to Damascus, then
we cannot conceive of a plurality of Divine Persons,
without at the same time conceiving of a. plurality of
heavenly Suns-a plurality of Gods.
But you believe in the tri-personality of God, be-
cause you think the Bible teaches it. "The New
Testament," you say," teaches three persons." Pardon
me, my brother, for saying, that here you labor under
a great mistake. This idea was doubtless early im
pressed upon your mind ; and it is, I presume, from
the influence of that early teaching, rather than from
any conviction on the subject reached by a careful
personal examination, that this assertion is made. I do
not mean to charge that it is made rashly or thought-
lessly-for I understand too well the force of early
taching to do that ; but sure am I, that if you care-
fully examine the New Testament with reference to
this point, you will yourself discover your mistake.
2
Diyitized by Google
26 LE'ITERS TO BEECHER ON THE TRIXITY.
You will find, as I have found, that the doctrine of
three Persons in the Godhead, is not a doctrine_ of the
Bible. I affirm with confidence that no such doctrine
is anywhere taught in the Sacred Scripture. And if
you think otherwise, I should esteem it a special favor
if you would refer me to the particular passage--for
I confess I have never met with it. No. This tri
personal doctrine, rely upon it, is not a doctrine ex
plicitly taught in the Bible, but is simply an inference
drawn by frail and fallible men from what is there
taught. And when you consider what strange things
men have understood the Bible to teach on other sub-
jects-what false and absurd opinions have been sup-
posed to be the legitimate and necessary inferences
from its teachings-you may, perhaps, be able to con
cede the possibility, that, upon this subject also the
inference may not be well-founded.
That the Bible teaches the existence of a Trinity in
the Divine Being is fully conceded. I also am willing
to concede, that, in the literal sense of the Scripture,
this Trinity a-ppeara to be a Trinity of Persons-just
as it sometimes a-ppeara from the same sense as if God
actually indulged in anger, hatred, revenge, an.d fury,
and that He repents like one who has sinned or made
a mistake. But you, I cannot doubt, will agree with
me when I say, that the apparent truth in the letter of
the Bible is not always to be accepted f(lr the real
truth. There is much apparent truth in the volume
of Nature which we know is quite different from the
real truth ; and the language of men is framed to
agree rather with appearances than with realities.
TRl-PERSONALISM EXAllINED. 2'l
Tlius when we say that the sun rises, or the sun goes
down, it is well known that our language expresses
only the apparent and not the real truth. What if, in
this respect, there shoul_d be found to exist a close
analogy between the volume of Nature and the volume
of Revelation ? And what if, when we penetrate be-
neath the letter of Scripture-when we pass beyond
the cloudy region of appearances to the brighter
realm of realities-we should find this appearance of
three Persons in the Godhead to be only an appear
ance ? What if, looking beyond the letter that killeth
to the spirit that giveth life, we should find revealed
to us in the higher and truer sense of Scripture only
one Divine Person, in whom, nevertheless, are three
essential elements, represented in the letter by Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit? It would only be verifying
the truth and justness of your own apt illustration of
the subject by three branches springing from one
trunk, and appearing to the superficial observer, who
views them "from behind a garden wall," as three trees.
When, at the same time, to quote the language which
you put into the mouth of one of your supposed inter-
locutors, "If you could look behind the wall, you
would find that, after all, these apparently three trees
came together at a point beyond your sight, and stand
upon one root, and make but one tree." The illustra-
tion is a good one ;-not good, however, for your
tri-personal doctrine, but quite at war with it.
But you yourself perceive the difficulties with which
the popular doctrine of the Trinity is embarrassed, and
with characteristic manliness and candor acknowledge
28 LETrEBS TO BEECHER ON THE TRINITY.
them. "I am obliged," you say, "on any ground, to
recognize difficulties, and to feel my ignorance ; and
at the very best it is a choice of difficulties." " Which-
ever way I go in the New Testament, if I walk with
those who believe in the absolute oneness of God, or
with those who believe in the tri-personality of one
God, I find many things obscure. Surely, I should
change my view if another one were presented to me
which reconciled and harmonized every passage of the
New Testament." There i8 a doctrine which I think
does this-and which I propose in future letters to
unfold and explain ;-a doctrine alike rational and
Scriptural, which, while it maintains a Divine Trinity,
shows this Trinity to be of such a nature as is com-
patible with the strict r>ersonal, unity of God and the
supreme Divinity of Jesus Christ. .And though I can
hardly hope so to unfold and exhibit this new doctrine,
that you will be able at once to see it clear of all dif-
ficulty, I trust I may be enabled to present it in such
light as to convince you that the difficulties atten-
dant upon it are incomparably less than those by which
the old and popular doctrine is confessedly embar-
rassed. However that may be, I cannot doubt but
my well-meant effort will be duly appreciated by you ;
and sincerely hope that the spirit which prevades my
Letters may ever be such as to meet the approval of
our common Lord and Master, and advance in some
humble degree the interests of His blessed kingdom.
In this hope I subscribe myself
Your Friend and Brother,
Orange, May 28, 1859. B. F. BABB'l'l"r.
NATURE OF THE DTVlNll: TRINITY. i9
WHERE TO LOOK FOR AN IllAGE OF THE DMNE TRINITY.
MY DEAR SIR :-Permit me to say, in resuming the
subject of my last letter, that I write not in the inter
ests of any sect or party-not even as a New Church-
man in the popular or technical sense of that term.
But I write in tlie interests of our common Christian
ity, and with the desire of promoting a cause which,
I doubt not, is as dear to your heart as to mine-the
cause of pure and undefiled religion.
You, my brother, occupy no ordinary position in the
church of Christ. Your learning and talents, your
piety and zPal, your manly independence and noble
courage, your sincerity and earnestness, your devotion
to every cause which you believe good and just, com-
bined with your vivid imagination, your fertility in
resources, and your brilliant and unrivalled rhetorical
powers, place you deservedly among the foremost of
those now occupying the American pulpit. Your
influence is probably more extensive and more potent
than that of any other clergyman in the United States.
Your utterances are caught up by the religious and
secular press, and wafted, as on the wings of the wind,
to the remotest corners of our land. Where ordinary
preachers count their audiences by tens (including
readers as well as hearers}, you may count yours by
SO LETl'ERS TO BEECHER ON TBJ: TRINITY.
thousands. It is, therefore, far more important for
you to be right on all questions of moment in morals
and religion, than for other men-as much more im-
portant as your influence is wider and more powerful.
If you go wrong, or teach something which is not true,
the mischief of such teaching will be incalculably
greater than though the same error had been taught
by one of your humbler brethren. An ordinary min-
ister may start from false premises, or reason badly
from those that are true ; he may teach for doctrines
the commandments of men, and. present for Bible
truth dogmas that are false and absurd; he may con-
tradict himself repeat.edly in the same discourse-as
,not unfrequently happens-and no great harm result
from it. But when a minister of such commanding
talents and influence as you possess, presents a def ec-
tive argument on any high theme, or when he affirms
things that are irreconcilable with each other and
with right reason, the cause of Christ suffers more
dnmage. His defective argument or false affirmation
will be taken up and repeated by ten thousand tongues,
and his error be propagated to distant lands and a
remote posterity. And if there are those who per-
ceive the defect in his logic, or the error in his state-
ment, they will be likely to think such error or defect
belongs to the Christian system itself; and so Chris-
tianity will .suffer in their estimation.
It is, then, in view of your position in the American
church of Christ, and your unquestionable influence in
shaping the future theological thought of our country,
that I am induced to write you on this subject of the
N..1.TURE OF THE DIVINE TRINITY. 31
Divine Trinity. It is an important subject and has
ever been so regarded by Christians. It is one, about
which there have been mauy long and angry contro-
versies in the church. The popular doctrine on the
subject-i. e. the doctrine of three Divine Persons,
which has been held by the great majority of Chris-
tians ever since the Council of Nice-is confessedly.
embarrassed with great difficulties. Yourself and
, others of your own denomination are candid enough to
acknowledge this. You see that it is hard-I hold it
to be impossible-to believe in a pera<m<il God, and at
the same time io believe in, or to think of, three Divine
Persons, without believing in tritheism-a doctrine
universally conceded by Christians to be contrary
alike to reason and Scripture.
It was the design of my previous letter to show,
that, to believe in "three Beings with separate and
distinct understandings, with separate and distinct
conscience, and with separate and distinct will,"-
language quoted from your sermon-and whose three-
fold personality stands as clearly defined to your men-
tal vision as "the existence of.three different friends,"
according to every fair and honest use of language, is
nothing less than a belief in tritheism. And I beg
you seriously to consider this, and see if it is not so.
You believe in the absolute divinity of Jesus Christ;
you believe Him to have been not merely a "messen-
ger from God," but "God himself manifest in the
flesh." The glorified Christ stands revealed to your
mental perception as a Divine Person. .A.nd if you
believe in a persorud God, as you profess, it is impos-
32 Lrl'J'!ntS TO BEECHER ON THE TRINrrr.
sible for you to think of the existence of any other
Divine Person, without thinking of more Gods than
one. Is it not so ?
Here, then, your tripersonal doctrine is met, in
limine, by the solid and insurmountable objection, that
it necessarily involves a belief in tritheism. .A.nd if tri
theism be not agreeable either to Scripture or reason,
then it is certain that the teaching of the Bible on
this subject has been misunderstood. The Trinity
therein revealed must be some other than a trinity of
Pe:rs01UJ. .A.nd when we consider upon how many
other subjects the teaching of Scripture has been mis-
understood, why should it be difficult for us to admit
that upon this also its meaning may have been misap
prehended? It is certainly easier to believe that
Christians have misunderstood God's Word on this
eubject, than to believe that His Word teaches a doc
trine so repugnant to enlightened rcai;on as tritheism,
or any thing nearly allied to it. And if a belief in
tritheism be unreasonable, and unfriendly to the devel
opment of the highest religious life, might we not ex
pect, in view of the immense multitude of persons who
have accepted the tri-personal doctrine, and of the
tenacity with which that doctrine has been held, that
a new revelation on this subject, would, at some time
or other, be vouchsafed to Christians? Is it reason
able to suppose, that, upon a theme of so n i ~ c h mag
nitude and importance as the nature of the Divine
Trinity, the Lord would permit his church to remain
forever in darkness? For when such a view of any
subject is presented as requires for its acceptance the
NATURE OF THE DIVINE TRINITY, 33
complete surrender if not the absolute crucifixion of
my reason, I call it darkness. If there be a true doc
trine of the Trinity, different from the one which you
profess, and which has been held by the great majority
of Christians- for so many centuries, what could be
more reasonable than to expect that it would some
day be revealed? And may not the revelation of the
genuine truth on this subject, together with an un-
folding of the deeper and truer meaning of Scripture
on other subjects, be among the things pointed at in
those prophetic intimations which our Saviour uttered
eighteen hundred years ago? "I have yet many
things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
Howbeit, when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, he
will guide you into all truth." "These things have
I spoken unto you in proverbs; but the time cometh
when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but
I shall show you plainly of the Father." I believe
that the time here alluded to has already come ; and
that men-all, I mean who have eyes to see-are
now being shown plainly of the Father. I believe
that the s(>irit of truth here promised--the spirit of
the Divine Wod-has come, and that it is even now
guiding the genuine disciples of the Lord, whose
hearts are open to receive it, into all truth. I believe
that the true spiritual !'lense of the Word has been laid
open by that distinguished servant of the Lord, Eman
nel Swedenborg; attd among other interesting and im-
portant truths therein revealed, is the truth concern
ing the Divine Trinity. I grant that it appears from
the literal sense of the Scripture as if there were throo
2*
3! LETrERS TO BEECHER ON THE
persons in the Godhead-though this is no where dis
tinctly taught ;-jm.t as your three branches springing
from one trunk appear to the superficial observer, or
to one who views them " from behind a garden wall,"
as three trees. But the spiritual sense "breaks down
that garden wall, or lifts us above it ; for it lifts us
above mere appearane8 and disclose1:1 realities. It
shows us, that, what appears from the sense of the
letter as three Divine Persons, is in reality but one
Di vine Person-just as a closer observation, or a
higher view, of your apparently three trees shows them
"coming together at a point beyond your [former] sight, .
and standing upon one root, and making but one tree."
The doctrine concerning the Divine Trinity, there-
fore, to which I invite your serious attention, is none
other than that revealed for the New Church through
Swedenborg. But no special indulgence is claimed
for the view I am about to present, on the score of
Swedenborg's alleged or admitted illumination. You
are not asked to accept it on his authority, but simply
to examine it with candor in the light of reason and
Revelation. But if I succeed in showing you that it
has the of both these witnesses, I am en
courage<l to believe that you will accept it with your
whole heart; for you say in your late sermon," Surely,
I should change my view if another one were presented
to me which reconciled and harmonized every passage
of the New Testament." I think the New Church
doctrine on the subject does this. .And though you
may not agree with me, I trust you will give to what
I say a candid hearing.
o;
9
;1;zedbyGoogle
----
NATURE OF THB DIVINE TRINITY. 85
And I rejoice that you and I have so much common
ground to stand upon. The points upon which we
agree, touching the great central doctrine of Chris
tianity-the doctrine concerning the true Object of
worship-are numerous and important. My first no
tice of your sermon on "Understanding God" must
have satisfied you of this. We even agree as to the
fact of a trinity in God, and differ only as to the
nature of this trinity. I accept, too, what you say
about the measure of our ability to understand or
interpret God. And as it seems to have an important
bearing upon the subject under discussion, you will
pardon me for introducing here a few extracts from
your late sermon.
" First, in further opening up this subject, I remark
that man's own being is given to him as the determining
clement by which he is to understand all things outside
of himself. This is the only means by which we can
measure and understand things foreign to ourselves ;
and I do not hesitate to say that no man can understand
anything of which there is not in himself an element or
analogue."
" The moment you undertake to understand anything
predicated of the Divine Being, of which there is not
some germ, some 11eed-form, in yourself, to stand as an
analogue, that very moment you fall into confusion."
"It has been thought to be the right way of exalting
God, to teach that He is absolutely different from men.
. . . It has been thought to be presumption to take
that which is God-like in man, and by it to represent
truthfully God's nature. It has been supposed that a11
of God's likening himself to man in the Bible, is on
account of our weakness ; and that accordingly, it is to
be interpreted as giving U'S some proximate idea of
what God is, but not as giving tis the real truth. Well,
36 UT1'BR8 TO BEECHER ON THE TRINITY.
what is the use of proximate truth, that is not a bit like
the real truth?"
" I aver that the quality of love in God is exactly like
the quality of love in you .. . . If a man says that
love in me is no fit measure of the depth, or the breadth,
or the length, or the versatility of the love of God, he is
right ; but yet it is a true criterion by which to judge
of the essential quality of love in God."
"What an utter wreck and ruin would be presented
of that fal1:1e notion of God which some persons hold,
namely, that we can have 110 real knowledge of Him,
but only a kind of false representation, which comes
nearer representing Him than anything else, but still is
nothing like a true representation-,vhat an utter wreck
and ruin, I say, would be presented of this false notion,
if every conscientious man were to admit that God is in
no respect. different, in the essential elements of his
character, from men, but a being whom we ourselves
come nearer representing than anything else I"
"The Scripture teaching on this point is simply this-
that man was made in the image of God, in order, as we
suppose, that he might nndorstand Him. The spiritual
and the higher nature of man is really, absolutely .like
God's ; just as red is like red, just as green is like
green."
"We are so like God in this respect, that if you know
what disinterested love is, then you know the kind of
love that God feels ; if you know what true justice is,
yon know what God regards as justice. You know not
the whole expP;.rience of God ; but if you know one let-
ter in the alphabet of a knowledg-e of God, that letter
gives you a correct conception of Him as far as it goes."
"Right thinking, based upon right living, is the philo-
sophical method of finding out God.
"Let us turn to a ~ a y i n g of the Apostle John, which
has an intimate bearing upon this subject : 'Behold
what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us,
that we should be called the sons of God I ' Children
NATURE OF THE DIVINE TRINITY. 8'l
arc like their parents. They inherit their nature from
their parents. Like begcts like everywhere. From the
beginning of the world to the present, the declaration
has been ringing that we are God's children ; that we
are like God ; that we are made in God's image ; that
God is our Father ; that the parental likeness is given
us in its elements."
"That is the way you are going to see God--by your
own consciousness, and the qualities in you answering
to a like consciousness and to like qualities in Him.
And n'O man can know one whit more of God than he
possesses in his own being. We can comprehend God
only to the degree that His power, in-dwelling in us,
causes our higher nature to act as His nature acts, thus
rendering us interpreters of Him."
Now I accept what you here say as at once rational
and Scriptural. . You have only stated in varied lan-
guage what is more summarily expressed in the lan-
guage of Holy Writ: "So God created man in His own
image ; in the image of God created He him." But
let us apply this 11ound and excellent tea< hing to the
subject under consideration.
You maintain that "you cannot understand any-
thing predicated of the Divine Being, of which there
is not some germ, some seen-form in yourself." You
reject, as "a false notion," the doctrine which teaches
"that He is absolutely different from men," and declare
your belief" that God is in no respect different, in the
essential elements of His character, from men, but a
Ileing whom we ourselves come nearer representing
than anything else." .And, consistently enough, you
add: "Right thinking, based upon right living, is the
philosophical method of finding out God." Your
meaning here seems quite intelligible-and alike
88 LE'l'l'ERS TO BEECHER ON THE TRINITY.
rational and Scriptural: It is, that we understand, or
"find out" God more and more, the more we become
like Him in the spirit and temper of our minds. By
"right living." I suppose you mean un1ling right and
acting right ; for both willing aud acting are involved
in living. Then your meaning in the last sentence
quoted, must be, that the best and truly philosophical
method of finding out God, is, to think right, to feel
or will right, and to act right. A.nd you will no
doubt agree r.ith me, that to think right on moral
and spiritual themes, is to think according to the will
of God as revealed in His Holy Word; or, to think
in accordance with the laws of heavenly order-to
think according to the truths of spiritual and heavenly
life. But you very well know that right thinking,
however indispensable this may be to right acting, is
not alone sufficient to constitute one a good man or
a genuine Christian. Therefore you have wisely
coupled with this, right living. A.nd right living
clearly involves two things: First, a right purpose
of the heart-a pure motive-a right determination
of the will ; and second, the ultimation of that right
purpose, or the carrying of our good intentions into
ontward act . In other words, when the rulfng pur-
pose of a man's heart is to do right, or, what is the
same, to do God's will without any thought of recom-
pense, then his motive is pure-his will has a right
determination. A.nd when he <'arries his good purpose
into effect, that is, when he actually does God's will,
from love to Him, or from a desire to please Him,
then he lives right. Then he lives or acts according
NATURE OF THE DITINE TRINITY. 39
to those laws of heavenly order, in agreement with
which he thinks a.nd wills. His thoughts and feelings
are heavenly ; and his deeds, outflowing therefrom, are
of a corresponding character. Such a man is in the
likeness of God, for he has God's iruage in himself.
And by virtue of this in-dwelling of the Divine like-
ness, he is enabled to understand God-to see Him
mentally or spiritually. And this is the only way
that God can be truly seen or understood. Hence it
is written, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they
shall see God ; " that is, shall mentally perceive Him-
shall understand His true character.
This I understand to be the obvious meaning of
what is taught in your sermon. This is your own
view without any essential modification, and but slight-
ly expanded. It is what I gather from your language
when you say : " That is the way you are going to see
God-by your own consciousness, and the qualities in
you answering to a like consciousness and to like quali
ties iu Him. And no man can know one whit more of
God than he possesses in his own being. We can com-
prehend God only to the degree that His power, in-
dwelling in us, causes our higher nature to act as His
nature a.cts, thus rendering us interpreters of Him."
You will not fail to discover the purpose for which
I have made these quotations from your sermon.
They are extremely pertinent to the subject under
discussion. For if we .. " are going to see God " by
having in ourselves elements or qualities which answer
to like elements or qualities in Him, then should we
not look to ourselves in order to see, that is, to un.
4 0 I.ETTERS TO BEECHER ON THE TRINITY
understand, the true nature of the trinity in God?
If, as you affirm, "no man can know one whit more of
God than he possesses in his own being," then what
can we know of the nature of the Divine Trinity, ex-
cept so far as we have the image and likeness of that
'l'rinity in ourselves? Do you say we know nothing,
and therefore can affirm nothing, in regard to the
nature of the Divine Trinity'! I answer that you do
affirm something in regard to the nature of this Trin-
ity, when you declare your belief in three Divine Per-
sons. You affirm it to be tripersonaJ, in its nature.
I, on the contrary, maintain that the tripity in God is
not tri-personal, but that it is precisely such in its
nature as is the trinity in every good or regenerating
man ; and even in a bad man, we have an inverted
image of this Trinity. And for this I think you must
concede that I have the warrant of Holy Scripture.
The Bible declares that man was originally made in
the image of God. Then, whatever be the nature of
the Trinity in God, there must have been originally
an image of that Trinity in man; and from the nature
of the finite human trinity, we ought to be able to
learn that of the Infinite Divine Trinity-just as from
the nature or quality of our finite human love, we may
learn that of the Infinite Divine Love ; and you your-
self believe that we can learn the nature of God's
love .in no other way. "I aver," say you, "that the
quality of love in God is exactly like the quality of
love in you. As for power of love, and as for all
manner of- multitudinous disclosures, of course God
is tropical, and we are like Nova Zembla; but as to
NATURE OF THE DIVINE TRINITY. 41
the matter of loving, He loves just as we love. I, with
the little spark in my bosom, love just as God loves
with the vast flame which is ever bursting forth from
His great nature." And notwithstanding God's image
in the soul of man has been terribly marred and dis
torted by sin, it has ever been, and is still, the belief
of Christians, that by regeneration the Divine image
is restored to us. This renewal or restoration of
God's image in the soul, is obviously what is meant by
the new man and the new creation of which Paul
speaks; for, writing to the Ephesian ,brethren on the
subject of this inward spiritual renewal, he exhorts
them to "put on the new man, which, after God, is
created in righteousness and true holiness.'' And
again, writing to the Colossians, he speaks of "the
new man " as one " which is renewed in know ledge
after the image of Him that created him." And else-
where in the Bible the regenerate are spoken of as
the sons or children of God, and as created anew in
His own image and likeness. Thus, in a passage
quoted in your sermon (1 John iii. 2) : "Beloved, now
are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear
what we shall be ; but we know that, when He shall
appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as
He is." And upon this you justly remark, that" we shall
see Him just as He is, because we shall be like Him."
That is, we shall understand God in the degree that
we become spiritually like Him-in the degree that
we are created ane'V after His Divine likeness. Or,
to cite again your own language, "The moment we
begin to grow like Christ, that moment we begin to
42 LETl'ERS TO BEECHER ON THE TRINITY.
understand him better ; and the more we grow like
Him, the better we shall understand Him."
We have, then, the indisputablP, warrant of Holy
Scripture for saying that man was originally created
in the image of God. And the same high authority
assures us, that, although this image has been defaced,
and almost blotted out, through the mal_ign power of
evil, yet by the new spiritual birth the Divine likeness
is restored to the soul. By following the Lord in the
regeneration, man is re-created in the image of his
:Maker. This is so clearly taught in the Bible, that it
is believed by nearly all Christendom. It is your own
belief. And I submit that the logical and necessary
inference from tl1is, is, that whatever be the nature. of
the Divine Trinity, the image of that Trinity must be
found in every regenerate or regenerating man. And
if we are not justified in calling a regenerate man tri-
personal, no more are we justified in speaking or
thinking of a tri-personal God. We have not the
least warrant, either from Scripturfl or reason, for
believing in or talking of any other ldnd of trinity in
God, than that which exists in every man who has been
created anew in God's own image. And when men d-0
think of any different kind-when they talk of a tri-
personal Ood, to cite the language of our candid
brother Bushnell, " they only confuse their under-
standing, and call their confusion faith." What can
we understand-what ought we, therefore, to believe
or teach--concerning any trinity in God, other than
that whose hnage, seed-form, or analogue we find in
ourselves 'l For, as you yourself have truly said, "t11e
NATURE OF THE DIVINE TRINITY. 43
moment you undertake to understand anything predi-
cated of the Divine Being, of which there is not some
germ, some seed-form in yourself, to stand as an
analogue, that moment you fall into confusion." And
when you talk about a trinity in God, to which we
find nothing analogous in the finite human being-a
trinity of such a nature that there is nothing in man
or known to man which resembles it, or gives us the
least idea of it-a trinity of which it is not pretended
that any human understanding is able to take cogni
zance, or one which, if there be any such pretense,
leads by the strictest logical necessity to tritheism-
when you talk, I say, of such an unknown and incom-
prehensible trinity," I am"-to use your own language
in reference to certain abstract qualities that do not
centre in a personal, God-" I am crazed by it." You
talk of a trinity, the image of which is unknown on
earth, and whose nature there is nothing in me that
explains, or furnishes the least clue to it. It is as if
you talked in Sanscrit, or discoursed to me of a sixth
sense. And, to quote again from your generally ex-
cellent sermon, "when you attempt to conceive of a
sixth sense, unlike anything in you, every one feels
that there is no such thing as understanding such a
sense, because there is nothing in ourselves by which
to interpret it."
I maintain, therefore, that the true nature of the
Dh'ine Trinity reveals itself in the constitution of the
finite human being, and finds here its only complete
and rational explanation. The image of this Trinity
is and must be in ourselves, because we were created
44, LE'rl'ERS TO BEECHER ON THE TRINITY.
to be images and likenesses of God. We were made
to be the recipients, in a finite degree, of each and
every element that enters into the Divine character.
We can know nothing of God's love save as its nature
or quality is revealed to us in the love that we feel,
and which flows into our hearts from Him who is Love
Itself. We can know nothing of God's wisdom, ex-
cept so far as that bumble measure of our human wis-
dom, wl1ich we receive from Him, shadows forth, or
in some measure images, the Divine. And so of God's
mercy, justice, long-suffering, tenderness, benevolence,
foresight, righteousness, and all the other Divine at-
tributes; we can have no knowledge of them, and
of course cannot talk of them intelligently, except in
the degree that we have some measure--some faint
image at least-of these same attributes in ourselves.
And this, doubtless, you will concede, since it follows
as a logieal inference from your own affirmations,
that it is the spiritual nature [in us] that interpret'f
God ; that " as to the matter of loving, He loves just
as we love ; " and that "the quality of love in God is
exactly like the quality of love in you," only im-
measurably superior in purity; amplitude and power.
Rely upon it, then, my brother, the true doctrine
concerning the Divine Trinity, like every other doc-
trine concerning the Divine character and attributes,
must base itself upon the constitution of our own im-
mortal being, and find its image, and so its rational
interpretation there. Any doctrine which fails to do
this, will sooner or later be seen to have no foun
NATURE 011' THE DIVINE TRINITY. 45
dation, and will be discarded by the wise and good as
a mere human invention.
But what is the trinity in man which is supposed to
image forth, and so to interpret for us, the nature of
the Divine Trinity? I should weary you, were I to
enter upon the explanation of this now, and do any-
thing like tolerable justice to the subject. Although
it has been hinted at, and indistinctly shadowed forth
in a portion of the present letter, I trust to be able
in my next to make the matter so plain, that no linger
ing doubt about it shall remain in any honest mind.
And if I succeed in satisfying you that this finite
human trinity, the nature of which I propose to ex-
hibit, is the analogue or image, and therefore the true
interpreter for us, of the Infinite Divine Trinity, I
shall feel that I have been amply rewarded for my
humble effort. Meanwhile-begging that you will
weigh with seriousness and candor what I have here
said, for it has an important bearing on what I have
yet to say-I subscribe myself
Your Friend and Brother,
B. F. BARRETT.
Orange, JuJ,y 12, 1859.
(6 LETl'ERS TO BUCHER ON TBll T&INITY.
LETTER III.
EXPLANATION OF THE TRINITY IN MAN WHICH IMAGES
THE TRINITY IN GOD.
MY DEAR Sm :-In my last letter I endeavored to
show, that, whatever be the nature of the Divine
Trinity, the image of that Trinity must be found in
every regenerate or regenerating man. And permit
me here to say, that I see not how you can help admit-
ting this to be a legitima.te conclusion, as well from
the plain teachings of Holy Scripture as from many
declaratillns in your sermon which I have often quoted.
The Bible plainly teaches that man was originally
made in God's image and likeness. And you yourself,
referring to the Scripture teaching on this
say, that "man was made in the image of God, in
order, as we suppose, that he might understand Him."
How else, then, shall we learn or understand the true
nature of the trinity in God, save as we see that
trinity imaged in ourselves? You further declare
that " no man can know one whit more of God than
he possesses in his own being." What, then, I ask
again, can we know of the trinity in God, except what
we learn of its nature from the image of that trinity
in ourselves? That the inevitable inference from your
own admissions as well as from the declarations of
EXPLAl'\ATlON OF THE TRIXITY IN MAN. 4 'f
Scripture, is directly at war with the popular doctrine
on this subject, is no doubt as clear to you as to myself.
I will now endeavor to show, agreeable to the pro-
mise in my Jast letter, what is that trinity in man, from
which, as an image, we are to learn the nature of the
Divine Trinity. And we must look at the spiritud
nature of man for that which shall be "to us the image
and exponent of the trinity in God ; for " Ood is a
spirit." What, then, is the trinity in man viewed as
a spiritual and immortal being?
Whatever system of mental philosophy we adopt,
we shall find, upon a careful anaylsis and induction,
that all the faculties of the mind arrange themselves
into two great classes, the one intellectual, the other
emotional. The general dhisions of the brain itself,
according to the disclosures of modern science, furnish
a solid basis for this classification. The intellectual
faculties are those by which we think, reason, analyze
and judge ; and together they constitute the under-
standing. The emotional, are those by which we feel,
desire, purpose, and love; and together they constitute
the will. All of love and affection, therefore, belongs
to the will; all of wisdom and thought to the under-
standing. In whatever we do or say or determine, we
shall find that these two general faculties, will and
understanding, are brought into active exercise.
ETery mental and bodily movement originates in the
will. We cannot speak nor act-no, nor even think
determinately upon any given without first
willing or desiring so to do. But the understanding
is intimately connected with the wiU, so that the two
48 Lltt'l'EBS TO BEECHER ON THE TBlNlTY.
act together mutually and reciprocally, like the heart
and lungs. Accordingly we no sooner experience an
emotion, than that emotion is kansferred to the intel-
lect in the form of some thought. We no soouer
will or desire to speak or act, than this desire -comes
forth into conscious perception, and reveals itself in
some corresponding thought in the understanding. If
we desire to paint a picture, or carve a statue, or
write a book, or make a machine, or embark in any
enterprise,_we immediately think of the kind of pic-
ture, statue, book or machine that we will make, or
the nature of the enterprise in which we will embark.
The thought is the offspring of the affection or desire,
whose nature and quality it reveals. As we feel or
love, so we think. Hence it has passed into a proverb
that "the wish is father to the thought." Indeed it is
impossible to conceive of any thought which does not
proceed or flow from some desire in the will ; and any
one may know what are his dominant desires, by
scanning the character of his prevailing thoughts,
since these latter are the legitimate manifestations or
out-births of the former. There are, it is true, differ-
ent planes of thought-some higher and some lower;
and an endless variety of subjects which may be
thought of, on each plane. And there are aleo corres-
ponding varieties or grades of love-different degrees
of elevation to the will-affections differing in ki_nd
and intensity. But as all thought, be the subject or
the plane whatever it may-be it t.he thought of things
natural or of things spiritual, of this world or of the
world to come-appertains to the understanding, so
-
EXPLANATION OF THE TRINITY IN KAN. 49
all loYe of whatever kind or degree-be it the love
of self and the world, or the loYe of the Lord and the
neighbor-appertains to the will.
But there are, you will say, many different kinds
and degrees of love appertaining to the mind of one
and the same individual. A man loves his wife, his
children, his friends, his neighbors, his country, his
occupation, his church--and all these with an affection
varying both in kind and in degree. And this, I grant,
is true. But then there is always, as you are doubt-
less well aware, some particular kind of love in every
man which is stronger than all the rest, and which
may, therefore, properly enough be called his ruling
love. This ruling love constitutes his life. It enters
into and impart11 its own quality to all his other loves.
It mingles with all his desires, affects all his feelings,
shapes all his thoughts, colors all his actions ; so that
a man may be said to be altogeiher such as his ruling
love is. Thus, if a man's ruling love be the love of
himself, this love will pervade his whole being-will
enter into all be thinks and says and does. If he
does an act that is outwardly good, he will do it from
a. selfish motive and for a selfish end ; and, viewed
inwardly, as to its prompting motive-viewed in rela-
tion to himself-the act is seen to be not good in
reality, but only in appearance. It is inwardly de-
filed with the evil of self love. His devotion to his
family, his neighborhood, his profession, his country,
or the church, is not genuine-is not what it seems to
be. The love of self is at the bottom of it all ; and
bis thought.s out-flowing from this love, are thought.a
3
50 LJl:rl'ERS TO BEECHER ON THE TRINITY.
of himself and his own comfort and aggrandizement,
and not of the welfare and happiness of others. Such
an individual you would not call good, however good
and fair his outward life might be; for he is not good,
but supremely selfish at heart. His ruling love is evil,
and this infects with its poison all his other loves.
This is his life. And however it may be covered over
and concealed in this world under various fair pre-
tenses, it is none the less evil in itself considered ;
and sooner or later-in the other world if not in
this-it will come forth and manifest itself. The in
ward defilement will reveal itself under corresponding
forms of outward evil. "For," as the Scripture saith,
"out of the heart [by which is denoted the will-prin-
ciple, where the ruling love resides] proceed evil
thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false
witness, blasphemies. These are the things which
defile a man.''
But suppose man's ruling love to be the opposite
of the love of self-suppose him to love the Lord with
all his heart--this love will diffuse its sweet perfume
throughout all the chambers of his soul. All his
subordinate loves will partake of the same elevating
character, and therefore will all be good. He will
seek in all things to learn and do the will of the Lord.
Supreme love to Him will beget in His understanding
corresponding thoughts-thoughts of what the Lord
requires him to be and to do-thoughts of those tl1ings
which are well-pleasing to Him. And since the Lord
requires us to love our neighbor as ourselves, this man
will strive not so much to get good f1om others, as to
Diyitized by Google
EXPLANATION OF THE TRINITY IN JUN. 51
impart good to others. He will be animated with a
desire to render himself in the highest degree useful
in his day and generation. Such an individual-acting
ever under the influence of a controling desire and
purpose to do the Lord's will-you would call good.
He is a good man because his heart is right in the
sight of God ; because his ruling love is good, or such
as the Lord desires it should be-love to Him; for it
is the ruling love which determines a man's real char-
acter. And yet even this good man may not realize
our highest conception of a human being. To do this,
he must be wise as well as good. He must have a
knowing head as well as a loving heart-an enlight-
ened understanding as well as a good will. He must
not only desire and purpose in all things to do God's
wil1, but his understanding must be so illumined that
he can see what that will is-at least in relation to
himself-and how he is to do it. Otherwise-without
the guiding light of wisdom-with the best of in-
tentions, the man may often stray from the right path,
and do things which a more enlightened understanding
would ham shown him to be wrong. Many good peo
pie, we know, often err through ignorance. Their
hearts are right, but their heads are comparatively
unenlightened. They have an abundance of love in
their wills, but have not a corresponding measure of
truth in their understandings. The errors of such
people may not be sins-are not sins, if they have
aYailed themselves of the opportunities of becoming
enlightened which Providence has placed within their
reach. Or, if sins, they are such as are not imputed
52 LE'lTERS TO BEECHER ON THE TRINITY.
to them-such as God ever "winks at "-sins of
ignorance.
You will concede, then, I think, that our highest
.conception of human character, or of a human being,
is not realized until we have a wise and enlightened
head united to a pure and loving heart. Truth in the
understanding must be married to love in the will, so
that the two shall exist and act together as one, like
t r ~ e conjugial partners, or like the heart and lungs in
man. This is the union which God designed should
exist in every human soul-a union which does exist
in every true and thoroughly regenerate soul-viz.,
the union of the head with the heart, or of truth in
the understanding with love in the will. It is a union
of things which God hath joined together, but which
man, in his state of alienation from God, is forever
putting asunder--a union of truth with its goodness,
of wisdom with its love. This is the heavenly mar-
riage-a marriage which is consummated in every
soul that becomes spiritually conjoined to Him, who
is revealed in Scripture as the Bridegroom and Hus-
band of the Church. This union of love in the will
with wisdom in the understanding, is, to our moral
world, what the union of light with heat is to the
natural world. It clothes the earth within us with
living verdure, and makes our wilderness an Eden,
our desert like the garden of the Lord.
But our highest conception of a human being is not
yet reached. To complete our model man, or to make
him what every thoroughly regenerate man must be, it
is necessary to add to our co11ception a third clcn:ent,
EXPLANATION OF THE TRINITY IN MAN. 53
and that is-action. It is necessary that love m the
will be united to truth in the understanding, and that
these go forth unitedly and ultimate themselves in a
life of active useful,ness. In other words, your perfect
man, or one having the measure of an angel, must not
be a do-nothing or an idler in this world of ours. He
mw;t be a worker-must perform uses. Indeed he
cannot help working, since it is the very nature of
love and wisdom, when united in the soul, to go forth
and ultimate themselves in acts of beneficence and
mercy. Therefore a good and regenerate man j8,
and must be, a busy man. His heart being full of love
to the Lord-which involves also disinterested love
to the neighbor-and his understanding full of the
truths of wisdom which teach him what is really good
for his neighbor, and how to do it, he cannot fold l!is
handR and sit idle. He must be ever active--ever
going forth on errands of mercy-ever engaged in
the performance of beneficent deeds-ever busy about
his Father's business-ever striving faithfully to dis-
charge his duty in whatever sphere Providence has
placed him ; for this, be knows, is just what liis
Heavenly Father desires him to do. All his acts,
therefore, being performed under the prompting in-
fluence of love-love to the Lord and to the neigh bor
-and according to the truths of wisdom, must needs
be good acts, tending to enlighten, improve, elevate,
and bless humanity.
Here, then, we have our model man complete.
Here we have the angelic standard of true manhood
-"the measure of a man, that is, of the angel." I
5 LETI'ERS TO BEECHER ON THE TRINITY
quite agree with you in your remarks, that'' the heart
is the capitol "-that "manhood is in the heart;"-
also in the belief you express that true human great-
ness can only be reached where there is true human
love. But although love is the first and highest ele-
ment, it is not all that is necessary to perfect manhood.
It is as needful that this be united with wisdom, as that
heat be united with light, or the heart with the lungs.
And when so united, then they must go forth and em-
boJy themselves in ultimate and useful acts. A. man
with a pure and loving will, with a good and enlight-
ened understanding, and with a life of active useful-
ness in accordance therewith-does not such a man
realize your ideal of a human being? What more is
necessary to liis essential and true manhood? What
more do you expect in a thoroughly regenerate man ?
What more in an angel? And does not such a man
fulfill your highest conception of what is demanded by
that language of the Bible which represents him as
originally created in the image and likeness of God?
And will any thing kss than this satisfy the demands
of such language? Nay, will any thing less satisfy
the demands of your own language, where you speak
of the importance and necessity of "right thinking,
based upon right living," to one who would truly" find
out God?" Ir, as I suppose, in your idea of "right
living," is involved right willing and right acting, then
it is as if you bad said, "Let a man thinlc right, will
right, and act right, then he will find out God. And
why? Clearly because .he will then be like Him-
will then be an image of Him. And as only like ones
EXPLANATION OF THE TRINITY IN MAN. 55
can comprehend or see like ones, this is the only way
in which God can be found out." As you have justly
remarked : " That is the way you are going to see
God-by your own consciousness, and the qualities in
you answering to a like consciousness and to like
qualities in Him."
These three, then, will, understanding, and action, are
what essentially constitute man. These enter into
every one's idea-into your own idea--of man. And
each too, is alike essential to the idea. Take away
either one of these elements, and the idea conveyed by
the term man is destroyed. Therefore the trinity in man
is the union of three essenti.al elements. And although
we can think and speak of each element separately,
we know that they have not, and cannot have, any
separate and independent existence ; just as with the
sun, while we may think and speak of the heat, the light,
and their proceeding operation, separately, we know
that neither can have any existence apart from the
other two ; and the moment we attempt to think of
either as withdrawn, or as having a separate and in-
. dependent existence, that moment we destroy in our
minds the very idea of:. the sun as a luminous and calo-
rific body. We say, therefore, that heat, light, and
their proceeding operation, are e a ~ h alike essential to
the very existence of the sun as a sun. And in like
manner we affirm that will, understanding and action,
are each alike essential to the existence of man a8
ma1.
We thus see that this finite human trinity is by no
means fanciful or arbitrary. It is not an invention of
o;
9
;tized by Google
56 Ll:T'l'EBS TO BEECHER ON TBE TRINITY.
human ingenuity, but is founded in the very nature
and constitution of the human spirit. It is the union:
of three elements, each of which is absolutely essential
to the existence of a human being. These three ele-
ments stand related to each other like end, cause, and
effect-like love, wisdom, and use-like heat, light,
and their proceeding operation-or like the heart,
lungs, and their reciprocal action. Who does not
know that the heart cannot exist as a vital organ, per-
forming all the functions of a heart, without the lungs,
.and the activity resulting from their vital union?
Neither can the lungs exist without the heart; nor
can there be any reciprocal action without the union
of them both. The same is true of heat, light, and
their proceeding operation; for neither of these can
exist without the other two. .And we may say the
same of love, wisdom and use, or of affection, thought,
and action. Moreover the will is the receptacle of all
that a man loves or calls good ; and the understanding
'is the receptacle of all that he thinks or calls true
(wisdom) ; and their action is the receptacle of their
use or power, or is the method by which the will and
understanding seek to embody themselves in an ulti-
mate form. So that every work which a man does, is
but an effect of the combined activity of his will and
understanding, or, what is the same, of his love and
wisdom. And the character of every work-so far,
I mean, as the individual himself is concerned-will
of course, depend upon the quality of his will, or of
the love that rules therein. If his ruling love be the
love of the Lorq-in other words, if the prevailing
-
UPLANATION OF THE TRINITY IN JUN. 57
desire and purpose of his heart be to do the Lord's
will by performing deeds of true benevolence or use
t.o the neighbor-then his love is good, and of course
his work also is good. But if his ruling love be the
love of himself-that is, if it be his prevailing desire
and purpose to do only his- own will without regard
t.o the good of others-then his love is evil and his
work, in itself considered, is evil, be the outward
appearance whatever it may. In the one case he is a.
true, in the other au inverted, image of the Lord ; for
in the one instance the love is similar, while in the
other it is opposite, to the love which the Lord feels
and forever exercises toward his creatures.
I flatter myself that I have now succeeded in making
this finite human trinity quite intelligible to your
mind. And you see, my brother, that it is not a
trinity of persons, yet one of esse:ntials. It is, more-
over, a perfectly rational and intelligible trinity, and
one which is seen to rest upon a foundation as solid
and enduring as the soul itself. Can you show, accord
ing to any fair argument or sound philosophy, that
your -personol, trinity is equally essential, or that it
rests upon an equally substantial foundation? Try,
and see if you can.
Now this human trinity-such as I have shown to
exist in every good and regenerate man-I take to be
a perfect image of the Divine Trinity. I look at this
trinity in man, and I learn from it the true nature of
the trinity in God; I feel that if I know anything of
God from what I find in my own being that answer11
to a like quality in Him-be the likeness never sc
3*
58 LETl'ERS TO BEECHER ON THE TRINITY.
faint-then I know, from this trinity in myself, what is
the nature of the Divine Trinity. .And how else, let
me ask, are we to learn the true nature of that Trinity?
How, even according to your own admission? For
you declare that" no man can know one whit more of
God than he possesses in his own being." .And if
there be in man such a trinity as I have shown to
exist, why should we be unwilling to admit that the
Divine Trinity must resemble tcis human one in its
essential nature? How, indeed, can the inference be
resisted, since the Scripture assures us that man was
originally created, and is now, since the fall, to be re-
created, in God's own image? How, especially, can
you deny the justice and necessity of this inference,
after saying, as you have said, "that man was made
in the image of God, in order, as we suppose, that
he might understand Him?" Do you say it was
never intended that we should understand the na
ture of the Divine Trinity? What right have you
to say this ? What authority for so believing or
teaching? It is, I am aware, and has long been, quite
a popular saying among Christians ; but you, no doubt,
will admit that it is none the less likely, on that
account, to involve a popular error. How know you
but a right understanding of the true nature of that
trinal distinction which exists in God, may lead to
most important practical results? However that may
be, I feel that I have abundant Scripture warrant for
believing and saying that the trinity in man, such as I
have here explained, is as much like the trinity in
God, as our human love, or any other attribute of
EXPLANATION OF THE TRINITY IN lUN. 59
our human nature, is like God's love, or any corres-
ponding attribute of the Divine nature. And you be-
lieve that LoVE is the grand and distinguishing charac-
teristic of the Divine Being; and that, in the lan-
guage of the apostle, "He that dwelleth in Love, dwell-
eth in God and God in him." You believe that true
human love in men so nearly resembles God's love in
its essential nature, that we may be said to understand
and know God in the degree that we have this love; and
that we can truly understand Him in no other way.
For, after saying-and I agree with you entirely-
" that love in me is no fit measure of the depth, or the
breadth, or the length, or the versatility of the love of
God," you add: "but yet it is a true criterion by which
to judge of the essential quality of love in God." You
also say," that if you know what disinterested love is,
then you know the kind of love that God feels." And
again : " The spiritual and higher nature of man is
really, absolutely like God's; " and "we can compre-
hend God only to the degree that His power, in-dwell-
ing in us, causes our higher nature to act as His nature
acts, . thus rendering us interpreters of Him." This
is perfectly true; and you might have cited, in con-
firmation of its truth, those beautiful words of the
Apostle, "Beloved, let us love one another ; for love
is of God ; and every one that loveth is born of God,
and knoweth God. He that loveth not,-knoweth 'Mt
God; for God is love."
But is not God Wisdom or Truth, as well as Love
or Goodness? His wisdom is infinite; and therefore
we say He is omniscient. And although His wisdom
60 LrlTERS TO BEECHER ON THE TRINITY.
does not, and cannot exist apart from His love, any
more than light can exist apart from heat, yet we can
contemplate it as a distinct element in the Divine
Being. The distinction between the Divine Love and
the Divine Wisdom is as clear as that between human
affection and human thought, or between the will and
the understanding of man. And pursuing one step
f nrther the excellent line of in your ser
mon-a step which I think you cannot consistently
forbid-should we not say, that truth in a regenerate
human mind is so like truth in the Divine mind, or
that the wisdom in a righteous man's understanding
is so like the wisdom of God, that the former may be
taken as a "true criterion by which to judge" of tb.e
essential nature or quality of the latter? What, in
deed, can we really know of the Divine Wisdom, save
as that wisdom is revealed in our own souls-in the
thoughts or truths which illumine our understanding?
And may we not also-going a step further-make
the same remarks in reference to God's power, and
the true mode of comprehending it, or forming any
idea. of it ? The power of a good and thoroughly
regenerate soul-the power of disinterested love in
the will operating in conjunction with genuine truth
in the understanding-can anything give us a better
idea of God's power than this? Does not the nature
of this power-finite and feeble as it is-illustrate
completely the nature of the Divine omnipotence?
How else can we rightly understand the power of
God, or where else shall we go to learn its true
nature? Nor does the nature of the Divine power as
EXPLANATION OF THE 'nlINITY IN KAN. 61
thus taught us, appear to differ materially from your
own idea of it as set forth in your sermon. You re-
ject very decidedly the old idea of a God of" mon
archic power and physical grandeur"-ofa God whose
greatness is supposed to consist "in the great strength
of his muscle." You even flout this idea, justly char
acterizing it as "false," "gross," "vulgar," and "bar
baric." Nor do you believe that God's greatness or
omnipotence consists in mere intellectual power, or
that He is "a being of immense intellect" alone. Yet
you do not believe Him to be an unintelligent Being
-a Being witJwut intellect. On the contrary, you be-
lieve His intellect to be great and unfathomable, com
prehending in its stupendous grasp, all truth, all
knowledge, all wisdom. But you believe that mighty
intellect to exist in close and indissoluble union with
another attribute, quite distinct from it, and of a.
nature superior to it. You believe it to be united
with a will of equal amplitude and power-with love
or justice infinitely holy, pure, and perfect. How
else am I to interpret your language when you say,
"Though I cannot worship a God of mere omnipo-
tence, or vast intelligence, or right-handed justice-
yet when I see a God "ith omnipotence, intelligence,
and justice, who could be so unselfish and so noble
as to give himself for the weak, the despised, and the
down-trodden, and lift them up into the majesty of his
own nature, I cannot help adoring him." By God's
justice, I suppose you here mean His love in exercise ;
for you have elsewhere in your sermon spoken of love
as the noblest attribute of the Divine Being ; and I
62 LETTERS TO BEECHER ON THE TRINITY.
cannot, therefore, suppose you meant to overlook this
in the brief summary here given of the attributes of
that God whom you "cannot help adoring." Besides,
what else is pure justice but pure love-love of the
right, the good, and the true '?-such love as finds its
full satisfaction only in ultimate acts-in the practi,ce
of the right and the true? God's mercy, too,-what
is this but a manifestation of His love? And so of
His goodness, tenderness, forbearance, condescension.
and all the other attributes of which you speak. If
such, then, be your meaning of justice in the sentence
just quoted, it is as if you had said, " When I see a
God with omnipotence [power], intelligence [wisdom],
and justice [pure and unselfish love] united, I believe
in Him, and cannot help adoring Him." And if this
shows that you already believe in, and adore-appa-
rently without being conscious of it-the very Trinity
whose nature I am endeavoring to unfold and make
plain, it is all the more gratifying to me. But I would
suggest for your serious consideration, whether, in
that case-supposing this trinal distinction of love,
wisdom, and power, to exist in each of your three
-persons in the Godhead-you have not a compound
trinity, or a trinity of trinities, in the God of whom
you are thinking ;-nine instead of three "somewhats,"
to use a term which Dr. Stuart would substitute for
that of persons in the Trinity.
Will, understanding, and action, then, constitute the
trinity in every finite human being. And with every
regenerate man, whose heart has become the receptacle
of disinterested love, and his understanding the recep-
EXPLANATION OF TilE TRINITY IN MAN. 63
tacle of heavenly wisdom, and his life conformable
thereto, this trinity is the union of love, wisdom, and
use. You will concede, I think, that this trinity is
exceedingly simple and easily understood. At the
same time it is one about which we need have no
doubt--One, of whose existence and nature we are as
certain as we are of the existence of the soul itself.
And what is easier than to learn from this the nature
of the Divine Trinity? Why should we perplex our-
selves about so plain a subject, or suffer our minds to
be confused or entangled in a web of mystery and
contradiction, by the speculations or decrees of men
who lived many hundred years ago? Why, especially,
should we do this, when the soul itself is an open book,
in which we may read, if we will, the solution of this
mystery ? Seeing too, that God himself, by teaching
us that he made man originally in His own image, and
now regenerates or re-creates him in the same divine
likeness, has clearly indicated the direction in which
we ought to look, if we would learn His true nature
and character. To see clearly the nature of the trinity
in God, we have only to look at the image of that
trinity in ourselves. We have only to conceive the
trinity existing in every regenerate or regenerating
man to be infinitely expanded, and we have the Divine
Trinity . . Let our finite human love-such love, I
mean, as dwells in the heart of a regenerate man-
be increased without limit, let it be infinitely aug-
mented in purity, amplitude, and power, and what
hae we but the Divine Love? Let our finite human
wisdom (the truths in our understanding) be aug-
64 LE'ITERS TO BEECHER ON THE TRINITY.
mented in like manner and degree, so as to embrace
all truth and all knowledge in all spheres and through
out all worlds, and what have we but the Divine
Wisdom? And let our finite human power-the
power of a good will operating in conjunction with a
wise or enlightened understanding, and so ultimating
itself in useful actir-in deeds of kindness, beneficence,
and good will to men-be increased to infinity, and
what have we but the Divine Power?,
Divine Love, Divine Wisdom, and Divine Power,
therefore, or what is the same, Divine Goodness,
Divine Truth, and their Divine Proceeding Operation,
constitute the Divine Trinity. And since the love in
the heart of a regenerate man is an image of the
Divine Love, and the wisdom in his understanding is
an image of the Divine Wisdom, and his sphere of
active usefulness is an image of God's operative en-
ergy, or of the sphere of the Divine Activity, therefore
such a man is a true image and likeness of God,
having in himself a complete image of the Divine
Trinity.
Pardon me, my brother, if, in my anxiety to make
myself understood, I become somewhat tedious. The
subject is of too great magnitude and importance, and
involving, as we shall see in the sequal, issues of too
great moment as affecting the popular theology, to be
hastily passed over, or properly discussed within nar
row limits. I have something farther to say on the
point argued in this letter-further illustrations to
present, and farther Scripture evidence to offer. But
the already excessive length of this epistle, admonishes
EXPLANATION OJ' THE TRINITY IN KAN. . 65
me of the propriety of postponing to another time
what further remarks I have to make on this point.
Hoping, therefore, that you will give to what I have
here said that candid which it merits,
I remain, as ever,
Your Friend and Brother,
B. F. BARRET!'.
Orange, .AugU8t 3, 1859.
66 " LETl'EBS TO BEECHER ON THE TRINrrY.
LETT ER IV.
FURTHER EVIDENCE AND ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE
TRINITY.
lf y DEAB Srn :-It was the purpose of my last let-
ter to explain the nature of that trinal distinction in
man, which I hold to be a true image, and therefore a
fit interpreter, of the trinal distinction in God. And
I showed that this finite human trinity is by no means
arbitrary or fanciful-no cunning device of man's
wisdom-but the union of three essentials in one peracm.
We cannot conceive of a human being existing as a
human being, without a will, an understanding, and
their proceeding operation, any more than we can con-
ceive of a living human' body existing as such, without
heart, lungs, and their reciprocal action. There is a
great truth, then, in the remark of one of the early
Christian Fathers (Augustine) who said: "Every man,
a.'I created in the image of God, carries about him a kind
of emblem of the divine nature, in the three-fold dis-
tinction of his own." Nay, much more than a kind
of embkm "-a complete image of the three-fold dis-
tinction in God.-But I did not, in my last letter,
conclude what I wished to say on this point, and there-
fore crave your indulgence in a few further remarks.
I have said that the will of man, when r e g e n e r a t ~
THE SUBJECT FURTHER ILLUSTIUTED. 67
when renewed "after the image of Him that created
him "-is an image of the Divine Will; or, what is the
same, that disinterested love in the finite human will,
is an image of that Divine Love which dwells in or
constitutes the infinite will of God ; that wisdom or
truth in the finite human understanding, is an image of
that Divine Wisdom which dwells in or constitutes
the infinite understanding of God ; and that our finite
human power, resulting from the union of will and
understanding, is an image of the infinite Divine Pow-
er. I now go further, and say-and I cannot doubt
but you will agree with me here-that all the love,
wisdom, and power in man, is momentarily received
from God. Disinterested love in us is not our own,
nor of our originating. We can no more originate
one spark of love, than we can originate life, or create
a world. We are mere recipient subjects-endowed
with the power, it is true, of modifying, perverting or
suffocating what we receive. Every spark of love in
us flows into our souls from the Divine Love, and
should be acknowledged as a precious gift from the
Lord. And so with every ray of truth in the human
understanding. Not a single truth is properly ours
-not one originates in ourselves. We have no wis-
dom of our own, but all we have is every moment re-
ceived from the Divine Wisdom ; and no man is truly
wise, who does not perceive and acknowledge this. So
likewise with our finite human power: This, too, is
the momentary gift of God-an influx into us from the
Divine Power. I.a'.' God's power were for one moment
withdrawn, we could not move a muscle nor draw a
68 LETTERS TO BEECHER ON TH& TRINITY.
single breath ; and this also should be heartily ac-
knowledged. So true is it that " in Him we live, and
move, and have our being" (Acts xvii. 28). ; and that
without Him, we can do nothing (John xv. 5).
Not only, then, is that finite human trinity-that
distinction of love, wisdom, and power, in man-an
image of the Divine Trinity, but it has its origin in
that Trinity. It exists from it, and could not have de-
rived its existence from any other source. In other
words there eauld not lJe any such triual distinction in
the finite creature man, as I have shown to exist, if
there were not a corresponding trine of a like nature
in the Infinite Creator. And if our human love, wis
dom,and power, do not originate in ourselves, but flow
into us every moment from the Lord, then there must
exist in Him a trine of just such a nature as this which
we find in ourselves. And if there is a clear distinc-
tion between love, wisdom, and power, in us-if will,
understanding, and action, are not to be confounded
in man-then the distinction between the three cor-
responding elements in the Divine Being must be
equally clear, and the three be equally incapable of
being confounded in Him. So that this trinity in man
is an ever present revelation of the nature of the trin-
ity in God. It is, so to speak, the ever present and
living God, revealing, as in an image, the exact nature
of that trinal distinction which eternally exists in
Himself.
Furthermore-what is implied by that union or one-
ness between man and his Maker, which Christians so
devoutly yearn after, which the Bible encourages the
TBE SUBJJCOT FURTHER ILLUSTRATED. 69
faithful to hope for, and which many feel that they
have had the happiness already to attain ? What is
that union of the disciples with the indwelling Father
and Son, to which our Saviour refers when he prays
" That they all may be one ; as thou, Father, art in me
and I in thee, that they also may be one in us." "I in
them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in
one." And again, when He says: "Abide in me and I in
you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it
abide in the vine, no more can ye except ye abide in
me. I am the vine, ye are the branches." This, un-
doubtedly, is that union with Christ, of which Chris-
tians so often speak, and for which they so fervently
pray ; a union, which, when full and complete, is the
~ u l ' s own Sabbath-day-a state of inward peace and
rest such as the world cannot give. What is this
union? Can it be any other than such a union of our
minds with the Divine Mind, that every wish, thought,
and deed of ours shall be in accordance with the Di-
vine requirements ? Such a union, that our will shall
be completely swallowed up, as it were, in the Divine
will ?-that we shall have no will of our own, but find
our highest delight in doing the will of the Lord?
When the selfish dispositions and feelings of the natu-
ral man are completely subdued-when God has taken
up His abode in our hearts, and dwells within us in
such fullness that our own life is lost, as it were, in
His life-when we love only what He loves, and !ove
to do only what He loves to have us do, then our souls
are at-one with Him, and we enjoy that rest which is
promised to the people of God. Then we live in Him,
'f 0 LETl'EBS TO BEECHER ON THE TRINITY.
and He in us, and we understand the full import of the
Saviour's declaration, " He that loseth his lite for my
sake, shall find it." But to do, and take delight in
doing, God's will, implies that we understand His will,
so far at least as relates to ourselves. His will to
man is expressed in his Word ; and although in the
first stages of regeneration, we are obliged to compel
ourselves to obey the precepts of the Word, we at last,
through this self-compelled labor, acquire the victory
over our disorderly and selfish inclinations, and come
into a state of genuine love-a state in which we tk-
light to do God's will, and when it may be said that
we dwell in His love aud His love dwells in us.
Agreeable to these words of the Lord : "If ye keep
my commandments, ye shall abide in my love." And
the Apostle John says: "He that dwelleth in love,
dwelleth in God and God in him." And when the
hemt is right in the sight of God-when our single
and abiding purpose is to do His will,-then He flows
into the understanding with the light of His wisdom,
and thus makes known His will to us ; for it is in all
cases the selfish and evil loves in the will, which dark-
en the understanding by shutting out all spiritual illu-
mination, or changing truth into falsity. Hence the
Lord says : " If thine eyP, be single, thy whole b o ~ y
shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy
whole body shall be full of darkness."
This union or at-onement of the soul with Christ,
then, what is it but the indwelling of the Divine life in
uR, and the outworking of that life in corresponding
Corms of use and beauty? What is it but the union of
'l'BE SUBJ!:cr FURl'HER Iq..USTRATED. H
that trine in us, of love, wisdom, and use, with the
corresponding trine in God ? When our wills are so
conformed to the Divine will that we love only what
He loves, and desire to be and to do only what He
desires to have us, and when our understandings are
so imbued with the Divine Wisdom, that we can clear-
ly see what it is that God desires us to be and to do,
and when our sphere of life is conformable thereto-
our actions prompted by heavenly love and guided by
heavenly wisdom-then is our union with Christ com-
plete. Then is the truth of the Apostle's declaration
fulfilled in us : " For ye are dead, and your life is hid
with Christ in God; "-yes, "dead indeed unto sin,
but alive unto God." Then may we say with the
same Apostle : " I am crucified with Christ ; neverthe-
less I live ; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." But
how plain is it to see that our union with llim cannot
be complete, if either element in that trine which we
have seen to be essential to perfect manhood, be want-
ing.
It is hardly necessary to attempt to prove the exis-
tence of such a trina.l distinction in God, as that which
we find revealed in man. For what Christian does
not belieV"e already that the Divine Being is a Being
of infinite Love, Wisdom, and Power? The Bible
declares that " God is Love ; and he that dwelleth in
love, d welleth in God and God in him." And in pas-
sages too numerous to mention, His will is spoken of
which Paul characterizes as " that good, and accepta-
ble, and perfect will of God ;"-perfect, because He
wills nothing save what His infinitely pure and perfeet
'l2 Lftl'EBB TO BEECHER ON TBB TJUNITY.
love prompts. The Bible also represents God as in
finitely wise, as well as infinitely good; as having cre-
ated all things-the earth and the heavens-by His
wisdom; as being Wisdom itself and Truth itself, and
as giving to men all the wisdom they possess : for His
Word is truth ; and "the Word," it is said, " was in
the beginning with God." And the Psalmist assures
us that " Hit1 understanding is infinite." And how
often, too, does the Bible speak of God's power and
omnipotence. How often is He called" the Almighty"
and" God Almighty." "For the Lord God omnipo-
tent reigneth," was a part of that song of praise and
thanksgiving which the Revelator heard from the lips
of the angelic host, when he was in the spirit on the
Lord's day. And the Psalmist says," that power be-
longeth unto God," and that He is " girded with pow-
er ;" also that '' He giveth strength and power unto
his people." Yea, there is no power in the universe
which belongeth not unto God ;-no power in man to
think, to will, or to act, save what he receives every
moment from the Divine Power. Therefore we are
taught, when we pray, to ascribe unto God " the king-
dom, and the '[XYIJJeT, and the glory forev-er." And you
yourself, when speaking of the three Persons in the
Godhead, have declared your belief " that these three
Beings " possess " separate and distinct understand
ings," and "separate and distinct wills." And although
in this connection you have said nothing of God's pow-
er, I conclude that the omission was purely inadvertent
'
since you have repeatedly spoken of it in other parts
of yonr sermon. Thus you say : "We can comprehend
Diyitized by Google
'l'BE sUBJEcr J!'URTJIER ILLUSTRATED. '13
God only to the degree that His power, indwelling in
us, causes our higher nature to act as His nature acts,
thus rendering us interpreters of Him." You believe
then, that God is a Being of power, as well as of will
and understanding ; and not only so, but that w:hen
our higher nature acts as His nature acts, the action
is purely the result of the indwelling of His power
in us. (Nor do I suppose it is your belief that even
our lower nature has any power of its own to act, save
what it receives by influx every moment f10m the
Lord.) And herein your belief is clearly in agree-
ment with the teachings of Scripture. The Bible is
full and explicit upon this subject. It teaches that
God is a Divine Being or Person ; and you, in your
sermon, have declared that no man can form any con-
ception of God except as a person. "An impersonal
God, such as fancy imagines-a vast diffusive power-
the essence or the life of the universe--a spiritual
vitality"-such as the philosophic pantheism of our
times is prone to represent, you justly characterize as
"trashy nonsense"-" mere fantastic moonshine." And
as a person, the Bible represents God as possessing
the three essential, attrihutes of a person-will, under-
standing and action. It teaches that He is LovE, and
the source of all the love that dwells ii) the bosoms of
men and angels. It teaches that He is Wumov, and
the fountain of all the wisdom in finite minds. H
teaches that He is PowER, and the source and centre
of all the power in the universe. These are the three
great -peisonal attributes ascribed to God in many
parts of His own Word, and whose existence is im-
4
'J4 LJl:l'l'ERS TO BEECHER ON THE TRINITY.
plied on every page. These, therefore, are the, three
attributes which the Divine Being himself has been
pleased to reveal unto men. And has He, I ask,
revealed any other attributes as existing in. or belong-
ing to, His own divine Person ?-any attributes, I
mean, not flowing from, or clearly comprehended in,
the three I have mentioned? Can you imagine a sin-
gle one? The Bible, indeed, tells us of God's good-
ness, and mercy, and forbearance, and compassion, and
long-sufering, and forgiveness ; of His knowledge,
and foresight, and greatness, and majesty, and glory.
But it is easy to see that each of these attributE:s is as
clearly comprehended in the three essentials of which
I have spoken, and is merely one of their varied man-
ifestations, as that tenderness, forbearance, pity, and
forgiveness in man, are but the varied manifestations
of love and wisdom in the finite human being.
You speak, I know, of a "separate and distinct
conscience," as belonging to each of your three Pers011s
in the Godhead ; but this is your own language, and
is, I submit, wholly unauthorized by divine Revelation.
The Bible nowhere speaks of GocFs eonscience. And
what is conscience in man? Not a separate and dis-
tinct faculty, surely, but a perception or judgment of
our own actions-as good or bad, right or wrong-
and a con8equent inward approval or condemnation
of the same, or of ourselves on account of them.
And who cannot see that such perception or
accompanied by such inward approval or condemna-
tion, depends in all cases upon the state of the heart
and the head ?-that is, upon the quality of love in
TJlll: SUBJEcr FURTHER ILLUSTRATED. 7 5
the will, and of wisdom in the understanding? Every
one's conscience, therefore, is according to the degree
of his enlightenment and spiritual renovation-which
is only another way of saying, it is according to the
state of his understanding and will. Else, how shall
we explain the well-known fact, that the very same
acts performed by different persons brought up in the
same community, but differently educat,ed, are regarded
by them very differently?--so differently, indeed, that
while some regard them as innocent and right-having
been so educated-others, differently instructed, can-
not perform them without experiencing what is called
the rebuke of conscience-an inward condemnation?
Conscience, then, is no separate and distinct faculty;
but is a result of the combined activity of will and
understanding .. Therefore it is good or bad, healthy
or morbid, tender or hard, sensitive or obtuse, accord-
ing to t h ~ degree in which the will is purified and the
understanding illumined.
A.nd not only does the Bible, from beginning to end,
affirm that trinal distinction in God of which I have
spoken, and whose nature I have endeavored to ex-
plain, but the created universe everywhere proclaims
the self-same doctrine. For Love, Wisdom, and Pow-
er divine, are legibly stamped on all God's works.
In every object of creation, from the great sun t.hat
warms and enlightens us, down to the smallest atom
that quivers in his beams, there exists a vital force-
a kind of will-principle-united at the same time with
an intelligence, which guides it with undeviating cer-
tainty to the fulfilment of its destined use. What is
'l6 LE'lTD8 TO BEECHER ON TRB TRINITY.
there throughout the broad realms of nature, that
does not speak to us of the love and wisdom and
power of God? And may we not learn, from the
visible things of creation, the invisible things of the
Creator? Eddently the great Apostle to the Gen
tiles so believed, when he wrote, "For the invisible
things of Him from the creation of the world are
clearly seen, being understood by the things that are
made, even His eternal power and Godhead" (Rom.
i. 20.) Yes: even his Godhead, says Paul, may be
understood by the things that are made-the outward
and visible things of the created universe. Yet,
strange to say, in the face of this explicit declaration
of the Apostle, the majority of theologians have set-
tled down in the conviction that the nature of the
trinal distinction in the Godhead is a profound mys
tery-something which no human intellect can grasp
or take cognizance of-something which has no anal-
ogy in man or nature-something which cannot be
seen or "understood by the things that are made I "'
And should not thifJ obvious conflict between our
theologians and the Apostle, lead the former to a care-
ful and prayerful re-examination of their doctrine of
the Trinity? Should it not lead them to suspect that
the nature of the trine in the Godhead has been totally
misapprehended?
But there is no conflict between this language of
Paul, and that kind of trinity in God which I am
advocating. On the contrary, the Apostle's declara-
tion is fully justified by what I regard as the true
doctrine on this subject. I contend that the trine in
THE SUBJECT FURl'lJER ILLUSTRATED. '(j
the Godhead, or the nature of that trine, may be
"clearly seen, being understood by the things that are
made." And among the things of creation what single
object presents itself to our minds as a fitter symbol
or representation in this lower sphere, of the Divine
Being, than the sun itself? The sun is to the natural,
what God is to the spiritual world. As the sun is the
centre of our planetary system, so God is the centre
of every well-regulated moral system-every orderly
community or society of human beings. As the sun is
the quickener and sustainer of all natural growths, so
God is the quickener and sustainer of all moral
growths-the inspirer of all those heavenly thoughts
and affections, which spring up and blossom in the
soul, and bring forth the precious fruits of righteous-
ness. As all animal and vegetable Jife becomes torpid
when the solar influences are withdrawn or shut out,
and after a time sickens and dies, so, in the absence of
God's quickening influence, does the soul become tor-
pid, and at last pine away and die as to all true
spiritual life. The sun, too, is present with bis heat
and light in all parts of the solar system, thereby
illustrating the omnipresence of God. Therefore the
sun is an appropriate symbol of the Divine Being,
and is so used in the Sacred Scripture. "For the
Lord God," says the Psalmist, "is a sun and shield."
And one of the inspired prophets calls him "the sun
of righteousness." He i8 the sun of the spiritual
world, and no doubt so appears to the eyes of angels,
but with ten-fold more brilliancy than our sun appears
to us. What else could it have been but the beams
oigit,zed by Goog I e
'fS LETl'ERS TO BEECHER ON THE TRINITY.
of that Divine Sun, which Paul saw on his way to
Damascus. when his spiritual eye was couched, and
the light of the upper spheres burst upon him in daz
zling splendor ?-when, as he says in his speech before
King Agrippa, "At mid-day, 0 King, I saw in the
way a light from heaven above the brightness of the
sun, shining round about me and them that journeyed
with me."
Reason and Scripture, therefore-and I might add,
the common perception of all enlightened minds--
concur in teaching, that among all created t11ings in
this lower sphere, the sun is the fittest emblem and
best representative of tJie Creator Himself. And if
there be a trinity in God, the sun, therefore, ought--
next to man, the declared image of his Maker-to
furnish the most striking illustration of that trinity.
And so, indeed. it does. I have already alluded-
incidentally, and by way of illustration-to that trinal
distinction in the sun, of heat, light, and their pro
ceeding operation. These are not three suns, but
three essentials in one sun. Three essentials, I say,
because each is alike necessary to the very existence
of the sun. And this solar trinity furnishes a corn
plete illustration of the Divine Trinity. The solar
heat illustrates the Divine Love, with which also
it perfectly corresponds; for the effects wrought
by the sun's heat throughout the domains of nature,
correspond in all respects to the effects of God's love
throughout the realms of spirit. His love, indeed, u
spiritual heat, and no doubt is perceived in heaven
as a real and life-giving warmth. What else but this
THE SUBJECT FURTHER ILLUSTRATED. 'l9
love can Christians mean by that heavenly fire, with
which they so often pray that God would warm their
hearts? Or what else by that fire of the Lord of
which the prophet speaks and which he declares "is in
ZWn" (Is. xxxi. 9)-that is in the Church-in the
hearts of His people? And the solar light illustrates
with equal clearness and precision the Divine Wisdom,
or God's glorious and all enlightening truth. We may
say also, that the sun's light corresponds to God's
wisdom or truth; for the operations and effects of
this light in the natural sphere, correspond in all
respects to the operations and effects of God's truth
in the spiritual. Moreover, truth is spiritual light,
and undoubtedly appears as light to the angels. For
it is said: "They need no candle, neither light of the
sun, for the Lord God giveth them light" (Rev. xxii. 5).
What else, too, but spirituaJ..light-the light of divine
truth-can the Psalmist refer to, when he says: ''Thy
Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my
path ; " "The Lord is my light and my salvation? "
Or the prophet, when he says : '' For the Lord shall
be thine everlasting light;"" The Gentiles shall come
to thy light,-'' " The people that walked in darkness
have seen a great light," &c.? And the Apostle John
declares, that " God is light, and in Him is no dark-
ness at all" (1 John i. 5). And another apostle calls
those, whose minds have been illumined by God's
truth, " the children of light, and the children of the
day" (1 Thess. v. 5). And do not Christians often
pray that God would give them light, when their mean-
ing Ui, that he would communicate His truth to their
o;
9
;tized by Google
80 LftTER8 TO BJ:Jl:CBD ON THI: TRINITY.
understandings-would give them spiritual light?-
So, too, the constant operation of the sun's heat and
light, and their joint effects throughout the realms of
matter, illustrate the divine proceeding operation of
the Lord's love and wisdom, and their effects through-
out the realms of spirit ; for the power of the one cor-
responds exactly to the power of the other.
So perfectly does the sun, the most striking emblem
of the Divine Being to be found in all the domains of
nature, illustrate, by its beat, light, and their joint
operation, the nature of that trinal distinction in God,
whereof the Bible speaks, and which it is the object
of these letters to unfold and explain I Verily, then,
may we affirm with the .Apostle, that" the invisible
things of Him from the creation of the world are
dearly seen, being understood by the things t11at are
made, even His eternal power and Godhead." Yes :
even the nature of the trinity in God, about which
theologians have so long perplexed themselves and
vexed each other, may be clearly seen and under
stood by the things that are made.
But I anticipate the difficulty which may still linger
in your mind, even if I could flatter myself that I
have been so fortuna.te as to win your assent to most
that I have thus far said : It is, to see clearly how
the language of the New Testament, upon whose
teachings the popular doctrine of the Trinity is sup-
posed to rest, is to be reconciled with the view of the
subject such as I have here presented. The New Testa-
ment, you will say, sets before us a trinity of Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit-apparently three Persons. And
THE SUBJEm' FURTHER ILLUSTRATED. 81
you may not readily perceive how this is to be satisfac
torily expounded in accordance with the New Doc-
trine. I do not propose to leave this point unex-
plained ; and I hope, before finally dismissing the
subject, to be able to remove from your mind all
reasonable objections, based upon any supposed teach-
ings of the Bible, against the doctrine I am advo-
cating. Previously, however, I must claim your
indulgence while I consider the subject under another
aspect; and that is, with reference to its practiool bear
ings, or the obvious tendency and legitimate influence
of the Old and New view respectively upon Christian
life and character. To this aspect of the subject I
propose to invite your kind but serious attention in
my next letter. Meanwhile I remain
Truly your Friend and Brother,
B. F. BARRETT.
Orange, ~ u g u s t 25, 1859.
4*
8Sf LE'lTD8 TO BEECHU ON THE TRINITY.
LETTER V.
PRACTICAL BEARINGS OF THE NEW DOCTRINE.
MY DEAR Sia :-If my letters to you should prove
somewhat tedious, 1 trust you will look with indul-
gence upon this fault, and find, at least, some apology
for it in the importance of the theme, and in the anxi-
ety which I feel to make myself clearly understood.
I am well aware that, through a desire to be explicit,
and a fear of leaving my own view of the subject in
any ambiguous or doubtful light, I am in danger of
being betrayed into a wearisome prolixity. But I
hope you will not allow this to prevent you from care-
fully pursuing the chain of my argument, and weigh
ing with candor the conclusions reached.
Having explained and illustrated, as well as I am
able, what I regard as the true doctrine concerning
the Divine Trinity, I proceed now, agreeable to the
promise in my last letter, to exhibit the practical bear
ings of this new doctrine.
And here let me say that I regard this as one of the
surest tests of the truth or the falsity of any doctrine
-viz., its legitimate '[1'f'acticaJ tentkncy. For, what is
the end of all doctrine? What is the object that re-
ligious teachers have in view in all their doctrinal in
struction ? For no one, I presume, regards doctrine
PRACl'ICA.L BliRINGS OJ' THE NEW DOCTRINE. 88
itself as an end. It is not proclaimed simply as an
intellectual exercise, nor set forth merely as a thing to
be gazed at and admired, or as the means of furnish-
ing a healthy excitement to the intellect. When you
preach any doctrine to your people, you expect, or at
least desire them to believe it. Nor would you, I sup-
pose, be quite satisfied to have the doctrine you teach
merely find a lodgment in the intellect. You expect,
<>r at least desire, that it may first be believed and
then obe,yed. You probably would regard the mere
'believing of any doctrine, however true or important,
as of small consequence, unlP-ss such belief be followed
by obedience. What you wish, doubtless is, that your
people may live, the doctrine you teach, or the truth
they believe-for no truth, I take it, has fully accom-
plished its mission to the soul, until it ha.S, through
obedience, become inwrought into the life and charac
ter. A doctrine may be true, and of the utmost im-
portance ; but so long as it finds a lodgment only in
the intellect, it is barren of results-it has not ac-
complished the end for which it was given-it is as
useless as would be the science or arithmetic, music, or
agriculture, if never reduced to practice.
All doctrine, then, is to be regarded not as an end,
but simply as a means to an end-and that end is life.
Doctrine-I speak here of religious doctrine-may be
considered as the science of spiritual life ; and, like
all other sciences, of no value unless reduced to prac-
tice. It addresses itself to the intellect-the eye of
the mind-and is as a guide-post to point us the way
to heaven. But of what use is it to know the way,
84 LElTER8 TO BEECHElt ON THE TRI:SITY.
unless we walk in it? Why is the doctrine you p!"each
preferable to that preached by Brigham Young or
Parker Pillsbury? Simply because its effect upon the
'life and character is preferable-because it exerts a.
more. quickening, elevating, and purifying infiuence-
because it leads more directly to the formation and
nurture of a pure and holy life-because it tends more
strongly to the repression of the baser, and the de-
velopment of the nobler qualities of our nature, and
thus to the attainment of a more perfect manhood.
Your doctrine concerning the Lord, for example,
which represents Him as a Being of pure and unselfish
love,-what advantage has it over "that view of God
which measures Him by his great right arm merely,''
and which you justly characterize as " barbaric and
low?" Undoubtedly this, that its influence is better;-
that its tendency is to lift men up from a low, barbar-
ic condition, into one nearer allied to that of the an-
gels.
Life, then, I take to be the end of all doctrine. And
in this I am happy to know that you fully agree with
me; for in a sermon of yours published in the Indepen-
dent of Sept. 22d, you say ; "All doctrine is itself to
be tried by its power of producing life.
11
And again
you say : " The end of the law is 'Wve out of a pure
heart"-that is, pure and unselfish love, such as dwells
in the bosom of angels, and images the Divine. This
being conceded, we may assume, as a sure and safe
test of any doctrine, its obvious practical tendency.
If the doctrine, when carried out in practice, is seen
to exert a beneficent influence, or if its evident ten-
PRACTICAL BEARINGS OJ' THE NEW DOCTRINE. 85
dency is to develope a higher and nobler manhood,
and so to lead the believer onward and upward in the
path to heaven, then the doctrine cannot be false ;
and if its legitimate tendency be clearly the opposite
of this, that is evidence th&t the doctrine cannot be
true. "For every tre.e is known hy its own fruit.
For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bram-
ble bush gather they grapes." But if its tendency
appears to be of a neutral character, or if the doc-
trine be mysterious and incomprehensible, and as such,
one that exerts no influence either good or evil upon
the heart of the believer, then, to say the least of it,
the doctrine is doubtful. It is of no consequence
what our mental attitude be in regard to it. We may
reject it, and be not a whit worse for the rejection;
we may accept it, or profess to accept it, and be not a
whit better. For the doctrine, according to our sup-
position, is admitted to be not a doctrine of life;
therefore the life cannot be at all affected either by
our acceptance or rejection of it.
Assuming the test here laid down to be correct, I
come now to apply it to that doctrine concerning the
Divine Trinity which I am advocating. For if all
doctrine has relation to life, and the obvious tendency
of any one, when reduced to practice, is to be taken
as evidence of its truth or falsity, this ought to be
eminently true of a doctrine so important and central
as that concerning the Object of onr worship, or con-
cerning the nature of the trinity in God. We should
expect that the true view of this subject would be
found to have very important practical bearings, and
86 LETl'EBS TO BEBCHEB ON THE TRINl'l'Y.
to lead directly to the most beneficent results. Let
us look, then, a.t the plain practical tendency of this
new doctrine of the Trinity. Let us see what the
necessary result of the doctrine is, when carried out
in practice, or when fairly applied to life.
You know that Christians have hitherto disagreed
considerably upon the great question of man's salva
tion. They have differed in opinion, both as to the
nature of this work, and the means by which it is
accomplished. Some have maintained that faith is the
all-essential thing, or that we are saved by faith alone.
And it cannot be denied that there a.re passages in the
Bible which do appear to favor this doctrine-nay,
which appear to teach it very plainly. Take, for ex
ample, the following : " He that believeth and is bap-
tized, shall be saved ; but he that believeth not, shall
be damned." " Thy f aiih hath saved thee." "He
that heareth my words, and believeth on Him that sent
me, bath everlasting life, and shall not come into con-
demnation, but is passed from death unto life." "Be
lieve on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be
saved." "Therefore we conclude that a man is justi-
fied by faith." "For by grace arc ye saved through
faith"-and many more passages of similar purport.
Others have maintained that beli.ef or faith is a
matter of little consequence ;-that men a.re not saved
by faith, but by love or charity; and they, too, are
ready to meet you with their proof texts They cite
in support of their doctrine, such passages as these :
"By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples,
if ye have love o ~ to another." "Looe worketh no
PRACTICAL BEARINGS OJ' THE NEW DOCTB.INE. 8'J'
ill to his neighbor ; therefore /,ave is the fulfilling of
the law." "God is love; and he that dwelleth in
love, dwelleth in God, and God in him." "And
every one that /,oveth is born of God, and knoweth
God." "And above all things put on chariJ,y, which
is the bond of perfectness." " Now the end of the
commandment is chariJ,y." " And though I have the
gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and
all knowledge ; and though I have all faith so that I
could remove mountains, and have not charuy, I am
nothing."
Others, again, have believed and taught the doc-
trine of salvation by works. Some ministers, you
know, make works the burden of their preaching.
And these, too, can quote numerous texts of Scripture
in support of their view ; such, for example, as the
following : "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord I
Lord I shall enter into the kingdom of heaven ; but
he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heav-
en." " And why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not
the things which I say ?" " He shall render to every
man according to his works." "I have not found thy
works perfect before God." "Blessed are they that
do His commandments, that they may have right to
the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates
into the city." "And the dead were judged out of
those things which were written in the books, accord-
ing to their works."
Now it appears from all of the above texts, as if
the Bible sometimes taught that men are saved by
faith alone, sometimes by charity alone, and sometimes
88 LETTERS TO BEECHER Olf TRJ: TRINITY.
by works alone. I say the Bible appears to teach these
three different ways or means of salvation, just as it
appears to teach the existence of three persons in the
Godhead; and the amount of Scripture evidence in
support of each of these ways, is known to be nearly
equal. What then? Shall we say that the Bible is
really in conflict with itself upon this subject, as it
appears to be? Or shall we not rather bC'lieve that
there is a way of understanding the Bible, which rec
onciles all snch apparent contradictions, and brings
all parts of it to a tally? There were serious diffi-
culties, you know-apparent contradictions-in our
planetary system, which the old Ptolemaic theory of
the heavens could not resolve nor account for ; but
when Copernicus arose, and with true philosophic in
sight penetrated beyond mere appearances, how quick
ly did all former doubts and difficulties vanish I And
it is worth remembering that all the difficulties under
the ancient system of astronomy, arose from a mistaken
doctrine or theory in regard to the sun's relative
position-from a theory which mistook the apparent for
the 1'eal truth. .A.nd is it not possible that some simi
lar mistake may have been committed by the framers
of our theological systems 'l May not theologians have
erred in their doctrine concerning Him, whom the
Scripture declares to be "the Light of the world?''
May not some mistaken view concerning the great
central Sun of the moral universe-some view based
upon the mere sensuous appearances of truth in the
letter of the Word-be the chief cause of all the
confusion and perplexity in our old systems of theolo-
PRACTICAL BIUBINGB 01' THE NEW DOCTRINE. 89
gy? May not the apparent contradictions and dis-
crepancies-apparent only to s.uch as are disposed to
rest in mere appearances-in the Divine Word itself,
be attributabie mainly to this cause? And may not
the true doctrine concerning the Lord, and the nature
of the Trinity in Him, prepare a way of escape from
the doubts and difficulties and contradictions in the
old theologies, like as the new Copernican doctrine
in regard to our planetary system and the sun's rela
tive position therein, swept away the difficulties
which embarrassed the old astronomies, and brought
harmony out of discord, order out of confusion? I
cannot doubt but it will.
And now let us see how the new doctrine of the
Divine Trinity, such as I have all along been advoca
ting, must affect the views of Christians in regard to
the way of salvation. Let us &ce whether, in the
light of this new doctrine, there be really any contra
diction in the Bible on this subject; and whether,
when Christians have a right understanding of the
nature of the trinity in God, it is possible for them
to differ, as they have heretofore, in regard to the
means of salvation.
We assume that God alone is our salvation. This,
indeed, is plainly taught in the Divine Word (see Ps.
xnii. 1 ; Is. xii. 2). We are saved, just in the
degree that He dwells in us with a living and opera
tive energy. We have no wisdo::n and no love that
can be properly ea.lied our own; nor have we any
power to shun evil or to do good, save what we
momentarily receive from the Lord. All, therefore,
90 LEl'l'EBS TO BEECHER ON THE TRINITY.
that there is of heaven in angels, or of the church in
men, is from Him, and exists in consequence of His
immediate presence in the soul, constituting what is
termed vital union with, Him.. "I am the vine," He
says, "ye are the branches." " Abide in me and I in
you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of it.'lelf
except it abide in the vine, no more can ye, except ye
abide in me-He that abideth in me and I in him
the same bringeth forth much fruit : for without me,
ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is
cast forth as a branch, and is withered." We are,
then, as dependent upon the Lo:rd for all true heaven-
ly life, as the branch is dependent upon the trunk
with which it is united for its natural life ; and it is
of primary importance that this truth be perceived
and acknowledged. Nay, more; whatever of deliv-
erance we experience from the powers of darkness,
whatever of salvation from the falses and evils of hell,
whatever of the light of wisdom, or the warmth of
love, or of holy and devout aspiration we enjoy,
whatever of the peace and joy and bliss of heaven
we come to know, is all from the Lord, and is the
Lord in us. "In me ye shall have peace." "My
peace I give unto you." And has He not promised
to come unto, and make Hij aho<le wi,th, all those who
love Him and keep His commandments? (John xiv.
23.) Truly, then, may every true regenerating soul
say with the inspired Psalmist, " The Lord is my
light and my salvation." It is the presence and
indwelling of Himself in the mind and heart of the
PRACTICAL BEARINGS OF THE NEW DOCTRINE. 91
believer, that saves; and without Him, salvation is
not possible.
But there is a trinity in God-not of persons, I main-
tain, but of essential,s-a trinity of Love, Wisdom, and
Power. And because these are, each one of them, ab-
solutely essential to the very existence of the Divine
Being, just as will, understanding, and ability to act,
are essential to the existence of a human being! or as
heat, light, and their proceeding operation, are each
essential to the existence of the sun, therefore the Lord
cannot really dwell in the soul of man, unless He
dwell there as to each and all the elements of the trin-
ity existing in Himself. His love cannot exist apart
from His wisdom, nor His wisdom apart from his love,
nor either of these apart from the operative energy or
holy proceeding which belongs to their nature, any
more than, with the sun, heat can exist apart from
light, or light apart from heat, or either of these apart
from the proceeding and joint operation of them both.
True, the sun's heat seems to be separated or withdrawn
from his light in the winter season ; but this is merely
an appearance, and is caused by the face of the earth
being turned away from the sun, so that his beams fall
more obliquely. Yet the heat is there still, indissolu-
bly and forever united with the light ; and its genial
warmth and quickening influence are felt, soon as the
earth returnR to a position favorable to their reception.
Her position with reference t.o.the sun, or her alienated
/ace, is what shuts out from her bosom his quickening
warmth, and binds her in icy fetters. And there is a
corresponding winter in the soul, springing, too, from a
92 LltTl'ERS TO BEECHER ON THE TRINITY.
corresponding cause. There is a state in which the
understanding is enlightened, while the will is unsub-
dueu-while the frosts of selfishness and death hold
dominion in the heart. Yet still the Lord's love is in
His truth, and is ever ready to flow into our hearts with
its invigorating warmth, soon as our mental attitude
is sufficiently changed, or our a/,ienated faces are duly
turned towards Him. Love, then, is never separated
from its Wisdom, nor from its Holy Proceeding, in the
Lord. In Him the three are eternally one. And in
the degree that they are separated in man, maJl is sep-
arated from the Lord ; for be is not in the moral im-
age of bis Maker, and therefore not in spiritual con-
junction with Him.
Now the Divine Love is the love of others out of
itself. It is the Jove of imparting itself to others ; the
love of doing good to others ; the love of saving and
blessing the human race ; and this love, when duly re-
ceived by man, becomes in him love ot' the neighbor,
which is charity. And the Divine Wisdom is the wis-
dom, rule, or law, according to which the Divine Love
operates, and forever seeks to accomplish its benignant
purposes ; and this Wisdom, when received into the
human understanding, becomes fait.1i. in man, or the
truth by which his love of the neighbor is enlightened
and guided in its operations. And . the Divine Pow-
er or Holy Proceeding, which is the living energy or
active operation of the Divine Love and Wisdom that
forever seek to ultimate themselves in forms of use and
beauty-this becomes in man a sphere of holy and ac-
tive beneficence proceeding from his charity and faith.
PRACTICAL BEARINGS OF THE NEW DOCTRINE. 93
or a life devoted to the good of humanity ; or, stated
in language still more comprehensive-good works.
Thus it may be clearly seen, in the light of this new
doctrine concerning the Divine Trinity, in what way
or by what means it is that man is saved. Our doc
trine leads, by a strict logical necessity, to the conclu
sion that man is not saved by faith alone, nor by charity
alone, nor by works alone, but by these three combined.
It shows us, indeed, that there is no such thing as faith
alone, or charity alone, or good workt'I alone; for each of
them, in order to be genuine, must be united with the
other two. The three must exist together in uni.on, like
light, heat, and their proceeding operation, else man is
not a true image of his Maker ; for when the Lord, who
alone is our salvation, really dweJls in us, He must dwell
undivided-must dwell as to each element of that trini
ty which is essential to His own integrity. And all those
in whom He thus dwells, are images and likenesses of
Himself; for their eulightened understandings are an
image of the Divine Wisdom, their unselfish and lov
ing hearts are an image of the Divine Love, and their
good works, or lives of active usefulness, are an image
of the Divine Beneficence, otherwise called the Divine
Power or Holy Proceeding. But as the heart of the
natural man is supremely selfish-as the love which
we receive hereditarily, and which, as we advance to
years of maturity, becomes our ruling love, is not pure
and unselfish like the Lord's love, but quite the oppo-
site-therefore we must be reg1merated-born again-
before we can enter the heavenly kingdom. The
heart's dominant affections must be changed. Our
94 LJ:'l'l'ERS TO Bl!!ECBD ON THE TRINITY.
life-the old and over-mastering life of self-love-must
be subdued, put away, wst as it were, and tl1e life of
genuine, disinterested love from the Lord, which is the
only true human life, must be received in its stead.
Agreeable to the Lord's own words, ' ' He that loseth
his life for my sake, shall find it ;" that is, shall find
his true life, in losing his natural, hereditary, selfish
life. .And this, doubtless, is what Paul meant, when
he spoke of the need of " putting off the old man with
his deeds," and of" putting on the new man, which is
renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that cre-
ated him." To be regenerated, then, is to be spirit-
ually renewed or re-created " after the image" of our
Maker. And what is it thus to be renewed after the
Divine image, but to have the heart's natural love of
self supplanted by a pure and disinterested love of the
neighbor, resembling in some measure the nature of the
Divine Love ?-the understanding swept of its false
persuasions, and illumined with a wisdom which, com-
ing from Above, bears some resemblance to the Divine
Wisdom ?-and this heavenly love in the heart and
heavenly wisdom in the head, going forth in the daily
life, and outworking themselves in all sweet and gen-
tle charities, in all noble and praiseworthy deeds?
Surely you will admit that one who bas experienced
such an inward renewal, has been born again-born
from Above-and has become a true child of the Heav-
enly Father. And if every such soul has been renew-
ed "after the image of Him that created him," how can
any one deny or doubt that the nature of the Divine
Trinity is just such as I have explained ?-not a trin-
PBAC'l'ICA!. BURINGS OJ' TD NEW DOCTRINE. 95
ity of persons, as the Old and popular theology affirms,
but one consisting of the three great usentials in the
Divine Being-Love, Wisdom, and Operation--corres
ponding to will, understanding and action with man,
or to heat, light and their proceeding operation with
the sun?
See, now, the practical tendency of this new doctrine
of the Trinity. It settles at once and forever, in the
most convincing manner and upon an immovable basis,
the question in regard to man's salvation, whether it
be by faith, charity, or works ; for it shows us that it
is only when these three exi8t together in man-viz:
truth or faith in the underetanding, love or charity in
the will, and an activity directed towards good works
as the ultimate form of charity and faith-that he is
really an image of bis Maker ; and until we are re-
newed after the Divine image, we are not truly and fully
saved. It shows us that the Mad, and heart, and hand,
are all needful, all concerned in the work of salvation,
and should all act together as one ;-that since man is
gifted with an understanding, a will, and an ability to
do, it was meant that he should be a believer, a lover, and
a doer ; or that be should understand, will and obey the
laws of his spirit's life. The tendency of this doctrine,
therefore, is to incite us to the honest and faithful ex-
ercise of all our faculties. It shows us that the intel-
lect should be exercised in the acquisition of truth and
the elimination of error ; that the will should be ex-
ercised in the resistance of selfish and evil dispositions,
and the cultivation of those that are generous, chari
table and God-like; and that onr human liberty, or
96 LE'l'rDS TO BUCHER ON THE T&INITY.
ability to do, should be exercised in the actual per
formance of noble, righteous and manly deeds-of
tJJOrks that are well-pleasing to Him who loYeth righ-
teousness, and rewardeth every man according to his
works. Every one's works are but the ultimations of
the things belonging to his will and understanding ;
therefore, be their outward form whatever it may,
when viewed internally, their true quality is seen to
be such as is the love and the faith thence derived,
from which the works have proceeded ; and this is
why every one is finally to be judged and rewarded
according to his works.
While, therefore, this new doctrine of the Trinity
encourages the freest and most faithful exercise of the
understanding in the acquisition of a pure and well
grounded faith, it at the same time shows us that mere
faith or belief, however strong and well-sustained, or
truth alone, however ample its store or pure its qua.Ii
ty, is insufficient to save any one ;-that we are really
saved only in the degree that the heart's natural self-
ishness is overcome, and we are brought into a state
to love what in itself is just, sincere, and right-to
love, indeed, what God loves, and to find delight in
doing what He loves to have us do. .A.nd it may fur
ther be seen, in the light of this heavenly doctrine, that
our faith and charity are mere abstractions-that they
have no found'l.tion, and therefore cannot abide, unless
.they be ultimated in works or deeds of charity. Its
tendency, therP.fore, is to make us cloers, as well as
karnera, of the truth, and to prevent us from being
satisfied with our spiritual condition, until, through
PRAGrICAL BEARINGS OF THE NEW DOGrRINE. 9'l
obedience to the truth, we have reached that state in
which we love to obey, and experience a positive de-
light in the p(lrformance of good uses from a genuine
love of use ; for then only, as it is plain to see, are we
renewed in the image of our Maker, having within us
an image of the trinity tllat is in Him.
And because we see that this trinity in ourselves, of
love, wisdom and use, or charity, faith and works, de-
rives its origin from a trinity of a corresponding na-
ture in God, therel'ore the tendency of the doctrine is
to produce in us a becoming humility. Seeing that
our love, and wisdom and power, are not our own, but
are every moment received from Him who is Love
itself, and Wisdom itself, and Power itself, we shall
claim no merit to ourselves on account of our love,
knowledge or good works ; hut shall be led from the
heart to ascribe all the honor and all the glory unto
the Lord alone. What shall we say, then, of a doc-
trine, whose legitimate and strong tendency it is to
make men more wise, more loving, more active in the
performance of good works, and at the same time more
truly humble ? Can such a doctrine be false ? " Do
men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?"
This new doctrine, too, reconciles the apparent dis-
crepancies in the Bible in regard to the means of sal-
vation. It shows us that charity, faith and works are
each indispensable, though charity is to be regarded as
the prime essential, and without which our faith and
works have no vitality. And because faith is neces
sary, therefore it is sometimes spoken of as if sa.l
5
98 LETl'ERS TO BEECHER ON TBE TRINITY.
vation were by faith olone. But inasmuch as a state of
love or charity i$ the heavenly state, therefore it is that
charity is sometimes spoken of as greater than all other
virtues ; and he that 'loveth is said to dwell in God, and
God in him. But as charity and faith are nothing, or
mere abstractions, save as they are embodied in some
form, or ultimated in works, therefore works are some-
times spoken of in the Scripture as the criterion by
which every one is to be finally judged, as if we were
saved by works alone. Therefore the saying of each
of the Apostles is true-that " /Qve is the fulfilling of
the law;" yet" without faith, it is impossible to please
God ; " but "faith without works is dead." Accord-
ingly, the Lord Himself says : " Whosoever, therefore,
heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will
liken him unto a wise man who built his house upon
a rock; and the rain descended, and the floods came,
and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it
fell not, for it was founded upon a rock." Hearing
and doing the Lord's words, then, is the only way to
build our spiritual house upon a firm and enduring
basis ; and what more or less is implied in this, than
understanding, willing and obeying the divine pre-
cepts?
A.gain I must beg you to pardon the great length of
my letter, which I can only hope that the importance
of the subject may in some measure justify. But it
still remains for me to show how those passages in
the New Testament which speak of Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit, and upon which the popular doctrine of
PRACTICAL BEARINGS OJ' TRI!: NEW DOCl'JUNE, 99
the Trinity is based, are to be explained consistentJy
with the view I advocate ; and to the explanation of
this, my next letter will be mainly devoted. Mean
while I remain
Truly your Friend and Brother,
B. F. BARRETT.
Orange, &pt. 27, 1859.
100 L&'l'l'EB8 TO BUOB.D ON THE TJWnTY.
LETTER VI.
SCRIPTURE CONFIRMATION-MEANING OF FATHER
.AND SON.
MY DEAR Sm :-I have, in my previous letters,
explained the nature of the Divine Trinity as I under
stand it, and exhibited the practical importance of
this doctrine. I have shown that the Bible represents
God as a Being of Love, Wisdom, and Power ; and
that these three elements, however they may be thought
of and discoursed upon ireparately, have not, and can
not have, really any eeparate existence. They can
only exist in union with each other, like heat, light,
and their proceeding operation with the sun, or like
the heart and lungs in man, and their mutual and
reciprocal action. I have also shown that this view
of the Divine Trinity relieves the subject of the diffi
culties with which the Old and popular doctrine is
confessedly embarrassed, particularly that arising from
the express declaration of Scripture, that " God made
man in his own image." I do not see bow it is possi
ble fairly to reconcile this language of the Bible with
the doctrine of three persons in the Godhead. What-
ever be the nature of the trinal distinction in God, we
certainly have Scripture warrant for insisting that an
image or analogue of that trinity shall be shown to
KJUNING OJ' FATHER AND SON. 101
exist in every regenerate man. And we have seen
how completely the New doctrine, such as I have pre-
sented, satisfies the demands of this Scripture ; for the
essential constituents of every man are will, under-
standing, and ability to act ; and the.,;e, with a good
man, being the will or love of what is good, the
understanding or thought of what is true, and a life
conformable thereto, constitute a perfect image of the
Divine Trinity, and are indeed derived from it. As
sure, therefore, as this trinity exists in man viewed as
a spiritual being, so sure must there exist in God a
trinity of like nature, else man was not made in the
image of God. And I think it incumbent on all who
hold any different doctrine of the Trinity, to show
that their doctrine is one which finds its analogue in
the human spirit. Will your doctrine of three persons
in the Godhead bear to be subjected to this test ?
Will you be kind enough to tell us what are the three
persons in one man, which represent, as in an image,
your three persons in God?
I might have dwelt much longer th:i.n I have upon
that trinal distinction in man which is held to be an
image of the trinity in God. I might have shown
that it is a distinction not only clear to common o b s e r ~
vation, and involved in the very terms of every civil
code, but that it is one plainly implied on every page
of Holy Scripture. The Bible every where addresses
man as a being capable of understanding_, willing, and
doing, or of knowing, loving, and obeying. It reveals
certain great and momentous truths, all of whic4 ad-
dress themselves to the intellect in the first instance.
102 LE'l'l'ERS TO BEBCRU ON THE TRINITY.
It asks that these truths first be 'bdieved, and then
ol>eyed. But ol>edience to a command clearly implies
the willing and doing of that which is commanded.
And does the Bible require anything more of a man
than to understand, will, and d.o God's truth ?-or to
learn, love, and keep his commandments. Will you
name a single text of Scripture that is addressed to
any principle, faculty, or capability in the human soul,
not obviously comprehended in the trine I have stated?
Can you name one? This trine in man, then, belongs
to his spiritual constitution ; and therefore it is always
addressed by Him who created man and understands
the soul's integral nature and wants. Must not a
trine of a similar nature, then, belong to the very con-
stitution of the Divine Being, if man was made in the
image of God, as the Bible represents ?-But I must
omit much that might be said on this point, while I
proceed to show how t h ~ Trinity brought to view in
the New Testament under the formula of " Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit," is to be explained consistently
with the view I have presented.
That Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are spoken of
in Scripture in such a manner as clearly implies the
most intimate relation between them, is a fact that no
Christian pretends to deny. And that these three
names appear to be used to designate three Beings or
Persons, as distinct from each other as Peter, James
and John, I have already admitted. And this appa
rent truth has been incorporated into the popular
theology, and affirmed as a real and substantial verity.
Not content with the language of the Bible, Christians
MEANING OF FATHER AND s9N. 103
have unfortunately, through the introduction of the
word persons into the symbols of the church, confirmed
themselves in this appearance to such a degree, that
they now suppose it to express the absolute truth.
This was the mistake-a mistake committed many
centuries ago by men as fallible as you or I. And I
think you will find that nearly every error which has
crept into the Christian church, has been introduced
through a mistake precisely similar ; for what error
can you name which Christians have accepted for
truth, that has not derived some support from the
apparent or literal sense of the Bible? But the errors
which, no doubt, were very innocently believed fifteen
hundred years ago, ought not to be-cannot be-for
ever perpetuated in the Church. And this doctrine
of three ]JerBonB in the Godhead I regard as one of
those errors, which the light of the Gospel as it now
shines, ought to enable all Christians to see and reject.
We know that in the great volume of nature there
are many appearances of truth which are quite dif
ferent from the truth itself. Indeed, among the works
of God ihe absolute truth seldom lies on the surface.
It is only necessary to refer here, bf way of illustra-
tion, to the apparent diurnal motion of the heavenly
bodies, which we know is so different from the real
truth,-though the world had to wait many centurie.q
for a Copernicus to penetrate beyond the appearance
and disclose the reality. And what more reasonable
than to suppose, that in this as in other respects, the
Word of God should bear some analogy to his works.
I maintain that there is here a very close analogy.
104 LETTERS TO BEECHER ON THE TRINITY.
I hold that the sensuous appearances of truth in the
letter of Scripture, are often quite different from the
real truth, which usually lies deeper than the 8urface,
and is therefore concealed froni the eye of the casual
observer. Aud among these appearances I reckon
that which forms the basis of the popular doctrine in
regard to the Divine Trinity. While these three
names, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, appear to be em
ployed to designate three co-equel divine Persons,
they really denote three essential elements in one
divine Person. Do you say that this appa1ent truth
is the real, truth ?--or that the mention of these three
names, in the connection in which we find them, is
proof positive that as many distinct Beings are re-
ferred to hy them? This, I know, is the argument of
the popular theology. But if the argument is tll be
accepted as a sound one, it will prove altogether too
much ; for we shall then be constrained to believe in
as many di vine Persons as there are names applied in
Scripture to the Divine Being. And tliese, you know,
are quite numerous. Thus He is called Jah, Jehovah,
Jehovah of Hosts, Lord, God, Creator, Saviour, Re
deemer, Former, Schaddai, the Holy One of Israel,
King, Counsellor, the Everlasting Father, &c. These
names-all referring to one and the same divine Being
or Person-are used to denote different attributes or
elements of his character, or the different relations in
which He stands to different classes of people. Is it
said that a plurality of Persons is indicated by the
particle and, which couples Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit? This cannot be admitted ; for in Isaiah
MEANING OF FATHER AND SON. 105
(xlix. 7) it is written : "Thus saith the Lord, the
Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy one," &c. : where it
is clear that one and the same Being is refel'red to
under each of these designations, though, in addition
to the connecting particle and, we have the still
stronger pronoun kis.
What, then, are the elements, principles, or at-
tributes in the Divine Being, which we find designated
in the New Testament as Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit? What should they be but the three grand
essentials which I have explained, in the one personal
God-Love, Wisdom, and Operation ? By the Fatlie:r
is signified the essential Divine Love, or the Lord in
respect to this attribute. Divine Love is the all-beget-
ting and all-protecting principle in human hearts. It
is this which begets in us all heavenly dispositions and
feelings, which provides them with their appropriate
nourishment, and protects them against the malignant
assaults of evil spirits. .A.II that is of heaven in any
human soul is actually begotten of tl1e Divine Love,
and actually protected, fed, and nourished by it. Thid
Love, therefore. is essentially paternal in its nature;
and hence the Lord, when spoken of with especial
reference to His love, is called the heavenly Father.
By the Son is denoted the Divine Wisdom, or the
Lord in respect to His wisdom. The Divine Wisdom
is the Truth or Word, which the Scripture assures
us was in t.he beginning w1th God, and is God.
(See John i. 1.) "And the Word," it is said, "was
made flesh, and dwelt among us." This Logos, Wis-
dom, or Word, is also declared to be "the Light of
Diyitized by Google
106 LE'l'l'ERS TO BEBCRER ON mg TRINITY.
men"-" the true Light, which lighteth every man
that cometh into the world." (ib. 4, 9.) We never
find the Father spoken of in the New Testament
as the Truth, the Light, or the Word ; simply be-
cause this designation is applied to the Lord with
more especial reference to that other and supreme
element of the Divine character-Love.
But Divine Wisdom proceeds or is sent forth from
Divine Love, as thought proceeds from affection, or as
light is sent forth from heat. Every thought, we.
know, is the offspring of some affection. It proceeds
from-is begotten and born of-some love in the will.
The love, therefore, is properly the fathe1 of the
thonght. We may kn<iw this to be the case, if we
reflect upon the fact that men always think most abont
those things they love most. Without some love in
the will, no thought could ever have birth in the
intellect. So if you raise the heat in any materiai
substance to a certain degree of intensity-and heat
corresponds to love-it manifests itself to the eye in
the form of light. Light, then, we say, proceeds or is
sent forth from heat, and is begotten by it. So in the
New Testament the S<m is called" the only begotten
of the Father,n and is said to have "proceeded" and
" come forth from
11
the Father, to have been " sent"
by the Father, &c. The Divine Wisdom (signified by
the Son) proceeds and goes forth from the Divine
Love (signified by the Father,) and fc1rms one with it,
as light proceed1:1 from and forms one with the heat of
the sun.
Light, too is the form in which heat manifests it.self
KEANING OF FATHER .A.ND SON. 107
to the bodily eye, just as thought is the form in which
love manifests itself to the eye of the mind. For the
nature or character of a man's prevailing thoughts, is
a sure index of the quality of his dominant love. Thus,
if he is thinking perpetually of himself, and studying
the surest ways of advancing his own interests without
any thought of the interests or welfare of others, this
is evidence that his ruling love is altogether selfish.
Our loves always come forth and reveal themselves in
our thoughts-in the things of the intellect. Nor can
we in any way learn the quality of the love that
rules within us, save by noticing the character of our
predominant thought. The things of the will reveal
themselves in those of the understanding. Thought
is simply the form of affection. It therefore brings
the affection forth to view-makes it manifest-reveals
its quality-being the very image and likeness of it.
So Divine Wisdom alone, or the very truth
brings the Divine Love forth to view. Hence the
Sun ie said to bring forth and manifest the Father.
" The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the
Father, he bath declared Him "-literally, hath l>rought
Him forth to view. The Son is also said to be the
" image" of the Father ; and our Lord, speaking as
the Son of God, says ; " He that hath seen me, bath
seen the Father." We can only see, that is, under
stand the nature of the Divine Love, as that Love is
revealed to us through the medium of the Divine Wis
dom. Thus it is ever the Son which " shows " us the
Father.
Nor can we draw spiritually near to the Divine
108 LE'l'l'ERS TO BEECHER ON THE TRINITY.
Love, except through the instrumentality of the Divine
Wisdom, or the Truths of the Word. That is, we
cannot be brought into a state to experience the de-
lights of God's pure love-cannot really know how
rich and full of blessing that love is-cannot come to
any just appreciation or perception of the nature of
that Love, save through the medium of the Divine
Wisdom or Word ; for it is the truths of the Word
which show us what we are to shun and do in order
that we may become receptive of the Divine Love, or
may come to that Love ; and to come to that Love, is
to have that Love come to us and make its abode in
our hearts. Therefore it is said by the Son, speak
ing in the capacity of the very Truth itself, "No one
cometh unto the Father but by me." What is the
precise idea which the popular theology attaches to
"coming unto the Father?"
Moreover, the Divine Wisdom cannot exist separ-
ate from the Divine Love. The latter ever dwells in
the former as heat dwells in light, or affection in
thought. And heat, we know, is the great element
of power in the sun. It is this chiefly which produ
ces such wonderful effects in nature, or which imparts
to light its vivifying power. It is this which loosens
the earth from her icy fetters-which causes seeds to
germinate and buds to expand-which decks creation
in robes of beauty, and gives to every flower its fra
grance. So Divine Love is the vital element in
Divine Wisdom or Truth. It is this which imparts
to Truth all its quickening and regenerating power.
It is this-ever dwelling in the Truth as its life and
KEANING OF FATHER AND SON. 109
soul-which enables the Truth to accomplish its won
drous works. Without this living element, the Truth
would be as powerless as light without heat. Hence
it is written : "The Son can do nothing of him-
self but what IIe seeth the Father do. " " I can of
mine own self do nothing." "The Father that dwell-
eth in me, He doeth the works." If, agreeable to the
popular theology, the Son were a second lMrson in the
Trinity, yet equal in every respect to the Father or
first person, why should He be able to do nothing of
himself? Why should He attribute all his works to
the Father ? Or how could the Father dwell in Him,
unless two lMrsarts can be conceived of as dwelling in
one and the same form ?
Again : The Son is spoken of in the New Testa-
ment as being gifted with the exclusive power of
judging. "The Father," it is said, "judgeth no man,
but bath committed all judgment unto the Son ;"-
" Hath given him authority to execute judgment also,
because he is the Son of Man." And again, speak-
ing as the Son, the Lord says : " For judgment I am
come into this world, that they which see not might
see," &c. Now, why is it that the Father has nothing
to do in so important a work as that of judging his
intelligent creatures ? Why is all judgment com-
mitted unto the Son? I know not what reply the Old
theology would make to these questions ; but in the
light of the doctrine I am advocating, the answer is
very plain. For is it not one of the appropriate
offices of truth to judge ? Is not this one great purpose
for which the truth is given, and one of the first
110 LE'l'l'D8 TO BEEOBEB ON THE TRINITY.
things it does when it comes to human minds? When-
ever we receive any truth, that truth immediately
passes a judgment upon us-upon our character, con-
duct and former beliefs. It approves of whatever in
our minds is in accordance with it, and condemns
whatever is in opposition to it. Every judgment
which we pass upon ourselves or others, if it be in
accordance with the truth, is a just judgment; but if
not in accordance with the truth, it is unjust. All
the judgments, therefore, which men render, are true
and righteous just in the degree that they accord
with the truth. When, therefore, the truth coiqes to
our minds, or when the Lord comes with the enlight-
ening power of truth from Himself, He comes to
reveal to us our real characters, and thus to execute
a jndgment. And so it is with every advent of truth.
It always comes to judge men and things. This is
why the &n, which signifies the Lord in respect to
Wisdom or Truth, says : " For judgment I am come
into this world, that they which see not might see,"
&c.-showing that enlightening men, or enabling those
hitherto blind to see, which we know is exclusively the
office of truth, is really to execute a judgment. A.nd
this also shows us why " all judgment "is said to have
been " committed unto the Son." And as if to leave
no room for doubt on this point, the Lord says, on
another occasion : " He that rejecteth me, and receiv-
eth not my words, bath one that judgeth him ; the
Word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in
the last day." It is the Lord's Word, therefore, which
is to judge all men, and His " Word is truth." ( J obn
KEA.NING OF FA'l'BER AND BON. 111
xvii. 17 .-) This also explains why it is that the second
coming of the Lord is uniformly spoken of as the com-
ing of the Son of man to judge the world; for the
promised second coming of the Son of Man is the
coming, as I believe, of the true meaning of the Word
-the coming of.the truth of its spiritual sense to the
underst.a.ndings and hearts of men ; and just in the d&
gree that this coming takes place, a judgment is exe-
cuted-a judgment upon men's characters or states as
well as upon their previous views of truth. And do
you not see that this judgment is even now going on?
-that the Son of Man is already coming in the clouds
of heaven ?--that old things are passing away, and all
things being made new, agreeable to the declarations
of Holy Writ? .
Again : The Father is said io be grea/,er than the
Son. "My Father is greater than I," is a text which,
according to your tri-personal doctrine, gives the Uni-
tarian a decided advantage in the argument touching
the divinity of Chrfst. For you and the Unitarian
agree that the Father and the Son are two distinct
persons. This admitted, what can be more fair and
logical than the Unitarian's conclusion, that one of
these persons is not divine in the strict or highest
sense of that word-not divine in the sense in which
the other is; for proper divinity admits of no superi-
ority. Yet here it is said, " My Father is greater
than I." How do you reconcile this text wit.h the idea
of perfect equality between the first and second per
8008 of y'>ur Trinity ? But, in the light of the doctrine
I advocate, this text presents no difficulty. The Fatlw
119 LETl'ERS TO BEECHER OH THE TRINITY.
denotes that prime essential in the Divine Trinity
from which the others proceed-viz : Love. And as
Love is superior to Wisdom or Truth in point of dig-
nity, power and importance, just as charity is superior
to faith (for which we have Paul's authority), therefore
the Father is said to be greater than the Son. Among
spiritual principles there are gradations of rank and
importance the same as among our bodily organs.
And love-pure, devoted, unselfish love-is the high-
est and noblest attribute of humanity. This, there-
fore, is greater than truth, spiritually speaking-great-
er, indeed, than any otl1er principle belonging to the
human mind. Hence the reason and the meaning of
the declaration," My Father is greater than I."
Thon we are ~ u g h t that there is a most intimate
union between the Father and Son-so intimate that
they are said to be one. " I and my Father are one."
How one? It is plain that if, according to the popu-
lar theology, they are two persons, they cannot be one
in r>erson. They can only be one in spirit or essence.
And here, again, your tri-personal theory gives the
Unitarian a decided advantage. For he agrees with
you that the oneness predicated of the Father and Son
is simply a oneness of spirit. A 11 good men, he argues
-all who have the heavenly Father's spirit-are said
to be one with the Father, and one with each other,
for they are one in spirit. Therefore-and how cnn
you deny the logic of his conclusion ?-Christ being
one with the Father in precisely the same sense that
all good men are one with Him, though in a much
higher degree, is merely a good man-better, indeed,
HEANING OF FATHER AND SON. 113
than any other man-but not properly divine. But
according to the view I am advocating, the Father and
Son are one, both in essence and in person. They are
one, as soul and body are one, as heat and light are
one in the sun, or affection and thought in man. This
kind of oneness answers fully the demands of all the
language of Scripture, admits and even necessitates
the absolute divinity of the Saviour, and is at the same
time clear of the objection of being incomprehensible
or mysterious.
And thus I might go on, multiplying texts of Scrip-
ture almost witho11t number in which Father and Son
are mentioned, and showing how easy of interpretation
they all are, and what a clear, consistent and rational
sense they yield, according to the view I advocate ;
while, according to the Old and popular view, they
are-some of them, at least-so hard to be understood,
and embarrassed with so many and great difficulties.
But I trust the examples I have l1ere given will serve
my purpose of illustration, and suffice to show you that
the demands of the language in those passages of the
New Testament to which the popular doctrine of the
Trinity appeals for support, yield most readily to the
doctrine I have here endeavored to unfold, and are
most completely satisfied by it.
I had hoped to conclude, in the present letter, all I
wished to say on the subject suggested by the para-
gr.-.,ph in your sermon to which I object. But the true
"cripture import of the Holy Spirit, and the facility
with which the texts wherein it occurs yield -to the
view I have presented, are points of too great import-
11' Lltl'l'BRS TO BEBCJIU ON TllB TRINITY.
ance in this discussion to be lightly touched upon. I
must, therefore, postpone, till another time, the con
clusion of my remarks, lest I weary you by the great
length of this letter. Meanwhile I remain,
Your Friend and Brother,
B. F. BA.BRETT.
Orange, Oct. 28th, 1859.
MEANING OF THE BOtT SMJUT. 116
LETTER VII.
FURTHER TESTIMONY FROM SCRIPTURE-MEANING OF
THE HOLY SPIRIT-CONCLUSION.
MY DEAR Sm :-Having, in my letter of Oct. 28th,
explained what I believe to be the true Scripture im
port of Father and Son, so often mentioned in the
New Testament, I come now, agreeable to my promise,
to show what is to be understood by the Hdy Spirit.
And I beg you carefully to note how much more fully
the demands of the Scripture language in those pas-
sages which speak of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
are satisfied by the doctrine of the Trinity such as
I have explained, than by the popular Tri-Personal,
doctrine. Even if the New doctrine which I have
endeavored to elucidate, should not, to your entire sat-
isfo.ction, solve every doubt or remove every difficulty
-though, for one, I do not see any difficulty which it
fails fairly to meet-still, you should consider whether
the difficulties which the New view has to encounter
be not immeasurably less than those by which the Old
is embarrassed. Please to note also the great advan-
tage which the New view has over the Old in a prac-
tical point of view, as exhibited in my letter to you
of September 27th.
The translators of our English Bible have done
more, perhaps, than all others to impress the popular
116 LETl'EB8 TO BEECHER ON THE TRINITY.
mind of Christendom with the belief that the Holy
Spirit, so often spoken of in the New Testament, is a.
distinct Person. And this they have done through a
mis-translation of the Greek rcvstip.a. a:y.rw (Pneuma
haginn), which they have almost invariably rendered
Ho/,y GAoat. The common acceptation of the term
fjMst, is a person-though one that is not ordinarily
visible. And as it was the confirmed belief of the
translators of our Bible that there are three Perscms
in the Godhead, they undoubtedly endeavored to make
their translation conform to this idea ; and accord
ingly tl1ey pretty uniformly translated Pneuma Ha
gion, "Holy Ghost." But you and every other Greek
scholar know perfectly well that Pneuma is mis-trans
lated when translated by a. word which conveys the
idea of a distinct person. The word never has any
such meaning. Its primary eignification is a lne,athing,
or ejfiuence,-some principle, power, or influence sent
forth from a person. Hence we read that our Lord,
when He appeared to his disciples after his crucifixion,
"lncatlwl on them" and said, " Receive ye the Holy
Spirit,"-Holy Ghost, as erroneously rendered in our
common English version (John xx. 22). Besides, we
read (John xiv. 15, 16, 17), "If ye love roe keep my
commandments ; and I will pray the Father, and He
shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide
with you forever ; evm the Spirit of Trutli which 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." And further on, in this same
chapter, we read : "But the Comforter, which is the
HEANING 01' THE HOLY SPIRIT. 11 'f
Holy Spirit [Holy Ghost in our common version],
whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach
you all things, and bring all things to your remem-
brance, whatsoever I have said unto you" (v. 26).
Observe that in one of these passages the Comforrer
is said to be "the Holy Spirit," and in the other "the
Spirit of Truth "-thus teaching that the Holy Spirit
and the Spirit of Truth are identically the same.
Moreover we find the Greek words Pneuma Hagion,
commonly rendered Holy Ghost, translated HOly Spirit
in a very few instances. Thus in Luke xi. 13, "If ye
then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto
your children, how much more shall your Heavenly
Father give the Holy Spirit (Pneuma Hagion) to them
that ask Him?" And Paul says to the Ephesian
brethren," Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, where
by ye are sealed unto the day of redemption" (iv. 30).
And again, writing to the church at Thessalonica, the
same Apostle says : " He that despiseth, despiseth not
man, but God, who bath also given unto us his Holy
Spirit" (iv. 8). Now in each of these passages the
words translated Holy Spirit are precisely the same
as those elsewhere and commonly translated Holy
Ghost.
But it is needless to urge this point. For you, I am
certain, will concede that the words usually rendered
HOly Ghost in the New Testament, ought always to
be translated H&y Spirit. And the Holy Spirit, I
maintain, is not a Divine Person, but a holy etftuence
emanating from the Divine Being, or the holy proceed-
ing influence and joint operation of the Divine Love
118 LETl'EBS TO BEBCBER ON THE TRINITY.
and Wisdom upon the minds and hearts of men, cor-
responding to the effiuent heat and light of the sun,
and their operation throughout the domains of nature.
But while the effiuent beams of the sun, and their
quickening power in the naturo.l sphere, furnish a good
illustration of my idea of the Holy Spirit, I may, per-
haps, illustrate the idea still better by a reference to
hnman thoughts and affections, and their outgoings
and influence in the realms of spirit. I believe-nay,
I am very confident-that thoughts and affections
have extension. I mean by this, that there is a mental
sphere appertaining to every human being, as truly as
there is a material sphere appertaining to the earths
in the universe, and to every material object belonging
to the earths. This mental sphere differs in quality,
power, and intensity, with different individuals, ac-
cording as their minds differ in intellectual grasp,
moral quality, and depth and intensity of feeling.
This mental or human sphere is the extension, so to
speak, of the individual himself, and is therefore of
the same quality as his thoughts and affections, just as
the sphere of a rose is of the same nature as the rose
itsP,lf, being the effiuence of its own essential qualities.
According to this view, a good and regenerate person,
one whose soul is filled and animated with the Lcrd's
own life, being re-created in His image and likeness,
not only scatters blessings wherever he goes by his
words of wisdom and his deeds of love, but his very
presence is a benediction. There is a power in his
heavenly thoughts and pure affections, which makes
itself felt even though he open not his mouth. Every,
KliNING OJ' THE HOLY SPIB.'lT. 119
unholy passion, every sinful desire and disposition,
feels itself rebuked by his presence ; while all the
purest and best feelings of the heart are called forth
and quickened into activity. .A. pure and holy in
fluence goes forth from him at all times like fragrance
from a garden of flowers. And all who come within
the sphere of his influence, have their minds and hearts
affected by it. Their evils are subdued and their
good desires and feelings are quickened by his very
presence. No doubt you have known some such
saintly persons, who seemed not only to dwell in an
atmosphere of holiness and love, but to carry that
atmosphere with them, and diffuse it like a pure and
heavenly radiance wherever they go. Such persons,
you would say, are images and likenesses of the Lord.
Then may we not learn from the sweet and holy in
fluence that goes forth from them-from that truly
human sphere of affection and thought which every
where goes with them a . ~ the atmosphere with the
earth, or the fragrance with the flower-may we not
learn, I say, from the spirit which goes forth from such
persons, the nature of that effi.uence from the Divine
Being called in Scripture " the Holy Spirit? " Is not
one the image of the other, as truly as any quality or
attribute of the finite human mind can be an image of
a like quality or attribute of the Infinite Divine Mind?
If so, then the Holy Spirit, you see, is not a Divine
Person, according to the teaching of the popular
theology, but a. holy effi.uence or breathing from the
Divine. And now let us see how this view accords
120 LB'1'l'ER8 TO BEIOHER ON THI!: TRINITY.
with the language and teaching of the New Testament
on the subject.
First, you will observe that it answers perfectly the
demand!'! of the original Greek term (pneuma hagion)
for Holy Spirit, which means simply a holy hreatking
or ejfluence ; while the old and popular idea of the
Holy Spirit as a distinct Person, is wholly nnauthor
ized by the original. This alone ought to settle the
question so far as the testimony of Scripture is con
cerned. But, with the hope of removing from your
mind every shadow of doubt on this subject, I would
invite your attention to some of the things predicated
of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament.
For example, we read of certain persons being
filled with the Holy Spirit. It was announced by the
angel Gabriel before the birth of John, that he
should be "filled with the Holy Spirit even from his
mother's womb" (Luke i. 15) ; and after his birth,
"his father Zacharias was .ftlled with the Holy Spirit
and prophesied" (ib. v. 67). Paul was ".ftlkd with
the Holy Spirit." Barnabas, also, "was a good man,
and fu!J of the Holy Spirit and of faith." "And the
disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy
Spirit."-(A.cts xi. 24; xiii. 9, 52.) And when the dis
ciplea were assembled on the day of Pentecost, "and
suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a
rushing mighty wind," it is said immediately after,
that, "they were all .ftlJed witb the Holy Spirit,
and began to speak with other tongue!'! as the Spirit
gave them utterance." (Acts ii. 4.) And we are
afterwards told that "this is that which was spoken
KBA.NlNG OJ' THE HOLY SPIRIT. f2l
by the prophet Joel: And it shall come to pass in
the last days, saith God, I will pour out my Spirit
upon all flesh," etc. (ib. v. 17 .) This shows us what
. it is to be jiJ,kd with the Holy Spirit. It is to have
God's spirit poured out upon the mind and heart-to
have the soul Hooded as it were with the Divine Wis
dom and Love. If the Holy Spirit were a person in-
stead of an eiftue:nce, would it not seem a most singu
lar and unwarrantable use of language to speak of
its being poured out? But we may with perfect pro-
ptiety speak of thoughts and feelings being poured out.
The earnest out-goings of the soul in any direction,
may, with the strictest propriety, be called the out-
pourings of the soul. Thus men may pour out their
souls in prayer, or in deeds of kindness and mercy, or
on the written page which embodies their thoughts
and affections. So, too, when the mind is thoroughly
pervaded by certain sentiments, affections, or feelings,
the man is very properly said to be filled with them.
Thus men are said to be full of fu.ith, love, hope,
charity, meekness, mercy, etc. And you will observe
in one of the above quotations from the Acts of the
Apostles, that the same thing is predicated of the
Holy Spirit as of faith; and in another of them, the
same as of joy;-" full of the Holy Spirit and of
faith ;" " filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit."
It is also said in another passage to which I have
already referred, that the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete
or Comforter, called also " the Spirit of. truth,"
"dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." (John xiv.
17.) Now while I may be greatly influenced. by your
6
ljj LE'l'l'BRS TO BEECHER ON THB TRI!UTY.
menial sphere-while the thoughts and affections
radiating from yon, may kindle in my soul similar
thoughts and affections, and in that case, or on ac
count of the similarity of the impulses by which we
are swayed, your spirit might be said to be in me, I
submit that it could not with truth or propriety be
said that your was in me-though I concede,
of course, that no such influence or spirit could go
forth from you, if you did not exist as a person.
Then we find the Holy Spirit spoken of as some-
thing that men may receive. Jesus" breathed on bis
disciples and said unto them, Receive ye the Holy
Spirit." (John xx. 22.) " They received the Holy
Spirit" through the laying on of the Apostles' hands.
(Acts viii. 17 .) "Have ye received the Holy Spirit?"
inquired Paul of certain of the disciples at Ephesus.
The Holy Spirit is also said to fall on men (Acts x
44; xi. 15); to come upon them (ib. i. 8); to be
given to them (Luke xi. 13 ; Acts viii. 18 ; I.
Thess. iv. 8); to he sent d,own from Heaven (1 Pet. i.
12); to be a witness of heavenly states (Heb. x. 15.)
And men are said to be made partakers of the Holy
Spirit (Heb. vi. 4), as they a.re made partakera
of spiritual things (Rom. xv. 27), or of "that one
bread," which, coming down from heaven, givath life
unto the world. (1 Cor. x. 17.)
Now, I ask in all seriousness, if the things here pred
icated of the Holy Spirit are generally such as could,
without a most flagrant violation of the laws of lan-
guage, be predicated of a whether divine
or human? Could it, wHh BnJ propriety, be said of a
.HEA.NING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 123
person that he was pourm out upon others ?-that
others were.filled with him ?-that he was communi
cated to them, or that they received him internally
through the imposition of hands ?-or that others
could be made partakers of him ? But this, and all
other language in the New Testament used in refer
ence to the Holy Spirit, becomes easJ. of interpreta
tion, and is seen to be perfectly proper, if we under
stand the Holy Spirit to be not a person but an
ejftueru:e--or that Divine and Holy Proceeding of love
and wisdom from the Lord, corresponding to the
natural proceeding of heat and light from the sun,
and their operation throughout the domains of
nature.
See, now, how easy of interpretation, and how beau-
tifully significant, according to the views of the Divine
Trinity here presentei, becomes that baptismal for
mula used in all Christian churches, and which the
Lord gave to his disciples after the Human had been
glorified, and had received" all power in he&ven and
on earth I" In the formula referred to, He commands
his followers to go and make disciples of all nations,
"baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy8pirit." Baptism, as you know,
is a symbolic rite, and signifies regeneration, or the
purification of the heart from its defilements by means
of Divine truth symbolized by the water of baptism;
for divine truth is spiritual water-the water of life.
The name of any one mentioned in Scripture, signifies
some mental or spiritual quality. Therefore. by the
name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is denoted
Uli LS1'l'DS TO BHOHER ON THiil TRINITY
the quality of the Divine Trinity; that is, the quality
of Love, Wisdom, and their Holy Proceeding. And
to Le "baptized into this name, according to the spiritual
import of the expression, is to be spiritually re-created
-made altogether new in our feelings, thoughts, and
actions. In other words, it is to have our human will
purified, or brought into conformity with the Divine
Love ; our understanding enlightened, or brought into
conformity with the Divine Wisdom; and our human
life-sphere brought into conformity with the Holy Pro
ceeding of love and wisdom, or the sphere of the
Divine beneficence. When a man's will becomes im
bued with genuine love, and his understanding imbued
' with genuine truth, then his sphere of life is of
a quality similar to that which proceeds from the
Lord, which is called his Holy Proceeding. He is
then created anew in the image and likeness of the
Lord, having derivatively, in himself, in a finite degree,
each element of the Divine Trinity, love,-wisdom, and
use, or charity, faith, and good works in harmonious
union. Thus he is spiritually baptized into the name
of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; and this is what
is symbolized by the ordinance of baptism. In the light
of the Old and popular doctrine of the Trinity does
the formula used in this rite disclose any such beauti
ful significance?*
o An objP.Ction to the view of the Trinity aa presented in these
Letters, Is sometimes urged by the advocates of the Olil and popular
doctrine, on the ground that the ptr10nal pronoun He is nnifonnly
applied alike to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But all who fully
understand our doctrine, will see that this objection is without
weight. For each of these terms is applied to one and the 8allle
KEANING OF THE HOLY SPmIT. 125
You will perceive from all I have said on this sub-
ject, that, while I hold to a trinal distinction in the
Deity, I reject the old and popular doctrine which
requires us to believe in a tri-personal God. I regard
that doctrine as alike unreasonable and unscriptural,
and most unfriendly to the growth of pure religion
and practical piety. I cannot, in my own mind, sep-
arate the belief or thought of three persons in the
Godhead, from the belief or thought of three Gods ;
nor do I believe it possible for any one to do this.
Candor requires of me-and I think it requires of all
-to say, that Tripersonalism is in reality TrithP.ism-
unless (as I have no doubt is often the case) one of the
persons in this Trinity is held to be supreme above
the others. But a denial of the perfect eq_uality of the
persons, is a virtual denial of the divinity of those
that are held subordinate. And how many among
Trinitarians of the present century, clearly perceiving
this logical necessity, have sought an escape from the
sad dilemma in modern Unitarianism I
But who is the uni-personal God in whom I believe?
you are, uo doubt, ready to ask. Who should He be,
but the Lord Jesus Christ? He, I maintain, is the
only personal God revealed unto men. He is the
Divine Being or Person-the Fa/Mr being the usual droignation when
He is spolteu of with reference to the Divine Love ; the &n, when
He is spoken of with reference to the Divine Wit!dom or Word; and
the Holg Spirit, when He is spoken of with reference to the Divine
Power or Holy Proceeding. Love bas no abstract or
existence-neither has Truth nor Power. Tbereforc .. in the literal
sense of the Scripture, peraooalilg is ascribed to each, an<l the peraonal
pronoun is aooordlngly employed.
126 LE'l'l'DS TO BEECRJ:R ON Tllll: T&INITY.
manifested Jehovah-" God with us." In Him is all
of that Divine Trinity signified by the Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit. For does not Paul declare that "in
Him dwelleth all the fullnus of the Godhead bodily?"
And if this be so, how can we deny or doubt, that.
whatever be the nature of the Divine Trinity, the all
of that Trinity dwells in the person of Jesus Christ?
Is there aught of Divinity which human minds can
receive or comprehend, that dwells not in the glorified
Christ 'l He is revealed to us as the Light of the
world-the very truth itself-the power of God and
the wisdom of God-the eternal Logos or Word
made fiesh-the personal manifestation of the Divine
Love and Wisdom-the fulness of God revealed in a
bodily form-the Everlasting Father brought forth to
the view of mortals ; so that He himself could say,
"He that hath seen me, hath seen the Father."
His language, too, is the language of God. " If
any man thirst," He says, "let him come to me.and
drink." " Come unto me all ye that labor and are
heavy laden, and I will give yon :rest." " I am the
Good Shepherd-the Good Shepherd gi>eth his life
for the sheep." "Without me ye can do nothing."
"Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot
bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine, no
more can ye except ye abide in me. I am the vine,
ye are the b!"anches." " I am the Living Bread that
came down from heaven." "Upon this rock I will
build my church, and the gates of hell shall not pre-
vail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys
of the kingdom of heaven." Who but God himself
Diyitized by Google
llEANING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 12'1
could, without the most terrible presumption, use Ian
guage like this ?
And his works likewise, are the works of God.
With five loaves and a few small fishes He feeds the
hungry thousands, and they are all filled. To a
certain blind man who sits by the way-side and cries,
saying, "Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me,"
He says, "Receive thy sight," and immediately his
sight is restored. To the poor paralytic who is
brought to Him lying on a bed, He says, " Arise,
take up thy bed and go unto thine house. And he
arose and departed to his house." He comes and
touches the bier that bears the dead body of the only
son of the widow of N ain, and says " Young man, I
say unto thee arise. And he that was dead "Sat up
and began to speak." He touches the hand of a poor
fever-stricken woman, and instantly the fever leaves
her. He speaks the word in behalf of the centu-
rion's palsied servant, who lay at home grievously
tormented, and " bis servant was healed in the self,.
same hour." Many are brought unto Him possessed
with devils, "and he cast out the spirits with his
word." A great tempest arises in the sea, so that the
ship is covered with the waves; and his disciples,
filled with fear, cry, "Lord, save us-we perish: then
He arose and rebuked the wind and the sea ; and
there was a great calm."
Whose love-whose word--whose power is this, that
feeds the hungering thousands in the wilderness, that
heals the sick, gives sight to the blind and hearing to
the deaf, makes vigorous and strong the palsied limbs,
128 LJl:'1'1'EJIB TO BEECHER ON TBE TRINITY.
raises the dead to life, casts out devils from souls pos
sessed, and stills the raging winds and waves? Can
any one doubt that He, who is able to do all this, " is
the true God and eternal life 'l" Add also the reveal-
ed fact, that hosts of adoring angels bow before His
throne, " saying with a lond voice, Worthy is the
Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and
wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and
blessing." Who else, then, save the Lord Jesus
Christ, should receive the supreme homage of our
hearts? To what other Divine Person shall we look,
of what other shall we think, when we bow our souls
in prayer ? If '' God was in Christ reconciling the
world unto himselt'"-which I take to be the true
Christian idea-then should Christians worship God
in Christ, and not out of Him. We should worship
the Father in the Son-the Divinity in the Humanity.
Nor need we fear to worship Him whom the angels
adore ; nor doubt that, in doing this, we worship
the all of that Divine 'frinity signified by Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit; for" in Him dwelleth all the
fulness of the Godhead bodi1:4/'
But it is needless to urge this point with you, my
brother, most essential though I deem it to be. For
you believe already that Christ is the manifested God
-the true and proper Object of religious worship.
For in the sermon of yours which was the immediate
occasion of these Letters, you say : As far as human
conception is concerned, there is nothing of the Spirit
or the Father, but that which was revealed to us by
the manifest Christ Jesus." ''And I believe that one
KliNING OF TBE HOLY SPIRIT. 1 ~ 9
of the greatest elements of power is utterly cast
away and lost, when Christ is regarded as a messen
ger from God, and not as God Himself manifest in
the fiesh." And in the same discourse you .further
declare your belief in Christ as "the Way, the Life,
the Alpha, the Omega, the First, the Last ;" and
after acknowledging your obligation to "give to Him
all that the human soul can give to any being," you
add: "When I have fulfilled all the acts of trust, of love,
of reverence, of worship, of adoration and ecstasy, that
are commanded toward the Lord Jesus Christ, I have
exhausted the possibilities of my mind ; I have noth
ing higher to offer before any other throne." And
in a more recent sermon of yours, (published Nov.
17 th,) you express your joy in the belief that " Christ
is God," and remark, that " it is .by the persona/,
power of the Lord Jesus Obrist upon the hearts of
His children, that He works all goodness in them."
You al@o say : "The Bible teaches just this : that the
Divine Mind was pleased to take upon itself a human
body." "I never bless God so much as when I think
that He came into the world to search for me and
save me." And you further add :
" Tcy that worship God as a mere Spirit, worship
under the most difficult circumstances in which it is
possible for the human mind to worship. It is the Scrip-
tural remedy to worship the Father through [in] Christ.
And they that worship Christ as very God, are enabled
to worship under circumstance!! which make it very
easy. For Christ i ~ God present to us in such a way
that our senses our reason, and our affections, are able
to take a personal hold upon him. It is just the differ
ISO LETl'EBS TO BEBCJIU ON THE TRINITY.
ence between a God afar off and a God near at band ;
between a G-Od that the heart can reach, and by its
common sympathies understand and interpret, and a
God which only the head and imagination can at all
reach or discry-and even these only as astronomers'
glasses descry nebulous worlds at so vast a distance,
that the highest powers cannot resolve them, or make
them less than mere luminous mist. If you worship
Christ, you employ your powers easily and naturally."
Upon this point, then-the proper and absolute
divinity of Christ, your language is sufficiently ex
plicit. I have no fault to find with you here. Your
view appears to be identical with my own. But if
Christ be indeed " very God," as you here affirm and
I admit, and if, as you have elsewhere said," no man
can form any conception of God except as a person,"
and " it is not in the power of any human being to
think of a person except in some form" (see your ser-
mon on understanding God), I cannot help asking
how it is possible for you to separate in your own
mind the belief in three Divine Persons, having a
three-fold personality" clearly defined, from a belief
in three Gods ? To declare yourself able to do this,
is simply to say that you can think of th1ee distinct
persons, each of whom is in the human form, and at
the same time think of them collectively as only one
person existing in one human form ! .Are you able to
do this?
You will not, of course, understand me as believing
or teaching that the Divine dwelt in all fulness in
Jesus Christ while He tabernacled in human flesh.
God, in descending to human conditions, or assuming
KEANING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. H;}
our natural humanity, assumed it with all its finite-
ness, imperfections and hereditary corruptions. Other
wise He could not have been subject to temptation as
He was. And he gradually brought down hi8 Divin
ity into every region of the assumed humanity-
cleansed that humanity of all its impurities-subject-
ed all its dispositions and feelings to the governance
of Divine Wisdom-conquered all the hells and re
duced them to order-" fulfilled" perfectly all the Law
and the Prophets-lived out the Divine Truth, and there-
by united it to the Divine Good or Love in the ultimate
sphere ; and in this way He glorified the humanity, _
or made it divine even to the very ultimatee. Accord
ingly we read that He increased in wisdo:n, (Luke ii.
52), and that He sanctified himself (John xvii. 19),
that his followers also might be sanctified through
the truth. And until that process of glorification (of
which the regeneration of every man is an image)
was complete, it could not be said of Christ that He
was divine even to ultimates ; neither could that holy
efiluence proceed from Him, which He was able to
shed down upon the hearts of men after it was " finish
ed," and the human was made altogether divine.
Hence He spake of the necessity of his going away
(from the outward view of the disciples) in order that
He might send them the Comforter, or Holy Spirit.
"For if I go not away, the Comforter will not come
unto you ; but if I depart I will send him unto you.'
1
(John xvi. 7.) Hence also it is said on another occa-
sion, " But this spake He of the Spirit which they
that believe in Him should receive ; for the Holy
1 3 ~ LBTl'EBS TO BUCHER ON TBB TRINITY
Spirit was not yet, because that Jesug was not yet gluri-
fied." (John vii. 39.) Not that the Holy Spirit did
not exist alJ8ultttel9, a3 one element of the Divine
Trinity, prior to the Incarnation; hut that special
dispensation of the Spirit which the Church now
enjoys and which came as a consequence of the
assumption and glorification of the humanity-that
divine influence which the Lord is now able to impart
unto and make ope:ative in tho lowest or ultimate
sphere of humanity, (because He united the Divine
Wisdom with the Divine Love in that sphere.) could
not be imparted befure, because of the cloRed conditii>n
of the human. mind ;-and therefore, rekitively Rpeak-
ing, " it was not." That closed, lost and ruined
degree of the mind, which was opened, sanctified and
redeemed through the Incarnation, has ever since
been capable of receiving the healing influences of the
Spirit.
But it is time to bring my remarks to a close. I
had no idea, when I first took up my pen, of writing
half as much as I have written. But yon will, I
trust, pardon both the number and length of my
letters, in view of the magnitude and importance of
the theme., The doctrine which I have aimed to dis-
cuss, is a central doctrine of our religion-has been
generally so regarded by Christians from the earliest
period of the church. A wrong idea of this subject
-an erroneous view of the nature of the Divine
Trinity-must affect disastrously our views on other
1mbjects. Indeed our whole sy:stelll of theology, so
. KEANING 01' TBB HOLY SPIRIT. 133
far as its various parts cohere together, will or neces-
sity be moulded into conformity with our doctrine
concerning the Lord, and concerning the nature of
the trinity in Him. You must yourself perceive, that
if the doctrine of the Trinity as set forth in my let-
ters be true, it must, when received, modify very
essentially the Old and popular doctrine of the Atone-
ment, and our views of the nature and plan of redemp-
tion-in short, our whole system of doctrinal theolo-
gy. How important, then, tha.t we suffer not ourselves
to remain in error upon a subject so central and
momentous as this I
And especially, my brother, does it seem impor
tant that you of all others should believe right and
teach right on a point so fundamental. Your views
are scattered over the land-I might say, over the
world-with rail-road speed. You a.re teaching the
teachers. Your splendid rhetoric, added to your
deserved reputation for earnestness, independence,
piety and zeal, gives tremendous weight to all you
say. Multitudes, no doubt, of whom you never heard
--a.nd among them, hundreds of Christian ruinisters-
accept whatever views you present, almost without
questioning. Pray God, my brother, that no instruc
tion of yours may lead these multitudes astray upon a
subject of such magnitude as the one before us.
Already you a.re doing a noble work-a work, I
verily believe, over which the angels in heaven rejoice.
You are breaking down the high walls of partition
which have too long separated good and holy men,
and rebuking the mean, narrow, and mischievous spirit
184: LEl'1'D8 TO BOOHER ON THB TJUNITY.
of sect, in a way that, I doubt not, is well pleasing to
the Lord. You are removing many obstructions to
the free course of truth and the upbuilding of the
Redeemer's kingdom here on earth. But there is a
nobler work still, which you may perform for the
:Master's cause. You may, if you will, do much to
eradicate from the minds of Christians, that central
error of the popular theology-for so I cannot but
regard it-of three persons in the Godhead. And the
only way you can successfully do this (unless you
adopt the Unitarian view, which I think you are not
likely to do,) is, by teaching that the Lord Jesus
Christ is the only personal God revealed to men, and
therefore the only proper Object of religious worship.
Leave out, I entreat you, of your own thought of God,
and teach your numerous hearers and readers to leave
out of theirs, all idea of any other Divine Person, re-
vealed or to be revealed either here or hereafter. Why
not do this? If Jesus Christ be "very God," why
cherish for a moment the idea-alike repugnant to
reason and Scripture-:-that there is any other God ?
Why encourage your Christian brethren in the belief
or thought of any other? Why talk as if there might
arise before your " clarified vision" in the great Here-
after, "in equal proportions of majesty the then reveal-
ed Father and Holy Spirit ?"-two other Divine
Persons. Why not boldly declare-since this is the
plain New Testament doctrine-that the Father is
already revealed in the person of Christ? for He came
to bring the Father forth to view ; and that the Holy
Spirit is an effiuence, a power, a special dispensation
Diyitized by Google
'llEANING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 185
from the glorified Saviour-a dispensation which He
himself promised before his crucifixion? For did He
not say to his disciples, "It is expedient for you that
I go away ; for if I go not away, the Comforter
['which is the Holy Spirit'] will not come unto you;
but if 1 depart I will send him unto you." (John xvi. 7.)
If you believe that "it is the very God that beams
out from Christ," why suffer a man-i'nvented creed,
how venerable soever it may be, to stand for a moment
in your way, or prevent you from proclaiming the
simple Gospel truth, that looking to Christ is looking
to God-that obedience to Christ is obedience to God
-that the worship of Christ is the worship of God-
that the love of Christ is the love of God-that the
spirit of Christ is the spirit of God-that the advent
of Christ is the advent of God-and that the three
prime essentials of Divinity, expressed by Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit, exist together in Christ, as will,
understanding and action, or soul, body and proceed
ing operation, exist together in one man? This is, as
I believe, the great Christian Doctrine-central in
respect to all other doctrines as the sun is central in
our planetary system.
The Divine Trinity, as I have explained it, is a doc
trine at once simple, intelligible and rational. Philos
ophy assents to it; enlightened reason accepts it; the
analogies of nature affirm it ; man, created in the
image of his Maker, furnishes a complete example and
illu!!tration of it ; and to all this, God's own Word
comes and adds its clear and indubitable testimony.
And when we view this Trinity as existing in the one
136 LJm'BBS TO B&Epu&R ON TllB TRINITY.
person of the Lord Josus Christ, and connect with it
the other great truths involved in the Divine Incarna-
tion and the wondrous works whereby the Humanity
was glorified and Divinity brought down into human
conditions and relations, we have a doctrine of tre-
mendous power-the doctrine of the Divine Humanity.
In the light of this grand and glorious truth, we see
that Christianity is nothing without Christ himself;-
that He is its central Luminary, its vital force, its ever
present and living power ;-that its truths were empty
and dead, unless filled and vitalized by his own loving
Spirit ;-that repentance, reformation, and regener-
ation, were all impossible without Him ; that it is his
spirit-bis life-his power alone--that.can drive back
the foul malignity of the hells, and redeem humanity
from their terrible infestations ; that He is the ever-
living and ever-present Redeemer and Saviour. And
since the truth of this great doctrine needs to be seen
and acknowledged before its mighty power over the
heart can be experienced or its regenerating efficacy
be seen and felt, therefore am I most anxious to have
it proclaimed from every Christian pulpit. But the
least intimation or thought of the existence of any
other Divine Person than Christ, cannot but distract
the mind of the worshiper, and greatly weaken, if it
does not utterly destroy the power of this great truth.
I cannot conclude without acknowledging my in-
debtedness to the illumined Swedenborg, for the view
of the Trinity here presented, and commending his
profound and luminous works on theology as worthy
KEANJNG OJ' THE HOLY SPIRIT. 18'f
the earnest and devout study of every Christian-and
especially of every Christian minister.
Pardon the freedom with which I have written;
consider well the importance of a correct view of this
vital question ; forget not your own obligation to
rise above the influence of sect and creed ; be willing
to stand by God's truth, however you may be forsaken
by men for so doing ; examine well and prayerfully
the doctrine of the Trinity which my letters have
aimed to unfold and illustrate ; and believe me,
Truly your Friend and Brother,
B. F. BARRE'IT.
Orange, Dec. 6th, 1859.
Dig,tized by Goog I e
SW E DENB 0 RG' S THE 0 LOGICAL WRITINGS:
UNIFORM OCTAVO EDITION.
PUBLISHJ:D BY THB
and jtblishing
Room No. QO, Cooper Institute, New- York.

Arcana Crelestia : The Heavenly Arcana contained in
the Holy Scriptures or Word of the Lord, unfolded; together with
wonderful Things seen and heard in the World of Spirits and in
the Heaven of Angels-(10 vols., 80 cents each. Postage averaging
88 cents each.)
Thie la Swedenbortr' ORIUT work-the Jargeat and moat comprebenoive of all bill
worko. It grand rurpoae lo to unfold the plrltual oease or the l'acred Scripture.
And, at the c101e o each chapter, are given interesting relatfona of thing aeen and
beard In the plritual world-as. concerning the proce of dying. the reourrection of
man. and hla entrance ioto eternal life ; concerning the nature and life or the eoul;
concerning beayea and heavenly joy ; concerning hell. ltR nature and it1 mltwrtea ;
concerning opbereo In the other life; concerning the light and beat In which the
angela live, and their paradisiacal 11eenery ; concerning vi1ion1 and dream11, ior.luding
the prophetical oneo recorded In the Word : concerning the laot judgmnt ; concerning
memory in the other life'; concerning the condittooof the Mabometana R.nd Heathen
in the other world; concerning man's freedom; concerning representation and cor-
reepondeoce"; concerning the Grand Man, or the whole angelic heaen, and the cor-
re8pondeoce of the dUferent societies therein with the dift"reot organs and sense of
the human body ; concernlnr the origin and correapondence or diReaaea ; concerning
the plrito r.nd inbab1tanto or the Y&rioua planeto, and of other earth In the tarry
heaena.
Apocalypse Revealed, wherein are disclosed the Arcana
there foretold, which have heretofore remained concealed, (2 vols.
Price, 7 5 cents a volume. Postage, 82 cents each.)
The deoign of tblo work lo tn unfold the 1plrltual oenoe of the Apocr.Jyp1e or Book
of Rnelatinn. a that of Genei and Exodua Is unfolded In the ArcanaCcrleotia. TbA
utbor profene .. not to have given litoton explication of the meaning or thharemarka-
ble Book but ohupl1 what wu communicated to him from the Lord through an especial
Illumination. Jn commencing bia Preface, be Aay1: "Not a few have labored at the
nplicatlon of the Apocal1poe ; but as tbe1 were unacqualnte<I with the oplritual senoe
of the Word, tbe7 could not dioeem the arcana which It contains, seeing that these
can onl1 be unfolded by the opiritual sn>e. "
And it ma1 with truth be aald of tbio-wbat cannot be oald of an1 other explication
f'f the Apocal.YpM! ever attempted-that it give1 a rational . consh1.teot, anti coherent
meaning to tbi11 Book. rendering plain and luminouw what before bas been confeaiwdly
uointt-lligible and dark.-lnatrnetive 11arrdive1 or tblng1 1een in the 1piritual world,
,...., also interoperoed between the cbaptero.
Heaven and its Wonders, the World of Spirits, and Hell i.
fmm things lltltln and heard, fcommonlycalled "Heaven and Hell."
(With a copious Alphabetic&f Index. 1 Vol. Price, 50 ds. Postage,
28 cts.)
Thie work unfold the !awl of the opiritual world, deocrlbes the condition of both
good and eylJ and exblbito the gt'neral arrangoment of the Inhabitant of both
bnYen and bell, and the 1cener1 b1 which the7 are aurrounded. It treata among
other thlnga, of the form of heann In general and in particular, of the lunumerable
1ooleUeA o( bich the whole heaven conat11t1. and or the correP1pondence the
\hit:p of heaveo and tboae of earth ; of the Sun of baen, and Uie light and beat
thence proceeding; or repn.-en1ative apperancea in hea,en. and of the cb"n'ee of
tate esperienced by the aogela; or their garment and bobilt.tiona, their longuoge
and writing, their ionoCf'nce and wiMiom, their aol'ernmf'nt, won-hip. and atate of
,.ace; of tbtt origin of tbe angelic hf'aven. and ib conjunction with the human race
b7 m&ADI of the Word; or the state or the Heathen and young chiMren, of the rich
and pnnr, and of tbe wise and 11mple, In bt'aven; of the occupata1nH <Jf the a111tel1;
or heavenly joy and bappinus; and of the immensity of he1t.ven. lt treats of the
World of <'r 8rat 11tate of man al"ter death, and the 1ucce101ive cbao1e1 which
he h .. to pa through aul>eequently; or the ll&ture or hell. and the tru. >cripture
algnl8ratloo of devil, t.t.tan bell 8re, and the goabing of teeth; of tbe P1,..or-
ance, ltuaton and plurality of the bell; and of the dreadrui wickedoe and direful
arta or Infernal op:rlt ;-peM'nting altogether a utiooal and complete aytem of
Pneumatology, and one In perfect haro.ooy with the teachings of Holy Scri1.1ure.
The True Christian Religion, containing the Universal
'I'heololQ' of the New Chureh, foretold by the Loni in the Apocalypse
xxi. l, 2, (with the Coronis and a copious Index. 1 Vol. pp. 982.
Price, $1.26. Postage, 62 cts.)
Thi Tolum-tbe laot that Swedenborg wrote-contain a oummary nf all tho
principal doclrln .. or the Ne" Church. by the New Jerualem in the Apoca
l.\ vs. It i" dil'ided into fourteen chapters, which tJ"f'at of the folluing Kubjec:bl in a
11imple and lucid "tyle. and wib c ovioc1og argument. 1.-God. Creator. 11 -
The ;.ort1, the Redeemer. 111.-The Holy and tbe DivineOpP-ratioo (treatiDJ al"'o
or the T>ivine Trinity). IV -The l:'acred <'cripture nr Word or the Loo d. V -The
Jlecalogue explained aa to Ito ex\Prnal nd ioteroal enae. Vl.-Faitb. VII.-Charily
and good worko. Vlll.-Free Will. IX.-Repeotooce. X.-Reform.tiou and t<egen
eration. Xl.-lmputotion. Xll.-Baptiom Xlll.-Tbe Holy Supper. XIV -The \:on
ummatlon of the Age. the Second Coming of the Lord, the New Heaven and lbe New
Church.
lo Addition tothlo, there are upwardaofaeveoty Memorable Relation, a!'upplemeut
concerning the spiritual world, and a copious lodex to the whole work of "bout 100
pages.
Angelic Wisdom concerning the Divine Providence. (1
Vol. pp. 274, with Alphabetical Index. Price, 46 ct.s. Postage,
21 cts.)
Thi work treata of the oatare and opera Ilona ortbe Divine Proldence. nd unfolds
the law11 of or<!er acr:ording to which moral government h1 regulated. It shows
that the Dline Provideoce ha for an end a heaven or anpl from the human race;
that it work11 not at random. but according to certain inriable Lftwe whfcb are here
diacloed ; that It i1 univeraal, esten<liog to the leaat thing aa well a to the greateot;
that lo all It does It haa reopect to wbd I eternal with man, anu t thing
only for the Mke of what i11 eternal ; that the law1 of PermiHion are also among tbe
laws of the Divine Provirlence; that PVils are permitted for thfl sake of the end, which
la t.lva1lon; that the Divine Providence lo equally with the wicked and thA good;
that every man mhy be reformed, aod that tbee is no thing t.M preleRtination;
that the Lord cannot act against the l..n.ws of hi11 Providence, because to act Rg&inKt
them, would be to act againat his Divine Love and bis Divine Wladom, consequently
againat Himoelf.
Thee and other topic of a kindred nature are treated In an exbAw11i.e, and l\t the
aame time lucid and masterly manner, in this olume.
Conjugial Love and its Chaste Delights; also Adulterous
Love and its Sinful PieRSures, (1 Vol., with Alphabetical Index.
Price, 76 cts. Postage, 31 ct.s.)
A work which tr .. ta of the relation or the aexea, and the lndlMnluble nature of
true marriaire; of the nature and origin or lo truly cnnjuglal ; of marriage of
the 1.ord and the Church. and its correspondence ; of the conjunction of 1...i. by
marriage, 10 that they are no longer two, but one 8e1h; of the change of the atate of
life with both oexca by marriage ; of the cause of diaatrectlon, oeporatioo, and di
Torces In maniage; of tbecauea of apparent love, friendship and favor in marr1agea;
ond of iterat.d marrlagee. To which la added a treatiae '>n Adulterous or Scortatnry
Lon in lta TarioUI degrees. bowing it to be In It nature the Tery opposite or Conju-
slal Lo- oppoalta aa t.be natural mall ii to the 1plritual, or u heaven is to bell.
Angelic Wisdom
Divine Wisdom.
Postage, .16 cte.)
3
concerning the Divine Love, and the
(1 Vol. pp. 180, with Index. Prioo, 36 cte.
Thie worlt contains the wisdom of the angela concerning the OP"r&tion or outwork
Ing or the l"vlne l.ove and tbe Divine Wisdom ln tbe creation of tbe nnlnrae, In
eluding man aa the chler end or creation. It expldo1 the nature or the Dhloe
Trinity, alo or the trinity in men and Rngelo and all things finite. which imair;e1 the
Divine. t unfolds also the floctrine or llegree1, and explains the three disc,...te de
grees or the human mind, showing when and by what means these are opened, and
what la elfcted by their opening. It further reveai. the origin of evil use, also the
origin, deign. and tendency or good uses. It ii or thi work or or the " Doctrine or
llegrees,, herein discuMed, that the author of the , . Fongleame of Immortality n
aay1 : "When the reader gets the pith of lta philooophy, be - the amulng weep
or the principle .. t rorth, and ita constructive power In theology, and th&t by m:utnc
It every school of materiahsta baa stuck foot to the earth. "
Miscellaneous Theological Works; containing The New
Jerull&lem and its Heavenly Doctrine ; Brief Exposition ; Intercourse
l>t!tween the Soul and the Body; The Last Judgment, and Continu-
ation ; The Whit.e Honre, and Earths in the Universe, (making a
Vol. of 626 pp. Price, 76 cte. Postage, 36 cts.)
The ftrot or the .. contains a ummary statement of the doctrines of the Ne" Church
wittl copiouR refereoceR to the Arcana where the aame doctrines are more fully un
folded. The aeoond exhibit oome or the more important or the"" doctrine In contrast
w;tb those or the Former Cbillin Church. The third treats of lnftui:, showing bow
the plritaal Oow into the material, and toe manner lo whlob the Oul operate upon
the body. The fourth expliothe nature and manner or the Last General Judgment,
wblch occnrred In the World of Spirito In 1;61, when also the New Diopenaatioo known
a the New Jerusalem, commenced. The Ofth unfolds the aplritual meaning of the
White Horse m .. ntioned In the Apoe::\lypae, and contains copiou.tt references to tbo
Arcn& where the ubject I further elucidated. The sixth desortbe 1he appearance,
character, and mode of lire or the inhabitants or other eartha, with hom the anthor
became acquainted through hi intercourse with aplrlts from those earth.
The Four Leading Doctrines of the New Church-viz,,
Concerning the Lord ; the Sacred Scripture ; Faith ; and Ufe. Aleo
Answers to Nine QueHtions chiefly relating to the Lord, the Trinity
and the Holy Spirit. (1 Vol. Price, 46 cents. Postage, 21 cent&.)
Non>-Tbe foregoing llt comprises all the Worb published by Swedenborg himaelt
during hie llfetlme. The price aftlxed to each. barely cover the cost or paper, printing
and blndlug: and tbe Sor.iety. therefore, neither givH credit nor makes any dttcount
on lta Persona buying to aell again. are entitled to ohargo an advanoe auftloient
to reimburse them for their tronble and expenaea.
COLLATERAi. NEW CHURCH WORKS
FOR BAL,
AT ROOM NO. 20, COOPER INSTITUTE, NEW YORK.
The following iR a list of some of the collat.eml writings of the New
Church, which are thought to be amonv; the most useful in explu.lning
Its doctrines to minds hitherto unfamiliar with them. We are compelled
by our narrow space to omit many works which we should like to includl!.
Noble's Appeal in behalf of the Doctrines of the New
Church. Price. 88 cente.-A work generally regarded as the <'heap
e11t, ahlest, and best ever written in defe11Se of the Doctrines of the
New Jerusalem.
Noble's Plenary Inspiration of the Scriptures Asserted,
and I.he Principles of their Composition Investigated. With Appen
dlx, and critical. Price, $1.
4
A Letter to the Rev. the Vice-Chancellor of the Univer
aity of Oxfol"t. on the Pre>ent State of Theology in the Universitie11
and the Church of England. By Rsv. A. CLISSOLD. Price, 76 centa.
Miracles of Jesus Christ explained: By REv. J. CLOWES.
63 cents. Parables of Jesus Christ explained : Same author.
cents. Christian Temper : Same author. 80 cent.a.
Rendell's Antediluvian History. 63 cents.-Treatise on
the Peculiarities of the Bible. Se.me author. 76 et.a.
Hindmarsh's Seal upon the Lips, &c.-Containing the
Scripture argument for the dupreme divinity of Jesus Christ. $1.
Bush's Statement of Reasons for embracing the Doctrines
and Dil!cloaures of Swedenborg.-6 Good for distribution.
Lectures on the Phenomena of Modern Spiritualism. By
W. B. Hayden. 60 ct.11.-Scienre and Revelation. Same author-40 cts.
Sears on Regeneration; 37 cts.-Atbanasia, or Fore-
gleamsof Immortality. Same author. 60cte.-works of deep interest.
Gems from Swedenborg, accompanied by an excellent
Sketch of hi.8 Life and Writings . By O. P. Hiller. 68 cent9.
Compendium of the Theological and Spiritual Writings
of Swedenborg, being an epitome of all his theological works; se-
lected from more than thirty Yolumes. Prefaced by a Life of the
Author. By W. M. 1''.DNALD. Svo. 6a pp.-$2 00.
God in His Providence. A comprehensive view of the
Principles and Particulars of an active l>ivine Providence over Man,
-his Fortunes, Changes, entire as a Spiritual Being, from
Birth to Eternity. By WOODBURY M. 1''1RNALD. Price SI.
Lectures on the Doctrines of the New Church, with a brief
sketch of the Life, Writings, and Character of Emanuel
By B. F. BARRETT. Price 40 cent9., cloth; 25 cta., paper.
The " Golden Reed," or the True Measure of a True
Church. Same author. Designed to exhibit the truly catholic P.nd
universal character of the New Church. Price $1.
Letters to Henry Ward Beecher on the Divine Trinity.
Se.me author. 00 cta. cloth; 80 cta. , paper .
.Arbouin's Dissertations on the Regenerate Life. 63 cents.
Essays. By Theophilus Parsons. Second 63 cts.
THE SWEDENBORGIAN
Is the name of a New Church monthly Magazine of 72 pages, edited
by Rsv. B. F. BABllBTr, and published in the city of New York, under
the aU11pices of the American New Church ARi!Ociation. It is des'gned
to be the advocate of a spiritual, rational, and Ull!e\Jtarian Christiimity
as taught in the writings of E. Swedenborg-free, liberal, and earnest,
without being controversial.
Tuxs.-$2. 00 a year, payable in advance ; or $8.00 for two !ISW sub-
11erlbel'll, one of whom is a clergymlln. Specimen numbers sent grat'
Addnlllll, "Editor of the Swedenborgian," Orange, .N. J.
I
SMOICL_Ei&. =
-
LIBRARY OF
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
PRESENTED BY
ALEXANDER S. ROWLAND
CLASS OF 1884
- - - _ __. - -- -



..
32101 063843740
. .
Digitized by Google