An answer to the discourse of Mr. William Sherlock, touching the knowledge of Christ,…

When we consider, ¹that this heavenly Ambassador and Mediator is no less than the Son of God, by whom the Worlds were made, we may reasonably conclude, that he came upon no less Design than of universal Goodness; for he can have no temptation to Partiality, as being equally concerned in the Happiness of all men; and we cannot imagine, why he should lay a narrower design of Love in the Redemption, than in the Creation of Mankind: When in the first Creation he designed all for Happiness, that in this new and second Creation he should design only the Happiness of some few, is to make him less good in Redeeming, than in Creating Mankind.

1. 1Mr. Sherlock.

Christ in his Coming and satisfactory Sufferings had a respect to all Men,¹ so far as to procure for them Salvation on Gospel-terms, but he had not an equal respect to all; it being utterly unimaginable ⟨p. 105⟩that he should have as great a respect to those in the Pagan World, who have no Christ, no atoning Sacrifice, no Promise of Life and Salvation revealed to them, as he hath to those in the Church, who have all these glorious Objects evidently set forth before them: Greater Donations argue greater degrees of Love; or else, which is very hard to believe, God loves all Creatures alike, notwithstanding that he measures out his Goodness to them in a very various and different manner, to some more, and to others less. But because the Author hath before laid down a good Rule, That the Virtue and Efficacy of Christ's Death doth depend on God's Institution and Appointment, and therefore can be known only by Revelation, I shall apply my self only to the Scripture: There, as we find, he died that he might gather together the Children of God that were scattered, Joh. 11.52