There  be  several  persons  who  in  the  Holy  Scriptures
are  said  to  be  "  the  sons  of  God,"  even  all  that  are  re
generate,  and  born  again  of  water  and  the  Holy  Ghost:
but  these  are  made  the  sons  of  God,  because  Jesus,


XX.]  OF    OVERCOMING   THE    WORLD.  423

their  head,  to  whom  they  are  united,  is  so  ;  yea,  it  is  he
who  makes  them  so  :  for,  "  as  many  as  received  him,  to
them  gave  he  power  to  become  the  sons  of  God,  even
to  them  that  believe  on  his  name  V  And  he  who  can
give  power  to  others  to  become  the  sons  of  God,  must
needs  be  so  himself  in  a  more  eminent  and  peculiar
manner :  He  is  not  only  his  Son,  as  others  are,  but  his
only-begotten  Son,  as  none  is  ever  called  but  himself;
but  he  is  frequently  called  so,  both  by  others,  and  by
himself  too,  who  best  knew  how  he  was  the  Son  of
God :  "  God  so  loved  the  world,"  saith  he,  "  that  he
gave  his  only-begotten  Son,"  meaning  himself4,  and  so
elsewhere.  From  whence  it  is  manifest,  that  he  is  the
Son  of  God,  not  by  adoption,  nor  by  regeneration,  but
by  real  generation;  for  he  was  begotten  of  God  the
Father,  and,  therefore,  is  his  Son  in  the  highest  and
most  proper  sense  that  can  be ;  so  as  to  be  in  all
respects  of  the  self-same  nature  with  the  Father,  ac
cording  to  the  common  notion  of  generation.
