God Of the first the Apostle Saint Paule saieth VVee are predestinated into the adoption of the sonnes of God and therefore to a heauenlie inheritance of the other that it was done for the praise of the glory of his grace 6 The saluation therefore of the elect in Iesus Christ is certaine and necessarie the foundation whereof is the ternall free and vnchaungable purpose of the will of God 7 Who so haue beene chosen from the beginning in Christ vnto life euerlasting and to the meanes thereunto all they and onely they in the time appointed of the father ver 7 which is called the fulnesse of time were in verie deede through Christ and in Christ redeemed from their sinnes and so from the euill which followeth sinnes the Apostle saying in Iesus Christ vvee haue redemption euen remission of sinnes 8 Neither were we redeemed Tit. 3. v. 5 ver 7. according to the merits works of righteousnes which we haue done but according to the mercies of God and according to the riches of his grace by the blood of Christ Iesus both which are manifestly confirmed by the Apostle 9 And albeit the eternall father redeemed saued vs by his sonne by whome he also created vs yet the â—onne is he which by an especiall respect the church of God vseth to call the redeemer of mankinde and our Sauiour 10 For the Sonne alone Lev. 25. ver 48.49 was and is God and man and he alone had the right of proprietie as they call it or of kindred to redeeme vs hee alone shedd his blood whereby as by a ransome we were redeemed Lastlie he it is alone in whose person our redemption is made perfect and accomplished 11 By the name of this ransome which wee are said to haue in Christ â— Cor. 1. v. 30 wee meane that full and accomplished redemption in as much as it containeth not onely remission of sinnes in this life but also in the life to come after this a perfect deliuerance from all ill and from the bondage of all corruption so that there is no ransome which we haue not in Christ our most perfect redeemer who as he is made vnto vs by God our wisedome righteousnes sanctification so also our redemption Of the resurrection of Christ Iesus from the dead his ascension into heauen and sitting at Gods right hand out of the first of Paule to the Ephesians yeare 1581. 1 GOd did effectually shewe the greatnes of his power in Christ Eph. 1. â—â— by raising him from the dead therefore onely God by his infinite power is the efficient cause of the resurrection of Christ and all the dead 2 Yea but Christ also by his power raised him selfe from death as he said destroy this temple Ioh. 2.19 and in three dayes I will build it vp but hee spake of the temple of his bodie and that Ioh. 10.17 I lay downe my life that I may take it againe Christ therefore is no lesse God then the father neither is hee God of lesser might 3 But one and the same cannot be truely the raiser and the raised from the dead vnlesse he consist of diuers natures of the diuine according to which he doth raise and the humane according to which he is raised Therefore the same Christ as he is true God coessentiall with the father so hee is true man coessentiall with his mother and his brethren 4 Neither can any bee truely said to be raised and to rise from the dead vnlesse the same bee truely said to be dead and to haue died But death consisteth in a true separation of the soule froÌ„ the bodie whereby the body which dieth may presently bee rightly called a dead carkasse Christ then if he truely rose from the dead it can by no meanes be denied but that he also truely died his soule being truely separated from his bodie 5 If then sith he truely died neither his soule for that time of his death was in his bodie neither sith he was truely buried his bodie while it honge vppon the crosse was in the graue or while it lay in the graue hong vppon the crosse neither sith God truely raised him from the dead either his soule recalled his body or his body recalled himselfe from death to life therefore the humane nature in Christ was neither omnipotent nor euery where present in it owne substance 6 For as this consequence is not good Christ Iesus himselfe was dead and buried and rose againe from the dead therefore he was dead and buried and rose againe according to both his natures So neither is this behold I am vvith you euen to the ende of the vvorlde therefore not onely in his deitie but also in the substance of his humanitie hee is really present with vs on the earth 7 But as this consequence is good Christ being God suffered therefore he suffered not according to his deitie but according to his humanitie so is this other Christ Iesus being man is euerie where and simply omnipotent therefore he is euery where and omnipotent not according to his humanitie but according to his deitie seing the diuine nature is no lesse vnited to the humane then the humane is to the diuine in the same person of Christ Iesus 8 If God himselfe and so the diuine nature in Christ raised his body from the dead not by the same bodie but by it selfe namely by the diuine nature then it is false that the diuine nature in Christ did all things and doeth not onely in and with but also by the humane nature 9 For the soule of Christ Iesus doth not work all thinges by the bodie as neither doe our mindes vnderstand or will thinges by the bodies and that for this cause that as the philosophers also taught our minde dependeth not on the bodie Much lesse then doth the deitie of Christ worke all thinges by the flesh which it tooke 10 For doth the deitie vnderstand by the humane vnderstanding or doeth it will by the humane will or doth it keepe or sustaien the humane nature in the person of the word by the verie same humane nature or doth it beare all thinges by the humane flesh or rather by the word of it owne vertue Lastlie if the forme of God doe nothing but by the forme of a seruant how can that saying of Leo be true each fo rme doth the propertie of it selfe vvith communion of the other 11 Like as therefore the forme of God is one and the forme of a seruant another so the actions and proprieties of the one and of the other be diuers though manie times both the one the other haue one and the same worke and operacion 12 Wherefore this is no coÌ„sequence to whomsoeuer Christ commeth with the father according to the forme of God to him he also commeth and abideth in him in his owne substaÌ„ce according to the forme of a seruant much lesse that he is so euery where 13 Further
was a disobediēce Gen. 2.17 3.6 Rom. 5.19 which was shewed not so much in the outvvard deede as in the purposed consent of his minde vvherin he vvould not be obedient vnto god III. What and how manifold a death followed Adams sinne So vve confesse that man being then destitute of the fauour of god by his ovvne faulte did loose that life vvherein he liued holily vnto God his minde being darkened his vvill depraued and all integritie of nature vtterlie lost Ioh. 8.34 Eph. 2.1 Rom. 5.12 name lie in those things vvhich pertaine to god and to a life acceptable to God and so vvas made the seruant of sinne the slaue of sathan and quite dead vnto god Moreouer he incurred both the death of the bodie vvhich is novv come vnto all men with al the calamities of the bodie and also the eternall that is the most miserable grieuous and most vnhappie life of the vvhole man more intollerable vvithout comparison then anie death vvith the deuill in euerlasting torments vvhence he could not be deliuered but by Christ 1. Cor. 15.22 IIII. That in Adam all men sinned But for as much as al mankinde which was by naturall generation to issue from Adam was then in his loines whereby the commandement vvith the curse annexed pertained not onelie to the person of Adam but to all mankinde likewise The Rom. 5.19 efore with the Apostle do vve beleeue and confesse that in Adam sinning all men sinned so that that disobedience was not onelie proper to Adam himselfe but also made common to all mankinde sith his guiltines enwrapped all men who were then and are yet dailie carnallie to be begotten of his seede Euen as the Apostle to the Romaines plainly teacheth yea and most strongly prooueth by an Antithesis or contraposition of the disobedience of Adam and the obediēce of Christ For if the obedience of Christ be no lesse ours by imputation then his owne by his proper action because wee are regenerate of his incorruptible seede and of his spirite it followeth that the disobedience likewise of Adam must be imputed vnto vs and we touched with his guiltines because we are borne of the seed of his flesh being father of al men V. The corruption of mans whole nature followed vpon Adams disobedience in all men But like as the corruption of our vvhole nature Rom. 7.7 Aug. tom 7 con Iul. Pela li. 5. c. 3 immediatlie by gods iust iudgement tooke holde on the person of Adam for that actuall disobedience called of the Apostle Concupiscence which is both a punishment of the former sinne a sinne and a cause of other sinnes euen so being taught by the holy scriptures we beleeue and with the whole church confesse that all men which by naturall propagation are conceiued of his seed ar borne infected with the contagion of his corrupt nature For all men sinned in Adam and by the guiltinesse of his disobedience wee are all kept bound VI. What we properlie call originall sinne Wherefore we doe so saie that this haereditarie fault and contagion of nature is sinne in all men and so we vse to cal it originall sinne that we do not separate it from the guiltines and imputation of the first disobedience Euen as likewise on the other side we doubt not but the righteousnes of christians doth consist not so much in the regeneration of nature which is made by the spirit of Christ which is vsuallie called by the name of inherēt righteousnesse as in the imputation of the perfect obedience and righteousnes of Christ whose members we are VII That contagion of nature is verie sinne And although that contagion was inflicted not onelie vppon Adam alone but also on his whole posteritie for a punishment of that first transgression of Gods commaundement yet wee hold this as certainelie out of the holy scriptures as whatsoeuer is most certaine Rom. 7.7 that the same is not onely the punishment of sin and the cause of all other follovving sinnes but also a verie sinne it selfe euen so great as were sufficient to condemne vs. VIII That concupiscence of it owne proper nature is a sinne in the verie regenerate Yea so farre doe we learne that concupiscence of it owne nature is a sinne fighting against the lavve of God and making all men subiect to condemnation vnlesse they bee deliuered by Christ yea that in the regenerate themselues though the guiltines being taken away by faith in Christ it be not imputed vnto them anie more yet we doubt not 1. Ioh. 3.4 Rom. 7.7 but it is a sinne yea and that worthy of eternall death sith it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a transgression of the lawe and is by gods lawe condemned as the Apostle teacheth IX From concupiscence ingrafted in vs the riuers of sinne doe continually flowe Futrhermore we beleeue that this our naturall deformitie is such a fountaine of al sin and that euer so abounding that from it doe continuallie spring most corrupt waters of e-euill affections of vngodlie thoughts vvicked desires which vnlesse they be by the spirit of Christ restrained they breake out at length into manifest sinnes offences some worse thē others so that there is not any man so holie which beareth not about him this puddle of vices yea and feeleth not the filthie vapors breathing from it and is not often sprinckled and bespotted with that noisome contagion Euerie man is tempted of his ovvne concupiscence saieth Iames vvhen he is drawne avvaye by his ovvne concupiscence Iam. 1.14.15 and is entised then vvhen lust hath conceiued it bringeth forth sinne and sinne whē it is finished bringeth forth death X. That God is not the author of sinne Now all these things beeing thus wee are confirmed in that beleefe wherein wee hold that god is not the author of sinne sith he neither created Adam euill or prone vnto euil but iust and righteous neither did hee intice or mooue him to il but he of his own accord and by his free-will sinned 1. Io. 2.16 neither yet vvas this naturall peruersnesse from god but of it selfe it followed that disobedience of Adam being depriued of his righteousnes god most iustly so permitting and punishing mans trāsgression by that worthie punishment XI Errors We condemne therefore with Ireneus and the whole church all those which make god the author of sinne likewise all Pelagians as wel new as old which denie that all men sinned in Adam and are holden in the guilte of the first offence or doe labour to prooue that this ingrafted concupiscence is onelie a disease and a punishment of sinne but not indeede a sinne it selfe or at least in the regenerate will not haue it to bee worthie the name of a sinne Wee condemne also those which haue taught that originall sinne is a substance because this opinion either makes god the author of sinne or else denies that god is the maker of euerie substance and confirmes the doctrine
ignorant of nothing he is able to do all those things which pertaine to his office yea and such things as cannot bee performed of anie created substance but onelie of God himselfe may bee done by him by the power of his deitie yet his humaine wil alwaies working therewithal euermore by consent and as it were by desire so that in all the actions of Christ as he is God pertaining to our saluation alwaies his soule in some sorte ioyneth it selfe thereunto by loue by desire and will as also in all things which he did as man the deitie was alwaies concurrent yea euen in his death and passion not that the deitie suffred but that it willed both the passion and death of Christ and added to his passion and death an infinite power euen to cleanse vs of our sinnes To conclude concerning the two natures in Christ and the vnion and proprieties of them wee beleeue whatsoeuer hath bin determined in the Nycene Constantinopolitane Ephesian and Calcedonian counscels against Arrius Apollinaris Nestorius and Eutyches and in the sixt Synode against the Monothelites XIII Tvvo kindes of actions in Christ and all those things which we read that he did suffred were done indeede according to the trueth of the matter and not after a vaine shew or illusion Now from the person of Christ and his natures and the vnion of the natures to passe ouer peculiarly to his actions and his office First we beleeue that as there are two true natures in Christ whereof each hath had and hath her true and essentiall proprieties coupled together euen as the natures are also vnited but not confounded together so there are two kinds of actions which our Lord Iesus Christ is said partlie to haue performed and partlie wil yet performe for our saluatiō some wherof proceed from his deitie and some from his humanitie and the same partlie haue bin partly are so ioyned together and yet distinct that each of their formes as Leo speaketh alwaies worketh with communiō of the other The word performing those thinges which are of the worde and the flesh those thinges which pertaine to the flesh Moreouer as those thinges which Christ did and doeth by vertue of his diuine nature were true and not fained deeds for he truelie reconciled vs to his father he truelie forgiueth sinnes truely sanctifieth and regenerateth So whatsoeuer we read that he did or suffred for vs according to his humanitie wee beleeue that he did and suffred all those things truelie and indeed and not onelie in a vaine shew and as some speak an appearance onelie XIIII A declaration of the former opinion Wee beleeue therefore that Christ as hee was truelie conceiued of the seede of Dauid and truelie borne true man and did truelie eate drink performe other humaine deeds so also that he truelie kept the law for vs 1. Pet. 4.1 Luc. 24.36 that he truely suffred in the flesh and died and rose againe from the dead in the same flesh and ascended with his visible palpable humain bodie circumscribed with true and certaine dimensions into the true and created heauen placed aboue all these visible heauens Act. 3.21 and ther of his free wil worketh abideth til such time as hee returne againe in the same visible body truely from heauen to iudge the quick and the dead and that he truely desireth our saluation in heauen and hath a care ouer vs his spirituall and liuelie motion and feeling worketh in vs Eph. 1.22 4.16 as his members and lastly that he gouerneth the whole church XV. The fruites of the obedience passion death and resurrection of Christ And wee beleeue that Christ by his perfect obedience deserued eternal life not only for himselfe but also for vs by his passion death he satisfied for our sinns in his flesh he redeemed vs out of the hands of Satan the tirannie of death and the bondage of sinne he reconciled vs to God in himselfe and made vs his beloued that in him wee might bee deemed righteous with the father and by his resurrection and ascension into heauen hee obtained also for vs both the resurrections Apo. 20.5 as Iohn speaketh the first and the latter and that in our name he tooke vnto himselfe possession of the heauenlie in heritance Eph. 1.20 and sitteth at the right hand of God that is hath taken to himselfe power ouer all things in heauen and in earth So that in asmuch as he is our Mediatour and is man he hath obtained of his father the secōd place is appointed head of the church aswel which is in heauen as which is on earth that from him and euen from his flesh is conuaied by his holie spirite whatsoeuer pertaineth to the quickning and to the spirituall life of vs to all those which as members are fastened vnto him their head And therefore wee acknowledge beleeue confesse that in Christ alone is placed our whole saluation redemption iustice fauour of God and eternall life 1. Cor. 1.30 according to that saying VVho of God is made vnto vs wisedome and righteousnesse and sanctification redemption Also be is our peace Also Eph. 2.14 Ier. 23.6 Eph. 1.7 Col. 1.19 1. Ioh. 5.11 Iehouah our righteousnesse In him vvee haue redemption by his blood forgiuenesse of sinnes Also it pleased the Father that in him all fulnesse should dwell Also life is in his Sonne And therefore we know that the promise concerning redemption which was made vnto the first man did receiue accomplishment in this other man Iesus Christ so that whosoeuer will bee made partaker of it he must needs be ioyned to his head Christ be made a member of him For we haue redemption and saluation not onelie by him as a Mediatour but also in him as our head This is our faith cōcerning Christ the redeemer his person natures and office and the saluation of mankinde fulfilled and laide vp in him XVI Errors Therefore we condemne all aswell the ancient as later heriticks which euer taught or teach the cōtrarie Arrius Photinus namelie Seruetus and all other vngodlie men of that crewe which denie the true deitie of Christ the Cerdonians the Marcionits the Valentinians the Maniches the Priscillianits the Apollinarists and the rest which do oppugne the true humanitie of Christ some denying that Christ came in the flesh and that hee had true flesh and doe contend that he brought a phantasticall bodie from heauen or that hee was conceiued of the elementes and not of the seede of Abraham and that hee was not borne of a woman others graunting him indeede a true humaine flesh but yet depriuing him of a reasonable soule and substituting his deitie in place of his soule Also the Neitorians which denied the true vnion of the humaine nature with the person of the Sonne did set downe two persons in Christ and two Sonnes the Sonne of God and the Sonne of man We likewise condemne the
it in the flesh as being a fello-worker with the deitie in his humaine will consenting to the diuine and pronouncing the wordes thy sinnes are forgiuen thee as also Leo the first Epist 10. c. 4 so expoūdeth it to Flauianus saying each forme namely of God and man worketh with communion of the other that which is proper to it selfe as the word working that which is proper to the word the flesh performing that which belongeth to the flesh To forgiue sinnes vvas the proper action of the diuine nature and to saye thy sinnes are forgiuen thee of the humaine Thus farre he VI. Jn Christ alone is offered the forgiuenesse of sinnes and of the elect alone indued with faith it is receiued But like as in Christ alone our mediatour redeemer as the head of the whole church we haue redemption by his blood and remission of sinnes so as without Christ there is none so also wee beleeue that onely the elect indued with true repentance and true faith and ingrafted into Christ by the holie spirite as mēbers to their head are made partakers therof and therefore although forgiuenes of sinnes bee declared vnto all manner of men by the gospell yet to the reprobate as vnrepentant and vnbeleeuing they are not forgiuen but by their owne fault and blame their sinnes do still remaine VII All sinnes at once are forgiuen to the faithfull elect Wee also beleeue that as Christ by his one oblation satisfied not for some but for all our sinnes so also is offred vnto vs that are truely penitent of Christ and in Christ by the gospel the forgiuenes not only of some of our sinns but also of them altogether and the same cōmunicated to vs by the holie ghost and receiued by faith Mat. 18.23 c. seing God declared by a parable that he forgiueth all our debt not part of it VIII Forgiuenesse of sinnes is bestowed in the church onely receiued by faith onely and that onely in this life Lastlie to make an ende we beleeue that as in Christ alone is found remission of sinnes so the same also is disposed and bestowed in the church onely and as it was purchased for vs by the merits and blood of him alone so also it is receiued by true faith in Christ only without our owne meritts and as in this life onely the gospell is preached and by it forgiuenesse of sinnes declared to the repentant and beleeuers so also we can onely in this life be made partakers thereof seing after this life there is no place lefte for faith and repentance and therefore that the church by her ministerie can do nothing for the obtaining of forgiuenesse for men after they be departed this life Cyp. ad Demetr as Cyprian also saieth VVhen a man is once gone hence there is no place for repentance no effect of satisfaction Here life is either lost or gotten here he must prouide for saluation by seruing of God and by the effect of faith IX A confirmation of the former doctrine by the order of the creede According to these three pointes we interpret this article of forgiuenes of sinnes in the creede as first that after the article of the church communion of Saints is placed this article to teach vs that without the church remission of sinnes is not bestowed nor hath any place Againe that the same is placed after the confession of our faith in God the father the sonne and the holy ghost and of our faith wherein we beleeue the church to be holie to consist of the societie and communion of Saintes to wittnesse vnto vs that not for our owne merites but by our faith in the father sonne and holie ghost and because wee are in the church and haue communion with all the Saints therefore we daily obtaine forgiuenes of our sinnes And finally by this placing of the articles of faith we may well beleeue and confesse that after forgiuenesse of sinnes obtained in this militāt church there is no more to be looked for of the dead but the resurrection of the flesh and life euerlasting X. Errors Thus wee condemne the error wherein some do teach that after the fault forgiuen there remaineth a debt to be paied for the punishment and this punishment being eternall death by penitencie is chaunged into temporall paines which we must abide either in this life or after death in purgatorie vnlesse wee bee deliuered thence by masses indulgences and other helps Secondly we condemn their blasphemie which seeke for forgiuenesse of sinnes any where then in Christ and doe so teach Likewise them which would prooue that the same may bee applied to themselues and receiued by any other meanes then by true faith and by the holie spirite Wee condemne also their sacrilegious doctrine which teach that God doth forgiue alwaies to the faithfull all their sinnes but euer retaineth some of them which are to be satisfied for by fasting almes deeds prayers and other works of our owne or else by the oblations of other men and sacrifices of priests CHAP. XXVIII Of the state of souls after death and of the resurrection of the dead I. Mens soules doe neither dye with their bodies nor sleepe after they are loosed from the bodie nor lye still out of heauen or hell nor be tormented in purgatorie WE beleeue that our soules doe neither dye with our bodies nor being loosed frō our bodies do sleep or not sleeping do lye still in some close place both out of heauen and hell nor yet are tormented in purgatorie but that out of the body also mens soules do liue vnderstand desire and that the soules of the godly do raigne with Christ in heauen and of the vngodly are tormented in hell with the deuills the Lord himselfe saying of them when the godly and mercifull men do decay that is depart out of this life they that is their soules Luc. 16.9 shall be receiued into euerlasting habitations Luc. 23.43 Luc. 16.23 Act. 1.25 and teaching in another place that they are with him in paradise but of the other by shewing an example of the rich glutton that they goe downe into hel that is into the place appointed for euerlasting fire as we also read of Iudas there to be tormented II. That the places be diuerse where the soules of the faithfull and the vnfaithfull do liue after the deaths of their bodies Nowe seing the condition and state of the soules of faithfull and vnfaithfull men is so diuers we also beleeue that the places into which they passe are diuers that is to say euerlasting tabernacles ◠Pet. 2.4 or heauen paradise ordained for the godlie and hell and the deepes prepared for the wicked sith to one of these places the scripturs attribute an immeasurable light and to the other exceeding darkenesse which Christ called vtter darkenesse and sith the Lord saieth Mat. 8.12 Ioh. 17.24 that he desireth that where he himselfe is there should also bee
feet themselues are Is then the vnion which the soule hath with the head dissolued because out of the head it is wholly also in the feet 8 Finally that all things which haue bin spokē of this personal vnion may more plainely be declared I add these also The soule is Hypostasis to the eyes to what eyes such as they are namely instruments vsed for sight not for hearing on the other side to the eares for hearing not for seing So the word was Hypostasis to the humaine nature not to destroy death which was a propertie of the word but to suffer death which was a propertie of the flesh Lastly it is Hypostasis to the flesh not to this end that the flesh should bee it and such like which of which sort the word is but it should be it and such like which and of which sort it is it selfe either by nature or by grace reallie put into it which they call infused or habitual grace For the grace of this vnion is this that it is taken into this vnitie of person This same doctrine of ours is confirmed by those things which are deliuered both by the scriptures and the fathers concerning the office of the mediatour that is concerning the end of his incarnation Many ends of this incarnation are noted of the fathers in the scriptures and particularly of Anselme in his booke intituled Cur Deus homo why God is man but the principall and immediate ende was not simplie that the vvorde God might saue vs for he could haue performed it by his omnipotencie and by his onely commaundement without taking flesh but that hee might by such meanes saue vs from death namely by death of his owne person and by his owne resurrection might raise vs to life according to that of the Apostle to the Hebr. 2. ver 14. That by death he might destroye him vvho c. And in the 2. to Tim. 1.10 VVho hath abolished death and hath brought life c. To which the old church consented saying vvho by dying destroyed death and by rysing againe repaired life Leo the first declared this end saying The sonne of God tooke our flesh that by one nature he might dye by the other he might not dye Therefore he tooke vpon him flesh to this principal ende that for the performing of our saluatiō he might doe such thinges by that flesh which of himselfe being in the forme of God hee could not performe as to suffer and to dye For to kill death simply he could by himselfe haue done it but to kill it by death he could not in himselfe doe it without taking mortall flesh into vnitie of his person Wherefore the vvorde did not take flesh that by the flesh it might doe such actions as were the proper actions of it selfe but that it might worke our saluatiō by such meanes namely by the owne proper actions ioyned with the actions of our flesh Vpon the 12. chapter The 8 aphorisme Concerning this true and essentiall vnion of vs and of our owne flesh with the flesh of Christ there is a notable place in Cyrill vpon Iohn lib. 10. cap. 13. Col. 500. We denie not but wee are spiritually ioyned to Christ by true faith and sincere loue but that wee haue no manner of coniunction with him according to the flesh that we flatly denie and affirme it to bee cleane against the scriptures For who euer doubted but Christ is so the vine and we the braunches that from him we draw life vnto our selues Heare what Paule saith Wee are all one bodie with Christ for though we are many yet in him we are one for wee all are partakers of one bread Doth he perchaunce thinke that the vertue of the misticall benediction is vnknowne vnto vs Which being in vs doeth it not also make Christ to dwell in vs corporally by communication of the flesh of Christ For why are the members of the faithfull the members of Christ know ye not saith hee that your members are the members of Christ shal I then take the members of Christ and make them the members of an harlott God forbidd Our Sauiour also said He which eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood abideth in me and I in him whereby wee maye consider that Christ is in vs not onely by dwelling in vs which is perceiued by loue but also by a naturall participation For euen as if one take waxe melted by the fire mingle it with other waxe likewise melted so as of them both hee make but one thing so by this communication of the bodie and blood of Christ he is in vs and we in him For otherwise this corruptible nature of the body could neuer be brought to incorruption and to life vnlesse the bodie of naturall life were ioyned vnto it Beleeuest thou not me telling thee this Beleeue I pray thee Christ himselfe Verily verily saith he I say vnto you vnlesse yee shall eate the flesh of the sonne of man and drinke his blood yee shall haue no life in you He which eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternall life and I will raise him at the last day Thou hearest him plainely crying out that we shall haue no life vnlesse we drinke his blood eate his flesh In you saieth he your selues that is in your bodie By life may well bee vnderstood the flesh of life for that doth raise vs vpp at the last daye And so need I not think it an vncurrant speach to say the flesh of life being made flesh of the onely begotten sonne is brought to the vertue of life and therefore cannot bee ouercome of death And therefore being made in vs putts death from vs For gods onely begottē sonne is neuer absent from it whereuppon because he is one with his flesh I saieth he will raise him vp Why then should it be denied that we are called braunches according to the flesh May it not fittly be said that the vine is his humanitie and we the braunches for the identitie or likenesse of our nature For the vine the braunches are of the same nature So both spiritually and corporally are wee the braunches and Christ the vine Thus farre Cyrill In this whole text Cyrills purpose was to shew that Christ not onely according to his deitie as his aduersaries the Nestorians did thinke but also according to the flesh was the vine from which life flowed into vs as braunches and cōsequently that we as braūches were ioyned not onely to his deitie but also to his humanitie and so to his flesh doe draw life and all our spirituall nourishment not onely from his deitie but also from his flesh And the reason is brought from the Hypostaticall vnion which maketh the word his flesh taken into vnitie thereof to bee but one person one and the same Christ one and the same vine Therefore that we cannot be ioyned to the deitie of Christ but also we must be vnited to his flesh nor can we
like as no other but the verie same Christ rose from the dead so he rose in no other but in the verie same bodie in which he suffred died and was buried 14 For he could not be truely said to be raised and to rise from the dead except that which truely died the verie same quickened againe should rise againe 15 Now the bodie wherein Christ suffred died and was buried was a true humane bodie visible palpable circumscribed Therefore Christ after his resurrection had and retained no body but that which was circumscribed in a certaine place and wheresoeuer it was and is might and may be seene and handled 16 Add also that the Apostle carefully discoursing of the qualities with which our bodies being raised vp to eternall life shal be indued he saith not that they shal not be subiect either to the eye or to the touch or not bee circumscribed in a definite place but he rehearseth onely incorruption glorie and power as is the agilitie thereof and that they shall rise spirituall not that the corporall substance shal be chaunged into an incorporeall but that they shal be as the greeks call it immortall and shal be full of the holie spirite dwelling and working in them The Apostle therefore taught that these are qualities neuer to bee seperated from the bodies namely that they shal be circumscribed visible palpable Wherefore neither did Christs body after his resurrection put of these qualities 17 Neither is that exception any thing that Christ after he was risen came in to his disciples the dores beeing shut For it was not therefore either made vnvisible or vncircumscribed or vnpalpable seeing Christ being come in and seene of his disciples presently saide Feele or handle and see Luc. 24. for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me haue And therefore as the Fathers teach there was no chaunge made of Christs bodie no more then there was when he or Peter walked vpon the waters but by the omnipotency of his diety hauing power ouer all things the doores gaue place to the true and firme bodie of the sonne of God 18 Wherefore not without cause did the Fathers condemne not onely Marcion the Maniches and others which taught that Christ tooke not a true and firme humane bodie but a phantasticall one and did all things according to imagination and phantasie but also the Originists Iohn of Hierusalem and Euticius of Constantinople Hier. tom 12. ad PaÌ„mach Greg. in Iob. lib. 24 c. 29. Bishops and others which said that Christs bodie after his resurrectioÌ„ was made so spirituall that it was more thinne then ayre and therefore invisible and vnpalpable 19 Seeing then that in the supper no other bodie of Christ is giuen vs to be eaten but that which was broken for vs that is truely suffered and died it followeth that Christs 〈◊〉 body which we eate in the Supper is truely circumscribed visible and palpable and consequently seeing nothing is seene touched or perceiued in the Supper besides bread the same body cannot in it owne substance really be contained vnder the formes of bread and wine or lie hidden in the very bread and wine 20 Nowe we acknowledge the resurrection of Christ is both the cause and an example of our as well spirituall as corporall resurrection The cause of the spirituall because the Apostle saith to the Rom. 4. he rose againe for our iustification and an example because he saith Rom. 6. we are burâ—ed togither with him by baptisme into his death that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father so we also should vwalke in newenesse of life 21 But that he is the cause of our corporall resurrection we doubt not 1. Cor. 5. for that the Apostle saith If Christ be risen againe we shall also rise againe and for that he also saith Christ is the first fruits of them that rise and an example for that the same Apostle also writeth he shall chaunge our vile bodies Phil 3.21 that they shall be like his glorious bodie 22 Wherupon It also followeth either Christs bodie not to be invisible vnpalpable vncircumscribed and so not spirituall bodies but incorporall spirits 23 For where Christ saith Feele and see for a spirite hath not flesh and bones as yee see me haue hee did not onely conclude that himselfe was no spirite but he especially taught this that there is no flesh nor bones but may bee seene and felt 24 The Scripture teacheth and the church coÌ„fesseth that our Lord Iesus Christ being raised from the dead did shew vnto his disciples for fortie daies space by many arguments that he was truely risen and then euen in the beholding of the Apostles that he was lifted vpp from the earth ascended into heauen Therfore like as no other Christ rose againe then he which died so no other ascended into heauen nor in no other body then he in which that truely rose againe froÌ„ the dead the sonne of God truely humane visible palpable and circumscribed 25 Wherefore as the conuersation of the same Lord Iesus Christ wherein he conuersed amoÌ„g his Apostles after his refurrection for fortie daies space was not fantasticall but reall and true so also his ascension was not onely visible but also truely as the fathers say locall when the Apostles sawe him ascend from the earth vp into heruen 26 But such an ascension and mouing cannot agree to his divine nature therefore he ascended according to his humane nature 27 Yet by the way we denie not this but that Christ as God like as he is said to haue descended from heauen in respect that he abased himselfe taking vpon him the vile forme of a seruant and suffred in it so also it may rightly be said that he is exalted and ascended vp into heauen namely in respect that in the very same forme of a seruant when it was glorified euen the forme of God was after a sort glorified by his ascention and after it that is was made glorious in the wholle world 28 But it is apparent that as this consequence is not good Christ himselfe beeing God and man ascended into heauen in a locall and visible moouing Therefore he in the same sort ascended according to his dietie so neither is this good Christ God and man is with us to the ende of the world truely and in his owne essence therefore he is present on earth as wel in the substance of his body and soule as in the essence of his dietie 29 If also the Apostles sawe with their eies Christan his owne body by chaunge of place ascending from earth into heauen then the heauen into which he did ascend caÌ„not be an vbiquitary heauen but it must needes be farre distant from the earth 30 Moreover nature and all right requireth that for every thing some certeÌ„ place must be assigned as we see god hath done in all the things which he created Seing then no created thing
chaunge nor confusion among themselues or among there proprieties so also the actioÌ„s are so the actions of one and the same person that yet they are truely distinguished betwixt themselues and so distinguished that those which proceed from the one nature and are proper thereunto they although they be done with the communion of the other yet it is not lawfull to say that they be done by the other or that Christ doth them according to the other nature 13 Where fore like as wee allowe the fathers when they saye that Christs actions in redeeming sauing vs were are done by god man so also we greatly commend that famous saying of Leo the bishop of Rome in his epistle to Flauianus we teach that it is with a stedfast faith to be holden namely Each forme vvorketh with communion of the other that which is proper to it selfe as the word working that vvhich is proper to the word and the flesh performing that which is proper to the flesh 14 For he suffred for vs died and was buried according to the flesh but he gaue the grace of deseruing and redeeming to his suffring by which he redeemed vs according to his deitie but all these he willed according to both the natures 15 Also he rose from the dead ver 20.21 and ascended in a visible and locall ascension into heauen exalted aboue all Angels according to his humanity yet he wrought the same resurrection ascension and exaltation according to his diuinity but he willed it according to the will of both the natures 16 Like as then we beleeue that Christ redeemed vs according to both the natures according to that God purchased his Church by his owne blood so also we doubt not but the same Christ sitteth at his Fathers right hand and resteth in the heauenly places gouerning all thinges with his Father and dispenseth and communicateth the grace of redemption and euerlasting salvatioÌ„ to the wholle church which is his bodie and to euerie member according to both his natures the word working that which is proper to the word the flesh that which belongeth to the flesh 17 For although he vseth the ministerie of the word and sacraments by men to the imparting of salvation vnto vs yet the same Christ both as he is God and as he is man is properly the very same which calleth vs giueth vnto vs faith and repentance and he iustifieth regenerateth quickeneth and bringeth into eternall life all that beleeue by the working of the power of his might 18 For this cause also our faith whereby we take holde of saluation in Christ and eternall life must not respect and rely vpon either the one or the other nature of Christ severally but on whole Christ himselfe as the Ephesians were said to haue faith in the Lord Iesus 19 Whereon it followeth that who so do deny either the one or the other nature in Christ or deuide the one from the other or confouÌ„d theÌ„ both together so that they acknowledge him not for true God and true man in all things sinne excepted like vnto vs and imbrace him not for such and therefore for a true and perfect redeemer they can neuer be made partakers of redemption and eternal saluation 20 For as he that beleeueth in Christ such as he is hath life eternall so he that beleeueth not cannot haue it Of those thinges which are spoken of our Lord Iesus Christ after the vnion and in what sort they are spoken Out of the 1. to the Ephesians Positions Anno 1582. 1 THe Apostle writeth that Christ was raised from the dead and therefore he truely diâ—â—â—â—â—d in another place The Lord of glory was 〈◊〉 yea we often read howe the sonne of man was deliuered vnto death But in all these enunciations the speach is ever of the same person namely the sonne of God incarnate Therfore the person of Christ which is in these propositions the subiect or that whereof another thing is spoken is vsed to be signified by 3. kindes of names namely by those which betoken the divine nature onely and that sometime in respect of the essence sometime in respect of the hypostasie or persons as The lord of glory the onely begotten sonne of God or which betoken in like sort the humaine nature onely as Man the sonne of Mary or which betokeÌ„ both natures togither as Christ Immanuell god incarnate 2 We adde herevnto that Christs verie persoÌ„ is signified by those names also which are taken from the offices of a mediatour as these Amediatour a Redeemer a Saviour a high priest an Advocate and such like But these may be referred to the third kind because by them are shewed and made known both the natures in one person 3 The concrete names which haue denomination of the natures as Man of the humanity and God of the diety when in speaking of Christ they be the subiects or the first part of the enunciation or sentence they haue two significations one formall as the schooles say and the other materiall of which by the former is meant the verie nature by the other the person which hath such a nature whereof it taketh denomination 4 For as names in the abstract do signifie only the nature and propriety which is in a thing so all names in the concreat doe betokeÌ„ both the nature and qualitie which is in the thing and the hypostasis wherein it is as for examples sake the name of Iust betokeneth both Iustice wher with one is made iust him which is Iust both together 5 Therefore by these Subiect names which hauing their denominations from the natures do shewe the person of Christ sometimes is declared the propriety of the natures sometime the vnity of the person and therefore the Subiects must be vnderstood and expounded according to the diversities of the Praedicates that is of those things which are spoken thereof 6 In this proposition the sonne of God is eternall the subiect namely the sonne of God must be expounded according to the proprietie of the nature But in this the onely begotten sonne of God suffered the subiect the onely begotten sonne of God must be vnderstood according to the vnity of the person For he suffered which was not onely man but also God yet the dietie remaining vnpassible 7 We denie not but manie times are found wordes in the abstract which are the Subiects as the light came into the world as also some which are Predicats as Christ is the light of the world our righteousnesse our peace but these stâ—Ì„d in steade of concretiues as the light came into the world that is he which lighteneth vs. Wherefore for the manner of such like words they are to be referred to some of the foresaid three kindes 8 Furthermore there are three kindes of attributes which vse to be spoken of the same person of Christ God and man by what name soeuer it be signified For some are propper to the divine nature and