p Orig. in Ioan. lib. 1. Athanas contr Arian quod verbum e◠Deo sit that second interpretation which by the beginning vnderstandeth God who is no where so called in Scripture Both these expositions for the matter of them are true but not warrantable by this place There are two other explications of this word which agree for the sense of the place that our Sauiour eternall being is here signified though they differ much in the meaning of the word it selfe The former will haue the beginning to bee taken for Eternitie the later referres it to the first creation of all thinges Against the former some take exception because they say the Word Beginning is neuer found in that sense in the Scripture But that may well bee doubted of because it is sayd of our Sauiour that q Iohn 6. 64. Hee knew from the beginning who they were that beleeued not and who should betray him Now this he knew from all eternitie For r Hb. 13 nothing is hidde from him who is God euerlasting but all thinges are alwayes open in his sight Therefore the word may sometimes bee taken for eternitie But that will not serue the turne vnlesse wee can shew some place wherein it must necessarily bee so vnderstood Such as that of Iohn is not nay rather wee are directed by the Euangelist himselfe in another place to conceiue that by the beginning the calling of the Apostles is signified ſ Iohn 16. 4 These things sayd I not vnto you from the beginning that is I neuer tolde you of this matter from the first day of my being conuersant with you That place t Colos 1. 18 to the Colossians Hee is the beginning and the first begotten of the dead may also reasonably and more fitly bee referred to our Sauiour as mediator then as God euerlasting So can not that in the Reuelation where it is certaine by the first and last part of the verse that the Lords euerlasting being is described u Reuel 1. 8. I am A and Ω the beginning and the ending saith the Lord which is and which was and which is to come Heere though beginning do not of it self note eternity yet with the ending it doth There is yet a plainer and certainer Text to put the matter out of doubt where x 2. Thess 2. 13 the Apostle saith that God hath from the beginning chosen the Thessalonians to saluation What is from the beginning but as the same Apostle speaketh in the like manner in y Ephes 1. 4 another place Before the foundation of the world It cannot therefore bee doubted but that by The beginning Eternitie is sometimes signified yet it is not plaine or certaine that it must so bee conceiued in this place But wee may reasonably perswade our selues that if our Euangelist had meant to haue the beginning taken for Eternitie hee would haue said as the holy Ghost dooth in the Scripture * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 From the beginning For indeed it is no fit speech to say of any thing which wee woulde note to be eternall that it is in Eternitie but that it hath beene or was from Eternitie Neither if wee vnderstand Eternitie by the beginning will this speech of Iohn suite so well witl that of Moses a Gen. 1. 1 In the beginning God created heauen and earth To which it is out of question our Euangelist alludes and in which Eternitie cannot by any meanes be signified What else then can be meant by the beginning bu◠the first creation of all things For what can any man more easily and readily vnderstand when hee reades or heares In the beginning then the beginning of time at the creation of the world Which also the rather to direct vs to this interpretation the Euangelist presently addes b Ioh. 1. 3 By him were all things made so shall Moses and Iohn agree and our Sauiour most fitly be kept out of that lumpe in the creation within which the blasphemy of heretickes would include him yea more then that hee shall easily be conceiued to haue beene from all eternity if he bee excepted from the generall creation wherin all things that are not eternall had their first beginning Whereas then our Euangelist sayth In the beginning The sense of the Euangelist was the word it is all one as if hee should thus haue spoken VVhen all things that haue not an euerlasting being of their owne nature began first to be by the almighty power of God the Creator who made them of nothing euen then hee that is the eternall VVord of the Father hee that from time to time hath declared the will of the Father he that was appointed and promised by the Father to be the Messiah bad already an euerlasting being not by the will of a superior power as a thing created but by the necessity of his owne diuine nature through the eternall generation of God his Father This is that which by our Euangelist is implyed in those fewe words This is that which it concernes all the faithfull to beleeue without doubting This is that which blasphemous c Ebiō Cerinthus denied This Epiphan Au◠Theodoret. vbi supra is that wherby their wicked heresie is condēned Thou tellest vs wretched hereticke as thou art that IESVS CHRIST had no Being till he was conceiued in the wombe of his mother the blessed Virgine The holy Ghost sayth He was in the beginning Thou wilt haue him younger then Mary the holy Ghost makes him elder then Adam In a word thou wouldst perswade vs that hee had his first beginning almost 4000. yeares after the world was created the H. Ghost enioyns vs to beleeue that he had neuer had any beginning For euen then already he was in perfect being when all things that had any beginning became something of nothing of not being began to be Shall I neede to note the doctrine of this text Who sees not that it teacheth vs the eternity of our Sauiour Christ Shall wee suite it with other places of Scripture The word of the holy Ghost in any one place is all-sufficient But let vs yeelde somewhat to humane weakenesse that by the mouth of two or three witnesses all excuse of infidelitie may be vtterly cut off Hearken then what he saith in d Reuelat. 1. 8 the Reuelation I am A Ω the beginning and the ending sayth the Lord which is and which was and which is to come Doth it trouble thee that is was is to come note a kind of succession in being If in our weakenesse wee could otherwise haue conceiued of euerlastingnesse the holy Spirit of God would haue spoken otherwise But who then should haue vnderstood him Surely not euery poore soule whome hee purposed to teach by the Scripture But if mysteries delight thee listen to our Sauiour in e Ioh. 8. 58. this Gospell Before Abraham was I am what is this I am before hee was I vnderstand
which is then should not bee God If you say with Arius that hee was created you deny that the beginning of all creation is truely described by Moses when he saith g Gen. 1. 1. In the beginning God created heauen and earth For if that you say bee true the most excellent part of the creation was already past namely the making of him by whom all these things afterward were created Who taught this strange Diuinity Where is any such thing recorded in any part of Scripture Who is so shamelesse as to say he hath it by reuelation Who so senselesse as to beleeue him that will say so This is our wisedome to know what it hath pleased God to reueale to vs in the Scripture either expresly or by consequence and to accompt nothing else a matter necessary to bee beleeued So then when we read or heare that our Sauiour was with God wee learne thereby that hee is himselfe God For what can be bee but God that had his being before and without all creation The word perhaps troubles thee because he is said to haue beene with God and therefore as it may seeme not God but an other An other Thou saiest well h Tertullian contra PraxeaÌ„ cap. 8. For hee is indeede in person as I aunswered once before another But where thou saiest not God thou â—rt deceiued vnlesse by God thou vnderstand the person of the Father VVith God signifies distinction of person not diuersitie of Nature Therefore i some learned Diuines by with thinke the holy Ghost meant to note his coniunction with Hilar. de Triit lib. 2. God the Father whereby they are one in vnitie of the same Diuine substance To which also they apply that which followeth in this Chapter where k Iohn 1. 18. The onely begotten Sonne is said to bee in the bosome of the Father and that l Ioh. 14. 10. 11 Chapter 14. I am in the Father and the Father in me yea m Epiphan â—aeres 93. saith one He is so with God that hee is in the substance of God and his very nature Wherfore if at any time thou beest disquieted by the word with as if it â—mplied some difference betwixt God and the Word remember that God signifies the person of the Father â—rom whom the Sonne is truly and really distinguisht â—et not by the nature of his Godhead which is one in both but by the property of his being the Sonne in which the Father and hee are alwayes not one but two â—he one the Father the other the Sonne And this last point concerning our Sauiour Christs person n Tertullian contra PraxeaÌ„ cap. 12. is manifestly vndoubtedly prooued by this part of the verse For it cannot bee imagined that any thing beeing in all respects one and the same should bee saide to bee with it selfe or in it selfe The word was with God If there be no distinction betwixt the word God how can it be conceiued that the word was with God I shall neede to spend the lesse time and paines in this matter because none but o August de haer cap. 4. the Sabellians euer made question of it They deceiued themselues and other men with an vnlikely fancy against euidence of Scripture that God was but one person called in diuers respects sometimes the Father sometimes the Sonne sometimes the holy Ghost But what respect can make this speech reasonable if there be but one person in the Godhead Let vs consider the point a little better Dauid was in regard of his gouernment a king in respect of his sonne Salomon a father in relation to his wife Bersheba an husband for his generall nature a man May I say of him because of these diuers respects that the father of Saelomon was with Dauid or with the man meaning Dauid Would not a man laugh at the absurditie of such a speech It cannot be then but that hee which was with God was really distinct or was truely and indeed another from him with whom hee was No respect will free the speech from a iust imputation of absurditie if the partie spoken of bee one and the same as well for person as for nature I reserue the farder handling of this matter till I come to the end of the verse following where I purpose if it please God to deliuer the doctrine of the holy Trinitie It may also farder be gathered that the Euangelist in saying The word was with God would haue vs to vnderstand that he p Gal. 4. 4. which in the fulnesse of time appointed by God tooke flesh of the Virgin Mary was till that time with God though vnseene and vnknowen to the world not as if he were not there still for euen while he was here vpon the earth he was also at the same time continually in heauen q Ioh. 3. 13. 17. 23. The Sonne of man which is in heauen and I will that they be where I am but because he came into the world where before he had not beene in the nature of man Heereto belongeth that which is other-where written by the r 1. Iohn 1. 2. 3. same Saint Iohn VVee declare vnto you the eternall life which was with Father and was made manifest to vs. Hee was with the Father from euerlasting he appeared in the world at the appointed time So is he now againe with God because he is no longer visible on earth as sometimes he was We may also adde hereunto that Å¿ Ambros de incarna domini Greg. Nysten de fide ad Simplic Rupertus aâ— hunc locum Cyril Hieorosol Cateches 11. this being with the Father implies the glory he had and hath with him as if he should haue said The word which was in the beginning was at the right hand of God in the glory of the Father equall to the Father Why seeke you the Creator amongst the Creatures If you desire to know where the VVord was consider that he was at the right hand of God the Father partaker of that glory which the Lord neither will nor can giue to any which is not the same God with him But of this enough Let vs come to the last part of the verse And the VVord was God or as the Greeke words lie God was the VVord but our tongue will hardly beare that kind of speech vnlesse the sense be altred For if you say God was the VVord an English man will conceiue that you tell him what God was and not what the Word was The Greeke and Latine may well beare such placing of the words the English will not yet perhaps it had beene plainer euen in the Greeke to haue set the words in order as the sense of them was intended and to haue said The word was God But the Euangelist as I noted once before vpon occasion followed an elegancie of speech which had bin lost if he had kept the naturall order of the words In the beginning was the
Ver. 22. the Father and God the Sonne are indeede two persons but not two Gods Wee see then that the Father is truely and really a distinct person from the Sonne who though hee be neither made nor created by the Father yet is begotten of him and so hath not his being of himselfe but of his father and therefore in the manner of his being is distinguisht from the Father So is the holy Ghost or spirit from both of them You wil aske me by what he is distinguisht from them I answere Ver. 23. by his proceeding from them First it is manifest he is distinct from the father because he is not of himselfe in regard of his person as the father is Secondly although he agree with the Sonne in that each of them hath his being from a Third namely the Father yet in the particular maner of his being he is distinguisht froÌ„ him For the Sonne is begotten by the Father so hath his being but the holy Ghost is not begotten but proceedeth From whome doth the holy Ghost proceed From the other two persons the Father and the Sonne Of his proceeding froÌ„ the Father our Sauiour m Ioh. 15. 26. speaks distinctly and plainely The comforter shall come whom I will send you from from the Father the spirit of truth which proceedeth from the Father Therefore also hee is called the spirit of the Father It is not you that speake n Mat. 10. 2â— saith our Sauiour but the spirit of your Father which speaketh in you Now that he also proceedeth from the Sonne it may thus appeare All things o Ioh. 16. 15. saith our Sauior that the Father hath are mine And speaking to the Father he p Ioh. 17. 10. saitâ— All thine are mine The later of these two Texts may be vnderstood I grant of those things that are as wee speake without God but because it hath vsually beene applyed to proue this point I thought fit to alleadge it You will reply that all the Fathers is not the Sons That personall property whereby he is the Sonne is not the Fathers but the Sonnes that by which the Father is the Father is not the Sonnes but the Fathers Whatsoeuer else the Father hath the Sonne hath also But that the holy Ghost proceeds from the Father is not the personall property of the Father and therefore the Sonne hath that and so with the Father as it were by breathing produceth the holy Ghost who therfore is called the spirit of the Sonne and of Christ q Gal 46. God hath sent the spirit of his Sonne into your hearts If any man r Rom 89. haue not the spirit of Christ the same is not Christes It is not said indeed that the holy Ghost proceedeth from the Sonne as it is that he proceedeth from the Father but since he is called the spirit of the Sonne as wel as of the Father wee truely gather that hee proceedeth no lesse from the Sonne then from the Father though the one be exprest and the other be not To conclude then we see what the properties are by which the persons are distinguisht among themselues The Father begetteth neither is begotten nor proceedeth the Sonne is begotten but proceedeth not the holy Ghost neither begetteth nor is begotten but proceedeth All these 3. He that begetteth He that is begotten and He that proceedeth are all one and the same God to bee blessed and praised for euer and euer Amen Therefore are all 3 absolutely equall in all matters appertaining to the nature of God only there are 2 things wherein the Father hath as it were some praeeminence among the persons The one I noted by the way before that He is of himselfe so is neither of the other but both are of him The other is that the father is the first in order in these respects he is sometime called by Diuines the fountaine vâ—rse 25. of the Trinitie And whereas it is said in that Creed ofteÌ„ named that None of the 3 persons is afore or after other the meaning is that none of them is in time afore or after Verse 26. other all being eternall as the next verse sheweth saying that All 3 are coeternall that is alike eternall The Sonne also hath the like preaeminence aboue the holy Ghost For both he is in order before him beeing the second and the holy Ghost is of him as well as of the Father But these praeeminences concerne the persons which are distinct not the diuine nature which is wholly absolutely one as by which these 3 persons are one God To whome be all glory c. THE THIRD SERmon vpon the first Chapter of IOHN Verse 3. By it were all things made and without it was nothing made that was made Verse 4. In it was life c. ALL true knowledge of things ariseth either from an vnderstanding of their inward nature or from a consideration of their workes and actions The former teaching vs the hidden causes is the pefecter but the harder the later shewing vs the secret nature by the manifest effects is the lesse perfect but the more easie That nothing might be wanting whereby any man might be drawne or perswaded to the acknowledging of our Sauiour Christs Godhead our Evangelist hath both laid open the mystery of his nature and set out to all mens viewe the wonderfull glory of his workes Hast thou a desire to fill the depth of thy vnderstanding with the profouÌ„d knowledge of his eternall being Behold sufficient matter of continuall meditation and study In the beginning was the word and the word was with God c. Will not thy capacity or leasure serue thee to sound the depth of these bottomelesse mysteries Behold a shorter and easier meanes of knowledge by which thou maist see the glorious Sonne shining in his workes whome in his naturall brightnesse thy dazled eies cannot looke vpon If thou canst not perfectly comprehend the infinitnesse of his light yet thou shalt certainely discerne that it is infinite And with this desire and hope lette vs come to the expounding of this verse Wherein we are first to vnderstand what it is that our Euangelist here teacheth Secondly to see how it proues our Sauiour Christes diuinity In the former part I will speake of the clauses of this verse seuerally then I wil consider the matter of them ioyntly both together By him were al things made that is to speake plainly He made all things I am not ignorant that Å¿ Erasmus ad hunc locum some meÌ„ cast more doubts then need because the word Him in the greeke may bee referred either to God or to the Word and therfore they thinke it meete and needful so to translate it that it may be certainly and necessarily by the very translation restrained to the Word so that in their opinion we must say t Istud not IpsuÌ„ It not Him For mine owne part I will not striue
action But what needes any farther proofe x Gen. 1. 26. 27. then Moses himselfe affords vs in this verse Thus God created the man in his image in the image of God created he him he created them male and female Do you marke the same word thrice vsed concerning the making of man And yet who knowes not that y Gen. 2. 7. The Lord God made the man of the dust of the ground Would Moses haue called that making of man by the name of Creating if to Create were to make of nothing Surely man was not created being made of the dust if there be no creating where there is matter of which he is to bee made So it is also affirmed by Moses * Gen. 21. that God created the great whales what of nothing Nothing lesse It is well knowne and recorded euen there by Moses that the water brought them forth I wil say more There is no one place in the history of the creation where the worde Creating maye be taken I doe not say must bee but may bee taken for making of nothing except perhaps the first verse In the beginuing God created heauen and earth only here may the word be so vnderstood because by heauen earth the first matter of all things may be conceiued which only was created of nothing all things else of it As for the greeke both the vse of it in al kind of writers speaketh for me who can imagin that they who did not beleeue that euer there was any creation shoulde deuise a needlesse word to signifie such a thing as they neuer dreamt of and if at any time they speake of such a question they expresse themselues by adding some worde to make as to make of nothing or without any pre-existent matter or such like What then Doe wee deny the thing because wee say there is no word that necessarily signifieth To make of nothing God forbid We haue taught and can easily proue if neede be that all things besides God haue had a beginning of their being Then were they ether made of nothing which indeed is most true or of God him-himselfe as the matter of them But the later is meerely vnpossible For neither is God of any bodily matter as we see those thinges to be a Iob. 4. 24. God is a spirit and whatsoeuer is of his substance is the same God with him infinit in power and being whereas all creatures are finit in both Therefore when we meditate on the glorious worke of creation wee must drawe our thoughts from the cogitation of these things which we see feel heare smell and tast and conceiue aswell as we can that there is nothing but God How then came all these to be the world and the creatures therein God made them Of what Of that first matter which was without forme couered all ouer with darknesse But whereof was that first matter made Of nothing That is when as yet there was nothing at all but the in comprehensible maiestie of God in his eternall being it pleased him to wil that all these things should be and by this will of his according to this will all and every one of these Creaturs took their being First as God had from all eternity purposed and willed that first matter or lump had its being simply of nothing as all reason shewes vs. For how is it possible to coÌ„ceiue or imagin that that which is the first matter should haue any other matter before it of which it might be made Therefore b Arist Physâ—â— lib. 1. the Philoso phers being ignorant of the creation were inforced to make this first matter eternal and this was the conceipt I. ucret de natura rerum lib. 1. of them all that did not acknowledge God to bee the maker of that matter So then if you aske me what that was which was made of nothing I say the first matter of all things and in which all creatures were contained If any man be afraid least this opinion should deminish the glory of God in creating the particulars hee must be put in mind that both the matter it selfe was made by God of nothing that all the creatures were made of it by no lesse infinit power then the lumpe it selfe was made If Adam in his first estate if all the Angells of God had beene created before this lumpe and that being made by the Almighty power of God had beene brought vnto them c Gen. 2. 19. as the creatures were to Adam it had not bin possible for them I will not say to haue made these other inferior creatures but so much as to haue deuised the forme and workmanship which noâ— they see and wonder at in the meanest creatures But of this point in the second part when I come to shew that the Creation of all things is a certaine proofe of our Sauiours Godhead It remaines that wee expounde the last words All things What need they any exposition may some man say For who is so dull that he vnderstands not what is meant by them what can be meant but absolutely All things without exception Surely it is certaine that the Euangelists meaning is so and a man may well maruell that there should be any question made of it yet such hath bin the malice of Satan and the miserable shifting of Hereticks that I thinke no one text in this whole Gospell hath bin more strangely or diuersly interpreted I will touch some of the errors point at other and stand long vpon none We presse the generalitie of the words All things which comprizeth whatsoeuer hath any being Would you think it possible that these words â—eing so large should bee stretcht too farre Yet haue they bin most absurdly For by them Macedonius who denied the Godhead of the holy Ghost laboured to establish his blasphemous heresy If all things saith hee then the holy Ghost too vnles he be nothing Why dost thou not multiply thy absurdities and say asmuch of the Father and the Sonne himselfe too For if it seeme absurde to thee as it is to containe the Sonne vnder these generall tearmes because hee is the creator or maker how canst thou imagin such a blasphemy of the holye Ghost who is also a Creator with him being one the same God At the least thou canst not exempt the Father of whom there is no more mention in this clause then of the holy spirit But d Ambroâ—â—â— spâ— S. cap 2. â—y ril lib. 1. m I â—â— cap. 5. Chryâ—â—â—â— in Ioa. â—om 4 Groâ—or◠〈◊〉 oraâ— Thcoâ— 5. the Euangelist that I may not spend too much time in these fancies hath answered for himselfe where he restraineth this to the things that were made VVithout him was made nothing that was made Whatsoeuer was made was made by him but the holy Ghost being God as hath bin shewed hath an eternall being and was neuer made though he proceed from the father and the Sonne As Macedonius
be suspected to make God the author of sinne That which was made say those men In him was life who would not conceiue this to bee spoken of that which went next before Let vs make this a little plainer Thus they reade the text without him was made nothing That which was made in him was life Is it not more reasonable to referre these last words That which was made to that nothing which they say was made then to All things in the former part of the verse as I noted before If it had been the holy Ghostes purpose to seuer these middle words in sense where hee speakes of Nothing from the former in the fourth verse to speake againe of those All things he would not haue said That which was made but those things that were made If then we take this Nothing for something which was made without the creator and by Nothing vnderstand sinne wee affirme in the next words that sinne was life in him By Nothing therefore Sinne is not meant but the word must be takē as it properly signifieth and this later part bee vnderstood as a deniall of the contrary to that which was deliuered in the former clause Yet because the question concerning the being of sinne ariseth from the doctrine which the Euangelist here propoundeth It is requisit to say somewhat of it All things were made by him If all things then sinne too vnlesse that be simply nothing or be of it selfe eternall and infinit as nothing is but God only Neither will it serue the turne to say that All things that were made were made by him For by these words that were made nothing is exempted from being made but he only that made al all things God almightie the Father the Sonne and the holy Ghost It seemes then that sinne was made maker it could haue none but him that made all things that were made that is all things besides himselfe Ther fore sinne also was made by him O blasphemy God the author of sinne How shall hee then condemne the world for sinne For what is there or can there bee from him that is nothing but goodnesse which is not good And shall men be iudged for that which is good Here what the c Iohn 5. 29. Iudge himselfe saith They shall come forth that haue done good to the resurrection of life and they that haue done euill to the resurrection of condemnation Be it far from the Lord saith d Gen. 18 25. faithfull Abraham to stay the righteous with the wicked and that the righteous should bee euen as the wicked be it far from him And shall not the Iudge of all the world doe right Therefore this must bee laid as a maine foundation in diuinity that sinne whatsoeuer it bee is no creature of Gods making What if I through ignorance be not able to make the point cleare Shall it therfore be doubted of I haue said enough already to proue the truth of the matter that Sinne is no creature of God I am now only to describe the nature of it to you that you may be the better satisfied If I sayle in this last parte blame my ignorance but doubt not of the truth What is sinne then Our e 1. Iohn 3. 4. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Apostle answeres that Sin is the transgression of the law For where there is no law f Rom. 4. 15. saith another Apostle there is no transgression The word in S. Iohn is larger then that in S. Paul Because the later ex presseth only those sinns which are committed by doing that which is forbidden but the former condemnes all whatsoeuer is not according to the law Transgression is as much in english and so is g 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 transgressio the greeke word in S. Paul as going ouer The Apostle compares the law of God to the pales of a parke or to the bounds of a forrest or chase wherein the Deere are to remaine and not to leap ouer them or breake out into anyother ground Let them feed where they wil withing al is wel enough But if they once passe the pale or boundes they haue faulted and if they come short home it is no more then they haue deserued This going beyond their limittes within which they should keepe is a transgression and offence So is sinne according to the Apostles word he there vseth Yet doubtlesse though he meant especially to note that which was best knowne namely the dooing of euill wee may not thinke but it was his purpose also to signifie the leauing vndone of that good which is commanded I will make the matter plaine by the former similitude Lette vs imagin instead of those pales the lists or barrs that are at the end of some race or gole to which all that make triall of themselues in that game or exercise must needes come and beyond which they may not go He that faints ere he haue attained to the marke is faulty for leauing vndone which he ought to doe He that runns out beyond it makes a contrary fault by doing that he should not do Both transgresse that is breake the lawe of the game though the later more properly in respect of the word transgression Our Apostle h 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 S. Iohn took a word of larger signification that comprehends whatsoeuer is otherwise then the law requires whether we fall short of the marke that is set before vs or fly beyond it wee are still within the compasse of S. Iohns reproofe and our fact is a straying or aberration from the lawe But whether we offend by too much or too little still the sinne is some act or action and is comprized in that vsuall distribution thought word and deed Thought is an action of the inward parts only the braine the heart or the vnderstanding and the will Word addeth to the former a second part performed by the toong Deed imployeth the whole body or some members or member of it to the doing of some outward euill Al are actions or deeds to speake truly but these later haue appropriated that name to themselues because they haue an effect that is most sensible and knowne by feeling I will keepe my selfe to the point in question and though many things offer themselues to bee spoken of yet I will rest content with that which belongs to my present purpose reseruing all other matters to their seueral places and iust occasions Sin then as we haue hitherto spoken of it is nothing else but an aberration or straying from the law of God by doing that we should not do or not doing that we should do Can there now bee any reasonable cause of doubting whether sinne were created by God or no Who can imagin that it was made by God What being hath it but as other actions of men and Angells which are their actions and performed by them and haue their being in the doing and cease with the
verse he is said to be the light of men In the 7. verse that Iohn came to beare witnesse of the light of whom did Iohn beare witness but of the Messiah Iesus Christ Iohn seeth Iesus Verse 29. comming to him and saith Behold the Lambe of God that taketh away the sinne of the world And a little after he Verse 33. professeth that it was reuealed to him by God which sent him to baptise that hee vpon whom Iohn should see the spirit come downe and tarry still on him was he which baptiseth with the holy Ghost Now vpon Iesus Verse 34. did Iohn see the holy Ghost light and settle and thereupon confidently affirmeth that he is the Son of God I might add hereunto that he is the Word by beliefe in whom we haue the prerogatiue to bee the Sons of God Verse 12. And who knows not that he is Christ l Gal. 3. 26. we are al the Sons of God by faith in Christ Iesus That m Ioh. 1. 14 the word which was made flesh dwelt among vs was no other but Iesus of whom Iohn bare witnes But what should I stand heaping vp needless proofes in a matter that is out of question The conclusion of the first point is this that the Word of which our Euangelist speaketh is Iesus Christ It followeth that we should inquire how this name The word belongeth to our Sauiour In which inquiry if I should but euen recite the conceits and subtilties of diuers writers I should spend all the rest of this hower in that only and weary my selfe and you to smal purpose Therfore to make short I will commend to your farder meditation some few reasons of this name which to me seeme the most likely These reasons coÌ„cern our Sauior eitheras he is the Son of God or as he is the mediator betwixt God man For the former the n Nazian lib. 2â— de filio Athana sius Hilarius Ambrosius Augustinus Cyrillus c. ancient later Diuines that haue labored to shadow out that vnspeakable mysterie of the holy Trinitie haue thought it fit to giue vs a little glimse of this dazling light by comparing God the Father to our vnderstanding God the Sonne to that which inwardly our vnderstanding conceiueth I will endeauour to speake as plaine as possibly I can to the capacitie of the simplest When a man inwardly discourseth and reasoneth with himselfe it is sure and cuident that he frameth in his mind a certaine kind of speech or sentence and as it were a word without sound which is called the conception of the mind If he desire to communicate this conceit of his to other men hee formeth some outward speech and words either vttering them with his mouth or writing them with his pen. Thus doth he delâ—uer out a Copie of that the Originall wherof he reserueth still within where it was first bred Let vs according to the weakenes of humane capacity apply this to the vnsearchable mystery of the Sonne of God Confider them reuâ—rently and humbly that God being from all eternitie infinite in wisedome hath alwayes had some conception in him as a man hath when he discourseth in his vnderstanding This conception in man though it remaine in the soule yet is not of the substance of the soule But in God that is most simple and without all manner of composition there can bee nothing that is not of his Diuine substance This conception of God is the second person in Trinitie the Sonne of God Would any know why the like conception in man is not the Sonne of man Let him remember that the Sonne must be of the same nature with the Father as our conception is not without vnderstanding but Gods is of necessitie because as I said ere while there can bee no composition I adde nor imperfection in the diuine Nature The first reason then why the Sonne of God is named the Word is this that he is begotten by his father in such manner as our inwarde word or conception is framed in vs. These things I confesse seeme to mee somewhat curious and subtill that I can hardly perswade my selfe they were intended by the Euangelist neither would I haue aduentured to propound them to you but for reuerence of o Dionys Roma apud Athanas Athanas de de finit Euseb de praepar Euang. lib. 7. cap. 4. Hilar lib 2. de Trinitate c. very many learned Diuines who from time to time haue continued this exposition But there is more likelihood that the holy Euangelist in giuing our Sauiour this name had respect to his mediatorship p Origen lib. 1. in Ioan Clem. Epiphan haer 73 Chrysost hom 2. in Ioan. Euthymius ad hunc locum either because it is he that reuealeth the knowledge of the father vnto vs or for that he was promised to be the Messiah That the former is a part of our Sauiour Christs office and hath bene performed by him from time to time it hath bin held time out of mind and may be prooued for these later times out of the Scripture Who almost is ignorant that q Tertul. contr Iudae cap. 9. the ancient writers were of opinion and the later haue receiued it as it were from hand to hand that the second person in Trinitie appeared oftentimes to the Fathers in the olde Testament euen as often as he that appeared is specified by the holy Ghost to be Iehouah I shall not need to quote the seuerall places Begin at Gen. 12. 7. and so goe forward and where you find that the Lord appeared to Abraham Lot Isaac Iacob or any other of the Fathers in the old Testament there make account you see heare the Sonne of God declaring some part of his fathers will to them to whom he speaketh If wee come to the New Testament whom haue wee there preaching but the Sonne of God r Heb. 1. 1. At sundry times and in diuers manners God spake in the old time to the Fathers by the Prophets in the last dayes he hath spoken to vs by his Son whom also he hath commanded vs to heare Å¿ Mat. 3. 17 This is my beloued Sonne in whom I am well pleased heare him And indeed whom else should wee heare since t Ioh. 1. 18 No man hath seene God at any time but the onely begotten Son which is in the bosome of the Father hee hath declared him Fitly then may hee bee called the VVord who is the Embassador of God his Father to make his will knowen to mankind by word of mouth in his owne person and by the ministery of them whom it pleaseth him to employ to that purpose To make this opinion the more likely u Ioan. Maldon ad hunc locum a popish Interpreter in his Commentarie vpon this place confidently affirmeth that the Chalde Paraphrast translates Iehouah by this word Memar 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifieth a word as
vpon his words doubt of the holy Euangelists credite and doctrine that had been so many hundreds of yeares continued and confirmed by so many glorious Martyrs with their bloud and maintaitained against all the wisdom power of the world before Mahomet was euer heard of And yet what brings he but ignorance and impudency against the eternitie of our blessed Sauiour All he can say is this that if God haue a Son he must needes haue a Wifeto not vnderstanding in his wilful ignorāce that the Lord God hath no more neede of a Wife to the begetting of his Sonne then of hands to the making of this world Yea if comparison might bee made it is easier for God to beget a Sonne like himselfe which is naturall to him then to make the World which dependeth vpon his will and hath no other necessity of being Thus wee are faine to speake according to our poore vnderstanding wee knowe that God hath a Sonne how himselfe knoweth As for the Iewes we will send them to be taught of their owne country-man Iohn the Baptist whome they worthily magnifie as a man sent from God He it is d Ioh. 1. 27 sayth Iohn of our Sauiour that commeth after me which was before me whose shoo-latchet I am not worthy to vnloose But if their owne long continued and greeuous calamity with the destruction of their owne City and Temple in which they trusted be not of force to draw them frō the blasphemous errors of their wicked ancestors surely there is no possibility for any man to perswade them Therefore we will leaue them to the gracious mercie of God to be conuerted to the truth in his good time e Phil. 3. 21. By that mighty power by which he is able to subdue all things vnto himselfe and commend our selues to his fatherly blessing that we may bee strengthened in faith against all the assaults and practises of Satan and his instruments and may neuer doubt of the eternity of our most glorious Sauiour but alwayes ascribe to him with his Father and the holy Spirit one true immortal inuisible and onely wise God all glorie power obedience and thanksgiuing for euer and euer Amen THE SECOND SERmon vpon the first Chapter of IOHN Iohn 1. Verse 1. 2. 1. In the beginning was the VVord and the VVord was with God and the VVord was God 2. The same was in the beginning with God IT is generally thought and I thinke not vntruly that the blasphemous heresies of f Anno 85 Ebion and g Anno 95 Cerinthus who denyed that our Sauiour was God or had anie being before he tooke flesh of the holy Virgine his mother was one especiall occasion of writing this Gospell To root out that impious conceit and to establish the faithful in an assured beliefe of our blessed Sauiours eternall God-head our Euangelist truly and with Apostolicall authority affirmeth that the VVord was in the beginning Neither doth he content himselfe therewithall but for the further instruction of them that belieue hee addes that The VVord was with God and was God yea that The same VVord was in the beginning with GOD. The first point of our Sauiours eternitie was expounded as it pleased God to enhable mee in my former exercise I am now by his gracious assistance to goe forwarde with that which followes The VVord was with God Wherein for the words themselues first wee must enquire what is meant by God then what the Euangelist woulde teach vs when hee sayth The VVord was with God 1. h Orig. in Ioa. lib. 2. Chrysost in Ioan. hom 2 God when the word is properly taken not applied to a creature signifieth either the Diuine nature in all three persons The Father the Sonne and the holy Ghost or only the first of the three The Father Examples of the former are in euerie leafe and page of the Scripture Let vs alleage one or two out of this Gospell i Ioh 4. 24 God is a spirit Not God the Father onely but the Sonne also and the holy Ghost For this spiritualnesse is a propertie of the diuine nature not of anie one person therein else should not the other two bee spirituall The k Ioh. 16. 2. time shall come that whosoeuer killeth you vvill thinke he doth God seruice Surely no man that killeth Christians for beleeuing in CHRIST IESVS can thinke hee doth seruice to the Trinity For our Sauiour CHRIST is one of the three But the idolatrous heathen and the superstitious Iewes make accompt that they performe acceptable seruice to God namely to the diuine nature when they destroy them that acknowledge the three persons to bee one God or deny that there are more Gods then one or worshippe our Sauiour Christ as God Of the later the old Testament affords vs few examples or none the new very many and to make short wheresoeuer God and the Sonne or Iesus Christ are mētioned together there by God the Father is signified l Ioh. 3. 16 So God loued the world that he gaue his only begotten Sonne God what not the diuine nature For that hath no Son to giue else should the second person haue a Sonne and the third to because both the Sonne and the holie Ghost are the diuine nature or God no lesse then the Father But euery mans owne reason teacheth him that the Sonne is the Fathers Sonne So that by God which gaue his Sonne God the Father is vnderstood The same Father is also meant by the name of God when hee is mentioned with Christ m Rom. 1. 8 I thanke my God sayth the Apostle through IESVS CHRIST euen him whom in the next Verse before he had called God our Father Verse 7 Verse 9 and whose Sonne in the ver following he maketh Iesus Christ God is my witnessewhome I serue with my spirit in the Gospell of his Sonne Of the same kinde are all those places where there is any mention of praying to God in or thorough CHRIST For to him hath our Sauiour taught vs to pray n Luke 11. 2 VVhen yee pray saie Our Father vvhich art in heauen o Ioh. 16. 23 VVhatsoeuer yee aske the Father in my name hee will giue it you Now let vs see in whether of these two significations the word God is to bee taken in this place Surelie not in the former because then The VVord should haue beene with himselfe which is no reasonable speech For who vnderstands not that euery thing which is said to be with an other is diuerse from that with which it is sayde to bee Therefore if the VVord vverewith God the VVord was not God But the Euangelist directly auoucheth that the VVord vvas God What remaines then if by God wee will haue the Diuine nature to bee meant but that wee must confesse there are two Gods The VVord and hee vvith vvhom the VVord vvas But it is certaine in Religion and reason that there is but one God And therefore God
may not at any hand bee conceiued in this place to bee put for the Diuine Nature or Godhead If it seeme to any man that the VVord may bee sayd to be with God though it be God as a mans soule is said to be with him whose soule it is p August de Trinit lib. 6. cap 2. I must desire him to consider that the reason is not alike For the soule is part of the man with whome it is sayd to be but the word is not part of the diuine nature which is most simple and free from all kinde of composition It is easie then for any man to conclude that God in this part of the Verse is the first person in the Trinitie God the Father And that it may the rather appeare vnto vs that wee rightly vnderstand and expound the Euangelist we haue his owne warrant where speaking of the same our blessed Sauiour hee sayth of him that q 1. Ioh. 1. 2 Hee was with the Father I forbeare to enlarge the matter Euery man may easily perceiue that our Euange list handles the same point in both places that hee need not doubt but that God r 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with whom the Word was is God the Father What shall we say then of that collection that some make vpon the Article which is vsed by the Euangelist in the Greeke He saith not simply God say these men but The God giuing vs thereby to vnderstand that our Sauiour was with the true God not with him who was God but onely by fauour and not also by nature That they say concerning God is true and certaine But we haue learned that the person is there signified and not the nature And therefore it coulde not bee the Euangelists meaning to note vnto vs the truth of the diuine nature by that article Neither I thinke was there euer any heretick found who denied that God with whome the word is said to haue bin was God by nature what thē meaneth the article Doubtless either it is added only according to the custome of the greeke tongue wherof there are infinite examples in all authors and namely in the new Testament or els if any thing were intended by it the Euangelist meant to shew that in this clause of the sentence he put the word God in another sense then hee doth in the clause following where the article is omitted but I rather perswade my selfe that there is nothing intended therin by the holy Ghost but the manner of speech obserued according to the nature of the language Some man perhaps will yet farder demand why the Euangelist did not speak plainly as he meant and call him the Father rather then God To whom I answer that the Euangelist hauing in the former part named The VVord and not The Sonne doth here more fitlie mention God then the Father For so the nature of the things seemes to require The Sonne of the Father the Word of God Besides it helpes that elegancie which the holy Ghost vseth in this place making the last word of the former clause the first of the later In the beginning was the VVord and the VVord was with God and God vvas the VVord For so lie the words in the Greeke whereof anone Now if in the second clause hee had sayde The VVord vvas vvith the Father the grace of the speech had beene lost because he could not haue repeated the word in the beginning of the clause that followes For it cannot be truely said that the Father is the VVord or the VVord the Father but to say God vvas the the VVord is a true and an elegant speech What if we adde hereunto that in the olde Testament where the Messiah is spoken of there ordinarily not the Father but God is named when the first inkling of the promise was giuen who gaue it but God Then f Gen. 3. 14. 15 the Lord God said to the Serpent Come to the expresse making of the promise to which the holy Ghost calls vs t Rom. 4. 13. 16 Ga◠3. 14. 16 when he speaks of the promise by name and which u Gal. 3. 8 the Apostle Paul tearmes the preaching of the Gospell Was it not God that said to Abraham x Gen. 12. 1. 3 In thee shal all the families of the earth be blessed To be short look from the beginning of Genesis to the end of Malachy and see how often you finde any distinct mention of the first person vnder the name of the Father Therefore he that made choise of such a name for our Sauiour CHRIST as hee was well knowen by among the Iewes could not doe better then by the like wisdom so to speak of God the Father as his speech might bee best approued and vnderstood God then in this second part of the verse signifies The Father But what is the Euangelists meaning when hee sayth The VVord was with God What is it to bee with the Father Manie and diuers haue beene the coniectures of the learned concerning this matter That the vnity of nature in the Father and the Sonne was hereby signified But that is sufficiently manifest by the last clause where the Word is affirmed to bee God For seeing there can bee but one God and that the Sonne is auouched to bee God as well as the Father who sees not that they are both one and the same God and so all one in their diuine nature But this and most of the other opinions which I will not trouble you withall in this kinde of exercise are rather consequents that follow vpon that which our Euangelist intended then the verie point it selfe which hee did intende First therefore let vs search out the principall drift of these words and afterwarde as neede shall bee pursue those points that are necessary What may then bee the sense of this word with what shoulde wee seeke farre y Basil homil in haec verba take it as it commonly signifies and it will agree with Saint Iohns occasion and purpose Hee had sayde in the former wordes that The VVord had alreadie his beeing when all things that euer were created began first to bee What would a man reasonably doubt of heereupon Was the Word before the world before the creation before there was anie time or place wherein hee might bee where was he then To this our Euangelist answeres plainly and readily The VVord was with God As if hee should haue saide Doe you doubt whether the VVord were in the beginning or no because you cannot imagine vvhere hee should bee when as yet there was no world to be in Can you conceiue that God was who is the Father of the VVord Looke then vvhere hee vvas and there vvas the VVord For the VVord vvas vvith God Euen as the inwarde conception or word which the vnderstanding of man frameth within him is with the man where hee is so the Word of God is with God This I take to bee the plaine
word and the word was with God and God was the word The like figure also hath Moses t Gene. 1. 1. In the beginning God created heauen and earth and the earth was without forme But our Euangelist affordes vs more examples of it u Iohn 1. 4. 5 In it was life and that life was the light of men And the light shineth in darkenesse and the darkenesse comprehended it not Can any man doubt that the holy Ghost intended to keepe the elegancy of the figure Are not the Sermons of our Sauiour himselfe beautified with flowers of Eloquence Doth not the prophecie of Esaie flowe with streames of Rhetoricke I dare boldly say It is a very hard matter to match the beginning of that booke for varietie and force of Eloquence out of the writings of any of the heathen Orators Greeke or Latine quantitie for quantitie That we may iustly blame the ignorance and boldnesse of them who thinke it a dishonour to the Gospell that the preaching thereof should be graced with humane Eloquence I would know of these men what it is they call humane Eloquence and what Eloquence there is in the Scripture which may not beare that name without any disgrace thereunto Are there not the same tropes and figures both of the word and the sentence in the writings of men yea of heathen men which are in the Scripture Or if the Scripture haue any which men haue not yet obserued may they not learne from thence asto liue holily so to speake eloquently If any man imagine that the holy Ghost hath either appropriated any ornament of speech to himselfe in the Scripture or that he deuised new tropes and figures for his owne Secretaries the holy Prophets and Apostles the writings of the heathen wherein all those elegancies are to bee found will giue euidence against his ignorance I deny not that there is a certaine maiestie shining in the Scripture which no man can worthily expresse by imitation or by meditation conceiue sufficiently But this ariseth partly from the matter it selfe and partly from the skill of vsing those Rhetoricall ornaments wherein as in all things the holy Ghost that taught them is perfect whereas men haue but a shadow as it were of his perfection But I may not spend too much time in this matter onely thus much I will adde that he which in his publike ministrie shall either willingly refraine or carelessely neglect to vse the helpe of humaine learning and namely of Rhetoricke whereof onely wee haue now occasion to speake shall both faile in his duetie to God and come short of that worthy effect of preaching whereby the loue of God to vs is most gloriously set foorth and our loue to God most ardently set on fire It is the spirit of God that begets faith and obedience But not without those meanes by which hee hath enabled his seruants to teach and perswade The principall thing is the matter as it were the dart or arrowe that pierceth the heart of man by the power of the Spirit But speech is as it were the arme and Eloquence the thong or string whereby it is sent with force to the marke it aymes at He that trusts in Eloquence makes flesh his arme Hee that despiseth Eloquence takes strength from his arme It is our duetie to vse the meanes It is Gods blessing that the meanes take effect and of this vpon this occasion enough Now in expounding the words ere I come to the meaning of the place I will first touch a cauill of x August de doctrin Christia lib. 3. cap. 2. the Arians whereby they endeauoured to voyde the euidence that is brought in heere for our Sauiour Christs Godhead What could be spoken more plaine then for the Euangelist to say The VVord was God Yet would they shift off the matter by mangling the sentence in this sort God VVas say the Arians what shall then become of the Word That say they belongs to the next verse which must thus bee read The same word was in the beginning with God I told you before that the order of the words in the text is God was the VVord In our language word may not bee put before this or this same In Greeke it may and so in Latine How then shall wee answere the Arians Plainely and truely that there was no reason why the Euangelist should tell vs that God was For neither did any man doubt of it and hee had said sufficient to that purpose in the former clause when he affirmed that The Word was with God with whom the Word could not be conceiued to be but that the being of God must of necessitie bee presupposed Besides the holy Ghost in the Scripture neuer speakes of God to shewe his being by Was but either by Is the present tense or time as we call it y Exod. 3. 14 I am sent me or by all three times * Reuel 1. 8. Is VVas Shall be which was which is and which is to come yea the very clauses of the verse might haue taught them that the VVord must needes belong to this verse In the beginning was the VVord and the VVord was with God and the VVord was God Cut off the VVord from this last clause and you make it altogether vnlike the former and spoile the grace of the speech Let the Arians goe then with their foolish shift and goe wee forward in our exposition Wherein we are first to learne what the Euangelist meanes by God then to shew how the sentence it selfe is to be vnderstood In the former clause one person of the Trinitie euen the first God the Father was signified by the name of God which is common to all the three Here the same word is taken in the proper sense nothing the Diuine Nature There needs no other proofe of this matter but onely to make you see that if you vnderstādit of any one persō you auouch somwhat which is vntrue For example will you say God the Father is the Word or the Word was the Father By this maner of speech you confound so destroy the persons whose very being necessarily requireth that the one bee not the other Neither may we say that the holy Ghost was the Word or the Word the holy Ghost For the same errors ensue thereupon and the Trinitie of persons is ouerthrowen thereby It cannot be then but that God in this last part of the verse must of necessity be taken for the Godhead or Diuine nature whereupon it followes necessarily that our Sauiour Christ is God Against this the Sabellians who acknowledge no distinction of persons except and labour to perswade vs that the Euangelist is rather thus to bee expounded God was the Word that is say they That God the Father with whom the word was was nothing else but the word it selfe How false foolish this exposition is if any man see not by himselfe he may thus easily discerne To what purpose could it be for
of reason could neuer be attained to without reuelation from God But this is not the armour a Christian trusts to Thy bulwark must bee the shield of faith borne vp and held out by some strong rest of holy scripture The word was God Saith our Euangelist By it were all things made Let Satan cast his fiery and poysonous darts against vs This shield quencheth the fury and killeth the strength of their fire and poyson As for his distinctions and respects wherby he sweats and tyres himselfe to proue that our Sauiour is but God by fauour not by nature because he is imploied in such an office not because he is eternally begotten of God his father they are sparkles that keepe a cracking with more feare then hurt and venom that raiseth a few Pimples in the outer skin with more trouble then danger Keepe thee close vnder the shield of faith and though Satan make thee stagger yet hee shall neuer ouerthrow thee Being then thus armed at all points with an assured perswasion of our Sauiour Christs diuine nature and hauing beaten the enemy that charged vs with such force and fury let vs peaceably and carefully consider with our selues what vse wee may haue of that fort which wee now possesse in safety Is this Sauiour of ours God eternal infinite in wisedome in power in holinesse in all worth and perfection Surely then may wee truely and bodly say that p Psal 89. 19. God hath layed help vpon one that is mighty more mighty to rescue his people out of the hands of sinne and Satan then Dauid was to free the people of Israell from the Philistines and all other that oppressed them Are they mighty that are against vs Hee that is with vs is more mighty Doe you not heare the Apostle as it were defying all the world in confidence of this assistance r If God saith he be on our Rom. 8. 31. side who can be against vs What though hee speakes of God the Father Is not the Sonne our Sauiour the same God of the same power Me thinkes I am encouraged by this meditation to dare Satan and to bid him battaile to his face Let him not spare to magnify the iustice of God to amplifie the grieuousnesse of my sinne to lay out to the vttermost the furiousnesse of Gods displeasure to set before me the weakenesse of my estate to recken vp as it were on his fingers the huge summes of my debt what is all this If Iesus Christ be God Though the iustice of God will not bee corrupted by feare pity bribery or flattery yet it will bee satisfied If the wrath of God be infinite against my sinne an infinite sacrifice may appease it I haue nothing to pay But he that is God is all-sufficient Å¿ Mic. 67. Will not the Lord bee pleased with thousands os Rams nor with ten thousand riuers of oyle t Heb. 10. 4. â—â— 12. Is it vnpossible that the bloud of Buls and Goates should take away sinne Yet u Act. 20. 28. hath Iesus Christ who is God by his owne blood entred once into the holy place and obtained eternall redemption for vs. God x saith the Apostle hath purchased the Church with his owne blood What though y Mâ—c 6. 7. the Lord will not accept my first borne for my transgression Will he also refuse the sacrifice of his owne first begotten yea * Ioh. 1. 18. of his onely begotten which is in his bosome No no he hath proclaimed him from heauen a Mat. 3. 17. to be his sonne that beloued one in whom he is well pleased Now the sufficiency of this worthy sacrifice ariseth not from the bloud of man though it be more excellent then that of buls or goates but froÌ„ the inualuable worth of the person whose blood is sacrifice Could the bloud of Isaac of Abell or of Adam while he was innocent and holy haue beene a sufficient ransome for sinne committed against the infinite maiestie of God Looke how much it lacks of infinitenesse in valew so much it lacks also of worth to make satisfaction For no finit sum can discharge an infinit debt But as God himselfe so sin against God is infinit Multiply any finit nuÌ„ ber though neuer so great that which proceeds of it wil be but finit And whatsoeuer is finite imagine it as great as you can in number or measure is no neerer infinitnes then the least point or fraction that can bee conceiued For there is no kinde of proportion betwixt them else should finit infinit be al one Because that which hath any part of it finit being compouÌ„ded of finite parts put together must of necessity it selfe be vnderstood to bee finite For the parts make the whole and that taketh it nature from these Now who knows not that the holinesse and nature of man is finit Such therfore would the whole lumpe bee if all that is or can bee in al men were gathered together into one How then can a sacrifice which is but finite make due satisfaction for sin that is infinite And that which I speake of men I would haue vnderstood also of all creatures whatsoeuer Angels or other For since their nature and worth is finit it is as farre from infinitenesse be what it will in comparison of the valew of other finite things as nothing is from all that which is from that which is not There is then nothing at all left wherein wee may haue any trust or hope of hauing satisfaction made to God for vs but onely the inualuable sacrifice of our Sauiour Iesus Christ b Heb. 10. 14 VVho with one offering hath consecrated for euer them that are sanctified c Ioh. 1. 29. Behold saith he that was sent to shew him the lambe of God that taketh awaie the sinnes of the world But whence hath our blessed Sauiour this inestimable valew I know not saith one neither will I trouble my head about it I beleeue his sacrifice was sufficient and that serues my turne without any further adoe Oh my brethren let vs not be so vnkind to our blessed sauiour so vnthankfull to God the father so contemptuous against the holy ghost so retchlesse of our owne saluation Is it not monstrous vnkindnesse to haue so incompatable a fauour done thee and not to labour to know that which is most honorable to him that did it How shalt thou worthily lift vp thy heart to praise and magnifie the Father that sent his sonne for thy redemption if thou neglect to vnderstand how glorious he was whom hee sent At the least despise not the wisedome and prouidence of the holy spirit as if hee had troubled himselfe in vain with setting his Secretaries on worke to pen the particulars of thy saluation for thy full satisfaction and comfort Well let all this goe If thou beest not ashamed of so vnreasonable vnkindnesse vnthankfulnesse contemptuousnesse yet bee afraid least thou lose that which thou thinkest
were moued by the holy Ghost So God is said to bee hee d Act. 2. 24. 25. 1. 16 that spake by the mouth of Dauid and the same God it tearmed the holy Ghost in an other place It is welknown that euerie where in the olde Testament the Iewes are accused resisting God That e Act. 7. 51. Stephen expoundeth of the holy Ghost O yee of vncircumcised harts and eares ye haue alwaies resisted the holy ghost as your fathers so you If then there bee but one God and â—et three distinct one from another be euerie one of them God how can it be denied that there are three persons f Mat. 28. 19. the Father the Sonne and the holy Ghost To this the beginning as it were of our Profession leades vs when wee are baptised in or into the name of the Father and of the Sonne and of the holy Ghost Now for the better conceiuing of this great mysterie touching the three persons it is necessarie for vs to vnderstand what a person is And then wee shall the more easily perceiue that euerie one of the three is a person And here if I should stand curiously to deliuer an exact definition of the thing and tell you that a Person is an indiuiduall â—ubsistence in an intellectuall nature or a seuerall or singular thing that subsisteth by it selfe in a nature indued with vnderstanding I should either leaue you more vncertaine then I found you or bestowe more time in expounding the wordes then shall neede I hope to make you discerne of the matter it selfe Wherefore to speake plainely rather then artificially it may please you first to bee perswaded that although the word person bee not in the Scripture applyed to the Father the Sonne and the holy Ghost yet euerie one of them is so described therein that wee may and must needes conceiue him to bee a person according as wee vnderstand the word First who knowes not that there is no person but where there is a nature that hath reason and vnderstanding For no man euer calles any creature that is not indued with reason by the name of a person Who will or may say of tenne or twentie Lions Horses Oxen Apes or any creatures of the like kinde that there are tenne or twentie persons For example if wee haue a denne or a stall that will receiue tenne Lions or tenne Oxen no man will say such a denne or stall will holde tenne persons But if there bee a Table whereat tenne men may sit it is an vsuall speech to say it will holde tenne persons So that first to the being of a Person it is necessary that the thing which wee call a Person bee by nature indued with reason otherwise it cannot by any meanes be a person Secondly wee are farther to vnderstand that the word person notes vnto vs some one of that kinde and not many considered together For it were absurd to say of those tenne men before mentioned though necessarily they haue euerie one of them the vse of reason that they are a Person Thereâ—ore by Person wee meane any one of such a kinde Euery man euery woman euery childe is a person because euery one of them hath vnderstanding by nature and is seuerall or distinct by himselfe from al other so that no other man woman or child in the world in heauen or in earth is or can be the same person Some man perhaps will imagin that those qualities or vertues which are no where to bee found but where first there is reason as iustice wisedome temperance fortitude and such like may bee tearmed Persons especially since euerie one of these is seuerall from other But that cannot bee because whatsoeuer is a Person must depend on nothing as a part or property therof but must be intire of it selfe None of these qualities are such but all of them haue their being in some one person or other Salomons wisedom and Samsons strengtâ— haue no being but in Salomon and Samson with them they are if they cease to bee they are not The case is farre otherwise with Salomon and Samson themselues Let the wisedome of the one and the fortitude of the other be turned into folly and Cowardise yet shal each of them be still a person as before he was yea if there were no more Men Women nor Children in the world but they two or either of them yet should they both if both continued or the one of them if the one continued bee two persons or one person So then to the being of a Person it is required for the generall that the thing bee of such a kinde as hath natuâ—ally reason or vnderstanding more parrticularly that it be one singular thing of that kind and that it be such a thing as hath a subsistence by it self and depend not vpon any other as a part or property thereof whersoeuer we find such a thing we haue a Person yea so many Persons as wee haue such things Now let vs apply this to the blessed Trinity And first concerning the nature of God it neither is nor can be doubted but that he is the very fountain spring of all vnderstanding FroÌ„ which the smal streams continually do flowe which wee see in the shallowe channelles of the creatures g Psal 94. 9. Hee that planted the eare shall hee not heare Hee that formed the eye shall hee not see h Rom. 16. 27. To God only wise be prayse through Iesus Christ foreuer Amen Secondly it is apparaÌ„t in the Scripture that the Father the Sonne and the holy Ghost are distinct each from the two other so that there is i Athanal Creed ver 24. But one Father one Sonne one holy Ghost and neither the Father is the Sonne or the holy Ghost nor the Sonne the Father or the holy Ghost nor the holy Ghost the Father or the Sonne Which proueth manifestly that euerie one of these three hath his subsistence by himselfe and so is a person Looke not that I should repeate that which before I deliuered take that one place for all Baptise them in the name of the Father of the Sonne and of the holy Ghost These three names Father Sonne and holy Ghost doe not signifie three vertues or qualities of one person but three distinct persons Therfore are they also alleag'd by the Apostle as three witnesses k I. Iohn 5. 7. There are three that beare record in heauen the Father the Word and the holy Ghost But this mater belongs rather to the second part of this discourse wherin I am to shew how they are distinguisht one from an other But ere I come to that point and yet I will hasten to it all I can I must needes forewarne you that none of vs for ought that hath beene or shall bee sayde conceiue of God as of the creatures There is one generall nature common to all men whereby they are men and so men as that euerie seueral person is a
seueral man Paul Peter Iames and Iohn are foure men aswell as foure persons But the Father the Sonne and the holy Ghost are onely three persons and not three Gods For the establishing of your faith in this point I pray you remember that I haue made it euident to you out of the scripture both that euerie one of these is a seuerall person and also that they are all three but one God That euery one of them is God it hath been manifestly proued and no lesse that there is but one God Whereupon it must necessarily follow that they are all three not three Gods but one God And this is that which you haue set downe in the Creede named before l Athâ—nas Creed ver 3. That we worshippe one God in Trinitie and Trinitie in Vnitie that is one God and yet three persons Three persons and yet one God If any man for the satisfying of his minde desire farther to vnderstand the reason of this difference betwixt the Creator and the Creatures why euerie seuerall person amongst men should be also a seuerall man and not all one man and yet the three persons but one God he must knowe that this proceedes from the diuersitie of nature in God and man The nature of man being finit may be multiplyed into many seuerall men of the same kindes But the nature of God being infinit cannot possibly admitte any multiplication because there cannot be many infinits or infinit substances as there may be and are verie many finit substances seuerall and differing each from other He that can with iudgement and learning examine those points that concerne the nature of God may conceiue the truth of that I say they that cannot haue sufficient ground for their beliefe in the word of that God who neither can be deceiv'd in discerning his owne nature because he is infinitly wise nor will deceiue any man in speaking of it because hee is infinite in truth and goodnes â—et vs goe forwarde therefore to learne of him the doctrine of the Trinitie The word Trinitie as I sayd ere while of Person is in no place of Scripture but the thing being there we are not to refuse or mislike the word especially since it is of good vse and hath beene of so long continuance in the Chruch It is enough if wee vnderstand that whensoeuer the Trinitie is named all three persons are signified as for example when wee say the Trinitie is holy blessed and glorious wee meane that the Father the Sonne and the holy Ghost are holy blessed and glorious When wee say the Trinitie of persons it is our purpose to shew the nuÌ„ber of the persons that they are three These two points touching the vnitie of the god head and Trinitie of the persons are set out at large in l â—â—th mas Creed ver 3. 4. 5 c. Ver. 4. the forenamed Creed from the beginning of the third verse to the ende of the twentie one verse The summe of all is this that wee must neither confound the persons nor diuide the substance To confound in that place signifies to mingle together and so to make one of many and that is the verie naturall meaning of the Latine word So that when wee are forbidden to confound the persons wee are taught that wee may not so hold the vnitie of the Godhead that we denie the Trinitie of the persons and in stead of three make but one whereas Ver. 5. according to the next verse There is one person of the Father another of the Sonne and another of the holy Ghost and not one of all three Neither yet may wee diuide the substance as if the diuine nature were multiplied according to the number Ver. 6. 7. of the persons For as it followeth immediately the Godhead of the Father of the Sonne and of the holy Ghost is all one the glorie equall the maiestie coaeternall Therefore all the attributes properties and titles which appertaine to God belong equally and in the same respects to all onely they are distinguished by that which is proper to each person The particulars whereby Ve. 8 9. 10 c. this matter is declared in the same Creede are these To be vncreated Incomprehensible Eternall Almightie to be God and Lord. All these and all the rest of this kind which are many are common to all three persons because the nature of all three is one and the same wherefore although wee must acknowledge euerie person by himselfe Ver 19. to bee God and Lord yet wee may not say there are three Gods or three Lords Ver. 20. I haue shewed you that there is but one God which is three persons euerie one of them being alike and equall in all things that belong to the nature of the godhead It remaines that I should speake of the distinction of the three persons onely so farre as to make vs vnderstand wherein that distinction consists For the better conceiuing whereof wee may say in one word that the manner of being which each person hath proper to himselfe is that by which they are distinguished in all other things there is no reall distinction of any one of them from another The very names themselues which are giuen to them seuerally in Scripture point to the distinction that is amongst them The Father as euery man knowes in that hee is a Father or as hee is a Father is conceiv'd to bee of himselfe and to giue being to his Sonne Consider Adam the first man without looking backe to his creation by which he had his being from God but looke onely forward as hee was his Son Abels Father Do you not plainely perceiue that Adam thus considered is author oâ— Abels being Apply this to God the Father Being God hee canne in that regard haue no authour nor beginning of being Consider him as the Father Hee Ver. 21 is of himselfe not made not created not begotten not proceeding It is not possible truly to imagine any thing of his Being but that Hee is May wee reasonably affirme the like of the Sonne Surely as hee is God there can nothing be sayd or conceiv'd of the Father but may truely and must necessarily bee spoken and thought of the Sonne and of the holy Ghost seuerally aswel as of the Father wherin then lies the distinction Euery man can readily answer In his manner of being or in his being the Sonne Take the former example Adam and Abel are both men in respect of their humane nature there is no difference betwixt them What then Is there none at all therefore yes sure Adam hath not his being of any other as hee is a Father Abell hath his as hee is a Sonne of his Father Adam Let it not trouble you that I mention a difference betwixt Adam and Abell and acknowledge no difference but onely a distinction betwixt God the Father and the Sonne the reason is because Adam and Abell are as two persons so two men God
about a matter of so small importance only I see no necessity of any such curiosity in translating For seeing it is very apparant that the Evangelist intendeth to describe our Sauiour Christ of whome the whole Gospell doth intreate and that al the other verses and clauses of verses are applyed therevnto he must needs be lesse then a reasonable man that would pluck this verse out of the midst of the rest and conceiue that by it which neuer came into the thought of him that pend it But for the translation reade it as you please so you vnderstand the meaning of the Euangelist aright that the Word or Sonne of God our Sauiour Christ made all things This being vnderstood wee are first to enquire what this speech importeth By him then what is said of him namely what this making was and what was made By him or By it By the VVord or by the Sonne why dâ—th the Euangelist make choise of this kind of speech and not rather say plainely as he might He made all things It is and hath bin alwaies commonly held that this maner of speaking doth better set out the worke of the Creation and confirme that former point of doctrine whereby our Sauiour was affirmed to bee the sonne of God If it had bin said that The VVord created all things it might haue bin imagined that the Father had had no hand therein whereas now it is implyed that the Father made all things by the Sonne But surely sauing their better iudgemeÌ„t that thus reasoÌ„ there is no more feare least the father shoulde bee thought not to haue created the world because the sonne did then least the holy Ghost should by the same speech be imagined to haue had nothing to do therein it is as much against the truth of religion to deny or doubt of the Godhead of the holy Ghost as of the fathers being God Yea the daunger was greater concerning the holy Ghost because not only the Scripture doth more often ascribe that worke of creation to the Father then to the holy Ghost but also the generall opinion of al men makes the father a Creator whereas the diuine nature of the holy Ghost is not so commonly knowne or beleeued Neither will this kind of speech which our Euangelist here vseth though you take it neuer so largely preuent or remedy that doubt touching the worke of the holy Ghost in the Creation but that for ought that can possibly be implied in this phrase By him the spirit may be thought to be no creator But that I may omit nothing which may be gathered for our instruction out of any reasonable obseruation let vs a little consider how this manner of speaking may confirme our faith concerning our Sauiour Christs being of his father When we say By him we ofteÌ„ times imply that there was some other beside him of whom we so speak For example if I say By Ioab the Ammonits were subdued I may signifie thereby that Dauid did sub due them by Ioab So By the VVord all things were made I may hereby giue notice that the father made al things by the Word Yet to say the truth neither doth this maner oâ— speech vsually imply any such matter nor the other exclude any that are or may be held to haue bin doers therein And therfore we are faine to adde only or alone when we would haue it conceiu'd that some one was the dooer of this or that But let vs grant that By him signifieth also the working of the Father that wee maye come to the cheefe thing intended by that obseruation What if all thinges be made by the Sonne We must learne thereby that the Sonne hath all that he hath from the Father and not of himselfe The father is said to haue made all things because he is of himselfe All things are said to be made by the sonne for that he is of another I propound these things to your consideration not so much with any opinion that the Euangelist had any such meaning as for the satisfaction of some who think it not lawfull to leaue any thing vntaught which hath beene formerly observ'd and deliuered for truth And I doe it the oftener now in this beginning that I may rather bee excused hereafter for leauing that out of my exposition which hath no certaine euidence of truth nor great likelihood of reason Wherefore I will for the most part content my selfe with the alleaging and refuting of such interpretations onely as the heretikes Papists and other haue made for the avowing of some of their errors For the present to cleare that which I haue begunne to speake of the doctrine of our Sauiours receiuing his being from his Father yea the very power of creating if you consider him as a Sonne is true and souÌ„d For being so coÌ„sidred he is wholly of the Father and hath nothing of himselfe that wee may not continue a needlesse fruitlesse controuersie begune slaunderously by some Papists and ignorantly as I shewed in my last exerciâ—e concerning the Godhead of the Sonne But this Doctrine cannot necessarily be gathered from this kind of phrase But if our Euangelist had intended any such thing hee would haue said that the Father made all things by the Sonne as u Heb. 1. 2. the Apostle speaketh By whome also he made the world and not thus vncertainely and to such a purpose obscurely By him all things were made Especially since the same speech may truely be vttered euen of God the Father or of the Diuine nature in which all three Persons are comprehended I doe therefore rather perswade my selfe that the Euangelist vsed his libertie and whereas hee might say either He made all things or By him all things were made he did make choise of the later both for variety and for elegancy of speech He had spoken of the Word altogether as yet after one maner of phrase The Word was that he now varies saying not He made but By him were made and this suiteth with the next verse very fitly By him were all things made In him was life There is no question but that this making which the Euangelist here noteth was the creating of the world whereof Moses speaketh And how soeuer it is a common opinion that creating signifieth making without any matter whereof the things to bee created should be made whereas making presupposeth matter ready to be framed and formed yet indeed there caÌ„ hardly be any such distinction wrung out of the words themselues For neither hath the Hebrew that Moses vseth to set out the creation any such nature nor the Greeke by which it is translated For the former it appeareth manifestly by the ordinary vse of it in the Scripture and namely by Moses himselfe who applies the word making to that which in in the next verse he cals creating lâ—t vs make man Thus God created the man in his image The words are diuers and yet spokeÌ„ of the same thing or
diuine nature that created them or no. First the Euangelists authority is enough to put the matter out of question For hee that being directed by the spirit of God could not erre would neuer haue brought this for a proofe thereof if it coulde iustly be excepted against Yet because as I haue shewed there might bee other reasons of this speech and some doubt therefore whether it were the Euangelists purpose to proue that or no let vs take some other course for our full satisfaction To which end let vs alwaies remember that Moses x Gen. 1. 1. in the beginning of the Scripture laies this as a maine foundation of religion that God created heauen and earth Who can doubt then â—ut it is a sound reason to proue our Sauiour to be God that All things were made by him For if it be truâ— that God was the maker of all things whomsoeuer wee finde to haue made all things him we knowe thereby to be God Therefore the Apostle Paul preaching to the heathen and perswading them to forsake their Idolles and to turne to the liuing God shewes who he is by this effect of creation VVe preach vnto you saith the y Act. 14. 15. Apostle that vee should turne from these vaine Idols vnto the liuing God which made heauen and earth and the sea and all things that in them are Worship him * Reuel 14. 7. saith an Angel from heauen that made heauen and earth and the sea and the fountaines of waters By this doth a 1. Chro. 16. 26 Dauid distinguish the true God froÌ„ Idols All the Gods of the people are Idols but the Lord made the heauens Is not this the proofe of the power of God whereby he magnifieth himselfe and amazeth b Io. 38. 4. 5. c. Iob with the brightnesse of the glory thereof By this doth Ezechiah coÌ„clude that he is the true God Thou art very God alone ouer all the kingdomes of the earth thou hast made the heauens and the earth Will you heare the c Isay 3. 16. 48. 12. 13. Lord himselfe I am I am the first and I am the last Surely my hand hath laâ—d the foundation of the earth my right hand hath spanned the heauens when I call them they stand vp together Let d Heb. 1. 10. the Apostle Paul end this controuersy who to proue our Sauiours Godhead brings the place of the e Pâ—a 102. 25. Psalme Thou Lord in the beginning hast established the earth and the heauens are the workes of thy handes From hence then we may certainly and necessarily conclude that the Word the promised Messiah our Lord Sauiour Iesus Christ is true God For by him were all things made and nothing can be made but by God onely This f August in Ioâ— tract 1. the Arians denied because they sawe themselues driuen to confesse that all things were made by Christ whom they will not ackâ—owledge to bee God equall to the Father Therefore they deuis'd this shift that our Sauiour did indeed creat all things yet not as a principall worker but as an instrument And to this they say the Euangelist directed vs when hee sayd that All things were made g 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by him For that by which a thing is done is an instrument in the doing of that thing and not the doer of it If these men had not blinded their owne eyes with a preiâ—dicat conceite against Godhead of our Sauiour they might easily haue seene the fondnesse and falsenesse of this blasphemous exception The folly of it I shew'd before when I made it manifest that it is all one to say All things were made by him and Hee made all things The falsenesse of it may appeare thus The scripture sayeth the same of God which is here affirm'd of Christ that this or that was by him and yet I hope they will not dare therefore to conclude that God in those matters was not a principall efficient cause but an instrumentall For example h Rom. 11. 36. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Apostle sayth That all things are by God What As an instrument who is then the principall essicient that imployes God as his instrument i 1. Cor. 1. 1. 2. Cor. 1. 1. Eph. 1. 1. Col. 1. 1. The same Apostle affirmeth of himselfe that hee was called to bee an Apostle of Iesus Christ by the will of God If the will of God bee but an instrument wee are content to require no more honour for our Sauiour so you allowe him to bee one with God in nature as the Will of God is which indeede is God himselfe What say you k Gal. 1. 1. to that place where the Apostle pleades for the authoritie of his Apostleshippe because it is by Iesus Christ and God the Father I doubt mee wee shall hardly finde any principall efficient at all where both the Father and the Sonne are instruments How absurdly then not onely impiously doe the Arians conclude from this word by that our Sauiour Christ is not God But you brethren haue beene better instructed then to giue eare to such blasphemies that I holde it altogether needlesse to bring any father proofe of the matter then I deliuered in my last exercise or to vse any word of exhortation to beleefe in him whom wee cleerly discerne to be God al-sufficient To whom with the Father and the holy Ghost the same God the most mightie and gracious Creator of all thinges let vs alwayes remember to ascribe all glorie power and dominion and to performe all obedience for euer Amen THE FOVRTH SERmon vpon the first Chapter of IOHN Verse 4. In him was life and that life was the light of men 5 And the light shineth in darkenesse and the darkenesse comprehended it not IT is a cleere truth in natural reason and a rul'd case in diuinitie that as all thinges proceede from God as the first cause of their being so they are all referr'd to God as the last ende why they are In him l Acts. 17. 28. sayeth the Apostle wee liue and moue and haue our being And to conuince the Heathen by the light of nature hee addes As also certaine of your owne Poets haue sayd m Aratus in Phaenomen For wee are all his generation To whom then doe wee owe our selues and whatsoeuer wee are or haue but to him onely Witnesse for nature the wisest of all the Philosophers the Stoikes for diuinitie he n 1 King 4. 29. â—0 that was wiser then the wisest of the Heathen o Pro. 1. 12 16. 4. Salomon the preacher King ouer Isreal in Ierusalem The Lord hath made all things for his owne sake yet so for his owne sake that p Psaâ— 8. 34. the Prophet is forced to cry out When I behold the heauens the workes of thy fingers the Moone and the Starres which thou hast crealed what is man say I that thou art mindefull of
can doubt but life was always in him who only liues of himself giues life both tēporal spiritual to al euē to euery one that hath it But because this maner of giuing life is an effect of Godhead so common to him with the Father and the holy Ghost and not a matter belonging properly to his person nor any worke of his mediatorship I will leaue it as not intended in this place and come to a second consideration of life being in him from all eternity as in the mediator betwixt God and man In what respect then may it be truly and fitly said that life was in him from all eternity In respect of the eternall decree of God whereby he determined to restore to life those whome hee chose therevnto by the mediation of his Sonne the word of whom we speake Of this f Rom. 8. 29. 30 the Apostle speaks Those whom he knewe before he did also predestinate to bee made like to the image of his Sonne that he might bee the first borne among many children Vpon this predestination as the Apostle adds followeth calling iustifying and at the last glorifying which is the highest degree of the life that is in Christ But in g Eph. 1. 3. 4. an other place hee speakes more plainely Blessed be God euen the Father of our Lord Iesus Christ which hath blessed vs with all spirituall blessings in heauenly things in Christ As he hath chosen vs in him be-before the foundation of the world Therefore doth the Apostle Peter ascribe the appointing of the meanes and the execution of it according to the appointment to the foreknowledge of God h Act. 2. 23. Him haue ye taken by the hands of the wicked being deliuered by the determinate counsaile and fore knowledge of God The same is acknowledged by the ioynt confession of the Apostles where they say that Herod Pontius Pilat the Gentiles and the people of Israell gathered them selues together against the holy Sonne of 4. 27. 28. God Iesus whom God had annointed to doe what soeuer the hande and counsaile of the Lorde had determined afore to bee donne VVorthily then doth Saint Iohn avouch that life was in him yea before any time was life was in him i Gal. 4. 4. VVhen the fulnesse of time was come God sent his Sonne Life did not then begin to be in him but to shew it selfe to be in him k Rom 3 25. God set him forth by his incarnation to be apropitiation Life was in him before in regard of Gods eternall counsaile but not discouered nor manifested to the world no nor those works of his which were to bring life performed Yet euen thē was life in him If it seeme to any man somewhat ouermuch to go so far for the Euangelists meaning let him shorten his iorney containe him selfe within the compasse of the world created Shal we not find sufficient reason of this speech In him was life though wee goe not out of the world yes out of doubt very sufficient For seeing many worthy Patriarchs and holy Prophets many true Israelits Sonns of Abraham by faith as well as by nature departed out of this worlde before our Sauiour came into it to performe the foreappointed worke of redemption either these must haue died without life so alwaies continue dead or there was life in him before he was incarnat l Luk. 10. 24. Many Prophets and Kings desired to see and heare him at the Apostles while hee liued heere saw and heard Surely then they were not ignorant of him and that life was in him But did they not see him By one iudge of the rest Your Father Abraham m Ioh. 8. 56. saith Christ reioyced to see my day and hee saw it and was glad And yet what name I one seeing wee haue a cloud of witnesses that compasseth vs round about n Heb. 11. 1. 2. 3. c. sounding out the same assurance of fayth that we now haue and looking for the same promises to bee fulfilled which wee beleeue and knowe to haue beene performed to the vttermost Was not our God o Mat 22. 32. the God of Abraham Isaac and Iacob Was not our Sauiour their Sauiour p Rom. 4. 11. Gal. 3. 16. Dooth not our interest wee haue in Christ depend vpon our being the children of Abraham q Heb. 13. 8. VVas not Iesus Christ yester-day is hee not to day shall hee not bee the same for euer Then may wee safely and truely conclude that there was life in him before he was in the nature of man But howsoeuer it be true certaine that life was in him both from all eternity in regard of the counsaile of God which is as ancient as himselfe in effect in respect of them that from time to time were partakers of it euen from Adam to Iohn Baptist yet it was then most properly in him when hauing taken our nature vpon him he ouercame death and him that had power ouer it the Deuill This was that which those Kings Prophets desired and longed to see This was that which good olde Simeon so reioyced at that he was ready to depart out of this life with full satisfaction and contentednesse when he had seene the promised Messiah in the nature of man Lord r Luk. 2. 29. 39 saith he now lettest thou thy seruant depart in peace according to thy word For mine eies haue seen thy saluation The holy man had a long time beleeu'd by faith that saluation was to come and in hope with patience waited for the comming of it but he neuer saw it til that time Indeed how should he For it was neuer to be seene till then How could it be For it neuer was fully perfitly till then It was not enough for the Son of God that he had infinite power as God to giue life to whom he would to repair the ruins of his image in man by clensing him frō sin cloathing him with righteousnes by raising him frō death as he first breath ed the soule of life into him by vouchsafing him a place in heauen which was at his command that had made it Al this I say would not serue the turne that the Euangelist might say as he doth In him was life For the Lorde God Father Son Holy ghost had appointed another course of giuing life another meanes of saluatiō not to be perform'd by the Son of God sitting in heauē but to be wrought here vpō earth in the same nature that had sind was dead He that made mā holy righteous at his creatiō could by the same powr haue restord to him his original righteousnes in a momēt But it pleas'd him to doe it after an other maner wherof more hereafter in due place To say al at once seing by man cam death God would haue life to come by mā no otherwise Let it be graunted may some man say that
13. reserued the blacknes of darkenes for euer When the word is vsed for sinne it signifieth either the ignorance of the minde and vnderstanding or the Rom. 2. 19. wickednes of the heart and conuersation Thou perswadest thy selfe sayth the Apostle to the Iewes that thou art a guide of the blind a light of them which are in darknes namely in ignorance To this purpose the same Apostle sayth of the Ephesians before they had been taught by Eph. 4. 18. the Gospell that Their cogitation was darkened This is Mat. 4. 16. that Darkenes in which the people sate til by our Sauiours preaching as Saint Mathew tels vs They came to see light That the wickednes of our heart and the leudnes of our actions are signified by the same word it may Rom. 13. 12. appear by these places Let us cast away the works of darknes and let us put on the armor of light What these workes of darknes are the Apostle sheweth in the next verse Ver. 13. Gluttony drunkennes chambering wantonness strife and enuying and generally in the verse following To fulfill the Ver. 14. Ephe. 5. 8. lusts of the flesh In this respect he tels the Ephesians that they were once darkenes And a little after hee forbids them Ver. 11. to haue any fellowship with the vnfruitfull workes of darknes But no man speakes more plainely or more fully to this purpose then S. Iohn himselfe God is light and in him is no 1. Ioh. 1. 5. darknes that is no kind of euill If we say that we haue fellowship with him and walke in darkenesse wee lye and do ver 6. 2. 11. not truely He that hateth his brother is in darkenes walketh in darknes is in the corruptioÌ„ of nature behaues himselfe according therunto And of the word this may suffice coÌ„cerning the ordinary vse of it in the Scripture For this place wee must needes take it generally as wee did light and so apply it to the particular in hand The light naturally shines in darkenes and bodily light in bodily darkenesse the spirituall in spirituall So did the Messiah shine in the ignorance and wickednesse of men So did the doctrine of saluation shew it selfe in the blindnesse and naughtinesse of the world The former point of the natural bodily light shining in darkenes is not any matter of diuinity besides so well knowne to children that it were lost labour to say any thing of it Let vs keepe our selues to the Euangelists meaning and after wee haue a little proued the doctrine consider the matter for our farther instruction and edification And that the truth may the rather bee acknowledged let vs call to minde that the Prophet Isay many hundred yeâ—res before gaue notice of this light and the shining thereof and not of the shining onely but also of a farther effect the inlightning of them that were in darkenesse Let vs heare himselfe speake The people that walked in darkenesse haue seene a Isay 9. 2. great light they that dwelt in the Land of the shadowe of death vpon them hath the light shined My warrant to expound this prophecy of the light in the ministery of our Sauiour Christ is from the authoritie of the holy Ghost in Saint Mathewes Gospell Iesus leauing Nazareth Mat. 4. 13. 14. 15 went and dwelt in Capernaum which is neere the Sea in the borders of Zabulon the Land of Nepthalyn by the way of the Sea Galilee of the Gentiles The people which sate in darkenesse c. I spake of this before in expounding the words the naming of it this second time is sufficient Let me second it with an other prophecy out of the new Testament Olde Zacharie the Father of Saint Luk. 1. 67. Iohn Baptist being filled with the holy Ghost foretold this shining Through the teÌ„der mercie of our God the day-spring Ver 78. Ver. 79. sayth hee from an high hath visited vs to giue light to them that sit in darkenesse and in the shadow of death and to guide our feet into the way of peace This day spring Simeon in few words tearmeth alight to bee reuealed to the 2. 32. Gentiles He mentioneth not the darkenes True but we haue learned that the Gentiles were in darknes as wel by that of Esay as by the testimony of Saint Paul Walke not sayth he to the Ephesians turned from Gentilisme as other Gentiles walked hauing their cogitation darkened Eph. 4. 17. 18. and being strangers from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the hardnesse of their hart But the brightnes of this light and the glorious shining thereof is no where more cleerely to be discernd then in the course of this Gospell wherein so many secrets of God of the Messiah of the holy spirit and comforter of freedome from sinne of deliuerance from damuation and of euerlasting life are set foorth commended to vs. The doctrine then is easie and certaine that our Saâ—iour being the supernaturall light shined to the world and shineth still and euer in the knowledge of eternall saluation Let not the manner of speech trouble any maÌ„ because the Euangelist sayeth that The light shineth in darkenesse You will aske me how this can be If the light shine there is no darkenes It there bee darknesse the light shines not How then can the light shine in darkenesse Is it all one as if hee should haue sayde The Ma'd â—nat ad hunc lo cum light inlightneth the darkenesse scattering and dispersing it But shining and inlightning as I shewd before are diuerse the former respeâ—ting the nature of the light the other a second arie effect of the light in things inlightned Neither may wee forget that the darkenes was not inlightned The darkenesse sayth Saint Iohn omprehended it not How then doth the light shine in â—â—rkenesse Surely as the Sunne in the firmament shines â—â—ongst a company of blind men The Sunne indeede â—â—â—nes but the darkenesse to blinde men is neuer a whit â—he losse So our Lord his doctrin shined most brightly in the midst of the blind Scribes and Pharises yet were they still in darkenesse The naturall light doth his office shewes his nature by spreading his beams all about that all men may see so doth the supernatuâ—al light deliuering the knowledge of God Christ to saluatioÌ„ yet to the blind the darknes coÌ„tinues thoghâ— the darknesse continue yet the light shines so the light shines in darknesse The ligh in darknesse what light What darknesse Is not the light you speake of a dim glimmering or rather is it not as a candle wasted and spent to nothing Is not Christ the light you brag of Is not this light put out You preach Christ crucified What light is there in death What shining when the Sun is set Where is the darknesse you vpbrayd the world withall Is not this Chr. crucified which in your
father There was a man of Beniamin The new Testament is full of the like examples some of them wee heard before a few more will suffice There Ioh. 5. 5. 2. 1. was a mâ—â— there saith our Euangelist speaking of the poole at â—ethesda There was a man one of the Phaâ—ises Aâ—â— 5. 1. 10. 1. A certaine man named Ananias There was a certaine man in Caesarea I mâ—ght rehearse many more of the same kinde but these are more then enow and by this I thinke wee haue sufficient warrant to conclude that the holy Ghost in this History of Iohn speakes as hee doth ordinarily in other places of the like kinde without any intent to signifie his nature of whom he speakes and this is the simplest and Plainest interpretation of these former words The later Sent from God offer these two things to our consideration who sent what this sending was What needs any question of the former may some man say Doth not the Euangelist speake plaine enough and tell vs that God was the sender Hee was sent from God But we learned in the beginning of this Gospell that the worde God somtimes signified the diuine nature which is but one and the same in all three persons sometimes some one of them And we haue here the more reason to make this inquirie because one of the persons namely the second is he of whome Iohn was to witnes Not to vse more words then neede wee are directed by Iohn himselfe to vnderstand this of GOD the Father This I prooue by this our Euangelist in this present chapter where he reports part of the Baprists tesimonie touching our Sauiour in this sort He that sent mee to baptize with water he said vnto me vpon whom thou Ioh. 1. 33. shalt see the spirit come downe and tarry still on him that is hee which baptizeth with the holy Ghost Who is this that sent Iohn to baptize Not the diuine nature For he is distinguisht from the Sonne and the holy Ghost who can it be then but the Father God the father gaue Iohn a token whereby he should know the Sonne that was the Messiah the comming downe of the holy Ghost and his abiding on him S. Mathew sets out the point as distinctly The second Person is in the water newly baptized the third sits vpon him in the likenes of a Doue the first proclaimes him from heauen This is that my Sonne Mat. 3. 17. that beloued one in whome I am well pleased As if hee should in plaine tearmes haue said to Iohn This is hee of whome I sent thee to beare witness The like distinction for the Father and the Sonne wee haue in Saint Luke where Zachary the father of Iohn prophecying Luke 1. 76. of his sonne sayeth that hee shall be called the Prophet of the most high namely of God the Father as it appeares by the speech of the Angell Gabriell to the virgin Mary Hee shall be called the Sonne of the most verse 32. high Then followes Iohns office Thou shalt go before the face of the Lord namely the Lord Iesus for whome Iohn prepared the way But how did God the Father send him Surely hee may well bee said to haue bin sent in regard both of his person and of his office His person as it is wel knowne I will but point at the particulars was after an extraordinarie manner from GOD as I saac was giuen to Gen. 18. 10. Abraham and Sarah by him His father and mother were both striken image and she also barren insomuch Luke 1. 7. that when shee was conceiued with childe contrarie to her expectation and beyond all likelihood and naturall possibilitie shee hid her selfe fiue monethes till shee might bee more sure of that which to Ver. 24. 36. many would seeme vnpossible and to take away too much occasion of speech from the common sort For his office it was assigned him by GOD and notice also of that Assigâ—ment giuen to his father before the child was conceiued Hee shall goe before him saith the Angell in the spirit and power of Elias Neither was he only thus foreappointed for this excelâ—ent office but when the time came that hee should enter vpon it he receiued a speciall commission and warrant from God for the execution thereof The worde Luke 3. 1. 2. of God came to Iohn the sonne of Zacharias in the wildernesse It is to no purpose to spend time in seeking how this worde came whether by any inward motion of the spirit onely or by some outward vision also wee may safely be ignorant of such matters hath not pleased the holy Ghost to reueale in the scriptures yet if wee may lawfully ghesse it seemes most likely that it was without any such outward shew because the Euangelist makes no mention of it in setting downe the History This last sending onely is thought by some to bee signified in this place If they had said no more but chiefly I should ensily haue assented to them Now they say onely I doubt whether they haue any sufficient warrant so to restraine the holy Ghosts words or no and therefore thinke it most conuenient to allow them as large an extent as they will reasonably beare You looke perhaps that I should now proceede to deliuer the Enangelists meaning and accordingly to adde such proofe and exhortation as may helpe vs forward in the embracing of the Gospell But I thinke it fittest to forbeare that for a time till I haue expounded the other part of the verse that I may take all together It followeth then to speake of the name and why the Euangelst records it The name as it soundeth in our language hath little resemblance of the originall whence it commeth Which if any man thinke a fault let him take heede that he doe not rashly condemne the holy Ghost who in the Greeke hath had small care to expresse the Hebrew sounds following continually the custome howsoeuer not answering the originall tongue Shall I need to bring any particulars for proofe of that I say Looke ouer the new Testament and wheresoeuer you finde the name of any Prophet where the Greeke differs from the Hebrew you haue an example of that which I affirme Begin with Moses if you will and so goe forward to Malachy You shall finde that the holy Ghost keepes one and the same course in naming of them without respect of their significations or sounds The reason of this is that the parties were wel known to the Iewes by those names according as the 72. Interpreters had translated them after the manner of the Greeke tongue Other languages Except perhaps the Flemâ—sh by the same warrant haue iustly taken the same liberty and not doubted as they needed not to fit the He. brew and Greeke names to the fashion of their seuerall tongues So that if any man shall either curiously affect or superstitiously obserue the nature and sound of those names which
that should be written VVhat worlde may bee said to containe or not to containe but the space of heauen and earth Sometimes it is taken more particularly for the earth where men liue and this Mat. 4. 8. is very common The Deuill shewed our Sauiour all the kingdomes of the world As long as I am in the worlde saith our Sauiour I am the light of the worlde Ioh. 9. 5. In what worlde was our Lorde when hee said so Heere on earth amonge men whose light hee vvas Into this worlde hee sent his disciples Goe into all Mat. 28. 15. the worlde that is into all partes and coastes of the earth To this signification of the worde belonges that in the verse next before and such other places Euery man that commeth into the world that is Verse 9. Ioh. 16. 21. borne In an other text it is more plaine A woman when shee is deliuered of child remembreth her anguish no more for ioy that a man is borne into the world These significations are common and well knowne as comming neere to the ordinary and first vse of the worde Besides these it is very often taken more especially or Men who are the principall parts of the world and for whome the whole was made VVhen the worlde 1. Cor. 1 21. in the wisedome of God knewe not God by wisedome Knowledge is proper to men and belongeth not to any other of these visible creatures God was in Christ 2. Cor. 5. 19. reconciling the world to himselfe not imputing their sinnes To whome are sinnes forgiuen but to men Who are reconciled vnto God by Christ but men IIee tooke Heb. 2. 16. not the Angells who shall euer remaine vnreconciled But hee tooke the seede of Abraham Thus the world signifieth in generall all kinde of men whatsoeuer But because that naturally men are naught and wickked the worde is sometimes put in particular for the wicked and almost for wickednesse You are of the world saith our Sauiour to the Iewes that woulde Ioh 8. 23. 77. not beleeue I am not of this worlde The worlde cannot hate you saith hee in an other place but mee it hateth They are of the worlde saith Saint Iohn of tâ—e false teachers that denyed Iesus to bee come 1. Ioh. 4. 5 in the flesh Therefore speake they of the vvorlde and the world heareth them In this respect is the Deuill called the Prince of the worlde Yea the world is as it Ioh 12. 31. 1. Ioh. 2. 16. were the fountaine of naughtinesse All that is in the worlde saith Iohn as the lust of the flesh the lust of the eies and the pride of life is not of the Father but of the worlde I may adde in the last place that the riches honours pleasures and such like that the worlde affordes are tearmed sometimes by the name of the worlde though they bee not so much partes as appurtenances thereof VVhat should it profit a man though he should winne the whole worlde if hee lose his owne Mar. 8. 36. soule VVhat is this whole worlde but the honours pleasures and riches of the world But I haue stood too long vpon this matter Let vs now apply it to our present purpose for the vnderstanding of the holy Ghosts meaning But we cannot certainely determine in what sense the world is here spoken of till we knowe of what being in the world the Euangelist is to be vnderstood Now our Lord may be said to haue beene in the worlde in two respects either as he was God or as he was the Messiah In the former sense he was alwaies and is still and euer shall bee after the same sort in the world In the later he was not in the world till he tooke flesh of the Virgin his mother nor since his ascension into heauen As God by his prouidence power and wisdome he maintaines and gouernes al things As the Messiah he taught and informed the world of his Fathers will touching the saluation of mankind His being in the world as God was and is for the preseruation of naturall life His presence as Messiah was to bring supernaturall life by the light of grace Whether of the two is it moâ—e likely the holy Ghost meaneth in this place If we vnderstand it of the former seeing hee speakes not of the nature of the Godhead which is the same in all three persons but of the person of the Sonne how can the world be iustly condemned for not knowing him wheÌ„ he was present For it is a rul'd case in diuinity that the mystery of the Trinity cannot bee discerned by the light of nature or gathered from any contemplation of the creatures It is true indeed that since it pleased God to reueale this incomprehensible secret many men haue labored to set forth the point by similitudes and to apply somethings in the creatures to the manifesting of the trinity in vnity But all the light they bringe to this point is such as rather shewes that themselues were perswaded of that truth then is of force to conuince their Iudgement that will not beleeue In one worde they giue vs to vnderstand that such a thing in likelyhood maye bee they doe not demonstrate that of necessity it must bee As for those shadowes of this mystery which seeme toly hid heere and there in the writinges of some Philosophers neither are they sufficient to argue that the penners of those books acquainted with the doctrine of the Trinitie and they are so sparingly and fearfully deliuered that a man may easily see they were altogether vncertaine of the truth and almost of the meaning of that they writ And in what authors doe wee meete with any shewe of these matters but onely in theÌ„ who profess they receiued their instruction from the Egyptians and Chaldeans who learned those points by Tradition from Noah and so from Adam to whom God reuealed the knowledge thereof or else are knowne to haue beene the Schollers of the Hebrewes from time to time Neither doth it suite well with the course of our Euangelists writing to expound this being in the world of such naturall maintaining thereof For the whole discourse from the beginning of the fourth verse as I haue shewed is a description of the Messiah Such was the life that wee haue in him such the light wee receiue from him wholly supernaturall Of that Iohn beares witnesse not of his creating or preseruing all thinges That was it which he laboured to haue all men beleeue That is the thing which our Euangelist denies of the Baptist Hee was not the light In regard of that is our Sauiour called the true light Who shall perswade mee then to apply this verse to his diuine power of preseruation and not to the gratious worke of his medâ—ation especially considering the next verse is generally for the most part so interpreted and as it is apparant by the verse following ought to be Wherfore I willingly subscribe
amplyfied then by propounding the chiefest of all the blessinges whereof wee are made partakers by him And what one is comparable to this The sauing vs from our sinnes to speake properly rather frees vs from miserie then brings vs to happinesse Sanctification doth no more but refresh the image of God in vs which was decayed or restore it being lost which can make vs but good seruants at the best If any man thinke that to bee an heire is a degree aboue being a sonne he must vnderstand that this implyes that Christ makes none sonnes but hee makes them heyres too by the same Kom 8. 17. title And therefore questionlesse there is no blessing obtained by him that may stand in comparison with this To bee the sonnes of God I deny not then but that this might bee respected of our euangelist in his choise of this benefit but I thinke there were also other reasons of it Hee spake immedately before of the Iewes not receiuing of the Messiah Now the Iewes were the men that held themselues onely to be the sonnes of God by reason of Abraham from whom they were descended Therefore the Lord challengeth them by the Prophet Mal. 1. 6. that they did not honour him A sonne honoureth his father If I bee a father where is mine honour Contrarie to this conceite of theirs the holy Ghost giues them to vnderstand that the honour to bee the sonnes of God is not appropriated to the Iewish nation as they falsely imagined but is common to all the Gentiles that will beleeue As for them their refusall to beleeue in him made them wholly destitute of that prerogatiue What other blessing afforded vs by Christ would so fittely haue met with that proud conceite of the vnbeleeuing Iewes Forgiuenesse of sinnes they little or not at all regarded being puft vp with an ouer weening of their owne righteousnesse They lookt for rewarde not Cyril in Ioan lib. 1. cap. 13. for pardon Fitly therefore to abate this pride doth Saint Iohn put them in minde of other sonnes of God Ambros de fide lib. 4. cap. 4 August in tract in Ioa 2. Bed ad huÌ„c loc such as they knew themselues not to bee for all their bragging Another reason is added and may be admitted that this was therefore especially named because it is that which being proper to Christ hee and hee onely could giue that it may appeare hee hath wholly communicated himselfe vnto vs if hee haue imparted that which was so truely and neerely his owne Ought wee not then to bee so much the more carefull both to knowe and obtayne so incomparable a fauour Can we content ourselues to be ignoraÌ„t of it Can wee indure one hower to be without it Had we rather bee seruants then sonnes First let vs vnderstand what it is to bee a sonne of God A matter easily knowne will some man say For what is it else but to haue our beginning and as it were birth from GOD So is Adam sayde to bee the Luk. 2. 10. Mal. 2. 10. sonne of God So speaketh Malachy of the Iewes Haue wee not all one Father hath not one God made vs If this bee all To be a sonne is no more then to be a creature or at the most such a creature as is made after the image and likenesse of God But this wee haue by nature in our creation not by grace in regeneration This they haue that are borne after the ordinary course of men of bloud of the will of the flesh of the will of man So are not they borne of whome our Euangelist heere intreateth Not of bloud sayth hee but of God That manner of birth is common to all men in all times and places this is a priuiledge voutchsaft to some onely The former was already bestowed vpon the Iewes in that they were men The later was to be receiued by the gift of Christ by their becomming faithfull or beleeuing men To conclude if the holy Ghost had meant such kinde of sonnes he would neuer haue required faith in the name of Christ What is it then To be the sonne of God The Euangelist aunsweres in the next verse To bee borne of God And are they to whome our Lord giues this honour of being sonnes Borne of God It should seeme then they are the naturall sonnes of God For what is it to be the naturall sonne of any man but to bee borne of him but this is meerely impossible Because our Sauiour Christ is the onely begotten or borne sonne of GOD and is thereby equall to his father both in time and dignitie whereas these sonnes haue their beginning in time and are no way comparable to God in any degree Therefore wee may not at any hand when wee read or heare of this birth whereof more hereafter in the next verse and especially in the thirde Chapter once imagine that we are properly sayd to be borne of God but that the speech is tropical that is to say turned from the naturall signification and applyed to another by way of similitude or likenesse I wil Mâ—taphora speake no more of the point at this time then is needefull for our vnderstandinge of the matter For the helpe whereof let vs consider how God is our father and wee his sonnes in respect of our naturall being by creation Euery man knowes that he is not properly our father no nor was Adams For then must he needs haue beene God by nature and God hauing begotten him as his naturall sonne must of necessitie haue beene such as Adam was and we all now are How then is God Adams father I confesse he is so though I doe thinke that Saint Luke is not so to bee vnderstood in the place formerly Luk. 3. 38. alleaged where those words the sonne of God seem rather to belong to Iesus then to Adam Well yet is Adam the sonne of God and not the natural sonne What sonne then If I shall aunswere directly to the question I say hee is the Tropicall and in particular the Metaphoricall sonne of God To speake to the capacitie of the meanest and simplest who haue as much interest to this knowledge reuealed by God for our instruction as the noblest and wisest Adam is the sonne of God by a borrowed speech For as men are naturally the fathers of them who haue their being in particular from them so is Adam so are all men the sons of God because they haue their first originall from him Adam also may bee sayde somewhat more particularly to bee the sonne of God because hee was fashioned and formed by him of the dust of the ground without any other meanes then the will and word of God himself And in this respect may an Image cut cast or painted by any man â—e called the sonne of him that was the maker of it So may the bookes that men write be tearmed their children And as all men in this sense are the Sonnes of God touching
borne of their mothers bellie That holy thing that shall bee borne of thee sayth the Angell to the Virgin Marie Yet Saint Iohn doth verie often apply this to God who is as it were the father of his childreÌ„ Except a Ioh. 3. 5. 6. 8. â— Ioh. 3. 9. 4. 7. 5. 1. 4. 18. man bee borne of the holy Ghost euerie one that is borne of God I will only name the places that I may spare time The difference might haue beene more plaine in English if wee had translated Of in the three last clauses By By the will of the flesh by the will of man by God But then wee must haue chaunged the word borne and not haue followed the Euangelists course who vseth the same worde as hath beene sayde in euerie part of the sentence Our tongue also affordes vs libertie to keepe the worde Of without any neede of farther difference And so let vs proceed Not of bloud The purpose of the Euangelist as I signified ere while in these three Clauses is no more but to teach vs that the sonnes hee spake of are not borne after any course of nature or by any humane power or meanes but only of GOD. In this first point hee sets out that doctrine by denying that they are made of such matter as all men consist of Bloud as all Philosophers and Physitians affirme is no part of the body but only a nourishment by which the whole and euerie member of it is maintayned and fed The mouth receiues and chewes the meate then sends it downe to the stomacke from whence after it is as it were boyled and concocted it is put ouer to the Liuer There it is turned into bloud and in that nature spread abroad from thence into all parts of the body euerie one of which by a proper and admirable vertue giuen vnto it by God changeth the bloud into its owne nature and thereby receiues maintenance and growth The like course is appointed by the prouidence of GOD for the breeding of our bodies the matter whereof they are made being principally bloud as it hath beene certainely obserued the Liuer which is the fountaine of bloud beeing one of the first principall partes that is formed Much more might bee sayde and particularly touching our being made of bloud but I thinke too little is better then too much of such a matter in such a place and Auditorie Therefore also I will forbeare to propound some not very vnlikely coniectures concerning the reason why the holy Ghost in the Originall sayeth blouds rather then bloud Not of blouds sayeth the Text. Why mentions the Euangelist blouds I am willingly of their opinion who take this for an Hebraisme or a speech framed orcording to the Hebrewe phrase in which it is vsuall to put blouds for bloud A bloudy man a bloudy Citie 2. Sam. 16. 7. 8. Psal 6. 7. 51. 16. is with the Hebrewes a man of blouds a Cittie of blouds But those speeches may well seeme to note a multitude Ezech. 22. 2. Nahum 3 1. of murders Let vs propound some of another kind If a theefe be found breaking vp and smitten that hee die no bloud shall bee shed for him Worde for worde Exod. 22 2. 3. not bloudes for him So in the next verse Blouds for him It may bee the Euangelist dooth the rather name blouds then bloud because hee speakes of manye and not of anie one But let it heere suffice vs that wee vnderstande his meaning In the next two clauses there is one worde common to them both whereof I must needes say somewhat ere I enter into any particular examination of them What is The will which our Euangelist speakes of Is it as some conceiue and teach nothing else but Concupiscence or lust I could bee content to thinke so but that I neuer finde the worde in that sense in all the newe Testament Once indeede the plurall number of it is put for desires that are vnlawfull Among whome sayeth the Apostle wee also had our conuersation in times past Ephe. 2. 3. in the lust of our flesh in fulfilling the desires of the flesh But I doubt whether this bee a sufficient warrant to take it in the singular number for lust or concupiscence For the present let vs retaine the word will or desire and trie what light wee may haue to discerne the meaning of it by vnderstanding the other two wordes flesh and man By flesh some would haue the woman or womankinde to bee meant What one place of scripture can bee brought where the worde is so vsed For that in Genesis This is now flesh Gen. 2. 23. of my flesh doth not prooue that flesh may signifie woman anie more then that bone may because Eue is sayde to be bone of Adams bone as well as flesh of his flesh It is out of question that our Euangelist would haue vs knowe that the sonnes of GOD are not borne of women any more then of men but it is not likely that hee intended to signifie so much by that worde which is neuer vsed to that purpose in any part or place of Scripture By flesh then as farre as I can yet conceiue it is best to vnderstand that which is afterwarde exprest euen the nature of man and woman In this sense the worde is common euerie where in Scripture All flesh had corrupted his way Gen. 6. 12. Rom. 3 20. vpon the earth By the workes of the law shall no flesh be iustified in his sight The Scripture is full of the like as I presume you all knowe The reason of this is manifest Flesh by a double elegancy of speech is put for man the matter whereof the bodie principally consists is flesh therefore by flesh Metonymia materiae Synecdoche membri the body is signified The bodie is one part of man therefore by the body the whole man is vnderstood Thus flesh comes to be taken for man In this place we may vnderstand by man either Mankinde or the Sexe as man is diuers from woman The Greeke worde may seeme to direct vs to the later because it dooth most commonly note the sexe Yet it may also bee taken for both sexes as in these and such like places Blessed is the man whose vnrighteousnesse is forgiuen Psal 32. 1. Rom. 46. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rom. 11. 4. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I haue left to my selfe 7000. men And in this sense it will be directly opposit to the later clause concerning our being borne of God You will aske mee perhappes why Saint Iohn should mention both The flesh and man if the meaning of both bee one Doo you not marke that this doubles the denyall Not of flesh not of man No way by no meanes of man Therefore some writers are of opinion that this last clause of man is an explication of both the other Not of bloud not of Euthym. ad hunc locum exâ—llo Maldonatus flesh I
can hardly perswade my selfe to thinke so For thought it be true that by flesh and bloud man oftentimes is signified yet the wordes in that sense are neuer so diuided or placed Let vs take the examples which they alleage that so expound these wordes Flesh and bloud hath not revealed these things to thee Flesh and bloud Mat. 16. 17. 1. Cor. 15. 50 cannot inherit the kingdome of God All the rest are like these wherein who doth not easily marke both that Flesh is still set in the first place and Bloud neuer Flesh and Bloud not Bloud and Flesh and also that they are alwaies ioyned together and not seuered the one from the other If our Euangelist had meant to haue spoken of man by that kinde of speech hee woulde haue said which are borne not of flesh and bloud May wee diuide those former places Flesh hath not reuealed Bloud hath not reuealed Flesh caÌ„not inherit Bloud cannot inherit These were marueilous strange kinds of speech not agreeâ—ble to the phrase of the holy Ghost in Scripture Wherefore thoh I acknowledge that interpretatioÌ„ to be true for the generall sense of it yet I see not how I may like of it in the particulars especially seeing the holy Ghost vseth a diuers manner of speech in these 2 later from the former There hee said no more but Not of bloud In the other he denies also the will or desire not of the will of the flesh not of the will of man Let vs then if you please vnderstand by bloud the matter by flesh the man the efficient cause and maker as it were what shall wee say of the will of the flesh and man Surely I will not grratly striue with any man who thinkes it should be taken for concupiscence It is enough that I propounded the reason of my doubt before Giue mee leaue now to deliuer what I conceiue of the matter which is no more but this that I had rather vnderstand by will desire then lust What then shall bee the sense of it This as I take it that the Euangelist giues vs to vnderstand that the Sonnes of whom hee intreates are not borne according to or by any desire of man which might procure or affect or wish that kinde of Son-ship How fitly this will agree with the scope of the place it shall appeare by and by when I haue examined that which remaines All that wee haue said hitherto concerning this birth is to shew whence it is not Not of bloud not of man VVhence is it then Of God God sometimes notes the nature of the God head sometimes some one of the three persons How may wee most fitly expound it in this place What if wee referre it to the Ioh. 3. 5. sanlen in concord Euang. cap. 1. holy Ghost the spirit of whome euery man must bee borne that shall enter into the kingdome of God I doubt mee wee shall hardly finde any one place of Scripture where the worde God signifieth any seuerall person but the Father I deny not that in some place that is said to be don by God which in som other is particularly ascribed to the Sonne or to the holy Ghost but I say that in those places where God is so named the nature is to bee vnderstood nd not any one person The compareing of these places together doth teach vs that the Sonne and the holy Gost are by nature God but it doth not proue that where God is named there either of these two persons is specially signified Neither is it necessary to apply this to God the Father but rather the opposition standeth betwixt the diuine humane nature not of man that is not of man-kind or of the nature of man but of God of the diuine nature which is one and the same in all three persons Thus haue wee the meaning of the Euangelist that the Sonnes hee spake of arise not to that dignity by any power or wisedome of man but meerely and only by the mighty worke of God himselfe who begets them to himselfe by the effectuall working of his spirit and of his owne gratious fauour vouchsafeth to adopt them for his Sonnes I doe the rather make the sense so large because I woulde not willingly omitte any thing which it may bee reasonably presumed the holy Ghost did or might intende For the cleerer vnderstanding whereof let vs cal to minde what was before deliuered at the twelfth verse that there is a double Son-ship in respect of GOD the former is that whereof our LORD disputes with Nicodemus by which wee are borne againe Ioh. 3. 35. c. of the spirit and fitted for the later which is our Adoption by GGD the Father The prerogatiue of being the Sonnes of GOD is our being adopted which is not vouchsaf't vs by GOD at the first while wee are in our corrupt naturall estate but then only bestowed vpon vs when by beleeuing wee are become one with IESVS CHRIST the naturall Sonne of GOD his Father The other Sonne-ship is but a preparing of vs therevnto by which that beleefe is begotten in vs by the powerfull working of the holy Ghost in the ministery of the worde In this sense the thirteenth verse dependes thus vpon the last wordes of the twelfth Saint Iohn had said that they become the Sonnes of GOD which beleeue in the name of the Messiah Hee proceedes to shewe how they attaine to this beleefe By being borne not of bloud c but of God They haue it not by nature in their birth they get it not by any naturall desire or will but they are borne anew of God and haue it by him framed and formed in them The doctrine of both these points is most true the wordes will beare them both they will both stande with the scope of the place and purpose of the Euangelist Chrylost in Io. homil 9. The oph ad hune locum that I am not afraid of doing any wrong to the Text though I make so large an interpretation therof Let vs then in the feare of God handle these things some what particularly but shortly as the time requireth What a prerogatiue it is for men to bee the Sonnes of God wee heard in the last exercise here the Euangelist farder sets foorth the excellency thereof by shewing the basenesse of our naturall birth which for the matter of it is bloud for the making at the best but humane whereas the other is wholly and only from God I will not amplify the former point touching our naturall birth as I might doe but only referre you to the consideration of it by your selues For your better direction wherein I will name two Iob. 10. 9. 10. 11. Ezech. 16. 4. 6. places of Scripture which I commende to your humble and diligent meditation In the former the naturall breeding of man-kind is purposely described in the later his birth is shewed by way of allegory if wee consider the intent of the holy Ghost but
the other three Euangelists euen to the height of the Godhead and that vnsearchable mystery of the most glorious and blessed Trinitie There is indeede some diuersitie of opinions amongst the Latin Fathers to which of the Euangelists the other 3. beasts Å¿ Ezech. 2. 5 Reuelat. 4. 6. Ezech. 2. 5. Reuel 4. 6. should be seuerally referred but it t Although Irenaeus lib. 3 cap. 11. makes Iohn the Lion and Marke the Eagle is generally agreed vpon that the Eagle belongs to Iohn for the reason aboue named Art thou then desirous ro vnderstand the great high points of diuinitie Cast thy selfe vpon the wings of this Eagle who wil cary thee vp as it were into the bosome of God and acquaint thee with such matters as but by reuelation from God himselfe could neuer possibly haue bin discouered or imagined And that we may the more be rauisht with the loue of this holy Gospell let me put you in minde of that variety the mother of delight which is easie to bee seene therein How sweetly hath our Euangelist tempered and as it were allayed the hard points of profound knowledge with enterlacing of delightfull Histories If at any time he soare aloft that he may seem to be almost out of sight for the height of those admirable mysteries of our Sauiours diuinity he comes down againe ere long and feedes our eyes with making vs see the vse and comfort of those glorious instructions And besides this varietie of matter which shineth in comparing one part of this Gospel with another there is yet a farther consideration to the singular commendation thereof Who is there if hee haue anie sense of Gods mercy in Christ but takes great pleasure to reade one and the same thing diuersly recorded by the other three Euangelists And what meruaile Seeing it is euen in prophane histories a matter of no small vse and delight to haue the memorie renewed and the affection quickned by the varietie of discourse as it vvere by the diuerse cooking of some one daintie kinde of meat But our Euangelist to the diuersitie of handling hath added also great store of newe matter not once touched by any one of the other the LORD hauing reserued for him the perfecting of that knowledge which the rest did beginne and further Manie excellent things are recorded by Saint Mathew Saint Marke S. Luke concerning the Sermons and miracles of our Sauiour yet are there but fewe of these proper to any one of them Only S. Iohn affords vs as in so short a Treatise great plenty of new and vnknowen variety u Piscator in prooem ad Ioan. 10. Sermons fowre miracles and that zealous prayer full of loue and comfort The sermons that I may speake a word or two of euery one of them in particular are these First x Iob. 3. 1. 2. c that kinde dialogue with Nicodemus and those worthy instructions concerning regeneration whereby wee are taught that our naturall estate is fleshly and vncapable of grace and glorie till the spirit of God by the waters of the Scriptures haue bredde in vs a newe and heauenly conception In the second place followeth y Ioh. 4. 7. 8. c. that sweete and comfortable discourse with the Woman of Samaria concerning the water of life which beeing once receiued into the soule turnes into a spring that can neuer bee dryed vp but sends forth continually aboundance of fresh liquor to coole and moysten the heart in all heate of tentations * Ioh. 5. 19. 20 c. The next Chap presents vs with the third Sermon wherein vpon occasion of the stiffe-necked Iewes murmuring against our Sauiour for willing the man whom hee had cured hauing beene thirtie-eight yeares bed-rid to take vp his bedde and walke though it were the Sabbath daie wee haue a glorious assurance of our Lords eternall God-head and equalitie with God his Father But that which exceedes in all heauenly comfort is a Ioh. 6. 26. 27. the fourth Sermon in which our blessed Sauiour as it were thrusts himselfe into our mouthes to bee eaten and drunke giuing vs full assurance that the eating of his flesh and drinking of his bloud that is belieuing in him shall feede vs without hungring or thirsting any more to euerlasting life which he according to his Fathers will and charge shal most certainely bestowe vpon all them that by true faith become one with him The b Ioh. 8. 3. 4. c. fift Sermon affordes vs a worthie example of our Lord and masters wisedom and authoritie to discerne and confound the subtill malice of his wilfull enemies With what diuine iudgement dooth hee looke into the depth of the Pharisies deceite who sought to entrappe him about the woman taken in adulterie With what admirable discretion dooth hee driue them away to their perpetuall shame and dishonour With what a maiestie doth he a little after conuince and reprooue them for their wilfull blindnesse and proude conceit of the knowledge they bragged of but had not Let vs come c Ioh. 10. 1. 2. c. to the sixt of those Sermons which our Euangelist only hath recorded In no place doth our Sauiour more plainly avow himselfe to bee the Messiah where haue wee the like certainty of his care and loue deliuered Hee giues his life for his sheep and casts himselfe into the very iawes of the Wolfe that his mouth might be stopped And to the singular comfort of vs that are not by nature Iews hee tells vs that wee also belong to his sheepfold Into which when wee once are receiued and acknowledged for sheepe no power of sinne Satan or death shall bee able to wring vs out of his hands because the Father with whom he is in nature all one is stronger then all The former sixe Sermons containe especially those benefites whereof wee are made partakers by our Sauiour Christ in this life but d Ioh. 11. 25. 26 c the seauenth expresseth our finall triumph ouer our last and greatest enemie Death himselfe Those helpe both to arme vs to the fight and to encourage and further vs in fighting but this crownes vs after victory If the body shall rise againe to glorie we may truely and safelie challenge Death and saâ—e e 1. Cor. 15. 55 Oh Death where is thy sting oh Graue where is thy victorie For if our bodies bee made immortall where is the power of Death become Who then can faint in a battaile the issue whereof will bee so certaine and happy especially if hee remember what gracious promises he hath from God in f Ioh. 14. 15. 16. the eight Sermon of the continuall assistance of the holy Ghost For howsoeuer those glorious matters principally concerne the Apostles yet hath euery Christian his interest in them according to a certaine proportion The Apostles coulde not erre in anie matter of Doctrine No true Christian shall so erre in matters necessarie to his saluation that hee shall
propounded in the first verse and repeated in the second In the former he is set out to vs by that which concerneth the nature of his Godhead and his person in the Godhead For his nature he is first said to haue beene eternall In the beginning Secondly to be God And the word was God Touching his person he is cald the Word or Sonne In the beginning was the Word Secondly his distinction from God the Father and yet his equalitie with God the father is signified when it is said that Hee was with God In the second 3. of the fiue points are repeated iointly in one sentence That the word was eternall equall to God and distinct from God O glorious and admirable mysteries Where are they now that lewdly and prophanely scoffe at Christian Religion because forsooth it teacheth nothing but that which is common and ordinarie Common and ordinarie So strange and extraordinarie are the secrets of the Gospell that no man of himselfe is able to deuise them by his wit or to beleeue them with his heart Take the deepest points of naturall Philosophie so they bee indeed true and a man of good capacitie will quickly and easily be brought to giue assent to the truth thereof because hee hath in him the light of naturall reason whereby they may certainely be discerned But the secrets of Christian religion are such and so farre aboue the reach of humane reason that although you make a man vnderstand them neuer so perfectly yet you cannot possibly make him acknowledge them for truth Truth in philosophie is such as that reason if a man suffer himselfe to be directed by it will enforce him to beleeue it Trueth in diuinitie is such as that the more we hearken to our naturall reason the lesse we are perswaded of the mysteries of religion It is for him and for him onely to incline the heart to the beliefe of those secrets who first reuealed them to be beleeued But what doe I While I labour to set out the excellencie of the Gospell by shewing that it conteineth many strange and hidden mysteries it may bee feared that I driue men away from the hearing and reading of it by the darkeness and profoundnesse of these secrets But be not discouraged brethren I beseech you If they were more obscure and deepe then they are yet who could despaire of sounding the depth therof as long as he may haue so skilfull and able a Pilot What though they be mysteries x 1. Cor. 2. 10 Yet hath God reuealed them to vs by his spirit euen by that spirit which searcheth all things yea the deepe things of God Could not hee y Iohn 11. 37 say the faithlesse Iewes that opened the eies of the blind haue caused that Lazarus should not haue died And cannot hee may wee confidently say that * Psal 8. 2 Out of the mouthes of Babes and sucklings hath ordeined strength because of his enemies that he might still the enemie and the auenger subdue the Rebellion of our corrupt reason bring it into obedience to beleeue his holy trueth Wherefore hath hee reuealed it but that it might bee knowen and acknowledged For your farder incouragement let our Euangelist S. Iohn be taken as an example Art thou young a Hieronym Catalog script in Ioann ad Dan. cap. 9 contr Ioui lib. 1. So was our Euangelist when it pleased our Sauiour to call him to the profession of the Gospell Witnesse the continuance of his life sixty eight yeeres after his Lord and Masters passion But thou hast not beene brought vp to learning What teaching and education had hee thinkest thou who b Mark 1. 19 was trained vp vnder his father a poore fisherman to get his liuing in the sweate of his browes by fishing What time could he haue to goe schoole whose maintenaunce depended on his labour and to whom all the paines he could possibly take would hardly afford some small means of a poore liuing You will say This fauour was extraordinarie Yet so that it was common to him with c Matth. 4. 18 his brother Iames and d Iohn 1. 44 with two other brethren his Countrimen Andrew and Peter But what speake I of two or foure Many and many thousands continually from time to time for almost these one thousand and sixe hundreth yeers haue beene brought to the knowledge and beliefe of these mysteries Is the Lords hand now shortened Doth he not still in mercy vouchsafe vs the meanes of knowledge and beleeuing What doe wee then with these doubtfull thoughts and vnthankefull hearts Away with them Away with them let vs desire and and endeuour to learne and e Ioh. 6. 45. wee shall bee all taught of God Yea with such a teaching as shall enlighten our vnderstanding incline our hearts confirme our memory reforme our affections and continually assure vs both of the truth that we beleeue and of the constant loue of God to vs in our perseuerance in beleeuing With this desire and confidence let vs in the feare of God addresse our selues to the hearing vnderstanding and beleeuing of these glorious mysteries The first whereof for I will handle them as they lie in the Text is this that The VVord was in the beginning Wherein for your better vnderstanding and memory f The course that is held in these Sermons I will first giue the sense of the Text 1. by expounding the words and 2. deliuering the meaning of the Euangelist 2. then I will handle the doctrine by 1. proouing the truth of it and 2. adding exhortation accordingly where it shall be needfull And this course if it please God I will follow in all the rest of the Gospell In seeking out the sense of this Scripture wee must enquire 1. who is meant by the VVord then wee must consider 2. what the Euangeliâ—â—â—aith of him In the former we must see how this tearm the VVord belongeth to him of whom it is spoken Secondly why that name is giuen him in this place In the later part these 2. points are to bee deliuered why it is said The VVord was rather then Hath beene 2. What is meant by those wordes In the beginning g The exposition of the words Who is meant by the Word The first point who is meant by the VVord is easie and manifest namely he of whom the whole Gospell is written Iesus Christ h Epiphan haercs 51. August de haeres cap. 8. 10 Theodor. haeret fabul lib. 2. the Sonne of God the promised Messiah Him the Heretickes Cerinthus and Ebion denied to bee God blasphemously auouching that he tooke his first beginning of his Mother the Virgin Mary Against their false and poysonous doctrine the holy Euangelist teacheth the Church that The word was in the beginning But let the Text it selfe speake Is i Ioh. 1. 1. not he called the Word of whom k Verse 7. Verse 4. Verse 7. Iohn came to beare witnesse At the 4.
of How often is our Sauiour called God Thomas acknowledgeth him to be so when he saith vnto him d Ioh. 20. 28. My Lord and my God allnding questionless to the ordinary title which is giuen to God in the old Testament The Lord thy God e Exod. 20. 2. I am the Lord thy God f Leuit. 19. 10. I am the Lord your God g Deut. 4. 2. The commandements of the Lord your God And in a word the same Chapter affords vs the like examples 15. or 16. times So doth h Act. 20. 28. the Apostle Paul call him Take heed to all the flocke whereof the holy Ghost hath made you ouerseers to feede the Church of God which he hath purchased with his owne blood Who purchased the Church with his blood but Iesus Christ Him therefore doth the Apostle call God And â—n another place he doubteth not bodly to affirme that Christ is God ouer all to be blessed for euer Of him it is that i Rom. 9. 5. Heb. 1. 8. the same Apostle saith Thy throne O God endureth for â—uer not only calling him God but professing him to â—e that God which in the beginning created heauen Verse 10 â—arth Thou Lord in the beginning laydst the foundation of of the earth I wil end with that in the l Reuel 4. 8. Reuelation The foure beasts ceased not day nor night sying Holy holy holy Lord God almighty But how should we be assured that by this Lord God Almightie Iesus Christ is signified That which followeth will put the matter out of doubt m Chap. 14. 8. which was and which is and which is to come For this â—â—â—he Title which is giuen to our Sauiour twice in the first Chapter of the same booke This also the 24. Elders presently after confirme when worshipping the same partie whom the foure beasts had honoured they speake thus Thou art worthy O Lord to receiue glory â—ap 4. 11. honour and power for thou hast created all things Aske the holy Apostle S. Paul who is the Creatour of all things Heâ—â— hath answered already that the Lord which laid the foundation of the earth is IESVS CHRIST the Sonne of God The same testimonie of him giueth our Euangelist in the next verse same one Heb. 1. 10. By him were all things made Iohn 1. 3. What should let then but we may conclude that Iesus beeing so often called God in Scripture is in deed very God The like I say of the title Lord by which the 70. translate 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that name Iehouah which is neuer attributed to any in the Scripture but onely to the true God neither indeede may it in any sort For it signifieth him This is spoken not the Greeke â—ut of the Hebrew word that hath his being of himselfe that giues to all things whatsoeuer being they haue yea it implieth such a being as is alwayes one the same euen eternall without beginning without ending without chaunge without successioÌ„ Now if this name be ascribed to our Sauior by holy Ghost how can it be doubted but that hee is very God And doth not o Iere. 33. 16 Ieremie ascribe it to him when he saith This is the name whereby they shall call him The Lord our righteousnesse or as it may better be read He that shall call her is the Lord our righteousnesse It is out of question that the Messiah is there spoken of whom the Prophet called Iehouah The Lord Or if any man will needes apply it to the Church he shall call her The Lord our righteousnesse which yet hath no warrant nor any great reason let him remember that the Church cannot haue this title but onely in respect of Christ her husband and head as she is also called Christ p 1. Cor. 12. 12. As the body is one and hath many members and all the members of the body which is one though they be many yet are but one body euen so is Christ that is the Church of Christ which being considered with her Head Christ is vouchsafed his name because she is his body Let vs come to the new Testament and leauing those places where the Disciples and such as intreate fauour for their curing of our Sauiour call him Lord because neither their word is any warrant for doctrine and it may be sayd they spake to him by that name as wee ordinarily doe when wee say Sir which indeede was common among the Grecians Let vs take such textes onely as can admit neither of these exceptions Of which kinde are the salutations vsed by the Apostles in the beginning of their Epistles q Rom. 1. 7. Grace be with you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Iesus Christ Where not onely our Sauiour is tearmed Lord but acknowledged to be the Author and giuer of Grace and peace with God his Father But it were a vaine thing to heape vp many testimonies to this purpose No man can look into the writings of the Apostles but he shall see them in euery page Being the Lord then he must needs be God What should I stand vpon euery particular at large Who is the God of glory but Iehouah the great God of heauen and earth For so is he called that appeared to Abraham r Gene. 12. 1. 2 in Genesis The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham s Act. 7. 2. saith the holy Martyr Saint Steuen Aske the enemies of Christ the Iewes and they will tell you with one voice that this was the great God of Israel And yet the Apostle Paul giues this title to our Sauiour Christ where he saith that if the princes of this world had knowen the wisedome of God in the mysterie of our redemption t 1. Cor. 2. 8. They would not haue crucifiâ—d the Lord of glory Hereto belongs that Title u 1. Tim. 6. 15 the King of kings and Lord of lords And whereas some vaine men gouernours of some small part of this little spot of earth doting vpon their owne imagined greatnesse haue either giuen themselues this vnlimited title or accepted it being giuen by the palpable flattery of their base vassals yet alwayes the wiser sort tooke iust occasion thereby rather to scorne their presumptuous folly then to bee drawen into any admiration of their glorious power But the Lord Iesus our blessed Sauiour hath this name by good right as hee of whom â—ll the Kings of the earth hold their Crownes and Prou. 8 15. 16 Scepters By mee x saith hee that is the wisedome oâ— God Kings reigne and Princes decree iustice By mee Princes rule and the Nobles and all the Iudges of the earth y Psal 2. 8. Verse 9. For to him hath God giuen the heathen for his inheritance and the vtmost parts of the earth for his possession He shall crush them with a Scepter of Iron and breake them in peeces like a potters
much and indeed too much for this sottish heresie It is also gathered from hence by some that the word is coeternall or equal to the Father in eternity A doctrin very true needfull to be knowne but such as was signified before when it was said that The VVord was in the beginning that it was with God Neither doth the beginning in this or the former clause note eternity but the time when all things began to be created Wherfore to shut vp the interpretation of this verse with shewing what I conceiâ—e to be intended in it by the holy ghost I am perswaded that the purpose of the Evangelist was to repeate that which in the former verse he had deliuered For if he had meaÌ„t to add a fourth point of the like kind to the other 3 in all liklyhood he would haue continued the same manner of writing by coupling this to that which went before and haue said And this was in the beginning with God If any man obiect that he doth not so in that which followeth he is already answered that in the next words the Evangelist comes to a new kinde of argument wherby he proues that which before hee had avoucht namely that the word was in the beginning was God At the least he describes the Word by outward effects towards the creatures not by his owne nature or properties Neither is this a bare repetition but a plainer instruction for the simplest that they may â—ssure theÌ„selues that the Word was in the beginning with God I graunt so much was implied before but not exprest to euery mans capacity Here the Evangelist speaketh so that all may vnderstaÌ„d him giues directioÌ„ for the interpreting of that clause The VVord was with God When was the Word with God In the beginning When as yet there was neither time nor place euen then had the Word his being with God I would gladly adde to all this that which is obseru'd by l Toletus in Ioâ—n cap. 1. Annot. 11. some as I perswade my selfe not without great likelihood that the Euangelist by his repetition would farther giue vs to vnderstand that The VVord not only was in the beginning but was then with God a worker in the creation of all things The ground of this interpretation is taken from that place in m Pro. 8. 22. the Prouerbs where this same Word is described by the name of wisdom There first his eternal Being is described Verse 30 The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his waie I was before his works of old I was set-vp from euerlasting c. This description is continued to the end of ver 26. In the 27. the holy Ghost proceeds to shew vs that the same wisdome was with God as a nourisher when hee prepared the heauens when he set the compasse vpon the deep c. Yea it may be somewhat more particularly applyed Salomon sayth when he prepared the heauens I was there To that answereth this of our Euangelist This was in the beginning with God His nourishing as some expound it his creating or ordering of all things the holy Ghost heere expresseth at large in the words following By him were al things made The conference of these two places seemes to warrant this exposition as we haue seene I wil not striue much about it so wee apply this repetition to the strengthening of our fayth Concerning our Sauiour Christs eternall God-head doubtlesse we attaine to the principall thing intended by the holy Ghost And of that point what Christian can doubt though he would neuer so faine Dost thou not perceiue that the holie Euangelist deliuers it with aduise and deliberation It is not a matter that hee hits vpon but a point chosen by him to begin his Gospell withal It slips not from him at vnawares but is repeated vpon good aduisement Certainly this doubling of the point makes it manifest that the holy ghost would haue vs view and consider it throughly on al sides It is neither of small importance that it need not to be learned nor easie to be beleeued that it need not to be taught but once Wherefore is it propounded and repeated but that it might be vnderstood and remembred Vnderstood that no hereticks deceiue vs remembred that our hearts faynt not Hee that is God Almighty hath redeemed vs who shall bee able to hold vs Captiues Let vs not be afraid to defye sin hel death and the deuil himselfe n Rom. 8. 31. God is on our side who can be against vs Hauing thus expounded these two verses and finding in them some poynts which concerne the admirarable Doctrin of the most glorious and holy Trinity so many things also beeing spoken euery where in this gospel of the Father the Son and the holy Spirit I haue thought it necessarie both sor your instruction and the discharge of my dutie to bestow the rest of this hower in opening that blessed mystery Wherein according to the example of our Euangelist the whole course of the scripture I will content my selfe with the Euidence of the word without the curiosity of schoole diuinity It shall be sufficient for vs vnderstand that the scripture affirmeth that there is one God and three persons though we can see no reason how it can be so And farder in shewing that the three persons are indeed distinct one from another and not diuers respects of one and the same I will not stand vpon their nature in themselues so much as vpon those effects which beeing ascrib'd to them in the Scripture cannot as in shall appeare bee performed by anie one person Our Euangelist deliuers the point of our Sauiours diuine nature in a few words here in the beginning of the Gospell Hee proues it at large by many wonderfull works of his through the whole course of his writing This shal be my example and warrant Yet I would not haue any man think that I either condemne their paines and care who haue laboured to explaine these mysteries by the light of reason or affirme that the points themselues cannot stand with reason They are indeed aboue reason but yet not against reason As the light of nature cannot discerne them so it cannot disproue theÌ„ And the chiefe end of them that endeuoured to discusse these maters in some sort by reason was rather to stop their mouths that would not beleeue theÌ„ to inforce theÌ„ to beleeue Now this course in this place and auditorie I trust is needlesse I am sure with the greatest part it would be bootlesse For how many or rather how few are there heere present that are able to examine or conceiue the subtill arguments that haue been deuised and vsed in these questions Neither are wee to settle our faith by the waight of humane reason but to ground it vpon diuine authority Now to the matter Wherein that I may proceede the more orderly and be the more easily vnderstood First I will speake of the vnity of
He that beleeueth in him that sent me hath euerlasting life and shall not come into condemnation but hath passed from death to life And in the same Chapter afterward hee Ver. 40. reproues the Iewes because they would not come vnto him that they might haue life Whereas the ende of his comming was Å¿ Ioh. 10. 10. That they might haue life and haue it in abundance Therefore doth t Act. 3 15. the Apostle Peter call him the Lord of life But whome shoulde wee rather heare in this case then u 〈◊〉 the Euangelist himselfe expounding his owne meaning The life appeared and wee haue seene it and beare witnesse and shew vnto you that eternall life which was with the father and appeared vnto vs. Can any man doubt but the Euangelist speaketh of the same life in the beginning of his Epistle whereof he intreateth in his Gospell Compare them together and see if you can perswade your selues otherwise Will you heare him speake yet more plaine x 5. 11. This is the recorde that God hath giuen vnto vs eternall life and this life is in his Sonne This later is called Eternall life in the wordes before Then surely the Euangelist speaketh in the Gospell also of eternall life which the Sonne of God bringeth as mediatator not of this transitorie life which hee giueth as Creator Now because this supernaturall life is double either of grace in this world or of glorie in the world to come I should farther inquire whether of these two is here meant or whether both be not meant But of that as also of the reason why our regeneration saluation is tearmed life I wil speake when I come to giue the meaning of the place In the meane while let vs goe forward in examining the words and first let vs see why he vseth this kinde of speech In him Why doth he not rather say as before by him doubtlesse hee might well haue sayde so For it is by him indeede that wee haue life y Rom. 5. 1. 2. By him wee haue peace toward God By him wee haue accesse through Ver. 11. faith vnto this grace wherein wee stand By him wee haue receiued the attonement But this manner of speech though it bee as true as the other yet it is not so fitte in this place nor so significant Not so fitte because the Euangelist would put a difference betwixt the Creator and the Mediator All things were made by him not in him though * Origen hon 2. â—n â—â—uers some would haue without to imply as much whome I aunswered the last day But our spirituall life is as by him so in him The things that are made by him howsoeuer they alwayes depend on him for the continuance of their being yet they are not one with him Is it so with them that receiue the life of grace from him No no They are ioyned close vnto him and the life that they haue is from that spirit by which hee liues Therefore is a Eph. 5. 3â— the Church flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone yea all the faithfull are members of his bodie himselfe being the head This neere coniunâ—ction with him could not bee exprest so significantly if the Euangelist should say By him was life as it is when hee sayth In him was life yet doth not say Hee was life which also is true because heâ— speakes of it not as it rests in him but as it is communicated by him to vs. But why sayes hee was and not rather Is in him Is there no life nowe to bee had Or is there any to bee had nowe but in hiâ— No surely There is no saluation in any other b â—â— 4. 12 For amonge men there is giuen no other name vnder heauen whereby â—ee must bee saued How then sayes the Euangelist that lâ—â—e was in him c Tolet. in â—â—â— innot 13. Wee may not imagine that â—ee meanes to shewe vs anye other way of attayning to life as if was excluded is No more then wee may conceiue that the Word is not GOD nowe because hee sayeth of him The Worde was God What may then bee the reason of this manner of speech It is thought to bee double either in reâ—uard of Gods eternall purpose or in respect of the â—mes before the comming of the Messiah The former wee must thus vnderstand that the Lorde God fore-seeing the fall of his creature man decreed in himselfe to recouer him by sending his Sonne to make satisâ—action for sin by sacrificing of himselfe vpon the altar of the crosse Of this saith d 2. Tim. 1. 9. the Apostle He hath saued vs and called vs with an holy calling not according to our works but according to his owne purpose and grace which was giuen vs through Iesus Christ before the world was Therefore also sayth our Euangelist e 1. Ioh. 1. 2. other where that this life was with the Father and appeared vnto vs. When the fulnesse of time was come sayth Saint Paul God sent his Sonne What fulnesse of time was this but the very hower appointed by God So that Saint Iohn may well say In him was life Because euen before the foundations of the world were layd life was setled and shut vp in the person of the Sonne who was in due time to become the mediator of mankinde by taking the nature of man vpon him If there bee any man whome this aunswere doth not content it may bee the other coniecture will satisfie him Let vs not wearie our selues with looking so far as to the eternall decree of GOD but keepe our sight within the compasse of the worlde within that time also wee shall finde some reason of this speech When was life in him euer since there was any to whome that life might appertaine it was ready for him in the Sonne of GOD the promised Messiah f Gen. 3. 15. Where had our first parents Adam and Eue their spirituall life after the Curse but in him In whom was the couenant established with g Gen. 12. 3. Gal. 3. 8. Abraham but in his seede Iesus Christ What name I some speciall men Did not this life offer it selfe generally vnto all that came of Abraham Brethren I would not that you should bee ignorant sayeth h 1. Cor. 10. 1. 2. 3. 4. the Apostle that all our fathers were vnder the Cloude and all passed through the Sea And were all baptized vnto Moses in the Cloud and in the Sea And did all eate the same spirituall meate And did all drinke the same spirituall drinke For they dranke of the same spirituall Rocke that followed them and the Rocke was Christ What though many thousandes dyed before the Sonne of God became men were they therefore without meanes of life and saluation Nothing lesse i Heb. 13. 8. Iesus Christ yester-day and to day and the same for euer They beleeued in Christ to come wee beleeue in him being come
vs. Hee is the husband we are the wife Eue was bone of Adams bone not Verse 30. he of hers Yet when they were ioined together in marriage they were both but one flesh It is then apparant verse 31. by this similitude that we being thus spiritually become one with Chr. haue the same life which is in him as the Verse 32. wife hath the same flesh or rather is the same flesh with her husband The other similitude is of the head body which liue by the same spirit of life resting originally in the head and from thence dispersing it selfe into all the members of the body This also the same Apostle setteth forth in the same Epistle It will be sufficient to rehearse his words Let vs y Fph 4. 35. 16 saith he follow the truth in loue and in all things grow vp into him which is the head euen Christ By whom at the body being coupled kint together by euery ioynt for the furniture thereof according to the effectuall power in the measure of euery part receiueth increase of the body vnto the edifying of it selfe in loue Therefore doth he often call the Church the body of Christ * Fph. 1. 22. 23. God hath appointed him ouer all the head to the Church which is his body a Fphâ—â— 5 23. Christ is the head of the Church the same is the Sauiour of his body b Col. 1. 18. He is the head of the body of the Church Giue eare now with attention and take knowledge of the assurance of your life Why do you shrinke and quake at the mention of death Euen when your are dead you are still aliue Are you not one with Iesus Christ Are you not bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh Are not you and he one flesh Doth not euery man nourish cherish his owne flesh And will Christ thinke you suffer his flesh to be destroied by death What dost thou tell me of the decay of thy strength that thy sight waxeth dimme thy leggs feeble thine armes weake and all thy senses begin to fayle thee Is not Christ aliue Or canst thou dy as long as hee liues Thou art but the least part of thy selfe thy husband is thy head and thy life And whereas thou art now a-dying it is not for thy destruction but for the abolishing of that which makes thee subiect to dy Christ thy husband doth not meane to forgoe thee but to ioyne thee neerer to him Wouldst thou bring a mortall carcase into heauen Wouldest thou bee continually in danger of dying Is it not better once to endure it then alwaies to feare it A quarter of an howers worke will rid thee of all paine for euer How wilt thou wonder at thy selfe when thou shalt behold the glory of that body which thou left'st naked and miserable Shal I need to put thee in minde of thy happinesse Dost thou remember that thou art a part of Iesus Christs body Hath he any dead part trow'st thou Thou canst not imagin that any man of reason would suffer his enimies to dismember his body or to depriue the least finger he hath of life or sense How then should Christ endure such a mayme But what talke I of bereauing his members of life As if it were any way possible that deathshould be in that part in which life is continued Wait the time that God hath appointed for thy quicking Thou art but dressing attiring that thou mai'st be a fit Bride for an immortal Bridegrome As for condemnation to hel fire the second death be not so iniurious to the Maiestie of Christ as once to think that any member of his body can bee lyable to damnation c Rom. 8. 1. There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ VVho shall laye anything to the charge of Iesus Christ Canst thou bee condemned and hee acquited Can the head bee in heauen and the members in hell Father d Iohn 17. 24. saith our Sauiour I will that they which thou hast giuen me be with me euen where I am that they may behold my glory which thou hast giuen me Can the first fruites bee holy and the lumpe vncleane Can the head raigne in glory and the members bee plunged in the pit of damnation Assure thy selfe if there bee life in Christ thou one of his members thy part is in it He bought thee too deare now to lose thee or let thee be taken from him Besides hee hath openly confest that hee receiued a charge from God his Father to see that none shoulde perish that belieu'd in him and e Ioh. 6 40. hee hath profest that hee will discharge the trust reposed in him I will raise him vp at the last day Hee that eateth my flesh and Verse 54. Ver. 56. drinketh my bloud hath eternall life and I n will raise him vp at the last day In him as it followeth Christ dwels and he in Christ Then must hee needs be sure of euerlasting li'e that lodgeth such a guest A guest that hath life in him as in the fountaine therof from whence it floweth to al those that are ioâ—ned to him For although our Euangelist say In him was life not Is life yet he may no more be thought once to haue had it now to be without it theÌ„ once to haue bin God now not to be so But that all doubt of this matter may be taken a way we must call to minde that which we heard before of the reasons why this maner of speech is vsed First then for I will now sett it in the first place because it is the plainest hath least need of any explication we may well reasonably imagine that the Evangelist continues his former kind of speech The word was in the beginning was with God was God All things were made by him nothing was made without him was it not fitter then to say In him was then in him is life that the whole description of him may bee deliuered in the like tearmes This might serue in my poor opinion to satisfy any man concerning the worde Yet because there are some other reasons of it alleaged those both true for the doctrine they teach not vnfit for the text it selfe I will make bold to stand a little vpon them the rather because I perceiue I shall not end these 2 verses in this one exercise as I purposed and desired to do The former reason of the word was depends vpon the like course the EuaÌ„gelist takes in the rest of his description those that now I am to handle concerne the time either before our Sauiours being in the world or while he was in the world The time before either reaches to eternity before all beginning or at the least makes it self equall to the continuance of the world after the fall of Adam til the coÌ„ming of Christ in the flesh If wee apply it to eternity who
there was no possibility of life but by the death of the Sonne of God and that the Sonne of God could not dye vnlesse he became man yet might the Evangelist haue wel said In him is life For since it is confest that hee tooke the nature of man and continues still in heauen in that nature surely life was no more in him while hee was heere then it is in him now he is gone from hence Why then saith S. Iohn In him was life I answere in one word though life be still in him yet it is in respect of that which he performed when he was here on the earth Here he tooke and sanctified our nature here hee bare the chastisement of our peace here he offred vp that invaluable sacrifice for the purging of our sinnes Here hee triumphed on the Crosse ouer all principalities and powers Heere hee rose out of the graue from death to life Only one thing which here possibly could not be don he hath done being gon from hence that is he hath taken possessioÌ„ of our inheritance in heauen waites there to receiue vs into his owne glory The Euangelist therefore writing the history of his life death while he was here in the world speaks of him as of one that was is not But of this enough before I should now proceed to the later part of this fourth verse And that life was the light of men But I find my self so much ouertaken by the time that it is in vain to meddle with it I will I therefore content my selfe with some word of exhortation whereby wee maie bee stirred vp to the embracing of that life which was in Christ To which purpose what shal I need to say much The mat ter dooth so highly commende it selfe that it refuseth to be entreated for Looke not therefore that I shoulde desire you to bee willing to liue Nay bee vnwilling if you can Doe but propound the matter to your own hearts and you will not choose but like of it And yet mee thinkes I see no man make any great haste Shall I wonder or complayne It is strange that life life euerlasting should bee so little set by It is lamentable that death eternall death should so little bee feared If it were any long Iorney or daungerous way if hard to come by or soone lost againe there might bee perhaps some colour of excuse for this backewardnesse But when the thing it selfe is neere at hand the way to it safe the meanes of attaining to it easie and the possession of it sure who can excuse himselfe to himselfe I say not to God if hee fayle of so glorious a treasure Do wee not beleeue the Euangelist that there is life in him Doe wee flatter our selues with a conceite that there is life in vs Why come wee to heare that which when wee haue heard wee will not credite why make wee a shew as if wee stood in need of life from Christ when wee thinke our selues sped of it already Perhaps it seemes the lesse worth because it is offered Who euer thought that the kindnesse of the giuer should abate the valew of the gift Condemne thy selfe for not seeking to him not him for seeking to thee That hee reueales to thee hee conceales from many That which thou vnthankefully refusest many thousandes would most thankefully receiue O the frowardnesse of the hearts of men O the blindnesse of their minds If this life were in God they would tremble to come neere him for it because of his dreadfull maiestie Now it is in a man least happely they should be too much afrayd they disdaine to take it of him by reason of his meanenesse Å¿ Mat. 11. 19. But wisedome is iustified of her children He is both God and man that thou maist neither feare nor despise him If thou wilt not liue to shew his mercie thou shalt die to set foorth his Iustice For to him belongeth all glorie both of mercy and Iustice for euer and euer Amen THE FIFT SERmon vpon the first Chapter of IOHN Verse 4. And that life was the light of men And the light shineth in darknesse and the darknesse comprehended it not THey that take vpon them to write the liues of famous men such as the world admires either for their goodnesse or greatnesse ordinarily deliuer some generall description of them in the beginning of their histories These descriptions vsually containe either a rehersal of their pedegree and descent together with the place time and other matters concerning their birth and such like or a commendation of them for some especiall vertues Wee haue examples of both these kindes in the Scripture t 1. â—â—â— 1. 1. 2 He that was the holy Ghosts Secretarie in penning the historie of Samuell begins his booke with a recitall of his genealogy a description of his parents and diuers other points touching his conception birth and education u Iob. 1. 1. 2. Another whome it pleased the same spirit of God to imploy in writing the life of Iob makes the entrance into his historie by commending him for an vpright and iust man one that feared God and eschewed euill Our Euangelist intending to set forth the life and death of our Sauiour Iesus Christ as the partie he writes of was extraordinarie so doth he extraordinarily ioyne both together And because two other Euangelists x Mâ—â— 1. 1. 2. 3. c. Saint Mathew y Luk. 3. 50. 31 c. Saint Luke had already set out his humane pedegree both for succession in the kingdom fornaturall descent Saint Iohn leauing them vntoucht betakes himself to the declaring of his diuine estate First what he was in himself eternall with God the Father himselfe very God Secondly what he was to vs a Creator in making all things for vs a Sauiour in giuing life euen spirituall life life of grace pardoÌ„ life of immortality glory So that whether we respect his greatnes or his goodnes neuer was any maÌ„ so worthy the writing of neuer any maÌ„ so worthy the knowing following His greatnesse was magnified in the power of creation his goodnesse shewes it selfe especially in the work of regeneration Wherein first the Euangelist declares what he is and doth then how he is intertaind In him was life and that life was the light of men What doth hee According to the nature of light Hee shines in darkenes But the darkenesse will not bee inlightned Of the first of these points concerning life in him I spake in my last Sermon now let vs proceede to that which followes touching light And therein keeping our former course of handling the Clauses seuerally as they lye wee must first labour to vnderstand the words then seeke out the Euangelists meaning The wordes direct vs to inquire what life it is that is heere spoken of to consider what is saide of it that it is light and the light of men For the first worde a little
language may suite with their strange and new Religion English eares mislike the manner of their speech as Christian hearts doe the points of their doctrine Wee commonly translate the words for a witnes fitly in regard of the sense and easily for all mens 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In testimonium vnderstanding This same came for a witnes that is This man who I said was sent from God came to bee a witness The Euangelists manner of speech is not fully deliuered who according to the custome of the tongue hee writ in saith worde for word he came to testimonie namely to giue testimonie which the Latin also followes though that language doe scarce beare it so well as the Greeke doth To draw into English such kinde of phrases is not to inrich the tongue but to corrupt it Wee haue no way to expresse the Euangelists speech and meaning in English but to say To giue or beare testimonie or witness This was then the office of Iohn Baptist To be a witness Now the vse of witnesses is for the confirmation of some truth or for manifestation of it For where there is no doubt nor question howsoeuer perhaps in forme of Lawe there may bee witnesses required yet indeede there needes none Where there is neede of them there the matter is not plaine in it selfe or at the least not acknowledged to bee true So that the point for which Iohns testimonie is to bee had hath of its owne nature or by the ignorance or peruerseness of men somthing not cleere or not confest What if it haue Could not God haue made it manifest by some testimonie from himselfe without such an extraordinarie course ossending a witnes as it were downe from heauen Yes out of doubt He that made the vnderstanding of man can make man vnderstand what pleaseth him He that framed the heart can perswade and incline it to what himselfe list But all such courses of reuelation from God were as extraordinarie as such a kind of birth and message and both the one and the other little enough in this case as the euent shewed For although the Lord testified of his sonne by his owne voice from heauen and by Iohn vpon earth yet was he scarcely acknowledged by any man As for the work of Gods mighty power in the soules of them that come to beleefe in Christ it was not wanting to any of these Iewes who aduisedly religiously gaue credit to the testimonie of Iohn the Baptist or set themselues to consider of it as they ought to haue done which if they had done it was not possible but they should haue seene both the loue of God in sending them such worthy meanes of instruction and the truth of that which Iohn deliuered by commission from him Doost thou wonder at the blindnes and frowardnes of the Iewes whome the testimony of a man in their owne iudgement not to bee excepted against could not moue to beleeue View thy self in this glasse and consider whether more witnesses acknowledged by thee to be sent from God to speake according to the truth of God be not of as small credit with thee in many points wherein thy obedience is required But of this more anone when wee haue a little better examined of what kinde this testimony of Iohn was That he might beare witnesse of the light The words haue beene all expounded already in the matter there are these two thinges to bee considered what manner of testimony it was that Iohn gaue what it was that he testified A testimony as all men knowe is ordinarily giuen by word of mouth wherein some matter in question is either affirmed or denied and they that giue these testimonies are called witnesses Amongst Christians there is another kinde of witnesses tearmed Martyrs by the Greeke name which is common to all that testifie any thing especially in matters of Law and iudgement The same word is heere vsed to signifie the witnesse that Iohn bare Those whome wee call Martyrs are such as by their death beare witnesse to some truth of God reuealed in his word suffering themselues to bee tormented and murthered rather then they will denie or not confesse a knowne truth of God when they are lawfully demanded of it Such was Stephen and so is hee called by Paul When the bloud of thy Act 22. 20 Martyr Stephen was shed The same title is giuen Reuel 2. 13. to Antipas whome our Sauiour calles his Martyr when Antipas my faithfull Martyr was staine among you For this cause Christ himselfe is named a Martyr from Iesus Christ which is a faithfull Martyr or witnesse and the first begotten of the dead As for Iohn who knowes not that hee was put to death by Herod for dooing his dutie in witnessing a trueth of GOD Yet hee is not thought to bee any of the Martyrs that giue witnesse by their death because it is commonly helde that the dying for no trueth makes a Martyr vnlesse the trueth concerne somewhat belonging to the profession of the Gospell so that neither Isay nor any of the Prophets are properly to be tearmed Martyrs I will not striue about the point especially since I doe but touch this by the way onely for Iohn I thinke hee is not properly to bee reckoned in the number of the Martyrs not so much because the matter for which hee reprooued Herod did not appertaine in any particular sort to the Gospell as for that he was not executed professedly for that he had sayde and did constantly mainetaine but for satisfying of the Kings promise and Horodias malice but whether that bearing witnesse could make him a Martyr or no questionlesse it was not that which our Euangelist here speakes of for it was not any testimonie of the Light How then did Iohn beare witnesse By preaching of Christ and auowing that hee was the Messiah ordayned and sent for the saluation of them that would beleeue in him This may some man say was common to him with the Prophets at the least with many of them and with all the Apostles that succeeded him who also therefore are called in the scripture by the name of witnesses Let vs make that wee say apparant to all men First for them all in generall Zachary the Father of Iohn Baptist speaking of our Sauiour and redemption by him sayeth that God spake of him and his comming to that purpose By the mouth of his holy Prophets Luk. 1. 70. which were since the world beganne And the Apostle telles vs that God had promised the sending of his Sonne afore by his Prophets in the holy Scriptures Rom. 1. 2. In particular I will make choyse of two onely Isay and Daniell Of which the former is ordinarily called the Euangelicall Prophet as if he had written the Gospell in his Prophecie And that not without cause For hee hath spoken very plainely of the birth life and death of our Sauiour Concerning his birth hee noteth that which was most
the worde in common speech where the patterne or a thing it selfe that is inutated or counterfetted is called the Truth The truth Vritas vincit iantationem excelleth the imitation So the Lord is named the true God This is euerlasting life to know thee the onely true God Ioh 17. 3. Some thinke that by this truth or trueness the light is signified to bee such by nature and of it selfe not by Ciril in Ioa. lib. 1. cap. 9. grace or participation And so may the Lord bee called the true beeing because he is so naturally and imparts to all things such being as they haue But of this signification I thinke there is no example to bee found in Scripâ—ure The two former agree very well to our Sauiour who is indeede the true light without any darkness of error or falshood in him Hee whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God for God giueth him not the spirit by measure Ioh. 3. 34. And of him were all the ceremonies of the lawe shadowes and figures as the Apostle hath shewed at large in the Epistle to the Hebrewes especially in the ninth and tenth Chapters But the best way to vnderstand the true sense of the worde is to compare it with other of the same kinde in the Scripture For which purpose what shall wee neede to goe any farder then this Gospell Wherein wee haue two like speeches vttered by our Sauiour of himselfe My father saith hee giueth you the true Ioh. 6. 32. bread from Heauen What true bread was this It is euident that hee speaketh it of himselfe whom a little before hee had called the meate that indureth to euerlasting Verse 27. life Heere he compares himselfe with that Manna whereof the Iewes boasted and wherewith they say Moses fed them euen with bread from Heauen To this our Sauiour answereth that Moses gaue them not bread from heauen but my father giueth you saith he the true bread from Heauen They had bread from heauen by the ministerie of Moses as they proued by the place Psal 78. 24. of the Psalme He gaue them bread from heauen How then saith our Sauiour that Moses gaue them not bread from heauen and that his father giues them the true bread Surely that bread which they had by the meanes of Moses was true bread and did truely the office of bread to feed their bodies What then Doth he meane that it was but a figure of the heauenly bread which God was to giue and now in and by him did giue them This was true indeede but not so much to purpose as our Sauiours speech was beeing rightly vnderstood Hee Ver. 27. had perswaded them before to labour for the meat that endureth to euerlasting life They would needes haue Ver. 30. Ver. 31. him shew them some signe that is worke some miracle whereby they might be occasioned to beleeue him that there was better bread then such as their fathers had eaten in the Wildernes To this our Lord answeres that Moses gaue them not bread from heauen namely no such Ver. 32. bread as could endure to life eternall That bread that could so feede them was the true bread and was giuen by his father in comparison whereof the other was not worthy the name of bread The vse of the bread is to nourisn and continue life and that bread which can not worke such an effect in him that eates it is not true bread Your fathers saith he afterward dideate Manna in the Wildernes and are dead How Ver. 49. Ver. 50. then was that true bread This is the bread that came downe from heauen that hee which eateth of it should not die Loe heere we haue the true bread which performes that in truth to the soule that the other doth but as it were offer to the body Therefore also he tells them a little after that his flesh is truely meate and his bloud truly Ver 55. drink A like place we haue in the same Gospell where he tearmes himselfe the true Vine I am the true Vine Why is Ioh. 15. 1. he the true Vine Because hee doth indeede truely and effectually nourish comfort susteine those that cleaue to him by faith whereas the best Vine in the world hath somtimes dead branches and at the last dieth it selfe Now then if any man demaund in what sense Christ is the true light in the very same say I in which hee doth affirme that he is the true bread and the true Vine The Sonne which is the fountaine of this visible light doth not so truely shine and giue light to the eyes of the body as Iesus Christ doth inlighten the vnderstanding which is the eye of the Soule Iesus Christ may Ambros de fide contra Arian cap. 3. some man say Why not rather God the Father or at least the whole Trinitie whose ioint action it is to inlighten and not the Sonnes alone These obiections are easily answered For it is more then plame that our Euangelist speakes only of the Sonne in this whole description What reason is there then to vnderstand this one verse of any other but of him alone How should this point applied either to the Father or to the Trinitie haue any due place in this discourse Is it not also apparent that the light here spoken of is the same whereof Iohn bare witness and which is said in the verses following to haue come vnto his owne and to haue giuen the priuiledge to men of becomming the sonnes of God Consider yet farder how vnfit it had bin for Saint Iohn hauing called the Worde by the name of the light in the former verses here vpon a sodaine to giue the same title to any other of the persons or the Godhead Will any man take the worde in such diuers sort if hee bee not constrained to doe so by cleere euidence of the Text But so to vnderstand it were to couer the place with darknesse not to make the sense of it cleere and euident But the action of inlightening is common to all three Persons So are all actions of any person of the three which concerne any other beside the Persons themselues To choose to iustifie to sanctifie to redeeme to instruct to inspire to comfort c. are all common workes of the Diuine nature Yet are they appropriated in the Scripture seuerally to the seuerall persons as all men know and as I must shew particularly when I come to the 33. verse In the meane while let vs goe forward with the exposition of this verse wherein we are next to consider what the doubling of the article may teach vs. The light the true light was it not enough to haue said The light For surely that implies an especiall excellencie of the light wee meane There bee perhaps many candles torches starres and moones but the sunne onely is the light They are lights but not the light If that would not serue the turne
bolde with your good liking I doubt not to declare the point more fully and plainely by the opening of these two things what adoption is how God hath adopted vs. Adoption if wee consider the Adoption word for the nature of it is nothing else but choosing to a mans selfe whatsoeuer it bee that is chosen From this generall signification the word is applyed to note that particular choyse of sonnes or children The Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 expresseth the particular and signifieth an appointing of children The word being vnderstood it is no hard matter to knowe the nature of the thing it selfe which not to stand vpon any curious definition is a choosing or taking of them for our Children which by nature are not ours So as wee heard Iacob made choise of Iosephs sons Ephraim and Manasses Pharaohs daughter tooke the childe of an Hebrew whome shee knew not Mordicai chose Esther his Vncles daughter to bee his childe Let vs apply this to our owne Adoption The father that adopteth is God the childrē to be adopted are men and women If they must become the children of God by Adoption it is cleer they are none of his by nature Whose then I am a shamed and affraide to vtter it Our Lord himselfe hath told vs discouering the naturall estate of all men in describing the Iewes Wee Ioh. 8. 41. are not borne of fornicatiō say they to our sauiour We haue one father which is God But what doth he answere them Ver. 44. Ye are of your father the Deuill If the Iewes Gods owne children after an especiall manner yea his first borne were notwithstanding the children of the Diuell surely no man in his naturall estate can be the childe of God Rom. 9. 4. They had the Adoption they had the Couenant Other people had nothing affoorded them by God but those generall helpes which are common to all by nature What becomes of these children of the Diuell As many of them as beleeue in Christ are by Adoption made the sons of God Being sons they haue withal conuaied vnto them not onely an interest and claime to their fathers estate be it neuer so great but also the inheritance of heauen If we be children we are also heyres This passeth the ordinarie course of Adoption A man may adopt many sonnes and yet not make them all heyres I doe but name these things now They shall be amplified if it please God in the next point where the Prerogatiue must be declared In the meane while let vs go forward to shew How we are adopted There are two things that offer themselues to be considered in respect of the party that adopteth The generall motiues why he will adopt The particular reason why he will make choise of this or that person The generall motiues are ordinarily two either simply default of naturall issue or at the least want of such children as are fit for such an estate or inheritance I confesse it was otherwise with Iacob who had sonnes enouw of his own body The case was extraordinarie hee directed by the spirit of prophecie to make choise of them to that dignity But ordinarily the motiues are such as I named and in likelihood were the same or one of thē in Pharaohs daughter Mordecat What place had they in our adoption by God Certainly none at all Touching the former which is the more cōmon of the two was God without issue If he had bin seeing himselfe is eternall as with out beginning so without end he needed not feare the decay of his house for want of Posteritie to succeede him Dauid was to be gathered to Psal 132. 11. his fathers therefore it was a singular fauour to him that he should haue children to sit vpō his throne after him But he that neuer dyeth neuer groweth weake or weary hath no neede of a successor or assistant in his kingdome But he had issue euen a sonne the brightness of the glory the ingrauen forme of the fathers person Milk is not so like to milke as that son is to that father being in nature all one with him differing in nothing but that the one is the father not the sonne the other the sonne not the Father But perhaps he might be vnfit for the managing of such an estate succession to such a father Go to let vs for the better setting out of these points imagin a succession conceiue of God for a while as of a mā The vnfitnes in a son for succession is either from the weaknes of his body that he is not likely to leaue issue behind him or for the badness of his cariage want of capacitie dissoluteness in gouernment or some such matter This son of God that I may not dwell too lōg vpon this point nor speak any thing with out due reuernce of his maiesty was euery way so qualified fitted to his fathers minde that it was impossible I will not say that any adopted sonne should come neere him but that greater fitnes could be desired or imagined This is my beloued sonne saith the father of him Mat. 3. 17. Chap. 17. 5. in whom I am well pleased And he repeats that testimony the second time at his transfiguration It was not for neede then as it is with men that the Lord vouchfaf't to thinke vpon adopting of sonnes But admit the case had so stood with him that it had bin requisite for him to make him sonnes by Adoption What is vsually the reason of mens particular choyse Is it not an affection or liking that the partie hath to some one rather then to another There may sometimes be some other respects but this is the commonest and best setting that of kinred aside Consider a little the dealing of our God in this behalfe Must he choose som creatures to be his sonnes and ioynt heires with his owne naturall son He hath thowsands and ten thowsand Dan 7. 10. thowsands of Angelles round about his throne Glorious in their nature Obedient in their seruice Holy in their desires Neuer a one of these is chosen to this fauour of Adoption It may be the Lord intendes to shew the riches of his mercy by extending compassion to thē that are in miserie Behold the Angels that ly 2. Pet. 2. 4. lud ver 6. in darkenes reserued to the iudgement of the last day Is there any mans estate more desperate Haue any creatures greater need of succor Can there be more pitty shewed to any They are left in that damnable estate The Lord turnes his face away from their misery and casts his eyes of compassion on our wretchednesse So makes he difference betwixt men and Angels Hee will adopt men rather thē Angels because his loue is greater to men then to Angels Our Adoption then proceede◠no◠for the generall motiues or the particular respects from any other spring then the loue of God who adopteth vs making vs