the begynning and roote of all good workes as infydelitie is the fountayne and roote of all euylles The lxxxxi Article I Beléeue moreouer that the good workes are not superfluous vaine nor vnprofitable but necessarie to saluation I call good works not those which are done after the fantasie or commaundement of men but those only which God hath cōmaunded to be be done by his worde the which ought to be done not for to merite any thing towardes the Lorde or for to auoyde eternall condempnation But onelye because that God hath commaunded them And for to testifie the loue which we haue vnto the Lord and the obedience vnto his worde and commaundement And to the ende that in vs and by vs hee be glorifyed and our neighbours aswell faithfull as vnfaithfull maye be edifyed Lykewise to shewe and manifest the faith which we haue in God and in his worde as the good tree declareth him selfe and is known by his fruite and for to render certain and sure our vocation election and Predestination These are the endes of good workes commaunded of God and who so euer dooth them to any other ende hee abuseth sinneth dooth wrong and dishonor vnto the blood of Christe and dishonoreth God and his worde For by his doings he declareth Christe to haue dyed in vaine The lxxxxii Article I Beléeue the there is no man in this worlde nor in the other neyther in heauen nor in the earth which can forgeue and pardō my sinnes but one onely God who also hath geuen the power and authoritie vnto the Mynisters of his worde to declare vnto the faythfull that beleeue and which are contrite and penitent the remission of their sinnes to be done by grace freely in the blood of Christe shead for them And to declare them to bee absolued from their sinnes and that altogether by the Minister of the worde in the catholyke Church in which that forgeuenes is made and done and not otherwyse But of our parte is requyred entyre and true repentaunce The which hath two partes The first is contrition that is to saye knowledge with displeasure and detestation to sinne the which is administred by the lawe and causeth in vs a despayre if it be not ayded of the other parte which is the lyuelie faith in the mercie of the father by the blood of Iesus Christ the which proceedeth from the Gospell that doth comfort vs and maketh vs to persyst and finde grace and fauour before the iudgement of God. The lxxxxiii Article I Beléeue that the sinne abydeth alwayes in man yea vnto those that are sanctified after the regeneration made by the baptisme and the holie spyrite the which neuerthelesse is not imputed vnto them thorow the fayth that they haue in Iesus Christe For as all the sinnes of the Infidels and reprobate are mortall and irremissyble because of their infidelitie so all the sinnes of the faithfull and elect are veniable and remissible because of their fayth And therfore I beléeue one onelie sinne to be mortall irremissyble that is to saye Infidelitie That is to say not to beleeue in the sonne of God for where true faith in Iesus Christe is founde all sinnes are hydden couered and pardoned ¶ I beleeue the resurrection of the fleshe which is the seconde fruit of my fayth The lxxxxiiii Article I Beléeue a resurrection to come and generall vnto all the worlde aswell to the good as euyll The which shall be done at the ende and consummation of the worlde by the vertue of Christe and by the ministring of the Angels the which with a lowde Trumpet shall call all the worlde before the Lorde and shall assemble all the elect from the fowre windes from the highest heauens vnto the lowest part of the earth and shall seperate the wicked from the middest of the righteous and shall cast them in the fornace of fyre where shall be wéeping gnashing of téethe Then the righteous shall shyne as the Sunne in the kingdome of their Father And shal be lyke and companions with the Angelles of god That is the seconde resurrection and blessed is he that shall haue parte and portion in the same for he shal neuer be touched with the second death The lxxxxv Article I Beléeue that that resurrection shall be done in fleshe and not in spyrite That is to saye that the soule or spyrite of man shall not ryse againe for so muche as it is immortall and neuer dyeth But the bodye the which before aswell according to his nature as thorow sin was subiect vnto death corrpution rotten brought into dust and ashes shall be raysed vp and vnited with his soule and proper spirite and set in a perfecter estate then that of the first man before sinne exempted from all corruption of sinne and consequentlie from all other imperfections like vnto the gloryous bodye of Christe The lxxxxvi Article I Do also beléeue that I shall ryse againe not in the fleshe or body of another mans but in my very owne body which I brought from my mothers wombe with those same bones with the very body which I haue nowe The same notwithstanding transformed and chaunged made of mortall immortall of corruptible incorruptible of vyle and contemptible glorious And therefore I looke for my sauiour Iesus Christe who thorow his vertue shall transfigure my vile body that it maye be lyke vnto his glorious body according to the power by which hee can make all thinges subiect vnto himselfe ¶ I beleeue the lyfe euerlastyng VVhich is the thirde and laste fruite of my fayth The lxxxxvii Article I Beléeue that I shall ryse againe as I haue sayde with all the faithfull and electe not for to dye againe as those which were myraculouslye raysed aswell by Christe as by the Prophets and Apostles and such other but into an immortal eternall and perdurable lyfe for to raigne eternallye with God in body and soule And hereof I am very certayne and doubte nothing at all of it knowing that whosoeuer doubteth of his saluation made by Iesus Christe he shall neuer bee saued Wherefore euen as I am sure and certaine that Christe is dead and rose againe for mée and doubt nothing at all therof but am sure and certaine of my saluation made by him And that infallibly I shal be saued and shal go into eternall lyfe by him The lxxxxviii Article I Beléeue that then I shall sée face to face him whome I do nowe sée but by the glasse of fayth shall know him perfectly whome I knowe nowe but partlye who after that he hath destroyed and confounded all his aduersaries putting them as his footestoole wyll make all thinges newe for the glorie of his chosen And shall be God all in all and in all things Then euery one shall not teache his brother
and terrestiall for the seruice of man to the ende that by his creatures he should come vnto the knowledg of the Creator that also he hath made fashoned Mā for him selfe that of him and by him he shoulde be knowne loued feared serued and honored this is the soueraigne goodnesse of man and that in him shoulde shine the Image of the heauenlye vertues and perfections in al good works the which GOD hath prepared that we should walke in thē vnto his honor and glorye and to the confusiō of the aduersary and by that meanes the ruine of the Angels was restored and man possessed the eternal kingdome made and prepared for him before the constitution of the worlde The .vii. Article I Beléeue the same man to haue byn constituted by the Lorde God mayster and ruler ouer al creatures the which he did loose by his sinne aswell for him selfe as for all his posteritie the which domination and segniory I beléeue nowe to appertaine vnto one onely Iesus Christ very GOD and man and vnto those to whome he wil bestow it as are the faythfull and not vnto the infidels and reprobate The .viii. Article I Beleue the first mā thorow the subtilty and craft of Sathan to be fallē from the excellentnesse in whiche God created him agreeing thorow his free wil which then he had to the canteloas suggestion of the Serpent wherby he hath lost the benefits which the Lord gaue vnto him In so much that of wise he became foolish of iust vniust of true a lyer of perfect altogether vnperfect hauing afterwarde a will altogether depraued which can not nor will not agrée with the will of GOD but altogether vnto the will of the Deuil the world the flesh and of sinne not able to do anye thing of him selfe but euill for that he is altogeather carnall captiue bonde and sould vnder sin Beholde the free or rather the bonde will of man for the estate of of this present lyfe The .ix. Article I Beléeue that that discorde and corruption of nature was not onely in Adam because of his sin but also in all men generally which descend from him one onelye Iesus Christ except insomuch that they are all according to theyr nature corrupted vnrighteous lyers ignoraunt ingratefull and vnperfect altogether Not being able according to their nature to do think speake nor will any thing which pleaseth God vntyll such time as they are regenerated and renewed by the spirite of God. The .x. Article I Beléeue that this corruption of nature otherwise called originall sin is the beginning roote of all other sins by which do come vnto vs all the miseries calamities and aduersities whiche we suffer in this lyfe aswell in bodye as in spirite and in the ende double death to wit of body and soule These are the fruites and rewardes for sinne But although that the same is due and common vnto all men generallye yet neuerthelesse the Lorde through his mercye hath reserued a certaine number to him only knowen whome he hath drawne from this corrupted masse hath sanctified and clensed them in the blood of his Sonne Iesus Christ And by that meanes hath made the vessels of election to honor apt and fit to all good workes And therfore The .xi. Article I Beléeue that the Father in Iesus Christ his Son by the holy Ghost hath elected and chosen those that be his according to his good wil before the foundation constitution of the world whome he hath predestinated to eternall lyfe because they were his Children by adoption hauing greater care of them without any comparisō then the best Father could haue of the best childe of this world not suffering that any thing should come frō the heauens aboue or from the earth beneath but it shoulde be for theyr vtilitye and great profit The .xii. Article I Beléeue that the father by his Son with the holy Ghost from the beginning hath alwaies seene to the restoring of man to whom he manifested him selfe yea after the sinne making vnto him a promise of the blessed seede by which the Serpents head must be broken and the faythfull ought to receyue blessing by that promise afterwardes oftentymes confirmed and ratefyed to the holye fathers the man otherwise in despaire in his sinne being releued ayded and comforted hath lyued in hope vnto the exhibiting and accomplishing of the same The xiii Article I Do also beléeue that after this promise the Lorde hath prescribed and geuen the lawe of the commaundementes to man promising life vnto those that kéepe them and death vnto those that transgresse them and he geueth them not that man shoulde seeke iustification health or lyfe in them but for the pollicie peace and tranquilitie of his people for to defende the good and to chastice correct the wicked and to houlde and kéepe euery one in his office And chiefly that by the same man should better know him selfe his disease poorenesse and imperfection And by that meanes should haue occasion to humble him selfe before the law geuer and to seeke remedy health and lyfe otherwise to wit in the holy seede promised which is Iesus Christ For that cause it is called a Scoolemayster for to come vnto Christ the which also serueth vs as a glasse for to knowe our vices our spirituall leprosie and to augment that knowledge In like manner it serueth vs for an accuser to accuse vs before the Lorde and instéede of a seuere cruell Iudge for to declare the wrath iudgement of GOD vpon vs the condemnation and eternal death by that meanes to feare vs and to make vs in dispayre vntyll such tyme as we be comforted by the Gospel which is the faith in Iesus Christ by the which we are exempt and deliuered from all those maledictious These are the Offices of the lawe the which are tourned to vs in goodnesse by the sayth of the Gospell the which hath oppositiue offices and altogether contrary Furthermore I confesse that the law of God is good right holy and perfect and wheras it bringeth nothing to perfection the faulte is not in it but in vs which are altogether imperfecte nor we can not anye thing at all accomplish it not to touch it with the least finger And therfore The .xiiii. Article I Beléeue and confesse Iesus Christ to be the fulnesse the ende and consūmation of the lawe to the righteousnesse of all beleeuers to whom by whom onely al the promises of the father are fulfilled whoe also alone hath perfectly satisfied the lawe the which none among men could do for somuch as the lawe commaundeth impossible thinges to the corruptible man the which neuerthelesse he shall fulfill not in working but in beleeuing as also the lawe is fulfilled by fayth and not by workes and by that meanes he shall finde the righteousnesse of fayth
diuerse places nor in many places at one very tyme but so in one according to the nature of his glorious body that then hee cannot be in anye other otherwise he should not be a true and naturall body but a shadow that is to saye a thing appearing and not being the which is false and altogether against our faith And therfore I say and confesse the true and naturall body of Christe to be in heauen and that from thence he shall not departe vntyll he hath put all his enemies vnder his féete and come for to iudge both the quick and the dead The .xxxviii. Article I Beléeue when the number of the elect children of God shal be accomplished the Lorde Iesus in that same bodye with which hee suffered with which he roase and ascended into heauen shall come with great power and maiestie visibly in a clowde euen as he ascended and that shal be to iudge the quick and the dead and shall geue vnto euery one according to Iustice vnto the good which shal be founde among them after theyr goodnesse and to the wicked after their naughtines That iudgement shal be general that is to say all shal be called and summoned to appeare personally by the voice of the Aungell to which all shall appeare aswell the good as euyll the elect as reprobate that euery one doo make and render vp his accompt and reckoning before the iudiciall seate of Christe of all thinges done by them in this world be it good or ill yea for euery idle worde the which the world doth not thinke to be sin Then shall all those be saued which shal be found written in the booke of lyfe The .xxxix. Article I Beleeue that then shal be made the totall and last seperation of the good from the wicked of the elect from the reprobate the which nowe are mingled together as the good fishes and badde in the nettes the chaffe with the corne and the darnell with the wheate But when the haruest commeth he which hath the fanne in his handes will make the seperation and wil put the corne aside in his garner but the chaf and tares shal be cast into the fyre for to burne eternally Then shal be perfectlye declared and knowen the iustice and mercy of the Lorde with the fruite of the Crosse and blood of Iesus Christe the which now wee know onely but in parte Then the good and elect shal know the stone vpon which they builded theyr fayth and hope and shall not be confounded And the wicked shall also knowe the stone vpon which they stumbled the which they reiected coÌ„temned and despised and shal be confounded Then the Lorde Iesus shall make an ende of his office and ministrie for his mistical body shal be altogether accomplished with all his members and shall render the kingdome and his spowse which is the Church vnto God his father al faire glorious erreprehensible and acceptable without spot or wrinckle or any such thing Then shal be perfectly vanquished and confounded Sathan hell sinne and death and all the other aduersaries of Christe whoe at this present do exercise yet tirrany ouer all his members holding them vnder their griefes bondes and snares But then wee as people rauished for Ioy will reherse the words that are written O Death where is thy stinge O Hel where is thy victory But thanks be vnto GOD which hath geuen vs victorye through Iesus Christe our Lorde The xl Article I Beléeue that that Iudgement being meruelous terrible and feareful vnto the wicked and reprobate is much to be desired and of great consolation vnto the good faythfull and elect for asmuch as theÌ„ their total redemption to wéete of body shal be ended and that they shall receiue the fruit of their labors Their Innocencie shal be openly declared and known of all the worlde and they shall sée the vengaunce and condemnation of the wicked which haue tirrannously afflicted and tormented them in this world whose iniquitye and wickednesse shal be manifested by the Lorde and cleerely knowen of all to theyr great confusion and to the honor and glory of the iust children of God the which shal be in perfect peace and traÌ„quillitie and shall haue full ioye and fruition of all that which the Lorde hath promised and prepared for them that loue him Which the eye hath not séene nor the eare hath heard neither hath it entered into mans harte Therefore I tarry and looke for that great day of retribution with a great desire as the same which bringeth and declareth vnto me my chiefest goodnesse The .xli. Article I Beléeue that wee shall not all dye but we shal be all changed in a moment that is to say that in that latter day and general iudgement some shal be found lyuing which shal neuer dye by seperation of the body and soule but shall abide so alyue eternally that Christe maye be knowen Lorde and Iudge of the quick and the dead and his grace and merite may be founde greater then the sinne of Adam For as sin hath raigned to death In like-maner must grace raign through Iesus Christ to eternall lyfe Neuerthelesse they shal be chaunged and transformed from corruption into incorruption from mortallity to immortallity from despising into glory insomuch that they shal be the chiefest of of all the giftes graces and benefites which the Lorde shall geue vnto those which before were dead whome they shall not go before but all together shal be rauished in the clowdes before in the ayre and also they shall be alwayes together with the Lorde BEholde for the seconde point of my faith touching Iesus Christe the second person of the Trinitie and of the restoration and repairing of man don by him Let vs now come vnto the third point which is of the holie Ghoste by whome man is restored maintained and keept in his being I beleeue in the holy Ghoste The .xlii. Article I Beléeue that the holy Ghost is one diuine persoÌ„ distinct from the father and the son procéeding of them both equall in all thorow all and coeternall with them by whom the Church hath byn alwayes is yet and shal be ruled conducted directâ—d and gouerned vntill the consumation of this world by whome also haue spoken al the holy Patriarkes Prophetes and Apostles of our Lorde Iesus Christe Therefore I beléeue nor receiue any other Vicar or Lieuetenant of Christ in earth within his Church but the holy Ghost which cannot be receiued of the wicked The .xliii. Article I Beléeue that the holy Ghost is the wages and ernest of our celestiall enheritance by whom we are assured assertained and liuely perswaded in our consciences that wee are the children of God and adoptiue brethreÌ„ of Iesus Christe and consequentlye Coheyres of eternall lyfe That is also the finger of God the which printeth in our mindes the
the entrance of the Church a washing of regeneration and a renewing in the holye Ghost by which we renownce our selues Sathan the flesh sinne and the worlde for hauing layd away the olde man with all his concupicences we put on the newe man which is Iesus Christe in righteousnesse and holinesse with whome we dye and are buried in his death that as Christe is rysen from death by the glorye of the Father so should we walke in newnesse of life mortifiyng alwayes that which is of vs in vs for to destroy and roote out the body of sinne The .lxi. Article I Beléeue that that baptisme ought to be administred not with oyle salt spittle or such like things but only in pure and cleane water in the name of the Father the sonne and of the holye Ghoste after the ordinance and institution of God without chaunging any thing adding or diminishing and that altogether in a vulgare and common language vnderstanded of all forasmuch as all that which is doon or sayde in the Churche of Christe ought to be vnderstanded and knowen of all the faythfull By that Baptisme wee are chaunged and transformed from the Children of wrath sinne dyuell and perdition into the children of God of grace and saluation For to bee heyres of GOD and coheyres with Christe in eternall lyfe And therefore it ought to be geuen and bestowed onely to reasonable creatures which are capable of those thinges and not vnto vels or such like things whiche cannot receyue it nor exercyse the thinges sygnifyed by the same The .lxii. Article I Beléeue that Baptisme of water not to bee so necessary vnto saluation that man cannot be saued without it in case of necessitye Also I doubt not of the saluation of the litle Infanntes which dye without Baptisme but that they are saued in the fayth of theyr parentes aswell as if they were baptised as also in tymes past the litle Chyldren vnder the lawe whiche dyed without Circumcision were saued in the fayth of theyr parentes I vnderstande that onely of the children of the faythfull to whome the promyses of the Lorde appertayned and not to the Infidels and reprobate The .lxiii. Article I Beléeue that the holye Sacrament of the Supper is a holye and externe Ceremonye instituted by Iesus Christe in his Gospell one day ebefore his death vnder the likenesse of breade and wine in remembrance and recordation of his death and passion hauyng and contayning in it the promyse of the forgeuenesse of synnes by whych we perticipate truly the body and blood of Iesus Christe and are nurrished and fed in the Lordes house which is his Church after that we are entred in the same by the Baptisme That also ought to be geuen and bestowed vnto all vnder both kindes after the ordinance commaundement of Christe against which it is not lawfull to attempt any thing The .lxiiii. Article I Beléeue that in that holye Sacrament the signes or Symboles are not in any wise chainged but that they abide wholye in theyr nature That is to say that the bread is not changed nor transubstantiated as the Caphardes and false Doctors haue taught deceiuing the poore people into the body of Iesus Christ neither the wine transustantiated into hys blood But that the bread abydeth alwayes bread and the wine wine euerye one in his proper and first nature For the wordes which Christe spake vnto his Apostles in geuing the bread saying This is my body I do vnderstand and beléeue it to be spoken by a figure called Metonimia whiche is a kinde of speaking verye common in the holye scriptures as the holy scriptures and ecclesiasticall Doctors Ireneus Cyprian Tertulian Ambrose Augustine Chrysostome and such other haue vnderstanded and declared by theyr writinges who lyued before the Counsell of Lateran in which was concluded the transubstantiation of the bread into the body of Christe and the wine into his blood and geuen for an article of faith to the great dishonor of God and offence of all the Church in the yeere of our Lorde .1050 by pope Leo the ninth in whiche tyme Sathan was then let loose as was foreshewed in the Apocalips troubled the Church of Christe more then it was before The .lxv. Article I Beléeue that all that Sacrament lieth and consisteth in vsing so that in not vsing that bread and that wine do differ nothing from other cōmon bread and wine which men vse commonly in their houses therfore I beléeue not that the body of Christ is contayned tyed or enclosed in that bread vnder that bread or with that bread neither the blood in that wine vnder that wine or with that wine But I beleeue and confesse his body to be in heauen at the right hande of the Father as we haue declared before and that as often and when we vse that bread and that wine according to the ordinance and institution of Christ that truly and indéede we receyue his body and his blood The .lxvi. Article I Beleeue that that receyuing is doone not carnallye or corporally but in spyrite thorow a lyuelye and true fayth That is to saye that the body and blood of Christe are not geuen to the mouth or belly for the nurrishing of the bodye but to our fayth for nurrishing of the spirite and inwarde manne to eternall lyfe And for to doo that it is not needefull that Christe descende from heauen for to come vnto vs but that we ascende vnto him addressing our hartes thorow lyuely fayth an hygh to the right hand of the father where he sitteth from whence we looke for our redemption and not to séeke it in these corruptible elementes The .lxvii. Article I Beléeue that that holye Supper is a Sacrament of fayth vnto the faythfull onely and not for the infidelles in which one fyndeth and receyueth that that one bringeth thyther and no more except it be peraduenture augmentation of fayth grace and vertue and therfore in the same those onelye doo receyue and finde Iesus Christ to saluatiō which bringe it with them thorow a lyuely and true fayth But others doo finde and receyue there onely the externe and visible Symboles and that to their condempnation as Iudas and other such wicked and reprobate The .lxviii. Article I Beléeue that that Sacrament containeth two thinges one which is terrestriall carnall and vsible another which is celestiall spirituall and inuisible and I do confesse that as our body and inward man receyueth the terrestriall and visible thing which is the bread and the wine by which it is alymented and nurrished that also verely our spirit and inward man receiued the celestiall spirituall thing signified by the bread wine to wete the body and blood of Christe So that we are made one with him bone of his bones flesh of his flesh perticipating with him in all righteousnesse