sinfull but spirit that is pure and holy For whatsoever comes immediately from God he makes it pure good yea Gen. 1.3 all things very good But man from his very beginning is corrupt and sinfull because he is borne of flesh for saith our Saviour of the whole man that being borne of the flesh he is flesh Eph. 2.3 and therefore the whole man hath need of a second birth that he may be borne of the spirit Either therefore we must deny originall sin or else make God the Author of evill if the soule be immediately created by him But seeing it is manifest we are borne of flesh and are by nature children of wrath and it is impious blasphemy once to imagine that God is the Author of sin I feare not to conclude that the soule is not borne of the spirit I meane created by God but of the flesh that is propagated by man The conclusion of the divine Testimonies Thus then for divine testimonies we have produced no lesse than a whole Jury of witnesses first God himselfe then Adam Moses Job David Salomon Jeremy Zachary Peter Paul the Angell Gabrell and our Saviour Christ himselfe and if humane Testimonies would serve the turne it were not hard to shew more than twelve Legions of Saints learned and unlearned that have lived and dyed in this beliefe It being the received doctrine of the westerne Churches in Saint Hieromes time as was before declared but if these will not satisfie much lesse would those and therefore I omit them CHAPTER XV. The propagation proved from the Doctrine of Originall sinne Reasons proving the soules propagation BEsides the Testimonies of Scripture this mediate manner of the soules propagation may farther be demonstrated by reasons drawne from them whereof there are two onely most materiall and indeed necessary to be considered the one concerning the doctrine of originall sin and the other touching the incarnation of our Saviour which two being the maine difficulties in this question the one hindering the soules immediate creation the other the immediate propagatiō therof if these two can be cleared but especially if both doe agree together to confirme this doctrine there will remaine no more place of disputation about it and therefore I purpose to insist so much the longer in them both 1. Originall sinne And for the better clearing the first reason drawne from the Doctrine of Originall sin I will first make way to it by a generall description of these three things First Originall sinne Secondly Creation Thirdly Propagation and then apply it particularly to the proving of the point in hand l. From the nature of the sin descending 2. From the goodnesse of God in creating 3. From the course of nature in propagating Of all which I will speake as briefly and plainly as I can and according to that divine light which is revealed in the Scriptures First therfore it must be shewed out of the Scripture whether there be any originall sin or no and what it is For the first that the streame of mans being first poysoned in Adam the fountaine hath infected every man that comes into the world with sinne is manifest through the whole Scripture Proofes out of the Scripture By one man namely Adam sin entred into the world and death by n = a Rom. 5.12 sin in the day that he did eate of the forbidden fruit wee began to die the n = b Gen. 2 17 death yea n = c Rom. 5.14 even Infants that had not actually sinned yet were tainted with originall sin so that in Adam all dye n = d 1 Cor. 15.22 because in Adam all did sin n = e Rom. 5.12 Hence it was that by and by after all the imaginations of the thoughts of his heart were onely evill continually n = f Gen 6.5 yea evill even from his youth n = g Gen. 8.21 And now who can bring a cleane thing out of an uncleane n = h Iob 14.4 And what is man that he should be cleane n = i Iob 15.14 and he that is borne of a woman that he should be righteous sayth Job Hence even David confesseth of himselfe I was borne in iniquitie and in sin did my n = k Psal 51.5 mother conceive me and of others he saith the wicked are estranged from the wombe n = l Ps 58.3 they goe astray as soone as they are borne Esay also calleth man a transgressor from the wombe n = m Isa 48.8 and Jeremy saith the heart of man is deceitfull above all things and desperately wicked n = n Ier. 17.9 hence also it is that the Apostle saith Wee are by nature children of Wrath n = o Eph. 2.3 and by the offence of one the fault came upon all n = p Ro. 5.18 men to condemnation And to conclude our Saviour saith plainly that which is borne of the flesh is flesh n = q Ioh. 3.6 Ioh. 3.3.5 and except a man be regenerate and borne againe he cannot enter into nor see the Kingdome of God Reasons to prove it Besides Reason teacheth that like begets like as touching the substance and accidents proper to the kinde 1. according to the Rule Generatum sequitur naturam generantis Beasts bring forth beasts Serpents serpents and sinfull man a sinfull of-spring We cannot gather grapes of thornes Mat. 7.16 nor figges of thistles but an evill tree bringeth forth evill fruit and corrupt Adam sinfull men otherwise how could Infants justly be punished with death seeing death is the wages of sinne And why were Infants circumcized and women purified after child-birth under the law but to shew that all that commeth of mans seed is defiled with sin Againe cōmon experience sheweth the fruit of this bitter roote to bud forth in childrē even from their very cradles and that by inclination before they can learne by imitation The necessitie also of our regeneration proves it for if by our first birth we were not corrupt then should not the second be necessary to salvation Lastly the double grace which we receive from the second Adam Christ Jesus namely Justification Regeneration shews that there floweth a double evill from the first Adam namely the guilt and corruption of nature If we had not this double sinne we should not need this double remedy What originall sin is And now that we see we are thus infected let us inquire a little more narrowly into the nature of it It appeares by that which hath beene said already that all men are become sinfull through Adams sin having lost those now supernaturall gifts wherewith he and we with him were at first indued and in stead therof are all over infected with a venomous qualitie or inclination to all manner of evill causing ignorance and blindnesse in the minde stubbornesse and rebellion in the will disorder in the affections making the senses sensuall and beast-like all the members
of the body instruments of unrighteousnesse and the whole man a slave to the devill and that from our first being even so farre as nature can reach as well potentially as actually ever since Adams sinne which groweth up with us from the wombe and in time if we live brings orth the fruits of unrighteousnesse in our thoughts words and actions by reason whereof we are not onely corrupt but guilty of Gods wrath and lyable to eternall damnation from our first being Now it is called Originall sin Why it is so called first because it was from the beginning even as soone as ever Adam sinned secondly because it is with us from the beginning even in conception as soone as we doe actually begin to be and thirdly because it is the beginning of all actuall sin whatsoever Howbeit in the Scripture it is called by other names Rom. 6.6 as The old man The body of sin Rom. 7.17.23 The sin that dwels in us The law of our members The sin that incloseth us on every side Heb. 12.1 Concupiscence Iam. 1.14 and the like And as we use the word it is sometimes taken more largely for the sin of Adam together with the guilt and corruption following it but usually more strictly for the corruption of nature onely consisting of the privation of goodnesse and inclination to evill before rehearsed These grounds being laid down we may make a full definition of it after this manner Definitie Originalis peccati Originall sin is the depravation of the whole nature of man consisting of the privation of originall righteousnesse and an inclination to all manner of evill derived from Adam to all his posteritie by naturall generation whereby they stand guilty of eternall death in which definition wee may see all the essentiall causes of originall sin the subject or materiall cause is the whole nature of man all men and every part of all men soule body understanding will memory affections senses and severall members of the body as they constitute the person of a man propagated from Adam The formall cause is the depravation of the same whereby every man is deprived of originall righteousnesse and prone to every sin that can be committed The efficient cause the sinning will of Adam the instrumentall cause naturall generation and the end and effect of it guilt and punishment misery and death here eternall damnation hereafter More briefly Originall sinne is by some defined to be the depravation of mans nature consisting of the privation of righteousnesse and inclination to evill contracted from the generation it selfe and derived from Adam to all his posteritie For as sicknesse is not onely a privation of health but also an evill affection of the body arising from the distemper of the humours so originall sin is not onely the want of righteousnesse but also an inclinablenesse to unrighteousnes arising from the sin of Adam and conveyed unto us by naturall propagation In a word it is our potentiall sinning in Adam whereby according to the law of nature we are both corrupt and guilty And so much for the generall nature of originall sinne Creation what it is Now for the second what Creation is we shall not need many words Improperly Creation is taken sundry wayes somtimes for the determination and decree of God to create as where Wisdome saith Ecclu 24. He created me in the beginning before the world that is he decreed to create and reveale me in the Church Sometimes for renovation changing not of the substance but the qualitie of a thing Ps 51.10 So David prayeth Create in me a cleane heart O God Sometimes for the naturall generation of the creatures Thou sendest forth thy Spirit Psal 104.30 and they are created And sometimes it is taken for the restauration of that which is destroyed Isa 65.17 Behold I create new heavens and a new earth But properly taken it either signifieth to make something of nothing or else to give formes to the matter unto which it hath no naturall power of it selfe And for that cause doe require an omnipotent hand to effect if so as creation properly taken belongs to God onely Neverthelesse for the most part it is used in the first sense and therefore creation is commonly defined thus Creatio est productio entis ex non ente or as Aquinas hath it Est productio rei secundum totam substantiam ex nihilo So that in the most proper sense a thing cannot be said to be created unlesse the whole substance be produced by the omnipotent power of God out of nothing and not at all unlesse at least he hath an immediate hand in the forming of it Propagation what it is Lastly For Propagation it is that most excellent and naturall faculty whereby a living creature by feede of generation begets his like for the continuation of the kinde It is a faculty commonly accounted a species of the vegetative faculty but is indeed the naturall perfection of a living creature whether vegetative sensitive or rationall and it is the most excellent and the most naturall faculty being ingrafted into nature with a speciall charge blessing from God in the creation and is therfore most desired and consequently most natural to all creatures that have life Gen. 1.22.28 whereby like begets like univocall which is most properly so called when as a creature brings forth the like to it selfe as a plant comes of a plant and a Lyon of a Lyon and aequivocall generation of unlike as when a plant or living creature is bred of putrefaction as Mice Flies Serpents and the like for the continuation of the kinde for nature aymeth at the highest perfection that can be even to continue all creatures for ever and therefore every creature naturally desires ever to be which because it cannot be effected in the individuals therefore it is done another way namely by propagation for to beget the like is after a sort to be ever And to conclude this is done by the seede of generation which as the faculty it selfe is most excellent so is the matter of it the perfection of mans nature as the seed of a tree the sap whereof hath passed through roote body branch leafe bud and all and so conteines the nature of the whole so is the seede of man the quintessēce of nature which having passed through all the degrees of concoction and conteining the whole kinde of man is reserved by nature in a place convenient for the procreation of another of the same kinde Now because this generation is the affection or rather perfection of the whole compound consisting of matter and forme a man cannot be said to propagate the matter alone but the whole creature so as to speake properly generatiō is not either of the matter or of the forme but of a certaine third thing consisting of matter and forme So that here it followeth that our propagation from Adam is
of creation God depriveth it of supernaturall gifts for Adams sin which though it putteth not evill into the soule yet evill necessarily followeth and hence is originall sin But neither can I see how this can stand for first if God deprives it so soone as it is made it should be not onely absurd but a vaine worke to doe and straight way to undoe againe Secondly It should be unjust neverthelesse for he had beene as good never to have given it goodnesse as presently to take it away againe Thirdly Seeing they say it is created in infusing and infused in creating they must needs grant that he creates it without supernaturall gifts unlesse it be infused with them which is worse and so they cannot say if is deprived of that which it never had Fourthly I answer that if God createth it without those gifts which are supernaturall to us he creates it evill for so are we without supernaturall gifts and a man may as well imagine a God without goodnesse as a good soule without such gifts Fifthly However it be for creation or privation naturall or supernaturall goodnesse if God so makes it as it must needs be evill as they say he makes it evill for what is it to make an evill one if not to make one that cannot be good yea that is the greatest evill for to be necessarily evill is not onely nought but worst of all Sixthly This were unjustly to punish the innocent for the guilty as wee heard before Lastly though all this might justly be yet wee are never the neerer to originall sin For this is not our sinning in Adam but our being made sinfull for Adam So that if the soule be created good we cannot possibly be thereby infected with originall sin In the last place therefore it will be said that it comes neither by the soule not the body Not by the union of both but by the union of both and that we are deceived if we suppose it to happen through any physicall touching but because in the union we become Adams sonnes he receiving and loosing both for himselfe and us his sin is thereby made ours Verily Calvin was a man of an excellent judgement Calv. Inst lib. 2. c. 1. who seeing the former grounds unanswerable flyes to this as the last refuge yet with reverence to so worthy an instrument I must seeke for better satisfaction True it is that originall sin is neither puddle nor stench yet it is a spirituall Leprosie hereditarily descending from Adam to all his naturall posteritie and infecteth the whole man both body soule with all the parts and powers of both And I would know how if the soule be pure and the body sinfull the infant at first is halfe holy and halfe corrupt which is absurd and if both be cleane at the first can the uniting of them make both uncleane can two goods as both are confessed apart make one evill 2. Goods cannot make one evill nay rather they are so much the better being conjoyned according to that common saying Vis unita fortior neither will it serve the turne to say it is imputed and so we are reputed corrupt for so it can be onely if it be imputed onely in this 2. Imputation insufficient Indeed Christs righteousnesse is really ours by imputation For a voluntary institution Obj. as it is a covenant of grace Ans differs from a necessary course of justice in the order of nature it being lawfull to shew kindnes without cause but not to inflict punishment as afterwards we shall see besides it cannot be justly imputed neither unlesse the whole man be propagated as was before and shall be againe more fully proved But we are not onely guilty of his sin but by him really corrupt our selves For is originall sin onely imputed corruption no it is a reall infection also and that is it whose originall I enquire for which if it be neither from the soule nor from the body nor the union of both it is not at all this way but seeing it is certaine both by Scripture experience that we have both certaine it is also that we have our whole corrupt nature both soule and body from Adam CHAPTER XIX That Originall sinne cannot passe but by propagation FRom the impossibility of the soules creation wee proceed now to the necessitie of the propagation thereof in respect of originall sin the former being not more contrary to the nature of God then this is agreeable to the course of nature For first as by Gods ordination originall sin passeth from one to all mankinde so by propagation all mankinde proceeds out of one Secondly As originall sin overspreads the whole man both soule and body so according to the course of nature the whole man both soule and body is propagated Thirdly As originall sin is seated chiefly in the soule according to the Scriptures so the soul especially is propagated according to the course of nature Wherefore that the truth of the one may appeare in Scriptures as well as the other is manifest in nature I will prove first that Originall sin cannot passe but by propagation secondly that it cannot be propagated unlesse the whole man be 1. The necessitie of proving this The first that originall sin can no way justly descend to us but by propagation being the chiefest must chiefly be proved and so much the rather partly because this being granted the other two will follow alone and partly because some are of opinion that wee may justly be punished for Adams sin though we had never beene borne of him even as when one brother spends the estate which he received for himselfe and all the rest And so indeed all must hold that hold the immediate creation of the soule else there can be no originall sin which course being as I thinke unequall is as far from God as God is from injustice 1. The scriptures teach this and none others 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 First therefore this may appeare by the cleare testimonies of the Scripture for saith the Apostle death passed upon all men by one man in whom all men sinned or because all men sinned in him Whence it is manifest not onely Rom. 5.12 that Adam was then all men that is the stocke and roote of all men naturally in whom all men were and so sinned in him and with him but also that his sin is therefore imputed to his posteritie because they were in him For if the death threatned to him for sin passed upon all because all were in him it is plaine that the sin for which that death was threatned was imputed for the same cause namely because we were all in him Now for the same cause it was imputed to us then when wee were in him for the same cause it is imputed now that we are out of him and therefore as his sin was then ours because according to the course of nature we were in
of the soules of the parents or of his own essence they being neither bodies nor Angels but the latter is impossible and therefore it must needs be the former Againe the Prophet saith not without him as if it were first made and then infused but within him So that in saying the Lord formeth the spirit of man within him he doth evidently declare 1. Of matter that there is some matter within man whereof the Lord formeth the soule than which what in so few words can so fitly and fully expresse the manner of the soules propagation being formed in conception of the spirituall matter of the parents soules by the power and vertue of the seede in generation And yet not meerely by the power of nature for in the last place it is to be observed that he saith the Lord formeth it For he indeed is the externall efficient the nature of the soule being of that height that without an immediate act of his providence it cannot be produced Whence it is that in the production of the soule though it be not a creation it is as neere to a creation as can be and though it be by propagation yet it is not meerly by propagation but some way above it and so it is in a manner a kinde of meane betweene creation and propagation For according to these words of the Prophet the soule is formed of the spirituall matter of the parents soules within the conceived fruit not without the omnipotent power of God So that by all these testimonies it appeareth I thinke sufficiently that this doctrine went currant in the time of Adam Abraham Moses David and the Prophets and I beleeve never was once questioned in those first ages of the world CHAP. XIV Testimonies out of the new Testament proving the soules propagation THis doctrine is no lesse if not much more clearely revealed and fully confirmed in the new Testament also 1. S. Paul For first the Apostle Saint Paul saith as plainly as can be that all men in their whole persons both were in Adam and sinned in him Death saith he passed by one man upon all men in whom all sinned Where he maketh no such division of soule and body one from one place and another from another as men have now invented but he saith plainly the whole man Rom. 5.12 yea all men who consist of soules I am sure as well as bodyes were in Adam yea and sinned in him too which is absurd to say and impossible to be without soules What would we yea what can we have more plainly spoken Is it not then high presumption to say no worse of it for men thus to sever what God hath joyned together without apparent warrant from his word how much more then in this for which it is confessed there is no warrant there at all And yet least any man should be mistaken as thinking the whole man may well enough be said to be in Adam though not in other of our parents by I know not what imaginary imputation because he was the stocke of all mankinde or rather of the bodyes of all mankinde the holy Ghost I say foreseeing our aptnesse to erre to take away all exception saith the very same concerning other Fathers also The Author to the Heb. Heb. 7.1 as that Levi together with all his sonnes was yet in the loynes of his Father grandfather yea and great grand-father Abraham when Melchisedeck men him and which is more paid tithes in him So that by the testimony of the Apostle Vâ—rs â— Abrakam is to be reckoned in the number of those that did propagate the whole man soule and body together and for that cause paid tithes for his posteritie while they were yet in his loynes And if Isaaâ— Jacob and the whole tribe of Levi were once in the loynes of Abraham we need not doubt but we were all in like manner once wholly in Adam and consequently are now wholly propagated from him 2. The Angell Gabrell Againe that we may not deny it unlesse we will deny Christ and our owne salvation The Scriptures teach that Jesus Christ as concerning his humanitie was the sonne of the virgin Mary and so of David his Father for so said the Angell Gabrell being sent unto her Luk 1.31 32. Thou shalt conceive in thy wombe and bring forth a sonne and againe the Lord shall give unto him the throne of his father David Neither is it sufficient to say his body came from them for the Apostle plainly affirmeth Rom. 1.3 that he was made of the seed of David according to the flesh Where flesh is figuratively put for his whole humanity both soule and body as themselves confesse Per syâ—ocdochâ—n Neither can it be denyed for it is there opposed to his Divinitie as the words immediately following doe manifestly declare and all Interpreters acknowledge Whence it necessarily followeth that the soul of our Saviour was the seede of David even the fruit of his loynes as well as his body 3. S. Peter Act. 2.30 as St. Peter witnesseth for since the holy Ghost affirmeth it why should we feare to do it yea why should we not feare to doe otherwise Is it not safer to follow such a guide than to run a way by our selves for which we have no warrant And seeing as the Apostle elsewhere affirmeth Heb. 4.15 He was made like unto us in all things except sinne why should wee make any doubt but it is so with us also as it was with him Especially considering the whole currant and full streame of the Scriptures run this way even from the beginning And not onely concerning him as where it is said Gen. 3.15 22.18 the Seede of the Woman shall breake the Serpents head and in thy seede shall all the nations of the earth be blessed Gen. 5.10.11 as we heard before but also all other places speaking of his or our generation comprehends both soule and body under the name of seede 1 Chron. 1 2 3 c. Mat. 1. Luk. 2. Mat. 19.6 without any exception making the soule no lesse the seede of man than the body and the body no more than the soule and neither of them more or lesse propagation than the other and this throughout the whole Scripture without any the least word to the contrary And therefore I say againe let no man dare to seperate what God hath so joyned together 4. Our Saviour himselfe Lastly Unlesse we will make God the Author of sin and consequently deny God that made us we must confesse the truth of this doctrine proved from those words of our Saviour where speaking both of the naturall and the new birth of man he saith Ioh. 3.6 That which is borne of the flesh is flesh and that which is borne of the spirit is spirit Whence I reason thus If the soule were immediately created by God it should not be flesh that is corrupt and
that can be and it must needs be and is granted by all that for a good soule to be thus united and set into such a condition is a punishment of Adams sin Now since Gods justice very nature proclaimes that the innocent child shall not be punished for the fathers offence how can a good soule be punished in so high a degree for the sin of another who was not the father of it no nor of the same kinde for Adam was not a soule but a man without injustice yea cruelty in God how justly might such a poore soule complaine of God in this case to be so farre from mercy as to be unjust and how justly may the unjust Anabaptists cry out of us as they doe that we make God the Author of sin The Lord hath taughtus in his word that he abhorres such courses for my part therefore I am so farre from beleeving this doctrine that I quake to thinke of it CHAP. XVIII That a soule newly created by God cannot be infected with Originall sinne 2. Not justly corrupted AS the soule cannot be justly united so being united it cannot be justly corrupted if it be immediately created For whence should the corruption come it must be either from the body or the soule or the union of both but it can be from none of these It is manifest it cannot be from the body for that alone cannot be corrupt and if it could it cannot corrupt the soule and if it could corrupt the soule yet not with originall sin 1. Not by â—he body That the body alone cannot be corrupt and sinfull may easily appeare by many reasons 1. It cannot be corrupt First even the thing it selfe declares that the simple substance of the body is no more capable of vertue or vice than a stone for sin can be onely in a subject that hath power to understand will and move of it selfe which the body of it selfe cannot doe but onely by reason of the reasonable soule So that the body cannot make the soule but it is the soule that makes the body sinfull Rom. 6.13 and so the Apostle also implyeth that our members are the soules instruments of sinne Although therefore the body may be cholericke melancholy c. all the world know that elementary qualities humors and affections are not of themselves sinfull but naturally good and so rather dispose to good than to evill Againe The body hath nothing in it of spirituall nature but onely that which is bodily and therefore cannot have sin which is of spirituall nature it being a spirituall evill even as obedience to God is a spirituall good Moreover if neither plants having life nor bruites having both life sense cannot be said to be sinfull because they want reason much lesse can the body the senslesse and livelesse body of man be infected with sin without the soule Lastly That which the body hath not first with that it cannot infect the soule in being united with it but the body hath not first in it ignorance unbeliefe c. in which the soules tainture originally consisteth and therefore cannot infect the soule thereby in being united with it and consequently not with originall sin neither 2. It cannot corrupt the soule But let it be granted contrary to all reason and truth that the body is first infected with originall sin can the body fasten the same upon the soule Nothing lesse And not onely because it is a spirit and bodies can work onely corporally according to their natures so as the impuritie of the body can neither affect nor infect the purest spirituall soule but also because the soule is the first mover and commander of all actions in the body Now if mens soules be created sound and sincere free from the contagion of sin every way absolute as were the soules of our first parents and so joyned unto their bodies why doe they not by vertue of that divine nature restore the ruine of that building which was defiled by the sin of Adam why doe they not clense and cleanse and purge the blots and filth of the body seeing they doe sit as Judges in the body and rule and guide it according to their owne pleasure If it be said that sin sometimes Obj. begins in the body as Davids eye when he saw Bathsheba bathing of her selfe it is easily answered For Ans 1. first the eye as a bodily part seeth not but the soule by the eye Oculus non videt sed anima per oculum Secondly His sin was not at all in seeing her but in lusting after her in his heart soule which lust conceiving I am 1.14 by consent brought forth death in act and therefore in his confession he ascends by this streame to the originall fountaine Psal 51.5 namely that originall sin wherein he was conceived Wherefore if the soule be created good and so infused into the body there is more reason that it should sanctifie the body than that the body should corrupt it and according to this doctrine it may much better be maintained that all men have originall righteousnesse because the soule comes from God than that we have originall sin because the body comes from Adam 3. It cannot corrupt it with originall sin But let this also be granted that the soule is corrupted by yeelding obedience to the body as Adam did to Eve yet we cannot have originall sin ever the more for this for the souls yeelding obedience to the body and following the sinfull motions thereof if any such there be is actuall sin and not that originall corruption wherewith the whole man is infected by descending from the loynes of Adam in whom as the Apostle saith We all sinned Rom. 5.12 and which onely was before proved to be originall sinne Not actually to commit something against the will of God is originall sin but that in-bred home-bred breathing of sin which is the spawne of all sin which if it be seated in the body how it can corrupt that new created pure soule without any provocation or inticement to sin cannot possibly be imagined Againe if Originall sin most properly consisteth in ignorance of minde aversenesse of will and perversenesse of affections none of which can be immediately in the body how can it give these things to the soule and that originall sin consists mainly in these besides the testimony of Scripture and all orthodox Writers it is manifest in reason for that from which actuall sin commeth in that doth originall sin consist now all actuall sin springs from ignorance unbeliefe c. and therefore therein especially originall sin must needs consist To conclude seeing the body alone cannot possibly have originall sin nor give that which it hath not Originall sin cannot possibly come by the body 2. Not by the soule Neither can it proceed from the soule if it be created good but it will be said it may for in the instant
him so it is now ours because by course of nature wee are come out of him So that Adams sin is ours by imputation and by propagation but by imputation onely because by propagation yea so by this that the other may well loose the name For it is not the imputing of anothers sin to us which was not ours but by propagation that is made ours naturally which was before potentially onely And thus by the order of nature which is the rule we must goe by in this his sin is as truly ours we being potentially in him as his owne The Antithesis sheweth there can be no other This also farther appeareth by the Antithesis which the Scripture maketh betweene the first and second Adam Christ Jesus For saith the Apostle as in Adam all die 1 Cor. 15.22 so in Christ shall all be made alive And as by one mans disobedience many were made sinners so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous Rom. 5.19 And againe If one dyed for all 2 Cor. 5.14 then are all dead Whence it appeareth that as Adam was the stocke of mankinde in whom all men were by nature so was Christ the head of the Elect in whom all they were by grace For this is that admirable way in consideration whereof men and Angels may stand amazed whereby God had from eternitie decreed to give his creatures a higher perfection by grace than he could possibly give them by nature for therein stands the opposition which alone well considered may happily put an end to this question that mistake being indeed the ground of this errour Mark this difference or rather similitude betweene grace and nature For they are deceived that thinke Adams sin to be imputed as Christs righteousnesse the one being by the ordinance of nature and the other of grace the one a voluntary institution of the creator the other a necessary operation of the creature the one a work of mercy wherein kindnesse must bee shewed without cause the other a work of justice wherein punishment ought not to be inflicted but upon due defect So that if we will here make a true Antithesis we must say that as in Christ wee fulfilled the Law suffered death and are now in the seate of salvation because we are in him as members of his body by grace so in Adam wee did eate of the forbidden fruit and are under the condemnation of hell because we were in him and are still members of his body by nature And thus Adams sin shall be as truely ours by nature as Christs righteousnes is by grace For as Christ derives his righteousnesse to his childrē by grace so Adam communicates his sin to his children by nature The meanes whereby Christ doth it is by spirituall regeneration Adam by naturall generation Now therefore I conclude that as Christs righteousnesse can be no way imputed unto us but by meanes of regeneration whereby wee are ingrafted into him and made members of his body by the ordinance of grace so Adams sin cannot be imputed to us or become ours but by generation whereby we descend from him as members of his body by the ordinance of nature The Law of Iustice required it Againe it is contrary to Gods law of justice that one should be punished for anothers fault yea even innocent children for their wicked parents much more many thrifty brethren for one prodigall Hence it was that the Lord abhorred that wicked proverbe of the Israelites Ezek. 18.2 3 4 The fathers have eaten sowre grapes and the childrens teeth are set on edge as I live saith the Lord yee shall not use this proverbe c. the soule that sinneth it shall dye And againe he saith Vers 20. The son shall not beare the iniquitie of the father neither shall the father beare the iniquitie of the sonne the righteousnesse of the righteous shall be upon him and the wickednesse of the wicked shall be upon himselfe True it is indeed the Lord will visit the sins of the parents upon the children unto the third and fourth generation but himselfe saith it is of them that hate him Exod. 20.5 And not simply for their fathers sins but for their owne and the rather to afflict the parents who oft live to see the fourth generation Hence also the Lord made a law that the fathers should not be put to death for the children nor the children for the parents but every man should die for his own sin and it is indeed no lesse contrary to justice than to the Lords own practise Deut. 24.16 for who was ever more excellent than some that came of wicked parents who more wicked than some that came of good parents whereof not onely the Scriptures but also daily experience yeeld innumerable examples and perhaps the more to confute this errour On the other side what can be more just and naturall than that all things should be in their first principles and partake of their natures Mat. 7.17 nature teacheth that if the tree be evill so must the fruit be Rom. 11.16 and divinitie allowes that if the roote be holy so should the branches be And hence God is just in making this order might easily be cleared but neede not here to be disputed Christs righteousnes proves it Lastly The originall righteousnesse of Christs humane nature plainly proves it for he was freed from this corruptiō by his extraordinary generation and why should hee herein differ from us to free him from sinne if we be not hereby sinfull Againe if Adams sin be imputed unto us simply for that wee are men as Adam was because whatsoever he received or lost was for all mankinde as well as for himselfe it cannot be avoided but it must be imputed to Christ so far forth as he is man as well as unto us But God forbid that we shuld say Christ was sinfull Woe were us if this were true And yet true it must needs be if the being man will make us sinfull for that his sin is to be imputed to all men If I say the meere being man without being meere man will doe it We must therefore beware of this and hold that not the being a man as Adam was but our sinning in him and now being sinfully propagated from him is both the cause means whereby his sin is derived unto us from both which by his extraordinary generation Luk. 1.35 Christ is not onely free but sanctified from the womb and holy from his first conception as presently wee shall see CHAP. XX. That Originall sin cannot be propagated unlesse the whole man be We sinned in Adam onely as we were in him IT being evident that originall sin cannot passe but by propagation I proceed now to prove that it cannot be propagated unlesse the whole man be and this will easily follow upon the former grounds for as we sinned in Adam onely as wee were in him so we
thus I have finished my taske in proving this manner of the soules propagation both by divine and naturall reason CHAP. XXIX An answer to some objections against this manner of propagation BUt now me-thinkes I heare some call me backe saying I contradict my selfe in that I say and that even this meane way hath its extremities Having therefore shewed that the soule of man can neither be immediately created by God not yet meerely propagated by man and proved this middle way betweene both both by Scripture and naturall reasons I will now in the last place that there may remaine no just scruple to cavill at briefly answer some few Objections which I conceive may be made more directly even against this meane manner of the soules procreation and so conclude The Objections are these foure Objections First That the soule shall not be immortall if it may be resolved into a former principle namely Adams soule from whence all came Secondly God shall hereby still worke immediately in the creation of soules and so shall not yet have ended his worke and rest from his labours Thirdly Man shall still be inferior to beasts in that he cannot beget his like alone but must have more helpe from God than they Lastly God shall still be touched with sin in being the immediate efficient of our sinfull soules All which may be as easily answered as objected 1 Obj. That the soule must be mortall if it proceed from another For the first first although it is true that all mixt bodyes may be againe resolved into their former principles the elements whereof they are compounded and out of which they arise yet this is no impeachment to the soules immortalitie For the comparison is unequall and the causes nothing like unlesse wee should say that all bodyes must returne into Adams also whence they came as well as soules Secondly Mixt bodyes are not the simple elements but compounded of them where as our soules are of the same nature and no lesse simple than his was Thirdly If it were compounded yea even of the elements yet it would not presently follow that it must needs be mortall because corruption and death comes not onely nor so much from propagation or composition as from divine malediction for death is the wages of sinne without which even Adams body should have beene immortall as well as his soule Lastly To this objection I will oppose an infallible conclusion viz. that nothing can returne to nothing but by the same meanes whereby it receives the first being And hence it is that all creatures that are produced out of the elements by the power of nature doe by nature resolve into them againe but because mens soules cannot be propagated from their parents but by the immediate power of GOD concurring hence it necessarily followeth that neither can they be againe dissolved or annihilated but by the same omnipotent power This therefore doth invincibly prove so farre is it from disproving proving the soules immortalitie 2 Obj. That God still works in creating Soules For the second that God shall not yet rest from his labour but be still set aworke in the creation of soules I answer first here is no creation of any new kind of creature which they of the contrary part would have us to take for a sufficient answer Secondly Which is more here is no new substance created of nothing but onely produced out of former matter Thirdly It nothing oppugnes Gods resting to worke immediately in some things as by his holy Spirit in the hearts of Gods Elect Ioh. 5.17 in such things the Father worketh hitherto and the Sonne likewise Lastly This worke is no part of creation properly but of preservation which is ordinarily either mediate or immediate Mediate so all elementary creatures and individuall natures are preserved by God but by the meanes of nature or rather naturall meanes but now nature it selfe or as I may say the very nature or Symmetry of nature is preserved by his owne immediate power there being no nature above nature but onely his to preserve it And by the same immediate power it must needs be that the production of soule is conserved the excellency of whose nature is such as can have no naturall or mediate efficient cause and therefore of necessitie it must be his immediate providence onely and that even by course of nature 3 Obj. That ma◠shall still be inferiour to other creatures To the third objection that if mans generatiō requires more helpe from God than other creatures his nature shall therein be still inferiour to theirs I answer That no creature can propagate the like alone no more than he and that he doth as much in the generation of his like as any other creatures doe in theirs For it is well knowne that in generation besides the matter and forme which proceeds from the generators it is necessary that there should bee an efficient power comming from an externall cause which all grant to be the influence of the celestiall Orbes whence is that common Proverb amongst Philosophers Sol homo generant hominem now seeing man gives the matter and forme of the whole man soule and body though in regard of his soule he hath a more excellent efficient than they or rather the same efficient after a more excellent manner that is immediately this is so farre from disparaging that it exalteth mans nature above all other creatures in the world Neverthelesse if man did not give both matter and forme this were indeed justly objected and he should be herein according to the order of nature inferiour to all others as we heard before 4. Obj. That God shall still be touched with sin Lastly The last objection that God shall be touched with sinne in being the immediate efficient of our sinfull soules is easily answered for God is simply the efficient cause of the soule and not of sin but that comes from our corrupt parents who supply the matter of the whole man corrupt and sinfull like themselves It being Gods just ordinance in nature Rom. 11.16 that as the tree is so should the fruit be And thus sin is meerly accidentall in respect of God who as he made man at the first perfect so also this ordinance of generation whereby he should have begotten children perfect like himselfe but he by his fall corrupting himselfe hath likewise corrupted all his posteritie albeit God still performes his part as perfectly as ever in conferring of his efficient power for the producing of them Thus then we see how the generation of men which should have been perfect is become sinfull through out faults and not Gods and why then God did not make man new againe or stop sin there but continue his first institution might be sufficiently cleared but is not in this place to be disputed CHAP. XXX The Conclusion recapitulating the summe of the premisses Use of this Tractate IT is now time to