to thinke of the lorde Iesus in this behalfe and that we maie be surely armed agaīst the hissinges of the venimous serpētes clouē toūge For in dede it is a communs opiniō amōge the olde ecclesiastical writers that S. Iohā wrote this treatise purposely against such haeretikes as in his time denied the diuinitie of Christ namely Carpocrates Cerinthus and the Hebionites verie poore mē in vndrestanding according to their name which taught that the Lord Iesus was a man only not God Certainly the purpose and cheife marke of the hole worcke is to teach that Iesus our Lorde was not a mā only but also God and so the true Messias and verie Saueor of the worlde The gospel after S. Iohan Euangeliō signifieth good tidinges And in the holie writers it signifieth a publike solēne and opē preachinge of Christ who by his death hath purged our sinnes and beinge rissen from the deed raigneth in the hertes of his chosen and renueth thē vnto godlines thorough his spirite mortifiynge from time to time their fleshlie lustes and abolishinge more and more the remnaūtes of their natural corruption And this in dede is verie good tidinges For here by we ar deliuered from the feare of death and damnation and from the bondage of sinne Satā breifely hereby we ar remoued frō darcknes to light from despeare to good hope from death to life from hel to heauen Now bicause the office of proclaminge and publishinge this most ioiful tidīges was committed to the ministers of the new testamēt the name of Euāgelistes is most proprely attributed to them specially to those that discribe the natiuitee cōuersation death resurrection of the lorde Iesus wherein this blisfulnes resteth that we so much aduance Some writers affirme that as manie promisses of felicitie and saluation as therebe so manie gospels there be and that therefore the prophetes ar also euangelistes whan they speake of the redemption that goddes annointed shuld accōplish I thincke it not good to striue aboute wordes and I denie not that the hebrue word Bassar which signifieth to euangelize to preach good tidinges is applied in some place to mē of the old time Howbeit I beleue rather that Euāgelion is an opē publishinge of saluatiō al readie perfirmed accōplished than of the same promised And therefore they speake more distinctly proprely that giue the name of Euāgelistes to thapostles writers of the historie of the lorde Iesus finally to the ministers of the new testamēt And to giue place rather to this iudgemēt the wordes of our saueor in the 16. of Luke moue me where he saieth that the law and the prophetes were vnto Iohā the Baptiste that from that time the kingdō of god was euāgelized The kingdō of god was in dede taught before and the gospel preached in some wise but it was not so opēly so largely so plainly so far wide published and proclaimed But herein as I said I wil contēd with no man nor binde the worde to this propre significatiō only For I am not ignorāt what a wrāglinge wit maie gather out of the fourth cha to the Hebr. After S. Iohan The historie of the gospel sheweth that the Lorde Iesus out of the nombre of his disciples chose twelue principal whom he called Apostles bicause they shuld be sent as his special Embassadors in to al the world to publish and preach the glad tidinges of free saluation And amonge these twelue there were three yet more special singular furnished with most excellēt giftes and therefore admitted to certaine thinges where thother were excluded Of these three Iohan was one of whō it is writtē singularly and specially that he was the lordes biloued To whom also the Lorde gaue this meruailous name that he was called the son of thondre And surely who so weigheth this present worcke shal thinke that he rather thondreth from heauen than speaketh mannes wordes Numenius an heathen Philosopher whan he had red the beginninge of this gospel barst out in to these wordes I praie God I die if this barbarous fellow haue not comprehended in few wordes al that our Plato prosequuteth in so manie worckes He called him barbarous bicause he was an hebreu and in his writinge leaueth traces of his mothers toūge foloweth not curiously the finenes proprietes of the greke maner of speakinge but he graūted vnto him asmuch knowlege as the most famous Philosopher father of al lerned wittes Plato had and more shortenes in writīge which is more cōmendable in a writer of graue matters Writers of histories shew manie wōderful thinges of this Iohā as that he was put in to boilinge oile cā out againe vnhurte c. But it shal be sufficiēt for vs to know and cōsidre that he was one of the most excellent singular special apostles therefore a mete witnes of the Lorde Iesus In the beginninge Kinge Dauid inspired from aboue teacheth in the third psal that to saue pertaineth to Iehoua The prophete Esaie moued by the same spirite in the .45 cha hath these wordes Israel is saued ī Iehoua whith a perpetual saluatiō In which cha also God speakinge of himselfe saith thus A iust God and one that saueth there is none beside me And in the prophete Hosea he beareth in the same saiynge thou shalt know no god besides me there is no saueor besides me And in Hieremie he pronoūceth hī accursed that shal trust in mā make fleeshe his arme which wordes cōstraine vs to seke saluatiō no where saue in God But we al seke saluation at the handes of the lorde Iesus we al acknowlege him to be the saueor of the world We must thā of necessitee know him to be god onles we wil forge and mainteine a faith not agreynge to goddes worde And that vndoutedly goddes Messias whō the father aeternally appointed to be the saueor of the world is God the holie scripture beareth witnes most plainly that we shuld be certaine that we swarue not from god whā we seke saluatiō in him For the kinglie prophete Dauid in the .45 psal where with a notable songe he celebrateth the praises of Messias saieth thus Thy throne o God is for euer In which wordes he giueth him not only the name of God but also confesseth his throne to be euer lastinge Now nomānes throne is established for euer sauinge goddes only Esaie in the .9 cha calleth him el gibbor a stronge god and in the same cha he teacheth that there is no measure nor ende of his kingdom The prophete Hieremie to take awaie al cauillations teacheth expresly that he is Iehouah which name is neuer giuē nor can be giuē saue to the true God only the autor and foūraine of al beinge For these be his wordes Beholde the daies comme saieth Iehoua and I wil raise vp to Dauid a iust blosom and a kinge shal raigne do wisely shal exequute iudgemēt and righteousnes in the erth
cōprehēde with their litle wittes But we must cōsidre that god is best knowē yea only knowē to him selfe we must thinke him to be such as he hī selfe hath opened vnto vs that he is not such as we cā imagine him or cōprehēde him Now he hath taught vs that there is one god the father the sonne the holie gost That the father is god the sonne is god the holie gost is god yet not three goddes but one god Three distinctions three proprietes as the good fathers speake three persones to be in the godhead he him selfe hath taught vs by his special instrumētes sent by him in to the world to teach the assured truth And it foloweth not in dede herevpon that there be three goddes For these three haue one substāce if it be lawful to vse that terme in this matter one essence one beinge I graūte it shuld folow that there were three goddes if they were three sondrie diuided substances But now the substāce and essence is one and they differ not therein they differ only in proprietes and persons This is the proprietee of the father that he is the foūtaine head springe of al begetteth his sonne This is the propriete of the sonne that he shineth from the father issueth and springeth out of him and is begottē of him This is the proprietee of the holie gost that he procedeth from the father and the sonne If anie mā wil aske how this trinitee can bein ā vnitee ā vnitee in a trinitee the same declareth that he wil not be satisfied vntil he haue ētred in to the secretes of god and know al that is in god and be as wise as god and comprehēd that that is infinite and vnmeasurable within the smal compasse of his franticke head and so in dede shew him selfe to raue and to be more mete to be placed in bedleem than in the companie of Christiane mē Whan god hath once clarely and certaīly saied it it is our parte to thincke it to be as he hath saide it to be For surely it maie be it is whan he hath plaīly saide it though our reason cā nev reach it And that god hath said this with cleare wordes it shal most euidētly appeare out of S. Ioannes doctrine whā it shal be weighed For I doubte not but that we al acknowlege that what so S. Io. saieth god saieth And whā we know that god hath certaīly said it we wil beleue it though it seme neuer so much repugnant to reason For we refuse not al that is repugnāt to reason but whā the same is repugnant to goddes worde And to saie the truth this matter is not so much repugnāt to reason as it is aboue the reach of reason In the beginninge was the word The word was in the beginninge By the worde the euangeliste meaneth the secōde person in the holie trinitee namely our lorde Iesus Christ touchinge his diuine nature as it appeareth afterwarde whā he saieth the word became flesh Here we must cōsidre why goddes sonne is called a worde Aunciāt writers cōsidre a worde two waies For thei teach that there is an outwarde worde ā inwarde worde The outward word is that soūdeth passeth awaie The inwarde worde is the cōceipte of the herte which remaineth stil in the herte whā the soūd is past So thei saie that god hath an outwarde worde which is sounded pronounced writtē in bokes that he hath an inwarde worde which remaineth with in him selfe where of the outwarde worde is an image effecte frute This inwarde worde euer remaininge in him is called his sonne as the cōceipte of the herte maie be called the engēdred frute of the herte and the hertes childe Thei thincke also that he is called the worde of god bicause that as a worde is the image of mannes minde representeth it vnto vs so the Lorde Iesus is goddes image and most liuely representeth vnto vs his power his godhed and his wisedom For what so euer is in the father shineth in the sonne Some other thincke that the worde here is taken for a thinge after the hebrue maner of speakinge For the hebrues vse DABAR which signifieth a word for a thinge Whan Esaie the prophete asked kinge Ezechias what the Embassadors of Babilon had seē in his house he aunswered thus They saw al that was in myn house lo haiah dabar there was not a worde that is to saie anie one thinge that I shewed not vnto them in my treasures The prophete replieth Beholde the daies comme that what so euer is in thy house shal be takē awaye what so euer thy fathers haue laied vp in stoare vnto this daie shal be caried to Babilon lo ijvather dabar there shal not a worde remaine saieth the lorde that is to saie there shal not one thinge be left behinde The angel also in S. Luke whan the Virgine Marie meruailed how she shuld conceaue a childe without mannes helpe said vnto hir no worde shal be impossible vnto god that is no thinge shal be impossible for him to do So than after this understandinge S. Iohānes meaninge is that in the beginninge there was a diuine heauēlie thinge with god The greke vocable logos which S. Iohan. vseth hath sondrie significatiōs and amonge other beside cōmunicatiō and talke it signifieth reason and wisdō which singificacion agreeth ryght wel For Salomon calleth that thing wisdōe that was with God beefore the foundacion of the world was laied and that was Amō before him that is to saie as the Hebreues expoune the worde a director For by that wisdome God made all thinges and doeth all thinges as it is there expressed by me kinges raigne Princes enacte righteousnes c. Surely in my minde S. Iohn hath respect to the first cha of Genesis and openeth the same vnto vs. For Moses saith not simply that God made all thynges of noughte but that he spake and made thinges that is to saie that he made all thinges by his worde By the worde than I vnderstande Goddes vertue and power wherby he hath opened and as it were set abrode himselfe in makynge all thinges in preseruing maintaining thē in their state finally in repairing restoring and renuing them being decaied thorough sinne For as a worde vttereth and bringeth forth that that is in the hearte so by this woorde this power vertue of god is vttered brought forth and sette abrode that laie hydden in god before So that I thinke that he is called goddes worde both bicause he is gods wysdome and gods image represētyng all that is in the father and also because he is the secrete vertue and power of God wherby god vttereth shewethe oute and sendeth foorth that is in hym namely hys might and wisedome in making all thinges his goodnes in preseruing them and his mercy indeclaring to mortal men his wil and pleasure and in recouering and sauing them being
made al thinges But. S. Paule shal make these dreamers to blushe and defeate thē of there miserable shifte to the sighte of very childrē For to the colossiās he writeth thus geuinge thankes to the father who hath made vs mete to be partakers of the lott of the sainctes in lighte who hath deliuered vs oute of the power of darknes and remoued vs into the kingdome of his beloued sonne by whō we haue redempcion thorowe his blood remission of sinnes which is the image of the inuisible God the first begotten of euery creature For in hym or by him wer all thinges made thinges in heauen and thinges in earth Therfore saieth saincte Paule he is the first begotten of all creatures because all thinges were made by him These wordes can not bee wrested but that they shall teache that all things were made by the diuine nature of the Lorde Iesus and so they shall serue to shewe plainly S. Iohns meaning beside that the threed of his purpose leadeth vs there vnto The Arrians as falsly but more subtillye saie that God made all thinges yb the woorde in dede but that he made thē by it as by an instrumente and minister But they see not that so they blaspheme both God the father and his sonne If God coulde not make the worlde but by an instrumente and minister his power is pinched and cutte shorte And if the worde were but an instrumente onely and minister of anothers will the glory therof is greatly diminished We say therfore that God the father made the world by his word working equally together with him The good fathers haue laboured to teache vs this matter by similitudes as heate say they worketh together wyth the fier and odour with a flower Howbeit they confesse that no similitude taken out of thinges create canne sufficientlie expresse the thinge But thoughe no earthly thing canne expresse the matter of the thinge we are sure namelye that the father worketh together equallie with the sonne and the sonne equallye with the father and that GOD vsed no mynyster in makynge of the world For our Lorde sayeth my father hetherto worketh and I worke whatsoeuer he dooeth that dooeth the sonne like wise And that God vsed no instrument or minister in making thinges he himselfe teacheth in Esaye as I haue shewed you by these words any Ieuadi I alone extende the heauens c. and MEITTI of my selfe or by my selfe Thus whan we say God made all thinges we exclud not the sonne and whan we say al thīgs wer made by the sonne we exclude not the father and the holy gost but meane that they wroughte and euer worke equally together And where the Arrians bid vs marke that whan the scriptures speake of the sonne in making and working thei vse this worde by whom and not of whom we answere that the scriptures speaking of the fathers woorkinge vse also this worde by whom God is faythfull saieth S. Paul by whom you are called to the felowship of his sōne 1. Cor. 1. And to the. Ro. for of him and by him and into hym are all thinges Rom. 11. Hebru 2. To the. He. also it besemed him for whom are all thinges and by whom are al thinges c. And of whom is also applyed to the sonne as in the .4 to the Ephe. That we maye growe into hī which is the head of whom the hole body beeing coupled and ioyned c. But some will say that S. Paul speaketh not there of making of creatures but of making of his congregacion I answer that it is no lesse worke of Gods omnipotency to make a spirituall man and a good man than to make a man yea S. Augustine saieth that it is a greater thīg And if the Lord Iesus be the aurthor of goodnes in man that is to say of that that is best in man than is he able inough to be the authour of that that is lower and requireth les power to be made So I conclude that he is the maker and worker of thinges not as an instrumente but as an author of whom and by whom thynges procede And than I propone this argumente to oure newe Arrians that that maketh things is of another nature thā the thinges that bee made But Goddes sonne made al things so is he of another nature than the thinges which he made And if he be of another nature thā made thinges be of he is God For whatsoeuer is not mad nor of the nature of thīgs made is God For there be no more in the worlde nor without the worlde but god and thinges made And whatsoeuer is not made and yet is is God And with oute it nothing was made that was made Thus the sentence must holy goe together For they that knytte the last part to the nexte sentence thus that was made in it was life they are faine to vse a newe figure of speche and in dede to corrupte the scripture saying that in it was life is asmuche to say as it liueth in it But to liue in Goddes worde and to be life in Gods worde will not so easely be made alone And as for the repeticion of the same woordes it is no rare thing in Hebrewe writers To our purpose whan S. Iohn saieth that nothing was made withoute it he saieth the very same thing that he saied whan he said that al thinges were made by it and yet he doeth nothinge vainly but thys repeticion in other woordes is very necessarie and verye profitable for vs and geueth vs a stronge weapon againste al cauillacions For in commun speche thys worde all comprehendeth not alwaies euery thing particularlye Whan Saincte Luke saith they were al filled with anger in the sinagoge of Nazareth he meaneth not euerye one none except For some loued and fauoured hī in that companye Saincte Iohn than hath done diligentlye and wiselye and happelye for vs that he was not contente onelye to saye all thynges were made by it namelye the woorde but with a repiticion to vtter the matter againe with suche woordes as leaue no maner of coloure to wranglers Nether woulde he vse the worde OVDEN whiche signifieth nothinge but speake more straightlye in my opinion saying OVDEHEN neither one thynge as if he woulde say not so muche as any one thing thoughe it be neuer so litle The like diligence and wisdome was in S. Paule speakinge of the same matter For he thought it not inough to saye all thīgs wer made by the lord but cōmeth afterwarde exquisitely and almost scrupulously to diuisiōs and patticulary tees saying whether they be thynges in erth or thinges in heauen and so forth Now than heare my reason If nothinge were made without him than he himself was not made onles you wyll raue and saye that he is nothynge or that he made hīselfe sith he is some thyng But he that made all thinges cannot be nothīg neyther coulde he make himselfe before he was And he that is already is not to
and inestimable beautie Assuredly this can neuer be thought vpō this can neuer be wondred at inough ¶ AS RECEAVED They receaue him that acknowlege him to be Goddes son and that he became man in mannes nature died for the purgation and satisfaction of their sinnes breifely to receaue here signifieth to beleue as S. Iohan maketh the exposition him selfe in the wordes folowinge HE GAVE them power The idols men wringe this place to the maintenāce of free wil. For they vnderstande that choise hereby is giuen vs to be the children of God if we wil or to refuse the same But S. Iohan declareth forthwith in the wordes folowinge that Goddes children are not made by the wil of the flesh but whan they be begotten of God Goddes begettinge maketh vs Gōddes children and we ar not left to our choise with a power whereby to make our selues Goddes childrē but we ar Goddes children al readie whan he hath begottē vs. For he begetteth perfectly he begetteth not mōsters halfe childrē or a lūpe of matter where of childrē maie be made afterwarde And the greke worde that S. Io. vseth is not dynamis which signifieth power but exousia which signifieth dignitee auctoritee Here riseth a question if Goddes chosen were by predestination his childrē before the beginninge of the world how agreeth it that thā they ar made his childrē whā thei beleue For they were his children before beinge his chosen predestinate It is true that God made those his childrē that euer shulde be his childrē in his purpose thorough free electiō before the worlde was made But this thei fele nat vntil God by his holie spirite kendle faith in them and assure them of that that they were before And here also I wil giue you an other thinge to note S. Iohan saieth that as manie as beleue ar Goddes sonnes But none ar now Goddes sonnes that were not euer Goddes sonnes in his infallible purpose that is none ar Goddes sonnes but his chosen So thei that beleue in dede ar Goddes chosen therefore can neuer perishe For God can nether bē deceaued in his choosinge nor is a chaūgelinge to altre the thinge that he hath once purposed Nether hangeth he vpon mannes behauior suspendinge his determinatiō but al his purposes ar stablished to gether sure certaine thei stāde fast for euer beinge ōce for al decreed You wil graūte perchaūce that Goddes election is sure infallible but yet you can not be so one persuaded that al that beleue ar Goddes chosen For Simō Magus beleued and in the parable of the sower the lorde speaketh of some which haue faith for a time I aūswere that those such had neuer the faith of Goddes children But how shal we know wil you saie that we haue the faith of goddes childrē seīge there is another faith besides which maie begile vs. I aūswere that whā we haue such faith as brīgeth forth a felīge of the swetenes of goddes mercie in Christ Ies an vnfained loue towardes God we haue the faith of Goddes Children And ar and ar sealed vp by Goddes spirite and haue the sure and infallible ernest of euerlastinge life IN HIS NAME It is more liuelie and more ample and of greater maiestie whan it is said to them that beleue in his name than if it had ben saide to them that beleue in him The scole men in dede putte a difference betwene credere deum credere deo credere in deum Credere deum with them is to beleue that there is a God Credere deo is to beleue Goddes saiynges Credere in deum is to trust in God and to loue him And therefore S. Augustine saieth that to beleue in God is in beleuinge to loue him and in louinge to trust in him But the scripture obserueth not this distinction For in the 14. of Exod. we haue that whan the Israhelites saw the Aegyptiās ouerthrowen by Goddes power thei beleued BAIHOVA ou be Mosheh abdo i. in Iehoua and in Moses his seruant And againe in the .19 God saieth to Moses I wil cōme doūne to the in a thicke cloud that the people maye heare me speakinge with the and beleue ' BECHA that is in the c. But is neuer saide that anie beleued in the name of a mā For name to the hebrues signifieth power as whan S. Paule saieth that God gaue the lorde Iesus a name aboue al names he meaneth plaīly power aboue al power So to beleue in the name of Iesus importeth necessarely that he is God WHICHE neyther of bloude Some thincke that this is a figure called in greke pleonasmos wherby manye woordes are heaped together to signify one thīg For they saie that these wordes of bloudes of the wil of the flesh of the wil of mā signifie one thing namely carnal natiuitye generation so thei teache that mē beget carnall childrē onely God begetteth spiritual childrē And in deede mās generation makethe vs not Goddes childrē we muste be regēdred by God to be his childrē Other thincke that he numbreth vp by partes al that is excellēt in mā where in he maie seeme to haue some affiaunce to atteyne to the dignitie of Goddes sonne And that so he teacheth that by no auncitrie no priuilege of bloude by no holines of fore fathers nor anie maner of strēgth or faculte in mankinde mā atcheueth the place of Goddes sōnes Bothe expositiō is tēde to this end that we are not made holie by anie force of nature but by the grace and mercie of God regeneratinge and newe begettinge vs and that is plainely S. Iohās meaninge The wil of mā S. Iohā vsethe for the wil of anie mā for so the hebreus vse the word ish mā for euerie mā BEGOTTEN God begetteth vs whā accordinge to his aeternal purpose electiō he puttethe his spirite into vs and by his force plāteth faith in our hartes to embrace his worde reneweth our mindes frameth thē againe vnto true holines righteousnes God graūt that we maie al feele that we ar begotten of God that considering the high dignitie where vnto we are called we occupie not ourselues vnsemely in vile offices but trauaile al the daies of oure lyfe in suche thinges as aduaunce the glorie of our heauenlie father Amen ⧠The Fift READING VVith verie few but the same most pithie semelie apte wordes the Euāgelist hath declared vnto vs the diuine nature of the Lorde Iesus his power shewed forth sette abrode to the sight af al men by his most wondreful worckes For by this Godhead diuine nature of the Lorde Iesus bothe al thinges were first made of nothinge and now also al thinges ar preserued cōtinued in their state that they returne not to nothinge By it al thinges liue moue haue their beinge By it mā wherein he excelleth other liuinge creatures is furnished with the light of reason vndrestandinge which though thorough mānes faute it be
ben man only he could not haue ouercomme death nether shuld his satisfaction haue ben sufficient for the sinnes of al the world as we touched before yea scarcely for the sinnes of one man For the maiestie of God that is offended thorough sinne is infinite And therefore he must be no lesse that shal make satisfaction to that maiestie It was than of necessitee that God shuld becomme mā Another cause was that he might be made like to his brethern sinne only excepte For as S. Paule writeth it was semelie for him for whom by whom al thinges ar whā he wold bringe manie childrē to glorie to make the high capitaine of their saluation perfecte thorough suffringes For he that sanctifieth thei that be sanctifieed ar al of one For which cause he is not ashamed to cal them brethern saiynge I wil shew forth thy name to my brethern and againe I wil trust in him and againe lo I the childrē whom God hath giuē me Seinge than that the childrē were partakers of flesh blood he likewise became partaker of the same c. A thirde cause S. Paule reherseth that is that he might be merciful pitie the miserie of his people hauīge felt tētations him selfe that is to saie that we might be the better persuaded and certified that he wold pitie vs knowinge that he had experiēce and felinge of our miseries griefes in himselfe For we cā not thincke that anie shuld pitie vs so wel as he that feleth or hath felt the same grife smarte that we do To returne to S. Io. in thes his wordes the worde became flesh we haue a sīgular consolation in that I saie Goddes sonne hath takē flesh of our flesh bones of our bones For so haue we a nigh affinitee familiaritee with God And so that that was ours is made Goddes and that that was Goddes is made ours And we cā not doubte but that he wil do al thīges for vs who beinge God wold familiarly be ioigned to vs in our nature In tētations wrastlinges of cōscience let vs flie hereunto cōsidre this great goodnes excedinge loue frēdlines we shal be relieued preserued frō the baleful pit of despeare AND dwelt The greke worde escenosen is asmuch to saie as he made his tabernacle Whereby the Euāgelist signifieth that he was cōuersant amonge them as a verie mā that he shewed not him selfe the twincklinge of an eye so vanished awaie but had his abode cōtinued amōge thē longe time whereby thei might haue sure certaine experience of his godlie behauior of his singular vertues and of his wondreful worckes Some thincke that by this worde is signified that the lorde Iesus had no certaine dwellinge place in this world but was faine to flitte often and remoue For so do thei that dwel in tentes tabernacles In vs Chrysostome taketh in vs for in our flesh and vnderstandeth that the humanitee of Christ was a tabernacle to the diuinitee so frameth this argumēt against the haeretikes that affirmed the worde to be turned in to flesh The word dwelt in flesh ergo the worde was not turned in to flesh and made flesh only For nothinge dwelleth in it selfe It is also true that it is taken for amonge in manie places of the scripture One shal suffice for this purpose Act. 4. There was not one nedie enautois in them that is to saie amonge them The worde escenosen he made his tente or tabernacle fauoreth some what Chrysostomes vnderstandinge AND we haue seen Now the Euāgelist brīgeth his awne experiēe the experiēce of thother Apostles disciples which with their awne eyes saw such actes of the lorde Iesus as proued hī to be Goddes only begottē sonne The Latines haue a prouerbe that one eyed witnes is worth tē eared Of those thinges which we haue seen with our awne eyes we maye be faithful witnesses Thapostles bicause thei saw the thīges thē selues which thei witnessed to the worlde ar called in the holie scripture with a meruailous elegāt worde autoptai selfe seers epoptai inseers or onbeholders WE haue seen Where the Grekes haue sondrie wordes that signifie to see the Euāgelist vseth a special one etheasametha which signifieth to beholde a thinge diligētly leasurely We maie see thinges glaunsingly which sight is not so perfecte certaine as whā we beholde a thinge stedfastly leasurely The Grekes haue propre wordes for both kindes of seinge The thinges that thapostles saw thei so saw as they cold not be deceaued therefore they ar called peplerophoremena fully ascertained His glorie The diuinitee of the lorde Iesus shined out of his wordes dedes at al times in al places His uertuous innocēt life his miracles his resurrection his ascension sendinge of the holie gost did speake as it were crie out that he was Goddes sonne He gaue them also a tast of his diuinitee heauēlye maiestie whā he was most gloriously transfigured before them in the moūt But how do miracles proue the diuinitee of Christ seinge that mē haue don the like as Elias and Elizeus in the old testamēt and thapostles in the new You shal vndrestāde that the lorde Iesus did miracles by his awne power which the scripture obserueth diligētly teacheth plaīly where mē do thē by a borowed power Of the lorde worckīge miracles the scripture saieth I saie vnto the arise I charge the go out Of mē the lorde Iesus make the hole in the name of the lorde Iesus arise walke Man receaueth power to worcke miracles God giueth power But the scripture witnesseth that the lorde Iesus giueth also power to worcke miracles that in his awne name Whereby we easely see the differēce of the lordes worckinge of mēnes worckinge of miracles The glorie as of We behelde such glorie magnificēce as besemeth goddes only begottē sonne agreeth only to him The worde as some times signifieth not the thinge to be in dede but a likenes of it as whā we saie he speaketh holily as a good mā but he is an hypocrite Some times it noteth the truth of a matter a thinge truly to be don Walke as the childrē of light saieth Paule He biddeth thē not coūtrefaite the childrē of light but to shew them selues the childrē of light in dede After such sorte S. Iohā vseth the worde as for he meaneth that such vertue such power as he had declared him to be verely goddes natural sonne that such thinges as he did belonge to Goddes sonne only nether can be found in anie other As if we shulde saie of the most noble holie and blessed kinge Edwarde the sixte that he behaued himselfe as a kinges sonne our meaninge shuld not be that he was not a kinges sonne but shewed him selfe as though he had ben a kinges sonne but our meaninge shuld be that he shewed him selfe none other wise than his birth required
beleued not that he that is to saie Arrius was such one as he was accused to be But if the holie councile be so persuaded we repugne not but consente to your decrees and confirme our consente with this our present writinge not that we can not beare our banishment but to auoide the suspition of haeresie Out of these wordes Socrates the storie writer gesseth that these two subscribed to the faith agreed vpon in the concile of Nice but wolde not alowe the depositiō of Arrius This matter beinge thus wisely and godly estably shed begāne to be trobled againe by this occasion Constatine the emperor had a sister called Constantia in to whose fauor a certaine preist crepte so far that she cōpted him as one of hir awne This preist whose name the storie writer vttereth not as worthie perpetual obliuiō by thaduise of Eusebius declared to Constantia that the cōcile had don Arrius wronge and that he thought not as the rumor went The ladie durst not tel the Emperor that his affirmation and yet she beleued hir preist It happened sone after that she fel sicke and the Emperor hir brother cam to visite hir at which time she singularly commended hir preist vnto him Who immediately vpon hir cōmendation receaued him in to his fauor and familiaritie The preist hauinge gotten boldnes and libertee of talke renued vnto him Arrius his matter affirminge that he agreed with the concile The emperor aūswered that if Arrius wold consent to the cōcile he wolde receaue him to fauor and sende him againe to Alexandria to be restored to his former place And there vpō he sent Lettres to Arrius to repare spedely vnto him Whan Arrius was cōme and presented before the Emperor he demaūded of him whether he consented to the faith of the Nicene concile Arrius aunswered that he did consente there vnto The Emperor bad hī put his faith in writīge he did so this was the cōfessiō of hī of Euzoius that was htā there with hī We beleue in one god the father almightie and in the Lorde Iesus Christ his sonne begotten of him before al worldes god the worde by whō al thinges were made both thinges in heauen and thinges in erth The Emperor forthwith wrote to Athanasius bisshop off Alexandria to receaue Arrius and to restore him to his roome And bicause Athanasius refused so to do he was deposed Than beganne Arrius to sow againe his enuenimed seedes The Emperor enformed of his nawhgtie behauior sent for him againe vnto Cōstantinople and asked him once more whether he cōsented to the determination of the Nicene concile He aunswered yea with out anie staggeringe the Emperor meruailinge at the matter required of him to confirme his confession with an othe And he toke his othe incontinētly vsinge therein fond craft and subtiltie For he had written his awne doctrine in a paper and caried the same vndre his arme hole and so sware that his sentence was as he had there written meaninge the paper vndre his arme hole Here vpon rhe Emperor commended him to the bishoppe of Constantinople to be receaued to the communion of catholike Christian mē Alexander the bishoppe knowinge the malitious wilines of Arrius staied at the matter Eusebius a stoute man ceased not to threatē the good bishoppe that if he wold not willingly admitte Arrius to the communion he shuld be compelled thereunto by force The bishoppe perceauinge that he was not able to resiste the violence of Eusebius hauinge the Emperor also on his side fel to praier and continued therein al night liynge prostrate before the lordes table In the morninge Eusebius accompanied with a bande of men went to Arrius his lodginge and willed him to folow him to the temple Euerie mannes minde was occupied with expectation of the ende knowinge the fiercenes of Eusebius and the cōstantie and godlines of Alexander Arrius by the waye as he was goinge to church in the middest of that route for mannes necessitie desired to goe a side to a priuie where his guttes barst out and he died an horrible vile stinckinge and shameful death And so the good bishoppe was by miracle deliuered from great feare and burthen of conscience and proud Eusebius disapointed of his purpose Howbeit afterwarde by the meanes of that nawghtie preist and Constantius Constantine the Emperors sonne whose fauor the preist got by deliuering to him the testamēt that the ēperor left in his hādes the haeresie of vile Arrius was so reuiued maīteined that it cold not be quēched but with great trauail of lerned mē blode of manie Martyrs For heretikes if thei once preuaile ar most cruel persequutors as in old time the tru Christians felt in the furious rage of the haeretical Arrianes and we now fele vndre the most bloodie haeretical Idolatres Neuertheles the goodnes of God was such that for the confusion and ovthrowīge of this most horrible haeresie he raised vp most excellent wittes and mē of most singular lerninge and vertue so that in processe of time after great trauail after terrible tormentes most cruel kindes of death which the godlie suffred this haeresie was vtterly ouerthrowen and beaten doune to hel But now as good mē reporte sondrie phrantike spirites labour to blow life in to it and to cal it againe in to the worlde out of Satās darcke dongeon And if al be tru that I haue hearde thei haue patched two or three peeces of their awne to that ilfauored bodie and haue made it a fowler mōster than it was before But howsoeuer thei haue handled their monstruous babie it shal be good for vs to know the truth of this matter and to haue readie a perfecte rule to iudge all maner of doctrines Whan we haue a true rule out of goddes worde it shal be easie to auoide al false inuentions For what so agreeth not to that rule is to be refused and cast awaie Therefore we ought first to labor to know what hte scripture teacheth and to cleaue there to whatsoeuer ether lerned wittes can subtilly deuise or phrantike braines fanatically and rauingely dreame out powre forth at auenture in their traūces If we bringe al thinges to this touchstone we shal neuer be deceaued by anie new broched doctrine But bicause the matter of al other is most high most excedinge our capacitee we ought wit al h feare reuerence sobrenes and modestie to approch vnto it in no wise to entre in to a place of such maiestie brightnes glorie with foule fete and to touch so holie thinges with vncleane handes Comme therefore my brethern with al humilite and reuerent behauior to the gospell of S. Iohan. For it is euidently true that none of the diuine writers haue handled this our present matter so largely so plaīly so strongely against al cauillations And therefore I haue purposely takē in hande to treate some parte of his most diuine worcke amōg you that we maye al certaīly know what we ought