so springeth from God that he abydeth still in God For Goddes nature admytteth no diuision And the word was God As the sentence beefore sheweth a difference betwene God the father and the sonne in their persons so thys teacheth an vnitie in substance For sith there is but one God the sonne beeyng God as S. Iohn clearely techeth that we myghte bee sure of the sonnes diuinite he must nedes be of the same substance that the father is of Els ether there should be sondri gods or the sōne shoulde not be naturally God But the wordes that goe beefore and these wordes and the words that folow which assigne to the sonne the makyng of all thinges proue that he is naturally God For what is eternall and without beginning but god what was wyth god beefore the world was made that was not god how coulde Iohn speakynge of the nature of a thing that was in the beginning affirme it to be god onles it were god For what substance could there be before any thing was made that was nether gods substance nor a creature For what so is not a creature and yet hath a being is surely god And whereby were all thynges made but by god For Esaie teacheth that god vsed no minister in makyng the worlde whan he saieth I alone extended the heauens by my selfe But he made all thinges by hys sonne therefore his sonne muste be hymselfe that is to saye of the same substance essence and being And that there can not be two gods we haue alreadi proued by gods propretes and all the scripture cōstantly affirmeth the same But it is most vehemently taughte in these wordes of Esaie is there a God besyde me Before me there was no god framed nor shal be after me The sonne than beyng naturally god must nedes be of the sāe substāce and essence that the father is of and so though the father be naturally God the sonne naturally God c. yet there bee not three Goddes but one God because the substance of those three is one These wordes also the worde was God choke another heresie in my opinion more subtile than the heresie of Arrius For Paulus Samosatenus and his scolars graūte that the worde was euer with God but by the worde they vnderstand not a substance a subsisting essence but only gods purpose which he had eternally to make the world and to make him a sonne out of the virgin Mary that shoulde bee a most excellent man and the saueoure of the worlde But how can a hare purpose to doe thinges bee called God whan it hath no subsisting and abiding nature Forther these wretches see not that by their strange and worse than Platonical imagination thei make trees and stones and wormes equall to Goddes sonne in eternite For they were euer in gods purpose And yet I thinke they wil sticke to call them gods But though thys sentence of S. Iohn be sufficient to holde their noses to the grinde stone yet take that with you also that is written in the .17 chap. of this worke glorifie me father with the glori which I had before the worlde was with thee What glorie coulde an onely purpose without substāce haue before the world was with God Yea how could he be before the world if he were in Gods purpose only For so was the worlde euer with God How could he reioyce before him whan nothing was yet made as Salomon teacheth if he were than but in hys purpose Nether could this be truly sayed before Abrahā was I am if he wer in the beginning but onely in Goddes purpose for so was Abrahā euer in gods purpose For God beginneth not newe counsels and purposes But his purposes are eternal altogether he nedeth not time to deuise purpose one thing after another which is mans weaknesse For he seeth all that he wil dooe at once with one sight whiche if we coulde doe we would not take one counsell after another But oure weaknesse compelleth vs so to doe whiche is farre from God and therefore all his purposes be in him together at once But sith his sonne was in him before Abraham it muste nedes be that he was otherwise in him than in purpose And in dede he that is euer in substāce and beeinge maye well be saied to bee before him that was onely euer in purpose and not in substance and verie beeing Thus thys heresye also laieth flatte vpon the grounde with out life or breathing This was in the beginninge with GOD. The Grekes haue a prouerbe that the thing that is faire and goodly maye bee repeted once or twise Saincte Iohn repeteth the verye thinge that he spake before And thys he dooeth not superfluouslie but vpon greate purpose For he will depelie printe in to vs that GODDES woorde is eternall withoute beginninge and no creature As if he would say thinke not that this fell from me inconsideratly whan I saied the worde was in the beginninge and saied not that it was made For that you may be assured for euer of my meaning and of the trueth of the matter I saye to you againe that the worde was in the beginning and had his beyng before any thing was made That the word I say was eternallye with God and is no creature For it was euer with God and had euer his beeing This is the diligence of our holy writers that whan a thing is of great weight and importance thei will beate it in twise that it maye sticke the faster Althinges he hath shewed vs the substance essence and being of the lorde Iesus nowe he teacheth vs to know hī by his workes For he sayth that al thinges ware made by him And if all things wer made by him thā he must nedes be god For God himself saieth in the .44 of Esay I am Iehoua the maker of al thinges I only extende the heauens and stretche forth the earth by my self But the Prophete Dauid saieth that the heauēs wer made and stablished by Goddes worde and this place testifieth that all thynges were made by it so Goddes worde must nedes be God forasmuche as God made al thinges alone by himselfe and yet by his worde Here we must beware of sondrye corrupters of the scripture For some peuishly and dronkenlye affirme that S. Iohn speaketh of God the father when he saith that al thinges were made by him beecause the Greke pronowne is indifferent to be interpreted by it or by hī the word logos being the masculine gēder But how werishe a thing were this howe farre beside the purpose if going about to teache what we shold thinke of gods sonne and of his nature he should write thus Goddes sōne was in the beginning with God and was God he was in the beginning with God and all thinges were made by him that is to saye by God the father what were this to his purpose which is to shewe vs what Goddes sōne is if he should tell vs that God the father
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
that is none other wise than a kinges sonne shuld do To our purpose Kinges and Princes haue their glorie and their maiestie semelie for their state the Lorde Iesus had glorie semelie for Goddes sonne ¶ THE ONLY BEGOTTEN This word auanceth the Lorde Iesus aboue al creatures and teacheth him to be Goddes natural son We ar also called Goddes sonnes but that is by adoption by fauor by grace not by natural generation By natural generation God hath one only sonne who of his goodnes mercie hath made vs partakers of that that he is by nature This word only begotten ought wel to be weighed For it teacheth the Lorde Iesus to be of the same substance that the father is of and and therefore verie God and aequal to the father For these thinges hange together folow one another For our Euāgelist teacheth in the .5 chap. that whan the lorde Iesus saied God was his father he mēt patera idion his awne father that is his natural father therefore shewed him selfe aequal to God For it foloweth in dede that if God be his awne father that is to saie his father by natural generation he must nedes be aequal to God his father For in the Godhead there is nothinge greater or smaller He that is of Goddes substāce must nedes be God And he that is God must nedes be infinite aboue al measure greatnes So to be Goddes ōly begottē sonne God to be his awne father bothe which wordes this Euāgelist hath of the lorde Iesus ovthroweth al that maie be diuised by anie rauīge braine against his tru natural godhead Yet the Arrians lille out theyr blasphemous tounges stil francticly allege the scriptures for them For first thei iangle that it is writtē in this gospel the father is greater thā I. Wherevnto first I saye that one place of this gospel is not to be expouned agaīst the hole purpose of the boke which is to teach that the lorde Iesus is Goddes natural sonne aequal to God And sith the Euangelist hath this worde aequal plainly and expressely thei shew themselues mad that wold make him to encoūtre agaīst himselfe Secōdly I saie that in that place the lorde Iesus compareth not his substance with the fathers substāce but compareth his present hūble state with the glorious state that he shulde haue after his ascēsion And therefore al the godlie old fathers welnigh haue taught those wordes to be spoken of his mānes nature which shuld be forth with aduaūced to immortal incorruptible glorie by the power of the father Some greke writers in dede admitte that the father is greater thē the sonne not bicause he hath greater power or that there is anie differēce in their substāce essence but in that he is the father and begetteth the sonne and is not begottē of the sonne therefore he maie be saide greater The meaninge also of those wordes the father is greater than I maie be this The ende why I trauaile with you is not that you shuld staie in me and loke no farther but to bringe you to the father as to the last marcke that with me you maie see him as he is Whose glorie is more dere to me thā is myn awne glorie therefore I seke it more thā myne awne I thincke that I haue not accomplished myne office vntil I haue brought you to him But our Arriās sith they be ouer the shoues sticke not blindly to presse forwarde to goe ouer the bootes to For thei rūne to this place writtē to the Cor. chap. 15. Whā al thinges shal be made subiecte to him thā shal the sonne also him selfe be assubiected to him who hath assubiected al thinges to him But what if we aūswere that that also is spokē touchinge his mānes nature For the same autor S. Paule in the .2 to the Philip. teacheth that touchinge his diuine nature he thought it no robberie to be aequal with God Naie saie they for than he shuld not haue saide shal be assubiected for that nature is al readie subiecte Wil they graūt than that the lorde Iesus hath a nature that is not now subiecte to God but shal be hereafter If they wil graūt that thā wil I saie that what so euer is not now subiecte to God in the lorde Iesus shal nev be subiecte to God For that that is once aequal to God shal euer be aequal to God How than is it saide that his mānes nature shal be assubiected if it be al readie assubiected I aunswere bicause we shal thā know it which now we beleue only For as S. Augustine proueth in the holie scripture thinges are saide to be don whā they beginne to be knowē of vs. As whan we saie halowed be thy name Goddes name of it selfe is holie but we desire that it maie be so knowen to vs. For fuller vndrestandinge of that place of Sainct Paule ye shal considre that al power is giuen to Christ in that he is clothed with mānes nature For God hath exalted him in the same nature wherein he was humbled The scripture than witnesseth that Christ hath ful dominion and raigneth ouer heauen and erth God in dede is our gouernor but it is in the face of Christes mānes nature Now Christ shal surrēdre the kingdom that was giuen vnto him that we maie cleaue perfectly to God Howbeit he shal not by that meanes vtterly giue vp his kingdō where of as the scripture teacheth there is no ende but he shal as it were conueie it from his manhod to his godhead For thā we shal haue an opē entree free accesse to the diuine maiestie where now our weaknes wil not suffre vs to approche Christ thā shal this waie be subiected to the father for thā the veale shal be taken awaie the office of his mediation shal some waie cease we shal se God face to face raignīge in his glorie without anie coueringe meane And where sainte Paule saieth that God maie be al in al some thincke he speaketh so bicause we shal haue than without anie meane manie cōmodities which god now ministreth vnto vs by creatures For mainteināce of our life we shal than haue no nede of bread drincke c. nether for aedifyinge shal we haue nede of the sacramentes of the church nor the outwarde worde of the scripture nor ecclesiastical offices For God by him selue shal be al in al. Other teache the meanīge of those wordes to be that the flesh shal couet no more against the spirite but God shal possesse euerie parte of vs and reigne in vs fully and perfectly which thinge in this life is only begonne Here I wil leaue the Arrians stickinge in the mire wil returne to S. Iohā FVL of grace and veritee Bicause that afterwarde he setteth grace veritee against the law there be that thinke that his meaninge is here that the Apostles acknowleged him to be Goddes sonne by this that he