from the face of the earth of his infinite goodnesse and wisedome he deuised the sonne of God the seconde person in Trinitie should descend from Heauen and take flesh of the blessed virgine that so being in one person both very God very man he might be a most fit Mediator to work recoÌ„ciliatioÌ„ betwene God and man The cause therefore why Christe came in flesh was to worke the saluation of mankinde For so saith S. Paule It is a sure saying worthie of all men to be beleeued that Christ came into the world to saue sinners And Christ himselfe sayth that he came to saue that which was lost The generall worke of our redemption hath certayne principall branches whiche are cheefe Articles of oure Fayth and groundes of all Christian religion Firste that he might be the reconciler and attonement maker betweene God and vs as S. Paule witnesseth 2. Cor. 5. All things are of God which reconciled vs vnto himself in Christ Iesus And immediately God was in Christ recoÌ„ciling the world to himselfe And to the Colosâ— It pleased him to reconcile all things vnto himselfe by Christ appeasing by the blood of his Crosse all thinges whiche are either in heauen or in earth God therefore appoynted him for euer to be our high Bishop our Mediator our Aduocate our Intercessor which should coÌ„tinualy appeare before the face of God for vs and make him fauourable to sinners that we might haue accesse to God by him by his intercession and merite obtayne mercy and grace in oure necessities these be the wordes of the scripture And hee is not onely our Mediatour and Aduocate but Our onelye Mediatour and Aduocate One God and one Mediatour of God and man the man Christ Iesus We haue an Aduocate with the father Iesus Christ the righteous and he is the propitiation for our sinnes It is hee that ascended vp to heauen and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Vt interpellat pro nobis That he may bee an Intercessour for vs. The 2. cause of Christs comming into flesh is that he might be our redeemer from the tyrannye of the Deuill and the purchazer of remission of sinnes The Sonne of god appeared to this ende to dissolue the workes of the Deuill And agayne Yee are redeemed not with golde and siluer but with the blood of the immaculate Lambe Christ Iesus And agayne Beholde the LaÌ„be of god that taketh away the sinnes of the world And S. Paule In whome wee haue redemption and by his blood remission of our sinnes We must not onlye beleeue that he is our Redeemer but our Only Redeemer and the Only Purchazer of the full remission of our sinnes For Non est aliud nomen c. That is There is no other name vnder Heaué wherin we shold be saued but only by the name of Christ Iesus And S. Iohn The blood of christ hath washed vs froÌ„ al sinne And S. Paule He gaue himself for vs. that he might redeme vs froÌ„ all iniquitie The 3. cause of Christes incarnatioÌ„ y â— 2. office of his eternal Priesthood is to offer a ful perfit sacrifice to appease y â— wrath of God to satisfie his iustice y t not according to y â— order of Aaron which by imperfectioÌ„ did nede a Succession but according to y â— order of Melchizedek y â— for euer Thou art a Priest sayth God for euer according to the order of Melchizedek Therefore it cannot bee borne â—â— christian religion that Christ should haue any succession in Priesthood to sacrifyce after him For by one oblation he made perfect all that be sanctified And agayne Christ was once offered for the extinguishing of the sinnes of many And agayne Hauing offered one Sacrifice for sinne he sitteth perpetually at the right hand of God And sundry times else where the Epistle to the Hebrues affirmeth Christ Semel That is to say once to haue sacrificed himselfe The fourth cause of his Incarnation and the thyrde office of his eternall Priesthood is that he might be the only Prophet Maister Teacher and instructer of his people fully to open to them the knowledge of God and the true way of Saluation God sayth Moyses shall raise from among you a Prophet like vnto me him do you heare according to all thinges that he shall say vnto you And God the father himself at the baptizing of Christ did with the visible presence of the holy Ghost consecrate him Maister and teacher of his church which only was to be heard This is my dearely beloued Sonne in whome I am well pleased him doe you heare The same Consecration was confyrmed in the Mounte at the transfiguration of Christ And Esay the Prophet in the 55. chapter or rather God by Esay sayth I haue giuen him as a witnesse vnto people preceptorem Gentibus And a Maister and instructour of all nations And therefore Christ himselfe forbiddeth his Apostles to be called Maisters for sayth hee Ye haue but one Maister which is Christ The fyfte cause of Christ his comming in flesh is that he might be the Lorde of Lordes and King of Kinges the onlye head ruler gouernour and defender of his vniuersall Church ouer al the partes of the worlde according to the Prophecie of Dauid Psal 2. Yet haue I annoynted my King vpon my holy hill of Syon to whome for his inheritance he gaue all the Nations of y â— world and for his possession the vttermost bounds of the earth And the Angell at his Conception sayde He shall raigne in the house of Iacob for euer and there shall be none ende of his kingdome And Ephesians 1. He hath put all thinges vnder his feete and hath appointed him aboue al things head of his Church And Coloss 1. He is the head of his body the Church which is the beginning the first of them that rise from death Vt sit in omnibus primas tenens i. That in all thinges hee might haue the preheminence And Ephe. 5. The Husband is the head of the wife as Christ is head of the Church But the wife may haue no more heades but her husband vnlesse she will be a wedlock breakeâ— and so the Church can haue no other heade But Christ vnlesse she doe in the face of the whole world forsake hir owne Spouse who hath betrothed her to him alone He is the only Sonne whiche alone gouerneth the house of GOD his father In all these Branches I adde this worde Onely because Christ onelye is alone that that he is oure onely Mediatour our onely redeemer and purchazer of remission of Sinnes our onelye high Prieste to sacrifice for vs oure onlye Maister and Teacher that instrueteth vs our onely head and gouernour that guideth and defendeth vs. And herevnto I am mooued not onelye with expresse wordes of the scriptures but also with consideration
And yet doth Irenaeus confute the same Heretiks by those bokes of holy Scriptures which they themselues allowed Now as it was necessary in this case for those fathers for trial of truth to resort to the Succession of the Apostolicall churches that the scriptures in them reserued from the Apostles time mighte bee of more authoritie among them that beleeued not the scriptures So it is not necessary so to deale agaynst them which willingly and gladly submit themselues to all the partes of the Canonicall scriptures Neither do those Fathers stay vpō these churches because of their ordinary Successiō as the patrones of the church of Roome now doe but because in that ordinarye Succession the Doctrine of the Fathers was still kept inuiolable according to the word of God Whiche thing if the Church of Roome were able to prooue wee would willingly yeelde vnto it That those learned Fathers did this it shall euidently appeare vnto you by the verye same places whiche they alleadge for their purpose Irenaeus sayth Presbyteris obaudire oportet qui successionem babent ab Apostolis i. We must heare or giue eare to the ministers which haue their suc cessyon from the Apostles But he sayeth not so onelye but immediately addeth Et cum Episcopatus Successione charisima veritatis certum secundum placitum patris acceperunt i. And together with the Succession in their Bisho pricke haue receaued also the certaine grace of true Doctrine according to the will of the Father And in the very next Chapter agayne after he had giuen certayn Markes of ill teachers much agreeing to the course of the Church of Roome at these dayes he addeth Of all suche persons we must beware and cleaue to them which as I haue sayde before both keepe the Doctrine of the Apostles and togither with the order of Priesthood shew wholesome and true teaching with honest conuersation of life Neither doth Irenaeus onlye thus replye vpon the Doctrine of the Apostles but the residue also of those Fathers whome they alleadge for the authoritye of Succession Tertul. sayth as he is alleaged by them Let them shew the beginninges of their Churches Let the Heretikes deuise some such Succession c. But marke I pray you what immediately followeth For their Doctrine being cōpared with the doctrine of the Apostles by the diuersity and contrarietie thereof wil euidently shew it selfe to be the doctrine neither of any Apostle nor any Apostolicall man Doth he not in playne words shew y ◠Succession without the Doctrine of the Apostles is nothing worth S. Augusti likewise against the Epist Fūdamentum c. when he hath reckoned vp those things which moued him to remayne in the church among which Successiō is but one He addeth No such thing is with you where is only a promise of persons teaching the truth which truth if it were so euidently declared that we might not iustly doubt of it it were to be preferred before all those thinges with whiche I am kept in the Church c. What can be more euident then that S. Aug. doth attribute more to truth of doctrine manifestly proued by the word of God then to Succession or any other token that can be alleaged Succession with continuance of Apostolical Doctrine ought to be of great authoritie but without it nothing It is notable that Tertullian hath in the Boke before alleaged How commeth it saith he that Heretikes are straungers and ennimies to the Apostles but only by the diuersity of their Doctrine which they deuise of their own brayn agaynst the Apostles Wherfore the corruption of scriptures and the exposition thereof is to be thought to be among thē where diuersitie of Doctrine contrarye to the Apostles is founde This is a notable witnesse agaynst the church of Roome whose Doctrines be so diuerse from the doctrine of y ◠primatiue church The sonnes of Aaron had more allowable Succession from Aaron than the Bishops of Rome haue from Peter and yet because they brought straunge Fyre into the Temple of God they were reiected and perished Euen so sayth Cyprian Those which in the Churche of God do imitate them and contemning the truth deliuered by God desire strange doctrines and bring into the church the instruction of humain ordinance them Christ sharpely rebuketh in the Gospel saying You cast away the commaundement of God that you may place your own deuises c. Annas and Cayphas had full Succession from Aaron yet were it hard therevpon to conclude that they had the righte of the true Churche and Christe and his Disciples to be Seismaticks Though they pretend to haue the ordinary Succession of Bishoppes in their Seas sure wee are that wee haue the Succession of the sincere Doctrine of our saluation which they haue not For if their Doctrine be cōpared with the Doctrine of the Apostles by the diuersitye contrarietie thereof it will appeare that it is the Doctrine neyther of the Apostles nor of anye Apostolicall men The Doctryne of the Apostles is that Christe is not onelye GOD Eternall with the Father but that hee is Manne also taking fleshe of the blessed Virgine in all thinges like vnto vs sinne only excepted and that in his humanitie hee is nowe ascended into Heauen and sitteth perpetually at the right hand of the father But the Doctrine of the Church of Roome telleth vs that the humanitie of Christ and his very naturall body and blood are really and carnally not in heauen alone but in tenne thousande places also on the earth at one instante the whiche propertye is peculier to God alone For nothing but God can be in moe places but one at once As the whole scriptures declare The Doctrine of the Apostles is that Christ is by God appoynted to be our only Mediatour Reconciler Aduocate and intercessoure to make attonemente betweene God and vs so often as our sinne shall seuer vs from him and that to that end he sitteth now at the right hande of God that he may appeare before him for vs. But the doctrine of the Church of Roome putting Christ out of office teacheth vs that beside Christ we haue an infinit number of Mediatours and Intercessours to procure vs fauoure and to make reconciliation betweene God and vs that is the whole number of the Aungels and Saintes in Heauen The Doctrine of the Apostles is that Christ is our only Redeemer and sauyoure and by the price of his blood hath purchased for vs full and perfite remission of sinne But the Doctrine of Roome is that we haue remission of sins not onely by Christe but by the merites and prayers of saynts by our own good workes by Masses by Pardons by Purgatory by holy water a number of other things so that not without note of blasphemye they matche the vayne deuises of men for the remission of our sinnes with the Blood of the sonne of God the most excellente price of our
Redemption The Doctrine of the Apostles is that Christ is our onely Priest for euer according to the Order of Melchizadech that with once offering of himselfe hath for euer made perfecte them that bee sanctified But the Church of Roome telleth vs that Christe hath a state of Priesthoode succeeding him which must dayly and continually offer the very natural body and blood of Christe to God the Father for the remission of the sins of y e quick the dead The Doctrine of the Apostles is that Christe is the only Mayster and teacher of his church in his holy word hath deliuered vnto it al truth But the Church of Roome teacheth vs that Christ hath not deliuered vnto vs all truth but that there be many thinges necessarye to be beleeued which are not contained in the Scriptures herevpon doe they ground al their vnwritten verities and vayne tradicions of men saying that they are to bee receiued with the like Reuerence that the written worde of GOD is The Doctrine of the Apostles is that Christ is the onlye Heade of his Churche and the Ruler and gouernor of the same but the Church of Rome would perswade vs that the Pope his successors are the heads of the vniuersall church of Christ The doctrine of the Apostles is that Christ is the only Foundacion ground of his Church wherevpō it resteth and is stayed for S. Paule sayth that No man can lay any other foundacion then that is layd Christe Iesus But the church of Rome teacheth vs that S. Peter and his successours be the foundation of the Church and that Hell gates shall neuer preuayle against that church that is builded vpon that foundation This may you see very euidently how well the doctrine of the Church of Roome agreeth w t the doctrine of y e Apostles And therfore though they haue personall Succession neuer so muche yet because they haue not Succession of this true doctrine that may not iustly be taken for the right Churche of Christ Now if they will continue to aske of vs where oure Succession is We aunswere that wheresoeuer since the comming of Christ there hath bene any persons vpon the the face of the earth that haue confessed this sincere truth and doctrine We say that they are our predecessors we are their Successors and with them members of the true Church Therefore our church is not so new a Church as they would make it but as auncient as the Doctrine is which is the most auncient Doctrine y t euer was vpon the face of the earth But if this their personal Successiō be the greatest proofe of their Church What will they saye of the Grecians Who haue hadde Successyon of Bishops for as long continuaunce as they haue and yet did neuer acknowledge the Supremacy of Rome nor that it was the only Catholike church but a member of it only as others were Oh will they say The Grecyans were Scismatickes yea but they haue cōtinual succession of Bishops professing Christ And by what authority proue they that forsooth because they separate themselues from the Apostolicall Sea And is that sufficient Why if the Grecians are to bee counted Scismatyckes because they forsake the sea of Roome howe muche more is Roome it selfe to be counted no true Churche whiche hath swarued from Christe himselfe as before I haue declared both in Doctrine and in the right vse of the Sacramentes Wherefore their alleadging of the name and Title ot the Church is euen a lyke shyft as the Jewes vsed against Ieremie and the other Prophets of God in old tyme saying Templum Domini Templum Domini i. The Tēple of the Lord The Tēple of the Lord. Whereas the Lord did acknowledge nothing among them to bee his So do they now crie we are the catholique church We are the catholique Church and God hath promised that he will neuer forsake it but alwaye assiste it with his holye spirite and therefore hath it prospered so many yeares Or if the Churche of Roome be not the true Church there hath bene no church at all for certayn hundred yeares For where was your churche scene within these fourty yeares before Luther began What token was there of your Doctrine had christ no church at al yes truely had he God forbid that Christ at any time should not haue his true church But good people it is not alway necessarie that the churche of GOD should be Notable or flourishe in the outwarde face of the Worlde by continuall Successyon of Byshops GOD and the worlde bee contrary and therefore often times the Churche is more notable by contempte of the world and persecution then by great Number or Power Yea sometime they whiche in the outwarde shewe of the Worlde and by certayne externall Signes mighte seeme to bee the Church and haue taken vppon them the name of the Churche and people of GOD haue bene persecutors and to theire power the Oppressors of the true Churche of God as it appeareth towarde the Prophets towarde Christe himselfe and towarde his Apostles Wherefore though the heads and gouernors of the church with the assistance of the greater number doe forsake the true worde worshipping of God doe make new lawes repugnante to gods word do bring newe Rites ceremonies into the church and vtterly corrupt and deface the righte Sacramentes and true markes of the Churche yet GOD reserueth to himselfe his true churche sending from tyme to tyme Doctours and Teachers to lead them although the same bee not allowed by them that will bee counted the Ordinary gouernoures of the churche but esteeme them as Scismatiks as Heretiques as disturbers of the people of God So were the Prophetes vsed so was Christe himselfe and his Apostles serued by the Jewes that woulde be counted the true churche of of GOD. But this I wil declare vnto you by particuler Examples Noe had preached as some write sixe score yeares but to howe small effecte it did afterwarde appeare when that in the Deluge eyghte personnes onelye of his Familye were saued Consyder then what countenaunce the Churche of GOD had in the World before the Deluge when it consisted onlye in eighte Personnes and they not the best esteemed in the time of Abraham Isaac and the Patriarches In how few and small families were they dispersed vpon the face of the Earth in whome the dignitie of the Church consisted Achas King of Iuda Vria the high Bishop and the other Priests not resisting him shut vp the Temple of GOD and tooke away the Chayre so that vndoubtedly the ordinary Sacrifice and Teaching of Gods Lawe did cease and yet was there an holy and true Church in the Kingdome of Iuda where Esay and other good men did Teach but extraordinarily Vnder Manasses the true Doctrine and celebration of the Sacramentes ceased and so this Defection continued vntill it was refourmed by the good King Iosias yet
Saint George they pray thus Hie nos saluet à peccatis vt in coelo cum beatis possimus qâ—iescere Let him saue vs from our sinnes that we may rest with the blessed in heauen And touching Saint Anne they say thus Deus qui beatam Annam matrem tuae genetricis fieri voluisti praesta quaesumus vt meritis vtriusque matris filiae regna caelestia consequamur O God thou which wouldest Saint Anne to become the mother of thy mother graunt we beseeche thee that by the merites of the mother and the daughter we may obtaine thy heauenly kingdome In thys you heare three Sauiours beside Christ and in like maner doe they acknowledge a thousande moe Secondly they say we haue remission of sinnes and saluation in parte by our owne Merites and good doynges For this writeth Gabriel Biel That the Passion of Christ may be the first and principall cause of attaining grace and opening the way to heauen Sed nunquam est totalis causa quia semper cum merito Christi concurrit aliquod meritum recipientis gratiam that is to say But it is neuer the whole cause for that euer there goeth with the merite of Christ some merite of him that receaueth grace What shall I say of Pardons of Pilgrimages of Purgatorie of holy Water and a number of other like Superstitions false errours by which not without blasphemie they matche transitorie things and vaine deuises of men with the most excellent price of our redemption the blood of Christ Iesu y e sonne of God our Sauiour exprefly contrarie to the holy ghost thus writing by Saint Peter Ye are not redeemed with transitorie things as with Golde or Siluer but with the blood of the immaculate Lambe Christ Iesus As touching the third cause of Christes IncarnatioÌ„ that he being our only high Priest according to the order of Melchizodech hath once for euer offered himself vpon the Crosse purchased for vs eternall redeÌ„ption they impugne it wyth y â— most horrible doctrine of the propiciatorie sacrifice daily offered in the Masse wherin they teach that mortall sinfull men in a state of Priesthood succeede Christ continually offer the very reall naturall body of Christ to God the father for the remission of dayly sinnes not only of theÌ„ that CoÌ„municate but of them that looke on receaue not yea and of them that be absent and procure the same to be made eyther for money or otherwise aswell for themselues as other which is directly contrarie to the doctrine of the holy Ghost in the Epistle to the Hebrewes Where at large he prooueth that neither the Priesthood of Christ can haue any successioÌ„ nor his sacrifice any repetitioÌ„ without euident note of imperfection As concerning the fourth cause of Christes Incarnation that he is the only Maister and teacher of his Church and hath reuealed vnto vs the perfecte wyll of God and true waye of Saluation so that nowe after hym wee shoulde receaue no doctrine but that is vttered by the voyce of our hygh Sheeparde in his holye worde Yes sayeth the Churche of Rome there bee many weyghtie matters of necessitie of saluation to bee beleeued which Christ in hys written worde hath not deliuered vnto vs and the same to bee receaued wyth lyke reuerence that the written worde of God is Last of all the fifte cause of Christes Incarnation that he came to be the onely Head Ruler Gouernour and Directour of his Churche the Patrones of the Churche of Rome manifestly denye saying that Christ is in deede the onely heade for saluation but not for gouernment because the Pope is the Ministeriall heade and gouernour and directour of the vniuersall Churche wherein they manifestly alter the nature of Christes kingdome For whereas the kingdome of Christ is not of this worlde but a spirituall kingdome wherein by the word of God and the power of his holy spirite hee ruleth and raygneth in the heartes of true Christians the Pope hath transferred it to an earthly kingdome and Empyre by which as the Vicar of Christ he challengeth a vniuersall gouernment not onely ouer the Ecclesiasticall state but also ouer all Princes and gouernours of the earth This opposition and contrarietie of the doctrines of the Churche of Rome to the doctrine of y â— Gospell if you diligently marke and obserue you shall euidently see in them the spirite of Antichrist althoughe not grossely and playnely yet vndirectly and colourablye denying Christ to haue come in fleshe What shall I saye that the doctrine of that Churche dothe not onely disgrace the office of Chryst in the worke of our redemption but hys person also by brynging hys humanitie and the trueth of hys bodye in doubte whyle they teache that the verye naturall bodie of Christ is really in all places or in tenne thousand places at once that is in euerye host consecrated through out the whole worlde And what Christian knoweth not that it is the propertie of of God alone and of no creature bee it neuer so holye to bee in manye places at once Finallye I adde that the Churche of Rome teacheth corruptlye as touching Originall Sinne freewill and the grace of GOD Faith and Justification good workes and the merites of them the vse of the Sacramentes and almost of all doctrines touching Christian Religion Therefore I trust you nowe perceyue both the partes of my second proposition euidently proued that is that we sincerely confesse and teache in all true sense that Christ is come in fleshe and they doe not therefore accordyng to the wordes of my Theame I say vnto you If we teach you the truth why doe you not beleeue vs If it be the onely right way of saluation why is it not fauourably receaued and embraced If it be the glad tidings of the Gospell sent by God vnto you why are the Messengers thereof disdayned and contemned People that doe feare God heare the worde of God with reuerence and not onely heare it with the eares but faithfully beleeue it in the hart and not onely beleeue it but constantly abyde in it not onely themselues to abyde in it but by all meanes they can to labour to drawe other to it and to represse all such as eyther reuolte from it themselues or seeke to disgrace or discredite it in others God is not more displeased with any thing than with the contempt of his word and Ministers Thus sayth the Lord by Ieremie in y t 6. chap. reprouing the obstinacie of his people Stand in the wayes and behold aske for the olde way which is the good way and walke therin and there you shall finde rest for your soules but they said we wil not walk therin Also I set watchmen ouer you which said take heede to the sounde of the Trumpet but they said we will not take heede But consider what God addeth immediatly Heare O earth saith he beholde I will cause a plague to come vpon