Selected quad for the lemma: soul_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
soul_n	believe_v	faith_n	word_n	6,724	5	4.6817	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A01747	A treatise concerning the trinitie of persons in vnitie of the deitie Written to Thomas Mannering an Anabaptist, who denyed that Iesus is very God of very God: but man onely, yet endued with the infinite power of God.	Gill, Alexander, 1565-1635.	1601 (1601)	STC 11879; ESTC S118376	22,851	81

A TREATISE concerning the Trinitie of Persons in Vnitie of the Deitie Written to Thomas Mannering an Anabaptist who denyed that Iesus is very God of very God but man onely yet endued with the infinite power of God ⸪ Imprinted at London by Simon Stafford dwelling on Adling hill neere Carter-lane 160● TO MY VERY LOuing and deare friend Master Thomas White a Citizen of Bristow WHile I was at Norwich in the yeere 1597. I writ this Treatise vpon such occasiō as appears therein and deliuered it vnto that Heretike that by himselfe if God would he might consider and be perswaded Since which time I haue kept it by me and though some of my priuate friends desired copies yet allowing that wisdome of Solon who would make no law against Patricide least the mention of the fact might giue occasion to commit it and withall considering that it is too s●mple and poore for the publike view I haue hitherto refused to make it common Yet now perceiuing a present necessitie because that s ●me of late haue wandered in this labyrinth withall remembring that of any weakling shall hereafter entertaine this opinion he may before he be wholy possessed therewith find the absurditie of it and be reformed that many a nouice in Christianitie who therefore doubts of the truenesse of his Religion because he findes no familiar reason to perswade but onely the racke of authorities to 〈◊〉 him to acknowledge it may perhaps be hereby satisfied and find comfort and that they who are already strong may by this ouerplus triumph in the goodnesse of God who requires them to beleeue no more then they may by that vnderstanding which he hath giuen them be perswaded of I haue for their sakes who may reape benefite thereby set at nought all other Censurers not guilty vnto my selfe of any offence which I can commit in making it publike Such as it is accept good master White as a parcell of that assertion which may hereafter follow of euery article of our Christian faith if God shall vouchsafe me vnderstanding leasure and maintenance thereto I therefore offer it vnto you both because I know you are diligent in reading bookes of good argument and because I haue none other meanes whereby to shew my selfe thankefull for your manifold kindnesses and your loue At London this 20. of April 1601. Your louing and assured friend A. G. THE TREATISE THough many things discouraged mee to write vnto you of this Argument in such sort as I intend considering that neither your daily reading of the Scripture neither the perswasion of learned Diuines can moue you to accord vnto the trueth though by manifest testimonie of Scripture they conuince your heresie and most of all that God hath left you to beleeue that lying spirit of Antichrist who denyeth that Iesus is that Christ Yet neuerthelesse hauing some hope that God of his goodnes will at last pull you as a brand out of the fire and quench you with the dew of his grace that you may grow in the knowledge of his Sonne I wil as briefly as I can lay down some few reasons of that faith which euery one that will be saued must hold Whereby if I perswade you nothing yet shall I obtayne thus much that you who neither beleeued his word nor yet opened your eyes to see the light of reasonable vnderstanding shall at last confesse that his word and iudgements are holy and true But before I come to the point let mee first perswade you that although the knowledge of the holy Trinity be one of the most high mysteries which can be knowne or beleeued and that it is the onely work of the holy Ghost to work this faith and knowledge in the heart of man yet neuertheles God hath not left vs destitute of meanes whereby to come to this faith and knowledge but hath also with his word giuē vs a reasonable soule vnderstanding whereby to grow in the knowledge of himself his will For whē Adam was created he had giuen vnto him all perfite knowledge meete for him Now God who created the world for no other purpose thē the manifestation of his owne glory might not leaue that creature without vnderstanding of the Godhead who being by nature creatiō the most excellent in this world was made for that purpose especially aboue al other to set forth his prayse and to call on him Now how could he do this if he knew him not But I think that seeing it is said that mā was created in the Image of God you wil not deny that man before his fal had much more perfit vnderstanding of the Godhead thē it is possible for him to haue till he come to know euen as he is knowen but that by him you may say this knowledge was lost not lost but corrupted onely euen as mans will For then it should follow that wee were inferiour to bruit beasts who haue in thē a sensible knowledge meete for that ende whereto they were created Furthermore it is not possible that mans sin should frustrate the ende which God intended in his creation but it is manifest that man was created to know and honour the creator Againe seeing in Christ al things consist hee being ordained of the Father before all worldes in whom the world should be both created and restored it is plaine that this light of our vnderstanding both proceedeth from him and is restored in him as it is said Ioh. 1. He is that light which lightneth euery man that commeth into the world not onely his chosen with knowledge of his sauing trueth but euen generally euery man with reasonable vnderstanding whereby wee may know whatsoeuer is to be known of God how euen by the works of God as it is plainely concluded Rom. 1. 19 20. Therefore are they not to bee heard who hold any thing without the compasse of Faith which is without the compasse of Knowledge For Faith ought so to be grounded on Knowledge as Hope is grounded vpon Faith So that as Faith Heb. 11. 1. is sayd to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an euiction or proofe of things hoped for though they bee not seene so may I say that Knowledge is the proofe of things which are beleeued For Faith is nothing els but the Conclusion of a particular Syllogisme drawen from the conclusion of an vniuersall which the knowledge of God had cōcluded as it is manifest Iam. 2. 19. Heb. 11. 3. By conference of which two places it appeareth that this knowledge of which I speake this Historicall Faith as to beleeue that there is one God which made all things of nought is onely such a knowledge as the deuils wicked men haue but to beleeue and haue confidence in this God is that particular conclusion that faith which causeth vs to haue hope in his promises Therefore said Christ Haue fayth in God that is striue to know God that knowing you may haue faith and beleeue in him

to cast pearles before swine But yet I hope that God will not suffer you to bee ledde any longer by that Spirit of Antichrist against which S. Iohn doth so often warne vs. For I doe you to witte that this your heresie is no new thing but euen as ancient as the Apostles time For the reason of Iohns writing of his Gospell was to proue the Godhead of Christ against the Heretikes that denied it in his owne time And truely I maruell that you who haue receyued this Heresie from the rotten bones of Arrius should not prouide for your safetie as he did He denied the authoritie of S. Iohns writings to be authenticall And why because this earth-bred Gyant which would pul Christ out of the throne of his Deitie should with his lightening be suddenly burnt Beleeue you the Scripture Is Iohns authoritie sufficient then the case is plaine We are in him that is true in his Sonne Iesus Christ who is very God and eternall life 1. Ioh. 5. 20. Can you now confer this Scripture with that place I haue said ye are Gods and not be ashamed I and the Father are one The Iewes vnderstood that hee herein professed himselfe to be very GOD and are you his enemie more then they Read Ioh. 10. vers 30. and 33. and 34. and you may vnderstand the meaning of both places The diuels acknowledged him to be GOD of Infinite power I know thee who thou art euen that Holy one of God And wil not you cōfesse as much as the diuels But this is more then I thought to say only you may see hereby that we speake no other thing then Christ himselfe euen in his enemies vnderstanding said Now if you could see a little the folly of your owne opinion that were inough to cause you to put on a better mind I wil touch it as lightning doth touch the ground for if you be willing to be reformed there is no doubt but you may propound it to the learned Diuines and be fully satisfied You say Christ is onely man but yet indued with the infinite Power of GOD. Here first you doe iniurie to the Highest to make the Power of God to bee accidentall vnto him whereas hee is purus actus absolute perfection and without shadow of change his Beeing is most simple and pure not capable of accidents Then his Being is such as no addition can be made thereto to make it more thē it is therfore it is necessary that he be euer actually whatsoeuer he may be Besides His Being is infinitely distant from Not Being therfore his Power is inseparable Again if there come any thing to God as an accident it must come vnto him frō himselfe or els frō another not frō another for he is impassible or such as cānot suffer violence not frō himselfe for all such accidents do proceed a potentia that is frō the imbecillity or imperfection of the subiect but his Being is most simple infinitely perfect Again all accidents do rise frō the matter forme or composition of the subiect In him is neither matter forme nor composition Now all things we see in this world do consist ex actu potentiâ of Perfection from God imperfection frō thēselues for of thēselues they are non entia absolutely nothing Yea euen the very Angels and the soule it selfe are partakers of this compositiō for nothing is purus actus but God alone therefore are they subiect to accidents yet they which come neerest to perfection are most free from accidents as that which is meere perfection hath no accidents at al. Know then that all the dignities of God are in him essentially one God For the Goodnes of God his Power his Wisedome his glory c. beeing all infinite do of necessity concur in the nature of Infinity Whence it followeth that whatsoeuer is in him is essentially himselfe therefore the power of God is not accidentall or such as may be imparted to a man The learned Hebrues according to this do hold that Eusoph or Infinitie is not to bee numbred among the other attributes of God because it is that abstract Vnity wherinto they all essentially concurre from which they al essentially proceed And hēce by the way take another strong argument to the former question for if GOD bee essentially a Father then the terme correlatiue a Sonne must bee in the Godhead also and that essentially But now againe see another folly in your supposition The worke of our redemption is a worke of infinite goodnesse mercie power wisedome and glory therefore it followeth that Christ the worker had infinite mercie power wisedome c. Now I demaund had Christ this infinite goodnesse and power so giuen to him of God that the Father himselfe had in the meane time none This you dare not say for that were to say that GOD did cease to bee GOD which cannot stand with his Eternitie Now if GOD the Father had notwithstanding this absolute infinite Power of Christ of which he spake All power is giuen vnto me both in heauen and in earth then it followeth that either there were two infinities of Power or else that these two which had this infinite Power were all one Infinite The first is against the nature of Infinitie or that is absolutely infinite which so comprehendeth all things as that it leaueth nothing without it selfe and yet is not comprehended of any other Besides if you would say that the Father and the Sonne had each of them seuerall indiuisible infinite Powers it must follow that neither of their Powers were absolutely infinite because each of them had not the infinite Power of the other And besides that both these infinite Powers must bee conioyned with infinite weakenesse because they must be mutually subiected to the infinite Power one of the other but both these things are impossible So you see that two Infinities can by no meanes stand together therefore it followeth that these two to wit the Father and the Sonne are in Being one and that of infinite Power and this is that which I striue for which as you see I haue concluded by your owne assertion The time would faile mee to lay before your eyes the manifold vntrueths which would insue of your position which sauoureth neyther of witte iudgement nor learning And therefore I see how they which haue once departed from the trueth must of necessitie runne into infinite absurdities Therefore looke backe and be ashamed of such new-fangled toyes as you do dayly imagine which in trueth doe argue the great inconstancie and vanitie of your minde and withall such palpable blindnesse of vnderstanding as the darknesse of Egypt For tell mee without selfe-liking what sound iudgement doth this argue to be driuen about with euery wind of doctrine a Protestant a Brownist an Anabaptist an Antichrist What bringing vp what gift of learning and knowledge haue you that you should presume to oppose your sentence against the faith and doctrine of all the Christian Churches in the world Blush and learne with meekenesse the trueth of that Word which is able to saue your soule You may see by your owne miserable experience what it is to forsake the Vnitie of Faith and the Communion of the Saints who imbrace the trueth of Gods word and haue manifest tokens that they are the true Church to wit The word of God truely taught and the Sacraments duely administered What if there want perfection The Church militant must euer confesse I am louely yet blacke For it is impossible that any Church should be without imperfectiō so long as the world standeth but at the end it shall bee presented without spotte or wrinkle Therfore remēber from whence you are fallen repēt do the works of righteousnes lest Christ whō you so despite come against you shortly The worke of Christianitie is not in foolish questions and disputing about needlesse subtilties but in doing the workes of trueth and righteousnesse Pray and endeuour your selfe thereto And till such time as GOD for his Christs sake vouchsafe to haue mercie on you the enemie of his SONNE and giue you grace to repent of this great wickednesse I am neither your friend nor yet your foe Alecsander Gil. FINIS