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
of a Beginning stand thus It is either Principium principians non principiatum that is a beginning which is a Beginner vnto another yet hath not his beginning from another lest there should be a processe into Infinitie a parte ante this is God the Father to whom it is peculiar to beget the Sonne yet is himselfe neyther made nor created nor begotten of any other Secondly there is Principium principiatum principians to witte a Beginning which hath his beginning of another and is also a beginning to another lest there should be any defect or imbecillitie in the Beginning and this is the Euerlasting Sonne very God of very God begotten of the substance of his Father alone before thē worlds neither made nor created Thirdly there is Principium principiatum non principians that is a Beginning which is also begun but is not a beginner vnto another lest there should be a processe into Infinitie a parte post and this is the Holy Ghost who proceedeth from the very substance and Being of the Father and the Sonne and is with them one GOD coeternall and coequall But you will say Is not the Holy Ghost a Beginner vnto any other how is he then the Authour of our consolation and how is hee said to leade vs into all trueth c Vnderstand what I meane Hee is not a Beginner vnto any other of the same Infinite Essence or Being with himselfe For the beginnings which I spake of before are in the Essence of God alone now our spiritual consolation whereof the Holy Ghost is said to be the Beginner is but an or effluence from that Being which he himselfe is as the light of the Sunne doth illuminate euery bright body exposed to his light and yet imparteth not his being thereto You will againe obiect that Eternitie hath no beginning nor ending how then can Christ be both eternall and begun and how againe can he be equall to the Father whereas hee beeing begotten of the Father the Father hath a prioritie before him I answere that this beginning is none other then that production or begetting which I before declared to haue been heretofore none other then it is now and shall be eternally as the Sunne hath brought forth light since his creation and shall still bring forth light till the worlds dissolution For this action of GOD whereby hee begetteth his Sonne is not a transeant action to cause a passion in the subiect and a repassion in the agent for in such the subiect of necessitie should haue been existent before the action but this action is immanent and therefore of necessitie of the same nature with the agent which agent because it is eternall therefore the production is also eternal and consequently the product and so of necessitie very GOD. But you must euer remember what difference I made betweene the action of God infinite in power therefore able to actuate the obiect and the immanent actions of our minde Now for the Prioritie or Posterioritie you may obiect I graunt there is Prioritie among the persons of the Godhead but of what kinde not of Being for their Essence is one and therein is none afore or after another neither is any one of the Trinitie more or lesse God then another not of time for they are all one Eternitie not of dignitie for they are all one Infinitie and the Sonne himselfe being very God thinketh it no robberie to bee equall with God But yet there is Prioritie and that of order onely for the Father is in order before the Sonne because the Sonne is begotten of the Father and the Sonne likewise is before the Holy Ghost because the Holy Ghost is the mutuall loue betweene the Father and the Sonne and so proceeding from them both I will make a comparison vnmeet for the matter of which I speake for to whom shall wee assimulate the Highest but yet meete to helpe your vnderstanding When a man doth dreame and imagine things which are not there is you know the phantasie the phantasme or thing imagined or dreamed and the phansying or working of the phantasie about that obiect Now these three are all of one nature and are one after another onely in order and not in time For the particular phantasie of such an obiect is before the obiect and makes it to haue an intentionall being then the obiect being the discourse of the phantasie followeth in order which neuerthelesse was in time as soone as it obseruing euer the cautions that are to bee obserued Thus haue I very briefly showne not many reasons but rather how that many reasons may bee showen for this Christian assertion yet haue I showen ynough to perswade any reasonable man to yeelde meekely vnto the trueth of that doctrine which is so euident both in the booke of GOD and in euerie faithfull and true Christian mans confession and according to that discourse which is euident to euery mans vnderstanding Now giue me leaue to speake a little to those arguments which haue throwen the most learned of the Iewes head-long to the feet of Christ to make thē acknowledge that the Messiab must be both God and man I will not herein doe any thing contrary to that which in the beginning I protested that is not to compel you by authoritie of Scripture but to intreate you by reasonable perswasion to encline your eare to the trueth But because I may not without iniurie to the cause leaue altogether out such manifest proofe and without iniurie also to your selfe who might thinke that I went about to sophisticate a true seeming vntrueth which would not abide the touch I will onely intend my finger to some very few of many thousandes of axiomes of the Scripture for this purpose leaue you to make the conclusion by your selfe hoping that the Iewes example may prouoke you to follow them so farre forth as they haue followed the trueth Exod. 13. 21 it is said The Lord went before thē c. Chap. 14. 19. The Angel of God which went before them remoued where Christ the Angell of the Couenant is called The Lord Iehouah Againe Exod. 15. 3. The Lorde is a man of warre his name is Iehouah therefore Christ is God and man who by his conflict vpon the crosse triumphed ouer Death and Hell as it is written in the Gospell the booke of the warres of the Lord. Againe Esay 9. 6. Vnto vs a childe is borne there is his Manhood and vnto vs a Sonne is given and they shall call his name The mightie God And Esay 35. vers 4. Your God will come and saue you Ierem. 23. 5. c. I will rayse vp vnto Dauid a righteous branch and a King shal raigne and this is the Name whereby they shall call him The Lord our righteousnesse And Ierem. 33. vers 16. Iudah shall be saued and be that shall saue her is the Lorde our righteousnesse Where the name vsed is that great Name 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Iehouah
haue brought I might haue brought you fiftie But I shew you the way if you be guided by the Spirit of Trueth how you may strengthen your selfe in the way of Trueth therefore I wil goe on and shew you yet more plainely by more familiar reasons An Infinite power is not more weake then a finite but euery finite creature which we can cast our eies vnto doth by nature produce his like as much as in it is as a man begetteth a man trees bring forth seed whereof their like in nature may spring and in likewise euery other thing Therefore the Infinite Power of God begetteth his like also which is the Sonne the image of the inuisible God the first begotten of euery creature Col. 1. 15. But none can bee like vnto God in his Being who is not very God therefore Christ the onely begotten of the Father is also very God Maruel not that I make this argument from the creature to the Creator for in this very point of the Power Godhead the Holy ghost himselfe teacheth me to reason of the inuisible things of God by the things visible Rom. 1. 20. And hereby also learne to helpe your ignorance and put away your wonder how God should bee one and yet three See you not how the vnderstanding the Sun-light also is one in nature and yet three in euident and cleare distinction though in so base and imperfect order as that which is aboue all perfection is possible to be aboue it And further see you not in euerie thing a bodie a spirite and a life which is the knot betweene them Or rather see you not how the very bodily composition is both one and three one body which is vnited of three bodies that is earth water and ayre or oyle which yet again in the root of their nature are but one For oyle is but a due mixture of water and earth meanely fixt and meanely volatil and earth is but fixed water so that water which is but one is the root of the three as it is manifest Genesis 1. and 2. Pet. 3. 5. They which vnderstand the rules of Pyronomy know what I say and if you vnderstand me wel you would confesse that not onely this instance which I haue brought of earth water and ayre but euen the whole frame of Nature did proclaime the Trinitie in the Vnitie You would I say confesse that whatsoeuer may be knowne of God is manifested in the creature If I should here tell you how the Heauen the Earth the Deepe Gen. 1. might be vnderstood mystically and the Analogie betweene the Creator and the creature therein and then tell you what Let the earth bring forth liuing soule might meane and compare it with that place That which was made in him was life and then particularly for man The Lord God also made the man of the dust of the earth and tell you that it was so necessary because that Christ is Terra â—â—â—entiâ—â—… and inforce an argument to proue the Tri-Vnitie by that treble repetition of the man made in the image of God comparing it with that place 1. Cor. 11. 3. and 7. If I should then tell you that it was necessarie that the Sonne of God must become flesh as well that the infinite Iustice of God might be actuated in him which could not bee actuated in him beeing onely GOD as for many other reasons both from the Iustice and Mercie and Wisedome of GOD though to a well sighted vnderstanding I might seeme to haue layd a precious foundation of Philosophie diuine and natural yet to you I might rather seeme perhaps to haue proponed Cabalisticall dreames then any sound argument to the thing in question Yet this will I tell you and holde it for good Diuinitie that the mayne drift and scope of the whole Scripture is to shew the Creation of all things in Christ through him and for him and the restoring of the whole creature in man by him That in al things he might haue the preeminence Col. 1. Neyther doth this any whit derogate from the honour of the Father For first It hath pleased the Father that in him should all fulnesse dwell and besides it is an honour aboue all honours vnto the Father to be the Father of so glorious a Sonne Therefore is this world and all the things therein created to the Image of Christ to expresse his glory euen as he is the expressed Image and glory of the Father And here is the worlds Eternitie which had in Christ an eternall Being according to that his Name Esay 9. 6. The Father of Eternitie Here are those separate Ideas about which Plato and Aristotle could neuer agree and which neyther both of them nor many of their followers did perfectly vnderstand not that they might not by the frame of nature and the wisedome which GOD had giuen to man be vnderstood For is not this world as a booke wherein wee may reade and vnderstand by the created trueths what is the Trueth which is increated but all true knowledge is the gift of GOD. Therefore wrest not that place Coloss 2. 8. against the Christian search after the knowledge of Nature whereby aboue all other humane knowledges a man is brought to know GOD and to honour him as he ought but rather be sory that your knowledge of Nature is no more For that will I tell you to teach you to know your selfe that there is nothing in the creature which may be knowne and all may bee knowne that is in the creature but man ought to know it and to glorifie the Creator thereby And this great labour hath GOD giuen to men that knowing how short they are of that they ought to be they might bee humbled thereby Psal 1. 11. Eccles. 1. 13. And why ought this to seeme strange doth not God require that perfectioÌ„ at mans hand wherein he did create him and was he not created with perfect discourse to know the creature that hee might therein behold the Creator and so glorifie his wondrous Power and goodnesse But this question would draw mee from the question in hand therefore I wil briefly adde one reason more and because my leisure is little I will be as short as I can but I pray you lend mee your eare for it is hard in English an inartificiall language to expresse my mind but because you told me you could a little Latine I will be bold here and there to vse a word my reason is thus The whole and perfect nature of a Principle or Beginning is in God who is alone the beginner of all things Now a Principle is of three sortes whereof euery one is so clearely distinct from another as that one cannot possibly be that other therefore in the Vnitie of the Deitie there is also such cleare distinction into a Trinitie as that one distinct cannot possibly be that other from which hee is distinguished yet in the Vnitie of essence they are all one The differences