Abrahams Faith, Part 1 · Chapter 3 · Article 1
The firſt Article of faith and religion concerning God.
1. There is one true, euerliuing & Almightie God: and three perſons: God the father, God the Son, & God the holy Ghoſt, which are not three Gods but one God.
THis Article hath two partes, firſt, of the vnitie of the Godhead, and ſecondly the trinitie of perſons. The firſt God taught Abraham, when in his calling he brought him to forſake theaIoſhuah 24.2 ſtrange and many Gods of his fathers, to embrace one and the onelyonly true God; ſhewing this perfect marke, that he could ſet downe order what ſhould become ofbGen. 12.3. cap. 15.13. cap. 17.1. cap. 18.14. all the families of the earth, and particularly of his poſteritie, that hee was God all ſufficient, and that nothing was harde to him. Therefore Abraham hauing learned this, profeſſeth it to be his faith and religion, calling the Lord,ccap. 14.22. The moſt high God, poſſeſſor of heauen and earth: and hee gaue him thisdRom. 4.18.19 glorie of God, that although himſelfe were an hundred yeare old, & Sarah his wiues wombe now dead, yet did he beleeue Gods word, concerning his ſeed, being aſſured, that he which had promiſed was alſo able to do it. The ſecond God taught Abraham, when heeeGal. 3.8. preached the goſpell vntounto him in theſe wordes:fGen. 28.18. In thy ſeed ſhall all the families of the earth be bleſſed. For by the ſeed being vnderſtood Chriſt, namely the ſon of God to be made man of the ſeede of Abraham: God ſpeaking in theſe words to Abraham concerning his ſon, Abrahā muſt needs vnderſtand the firſt perſon of the father, in him that ſpeaketh, and the ſecond perſon of the Sonne, in him that is ſpoken of. And of this ſecond perſon in the knowledge and faith of Abraham ſpeaketh Chriſt, ſaying:gIoh. 8.56.58. Abraham reioyced to ſee my day, and hee ſaw it and was glad. And againe, before Abraham was, I am. And as concerning the holy Ghoſt the third perſon, Abraham vnderſtood that in all the wordes, becauſe they are as the Apoſtle teacheth,hGal. 3.14. the promiſe of the ſpirit, which thing you ſhall perceiue if you looke vponupon Abrahams ſeed, for it came not by the naturall vertue and power of man, but by the holy Ghoſt, as firſt Iſaacke was borne, (when Abraham and Sarah were paſt age, of the naturall begetting and conceiuing of a child) by the vertue of the promiſe of God, which being performed by the power of the holy ghoſt, he is ſaid ſometimeiRom. 9.7.8. Gal. 4.23.29. to be borne by promiſe, and ſometime to be borne after the ſpirit. Secondly Chriſt the ſeed of Abraham, by whom all are made bleſſed, is alſo borne a man without the ſeed & begetting of any man, onelyonly of a virgin, and conceiued by the holy Ghoſt, as thekLuk. 1.34.35. Angell in Luke declareth. Laſtly, all the faithfull which are the ſpirituall ſeed and children of Abraham, and made bleſſed by this promiſe of Chriſt, are no otherwiſe made partakers of this bleſſing, but by the holy ghoſt as Chriſt plainlyaIoh. 3.5. expoundeth, ſaying; No man can enter into the kingdome of God, except he be borne againe by the holie ghoſt. Abraham doubtles, being taught the true meaning of theſe words who ſpake, and of whom, and what maner of promiſe this was, and how it ſhoulde be performed, could not but behold therin, & learne the moſt excellent miſterie and doctrine of the trinitie. And in this ſence and meaning doth the church of England hold this article of religion with Abraham, as may appeare, not onelyonly by the vniuerſall and notorious knowledge of our profeſſion, but alſo by fower Creedes, ſet downe in the booke of Common praier to be heard, learned and confeſſed of all men, The Apoſtles creed, Te Deum, Athanaſius creed, and the Nicen creed, and in the firſt article of religion agreed vponupon by our church, and eſtabliſhed by lawe: Ann̄ 1562. Moſes conſent in this article is to bee ſeene in theſe words;bDeut. 6.4. Here O Iſrael, the Lord our God is Lord only. Where this word Lord, being in Hebrew, Iehouah noteth out the true God, being all ſufficient of him ſelfe, and therfore Moſes wascExod. 3.14. taught to call him Eheie, that is, I am or ſhalbe, meaning a continuance without beginning or ending. Secondly, this clauſe, our God, in hebrew is,* Elohenu, a word of the plurall number, noteth out the pluralitie of perſons, & then adding in the ſinguler number that he is Lord, or Iehouah, onelyonly, ſignifieth that although there is pluralitie, that is, three perſons, yet there is but one God. And therefore that which is ſpoken Pſal. 95. of the tempting of God, out of Deut. 9. ver. 8. where is ſaid by Moſes, they prouoked Iehouah to anger, the prophetdEſai 36.10. Eſay & the epiſtleeHeb. 3.7. to the Hebrewes expound it to be the tempting of the holy ghoſt,f1. Cor. 10.5. and S. Paul to bee tempting of Chriſt, ſo that Moſes by theſe places is to bee vnderſtood to hauehave taught the ſame doctrin of the Trinitie, namely one all ſufficient Iehouah, & the ſame three perſōs, God the father, God the ſon, & God the holy ghoſt? The prophets, who are the true and perfect interpreters of Moſes, doe vtter this doctrin yet more plainly ſpeaking in the perſon of God,gEſai 44.6. I am the firſt, and I am the laſt, and beſide me there is no God. hCap. 4.3.13.Before the day was I am, there is none that can deliuer out of mine hand, i45.21.a iust God and a Sauiour and there is none beſide me, kMalach. 3.6.I the Lord change not, lNahum 1.5.The mountains tremble for him and the hils melt &c. And as touching the Trinitie in plaine termes thus.mHag. 2.5.6. I am with you ſaith the Lord of hostes, with the word wherewith I couenanted with you, when you came out of Egypt, and with my ſpirit remaining among you: where you ſee the father by excellencie called the Lord of hoſts, the ſon being the mediator of the couenant; is called the word, by whom and for whom God couenanteth, and the holy ghoſt, his ſpirit placed in his church, by his manifold gifts and mightie works:Heb. 2.4. the like place is inaEſai 63.7.8.9.10. Eſay, where in the perſon of the father is ſhewed Gods merciemercy, louelove and kinde prouidence ouer his people: and he pointeth out the ſecond perſon, by the name of the angel of his preſence, who ſaued them, and the holy ghoſt he calleth his holy ſpirit whom they vexed. But the new Teſtament is plaineſt of al. Firſt, Math. 3. where the father witneſſeth of the ſon and the holy ghoſt in the ſhape of a doue commeth vponupon him, and Chriſt commandeth tobMath 28.19. Baptiſe in the name of the father and of the ſon, and of the holy ghoſt. Andc1. Ioh. 5.7.9. S. Iohn calleth this the witnes of God, that there are three which beare record in heauen, the father, the word, and the holie ghoſt, and theſe three are one. In which article wee muſt vnderſtād the three perſons, not as we do three perſons of men, who though they be but of one nature, which is the nature of man, yet are they in ſuch ſort 3. perſons in one nature as they are alſo 3. diuers men, But in God is a more neere vnion, namely that they being 3. perſōs diſtinguiſhed in property the father begetting, the ſon begotten, the holy ghoſt proceeding: yet theſe three ſo diſtinct in perſon, are not onelyonly of one kind of nature, which is to be God, (for ſo they might be vnderſtood to be three gods, as Peter, Iames and Iohn, though of one nature are yet three men) but alſo of one and the ſame eſſence in vnitie of number, namely that the father, ſon and holie ghoſt are all in one God, and do make and be all but one and the ſame God, of the ſame inſeperable power, eternitie, wil, wiſdom; and goodnes, as is very excellently expounded in the creed of Athanaſius.