Exposition of the Apostles Creed, Exposition · Part 2 · Section 5 – Section 6
His onelie begotten Sonne.
Testimonies out of the Prophets and Apoſtles.
FOr he receaued of God the Father, honour,2 Pet. 1. and glorie, when there came ſuch a voice vntounto him from the excellent glorie: This is my beloued ſonne in whom I am wel pleaſed. And this voice we heard when it came from heauen, when we were together with him in the holie mountaine: and we hauehave a most ſure worde of the Prophets, to the which ye do wel, that you take heede as vntounto a light that ſhineth in a darke place, vntil the day dawne and the daie ſtarre ariſe in your heartes, ſo that ye first know this, that no propheſie of the ſcripture is of any priuate interpretation. For the propheſie came not in olde time by the will of man; but holie men of God ſpake as they were moued by the holie Ghost. Pſalm. 2. I wil ſhewe out of the decree. The Lorde of hoastes hath ſaide vntounto me. Thou art my ſonne, this day hauehave I begotten thee. Aske of me, and I wil giuegive the nations for thy poſſeſſion; the endes of the earth, I ſay, for the right of thy poſseſſion. And a little after. Kiſse the ſonne, that he be not angrie. And in the ende, Bleſsed are al which truſt in him. Al theſe thinges agree not to Dauid, but to the ſonne who is appointed heire of all things. And to the Heb. 1. Hee hath ſpoken vntounto vsus by his ſonne, by whome alſo hee hath made the worlde: who being the brightnes of the glorie and the engraued forme of his perſon, and bearing vp all thinges by his mightie worde &c. And a little after. VntoUnto which of the Angels ſaid he at any time, Thou arte my ſonne: This day hauehave I begotten thee &c. And in the ſame place: And againe when he bringeth his first begotten ſonne into the worlde, he ſaith: And let all the Angels of God worſhip him. Pſa. 97. ver. 7. Io. 1. We hauehave ſeene his glorie as the glorie of the only ſon of God. & ver. 10. He was in the world, & the world was made by him: but the world knew him not, He came vntounto his owne, & his owne receaued him not: But as manie as receaued him, to them he gaue power that they ſhould bee made the ſonnes of God, euen to them that beleeue in his name.
What the meaning of theſe wordes is, His onelyonly begotten ſonne.
THe ende of theſe wordes is, that our faith ſhoulde be ſtable, firſt, that we beleeue in the true God, when wee beleeue in his onlie begotten ſonne, who is begotten of the ſubſtaunce of the father, and therefore by nature is verie God, as before is ſhewed. Then alſo, that we be no leſſe vndoubtedly perſuaded of the wonderfull louelove of God towardes vsus, ſurmounting the louelove of all creatures, who hath ſo loued the world that he hath giuen his onelyonly begotten ſonne, that all that beleeue in him ſhould not periſh, but hauehave euerlaſting life. Io. 3. And ſo God not only dealeth with vsus by promiſes, and by oath: but alſo by giuing his ſon, in whom all the promiſes are yea and Amen.
To be ſhort, that all thinges which he hath ſuffered for our ſaluation, and whatſoeuer thinges followe in the other articles of faith, be eſteemed of the worthineſſe of this perſon, which is the onelyonly begotten ſonne of God. Galat. 4. verſ 4.5. Mat. 3. verſ 17.
Why the ſcripture calleth him the onelyonly begotten, ſeeing all we which beleeue, are the ſonnes of God.
THerefore the Scripture calleth him the only begotten ſonne of God, that he may put a neceſſary difference betweene Chriſte and all the faithfull. For Chriſt is called, and indeede is the onelyonly begotten ſonne of God, becauſe he is ye only euerlaſting ſon of ye euerlaſting father, begotten of the ſubſtance of ye father before al worlds: and therefore is very God in whō we ought to beleeue. Pro. 8. Ioh. 1. Now we are called and are the ſonnes of God, not by nature, but by adoption and grace, through which, God hath vouchſafed to adopt vsus to be his children, whileſt he hath made vsus, through faith engrafted into his ſonne, his true and liuely members, who otherwiſe were the mē bers of Sathan, and by nature the ſonnes of wrath. Ioh. 8. Epheſ. 2. But in meane time, that ſame adoption, and name of the ſonnes of God, is not onelyonly an emptie title; but when we are in truth members of the ſonne of God, we hauehave by his grace a true communion and fellowſhip with him, in reſpect of which he is called the firſt begotten amongeſt many brethren. Rom. 8. And ſurelie if the Adoption made of men be not a vaine and an emptie title, but ſuch an acceptation of another mans childe, to be a ſonne, whereby in truth all the right of ſonnes is communicated vntounto him, as if he were a true and naturall ſonne: certainly by that ſame adoption of God, whereby we are ſo engraffed into his ſonne, that we are gouerned & quickened by his ſpirit, we do not onelyonly receaue the title, but the full priuiledge and right of the ſonnes of God. Rom. 8. For he hath giuen this priuiledge, dignitie, right, and power to all, as many as hauehave receiued the Lorde Ieſus, that they ſhould be made the ſonnes of God. Ioh. 1. And in the firſt Epiſtle of Iohn the firſt Chapiter. That which we hauehave ſeene and hearde declare we vntounto you, that ye alſo may hauehave fellowſhippe with vsus, and our fellowſhippe or communion is with the father, and with his ſonne Ieſus Chriſt. And theſe things write I vntounto you, that your ioye may be full. All the faithfull therefore hauehave not a meane and common couenant, but a moſt excellent couenant with God, whileſt he will hauehave his confederates, to be in the place of ſonnes, making thē members of his onelyonly begotten Sonne, from whom they are neuer plucked away, and regenerating or rather renueing them through his ſpirit; ſo excelent & notable a couenāt, I ſay, in eueryevery reſpect, that we may freely ſay with the Apoſtle to the Rom. 8. that he that hath not ſpared his owne ſonne, but hath giuen him for vsus all, howe can it be, that he ſhould not together with him giuegive vsus all thinges? Yea, but this ſame couenant grounded vponupon ſo excellent louelove of God towardes vsus, is ſo ſure and vnmoueable, that we may farther ſay, with the ſame Apoſtle, I am perſuaded, that neither death; nor life, nor Angells, nor Principalities, nor powers, nor thinges preſent, nor thinges to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other creature, ſhalbe able to ſeparate vsus from the louelove of God which is in Chriſt Ieſus our Lord.
Our Lorde.
Teſtimonies out of the Prophetes and Apoſtles.
THe Lorde hath ſaid to my Lorde, &c.Pſalm. 110. And Matthew 22. verſe 42.43. Actes. 2 verſe 36. Therefore all the houſe of Iſrael knowe for a ſuretie, that God hath made him both Lorde and Christe, this Ieſus I ſay, whom ye hauehave crucified. The end and drift of theſe words is, that being entred into league with ſo faithful a Lord (who hath redeemed them from the power of darkeneſse, neither with golde nor ſiluer, but with his owne blood, making thē his owne peculiar, and not onelyonly he ſo purchaſed them, but he protecteth and preſerueth them being ſo purchaſed, with a ſpeciall care) they might ſafely and with aſsured confidence of minde committe themſelues vntounto him, yea; and yeelde vp themſelues to be kept for euer.
Againe they are alſo admoniſhed, that they are not in their owne power, but are bought with a price that both in bodie and ſoule which are Gods, they may glorifie God. 1. Corinthians 6. And to the ende all that are confederate and beleeue, ſhoulde willingly ſuffer them ſelues to be gouerned of ſuch a Lorde, to wit, by his worde and by his ſpirit, who to the ende he might hauehave vsus vnderunder his lordſhip & gouernment, was appointed of the father head of the Angels, and of all beleuers.