Propositions and Principles of Divinity Disputed, Section 44
PRINCIPLES CONCERNING THE BVRIAL AND THE DESCENSION OF CHRIST INTO HELL. XLIIII.
1 ALL theſe things that Chriſt ſuffered or did for our cauſe, are in the ſecond part of the Apoſtolical Creed, comprehended in the actions of his humiliation or exaltation.
2 The actions of his humiliation, are either of his ſecret or of his open humiliation: of his ſecret is his conception; all the reſt euen vntounto his Reſurrection are of his open humiliation.
3 Wee hauehave hitherto dealt, concerning the act of his ſecret humiliation, and alſo, concerning the foure firſt heades of his open humbling, his Natiuitie, Pasſion, crucifying, and death; the two latter aboue named do yet remaine; viz. his Buriall and his Deſcenſion into Hell, the former whereof, belongeth vntounto his body, the latter vntounto his ſoule, as afterward we will ſpeake.
4 The Buriall of Chriſt is to be expounded, euen as the wordes themſelues doe ſound, wherein are to bee conſidered: Firſt, the perſons who buried Chriſt: Secondly, the forme and manner of his burial: Thirdly, the end: Fourthlie, the effects: Fiftly, the place: Sixtly, the time he remayned in the graue.
5 The perſons who buried him, were IOSEPH of Aramathea, and NICODEMVS, who hauing obtained the bodie of Chriſt of PILATE, did anoint the ſame with Balme, and wrapped it in fine linnen, and afterwards buried it: In all which points, we hauehave a ſinguler example of faith, and alſo of Gods prouidence, hereby making a way to the reſurrection of Chriſt.
6 The forme of his buriall, conſiſteth in his anointing, (the which in reſpect of God, was a type of that liuely ſmel flowing from the death of Chriſt) his winding & laying in the graue, which were aſſured teſtimonies of his death.
And here wee are not to conceale their notable deluſion, who not onelyonly ſuperſtitiouſlie, but alſo ignorantlie and fooliſhlie, doe in Sauoy offer a certaine Linen to bee worſhipped, wherein Chriſt ſhoulde bee wrapped in the graue, the which they alſo fooliſhly call a handkercherffe or napkin, wherein the whole bodie of Chriſt is painted: wheras the Iewes according to their cuſtome, doe onelie binde the head in a Napkin.
7 The endes of this buriall are manifolde: For firſt of al Chriſt would therefore be buried, that he might be declared to be truly dead. 2. That he might perſue death, fliing as it were, vntounto her innermoſt denne. 3. That hee might make our buriall ſmell of the liuelie ſauour of his death, and ſo driue away from vsus the horror of the graue. 4 That by this meanes, hee might leaue a ſure teſtimonie of the reſurection.
8 The effect of the Burial of Chriſt, is firſt of all this; that as dying, he ouercame death, and perſued this victorie of his, that he might deliuer his bodie frō the effect of death, that is, from being turned vntounto duſt: euen ſo, by the ſame power of his, hee might bring the bodies of his members, vntounto aeternall incorruption. The other is, that euen as the burial of that bodie, which was aſſumed into for vsus, a ſpiritual & an aeternall life, was a certaine cōtinuance of death, ſo is it vntounto vsus a pledge of the ſpirituall death of the olde man, dying in vsus by litle and little: in which reſpect we are ſaid in Baptiſme to be buried with him into his death.
9 Neither is the bodie of ſinn weakned in vsus at a moment, but by continuall progreſſe dooth dailie more and more languiſhe, vntill it bee made altogeather without ſtrength, which ſhall then be, when wee ſhall perfectlie riſe againe.
10 Hee is ſaid to bee buried in a Fielde, neere vntounto the place where he was crucified, and that in a newe graue cut out of a rocke, that it might bee clearlie manifeſt, that hee was trulie buried; and therefore, alſo that hee roſe againe, and not ſome other in his ſtead.
11 As concerning the ſealing & watching of the graue, both came to paſſe by the gret prouidence of God; namelie, that the moſt extreame enemies of Chriſt, by whoſe ſeal and guard, the Sepulchers was made ſafe, might bee compelled againſt their wils, to confirme the Reſurrection of Chriſt, that by and by followed.
12 It was not neceſſary, that the time wherein hee lay in the graue, ſhould in eueryevery point bee anſwearable to the Type of IONAS; but we are to know, that (Chriſt haſting as it were vntounto the victorie) the Scripture is wont, by ſetting down a part for the whole, to giuegive the name of ſome whole thing to the beginning and end thereof. So Chriſt beeing put in the graue, at the latter end of that day, which went before the Sabaoth, lay in the graue the whole Sabboth, according to the cuſtome of the Iewes, which account a naturall day, from Euening to Euening, and roſe againe the beginning of the next, which was the firſt daye of the weeke.
13 Concerning this Article of the deſcenſion of Chriſt into Hell, it is manifeſt, that there is no mention made of either, in the Nicene or in any other of the ancient creeds, and RVFFINVS witneſſeth, that it was not read in the Church of Rome.
14 No man therefore ought to wonder, if ſome queſtion be made of the meaning thereof.
15 That the Creede, which is called the Apoſtles, was written by the Apoſtles themſelues, before they departed from Ieruſalem, euerie one of them bringing in his ſeueral Article, it is a meere fabulous tale, as the very number of theſe Articles do ſhew.
16 Yet it is cleare, that they were faithfullie and truely gathered out of the preaching of the Apoſtles, & acounted euen frō the moſt ancient time, as a ſquare & a rule of faith
17 Now their opinion is verie probable, who doe take theſe words, [he deſcended into Hel] (if this Article was at the firſt in the common creed, expreſſed in ſo many words) not for any diſtinct Article, but for a ſummary comprehenſion of the laſt and loweſt degree of Chriſtes humiliation, which ſhould bee pointed out by the wordes of ſuffering, crucifiyng, death, and burial; as this kind of ſpeach is ſomtimes in the Scriptures Metaphorically vſed, for the loweſt eſtate of anguiſh and dejection: So that, [He ſuffered, was dead, buried, and deſcended into Hell,] ſhould be but one Article of faith.
18 But who can beleeue, that the Fathers of Nicene, and ſo many Synods that afterward followed, and the very Church of Rome it ſelf would hauehave raſhly blotted out this Article, if it had bin written in ſo many words in the common Creed.
19 Either of the two therefore muſt needs bee neceſſarie; namelie, that either this kinde of ſpeach, in that ſenſe that wee hauehave ſpoken, though familiar vntounto the Hebrues, was not yet receiued in all Churches, as being ambiguous and not neceſſary; ſeeing it was ſufficiently vnderſtood by the former, and ſo by a little and a little, grewe out of vſe: or that this Article alſo, was then inſerted into the common Creed, when as their opinion, which hath bene of ancient time, had by degrees taken place, who thought that the ſoule of our Sauiour Chriſt, beeing ſeparated from his bodie, went into I know not what place, where the Spirits of the beleeuing Fathers ſhould hauehave their aboad.
20 But this opinion, though it hath bin of a long time receaued, by a common and an olde growen error, cannot bee confirmed any wiſe by any teſtimonie of the Euangelicall Hiſtorie, but is manifeſtlie ouerthrown thereby, ſeeing it is very apparant by the woordes of the Euangeliſts, that the Spirite of Chriſt, being departed out of his bodie, was there receaued, into whoſe hands hee committed it when hee gaue vppe the Ghoſt, that is, into the place of aeternall bleſſednes, whereof ſpeaking vntounto the Theefe, he ſaid; [this day ſhalt thou be with me in Paradiſe.]
21 Nowe, that there was any place allotted vntounto the Spirits of the Fathers, that departed before the incarnation of Chriſt, whence afterward, the Spirite of Chriſt comming thither indeed, ſhuld bring them with him into heauen; it can in no wiſe bee confirmed by any colourable teſtimonie of the Scriptures: Neither would the Euangeliſts hauehave omitted any ſuch thing in the ſtorie of the pasſion of Chriſt: But this opinion ſeemeth to ariſe, partlie, in that manye are written to hauehave riſen, either by Chriſt, or with Chriſt: partly, out of the PSALME 16.8. which PETER citeth Act. 2.25. and out of two other places alſo of 1. PET. 3. wrongfullie interpreted.
22 Out of this error, ariſe two other that are more abſurd, the one of thoſe, who beeing ledde by the miſvnderſtanding of the words of PETER, thought that the ſoule of Chriſt went indeed into Hell; to the ende, that as in bodie hee had preached the Goſpell vponupon earth, vntounto thoſe that were liuing: ſo alſo he ſhould preach the ſaid Goſpel in his Spirit, vntounto the Spirites of thoſe that were dead, as though that after death, there were any place left for preaching & repentance.
23 The other errour is of thoſe, who dreamed that the Spirite of Chriſt ſhould goe vntounto the ſoules of the damned, that hee might there alſo ſuffer in his ſoule, the paines ordained in hell for the damned: as though that the ſoule of Chriſt, whileſt it was in his bodie, did not beare thoſe puniſhmentes for our ſake; as both that horrible agonie, which hee ſuſtained in the Garden, and alſo, that fearefull crie, [My God, my God, &c.] which vponupon the Croſſe made Heauen and earth to tremble, doe beare witneſſe: or as though, that ſpeache, [It is finiſhed,] wherein our whole hope conſiſteth were vntrue.
24 But wee (omitting the whole controuerſie, concerning the putting in, or the blotting out of this Article) do ſimplie vnderſtand, by the Deſcenſion of Chriſt into hell, thoſe things, which Chriſt being made a curſe for vsus, ſuffered in his ſoule for our ſake, in thoſe torments eſpeciallie, which were ſo greeuous, as nothing could be, no not imagined more horrible.
25 By the word DESCENSION therefore, is not ment any remoouing from a higher place to a lower, becauſe that can properlie agree neither vntounto the Deitie, which is eueryevery where, nor vntounto the bodie, which of it ſelfe lay dead in the Graue, neither vntounto the ſoule, which beeing commended vntounto the Father, was ſtraight way in Paradiſe, after it was ſeparated from the body.
26 Now the word HELL, which in the Scripture is diuersly taken, ſignifieth neither the Graue, becauſe that explanation ſhould bee ſuperfluous and obſcure; neither yet the place of the damned, as it is cleare out of the former Principles.
27 Therefore this Deſcenſion of Chriſt into Hel, which had an ende at his death, went before the Article of his buriall: but yet it is placed after the ſame in the order of ſpeach, euen becauſe it was thought meet, to ſet downe in one tenor of ſpeach, whatſoeuer did belong to the humiliation of his body.
Defended by HILLARIE FANTRART an Engliſh-man of Guernzy.