Certain Questions and Answers Concerning the Knowledge of God, Part 4 – Part 7
Of ioyning Christ and the Masse together.
Q If the Father and the Sonne be of equall honor, what say you to the ioyning of Christ and the masse together in one woord, to keep his birth and incarnation in remembrance.
A. The Scripture forbiddeth vsus not onelye to keep the idols, and worship of idolaters, but also to keepe any of their names in remembrance, or to make mention of their names with our lips,Exo. 23.13. Psa. 16.4▪ and this we are forbidden both in the precept of God, and the practise of his seruant Dauid.
Q. If the Sonne of God must be honoured, as his Father is honoured, then how must the natiuitie of the Sonne of God be kept, and celebrated?
A. With such solemnitie and reioycing as beseemeth the maiestie, dignitie, and nature of the sonne of God, euen as we keepe the day of our Princes Coronation, with such solemnitie as beseemeth the maiestie and state of a Prince.
Q. What solemnitie must that be?
A. Diuine, heauenlie, and spirituall, because he is such to whose honour we do it.
Q. What then must bee our exercises at that time?
A, Hearing the word of God reade and preached, to knowe Christ Iesus, giuing of thankes to God for our redemption by Christ Iesus, reioycing with spirituall songes and Psalmes to the praise of God for Christ Iesus, and bewayling our sinnes,Phil. 2.6.7.8. which caused the sonne of God so to abase himselfe for our sakes, and to praie for grace that we may walke worthie so great a benefite.
Q. What saye you then to vaine pastimes, as Lord of misrule, stage players, carding and dicing and such like, which tende to lewde and vnchast behauiour, with surfetting, and rioting, &c. In which and such like exercises commonly the time is spent.
A. They are not beseeming the dignitie and maiestie of the sonne of God, nor the profession of Christians, but they are rather for suche as knowe not GOD, nor his Sonne Christ, and are such as walke altogither in the vanities of their mindes, but as the Apostle saith) wee hauehave not so learned Christ, if we hauehave learned him in deede and in truth.Eph. 4.17. &c. See Ephes. 4. from the 17, verse, to the ende of the Chapter.
Q. Although they be vnlawfull at other times, yet at this time they are lawfull: for wherefore was this time appointed els, but to laugh and be mery in?
A. Not honest recreation, but excesse of riot, is at all times vnlawfull, but especiallie at this time: for this time is appointed to the Church, to hauehave the birth and natiuitie of our Lord and Sauiour Iesus Christ, kept in a holy, ioyfull and thankfull remembrance: and not to be spent as though hel were broken loose in al manner of licentiousnes.
Q. What? is it not lawfull to reioyce then, and to eate and drinke, and to be merie one with another?
A. Yes: if it be done in the feare of God, to the mainteining of holy louelove, to the releeuing of the poore and needie, and to the glorie and praise of the sonne of God, Iesus Christ: in whome, by whom, and for whose sake, wee enioy all the blessings that we hauehave.
Q. Wherein els doe the three persons agree?
A. In time or eternitie.
Q. What meane you by that?
A. I meane that one of them hath beene of as long continuance as another, and all of them hauehave beene and shalbe for euer.
Q. How proue you this?
A. By the Scriptures. Heb. 13.8.Heb. 13.8. Iesus Christ yesterday, to daie, and the same for euer. Iohn 1.1.Ioh. 1.1. Gen. 1.26.Gen. 1.26. Let vsus &c. which was spoken to the iij. persons in the trinitie. viz. Father &c.
Q. How els are they all one?
1 Ioh. 5.17. … Gen. 1.26.A. In operation: that is, they all worke one and the same thing together, as appeareth by these places.
To this doctrine do the learned also giuegive testimonie: for one saieth, Opera trinitatis sunt inseperabilia: idest, the workes of the trinitie be inseperable: which he explaneth by this similitude. Quum dicimus solem nutrire, & illuminare terram, non excipimus eius ardorem, Musc. com. pla. pag. 21.neque splendorem, sine quibus non nutri…, nec illuminat: that is, when wee say that sunne doth nourish, & lighten the earth, we do not except his heate, nor his brightnesse: euen so of the workes of the trinitie.
Another saith thus: Quia Deus est essentia vnus, hypostasi vero trinus, …anaeus phys. pag. 100.sic intelligitur, vt opus hoc creationis sit illius trinitatis commune, quanquam in eodem opere sit▪ distincta cuiusque personae operatio. that is: Because God is one in essence, but three in substāce we must vnderstand that this work of our creatiō is a common worke of the trinitie, although in the same worke there is a distinct & diuers operation of each person.
Q. How els are they all one?
A. In will: that is they will all one and the same thing without any crossing, contradiction, or varying in themselues: as the Sonne himselfe saith. I do alwaies those thinges that please him.Ioh. 8.29. viz: the father.
Q. These places before alleaged, do prooue the Father and the Sonne to be all one in deitie, dignitie, eternitie, &c. but What say you for the holy Ghost?
A. The holy ghost is sometime called the spirite of the father, as the Lord God and his spirite hath sent me,Esa. 48.16. sometime the spirit of the sonne, as: If any hath not the spirit of Christ &c. Rom. 8.9.Now if the spirite of a man in whome there is no perfection be all one with man, much more the spirit of the father is all one with the father, and the spirite of the sonne is all one with the sonne, and so the holy ghost with the father, and the sonne▪ is the same in deitie, dignitie, eternitie, operatiō & will.
The names of the 1. person.
Q. What names are giuen in the Scripture to the first person?
A. The father spake most commonly in the olde Testament (for in these last times he hath spoken by his sonne) and he is called by these names.
1 Iehouah ▪ that is, I am that I am: without beginning or ending.Esa. 42.8.
2 Elohim: that is mightie and strong.
3 Adonay: that is iudge, or in whose iudgement we rest.
4 Lorde of hostes:1. King. 19.14. because he hath both Angels, and men, and all creatures at commaund to fight for him.
5 The God of Iacob, Act. 3.13.or of Israel, because hee made a promise to Abraham that hee would be his God, and the God of his seede, & the Israelits were the seede of Abraham.
6 The father of our Lord Iesus Christ: the reason why,Ephes. 1.3. is declared before.
The names of the 2. person.
Q. What names are giuen to the second person?
A. He hath some names as he is the son of God. He hath some names as he is man.
And he hath some names as hee is both God and man in one person.
Q. What names hath he as he is the sonne of God.
Ioh. 1.14.A. First, onelyonly begotten Sonne of God: because he is onelyonly begotten of the nature, and substaunce of the Father.
Rom. 8.29. Hebr. 1.6. Hebr. 1.3.Secondly, first begotten: not as though he begat any after, but because he begat none before.
Thirdlye, th'image, and brightnesse of the Fathers glorye, because the glorie of God which we cannot see in him, is by his effects expressed in his sonne.
Iohn. 1.1. Hebr. 1.1.Fourthly, the worde: because, euen as a man reuealeth the meaning of his harte by the worde of his mouth, so God reuealeth his will by his sonne.
Q. What names hath he as he is man?
Math. 26.24.A. 1. Sonne of man: because▪ he was of the nature of man according to the flesh.
Math. 9.27.2. Sonne of Dauid, because he sprange of the linage and stocke of Dauid.
Q. What names are giuen him as he is both God and man in one person?
Math. 1.21.A. 1. Iesus, that is a Sauiour: because he came to saue the people from their sinnes.
Math. 16.16.2. Christ, that is annointed: For he was annointed of God to be a Prince, to rule his Church, a Prophet to teach his church, and a Priest to offer sacrifice for his Church.
3. Mediatour & aduocate: because he praieth, for vsus to the Father▪ and pleadeth our cause before his iudgement seate.1. Tim. 2.5.
Q. What names are giuē to the holy ghost, the 3. person.
A. The holy ghost (who is the spirite of the Father) speaking in the old Testament, hath these names and properties.
1. The good spirit, Psal. 143.10.because, he is the fountaine of goodnes.
2. The spirit of God, 1. Sam. 11.6.because he is good, and proceedeth from God.
3. The finger of God, Luke 11.23.because God worketh by him, as a man by his hand.
4. The comforter, Iohn. 10.26.because he strengtheneth the weake harts of his Saints.
5. The spirit of Adoption, Rom. 8.15.because he assureth our harts that we be adopted the Saints of God.
6. The spirit of louelove, 2 Tim. 1.7.6. Esa. 11.2.power, sobrietie, wisdome, &c. because it worketh all these things in vsus.
God is incomprehensible.
Q. Of what nature is God?
A. First, by nature God is incomprehensible.
Q. What meane you by that?
A. I meane that God cannot be contained in any compasse of place as is a man, or Angell, or any other creature, but he is in all places, and filleth all places at once,1. Kings. 8.27. Psal. 145 3. & is beyond all compasse of place that we can imagine, as appeareth by the testimonie of the Scriptures.
Q. Though the substance of God be incomprehensible, yet his power and wisedome are not so, are they?
A. Yes,Ioh. 11.7.8.9. Rom. 11.33. and whatsoeuer is in God is incomprehensible, as may be prooued by the Scriptures.
Q. To what purpose and vse serueth this doctrine?
A. It serueth to driue all grosse and idolatrous conceipts of God out of our mindes. 2. It detecteth and bewraieth the impietie & blasphemie of the popish Church, or any other persons whersoeuer, who either by making of pictures (as they thought) of God, or by maintaining of them being made, or by suffering of them to stand still (especially after it bee knowne) hauehave thereby denyed God to bee incomprehensible. For those pictures and resemblances of God which ignorant men hauehave forged in their owne braine, doe tell vsus and say, that God may be comprehended and contained within a place, yea in a small place, or in anie place as a man or other creatures, which is most high blasphemie against the maiestie of almightie God.